You Really Must Listen
[August 2024] Have you – or your Chief Operator – actually listened to your on-air product recently? There are a number of reasons you should, but here are a couple of cases that could result in a fine if the FCC gets involved.
Most stations put a lot of effort into creating a “sound” with their programming – everything from sounders to audio processing.
Yet, for many reasons, more stations than you might think go unmonitored, and any problems in the chain can go unnoticed for hours – or months.
ARE YOU GOING TO BE ON TODAY?
Some time ago, a local station suffered a power loss and, when the power came back, one of the audio components froze, essentially sending nothing to the transmitter.
This was not a marginal station. It had a decent number of listeners. But until a listener called in, late in the morning, to ask “Are you going to be on today?” no one had noticed the six or so hours of dead air. No one. How, you ask, could this happen?
Sadly, pretty easily.
NOT MY RESPONSIBILITY
As it turns out, each person had an excuse.
In the Control Room – what should be the primary quality control point – because the station was running HD Radio, the board operator listened to the “program bus” so that he did not miss cues, etc. He never knew about the dead air.
At the other end of the program chain, the modulation monitor that was supposed to alarm when audio dropped out never went below about 28%, due to how it reacted to the digital carriers. It did not “know” there was dead air.
Up in the main office of the cluster, the station was not on the house monitor at the receptionist’s desk. Nor was it used on the “music on hold.”
Meanwhile, throughout Drive Time and the following hours, the Program Director did not listen to the station, the GM was not listening, the salespeople did not listen, the Production Director did not listen – no one listened. Although the log showed they ran, the program and commercials were heard by no one outside the Control Room. No one.
Aside from some “checking” most listeners had tuned out hours ago. If the FCC were listening, they might issue an NoV for lack of Station Identification or excessive time without modulation.
WHEN AN ALERT IS NOT AN ALERT
According to the FCC Rules, the EAS box must be in the program chain.
In fact, it is required to be ready to receive and transmit at all times (11.35(a). Not just on one of the pots on the control board, but in the program chain, typically the last unit before the transmitter.
Still, we hear of cases where stations have been running RWT’s and RMT’s for months, logging them as being run, only to find that the actual alert never went on the air! A Chief Operator had been filling out the logs, and signing them, verifying the tests were run. But, although the automation initiated a test, it never got on the air. How could this be?
TWO MAIN REASONS FOR EAS FAILURE
There are a number of possibilities, but two simple checks will resolve 99% of failure to transmit an EAS test.
First, as noted above, if a station has the EAS audio on a pot, the operator might not have turned it up, and aside from the “announcement” that “this is a test…” either not notice, or not know that the EAS tones were not placed on the air.
Another issue follows maintenance, such as when the EAS unit is pulled for upgrade or other attention. Most often, the engineer connects the inputs directly to the outputs. But when he is done?
Yep. Forgetting to replace the audio in/out cables back to the EAS unit will continue to bypass the it – no matter how many tests you run, it will report “test run and logged.”
There are other ways in which wires in the racks can get switches, but these two scenarios cover the majority of problems.
LISTEN!!! (AND LOOK!)
The only way the Chief Operator can be sure the EAS tests and alerts that he has certified have actually run is for him to hear them on the air, either live or listening to an off-air recording.
It is so easy to get into a routine that we forget how little things changing can create major issues. For example, we often assume that because our tower light monitor tells us the lights are working that none are burned out or otherwise malfunctioning. The FCC does say (17.49) that we should have confirmation for out tower lights – unless one of the new, more sophisticated monitors are installed that can identify specific lights and operational modes.
At each station, it would a wise move to make a point to instruct the Chief Operator to ensure the logs they are certifying actually reflect the operational status of the station. This is especially true if you are operating by using a non-technical staffer to collect and sign off on the logs.
Can your listeners hear you and your EAS tests and alerts? Now is a good time to check!
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https://www.nautel.com/products/fm-transmitters/lpfm/
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