Greetings from your broadcast friends out on the Desert…
This is BDR Newsletter 890, Volume 18, #5 for September 2, 2026

2026 REGULATORY FEES
The FCC sets the fees for this fiscal year toward the end, usually about the first of September and announces the deadline to pay. This year, the fees were announced today, with payment due by the 24th – on the CORES Payment System.

Our friend, Cary Tepper points out that as we get closer to the 24th, it is worth remembering the FCC’s website is prone to regular outages and sometimes the payment system crashes for the entire day. Avoid problems and fines, Tepper says, by filing as early as possible.

FEES ARE UP A BIT
In order to cover the $416,112,000.00 the Commission is expected to spend for salaries and expenses this fiscal year (about $26 million or 6.6% over 2025), Broadcasters will generally find an increase in their annual regulatory fees this year, after three years of reductions, although LPTV, Class A, TV/FM translators, and FM boosters should see some reduction.

AUDITING THE STATION
When there is a moment to think (What? Moment? Think?), one of the key tasks to keep a station running well is a complete systems audit. That is our main theme this week, as our friend Jeff Welton from Nautel jumps in to offer suggestions on things to check that you may or may not have thought about. A checklist? Yes, but while there are some things that naturally occur (console, processor, STL, transmitter, etc) and you will want to include – customized to your station and equipment – there are likely any number of things you might not think of on your own.

The Virtual Lunch Gathering will be at its usual time 2 PM Eastern/ 11 AM Pacific. We hope you will join us and learn things. The link for our presentation is at www.theBDR.net/TLG/ We will also be on YouTube live and the video will be archived on the BDR Lunch Gathering page.

… and do not forget, on the same page we have hundreds of videos you can use on subjects you will want to learn about.

By the way, we do have a Tuesday Reminder list, if you wish to be reminded of each week’s program. Just reply to this email and ask!  

LOOKING FOR THE FREE PASSWORD APP?
Look no further. It is here. Designed for broadcasters – and NO charge, ever . We are not even asking for users to “register.” Of course, if you like it, we would appreciate knowing.

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

 

NEW BOSS FOR THE EB
With Patrick Webre moving to a new post, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has chosen  Chief Hunter Deeley to lead the Enforcement Bureau.

AUCTION 114 READY TO KICK OFF
September 14 is when the filing window opens for just over two weeks. Actual bidding is to begin on February 2, 2027, but potential bidders need to sign up now on Form 175. .

TRANSLATOR WINDOW UPDATE
The FCC issued several clarifications ahead of the NCE-FM translator filing window to open November 4th, including that LPFMs could be used to feed these translators.

CANADIAN RADIO TO GET A LICENSING BREAK
As of now, the majority of radio stations in Canada will have their licenses converted to indefinite terms as their current authorizations come up for renewal over the next six years. The CRTC (the Canadian regulatory agency) decided on a regulatory overhaul to reduce paperwork, red tape, and expenses to stations by making the license terms indefinite. However, as the conditions of service and regulatory compliance are decoupled from the licence renewal process itself, and the Commission will be able to more easily enforce compliance on a continual basis.

SOMETIMES THERE IS NO WAY TO KEEP GOING
It can be expensive to operate a broadcast facility, especially after severe damage not covered by insurance. Southwest Montana Media has had a tough time lately. The company suffered a July fire in Anaconda, MT which took down their KANA (580) after 70 years of serving the community. The station decided that it was not economically feasible to rebuild and turned in the license on August 21st. Then, the FCC revoked the license for KBOQ(FM, Lima MT for failure to pay some $6700 in regulatory fees nor respond to the FCC within the 60 days period specified by an April Order. The EB notes the fees and penalties are still due.

TELCO COPPER TO ALL BUT DISAPPEAR
It is not a new process – the telcos have been retiring copper wiring for some time. However, some announcements are worth noting: AT&T plans to be completely out of copper by 2029, decommissioning 500 wire centers. Verizon is migrating some 5 million legacy phone lines to fiber, looking for a $200 million/year savings on maintenance. The other companies are acting similarly. And, the FCC has adopted rules to speed up the process.

WHY UPDATING YOUR OS IS SO IMPORTANT
Do you think the last Windows Update was sort of large? It was, the last Patch Tuesday addressed over 400 vulnerabilities, including 3 zero-day and 42 critical problems. With AI pushing harder and harder, a lot of programming shortcuts and errors are coming back to bite users. Oh, yes, Mac users do not smirk, macOS definitely has vulnerabilities. No matter your OS, protect  yourself!

