When you are buying new equipment, sometimes customer service is not a major consideration. After all, the gear is new. It is tested. But, over time, there comes a time you will need to get help from the factory. Unfortunately, getting customer service these days is not always easy. More often than not, […]

It has become quite common for several stations to share one engineer on a contract basis. Even in some larger companies, where there is a fulltime engineer on staff, he may be out at one of many sites when something “happens.” Now what do you do? For a broadcaster, there is nothing worse […]

The measurement of RF power has gotten more complicated with the introduction of complex digital waveforms and multi-carrier formats. To get an accurate measurement of RF power is a challenge, requiring an understanding of the both traditional and newer, improved techniques of power measurement. The Diode Detector For decades the average responding diode […]

Sometimes it is easy to remember the colors of wire used for connections, especially if there are only a few – black and red, for example. But if you have to remember a bunch of wires, it gets more complicated. Rolf has a mnemonic for you. The color codes evolved with the evolution […]

Have you ever wondered how some of the connectors you use every day got their names? Some are easy, like the DB9 or the DB25, for example, but why is the RJ45 so named? Rolf has been looking into this topic. Back when the Bell System was the mother of all US Telephony, […]

A lot of equipment is not modular. Ron Schacht still finds himself called in to work on older gear and devise solutions to keep stations on the air. Here is one that might help you one day. In every field of work – whether it is broadcast engineering, plumbing, food preparation, banking, vehicular […]

Much equipment is not modular, and operators are expected to swap modules to fix many issues. But that is not always the solution. Ron Schacht still calls himself to work on older gear and devise solutions to keep stations on the air. Here is one that might help you one day. Even though […]

Robert Frost said: “Education is hanging around until you’ve caught on.” As Ron Schacht points out, this often is how broadcast engineers learn things. What you do with that education determines your value as a competent engineer – or someone who waits for the same events to come up repeatedly. Experience is a […]

Have you ever wondered why the FCC requires the NRSC measurement each year? Or, has the FAA called concerning interference to ATC frequencies? While the appearance of spurs will jangle your nerves, Ron Schacht says most of the time, the solution is quick and simple. If you are the keeper of an AM […]

Jeff Welton has been around long enough as a tech support person and a district sales manager to hear and see all sorts of the problems station engineers run into as they maintain transmission systems. One of the main lessons he is always ready to share with old and new friends is that […]