Archive
Busy Is Good, Too Good?
I realized I did not update last week. The highlight was an AT&T pole that came down removing Telco service for 3 site users. We faired well as our T1 stayed active, but dial-tone, audio for client, and other data went down. On top of that we had a root-kit invade a VoxPro machine (thanks guys), and a file corruption on an Audition machine. Between Jeremy and myself we cleaned that right up. We were one hand short, too.
We continue our busy schedule with a failed R2D2 air conditioner and much to-do planning our big NexGen migration. I also have orders in for the EAS-CAPS upgrade. The ball is rolling and soon won’t be able to stop. I have been working with Burk Technologies to upgrade our 20 year old ARC-16 units. I am redesigning the system.
Speaking of redesign I have been working up options for a new server room to house the RCS system. It is changing constantly, but finally coming to light. I like the Vision blocks from Middle Atlantic as that is making things easier. I discovered I do not like their RackTools application. It seems lacking. I was hoping for something that smoothly let’s me change between front and side views, but nothing ever lines up nor can I rotate an accessory like a power strip.
Work is scheduled for this weekend as I engineer one of our live broadcasts. This sure is turning into a busy year!
Cheers!
NAB Convention Preview
Well, not really a preview as I have not really seen anything new. I attend the Nautel User Group (NUG) meeting this morning. I will have to say I did not come out of it with new new knowledge, but did receive some reinforcment knowledge. Most of that came from Mr. Jeff Welton. After lunch was at was supposed to be an in-depth view of the AUI, and again it de not move me. It turned out to be a showing of AUI changes and development. To me I felt a bit underwhelmed. Love the product, but not impressed by what is being worked on.
As I think of my strategy for tomorrow, I thing it will be humbling and tediuous. I need to look at the NexGen product as that is the system being mandated. I will dig a bit and see what I like and dislike. I have certain expectations which I think will not be fulfilled.
I want to visit Burk Technology and look at their latest remote control system. With that I will visit Audemat ad see their offering though I have seen and heard horror stories. I do like their concept which falls in line with that of Davicom, another vendor I wish to visit. That will round out the day.
If I see or hear anything of interest I will surely pass it on.
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NAB Convention Is Upon Us!
I sit here gathering up my “notes” and listening to my Blues channel on Pandora; NAB is around the corner. No way, it is here! I leave tomorrow! Wow. I have an agenda. The company has an agenda. The show has an agenda. My job is to make them all mesh. Of course it will not prevent me from doing some “vendor disruptions”.
I need to visit vendors regarding remote controls. Burk, Audemat, and Davicom come to mind. Any other suggestions? I’m familiar with Burk. I like the concept and white paper by Audemat, though some reports from the local boys across town will curl your hair. Davicom I’ve seen via web meeting and should be usable. How far do I want to go? This could be fun.
We will attempt to crash the NexGen, so be prepared RCS. We like to dig and we want to push buttons; simultaneously. We did this to WideOrbit and they passed. Others failed in an endless loop in the past, so maybe everyone is robust compared to then. Should be fun.
I will be at the NUG (Nautel Users Group) on Sunday. Hey, that app you posted in the Waves newsletter does not work through VPN. I look forward to seeing what’s new and how things are. I also want to see the advanced AUI presentation.
To bad Verizon won’t be there. Maybe even HTC and Samsung. No VPN through hotspots? NAT issue? Come on, now. How do we run our stuff securely, leave it on an open network? Security first, people. If WiFi is available on the floor or nearby, I will be happy to show you a VPN connection w/VNC to my Nautel transmitters on an eReader, a.k.a. cheap tablet.
I will be talking with SAS (Sierra Automated Systems) regarding my system and integration with our next automation system being mandated by the company. (I’ll elaborate later, and will be a subject of review) I have a studio upgrade coming.
Tieline will get a visit. I see a new box and they did not send me one to play with. Does that mean I can break it at the show? Also I noticed an application to manage the Tieline remote gear. Well, where is it? I know I have 8 boxes I could manage. I like pushing updates. I also like to add and subtract profiles as necessary. Let’s have at it! Oh, and where is the Android app?
