Industry News

Sure enjoyed the trip down memory lane with Kevin Curran’s story on the Electro-Voice 635A microphone. 

I started in radio back in 1961 at WCCW in Traverse City, Mich., and I remember the day in 1966 when Dave Veldsma of Audio Distributors fame rolled into town with a basket of EV 635A microphones. Dave made the rounds to the various stations in T.C. and sold all but one. 

Years later, EV salesman Greg Silsby came to town to demo the EV Sentry 100A speakers and brought a “squashed” EV 635A with him for show-and-tell. If I recall, Greg said that mic had been squished into the tar parking lot by an 18-wheeler on site at an NAB Show. He plugged it in and demonstrated that it still worked. 

EV was then located in Buchanan, Mich., so we engineers in the state didn’t have far to go to hear the latest offers from EV.

Michael Bradford, CPBE, Broadcast/Audio Services, Jackson, Mich.

Good piece about EV’s 635A. As Paul Harvey used to say, “The Rest of the Story” is about the “Son-of-635A.”

A few years after the EV masters gave us the 635A, they came up with an interesting, upgraded design for TV and radio field ops. It was the RE50. That great technical team took a 635A and placed it inside a rubberized tube for shock mounting, and put a foam and metal screen on top and, violà, the RE50. 

If you were to unscrew the top windscreen, you’d discover a 635A body inside the tube. One basic design, two must-have mics.  

Personally I favor the 635A, it’s lighter and with a windscreen, performs great. But generally, my field mic of choice for the last 50 years has been the RE55. There is no better choice.

Larry Barr

The post Letters: The Buchanan Hammer appeared first on Radio World.

Connectors specialist Neutrik is acquiring a German company, Connex, that specializes in event and installation AV interconnection hardware.

Connex is perhaps best known for its Fiberfox fiber-optic network hardware brand.

A release elaborates, “The [Connex] product portfolio comprises solutions for mobile or stationary applications. These include power distribution systems, fiber-optic solutions, video products, Ethernet components, splitters, patching systems, stage boxes, cabling and measuring devices.”

The post Neutrik Acquires Connex appeared first on Radio World.

The FCC has commenced a hearing proceeding into whether it should renew the license of a radio station that has been silent or operating at unauthorized power levels except for brief periods of time since 2018.

NIA Broadcasting Inc. has been licensee of WSYL(AM) in Sylvania, Ga., since Jan. 22, 2018. Its renewal of license application was flagged by the commission after the Media Bureau raised concerns about the broadcaster’s service to its community of license due to its lack of operation.

The FCC in a Hearing Designation Order and Notice of Opportunity for Hearing released on Tuesday details its findings and defines the upcoming hearing process.

[Read: Miss. LPFM Faces $1,500 Paperwork Fine]

During NIA Broadcasting’s tenure as licensee of WSYL from January 2018, for the balance of the license term ending in 2020, according to the FCC, the station was silent or operated at unauthorized power levels except for brief periods of operations.

“In 2018, WSYL operated for 16 days, presumably at its licensed power level. In 2019, WSYL operated for 270 days, in whole or in part at an unauthorized power level of 500 Watts. In 2020, WSYL operated for two days at an authorized power level of 20 watts,” the FCC concluded.

WSYL is a Class C AM station licensed to operate at 1 kW of power from a site in Sylvania, Ga., according to the FCC’s document. Sylvania is located approximately 200 miles southeast of Atlanta.

NIA Broadcasting filed the station’s renewal application in late 2019, according to the FCC. However, the commission pointed to the station’s extended periods of silence during the proceeding term, which “left [the FCC] unable to find that grant of the renewal application is in the public interest.”

It is not clear from the public record why NIA Broadcasting has operated only sporadically since it assumed the license of WSYL in 2018, but its inactivity nonetheless drew the interest of the FCC at the time of the license renewal request.

According to the FCC’s order: “A broadcast licensee’s authorization to use radio spectrum in the public interest carries with it the obligation that the station must serve its community, providing programming responsive to local needs and interests.”

FCC requirements also include an obligation for radio stations to transmit national level EAS message during times of emergency.