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

 

Here are some of the more recent items of interest:

• Building a Secure Network for EAS – Rolf Taylor
• A Free Tool for the New FCC EAS Password Rule – and More! – Ken Fine
• Join the Lunch Gathering – Thursday 2 PM Eastern
• Enforcement Watch – No NPT Forms for 3 Year = $27k / NoV for 475% over power
• Do You Have the Right USB-C Cable – Barry Mishkihd
• C-Band Passes Away From Broadcast – Danny Ray Boyer
• Silicon Carbide Comes to AM Broadcasting – Tim Hardy
• FCC Cybersecurity Order & NPRM – Barry Mishkind
• IT Security for Broadcast Gear – Kirk Harnack

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

 
MANUFACTURERS’ NEWS

Got your travel plans and reservations ready? The Fall regional and International conventions are rolling along:

• International: IBC in Amsterdam – September 12-15
• Midwest Regional Broadcasters Clinic at Madison, WI – September 15-17
• Georgia Association of Broadcasters – Atlanta – September 19, 20
• Midwest Broadcast & Multimedia Technology Conference – Columbus, OH – September 24-26
• WABE Media & Entertainment Technology Conference – Calgary Canada – September 29 – October 1
• Kansas Association of Broadcasters Convention Manhattan KS – October 6th
• CCBE/OAB Conferences Toronto Canada – October 27, 28

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Davicom has announced a major upgrade for all Cortex users. Firmware 6.20 is now out, including new rebuild for a faster web server with improved its usability. Download firmware 6.20   Read the release bulletin   The update is completely free.

Here are some of the new features:

• Summary States fold up to 128 I/O points into one alarm point.
• Custom log memory has expanded eightfold.
• Alarm Call Instructions attach the right procedure to any alarm.
• An MIB browser now lives inside the unit,
• an I/O search tool means nobody has to remember that 1A7 is CH 1 RF POWER.
• Default passwords are gone,
• SNMPv3 gets stronger authentication and privacy.

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Headed to Amsterdam? There will be a lot to see, and the Telos Alliance is going to show off five products you might find interesting:

• Omnia XII FM + HD/DAB Radio Audio Proocessor makes it European debut.
• Junger Audio’s flexAI, with programmable AI, use it where it helps most.
• Axia’s Pulsar Compact AoIP Mixing Console.
• Minnetonka Audio AudioTools Server v7 with AudioShake Source Separation.
• Telos Infinity IP Intercom family with new hands-on controls for use both in the studio and out in the field.

visit www.telosalliance.com for more information.

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Also featured this coming week: Lawo’s Edge One streamlines infrastructure by merging comprehensive audio and video I/O into a compact, SMPTE-ST2110-native IP-connected stagebox. It provides SDI, HDMI in/out, MADI with SRC, analog/digital audio, GPI, sync/ref/WCL, and DSP; SW-licensing for on-demand capability.

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Nautel has announced the VX8 and VX10, new 8 kW and 10 kW analog FM transmitters that extend the VX Series power range from 150 W to 10 kW. New rack-mount models give broadcasters a compact, serviceable, and cost-effective option for higher-power main, standby, and N+1 FM applications.

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Do you use any of those IoT thingies around the house? Manufacturer Homey has new mobile/web app that can update and deploy Matter, Z-Wave and Zigbee products all at the same time. more info: News article

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

 

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

• 18 years ago (9/5/08) a Fender Stratocaster set on fire by Jimi Hendrix sells for $575,000.
• 20 years ago (9/5/06) Katie Couric made an historic TV network anchor debut as first sole female host.
• 26 years ago (9/1/00) Sirius Satellite put its system into place. (Service Launched 2/14/2002)
• 29 years ago (9/6/97) Elton John sings at Princess Diana’s funeral: “Candle in the Wind.“*
• 31 years ago (9/2/95) the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame opened in Cleveland, OH.
• 31 years ago (9/3/95) Ike Turner finished 14 months in prison for cocaine possession.
• 42 years ago (9/1/84) The #1 hit from Tina Turner: “What’s Love Got to Do with it.“
• 43 years ago (9/3/83) Eurythmics hit #1 with “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).“
• 58 years ago (9/3/68) Ringo Starr returned to the Beatles having quit during the White Album. (The group showed their feelings: his drum kit was covered with flowers.

