We’re having a no-presentation meeting on Wednesday, May 22, at 12:00 noon. Please join us at iHeartMedia, 9660 Granite Ridge Drive.
Expect pizza with a side of shop talk, as well as discussion about broadcast engineering and the future of SBE. Members and guests welcome.
[From SBE Headquarters] Don’t miss the SBE Ennes Workshop by SBE Chapter 47-Los Angeles on Saturday, May 4. Breakfast and registration open at 8 am and the workshop starts promptly at 9 am and takes place at KPCC Headquarters, 474 South Raymond Ave., Pasadena, CA 91105. Register TODAY!
Registration includes light breakfast and lunch
The cost is only $20 for SBE members and $30 for non-members. Register HERE. Students can register for FREE by clicking HERE.
In addition to the SBE Ennes Workshop, the event includes a sponsor showcase, a special message from SBE President Ted Hand and an optional facility tour following the end of sessions at 3 pm.
Continue reading The SBE and L.A. Chapter 47 present an Ennes Workshop on Saturday, May 4
Apologies to those of you not involved in the allied field of ham radio, but this news is huge to those who are. The founder of MFJ Enterprises, Martin F. Jue, announced yesterday that the company would cease manufacturing on May 17, 2024, after 52 years of operations. The company, based in Starkville, Mississippi near Mississippi State University, represents a kind of throwback operation. Local Americans manufactured and sold relatively inexpensive accessories, antennas, and amplifiers for the ham radio hobby. Given the labor costs relative to imported goods from China, businesses like this are nearly impossible to keep afloat. Mr. Jue is 80 years old and said he has been looking for a buyer without success and is ready to retire.
Continue reading MFJ Enterprises to Quit Manufacturing
Many thanks to new SBE Chapter 36 sponsor Bext, Inc., San Diego supplier and service center for FM transmitters, antennas, filters, STLs, and even custom RF amplifiers for scientific, industrial or medical applications.
The Bext line of XL FM transmitters from 50 to 22000 Watts include Ethernet-connected remote control built in and several types of connectivity options. I got to thoroughly test drive them (and then wrote the manual), and I have to say I was impressed. They have a built-in stereo generator with audio limiter, as well as optional RDS dynamic encoder, SNMP2, AES-EBU, Audio-over-IP capability, programmable FSK ID Keyer and a built-in user manual file always accessible through a USB on the front panel. Breaking news—the 150 W and 300 W models are LPFM FCC Certified. For southern California stations, you have the advantage of in-stock, off-the-shelf availability and immediate replacements or loaners. No waiting for shipments!
The SBE has released new Broadcast Station Self-Inspection Guides for FM and TV broadcast stations. The SBE partnered with the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) to produce the documents, which are the first part of a planned series to cover all broadcast services. These Guides are designed to aid stations and Alternative Broadcast Inspection Program (ABIP) inspectors in evaluating a broadcast station’s compliance with FCC rules and regulations.
The Guides were developed to replace the FCC Self-Inspection Checklists that were first released in the 1990s, but have not been updated for nearly 15 years. While the previous Checklists only provided references to rules, the new SBE Guides include recommended practices for stations to establish policies and procedures for their own stations to ensure overall regulatory compliance. The Guides are available for download from the SBE website under the Legislative/Regulatory and Resources tab. They are free to SBE members.