“Last American DJ in Tehran” is a new biography of Ted Anthony, an American radio DJ who became a popular voice in Iran in the years before the 1979 Iranian Revolution.

Author Bruce Bahmani describes Tehran of the 1970s as “a vibrant, cosmopolitan metropolis humming with tension, cultural collisions and unforgettable music.” He says Ted Anthony’s morning show “connected Americans living abroad, introduced international music and culture to Iranian audiences, and provided companionship to a generation that would soon witness one of the twentieth century’s most significant political transformations.”

The book is available in paperback ($26.95) and eBook ($11.99) on Amazon. We asked Bahmani about it.

Radio World: What is this book about?

Bruce Bahmani: “Last American DJ in Tehran” is the true story of Ted Anthony, aka Ted Zawislak, an American radio DJ who became an unlikely cultural ambassador in 1970s Iran, forging friendships and memories that survived revolution, exile and nearly half a century of political division. 

Through extensive interviews, historical research, and personal recollections, “Last American DJ in Tehran” reconstructs a vanished world and demonstrates how one radio personality unexpectedly became a bridge between two nations.

RW: What drew you to this story and how did you learn about Ted Anthony?

Bahmani: I was one of the many teenagers living in Tehran when Ted was there. We used to go to school and listen to Ted on the bus radio. At night, we would listen to Wolfman Jack, on weekends Casey Kasem’s Top 40, and we also listened to the late-night “CBS Radio Hour,” the daily comedies “Chicken Man” and “The Tooth Fairy,” and all the wonderful programs Ted curated for the expatriate American and foreign audiences living and working in Tehran then.  

RW: What made him successful in that time and context?

Bahmani: Ted gave Americans and foreigners a taste of home, personalizing the experience of living in a foreign country and making it interesting. 

His daily “Fractured Farsi Lesson” taught his audience common and funny Farsi phrases they could use in day-to-day interactions with Iranians. This made the relationship between host and guest much more enjoyable. 

Iranian listeners also loved Ted because they knew he loved and cared about their country.

RW: It seems that this work is as much about a place and time as about a person. If Iran is a foreign country for most of our readers, the Tehran of the 1970s may seem impossibly unfamiliar. What should they know about it?

Bahmani: Above all, during the time Ted was there in the 1970s, Iran and especially Tehran was THE place to be in the Middle East. 

Iranians and Americans loved each other, and there was none of the stress we have seen since 1979 when the radical shift to the Islamic Republic changed the relationship. 

Americans went to steakhouses, pizza parlors, Big Boy, (great) Mexican food, movies and bowling, enjoying what could only be described as a great life — enjoying the best of Iran, and not really missing much from back home.

In my book, you learn about the amenities Americans enjoyed, the U.S.-Iran relationships, and cultural programs like the Iran-America Society putting on Christmas white elephant sales, concerts and musicals, including “The Music Man” and “Godspell.”

Museums curated Iranian and American art together, and even Andy Warhol brought his famous Marilyn exhibit to Tehran. There were five Boy Scouts of America Troops, and kids played all four levels of Little League baseball. 

I am one of a very few who completed my Eagle Scout requirements while in Tehran.

RW: How did listeners react to hearing American radio formats and English-language DJ banter in Tehran?

Bahmani: Ted was above all very funny, and made his shows entertaining. His personal touch in connecting with his English-speaking American and foreign audiences also extended to Iranians who understood English and had lived and gone to college in the U.S. 

Iran was a very English/American-friendly country. Shops often used English signage, and all Tehran street signs were in English and Farsi. The first foreign language any Iranian wanted to learn was English.

RW: Is the revolutionary period part of the story you cover? 

Bahmani: No. The book ends when Ted leaves the country just as the revolution was imminent. I purposely wanted to limit the story to the time before the revolution, because we all know what has happened since, and how things have turned out. 

What we don’t know, or have forgotten, is how things were. Precisely because of the way things used to be, I wanted the book to stand as an optimistic testament to how they could be again.

RW: What was the most surprising thing you learned or realized in researching and writing this?

Bahmani: The sheer amount of amazing Americana and American history I researched, to trace Ted’s journey from childhood, through the many radio stations across America where he worked as a radio DJ or host. I think American readers these days will enjoy being reminded about our wonderful past. 

I learned about the history of companies that built entire towns for their workers, the significance and scale of the American labor union movement, and how Wrigley became a quintessential American success story from selling chewing gum. 

I learned how Westclox brought affordable pocket watches that tamed the Wild West. And then they invented the Snooze alarm! I learned that the “Minute Man” hamburger chain invented the microwave, and the “Happy Meal,” and that the founder flew to Tehran to personally cook the favorite burgers of a young American woman who lived and worked in Tehran, because she wrote her mother that she missed them. 

There are many stories like this in the book. With pictures!

RW: What happened to Ted Anthony later?

Bahmani: Ted is alive and well, and lives in Indiana. He is sharp as a tack, and more importantly, his voice still sounds great!

RW: What else should we know?

Bahmani: The book is for anyone interested in what it was like to be a working radio DJ in the US during the 1950s ’60s and ’70s, and how the profession of being a radio personality impacted U.S.-Iran relations in the most positive way anyone could ever imagine.

Read more stories like this in our News Makers section.

The post Book Tells Story of the “Last American DJ in Tehran” appeared first on Radio World.

Norman Feuer, a longtime broadcaster and executive whose career in radio spanned more than five decades, died Oct. 19 following a three-year battle with dementia. He was 88.

Feuer worked in advertising, marketing and management. He had multiple successful tenures as a station owner.

“Norman had a way of connecting with people from all walks of life, treating everyone with dignity and respect, regardless of their position or circumstances,” his family shared in an obituary.

Feuer began his media career in research and documentation at major New York advertising agencies, including Kelly, Nason; Benton & Bowles; and Needham, Harper & Steers.

He later served as a marketing associate at Life magazine before transitioning into radio sales with CBS Radio Spot Sales and Katz Radio.

In 1971, Feuer moved into station management as vice president and general manager of WLYF(FM) in Miami and WLAK(FM) in Chicago, commuting between the two markets. He would then serve as owner and president of Force Communications and general manager of KBZT(FM), “K-Best,” in San Diego.

As president of Viacom Radio from 1983 to 1985, Feuer oversaw eight stations across six major markets. During his tenure, he led the transformation of New York country station WKHK(FM) into adult contemporary powerhouse WLTW(FM), which grew into one of the most profitable radio stations in the nation.

Feuer subsequently served as executive vice president and chief operating officer of Noble Broadcast Group, overseeing 18 stations in 10 markets. He went on to become COO of Pourtales Radio Partnership, managing 23 stations across six markets.

From 1995 to 1999, Feuer served as president and chief executive officer of Triathlon Broadcasting, leading the publicly traded company as it expanded to 32 radio stations in mid-sized and smaller markets. Capstar acquired Triathlon in 1999 for $200 million.

From 1999 to 2003, Feuer served as COO and board director of First Media Works, providing website design, hosting, content, publishing tools and training to approximately 1,500 radio stations. He also pursued station ownership through JMJ, formerly Feuer/McCord Communications, acquiring FM stations in Amarillo, Texas, and Topeka, Kan.

Later in his career, Feuer served as vice president and market manager for Clear Channel Radio in Jacksonville, Fla., and as market manager for Morris Communications’ cluster in Palm Springs, Calif. From 2012 to 2014, he served as vice president and general manager of Broadcast Companies of America in San Diego, overseeing XEPRS(AM), XHPRS(FM) and XEPE(AM).

XEPRS, “The Mighty 1090,” rose from 17th place to number one in the 25–54 ratings demographic during his tenure, according to his obituary. He also brought back the popular “Scott and BR Show.”

Beyond his station management roles, Feuer served on the boards of directors of the Radio Advertising Bureau and the National Radio Broadcasters Association.

Feuer is survived by his three children: Justin, Brian and Melinda, as well as two grandsons, Justin and Jesse.

Radio World welcomes letters to the editor on this or any story. Email radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post Radio Veteran Norman Feuer Dies at 88 appeared first on Radio World.

