Chapter to Honor Bob Gonsett at December Banquet

Fallbrook broadcast engineering consultant Robert Gonsett was honored for “Lifetime Achievement” at the Chapter 36 December banquet. The dinner, at the Four Points by Sheraton Hotel at Montgomery Field, had in attendance many of Bob’s local clients and friends.

Bob used his widely published CGC Communicator this fall to coordinate news regarding the Station Fire in Los Angeles that threatened the transmitter sites on Mt. Harvard and Mt. Wilson. Sometimes he sent multiple messages daily to assure word got out about road outages and progress of the fire’s front line.

A southern Californian resident from birth, Bob began his regional frequency measuring and spectrum analysis business in the early 1970s. He helped several FM stations shuffle frequencies or change facilities (or both) in order to improve their coverage while decreasing their RFR footprint. In Tucson, he was able to create a new, more accessible and better located radio transmission site from scratch. And he worked closely with Mexican authorities and broadcasters, including longtime client XETV, whom he convinced to change to circular polarity to improve rabbit ear antenna reception.

A special thanks to TV Magic and SCMS for helping to make this event a success. Chairwoman Gail Pineda and Program Chairwoman Eva Langer put substantial work into the event, including obtaining door prizes that walked away with several in attendance.

Four Pass Certification Exams

Three engineers from KGTV and one from Cox Media (cable channel 4) passed their SBE certification exams in November 2009. Congratulations to these newly certified engineers:

  • Chief Engineer Andrew Lombard, KGTV, Certified Broadcast Television Engineer
  • Andrew Cole, KGTV, Certified Broadcast Network Technologist
  • Matt Schiller, KGTV, Certified Broadcast Technologist
  • Shane Fortin, Cox Media, Certified Broadcast Technologist

Many thanks to Oscar Medina for proctoring these exams for the past 10 years. I will be taking on that job moving forward. Oscar and I had help with the November exams from Mike Curran. Chapter 36 now has 70 members, with 28 of those holding current certifications.

Local DTV Displacements Making Progress

San Diego low power TV stations are finally getting their digital tickets from the FCC.

  • KSDX-LD was granted a license for 275 watts omnidirectional on channel 9 from Mt. San Miguel. The KRCA Spanish language repeater recently shutdown channel 29 analog, which confounded everyone with its co-channel broadcast only a few miles from Tijuana digital XHTIT.
  • K61GH was granted a Special Temporary Authority to operate on channel 50 on November 5, 2009. The Mt. San Miguel station will operate a 15 kW ATSC station with a northerly beam about 90° wide.
  • KDTF-LD was granted a Construction Permit for operation on channel 51 digital from Mt. San Miguel with 12.4 kW with a broad beam to the southwest meant to serve metro San Diego as well. This Entravision property has been tricasting not only their primary Telefutura network, but also subchannels containing their Univision and MyNetworkTV feeds.
  • KBOP-CA applied for a displacement to move to channel 42 from channel 43 on Mt. San Miguel with 10 kW ERP with a medium width beam to serve metro San Diego to the west, with little energy in other directions.

KSDS Turns on HD

The San Diego non-commercial pure jazz outlet at 88.3 became the latest FM station in the market to put the Ibiquity digital sidebands on the air. Chief Engineer Larry Quick says they made the commitment after getting a matching grant from CPB, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. When asked what the greatest challenge was, he said that trying to keep the analog and digital signals in phase for a graceful fade from the IBOC signal has been a huge task.

The station raised its power to a stiff 22kW ERP V-pol only in 2007 at its transmitter in Linda Vista.

Western Radio Electronics Re-creates Itself

Longtime retailer and SBE supporter Jim Dujowich says that he is opening a new store under the old Western Radio Electronics name. Jim had been managing Elkays Electronics in Kearny Mesa, but he has moved the stock to 7558 Trade Street near Miramar Road. You can contact the sales crew using the traditional phone number, (858) 268-4400.

I asked Jim a few questions about the new store:

Q. Why did you move?

A. Bigger and better premises, a dedicated showroom to demonstrate product, an open area for workshops, a conference room, and additional parking for customers.

Q. What products do you stock now for broadcasters?

A. Of course cable and connectors such as, Kings, Bomar, Middle Atlantic, Switchcraft, Neutrik, Gepco, Belden, Azden, Telex and much more!!

Q. What improvements, if any, do you expect in your store over the coming months?

A. Deeper stock levels, better range, lunch and learn sessions, as well as better tech support and product knowledge.

Q. Is there any change in personnel or ownership that we should know about?

A. Yes. In addition to Les Kacev, Alon and Shimshon Hasson bring a wealth of business experience and technical knowledge to the table and broaden the ownership base. General support from Jim and Mike will continue as usual along with our personal relationships with all our vendors.

Q. Anything else?

A. We carry new security and access control lines.

Society of Broadcast Engineers