I will visit Sage and ask to tear about the Digital Endec. EAS and CAPS is coming and we are to upgrade this year anyways. Just a few questions and a look at the box. This is the one we have decided on.
I’ll visit with Studer as they want to meet with me regarding consoles. This is not a formal thing, but would be cool if it led somewhere. I am quite happy with my SAS Rubicons and SLs. If it leads to anything, it is design, like I know anything about that; I install and make ’em work.
It just piles up. I notice a hard time for Audemat. Hopefully we are discussing remote control and not that stupid Golden Eagle box. I had to reboot that thing 3 times yesterday just to get diversity delay readings! Ouch. The multipath at the studios isn’t much help either.
I think I will swing by Harris and tell them that my Flexstar dropped off once again without any reason. Once in 1 year is a major improvement! Of course a week after that occurred I get an email talking about their new transmitters. WT>>>> I have a “young” transmitter, I cannot get another. There is other competition out there! 😉 (See my article in the Waves newsletter….) I want to see the STL solutions provided by these guys, too. This means I will be visiting Moseley, too. I have Moseley and Intraplex.
Gosh, I just remembered I wanted to look at some audio test gear and modulation monitors that work. The ones I have are in a word, worthless. They will make good air monitors for HD, though.
I will hit the usual suspects as time permits. I have a lot to do with only 2 days on the floor. I’m a bit disappointed I may not get to see interactive and video. I want to delve into some of that and see what ideas I can come away with.
Hope to see you all at the show! Walk up and smack me if you wish to talk.
Cheers!
Phone or Office-mate?
The two year plan was up. Wow, I have had the Blackberry Bold that long? Usually I will break a phone within a year. I went through 3 Blackberry’s in 6 months once. This time we decided to jump to 4G. The decision was to try the new HTC Thunderbolt.
The bottom line is I like it. Nice screen size. Quick. Touch screen is one of the best I’ve user. The list of applications on the Android Market keeps getting better. At this time I can do pretty much all my work on this device. Will I is the other question. Oh, did I mention the 32GB microSD card that comes with it?
After a week of poking around I still like it. I just downloaded a Mind Mapping app to try. I started using a desktop app and this one is claims compatibility. This post is being typed on my device. This gives me the feel of the keyboard and I can check the auto correct feature. So far I like it better than the Apple key pad.
Technically speaking it is fast. 4G wireless and WiFi keeps you connected. It does drop to 3G when 4G is unavailable. It uses WiFi over wireless when available. We did discover, and Verizon is checking it, is what I call wireless confusion. I have gone to a place where both WiFi and wireless are available and the device indicates all good, but I receive a “no data service” available. The trick we use to break this confusion is to with to “Airplane Mode” and the back. As I said Verizon is working on that.
We are experimenting with the WiFi hotspot. We have used tablets, computers, and an iPADs for testing. Surfing and basic stuff works well, but we did find an issue: VPN connections through the hotspot.
A VPN tunnel is created, but we cannot do anything across it! No VNC. No telnet. No ping. Needless to say, Verizon is working on that. I believe they are quite surprised at that finding.
The other thing that bugs me is the VPN client that is on the device. It does not connect to Cisco VPN concentrators! What is up with that Android folks? Apple can do it, so what’s your problem? In either case I still need native Flash capabilities. Apple won’t do it. Android claims it can, but I cannot get to the device I wish to control to test it! Crazy.
Overall I really like the Thunderbolt. It should make Apple a bit squeamish. As I learn more I will pass along my findings.
NABShow in Vegas: 18 days
The NABShow 2011 is upon us. Are you making your plans? If so, you have a bit of time for the Free Exhibit pass: Register today!
Will you attend the Broadcast Management Conference? http://bit.ly/NABBMConf
Will you visit the Radio PIT? http://bit.ly/hdy5l6
I’ll be on the floor running around. The NAB Show is the essential destination for professionals who share a
passion for bringing content to life on any platform — even if they have to invent it. Hope to see you there!