Read Dan’s first feature in the series, “It’s the People Who Craft a Career in Radio,” his second, “In New Philadelphia, the ‘L’ in LPFM Stands for Local,” his third, “This LPFM Fills a Rock Music Format Void,” his fourth, “So You Have an LPFM Station. Now What Do You Do With It?“ his fifth, “This Low-Power FM Gets a Whole Lot of Bark Out of Its Signal,” and his sixth, “Choosing the Right Broadcast Gear for Your LPFM.”

Thanks for following along on The Rock Dog’s journey. As you might recall, the station launched with a beautiful old BBC production board, a Soundcraft RM1ds. But at 26 years old, it was time for a replacement.

After evaluating some excellent consoles and technology on the market today, I chose to go with Wheatstone/AudioArts.

I’ve had great success with their products in the past, and after a couple of phone calls, decided the AudioArts DMX8 was the right size and fit for our station. By adding the DMX remote virtual console software, we can remote-control the board during field events without needing anyone back at the studio.

For small-market stations running lean and mean, the more you can leverage technology to minimize needed hands without impacting the listener experience, the better off you are. This isn’t to say on-air personalities should be replaced with AI.

But as a tech junkie, I’m going to find every way to make a station efficient to operate while preserving that authentic live sound many of us grew up with.

While helping launch several stations over the past decade, I’ve found it increasingly difficult to reach an actual on-air personality. Being old school, I consider direct listener interaction essential. A lack of connection creates a real disconnect, which is why I use technology to make interactions between our listeners and the station as seamless as possible.

A live remote with real people out in the field is more critical today than ever. The nice thing is that if you’re doing live remotes, you might be the only station in your market still doing so.

If there’s an opportunity to promote and participate in a community event in rural Ohio, The Rock Dog is there. That visibility and active local presence makes a world of difference.

Because we need to be everywhere with a small volunteer staff, making the station self-sufficient was important. Combining software like Splashtop, Wheatstone’s DMX remote surface and remote access to our BSI Simian automation allows us to control the entire station from anywhere.

Using two Microsoft Surface touchscreens, we run Simian on one screen while operating the Wheatstone DMX8 remotely on the second screen.

Since cellular coverage can be unpredictable in rural areas, we added a backup internet setup using our own Starlink terminal paired with a 10-hour battery pack. While 5G through our cellular provider remains our primary connection, Starlink ensures we have no geographic limitations on where we can broadcast from.

AoIP in the studio and transmitter rack

Our transmitter rack was also updated to prepare for future expansions. Below the Nautel VS300LP transmitter, we reserved space for our next major upgrade.

A new Wheatstone Neuron sits midway down the rack, while an Omnia Volt is held in reserve.

A Digital Alert Systems DASDEC III handles EAS duties, and a Wheatstone DUOstream handles stream encoding and processing. The network switch here feeds public internet rather than our internal WheatNet-IP network. The lowest two rack positions are reserved for upcoming 208-volt and 120-volt UPS units.

Beneath the console in the main studio sits our new WheatNet-IP rack. It houses the DMX8 engine, Voice1 processor, a Cisco WheatNet-IP switch, a Wohler cue monitor (analog and AES), four mini PCs and our primary automation computer.

Each computer in the studio rack serves a role:

• Primary Automation: A Dell runs our main BSI Simian automation system. It includes two network interface cards, with one as a WheatNet-IP driver for multichannel audio routing to the Cisco switch.
• Automation Testbed: A second mini Dell runs a secondary instance of Simian for testing software updates and uses a single-channel WheatNet audio driver.
• Remote & Web Research: A third mini Dell serves as our web research PC for on-air talent. It uses an external Focusrite Scarlett audio interface to route audio into the WheatNet engine and remains on the public network.
• Voice-Tracking & Production: A fourth mini Dell handles remote voicetracking via Simian Remote and general production in Adobe Audition. This machine uses a Focusrite Scarlett interface operating in AES mode for input and output to the Wheatstone engine.
• Engineering PC: A fifth mini Dell acts as our engineering station. With dual NICs, it allows remote support from Wheatstone tech engineers while viewing the WheatNet-IP network for configuration and monitoring.

A rack-mounted UPS at the bottom of the studio rack powers the surface and engine for around 30 minutes in the event of a power outage.

On-air results

Replacing our analog wiring and old Soundcraft board was an enjoyable project that required pre-planning and contingency design.

Our single studio was off the air for three days. During the cutover, the station ran off my laptop running a secondary copy of Simian connected to an external hard drive containing a 1 TB backup of our entire audio library.

Production and voicetracking were completed in advance, and we maintained a backup rig using a Rode Podcaster microphone to go live if necessary.

The cutover resulted in minimal, virtually invisible disruption to our listeners. Shortly after bringing the new system online, we received unsolicited feedback from listeners praising how clean the stereo imaging sounded and how our signal seemed to jump off the dial.

Those are the comments every engineer loves to hear, especially when watching our Inovonics 541 modulation monitor peaks tap 105%.

While I was pleased with our previous processing setup, updating to the Wheatstone Neuron beat my expectations.

Every processor carries its own sonic signature, but Wheatstone hit a home run with the Neuron.

The upgraded AoIP architecture is far more flexible than our traditional system. I was amazed by how much legacy hardware we pulled out of the rack that simply isn’t needed with WheatNet-IP, including four distribution amplifiers, multiple A/D and D/A converters and external GPIO trigger boxes.

This was my second WheatNet-IP installation, having worked on a system at KKXT(FM) in Dallas about 15 years ago.

Doing the hands-on installation myself this time, I found that even with thorough planning, configuring the routing required some technical guidance.

Fortunately, Steve, Trey, John, Rose and Jeff from Wheatstone technical support were exceptionally patient and helpful in getting our routing finalized quickly.

[Read more of Dan’s “Building Radio” series.]

The post An Ohio LPFM Jumps Off the Dial With a Total Studio Revamp appeared first on Radio World.

Nexus Broadcast has reopened.

The Texas-based broadcast engineering and FCC filing firm is owned by Leo Ashcraft, who closed it 12 years ago for health and business reasons.

“It returns today as a different kind of firm: one that writes its own engineering and station software, and uses it to handle more stations, more filings and more questions, for less money, than it ever could before,” Ashcraft wrote in the announcement.

It covers full-power FM and AM, LPFM, FM translators and full-power, Class A and low-power TV.

Nexus also builds station websites and apps, hosts streams and offers monthly engineering plans that put an engineer on call.

In an article on its website, Ashcraft wrote about wanting to bring Nexus back.

“The work never stopped mattering to me. What stopped was my ability to do all of it by hand, every hour of the day. My health set the limit, and the old way of running an engineering firm needed more of me than I had,” he wrote.

“I’m coming back smarter about how I work. The software carries the load I used to carry myself, and that means I can say yes to more stations than I ever could before.”

He said the company’s RF Navigator broadcast study software runs on its RF Workbench platform. It performs station studies from FCC data and drafts the engineering exhibits from the finished study, with modules for FM translators and LPFM second-adjacent waivers, full-power FM, AM (day, night and critical hours), and TV (full-power, Class A, LPTV and translators). A demo is at rfnavigator.com.

The company also provides free tools on its site. These include a filing window tracker, station and call sign lookups, spare call signs, pending FM applications, an LPFM directory and self-inspection checklist, HAAT and U/D calculators, FCC propagation curves, tower and FAA checks, FM RF exposure, ETRS deadlines and FCC filing fees.

The Nexus website is nexusbroadcast.com.

Ashcraft is also a licensed amateur radio operator, W5PRO. His ham site is w5pro.com and it too has free tools for operators.

The post Leo Ashcraft Reopens Nexus Broadcast appeared first on Radio World.

Inovonics is highlighting that its receiver technology is now available inside an FM transmitter.

It partnered with Broadcast Electronics to build its SDR-based FM and HD Radio tuner as an option into the new BE MTX Compact transmitter platform, where it feeds translators without an outboard receiver.

As we reported last week, BE introduced the MTX at NAB Show New York.

