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Radio World

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Robinson Structures a Broadcast Career

Posted: 15 Jun 2022 01:15 PM PDT https://www.radioworld.com/news-and-business/news-makers/robinson-structures-a-broadcast-career


In the ever-changing world of broadcast engineering, competent tower design
and structural safety remain a priority for all terrestrial operators.
Creating safe, long-lasting and effective structures can be a challenge for
any broadcast solutions group.

That’s certainly true for Electronics Research Inc., a familiar name in the niche field of antenna systems design and broadcast tower construction. 

Enter industry veteran John Robinson, P.E. He is a true antenna tower specialist with more than 30 years of experience in this sector. 

In January, Robinson rejoined ERI as its vice president of structural engineering, coming from consulting firm Hodge Engineering, where he had
been principal engineer for the tower group. In his earlier, 23-year tenure
at ERI he was senior engineer of the structural division.

Prompted by the hiring announcement, Radio World caught up with him to
learn about his background and thoughts on this specialized part of our specialized industry.
Safety first

Robinson began his professional journey in 1977, graduating from the
University of Evansville with degrees in civil and mechanical engineering.
He later earned his master’s in mechanical engineering. 

He started out working in the coal industry, designing conveyor systems and storage structures. Later he moved on to designing fire safety systems. 

Robinson was an early user and developer of Fortran software that would
later become the foundation for the widely used tnxTower tower design
platform published by Tower Numerics Inc. This gave him an edge when it
came to understanding how computers could help influence traditional
industrial design processes when developing broadcast radial solutions. 

Beginning in 1985 he started working with the late, legendary engineer
Ernie Jones designing and analyzing towers. In 1994, he first joined ERI, designing and constructing broadcast towers for the company’s Structural Division. 

Over the years Robinson has been directly involved in a number of major
tower site projects, ranging from large AM arrays and very tall structures
in the American Midwest to towers located on building rooftops such as the
4 Times Square complex in midtown New York and the Hancock Building in Chicago. 

Always keeping a mindful watch on safety, Robinson said he has sought to
manage projects with the same methodical approach each time, using industrial-construction best practices combined with cutting-edge software
to achieve efficient results. 

He describes walking a fine tightrope between creating long-lasting,
durable structures while keeping each project ahead of schedule and under budget.

Today he is a registered Professional Engineer in Indiana and 17 other
states. He also is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and
the TIA’s TR-14 Engineering Committee for Structural Standards for Communication and Small Wind Turbine Support Structures.

One major cornerstone of Robinson’s engineering methodology is designing structures that can maximize capacity while staying within safety
parameters for wind load and sheer strength. He prioritizes safety over
speed and said he will never compromise his fundamental training or
instincts, as this can lead to tower crew injury and death. 

[Visit Radio World’s News and Business Page]
Checking it twice

Robinson recommends double and triple checking the output of the software calculations to make sure that everything is in line with the required parameters, minimizing the risk of structural failure. 

This is a core component in line with his training as a structural
engineer. He is also an expert on the latest telecom industry standards and recently helped shepherd companies into the latest ANSI/ASSP A10.48 and TIA-222-H standards.

“Computer software and the use of computer functions are essential to calculate a guyed tower to maintain standard,” he said, especially as the ASCE and TIA update their codes and requirements to meet the shifting
terrain of the industry. 

A thorough understanding of the TIA-222 Standard, specifically the checking
of construction loads on towers, is critical. 

According to Robinson, you can never underestimate factors such as wind loading, guy wire tension and soil composition, as any miscalculation in
these areas can lead to structural failure. 
ERI’s John Robinson, left, verifies the lean of a guyed tower during an intentionally destructive demolition.

Proper antenna installation procedures also need to be followed to the
exact parameter, from gin pole mounting to crane operation, or else the
process can cause instability, tower failure and crew injury and death. 

“Defining responsibilities for everyone on the project is key to
maintaining safety,” he said. “If you’re putting up a gin pole and you’re
going to lift 30,000 pounds, you need to go through all of that to make
sure everyone on the team knows what their specific function is.” 