Same,but Not
Ever get the feeling things stay the same, but then discover they are not? We had anotther UPS fault this week. This time on the processing rack. I did the early morning swap without incident. Off air time was that of the reboot. Phew. Then tonight a surprise; station drops off the air!
There are many frustrations when dealing with old infrastructure. We have an Aux site for three stations, but only the remote control for one operates it! So, said station goes off, it calls me and I go to the Aux transmitter: no audio! I instructed my assistant to turn on the Aux site, if not him I would have to dial up the Aux site and turn it on. Then I would dial back to the main site to make sure all is off there. Annoying and a waste of time.
So much for my rant. We need a better remote system! Anyways our Harris HDHT+ dropped. I could not find a problem. Ran it in a load. Ran it back on air. Nothing. No log entries. These are the very symptoms as last year. I suspect the Flexstar exciter did some barf. Again no logs to confirm or deny it. I checked UPS logs and found no indication of a power event. I looked at other devices for tell-tale signs, and found none. For piece of mind I rebooted the exciter. Let’s see where this goes. Of course all this occurs days before I take a few days off.
Next I will lay out what should be a reliable remote system. All busy work, but becoming necessary. That along with how to deal with the emminent NextGen system being forced upon us. Our 20 year old infrastructure cannot handle this extra hardware. No space and no power. I should detail that story in a future post!
Cheers!
Watch Out for Defaults
I posted I did a software push for our Orban 8500s to 2.0.8.127. I got it in the shorts for a couple of days when I couldn’t put my finger on why one station just did not sound right. I dug a bit and found I was over-modulating. What? Turns out the update returned all the I/O levels to their defaults. Luckily it did not change my diversity delay settings. So I had to set all my outputs to FM+HD, and HD, and double check my AES output levels. You would think it not be an issue, but when you have to match “the other end” things get changed. Luckily I found it pretty quick. Anyone else run into this?
AT&T is our suspect again on a remote control circuit. It went away. It came back. It’s alive. That’s all there is on that one.
I don’t know about your facilities and spending, but we continue to be stagnant. March begins next week and no capital has been released, so it’s tough to start any new project. I am beginning to line up my ducks for a generator upgrade project. Being in the state of confusion, I mean California, this will be a wonderful can of worms. I bet there are some interested to see where this goes, so I’ll post as things progress.
Routine takes center stage again while we wait. We can only purchase what we need. I slipped in a few capacitors on a trip to the supply store and used and old Aphex Dominator as a training ground on dry caps in a power supply. A little before and after is such a good tool by which to learn. It’s almost like magic.
A morning show is to get bigger windows, so we taped out how it will go. Of course we had to take money out of another project to make this happen. Also, said morning talent a year later decides he wants a different microphone. The Blue Blueberry which he demanded and said was the best I guess is not. He now demands a Neumann TLM-103. I received and installed a loan. Next week I start the PO to purchase. One week and no complaints. Ironic that our standard microphone is a BCM-104 which I find sound a bit better. Anyways, I didn’t need that parts and supply budget for that station, good luck getting anything else repaired this/next month! Should I mention I have not mentioned to them how much a shock mount for that thing will be.
I received my first notice that we are entering license renewal season. We are not due until 2013, but it is always to get a jump on cleaning up them public files and making sure your facility is running in compliance. Take the time to do this. It will be easier to prepare your filings if you get the busy work done early. Here is a link to the FCC Renewal of License for Radio Broadcasts Stations.
Stay tuned for the next post whenever some interesting tidbit of fun comes my way!