The optional MTX Tuner Module rides in the transmitter’s Content Gateway, which is BE’s framework for running content hardware and software in the MTX rather than in separate boxes.

“The module carries the tuner technology from Inovonics’ receiver line: a sensitive SDR-based front end, metering of off-air reception, streaming for multiple remote listeners, extensive alarm options and multi-level password protection,” Inovonics noted.

“Engineers can check reception from any web-enabled device, whether PC, tablet or smartphone.”

At a translator site the module serves as the audio input. At other MTX installations it adds confidence monitoring without a separate box, a separate IP address or separate rack space.

Inovonics President/CEO Ben Barber noted that rack space can be in short supply at translator sites. “Having the tuner built into the transmitter streamlines the setup and saves space while providing the full-time monitoring and alarm features that keep stations on the air.”

The post Inovonics Partners With BE on Tuner Option appeared first on Radio World.

If you handle network security duties for your radio station or work with someone in IT, you know this past week was bumpy.

After news of a critical PHP security flaw started to trickle out Wednesday, administrators began pulling affected websites and web infrastructure offline to protect their networks. An estimated 70% of all websites run on some form of the PHP programming language.

Software engineer Jeff Geerling knows open-source software such as PHP better than just about anyone. Radio World asked him to put the flaw, PHP2Shell, in perspective.

“More than half the internet, at least in terms of public services, runs on PHP,” Geerling told Radio World. “And millions of routers, device backends and embedded tools also use PHP, though many of those are protected by not exposing that interface over the public internet.”

This was a big deal. And speaking at its AI Tour event in Germany, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said of the PHP vulnerability: “I’ve not seen anything like this in a long, long time.”

Making matters worse, it was not the only security headache triggered this week.

An eMudhra intermediate certificate compromise could allow attackers to forge certificates and bypass web encryption, particularly on devices that are updated infrequently.

“This vulnerability was so bad, and the reason for its existence so embarrassing, the company involved already abandoned that part of their business,” Geerling said.

Meanwhile, Node.js, the widely used JavaScript application runtime, patched 10 separate security issues this week and urged administrators to update immediately.

The aftermath leaves a whole lot of cleanup.

“The next few weeks and months will be stressful as everyone tries to update firmware and backend systems on networks that remain wide open if someone breaches the LAN (local area network),” Geerling predicted.

Not just a dinosaur

If you worked with websites even in the 1990s, you probably remember PHP. It’s still around.

Many in software development would consider it a “dinosaur language,” but it remains prominent as a server-side scripting tool. PHP is found in WordPress and that content management system is relied on by an estimated 40% of websites.

The core issue that was revealed publicly this past week centers on what’s known as an out-of-memory buffer corruption. If triggered at the right moment, an unauthorized user can execute code with application-level privileges, leaving the target machine, typically a web server, compromised.

According to reporting from CNN, this particular PHP vulnerability was uncovered in 2004 when security researcher Stefan Esser sent a warning about the flaw. It went ignored, according to CNN, because of just how arduous it would have been for humans to formulate a patch.

But that’s where AI enters the story.

And teams at OpenAI and two cybersecurity firms uncovered the vulnerabilities over the summer using AI-based discovery tools. The PHP Foundation, which maintains the open-source language, had been actively coordinating a security patch. According to the foundation’s blog, however, technical details leaked on social media on Tuesday, forcing the project to issue an early warning.

Because a software distributor published elements of the patch before the coordinated release, potential attackers could access the fix while users were still waiting for updates.

“This disregarded weeks of work by many parties toward a coordinated disclosure,” the PHP foundation wrote.

As a result, a few companies noticed attempts against their infrastructure before the public release, Geerling told us. Modern AI-assisted tools — the other side of AI in this story — were likely able to find ways to exploit the flaw just based on rumors and bug reports, Geerling suggested.

No successful intrusions from the flaw have been confirmed, according to TechBrew, but exploit attempts jumped from thousands prior to the disclosure to millions by Wednesday night, according to data from Cloudflare.

Can our defenses keep up?

What could be running in your station’s plant that incorporates PHP?

Virtually any device featuring a browser-based management portal, including audio processors, codecs and transmitters, relies on an internal web server. As a result, PHP code may sit inside that hardware.

And here’s Geerling’s primary takeaway for technology managers: Be vigilant.

“Make sure any device you run is at minimum protected by your corporate firewall,” Geerling said. “No internal devices, especially critical airchain equipment, should be accessible on the public internet.”

Geerling advises engineers to subscribe to vendor security mailing lists and software update feeds. Where automated notifications are unavailable, stations should maintain an inventory checklist of any equipment running a web interface or remote-access portal, routinely checking manufacturer websites for firmware updates.

As we are reporting separately, manufacturers are moving to patch their products as the vulnerability is actively targeted.

But a public-facing platform is even more of a target. That could mean your station’s own website, or it could be an online scheduling tool your station developed on its own that your staff uses.

If those tools rely on any form of PHP, it’s time to take them offline for some emergency maintenance if you haven’t already. The PHP Foundation released patches for multiple PHP versions you can install here.

AI helped uncover this security flaw, but as Geerling pointed out, the widespread availability of AI tools also means attackers can condense what once took months of exploit development into a matter of days.

“A year or two ago, attackers were shooting the equivalent of digital arrows at our services,” Geerling said. “Today, I’d say we’re dealing with cruise-missile capabilities. The question is whether our defenses can keep up.”

Limiting exposure remains the best defensive measure.

“The best option is always to remove access where unnecessary,” Geerling said. “If you have a tower site exposed to the internet that is accessible without a VPN, you can bet automated scanners already have it on their list of potential targets.”

FBI guidance

To put in perspective the severity of this week’s threat, the FBI urged organizations to take immediate protective measures.

If an immediate update is not feasible, the FBI recommends taking affected systems offline until mitigations can be applied:

• Update PHP installations: Immediately deploy official patches following guidance on php.net. Inventory all environments running PHP, prioritizing internet-facing systems and third-party vendor products.
• Monitor web traffic: Watch web servers for unusual behavior, including PHP processes unexpectedly executing commands or initiating outbound file downloads. Implement endpoint and process-monitoring tools to spot unauthorized execution.
• Isolate and report intrusions: If indicators of compromise appear, isolate affected machines from the network immediately, preserve all web server and PHP access logs and report the incident to a local FBI field office or through the Internet Crime Complaint Center.

[Do you receive the Radio World SmartBrief newsletter each weekday morning? We invite you to sign up here.]

The post How to Protect Your Radio Station From PHP2Shell appeared first on Radio World.

The Society of Broadcast Engineers chose John-Erick M. Rempillo to receive its Facility Innovation of the Year Award for a project called “Testing Kit on the Go: E-waste Back to Power.”

John-Erick is senior SNG/transmitter technologist for the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. He holds CPBE certification from the Society of Broadcast Engineers and is also a Registered Professional Electronics Engineer in the Philippines.

He designed a portable kit to test, troubleshoot and repair switching power supplies in CBC’s NV and VS series Nautel transmitters, without actually needing to go to a transmitter site. Packed in a case, it includes an AC power plug cable, digital voltmeter, interlock circuit and adjustable DC voltage regulator for biasing.

“Testing and troubleshooting switching power supplies at sites can be risky because it may affect critical on-air systems,” he told us. “I realized the need for a safer and more efficient way to diagnose these units before returning them to service.”

The concept and development work were his own. Nautel provided valuable technical reference and guidance.

“The testing kit does not guarantee that every repair will be successful,” he told us.

“There are still limitations, such as complex circuitry, damaged components, parts identification and the experience level of the technician. However, its biggest value is that it empowers engineers and technicians to perform bench-level troubleshooting and fault validation without risking live transmitter systems.”

For example, during fault isolation, the problem might be something simple, such as a blown fuse. Instead of replacing an entire power supply that may cost around $1,500, a simple repair costing less than $25 could bring the unit back to service.

And once the kit became operational, he also remembered several faulty switching power supplies that had been sitting unused in a storage area for years. He wondered, “Instead of allowing them to become e-waste, why not give them a second life?”

He used his portable testing kit to diagnose and restore these units back to working condition.