We asked him how dynamic industry regulations are evolving the face and
shape of the business. 

He says that a variety of factors are changing the way towers are built and regulated, ranging from environment concerns such as impacts on bird populations, usage and demand shifts. 

Robinson feels that with the rapid growth and expansion of cellular
technology, there is less of a need for the traditional tall tower to
broadcast long-range over-the-air signals for television and FM radio. 

However, these technologies remain at the forefront of communication and information during disaster and emergency situations because of their reliability compared to the cell network. And that’s due in part to high standards for tower construction, transmission system redundancy, power generators installed at the transmitter sites and the long distances at
which OTA signals can travel from a single point.
John Robinson verifies mast deviation for a tower drop.

“What do you do when a tornado comes through? You look for your local TV or radio station to get the information,” he noted.

Indeed, this usage scenario is causing regulations to become more stringent
for taller structures, as they remain the most effective line of
communication in a disaster situation. 

According to Robinson, a major challenge is when a company like ERI is
asked to change the structural composition of a tower to accommodate
hardware outside the original scope of its design. 

“When you have to go in and reinforce a tower, it becomes a tedious job, especially if there are a large number of appurtenances on the structure
and the site terrain requires consideration of topographic conditions.” he says. 

It is important for modern structural engineers to understand how to revise loading on guyed towers. Fabrication, material quality and the demands of
each location are also central components of structural reliability. 

“A tower in the Midwest located in Tornado Alley will require different bracing for wind loading than a tower located on a rooftop on the East Coast.” 

Finding the right balance of materials and design will assure proper
structural performance, maintenance and cost.
Good records

We asked if he has recommendations for engineers who may not be entirely up
to speed on the latest tower safety procedures and regulations. 

Robinson says be sure to have copies of your tower structural records and drawings of existing structures available at the main office or transmitter building for easy reference. 

“The most important thing a broadcast station can do is maintain good
records of the antennas, transmission lines and other items that are on a
given tower,” he said.

“The information on file should include weight and wind area and an
accurate record of each item’s location on the tower. If this information
is readily available, it will save time and money when a tower needs to be analyzed for equipment that is being added, replaced or upgraded.

“A tower map is key. The station engineer needs to understand what elements are physically located on the tower and what their operating parameters are.” 

Robinson recommends performing regular visual inspections of the tower and surrounding site. Some warning signs may be right in front of you: a tower
out of plumb or guy wires sagging. Addressing such issues can be crucial to avoiding structural damage or failure. 

Other simple but important issues to watch for include cracked foundation anchors, deteriorating brackets and corroded tower structural components.
Such hazards can be identified easily through visual inspections. “Brilliant”

Looking towards his future at ERI, John Robinson is excited for the
challenges that await him.

ERI’s Structural Engineering Group has four members, two of which are Registered Professional Engineers. He hopes to expand this team, further develop the talent of its personnel and focus on departmental efficiency. 

He feels that quicker turnaround of structural analysis can help increase project performance and improve the quality of customer service. 

While this will be a difficult undertaking, especially as the industry
faces changing regulations and staffing shortages, he has the support of
senior management in this new endeavor. 

“John is a brilliant and highly qualified tower design engineer,” said ERI Vice President of Marketing Bill Harland. 

“His background working for a structural engineering consulting firm, experience designing antenna support spines, structural analysis,
structural reinforcement design and knowledge of fabrication processes and procedures make him an excellent leader of ERI’s Structural Engineering Group.” 

Author Andy Gladding is chief engineer of Salem Radio Network’s New York cluster.

The post Robinson Structures a Broadcast Career appeared first on Radio
World.


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Orban to Support RCS Cloud-based Data Recovery Tool

Posted: 15 Jun 2022 10:34 AM PDT https://www.radioworld.com/tech-and-gear/products/orban-to-support-rcs-cloud-based-data-recovery-tool


Orban has partnered with RCS to provide audio processing for the software companys Disaster Recovery, a Zetta automation feature.