… and 63 years ago (9/2/63) CBS and NBC expanded their network news from 15 to 30 minutes.

And, here are some more newsy-type items:

• 7 years ago (9/4/19) American Airlines retired the last MD-80, a model popular with fliers.
• 29 years ago (8/31/97) Diana, Princess of Wales died in a car crash in Paris. She was 36.
• 41 years ago (9/1/85) the wreckage of the Titanic was discovered at the bottom of  the North Atlantic Ocean.
• 46 years ago (8/30/80) Christopher Cross had his first #1 hit with “Sailing” (“Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)” (from the 1981 film Arthur).
• 50 years ago (8/31/76) George Harrison was found guilt of “subconscious plagiarism” for “My Sweet Lord.
• 51 years ago (9/5/75) an attempted assassination of President Gerald Ford by Squeaky Fromme was foiled.
• 54 years ago (9/1/72) Bobby Fischer won the Match of the Century and became the first American world chess champion.
• 54 years ago (9/3/72) Viking II landed on Mars.
• 54 years ago (9/6/72) the Munich massacre takes place at Munich Olympic Games; 11 Israeli athletes and coaches were killed by  a terrorist group.
• 57 years ago (9/1/69) Qaddafi led coup in Libya.
• 57 years ago (9/2/69) America’s first automatic teller machine (ATM) makes its public debut, dispensing cash to customers at Chemical Bank in Rockville Center, NY
• 59 years ago (8/30/67) Thurgood Marshall became the first African American to be confirmed as a Supreme Court justice. He would remain on the Supreme Court for 24 years.
• 62 years ago (8/31/64) California was declared te most populous state in the US.
• 71 years ago (8/31/55) William Cobb demonstrated the first solar-powered car.
• 81 years ago (9/2/45) Japan surrendered, ending WWII.

(and … we have a bunch of older ones this week!)

• 129 years ago (8/31/1897) Thomas Edison patented his Kinetograph.
• 130 years ago (8/30/1896) the first auto race was won … by an electric car.
• 138 years ago (8/31/1888) Jack the Ripper’s first victim was murdered.
• 152 years ago (8/30/1874)  The Factory Act limited the workweek in Britain to **
• 190 years ago (9/5/1836) Sam Houston was made President of newly independent Republic of Texas.
• 243 years ago (9/3/1783) the treaty of Paris was signed and the American Revolution officially came to an end.
• 344 years ago (9/4/1682) Edmund Halley observed Halley’s Comet for the first time.
• 360 years ago (9/2/1666) the Great Fire of London started.

… and 504 years ago (9/6/1522) Magellan’s ship Victoria completed the circumnavigation of the globe.

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

 

* It is the best selling single in UK history.

**56.5 hours a week.

MIDWEEK BONUS

How much do you speak each day? (On-air DJs NOT included). 

Surprise:  Scientists say we are speaking an average of 338 fewer words each day/year. In a huge study, American psychologists recorded the utterances of thousands of people, of all ages. If you are average, you probably say 6000-7000 words a day (oh, oh …  women may speak as much as three times as much as a man!) Overall, a 15-year study showed we all are talking less. Technology, isolation and WFH are to blame, but it is the loss of idle chit-chat that does the most damage.

(In 2005, the average was 16,600 words)

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You probably know that Coca Cola originally contained cocaine, right?  Did you know that the lemon-lime drink 7Up also had an interesting ingredient? Its original name, “Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda” (shortened to 7Up in 1936), gives a clue. Yes, the soda contained Lithium Citrate as a mood stabilizer. The US FDA outlawed it in 1948, leaving the familiar citrus taste.

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PLEASE INVITE A FRIEND TO JOIN US
We sure hope you are finding the BDR and the Newsletter to be of value to you. If so, there are two things that you can do to ensure the BDR keeps pulsing along:
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PLEASE TELL US WHAT’S WHAT
There are so many areas into which we would like to expand, but it is feedback from you that helps us decided where to go first. Are you interested in a certain piece of gear or technology? Let us know. Even better, would you be willing to do a user report and share your experience?

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We sure do appreciate you spending time with our Newsletter. And even more so when you recommend us to your colleagues and friends.

barry

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Now … some extra stuff .. some important … some just interesting.

MORE DETAIL HERE – YOU HAVE PROBABLY READ THIS BEFORE…
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