In 2025, the project restored five modules in Toronto, saving an estimated $7,500 in procurement costs and reducing electronic waste. Congrats, John-Erick!

Tell the factory

On a related note, when you acquire a Nautel transmitter, don’t forget to register it with the factory. That goes for units that you buy used, as well as new ones.

“When a used transmitter is purchased, it may still be registered to the former owner, and that can delay the support process,” said John Wilton, Nautel head of customer service, in a reminder email sent around by the company.

“Likewise, transmitters purchased through dealers may not automatically be registered to the end user. Keeping your ownership information up to date helps ensure we can quickly identify your equipment and provide timely support.”

A form is available on Nautel’s support website to facilitate transfer of registration.

Stay well-grounded

Larry Wilkins, director of engineering services for the Alabama Broadcasters Association, notes that a Texas station recently took a direct lightning strike at its transmitter site, virtually destroying everything inside the building. 

“While complete protection is impossible, engineers should take every practical step to keep lightning from reaching station equipment,” Larry wrote in the ABA’s engineering newsletter.

“A ground system is not a one-time installation that can be forgotten. Engineers should inspect the entire system regularly to ensure all connections remain secure and that any additions follow the approved grounding plan.”

He said that a proper ground system involves bonding all the devices such as equipment, racks, transmission lines, etc. in the building together with a 4-inch copper strap. Junctions should be joined with proper solder and then taken outside with one strap to a “master ground rod.” 

That rod should be a minimum of 10 feet, driven down below ground level. 

“The connection to the ground rod should be made using exothermic welding, often called cad welding,” Larry wrote.

“This process involves creating a permanent bond between metals, typically using a chemical reaction that generates heat, also referred to as thermite welding. Bring the tower ground strap to this same ground point. Never use a compression type of connection on ground systems.”

Larry said it’s best to have a licensed electrician install a properly sized surge protector and power conditioner to the master incoming power feed. The ground from these units should be tied in the master system as well.

“The theory here is that during a lightning surge, the ground can rise to over 5,000 volts. However, when all the equipment is bonded together correctly, the difference in potential between devices is still zero.”

And don’t forget to ground all guy lines properly at a point before the line enters the turnbuckles at the anchors.

Know thy rigging

Engineers should know as much as possible about the towers they work around, even if their employer doesn’t own the steel.

Arizona-based Tower Safety offers instruction and training in rigging, climbing, rescue and installation. 

At the website, click on the “Resources” tab to learn about the “Tower Rigging Lab 2.0.” It can help you visualize the physics of safe lifting and understand why forces behave the way they do. It provides simulations to help visualize load paths, vector forces, pulley reactions and resultant loads using interactive engineering models.

Radio World welcomes letters to the editor on this or any story. Email radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post Testing Kit Helps Diagnose Troubled Supplies appeared first on Radio World.

The New York State Broadcasters Association inducted seven radio and TV personalities into its Hall of Fame during a ceremony Thursday at the Rainbow Room in New York City.

The Class of 2026 spans major-market news operations and regional community stations across the Empire State.

“From the biggest stage in America to the outstanding communities of Rochester, Glens Falls and Binghamton, these seven individuals have earned the trust of their audiences every single day,” said Heidi Raphael, NYSBA president and executive director, in a release.

The 2026 inductees are:

• Pete Cloutier, WCKM(FM), Glens Falls
• Bob Krummenacker, WBNG(TV), Binghamton
• Dan Miner, WCKM(FM), WCQL(FM), WWSC(AM/FM) and WDKM(FM), Glens Falls
• Bill Ritter, WABC(TV), New York City
• Sid Rosenberg, WABC(AM), New York City
• Chuck Samuels, WHAM(TV), Rochester
• Rosanna Scotto, WNYW(TV), New York City

Ed Levine served as Hall of Fame chairman and emcee for the event.

[Visit Radio World’s News and Business Page]

The post New York State Broadcasters Association Inducts Seven Into Hall of Fame appeared first on Radio World.

NAB announced yesterday that SMPTE will be moving its annual SMPTE Summit to NAB Show New York starting in 2027. The two events, which are held in October and November — and on opposite coasts, respectively — will now take place in Manhattan.

The SMPTE Summit will take place Sept. 28-30, with the NAB Show New York occurring Sept. 29-30.

It has traditionally been held over four days with the 2026 SMPTE Summit taking place Nov. 16-19 in Pasadena; the 2027 event is being cut back one day. Both will take place at the Javits Center. This marks the first time SMPTE has held its summit on the east coast since 2005.

The announcement was made at the conclusion of NAB Show New York, which ended Thursday at the Javits Center.

NAB reported initial attendance of just over 6,700 attendees, compared to 11,500 at the 2025 event (NAB says further details will be shared in the coming weeks).

About 57% attended for the first time, with participants from 72 countries. Approximately 250 exhibitors and sponsors showcased tools and technologies.

This story initially ran in TV Tech, sister brand to Radio World.

[Do you receive the Radio World SmartBrief newsletter each weekday morning? We invite you to sign up here.]

The post NAB Show NY Wraps Up, Logging 6,700 Attendees appeared first on Radio World.

Broadcast Software International — No impact on software in the field, according to Sales Manager Marie Summers

Burk Technology — Its products are not affected, according to Chuck Alexander, executive vice president.

Comrex — Technical Director Tom Hartnett wrote, “None of our products or services are affected, with the exception of our Switchboard service (create codec buddy lists and traverse firewalls). That was patched within hours of the CVE notice being sent.” Hartnett continued: “For radio engineers, the questions are twofold: 1) Will any commercial web-based services I use be affected, or will my user data be exposed? 2) Do I host anything that is based on PHP? Comrex did a very quick but intense audit and found we were in the clear. I think everyone in the industry needs to do the same.” He found it notable that the vulnerability was found by AI. “I think at the end of the day it’s a success story that it was found and patched quickly.”

Davicom — CEO John Ahern writes: “Our products in the field (Cortex, AXON, NEURO) do not use PHP.”

Digital Alert Systems — VP of Business Development Bill Robertson told Radio World, “Our products do not use PHP and therefore are not subject to CVE-2026-109618 and CVE-2026-109619 vulnerabilities. We will be standing up a web page to let people know.”

Inovonics Broadcast — President/CEO Ben Barber said its products do not use PHP and are not vulnerable.

MaxxKonnect Group — “None of our products or websites use PHP so there shouldn’t be any issues,” said President/CEO Josh Bohn.

Orban Labs — Senior VP of Global Sales Mike Pappas said no Orban products use PHP.

RCS — Products are not affected, according to Chief Technology Officer Chip Jellison.

Sage Alerting Systems — President Harold Price said Sage does not use PHP in its products.

Telos Alliance — The company issued a tech advisory that its Zephyr Connect SE, Altus SE and Pathfinder Core Pro were affected by the PHP2Shell vulnerability. “In the coming days, Telos will provide remediation strategies to keep your products secure.” It posted an information page in the Help section of its website.

Tieline — CEO Will McLean told Radio World its codecs and associated software products are not affected.

Wheatstone — Marketing Director Dee McVicker told us, “We didn’t have any affected products, other than a Nielsen timestamp interface that affected a handful of X5 customers. But we are aware that this could be a regular thing as AI continues to get better at finding obscure security flaws, and we are definitely being proactive and reassessing products for any potential vulnerabilities.”

WideOrbit — Dub Irvin, VP and managing director for WO Automation, replied, “WO Aurora, formerly known as WO Automation for Radio, has never used PHP, so our customers are not impacted by the vulnerability currently in the news.”

The post Is Your Manufacturer Affected by the PHP Vulnerability? appeared first on Radio World.

Warning of federal overreach ahead of the midterms, FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez has called on National Association of Broadcasters President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt to alert radio and TV stations to threats surrounding election poll coverage.

Gomez, the lone Democrat on the three-person commission, did not mince words about her level of concern.

“This administration is running a coordinated, government-wide effort to reshape the media into its sanctioned messenger, and the Federal Communications Commission has become one of its most active instruments,” Gomez wrote to LeGeyt.

(Read Gomez’s letter to LeGeyt.)