According to RCS website, Disaster Recovery automatically backs up and
uploads a station’s content to the cloud. In cases of emergency, the
feature is designed to get broadcasters back on-air, easily, efficiently
and quickly.

Orban and RCS are both providers; this announcement means a broadcast user
of RCS DR can opt to also use the Orban processing.

Orbans Optimod zStreams processing will run alongside the cloud-based
Disaster Recovery tools to backup all audio, schedules and metadata. RCS is offering this as a “processing as a service” option, the two companies said.

When a station is ready to return to its normal, live output, RCS Disaster Recovery restores all of the original data. The Optimod zStreams processor
is also cloud-based.
zStreams image (photo via Orban)

“Our launch customer for Optimod zStreams needed hundreds of Orban
processing channels to be integrated within the RCS Disaster Recovery platform,” said David Day, Orban’s president, in the announcement. “We already had a strong cloud-based processing platform, Opticloud, and we welcomed the opportunity to adapt it to provide the latest in audio
processing for RCS.

RCS President and CEO Philippe Generali said, “Partnering provides an easy pathway for our customers to access high quality sound demanded from
today’s audience.”

[Check Out More Products at Radio World’s Products Section]

The post Orban to Support RCS Cloud-based Data Recovery Tool appeared first
on Radio World.


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Arcadia Is Relevant for Catholic Network

Posted: 15 Jun 2022 09:54 AM PDT https://www.radioworld.com/tech-and-gear/buyers-guide/arcadia-is-relevant-for-catholic-network


Each month, Radio World’s Buyer’s Guide section looks at new products in a specific category. This month we look at apps for radio technology.

Relevant Radio recently started using Burk’s Arcadia to bring all of its station’s remote control into one place. 

“Arcadia gives our remote engineers direct access to all their sites via their mobile devices and will be very beneficial as we continue to grow and staff our Network Operations Center,” said Andy Disterhaft, senior director of station engineering/operations.
Andy Disterhaft with a rack that contains a Burk ARC Plus Touch remote
control system. He’s holding his smartphone displaying an Arcadia Matrix View.

Relevant Radio is a Catholic network of 195 owned-and-operated and
affiliate stations in the United States, plus a worldwide streaming
presence and mobile app.

Disterhaft said Arcadia has features that are appealing in today’s world of security and staffing. 

“Each user gets their own username and password to access the system. This allows each user or group to be given different privileges,” he said.

“You may want one user to only have access as an Observer, or you may want
to give that user the ability to run some commands, but not others. All of this is within the capabilities of Arcadia. If a staffing change occurs,
it’s as simple as changing one user on the Arcadia server, rather than potentially having to change every site’s username and password.”

[Read More Buyers Guide Reviews Here]

The Arcadia mobile interface lets Relevant Radio create critical views for groups of sites or individual stations. These views present the most
important monitoring and control channels for each site in a graphical
format for use on the staff’s mobile phones and tablets.

“Another great benefit is using the Arcadia NOC software to connect our Network Operations Center to all sites though a single server. Even with a powerful computer, connecting each NOC workstation to 70+ sites would use significant communications and computing resources and take some time to connect to them all. With the Arcadia NOC software, all those connections
are sent on a single data stream from the Arcadia server, putting the load
on the server to do most of the work.”

The post Arcadia Is Relevant for Catholic Network appeared first on Radio World.


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An Open Letter to the FCC: Your Proposed Fee Hikes Are Not Grounded in
Reality

Posted: 15 Jun 2022 09:07 AM PDT https://www.radioworld.com/columns-and-views/guest-commentaries/an-open-letter-to-the-fcc-your-proposed-fee-hikes-are-not-grounded-in-reality


The author of this guest commentary submitted the following as comments to
the FCC and then shared it with Radio World. 

I have been active in the broadcast industry for my entire life; indeed, my first employment in radio was at age 17. I therefore have several decades
of experience to draw upon in offering comments on this proceeding. I have
held management-level positions at several points in my career and have
since 1990 been self-employed as a radio programming consultant.

