Greetings from your broadcast friends out on the Desert…
This is BDR Newsletter 871, Volume 17, #38 for April 22, 2026

YES, RADIO-TV HQ WAS THERE
The 2026 NAB Show boasted a general area where radio-TV manufacturers and vendors could locate in a general vicinity.  In the main, the Central Hall deal was better than most recent years. Most all of the expected booths were in the upper Central Hall area where it certainly made it a lot easier to visit them.

Even Nautel’s Radio-Television Forum was close by, in the Westgate.

SIZE OF THE CROWD
The NAB says that something over 58,000 registered attendees, up from 55,000 in 2025. (CES 2026 drew 148,392 attendees) Perhaps one more interesting statistics is that 48% were first-time attendees, a slightly lower percentage than last year.  Generally speaking, the radio-TV area had a bit less traffic on the floor, although most companies reported the quality of attendees was high, with many interested in purchasing.

SOME PICTURES
Yes, we have a few pictures… and that will be a part of our Thursday Get-Together.  We plan to talk about what was new, and what was said. you  – including some AI aspects. are especially invited join the chat if you were in Las Vegas – if not, here is your chance to ask learn what we saw.

Join us Thursday at 2 PM Eastern /11 AM Pacific, and let us learn things. The link request is, as usual, at www.theBDR.net/TLG/ Yes, you can see us on YouTube live – but joining us on zoom makes it easier to ask questions and discuss issues.

May we please recommend this fine company which supports the BDR – and you!

NEW NEWS OPTION FOR RADIO
As most know – especially CBS News affiliates, the CBS feed ends on May 22, on month from now. The next day, the Radio News Network (RNN) service will launch – with a claimed emphasis on localization.

ANOTHER REDUCTION IN TV CHANNELS?
The FCC has received a petition for rulemaking that would strip out the top nine UHF channels – 28 to 36. Supposedly, the auction would be for more than $15 billion from wireless users. That would leave 14 to 28 … enough for the US market?

LIVE NATION AND TICKETMASTER TAKE A HIT
In a court case late last week, A New York jury ruled that Live Nation and Ticketmaster were operating as a monopoly. Damages and potential divestiture requirements are in the process of being fully determined. The US Department of Justice had settled with the companies for minimal concessions (like minimal refunds), and the companies themselves are appealing the jury verdict, so it is not over as yet.

COMPETITION IN THE SKIES
Last week, Amazon announced it was buying Globalstar in an $11.5 billion deal, and will be providing competition to SpaceX’ Starlink Internet service – to be called Leo. Additionally, Amazon is putting together a deal for iPhones and Apple Watches to have some Internet connectivity.

SELF INSPECTION or ABIP or ???
The SBE announced that their Self-Inspection checklists are to be updated by the next quarter. The materials will include changes from the Delete, Delete, Delete initiative at the FCC and some recommended practices. Coming soon, Ched Keiler will be with us on a Thursday presentation to share how these checklists can help you.

IF YOU GET INSPECTED
The FCC is getting more and more detailed into station operations. Even if they do not come in person, if the LMS system shows you did not file required forms on time, fines might be in store for you, and you might be asked to provide photocopies of the various forms like the Station Log, etc. Did yours show reception of all EAS tests this past month? How about tower light observations? Would you be comfortable showing your logs to the FCC? Now is the time to get things in order.

NPR GETS A BIG GIFT
Two donors have recently given NPR $113 million to continue and beef up operations. This is welcome news to affiliates, many of which have been working to attract donations to fill some of the holes left when the Government pulled its CPB funding. More than just pledge drives, stations are looking for new underwriting opportunities. Still, many stations report the future is still looking a bit difficult.

THE ECONOMY IS HITTING A LOT MORE THAN RADIO-TV
The 7-Eleven chain announced they are shortly closing 645 locations. What else have you seen locally that has ceased operations? This can prove a hurdle for the sales staff, especially if there is a reliance on national advertising. On the other hand, it could provide an opportunity for those stations working hard to celebrate their localization (see RNN item above).

May we please recommend this fine company which supports the BDR – and you!

Here are some of the more recent items of interest:

• Talking Like An Old Hand – Clay Freinwald
• Are you Ready to Buy Your Own Station? – George Kimble  
• Join the Lunch Gathering – Thursday 2 PM Eastern
• Enforcement Watch – Licenses in danger for non-payment / Tower painting NOVs
• New Transmitters and Tubes from Nautel – Barry Mishkind
• MP3 was Only a Beginning – Greg Ogonowski
• AC Problems Solved with PowerClamp – Hank Landsberg
• Enforcement Watch – License deleted / EAS fine: $369k
• Coping with Overgrown Wild Vegetation – Barry Mishkind
• Making Nautel Customer Support Better – John Wilton
• Keep Your Copper in the Ground – Clay Freinwald

May we please recommend this fine company which supports the BDR – and you!

Here are some of the highlights at NAB 2026, especially from the Radio-TB HQ scene:

Nautel, during its yearly Sunday morning technology forum (RTF), formally announced the new NX-1 and 2.5 AM transmitters, replacing the J1000 series. Also an updates to software like the HTML GUI, and new plans for stations seeking to launch, expand, or modernize HD operations. A six-month “trial” is offered, as well as a software-based subscription plan of $299/month.

AM transmitters were also new at Broadcast Electronics. Among the AMX series features are silicon carbide transistors that pack up to 5 kW in one module, as well as hot-plugable power supplies in the frequency agile AM transmitters.