As a result, Gomez chose to write to NAB, explaining that the association has the nationwide scope to warn radio and TV stations about what she perceives as a grave threat heading into the midterm elections.

“Fake polls” warning

On Wednesday, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr took to social media to warn broadcasters about reporting on what he deemed “fake” polling data.

“During this election season, there has been a significant surge in entirely fake polls and suppression polls designed to do nothing more than interfere with the regular functioning of the electoral process and alter the normal patterns of voter turnout and enthusiasm,” Carr said in a post on X.

The Republican Carr wrote that the FCC takes such issues seriously and that broadcasters are prohibited by the terms of their licenses from engaging in “news distortion” or promoting “broadcast hoaxes.”

But citing the FCC’s own legal standards, Gomez argued that enforcing the news distortion policy requires proof that a licensee intentionally fabricated or distorted news coverage of a major event. Courts, according to Gomez, have consistently distinguished between deliberate deception and simple inaccuracies, journalistic errors or editorial differences of opinion.

She also argued that the broadcast hoax rule carries a strict threshold, applying only when a station knowingly airs false reports concerning a crime or catastrophe that inflict immediate and substantial public harm.

“Absent that level of clear evidence, the commission has no authority to act,” Gomez wrote.

Tempered response

Gomez felt the letter to LeGeyt was needed in part because many NAB member stations lack the legal resources to contest federal inquiries independently ahead of upcoming midterm elections.

While she expressed gratitude for NAB’s pushback against the commission’s early license renewal inquiries, Gomez feels the overall response from NAB and other lobbyists have not yet matched the scale of the regulatory threats.

She asserted that NAB members need to hear such messaging directly from LeGeyt as the association’s leading voice.

“An industry confronting a coordinated effort to turn licensing authority into leverage over election-year coverage needs more than a couple of tempered statements,” Gomez wrote.

In a statement following the letter, LeGeyt said that NAB will continue working with Gomez and other policymakers to protect the rights of broadcasters “and strengthen local stations’ ability to deliver trusted news and information to the communities they serve.”

“We appreciate commissioner Gomez’s recognition of the value of local broadcasters and her commitment to the First Amendment principles that underpin a free press,” LeGeyt said.

Gomez added that she would welcome the opportunity to work directly with NAB to ensure its membership receives accurate information on what the law requires.

Equal time and ad rates

In additional examples in her letter, Gomez argued the commission is twisting the equal opportunities rule into a weapon. Section 315 of the Communications Act requires a broadcaster to offer equal time to a candidate’s opponents.

However, Gomez pointed to Congress’ built-in exemption for bona fide news interview programs, which has been cited on several occasions, including in a 2006 FCC ruling denying a Democratic gubernatorial candidate equal time after his Republican opponent, then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, appeared on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.”

Gomez also referenced filings by ABC’s parent company, Disney, alleging the Media Bureau revised that guidance to manufacture legal vulnerability over reporting the administration disliked.

In addition, she argued that FCC staff unilaterally extended the lowest unit charge, a statutory discount reserved for federal candidates.

The Media Bureau issued a public notice regarding changes to the lowest unit charge on March 30. Following a challenge filed by four Democratic congressional candidates, the Supreme Court issued a stay on Sept. 4.

“Almost overnight, that same discount became available to joint fundraising committees and coordinated party advertising campaigns for the first time,” Gomez explained.

Gomez believes the move results in a fire sale on ad inventory that could otherwise help stations grow revenue during a competitive political season heading into the midterms.

[Do you receive the Radio World SmartBrief newsletter each weekday morning? We invite you to sign up here.]

The post FCC’s Anna Gomez Sounds Alarm Over Election Polling Ahead of Midterms appeared first on Radio World.

A current Radio World ebook focuses on trends in the design and use of consoles and control surfaces. 

Here’s a sampling of opinion from around the radio industry on the topic. You can find much more in the free ebook here.

Looking forward

Mike Sprysenski, CPBE, is the disaster response and problem management lead for the iHeartMedia Broadcast Operations Center, and former iHeart regional engineering lead for central Florida. 

“One of the most important trends is to move away from the traditional console with faders and knobs to an all-digital virtual surface that is driven by software,” he said.

“You are no longer limited to physical restraints of a traditional console. You are only limited by your imagination.”

At iHeartMedia, “When COVID hit in March of 2020, our focus became very quickly how can we continue to produce live shows that were not in the studio with talent for shows in multiple locations.”

Now when you do build a studio, he said, it now may require only a day or two of work thanks to AoIP, software and design advances. That’s quite a change from his first console installation in the 1970s, of a Ward-Beck model, that involved huge amounts of audio, phone and control cable as well as soldering to “Christmas trees.”

He defines a radio console today as any device, physical or virtual, that can mix the necessary audio sources needed to produce content necessary for a show, in some cases including video content.

In today’s designs, Sprysenski is a fan of built-in scripting functions. “With the touch of one button, they can change the entire look and feel of the studio to personalize it for each talent or station.”

Not only does this give the talent a tremendous amount of flexibility to customize a studio for each show, he said, but it can help save a tremendous amount of time and money for companies as they plan to upgrade their facilities. One studio can be used for any of the stations.

iHeartMedia has been using software for years to control surfaces remotely, and he said the trend is moving fast to eliminate the traditional console. 

“In fact, with cloud-based automation systems, you no longer are limited in working from only one location but can broadcast from anywhere in the world.”

He expects analog consoles will continue to be available in the immediate future because they are usually more affordable for stations on a budget. 

“But as consoles turn into virtual surfaces, the cost of moving from analog to digital will get cheaper. The other thing that will drive the life of analog consoles will be cost and availability of components and those companies that will be around to manufacture them. … You are lucky these days if the companies are still around or the components to repair them are available after 10 years,” he said.

“But I believe at some point in the near future, the traditional console with knobs and faders will go away. There will always be a need to mix audio sources, but with advancement of software and especially AI, that could end up being something completely different that we haven’t thought of yet.”

That might even include the talent interacting with the console — and with each other — via VR headset or glasses, “where you and even your co-hosts are all sitting in the same ‘studio’ even though they are spread out across the country or even globe.”

Yearning for simplicity

John Lackness is sales coordinator and “road warrior” for Radio Gearheads, an equipment dealer and services company.

“I travel the highways and byways of the U.S. meeting with customers at conventions, answering questions and helping them plan upcoming projects,” he said. “I burn a lot of processed dinosaurs and get to see stations and some pretty cool stuff along the way.”

Based on his time in the field, Lackness said, “My personal feeling is that stations want simplicity. I get feedback saying that some consoles have become so stuffed full of ‘things’ that it is easy to get lost. … Glass surfaces for remotes or remote studios have been a great addition, though because you are emulating the studio, there’s no big learning curve.”

We asked Lackness what the surfaces of the future might look like.

“Will we ‘need’ a physical console? Sure, there’s a lot of sentimental ‘I want to be able to touch knobs’ with us old farts, but the new guys? They’re so used to using virtual products that it will be more common in the not-so-distant future, and physical consoles will be less common,” he said.

“Will it be in my lifetime? Hard to say, but it is just another part of radio evolution. I can remember when the first slide faders came out and people were saying that they would never catch on, or there would be too much failure. All this is just progression. Just like life. It just goes on.”

Lackness notes that cloud-based workflows continue to grow in radio.

“The biggest concern, in my opinion, is outages. There has to be some sort of mirrored system to seamlessly fail over to, in case a Cloudflare issue happens again. In the future, though, we might start looking at those outages in the same way we think about electricity — it goes out and we just deal with it.”

Meanwhile he sees users in smaller to medium-sized facilities choosing consoles that are simple to install and operate.

“Manufacturers have done a good job at addressing the shrinking infrastructure in medium and small markets, like the Angry Audio Rave,” he said.

“In large markets, consolidation of stations in one building will still mean a lot of infrastructure that can handle onsite users as well as those who work from home studios, such as what Telos Axia products have done so well for years.”

Even where consoles are simpler and affordable, Lackness advises colleagues not to treat them are throwaway units. 