The licensee’s renewal application “has now been designated for hearing before the FCC administrative law judge at a time and place to be specified in a subsequent order,” according to the FCC.

NIA Broadcasting will be provided the opportunity to explain its behavior and convince the FCC it is acting in the public interest. However, it faces some hurdles put in place by the FCC for such cases.

In 2001, the commission cautioned “all licensees that … a licensee will face a very heavy burden in demonstrating that it has served the public interest where it has remained silent for most or all of the prior license term.”

The FCC’s notice of hearing document concludes: “If NIA Broadcasting Inc. fails to file a written appearance within the time specified, or has not filed prior to the expiration of that time a petition to dismiss without prejudice, or a petition to accept, for good cause shown, such written appearance beyond expiration of said 20 days, the captioned application shall be dismissed with prejudice for failure to prosecute.”

The FCC’s hearing notice is available online (MB Docket No. 21-82).

The post AM Station’s Spotty Operational Schedule Puts License at Risk appeared first on Radio World.

Deloitte has created what it calls an “equity imperative.”

What’s the reason for Deloitte’s action? It says it has done so with the goal “of inspiring better understanding, deeper insight, and more meaningful action now toward greater racial equity.”

It is composed of three linked sections that “acknowledge the legacy and realities
of racism in the United States, imagine various potential futures for racial equity
in the United States over the next decade and beyond, and suggest specific
steps leaders can take to promote more equitable outcomes, both in their
organizations and more broadly.”

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The Radio Hall of Fame Nominating Committee is now accepting suggestions for 2021 nominees.

Hurry! The nominations window closes in three weeks.

Suggestions can be made through March 31, 2021, in the following categories:

Longstanding Local/Regional (20 years or more)
Active Local/Regional (10 years or more)
Networks/Syndication (10 years or more)
Longstanding Network/Syndication (20 years or more)
Music Format On-Air Personality
Spoken Word On-Air Personality

Inductees will be honored at the annual Radio Hall of Fame induction ceremony, with plans to be held live in Chicago at a date to be announced later this year.

Radio imaging and production company The Mix Group is a presenting sponsor of the 2021 Radio Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

The Radio Hall of Fame was founded by the Emerson Radio Corporation in 1988. The Museum of Broadcast Communications took over operations of the Hall in 1991.

The Museum of Broadcast Communications is recognizing Radio’s 100th anniversary with a variety of events in 2021, including special tributes and recognition of the many talented men and women who’ve contributed to the medium’s ongoing success.

A 1kw Class C AM serving Sylvania, Ga., is presently dark under a STA.

It’s been dark for a while. In fact, it’s been silent for so long that the station has been designated for a license renewal hearing by the FCC.

As such, Tampa-based owner Neal Ardman has a potential battle on his hands to save the station.

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The FCC has been active in sending out of late Notices of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture with respect to the untimely filing of a license renewal application.

The latest licensee to get a proposed fine? It is the owner of a Class A noncomm in Iowa used by a station housed at Maharishi International University.

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Entercom Communications on March 5 signed off on Amendment No. 6 to an October 17, 2016, credit agreement it struck with JPMorgan Chase Bank.

Specifically, Entercom is amending the financial covenant set forth in Section 7.09 of the agreement.

What will this accomplish?

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Last month KSGF(FM), a Summit Media station in Springfield, Mo., purchased and installed a Nautel GV10 analog FM transmitter.

Vice President of Engineering Dennis Sloatman said he installed the transmitter without a hitch. It went live on Feb. 27. Sloatman says he has installed seven Nautel FM transmitters in recent years — ranging from a VS1 to a GV40.

[See Our Who’s Buying What Page]

He said he likes them for their ease of installation, remote interface, reliability and tech support.

Sloatman explains, “Engineering at Nautel has covered all the bases with the rich feature set and clean layout. We will continue purchasing Nautel products for all our transmitter needs.”

Send news for Who’s Buying What to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post KSGF Adds New Nautel Transmitter appeared first on Radio World.

A special meeting of Comscore Inc. shareholders is now over. And, the results of the Tuesday event are now known.

It’s good news for one of America’s biggest MVPDs and internet service providers.

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