All posts by Gary Stigall

Tony McDaid Moves to KPBS

SBE Chapter 36 Chairman Tony McDaid began his new position as Broadcast Engineer at KPBS-FM/TV last month. Most recently he was a Systems Engineer at KNSD/NBC 7. He has also worked as a broadcast engineer for iHeart Media, KFMB, and Qualcomm.

Tony said, “Among the reasons for making the change was a desire to get back to working in radio, which I had come to miss while at KNSD. KPBS is now the only broadcaster in San Diego with both radio and TV stations. It feels like something of a coming home, having worked for the BBC in the UK. I’m very lucky to be here just as new radio studios are beginning to be installed and look forward to a long and happy career at KPBS.”


Here Comes the Next Best Thing—March 22 SBE Event at iHeartMedia San Diego

A big product road show comes to San Diego again this year. An array of displays with representatives of several broadcast manufacturers will visit iHeartMedia, 9660 Granite Ridge Dr. behind Suite 100 on March 22 from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Drive to the main parking lot and walk around the east side of the building to the rear. SWIT USA sponsors lunch and Myat, Inc. sponsors a chance to win a $50 VISA Gift Card. For more information and to register (not required for attendance), see NBTTour.com or call Doak Turner at 815-721-6338.

The show is hosted by the Broadcasters General Store and Second Opinion Communications and features these sponsors:

  • ENCO – broadcast automation
  • Forecast – technical furniture
  • Altronic Research – RF dummy loads
  • Angry Audio – processors and accessories
  • Challenger Communications – satellite antennas
  • Core SWX – battery charging solutions
  • D2D Technologies – DTV processors and multiplexers
  • Dielectric – FM and TV transmission antennas and RF devices
  • Digital Alert Systems – EAS processors
  • Henry Engineering – audio and control accessories
  • Inovonics – audio processors, RDS messaging, and signal monitors
  • Jampro – antennas and associated RF transmission solutions
  • Myat – RF transmission products
  • Nautel – AM and FM transmitters
  • NEMAL – optical and copper connectivity products
  • Studio Hub – audio connectivity devices
  • SWIT USA – ENG camera video transmitters, monitors, lighting, mounts, and power solutions
  • Tieline – Audio-over-IP transmission solutions
  • Toner Cable – RF facility distribution products seller
  • Worldcast – FM transmitters, RDS encoding, sound processors, IP codecs, and broadcast remote control products
  • YellowTec – studio accessories, voice recorders

It’s Angry Audio for Our Online Meeting

We’ve noticed over the past year a lot of buzz about an entirely new product line called Chameleon.  The first audio processor that analyzes the program content to determine how to process it.  Current audio processors require a golden ear, IT competency, and a lot of time and patience to set up.  The Chameleon does all that tweaking based on the music coming in—delivering consistent program level with big sound and great presence. There are currently three models in production, with several more just around the corner.

Join us Tuesday, February 14th at 11:30 AM PST by first registering for the Zoom call here. This presentation was organized by Chapter 47, Los Angeles. 

About the Presenters

Michael Dosch is the founder and owner of Angry Audio. Known by his friends as “Catfish”, he is one of the broadcast industry’s most prolific product designers. He is probably best known for his work as founder/president of Axia (Telos) where he led the team that introduced AoIP into broadcast. Angry Audio was a side project where Catfish could create some small problem-solving products more for fun than profit. But demand was far greater than expected and he soon devoted his full-time energy to it. In 2020, Angry Audio acquired the company formerly known as Radio Systems and continues to manufacture the popular StudioHub line of products alongside the Angry Audio offerings. 

Cornelius Gould is a radio veteran, using his uniquely resonant voice on the mic for several stations in the Cleveland market, as well as many others and several streams beyond the OTA coverage area. But he’s a bit of a geek as well, and in fact, he’s a rocket enthusiast in his spare time.  That geekness led him into engineering roles at the stations, and he gravitated towards getting the most out of the signal he had to work with.  Eventually, he became part of the development team at Omnia, and was instrumental in designing the Omnia.11 and Volt products.  Taking everything he has learned over the years and programming it into a chip is his latest project.

Skyview Hacked

Skyview, the distribution service used by CBS Radio News, ABC Radio News, and others, failed yesterday as radio station affiliates found silence when their automation systems had expected network news insertions. Skyview posted the following announcement to stations receiving their streams through XDS receivers:

Skyview Networks experienced unauthorized access to its IT environment, resulting in interrupted technical services. Immediately upon learning of the incident, Skyview activated its comprehensive incident response plan. We have initiated advanced monitoring and threat detection across our systems and data. We have also engaged third-party forensic experts to help us contain and investigate the incident. These efforts are fully underway.

IMPORTANT:

During this undetermined period of time, it is advised NOT to reboot your XDS receiver.

Please reach out to affiliaterelations@skyviewsat.com if you have any questions.