“Stations need to find a console that will fit their amount of use. I would not put an A/V mixer into a top 50 market station and expect it to do everything you think it should do and last a long time. Heavy use with a console like that equals nightmare,” he said.

“This is where careful planning of the use of a console comes into play. Utilize a console that is meant for broadcast use. A mixer becomes a throwaway when you don’t use it for its intended use in the first place.” 

Going “soft”

Fritz Golman is director of video systems and automation for engineering services company RadioDNA.

“Keep in mind that I am answering from a video production and computer perspective, and not that of a ‘typical’ board user,” he said. 

“But we see the whole idea of a ‘soft’ control surface, one that is completely reconfigurable depending upon application, as the key in our audio/video environment.

“Although we often use devices that have still have physical controls, buttons, etc., the programming behind them and on-button legends are ‘soft.’ We still like the physical hard button as compared to touchscreens for many applications, although touchscreens do have their place. And the fact that many devices are available through retail, at low cost, means that a quick replacement, in the case of damage for example, is an Amazon delivery away.”

Even with boards that don’t support scripting directly, RadioDNA has utilized scripting engines that “read” board controls and provide the desired interactions that an integrated board might do internally.

“But even more importantly, generic products are widely available, and that’s really where we’re at when it comes to wide application and importance. Plus they’re usually a lot less expensive than manufacturers’ dedicated surfaces.”

A key evolution has been the integration of functionality that relates to video and social media.

“Traditional consoles or control surfaces need a lot of capability beyond just basic audio level control, selection and routing. Even a few buttons that support programmable scripting, preferably with soft legends, is an entry point,” he said.

“We see that a ‘side car’ video station is where this is going, as attempting to cram all the capabilities in an audio board position likely isn’t feasible and would probably overtax the board operator, too.”

How has the evolution of consoles into control surfaces changed the way engineers design around them?

“From our perspective, it’s the PC. More network connectivity becomes the critical element. Pulling ‘just enough’ wire to a position is a sure formula for frustration. Don’t count on WiFi, it generally won’t support satisfying video, although as compression technology advances, it becomes more capable to handle it in certain circumstances.”

He said RadioDNA now can provide a totally software-based, cloud-capable environment. “The PC, display or tablet becomes the user front end, and the control surface is the tactile, human interface.”

Asked to provide examples of recent relevant projects, Golman pointed to Houston Public Media and Good Karma Sports ESPN/Chicago. 

“Both are top-tier broadcast radio stations. They both have top-tier video production environments and strong social media operations, and utilize secondary control positions,” he said.

“Although both have automation functionality, they treat their productions somewhat differently. HPM has two live, local talk shows across three hours per day while ESPN/Chicago has three live, local talk shows, along with a network show, across 12 hours per day.”

Both use Wheatstone products and both utilize secondary video production positions that are run from workstations with “soft” control panels as the human-interface controls for the video systems. 

“HPM has a more traditional news slant and is highly produced. ESPN/Chicago is more free-form talk and 95% of its video is hands-free.”

At your fingertips

Control surfaces and consoles of the future are going to have to contend with the multi-platform nature of modern radio broadcasting, said Dave Miska, studio operations manager for WBEZ Chicago and Vocalo Radio Chicago, who is also an instructor and contract engineer for WRRG(FM) at Triton College Radio in River Grove, Ill.

“As evidenced during the pandemic, we had to adapt to Zoom and Google Meet as a method of bringing in guests, and sometimes hosts, to radio. There may have to be features like starting live video for example. 

“With smaller staffs, putting these controls in front of the operator will be key to success. It’s no longer just the over the air signal or stream. There’s YouTube, Instagram, Facebook Live etc. That cat is out of the bag for good, so flexibility is number one.”

Miska said AoIP has provided the flexibility to call up numerous sources that older analog consoles couldn’t. 

“The ability to automatically create mix-minuses instantly assists the operator in speedily getting remote sources on the air without the manual patching of the old days.”

Everything is now at the staff’s fingertips. 

“Often, engineers are forced to deal with shrinking studio space, and these consoles can take up a smaller footprint by using fewer faders, but having the selectability on a source knob with an easy-to-read display. It helps keep the workspace to a minimum with ever-decreasing traditional studio budgets.”

Miska said the ability to configure sources only needed for each studio allows a central network type approach. 

“With WheatNet for example, you can customize each control surface, but use one network to do it. It’s simpler for maintenance, and studios can be swapped as needs change quite quickly. You can also create operator profiles to minimize source confusion. The smaller approach can make things more efficient.”

What will the console of the future look like, if we use one at all?  

“I think the traditional console will be around for a while, but I could see a scenario where video controls or webstreams will be integrated into the console,” he replied.

“Again, smaller plants and fewer employees will put the onus on the operator to run all aspects of the broadcast. I can see where changes in workflow may change a bit, but the console is still the master control. You need that central point in live broadcasting.”

Read the free ebook.

The post Special Report: Console Surfaces Adapt to Today’s Demands appeared first on Radio World.

We learned this month that Don Winget will retire, having sold Broadcast Tools Inc. to Inovonics.

BTI makes products such as audio routers, remote controls, satellite channel controllers, analog mixers and DAs, silence monitors and program schedulers. Inovonics will continue the BT name and product line, moving production from Sedro Woolley, Wash., to Felton, Calif.

Winget began in broadcasting as a gofer for the chief of a station in Eau Claire, Wis.. He served in the Army during the Vietnam war and later started an engineering contracting business. Winget and engineer Lee Hurley created Sentry Systems, an early PC-based automation systems. Winget founded BTI in 1989 while he was chief engineer at KXRX in Seattle.

We caught up with Winget.

Radio World: What has prompted you to sell BTI, and why now?

Don Winget: After nearly 40 years at Broadcast Tools, I felt like I had accomplished everything I wanted to do, and I’m ready to enjoy retirement while I’m still young and in good health.

RW: What are your plans after November?

Winget: My wife Connie and I plan to travel around the USA in our RV. We are excited to spend time with friends and family and be able to visit all the places we’ve wanted to see without a time constraint.

RW: How many people are employed by BTI, and what is the impact on them?

Winget: Besides Connie and I, we have three amazing employees at Broadcast Tools who have been with us for literally decades: Christina Molina, Chriselda Gutierrez and Ben Nason. Although it’s bittersweet, they have known for a little while that Broadcast Tools may undergo a transition like this, and they are all preparing for the next chapter in their working lives. I will miss seeing them every day.

RW: Your website has a detailed history of how you came to start the company that readers can find here. Looking back, what are you most proud of in your 37 years of running the company?

Winget: That we have been here 37 years! Through industry ups and downs, as well as economic uncertainty, Broadcast Tools is still doing what I intended: making useful, reliable, affordable products for our customers. Now, with the purchase by Inovonics, I am proud the product line will be able to continue.

RW: Is there one product that you feel particularly proud of or that played a particularly important role for you?

Winget: The ACS8.2 Plus Stereo Audio Switcher. Some version of this switcher has been made by Broadcast Tools for most of our 37 years and is still combined with radio station automation systems around the world. It’s our most recognizable product and has been the bedrock of our product line. This product is one of the first I designed and it makes me happy to see it is still in use in one form or another and hopefully will be made for many years to come.

RW: The marketplace of companies that make products for specialized broadcast applications feels challenged by industry contraction. Would you encourage an engineer who has an idea like yours to make a go of starting a business?

Winget: Absolutely! Starting my own business has been the most worthwhile adventure in my working life. It’s not easy though. And you need more than a good idea. My advice would be to start small and make sure you understand the business side just as much as the engineering side. And remember the most important thing: listen to your customers and work to meet their needs.

RW: Anything else we should know?

Winget: I, personally, and Broadcast Tools by extension, could not have enjoyed our success without the support and friendship of our employees and the many outstanding folks in our industry.

I am especially thankful to God and to my wife, Connie Miller, who has been by my side from the beginning, working in any role that was necessary.

It has truly been a team effort. I wish to thank everyone who contributed to our success: employees, dealers, vendors, and most importantly our customers.

The post Don Winget Reflects as He Preps for Retirement appeared first on Radio World.