Updates & Repairs
Many little things were taken care of this week. Mostly routine. We had another older MGE UPS die on us. Luckily it passed commercial power before complete death. It seems the life on these is not too long and I can see why Eaton-Powerware bought it up and discontinued it. The latest models from Eaton have been much better. I place the unit on the bench after the failure and cleaned it up. I turned on and began to work properly, though it sounded like relays were a bit clunky during the start-up procedure. I let it sit and I am glad I did. Later that night I got a call from the station complaining of excessive beeping. They unplugged it and turned it off. It was indicating a fault once again. Needless to say a new one has been ordered.
I started my planning for my brief visit to the NAB show. I started a list of vendors to visit. I only have 2 days on the floor, so I need to make it count. Topics I have started are remote controls, STLs, and hopefully to crash an automation system. Maybe I will have time to blog some interesting stuff. I will attend the NUG (Nautel User Group) meeting on Sunday. That should be interesting and fun. If time permits I will look at the interactive and T.V. stuff.
Here’s an interesting article in Radio Magazine. We do this all the time. Technology is just way too much fun sometimes. New Options for Remotes
I was going to link an item I found in Radio World Online, but it seems I get a message “Service is unavailable”. I will try later when I think about it.
Have a good weekend and keep with the me on Twitter: Dragonbill
Tweaks Week
How do I sum up this week? Tweaks!
First is Studio M. Budget did not allow for “sizable” windows when we built it last year. Though I find them satisfactory and they “fit” the space, the talent has other thoughts. We started the process to purchase the improvement. Of course the week ended with the sticker shock which comes outside the mandated budget. Time to start tweaking again. Reduce the size and talk the manufacturer into meeting our cap. Politics and reality just do not mix.
Tweak #2: Orban 8500 updates. Pushed out, finally, the 2.0.8.127 update. Though not needed, I decided it was a good time to keep up to date. Since we had a major change on one station, I took it upon myself to clean up the processing a bit. A tweak here, one there, and all is good. As station #2 is slowly evolving, shall we say, I started the process to tweak theirs to match the new content. I would say success, but dealing with processing is always touchy. Now it’s time to let it sink in and make good.
Coincidentally I chatted with Orban on Thursday as they rolled their RV through town. It was a good chat. Typical sales call with typical equipment. the 8600 is not available and yes, it is cleaner on the highs. With a dual core DSP it has more power behind it to make things happen. I could not resist pointing out that even though they have identical presets running with identical inputs, Band 5 on the 8500 was doing more gain reduction than the 8600. I suspect that the clarity is coming from a de-coupled Band 4 & 5. Just a hunch. The processing power helps, too.
I also learned that I should read my email a bit closer, well, maybe pay closer attention. I accidentally misread and misunderstood a question and request delaying me getting a file out promptly. This caused a 2-day delay. I felt bad. I sent the file anyways even though the manufacturer finally coughed up the requested file and information. I won’t let that happen again!
I’ll post on my processing challenges and maybe some cool links on the age old EQ that I found. Cool stuff.
Have a good weekend!
Wild and Fun
Do you ever get the urge to do something crazy? How about with your own money? Well, that was my week. The result is I am writing this post via a non-traditional mobile device: A Nook Color.
After reading a couple of articles I could not resist: Could I use the Nook as a tablet and manage my equipment remotely. The boys and I headed to B&N and I bought the Nook. Following directions online I installed the “root” and now I have an eReader and mobile Android device. I’ve chosen not to link the websites, but they are easy to find.
By the middle of the week I was accessing the network via VPN and my equipment via VNC and a PC hosting the VNC server. Android devices are supposed to support Adobe Flash, but that doesn’t seem to be the case on this, so I need to run VNC just like an Apple device. The bottom line is I can view and manage the Nautel AUI and other devices!
Other conveniences such as email, twitter, and Facebook are a given. I did try to install Skype. No luck there. I attempted AIM and got one message off before I was no longer able to use the app. I may dig a bit on that since instant messaging is a normal daily activity. Interesting is Google talk works, but only under a single account. I cannot switch between accounts like I can do with email via GMail.
Of courses the week had real work. HVAC quarterly maintenance was in there along with dealing with daily requests. At least I had some good fun with this Nook!
Tech Notes from the Field 