I work almost entirely with small market stations. With only one exception,
all of my past and current clients serve a population of 500,000 or less. I will therefore focus only on the potential impact to these stations, the
vast majority of which have local or regional ownership, as opposed to the major market stations with national group owners.

My first comment is more general in nature even as it applies to these
smaller stations in a more critical way: I do not believe that the
broadcast industry as a whole has significantly recovered from the pandemic-related economic slowdown of the past two years. Using the Bureau
of Labor Statistics figures for the Consumer Price Index – a reasonable benchmark when determining expenses not only for the general public but
also for business entities – in 2021 the CPI rose by 7% over 2020, which, while significantly higher than the two preceding years (1.4% in 2020 and
2.3% in 2019), is only about half of the average 13% that the ,commission proposes to increase regulatory fees. I therefore suggest that this
proposal is not grounded in reality and, if an increase is approved, it
should be by amounts that are closer to the BLS figures I reference here.

[Related: U.S. Radio Stations Face 13% Fee Hike]

I also observe that, even with the present de minimus threshold of $1,000 exempting the smallest of the small stations that I work with, many have
had difficulty maintaining sufficient advertising revenue to continue operations. Over the two year period ending in March of this year, I
literally lost every client station I had in these small markets because
they went permanently silent and relinquished their licenses.  Many of them served populations higher than 25,000 – the point at which the de minimus threshold becomes meaningless, even under the present fee table – and the combination of expenses and non-exempted FCC regulatory fees was enough to force their balance sheet permanently into the red. I shudder at the idea
of even a Class C AM station, serving a population level placing it in the second tier (under 75,000), going from exempt to just over $1,000 in the
space of a single year. At the upper end of my client base (population
served 150,001 to 500,000) the increase in fees has the same financial
impact as adding a 13th monthly electric bill for the transmitter …
presuming the station has state-of-the-art solid state equipment, which
many small stations do not.

[Read More Guest Commentaries Here]

Simply put, these proposed increases are ignorant of the real world implications on stations’ financial health and if they are approved at
these amounts I strongly suggest that the de minimus threshold be
concurrently trebled, to $3,000. This would bring nearly all AM stations serving under a 500,000 population into exempt status (the exception being Class A, and there are not likely many licensed for that power level which serve so small a population) and nearly all FM stations – except for Class
A, B1 and C3 stations serving more than 150,000 and Class B, C, C0, C1 and
C2 serving more than 75,000 – into exempt status as well.  I believe, given my observations of the aforementioned client stations that failed over the
past two years, that those stations that would still exceed the de minimus threshold will have a significantly better chance at affording these
increased fees due to their potential reach for advertisers.

Therefore, I believe that some combination of a lower increase in
regulatory fees and a higher exemption threshold is in the public interest
by allowing these station to continue operations.

The post An Open Letter to the FCC: Your Proposed Fee Hikes Are Not
Grounded in Reality appeared first on Radio World.


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Best of Show: Inovonics 552 HD Radio Modulation Monitor

Posted: 15 Jun 2022 08:08 AM PDT https://www.radioworld.com/resource-center/awards/best-of-show-awards-nab/best-of-show-inovonics-552-hd-radio-modulation-monitor


We are featuring the products that won the Radio World Best of Show Award
at the recent NAB Show. Winners were chosen by a panel of radio engineers
and RW editorial staff for their innovation, feature set, cost efficiency
and performance in serving the industry. 

For advanced FM and HD Radio signal monitoring, check out this new offering from Inovonics, with which you can simultaneously monitor your off-air FM modulation along with up to four HD Radio channels in real time.

The 552 collects a history of signal parameters and displays HD Radio album artwork, station logos and similar visuals on the remote web interface, a snippet of which is shown in the inset photo. The 552 includes a
BandScanner, real-time clock and full SNMP functionality

Rear-panel alarms constantly check for audio loss, RF loss, multipath and overmodulation, while advanced notifications alert personnel with e-mail or
SMS messaging when any or all of the alarms occur. 