The Aspen Acres wildfire in Colorado came within several hundred feet of the Camp Jackson tower site this summer. Engineer Michael Baldauf, who was displaced from his nearby home, helps maintain the broadcast site there.

Fire is going to burn through every forest, it’s just a question of when. Which means that a transmitter site in a forest is probably going to face the challenges of nature sooner or later.

Here are some lessons learned at Camp Jackson.

The site has hosted various stations and had several owners. Today there are FM antennas on the 210-foot tower serving four broadcasters, as well as some federal government communications.

On June 29, high winds and probably a tree blown into a power line started a fire about 7 miles north of the Camp Jackson site.

Because the winds were blowing west to east, the areas to the south appeared to be safe from this small fire. Firefighting resources would be more than enough to protect this area.

Or so we thought until about three hours later when the fire had exploded and evacuation orders came out.

By July 2 it was obvious that the fire would burn through the area. Power was down — it would be off for three weeks — and we had no access to the transmitter site.

I made sure that the Emergency Operations Center had my contact information in case something needed to be done at the site. I also told them where the key to the building was hidden.

After about 10 days, Vertical Bridge, which owns the tower, called to tell me they had ordered the propane tank at the site to be refilled. They asked if I could go up and get everything back on the air.

There were a few challenges with that:

• No one was allowed yet to access the site because the fire was still in the immediate area, so there would be no propane or access for me.
• There have been at least two electrical upgrades in the building over the years that did not include the transfer switch; so there is no connection between the generator and the electrical system.
• To my knowledge, the generator hadn’t run since the 1980s (and it didn’t run very well then). Over the years, none of the stations or owners expressed interest in maintaining redundancy for the site.

So I could not comply with VB’s request initially.

About a week later, once the fire was no longer a direct threat to the site, I requested a visit from the sheriff’s office, which typically controls access in this situation.

One of their staff took me up to the site.

The trip was like a scene in a movie. We passed water tankers, helicopters, fire trucks from many states, bulldozers — whatever could be used to fight fires. In the town of Rye, fire crews were using the high school as their base, but otherwise the town’s homes, stores and schools were empty.

We drove for miles through a patchwork of burning and burnt forest as well as untouched areas. Approaching the site, I was relieved to discover that the reports of Camp Jackson being protected were true.

At the site, I turned off all circuit breakers in the building so that when power was eventually restored everything could be brought back on under a watchful eye. We only stayed for a few minutes.

In late July the evacuation of some areas near the transmitter site was lifted, though it was still considered an active fire zone.

I texted a local electric utility employee who has worked with me at the site for many years and asked to be informed when they would get permission to restore power to the area.

Two days later the text came. The fire had not threatened the site since my visit, so the process of restarting everything was fairly straightforward.

Internet service from the local ISP to the site was still a few days’ wait, but stations that had recently migrated to Starlink were up and running. A layer of ash and fire retardant on many surfaces was the worst part. Things could’ve been much worse.

Into the month of September, the Aspen Acres Fire was still not fully extinguished, and there were occasional spot fires above the transmitter site. The area affected by the fire had grown to more than 102,000 acres. At least 850 structures and 319 homes had been destroyed.

A bright spot from this experience is that bulldozers from the Forest Service needed to use our transmitter site road for access and to build a fire line. In doing so they improved it significantly.

Having a transmitter site atop a mountain boosts the range of an FM station, but a broadcaster shouldn’t count on being able to keep it on the air for almost a month without power or access. This is a strong argument for having a backup site elsewhere to assure operational resilience.

Personally, I was not able to get to my house for about a month. My home didn’t burn, but many of my neighbors lost theirs.

Once back home I got busy cutting down charred trees, dealing with insurance adjusters, and trying to save the unburned plants around my home that didn’t get watered for a month.

It’s a surreal experience — all the creatures are gone, no birds, frogs, crickets … only the sound of the wind.

Read an article about the cause of the Aspen Acres Fire.

The post My Experience During the Aspen Acres Fire appeared first on Radio World.

The Federal Communications Commission has now affirmed penalties of $20,000 in three separate cases of alleged pirate radio activity.

In one of the cases, the person involved acknowledged responsibility to the FCC, said he’d disposed of the equipment and asked for leniency. But he was denied.

Shane Kelly is being fined for running a station called “The Test” on 87.9 in Hyannis, Mass., in June of 2023.

The FCC issued the notice of liability in this case in April 2024, along with a half-dozen others, all in Massachusetts.

Kelly responded to the NAL. He did not dispute the facts, acknowledged having been the operator, said he’d disposed of the equipment and promised not to do it again. He asked for dismissal or leniency but the FCC declined. (You can read the details of the case in the NAL for Shane Kelly here.)

In the other two cases the people accused have not replied to the NALs.

Henderson Lennox Elcock is fined for operating a station on 106.3 MHz in Brooklyn, N.Y., called “Wild FM” in January of 2025.

And Etzer Toussaint is fined for operating “Radio Telemodel” or “Radio Tele Model” on 88.9 MHz in January 2025 in Spring Valley, a suburb of New York City.

The FCC said neither responded to its notices. Those two were among four in the New York City area that received NALs around the same time in January.

As in all such cases, the commission cannot pursue collection of the fines further. If a fine is unpaid, the commission can turn the matter over to the Justice Department.

We don’t know whether DOJ has collected any pirate radio fines in recent years; the commission has issued a few much larger fines but it not announced any notable collections.

[Related: “FCC Finds Collecting Pirate Radio Fines a Challenge”]

The post FCC Declines Leniency for Massachusetts Radio Pirate appeared first on Radio World.

Dear Editor: I was extremely impressed and moved by Rubén Darío Basay Roberts’ article about AM radio in Chile. 

Though he represents just one station that is facing great difficulties, the points he raised address the survival of AM and its transformation on a much wider scale.

Sooner or later the great existential AM dilemma was going to confront Latin America, too. It is a continent with many vast countries, remote communities, big social and economic gaps but also still demonstrating great dependence on ubiquitous and much-loved analog radio.

We agree with the author’s answer to the general question, “What should an AM station do to survive?” Migration is the answer. But serious, tested, supported migration.

AM is not an obsolete technology. Large countries like India, U.S., China, South Africa etc. retain and develop an AM presence. AM remains critical for large parts of their population for information, education and disaster warnings. 

There is a lot of noise on OTT, satellites, G5 and other fanciful technology. Their role cannot be denied but they in turn cannot replace yet fully terrestrial broadcasting, whichever frequency band (AM or FM) is used.

India, for instance, has adopted the Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) standard for its AM broadcasts and currently there are some 900 million people in India in the incidence of DRM MW signals. 

So migration of analog AM to digital, to DRM medium-wave, is indeed the solution for countries wishing to maintain and enhance their coverage and relevance.

China has also adopted DRM for its medium-wave broadcasts, with focus on its usage in cars as fueled by the Chinese great interest in emergency warnings and alerts (using the DRM Emergency Warning Functionality – EWF).

AM broadcasters in the U.S. are fighting and so far winning the effort to maintain AM broadcasts in cars, where radio is essential.

Migration needs to be well thought through, supported for many years, no matter which government is in power. 

We have seen that the Brazilian project to migrate AM broadcasts to FM has not proved to be a complete solution. The act mandating it runs out at the end of this year and overcrowding in the spectrum that triggered the migration remains a spectral issue in the big cities. 

A lot of smaller cities and vast regions are left without medium-wave transmissions as a result. Therefore, migration from AM to FM is only a partial and insufficient solution. 

The real leap forward is from analog AM to digital, to DRM medium-wave. This can deliver spectrum and energy savings and a lasting solution for large country coverage with enhanced audio and multimedia content (including distance learning and emergency warnings). 

Even in western Europe, where AM seems to have been abandoned, there are valiant attempts by some broadcasters to keep their AM transmissions, as in Italy. (Eastern Europe still maintains it in some places.)

We agree with the author that transformation has many aspects: technical, human, social and especially economic.

In an age of enhanced communication, we are in danger of doing exactly the opposite, deciding to conveniently die (rather than strongly migrate), all in the name of some digital future that in reality exists already. 