New features in the FM line at Nautel were also on show, with the GV2 bringing more and more components into the transmitter (“Just Add Audio”), reducing the number of things the audio must pass through, and allowing use of HLS streams to deliver control of source and metadata for the screens in vehicles. Mention that 68% of new vehicles have more than one screen shows the need to deliver more than audio. Meanwhile, GatesAir was featuring their liquid-cooled FM transmitters, said to run on common anti-freeze products.

Over at Aqua Broadcast their latest transmitter model is loaded with features, including three hot-swappable power supplies, providing a spare right in the transmitter frame.

Also at the Aqua booth was David Reaves’ with his Zen 10 audio processor – a one to five band audio processor that was made “to do as little as possible” so the audio can shine through. The Zen 10 is now shipping.

Another of the audio processors that grabbed attention was the new Omnia XII FM/HD/DAB processor from the Telos Alliance.

Getting the audio to the transmitter starts with the studio console, and several new ones were on view, including virtual consoles like the brand new Pulsar from the Telos Alliance, as well as models from Lawo, Wheatstone, and SAS. The Oxygen series from Axeltech is worth more than a quick glance (some of the built-in features are those of consoles three times the cost), as are the latest efforts from Arrakis.

At the WorldCast booth, we could learn about the new Audemat FM/HD Probe as well as the newest version of their Kibyos control system, being marketed with an arrangement with Broadcast Supply Worldwide.

Broadcast Devices had several products to show, including a new remote control product that works with existing remote controls to expand the metering and control capabilities.

Over in the Inovonics booth, they had the new AARON 656 FM/HD Radio Dual Tuner Rebroadcast Receiver, a robust solution designed for reliable signal rebroadcasting in FM and HD Radio environments – and the 677 three-band EAS receiver were on display – along with the rest of their growing product lines.

At Dielectric they were talking about their Hawkeye RF monitor and the DLP and TLP low-power antenna platforms that take advantage of the FCC changes in the  LPTV rules.

A real interesting product was revealed over at Kintronic Labs. They are working on a new product to replace the traditional high Voltage and Current capacitors in transmitters and Antenna Tuning Units. Expected around the end of the year, the product should come in at a surprisingly modest cost.

Pearl TV‘s booth was the place to get information on the NextGen TV Converter Box Program, which introduces a new category of affordable converter boxes to receive NextGen TV signals – priced at no more than $60.

Another announcement was how SCMS and 305 Broadcast have established a strategic alliance for SCMS to build their presence and support in Latin America.

That is more!  But this newsletter has to go out.  Check out our video tomorrow (Thursday).

May we please recommend this fine company which supports the BDR – and you!

Do You Remember? This week in history:
Broadcast related items:

• 10 years ago (4/21/16) the singer Prince died of an apparent overdose.
• 38 years ago (4/23/88) Whitney Houston hit #1 with “Where Do Broken Hearts Go?“
• 38 years ago (4/19/88) Sonny Bono was inaugurated as Mayor of Palm Springs CA. (He then was elected to Congress.)
• 48 years ago (4/22/78) the Blues Brothers first appeared on Saturday Night Live.
• 48 years ago (4/22/78) Bob Marley headlines One Love Peace Concert.
• 48 years ago (4/22/78) Steve Martin performs “King Tut” on Saturday Night Live. He eventually sold 500,000 copies.
• 63 years ago (4/21/63) Little Peggy March hit #1 with “I Will Follow Him.“
• 65 years ago (4/20/61) FCC set up the FM Stereo rules.
• 66 years ago (4/21/60) Dick Clark testified at the Congress Payola hearing, admitting 27% of his playlist was paid.
• 78 years ago (4/20/48) Columbia records introduced the 33 1/3 rpm record.
• 104 years ago these stations were first licensed by the Department of Commerce: 04/25/1922   WSOY-1340  Decatur, IL   – 04/26/1922   WBAP-820   Fort Worth, TX 

… and 116 years ago (4/24/1910) Public Law 262 required the Commerce Department to issue licenses for radio communication operators on ships.

How about some “regular news” type items?

• 21 years ago (4/23/05) the first video was uploaded on YouTube.
• 31 years ago (4/19/95) Timothy McVeigh bombed the Murrah building in Oklahoma City. 168 died.
• 40 years ago (4/26/86) the Russian nuclear disaster at Chernobyl happened. (a group of engineers began an electrical-engineering experiment on the Number 4 reactor).
• 41 years ago (4/23/85) CocaCola introduced “New Coke.” (Extra credit: how long did it take to restore “Classic Coke” to the marketplace?*)
• 56 years ago (4/22/70) the first Earth Day, to increase awareness of the world’s environmental problems, was celebrated in the US.
• 57 years ago (4/23/69) Sirhan Sirhan receives death penalty for assassination of Robert F. Kennedy.
• 72 years ago (4/23/54) Hank Aaron knocked out the first home run of his Major League Baseball career.
• 72 years ago (4/26/54) the Salk polio vaccine field trials, involving 1.8 million children, began.
• 111 years ago (4/25/1915) the ill-fated allied invasion of Gallipoli began.
• 112 years ago (4/23/1914) Wrigley Field opened in Chicago.
• 131 years ago (4/21/1895) the first movie projector was demonstrated in United States.
• 167 years ago (4/25/1859) Ground was broken for the Suez Canal.

…and 226 years ago (4/24/1800) the Library of Congress established.

May we please recommend this fine company which supports the BDR – and you!

* It took only three months after “New Coke” was released; Classic Coke was promptly back on the shelves and people were muttering about an “Edsel.”

MIDWEEK BONUS

Do you always remember to ground yourself when working on sensitive logical systems? There are reasons for taking precautions. Static electricity is still not fully understood by scientists. This is an education.

= = =

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barry