Spectrum graphs include RF baseband, MPX and Left/Right Audio. O-Scope
views for MPX, Pilot, RDS and all audio channels. StationRotation enables
you to monitor up to 30 station presets.

Shown, Josh McAtee, Ben Barber, Sharon Barber, Gary Luhrman, Jim Wood, Paul McLane.
(Credit: Jim Peck)

[Check Out Other Recipients of Radio World’s Best of Show Award]

The post Best of Show: Inovonics 552 HD Radio Modulation Monitor appeared
first on Radio World.


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Read the June 15, 2022 Issue of RW Engineering Extra

Posted: 15 Jun 2022 07:24 AM PDT https://www.radioworld.com/resource-center/digital-editions/read-the-june-15-2022-issue-of-rw-engineering-extra


Get to know ERI’s John Robinson and his world of tower maps, gin poles,
wind loading and visual inspections. Build a customizable thermal sensor
with Buc Fitch. And learn the terminology of three-phase power with Dennis Sloatman.

Radio World Engineering Extra is published six times a year and focuses on topics of interest to technical readers including radio engineers and IT managers. It is edited by award-winning radio engineering veteran Cris Alexander.

Read it here.

The post Read the June 15, 2022 Issue of RW Engineering Extra appeared
first on Radio World.


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WorldDAB Details Technical State of Swiss DAB

Posted: 15 Jun 2022 05:09 AM PDT https://www.radioworld.com/global/worlddab-details-technical-state-of-swiss-dab



As Switzerland moves towards a shutoff of analog FM broadcasting by
year-end 2024, WorldDAB released a factsheet outlining the current state
and future path for digital radio in the country.

The factsheet is a product of WorldDAB’s Automotive Working Group, hybrid radio promoter RadioDNS, and the Swiss digital migration working group AG DigiMig. It is focused on information car manufacturers and aftermarket
radio sellers need to understand about current DAB+ broadcasts in
Switzerland, planned future developments, and expectations for what an
in-car receiver will display on its screen.

WorldDAB stated that the factsheet will help DAB+ radio receiver
manufacturers test their devices for use across Switzerland. Currently, all
new cars in Switzerland are sold with DAB+ receivers, and an effort is
underway to support DAB+ aftermarket devices for older vehicles.

[Read More Global Radio News Here]

Robert Moro, strategic broadcast services manager at Swiss public-service broadcaster SRG SSR, stated: “We as broadcasters need to be as clear as possible what we are broadcasting on DAB+, so that car manufacturers in
turn are sure that the screen in the car is populated with the correct
radio content for the driver. To this end Switzerland is the first market
to release a factsheet of this type this clarity is something which will
move both markets forward and strengthen our collaboration.” Moro chairs
the WorldDAB Aftermarket Devices Group, which commissioned the factsheet.

The five-page factsheet details technical information the DAB ensembles operated by SRG SSR, SwissMediaCast AG, Romandie Médias SA, and digris AG. These range from national networks for the public service broadcaster;
regional networks for Switzerland’s French-, German-, and Italian-language communities; and digris’s DAB “islands” in 17 locales across the country.

The factsheet outlines what content is provided across each ensemble, as
well as the content-agnostic mechanisms and technical channels used to
provide it.

In February 2022, during the Atelier Radiophonique Romand conference for
the francophone Romandy region, Philippe Zahno from AG DigMig reported
that, as of autumn 2021, about 47% of in-car listening was to DAB+ channels.

The Swiss Federal Statistical Office reports that nearly 4.7 million
passenger cars were registered in the country as of 2021. While 99.7% of
all new cars sold in Switzerland in 2021 were equipped with DAB+ radios as standard equipment, it is not clear how many older cars have been upgraded
to receive DAB+.

According to WorldDAB, 99% of major roads in Switzerland, including all
major tunnels, are covered by DAB+ signals.

The post WorldDAB Details Technical State of Swiss DAB appeared first on
Radio World.

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