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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!
Enco Padapult & Audemat FMB80
So here’s the deal with Padapult. After talking with Audemat regarding sending RDS updates via Ethernet it was decided to go with a TCP connection using Port 23, Telnet. We are on a closed, so no problem. Send the PS_Text= to the IP address of the FMB80 using port 23 and all is good. It works. All is better. BUT WAIT! Nothing after a day, or half day, or random time. Shoot a whole weekend without issue and then nothing? What up?
We run a packet capture on the monitor port for the Padapult computer. We document that the RDS is being sent properly. As it works we see the data is spit out. Shoot, it’s only ASCII text. Then we notice that it stops. The Padapult software says it sends the data. The packet capture shows nothing from the source IP, Padapult computer. So the application shows it sends the data, but the computer is not sending the data. Now what? We restart the application and all is good to go again. Something is up with Padapult, that is certain. Enco does it again!
We run 3 instances of Padapult on one computer. We send PSD (formerly PAD) data to the HD Exporters, we send RDS data to the FMB80’s, and we send twitter updates. The PSD and twitter updates work continuously, but that RDS data is flakey. If we check the initialize connection on each send the RDS data does not fly at all, so that option is a wash.
We will continue to bash it until we find something tangible. It is annoying and we may go back to a serial transport which seemed to work just fine.
DAD Padapult & RDS via Ethernet
Working yesterday to use an alternate path for RDS data while our Moseley STL transmitter is being repaired, I decided to take advantage of our HD Ethernet connections to our various transmitter sites. The big question was how to make the Audemat FMB-80 boxes accept the data and what to tell the Padapult what to send.
Surprise, surprise, we researched the FMB-80 manual and found that it wants to see commands using UDP port this or that. OK, we tried. We tried to make the Padapult send those “commands”. We researched the Enco forums for information. Everything was not quite right. What are you people thinking, it must be easier than that!
A quick call to Audemat and I ask Tony, “what’s the easiest, simple way to do the Ethernet data feed?” Lo and behold I get the simple answer. Do not use UDP port this and that and all the fun complex stuff! Set the Padapult up to send to the IP address of the RDS box using port 23! Genius! We telnet in to service/check the FMB-80, why not use the same port to send these commands. We are also on a closed network, so security is not and issue. Set up the Padapult to send the following command: PS_Text= and fill in the stuff like [Title] by [Artist] on KZZZ and add the carriage return [013]. The carriage return is a must for the FMB-80 to interpret the “end” of the line. I add a line feed, too.
No we have the RDS information there like before. Sure we lose some of the cool things that the FMB-80 can do when it gets commands like stop scrolling the song information when the duration is complete, but we do not need that, now. You can even add the Radio_Text command this way. Simple and easy, just the way I like it.
Week of Fun
So you all saw the updates of the week via Tweets. Some also have seen the latest post regarding the STL. Here is a summary of stuff that will help those troubleshooting (STL) and planning (software updates) in the coming weeks.
1. The STL. The symptoms were quite surprising on the Moseley aural STL. We noticed the failure via audio drop outs. It was somewhat periodic, too, which was quite interesting. As we had planned to drop the system to 32 quam from 64 quam to make it more robust in the first place, we began to do that from the far end (receivers at transmitter sites) back to the near end (studios). No bit errors were being received at the transmitter site, so there was no real need to worry, yet the problem was there. When we got to the transmitter at the studio, and after visiting the mid-point, we noticed the issue after making our Quam adjustment.
As we are running 32 Quam now, an issue like this will not show itself unless you are diligent on routine maintenance. Now we are going to schedule monthly tests of the backup STL system by placing it on air for at least 1 hour. We will also make sure we check the units themselves for any parameters out of range.
2. Harris HTHD+: Amazingly this thing will drop when you least expect it. After spending a better part of the day Friday with tech support we are experimenting with the Exgine buffer. The premise is the buffer is overflowing or having some issue causing a system restart. During the restart RF is muted. I will know more tomorrow when I hit the site and see how are buffer is doing after doing recommended adjustments to buffer timing. If we remain unlocked, then we are looking at some issue. If it is a data stream issue, then we may have something up with our Intraplex STL. It would be odd if this was our issue and I would conclude that the Flexstar processing system and Exgine would need some sort of overhaul. On a side note it also shows how critical a good network path to the transmitter site is for iBiquity HD radio. Nuts considering many transmitter sites have little or no network access.
3. UPSs (Uninterruptible Power Supplies): Never purchase a consumer grade UPS even if it is a “true” UPS. If possible purchase an online UPS large enough to handle the plant or a section thereof. I have 15 more batteries to replace in the next day or two. They are running my budget up and it is killing me. It is worth the money to protect your systems, but a maintenance nightmare. Try to keep it simple.
4. Remote Controls: More monitoring is a definite requirement for major markets. Reliable, too. I need something reliable, versatile, and flexible. Will it be Davicom, Audemat, Burk, or Statmon? I am tending towards Statmon, but the cost may be too steep. I’ll keep you posted on my progress on this one.
Enough rambling, back to more fun!
Tech Notes from the Field 