[Do you receive the Radio World SmartBrief newsletter each weekday morning? We invite you to sign up here.]

The post Letter: Migrate, Evolve, Transform — the Way for AM? appeared first on Radio World.

The MusicFirst Coalition and Future of Music Coalition are lobbying for the FCC to keep the Local Radio Ownership Rule, which limits the total number of stations that an entity may own in a local market and the number in a market that the entity may own in the same service (AM or FM).

The FCC has been collecting comments about possibly removing the rule as part of its ongoing 2022 Quadrennial Review.

The advocacy groups recently met virtually with FCC staff of the Office of Economics and Analytics and the Media Bureau.

The NAB hopes the FCC will remove the limits.

The groups are familiar lobbying opponents of NAB policies involving performance royalties and broadcast consolidation.

They asked the FCC to “consider both intragroup competition between terrestrial broadcasters as well as intergroup competition with other audio platforms, while upholding the unique public interest objectives for broadcasters relating to ownership diversity, viewpoint diversity, localism and spectrum efficiency.”

They believe terrestrial radio has a competitive advantage over digital and streaming audio services.

“AM/FM radio stations are currently not required to pay a sound recording performance royalty to performers and copyright owners for over-the-air radio broadcasts, while competing digital audio services must obtain licenses and pay royalties for the use of sound recordings,” they told the FCC, according to an ex parte filing.

This gives AM/FM radio “a significant cost savings advantage” over non-broadcast audio competitors.

“We believe that music creators should be paid fairly for the use of their work by all platforms that use music as a draw to attract audiences and advertising dollars,” they wrote.

The groups have argued that in the past that further broadcast deregulation will hurt smaller stations (https://www.radioworld.com/news-and-business/business-and-law/music-coalitions-say-deregulation-will-hurt-smaller-stations). The NAB says broadcasters both small and large are on board with its push to remove the rule.

The post Music Groups Continue Fight Against Consolidation appeared first on Radio World.

Broadcast Electronics is out with a new FM transmitter platform called MTX, serving power levels up to 1 kW.

The company highlights the system for high efficiency and a compact design that is shippable via UPS or FedEx. There are models at 25, 100, 500 and 1,000 watts.

BE said MTX has the direct-to-channel digital exciter technology and upgrade philosophy of its STX series but with a new design and software capabilities.

It said it has “the latest LDMOS RF device and highly efficient switching power supply technology, enabling excellent power density, reduced energy costs and a compact 2RU footprint.”

Control and monitoring are streamlined with a new HTML-5 responsive GUI incorporating multi-level security, compliant with the new FCC requirements, as well as SNMPv3 connectivity.

The platform introduces Content Gateway , which BE describes as a flexible way of managing content at a transmitter site that can expand as your operation does.

“Content Gateway integrates advanced hardware and software to help you manage, process, transport and monitor your audio content seamlessly all inside your transmitter.”

It simplifies deployments by eliminating outboard boxes.

MTX Content Gateway options include the audio processing software Stereo Tool. Optional MicroMPX provides STL capability over cost-effective IP networks, including a back-up audio player in case of loss of connectivity.

Optional GPS synchronization coupled with SFN software provides for operation in a Single-Frequency Network or on-channel boosters.

Inovonics option

Inovonics partnered with BE to build its SDR-based FM and HD Radio tuner into the platform to feed translators without an outboard receiver.

“The optional MTX Tuner Module rides in the transmitter’s Content Gateway, BE’s framework for running content hardware and software inside the MTX rather than in outboard boxes,” Inovonics said.

“The module carries the tuner technology from Inovonics’ receiver line: a sensitive SDR-based front end, metering of off-air reception, streaming for multiple remote listeners, extensive alarm options and multi-level password protection.”

Engineers can check reception from any web-enabled device including PC, tablet or smartphone.

At a translator site the module serves as the audio input. At any other MTX installation it adds confidence monitoring without a separate box, separate IP address or separate rack space.

[Related: BE Adds 1 kW Version to Its AMX Line]

The post BE Rolls Out MTX Transmitter Platform for FM appeared first on Radio World.

Mentoring and Inspiring Women in Radio (NIW) and the National Association of Broadcasters Leadership Foundation (NABLF) are reminding women pursuing broadcast technical careers that applications for the 2026 LAUNCH Mentorship Program close on Friday, Oct. 30.

Established in 2023, LAUNCH pairs a rising woman professional with an experienced engineering leader for one-on-one mentorship, technical guidance and professional development. It offers exposure to key areas of broadcast technology, such as Federal Communications Commission compliance, RF systems, automation, IP-based broadcast systems, streaming and digital audio.

To apply for the program, click here.

This year, eligibility for the program was expanded to include women who work for broadcast technology partners and vendors. The year-long program is sponsored by radio software and workflow-automation company Mr. Master.

LAUNCH is designed to help women strengthen their skills, build professional relationships and prepare for future leadership opportunities as they pursue technical certification, advance their engineering careers or expand opportunities in broadcast operations, MIW and NABLF said.

Selected mentees will also be able to attend the 2027 NAB Show in Las Vegas.

For more information, visit the MIW website.

This story initially appeared on TV Tech, sister brand to Radio World. 

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The post LAUNCH Mentorship Program Applications Close Oct. 30 appeared first on Radio World.

Where will the next generation of radio and broadcast engineers come from? Radio World is answering that question with this series about “Next-Gen Engineers.”

Lucas McElmeel, 22, has radio in his blood. Growing up with two parents in the industry, it was no surprise when he developed an interest in learning how radio stations operate.

For the last year, McElmeel has served as a broadcast field engineer for Family Radio, headquartered in Franklin, Tenn., which owns 58 stations in the country.

“I’ve had many incredible opportunities to visit stations nationwide and learn from the best radio engineers,” McElmeel told Radio World.

Based in Foresthill, Calif., McElmeel covers Family Radio’s northwest stations. He works alongside his dad Thomas, who is the senior director of IT for the Christian radio network.

RW: Can you please describe your responsibilities?

McElmeel: The radio work I do now is maintaining my stations and upgrading outdated equipment. A couple of the biggest stations are KEAR San Francisco and KEBR Sacramento. It’s pretty neat to learn about the history of these sites since Family Radio has had them for so many years.

I have a trip up to Oregon to visit one of our translators soon and will be replacing the old equipment there with new equipment, which will make it sound better on the air. I’m also setting it up with telemetry so we can monitor it remotely and know when there is a problem. I’m looking forward to the work, these types of projects are exciting to me.

RW: What’s the most interesting experience you’ve had in the radio engineering world so far?

McElmeel: I think it was my first trip to [Family Radio’s] headquarters in Tennessee. It’s quite far away from home in California, but I was excited to go see the place and meet the people I only see on my computer in meetings.

I enjoyed learning things about everyone and seeing the studio rooms, the server room and the place all the spare parts are stored. I got to learn about racks that were being built and would be shipped off to sites to get deployed. Everyone was very welcoming and I hadn’t even been with the company for a month.

RW: In general, how do you think radio resonates with peers your age?

McElmeel: I think most people my age aren’t as involved with radio. I just turned 22 years old. As I’ve grown into my role, I see a lot more value in radio and what it can bring to people. It’s more than music and talk — it builds community.

RW: What are your aspirations?

McElmeel: I hope to learn as much as I can to advance my career. I’m computer-oriented so I love learning about the IP parts of the job and what it can do for us. There are a lot of things we can do with remote control and SNMP so I hope to learn more about them to bring some value to the team.

RW: Any other thoughts?

McElmeel: A couple mentors I would like to thank are David Shantz and Harry Schuh. David has helped me so much with learning how our rack equipment works and instructing me on what needs to be done during a site visit. I have been on a few trips with Harry and I’ve learned so much about the hands-on aspect of the job. Harry builds our racks, so there is a lot of knowledge to be gained from trips with him.

Overall, I believe the radio community is very welcoming and is a great place to start a career.

Read more stories in this series.

Want to suggest an engineer for this series? Email radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post Next-Gen Engineers: Lucas McElmeel of Family Radio appeared first on Radio World.