Commentary

FCC Proposes Allowing All-digital AM

Making Waves – Commentary

The Federal Communications Commission last week adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that recommends giving AM stations the flexibility to voluntarily adopt all-digital broadcasting.

FCC LogoIt hasn’t been easy to watch AM broadcasting slowly wither as stations go mute after low listenership and sales. It seems like every week we hear of another AM station downing its towers and selling its land to housing developments.

FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai has taken a special interest in doing what he can to prop up AM broadcasters, first with his initiative that gave them some access to low-power FM translator channels, with mixed results that, in fact, did nothing for the actual AM spectrum.

Should AM stations be given the right to adopt all-digital modulation? Continue reading FCC Proposes Allowing All-digital AM →

Meetings

Annual Holiday Luncheon at 94th Aero Squadron

Another year is coming to an end–can you believe it? December is the month we set aside for a simple sit-down lunch to catch up with each other. No agenda, no presentation. 

Please join us at the annual Society of Broadcast Engineers, San Diego Chapter 36 holiday banquet, Wednesday, December 18 at 12 noon at the 94th Aero Squadron, 8885 Balboa Avenue, San Diego. Note that we’ll be on the covered-protected outdoor patio. Everyone is welcome. Dielectric and RF Specialties of California are sponsoring this luncheon–no charge to you.

National

FCC Grants 60-day Grace Period for IPAWS Update

According to a Public Notice from the FCC, EAS participants will not have to update their IPAWS certificates by the November 8, 2019 deadline. 

FEMA and some EAS participants expressed concern over the timeframe, saying that it was not sufficient time. As a result, the FCC issued the public notice to inform EAS participants about Section 11.35(b) of the commission’s rules, which allow for operations to continue “without the defective equipment pending its repair or replacement for 60 days without further FCC authority.”

EAS participants will have until January 7, 2020 to complete the IPAWS certificate updates.

Instructions for updating certificates for the DASDEC EAS devices are here. 

Users of SAGE EAS equipment should have completed a software update by now. More information is here. If you haven’t already, you need to purchase the software update for $349, and SCMS is a dealer. 

Meetings

November 20 Meeting: IP Networking Fundamentals with IEEE/BTS

This month we have the honor of being invited to share a meeting with the Broadcast Technology Society of the IEEE San Diego Chapter.

Wayne Pecena

Wayne Pecena, the current President of the SBE and a talented teacher, will lead a session on networking for the broadcast plant.

This presentation will review IP networking fundamentals and underlying standards to focus on the implementation of Ethernet switching and IP routing. “When to route and when to switch?”–that is the question. Theoretical concepts will be presented with considerations for network performance, security, and management utilizing practical implementation examples in a broadcast plant IP network.

Join us and the IEEE on Wednesday, November 20, 2019 at Advanced Test Equipment Rentals, 10401 Roselle St., in Sorrento Valley, San Diego. Networking, food, and refreshments start at 5:30 PM. The presentation starts at 6:00 PM and is expected to last about 90 minutes. This is an evening meeting.

The meeting is free for SBE and IEEE members, $5 for non-members. Everyone is welcome.

RSVP to Murat Karsi, BTS San Diego Chapter Co-chair at mkarsi@ieee.org.

Continue reading November 20 Meeting: IP Networking Fundamentals with IEEE/BTS →
Local News, National

DASDEC EAS Users Can Update IPAWS Certificates

From the SBE EAS List server:
If you are using a DASDEC or OneNet CAP EAS device, we received confirmation from FEMA to release the new Federal Bridge certificate bundle to our users.  Please try to have this certificate update file installed by November 8, 2019 – it is important for the proper validation of CAP alert messages from IPAWS.

The new FEMA IPAWS Certificate for DASDEC/One-Net is now posted: http://www.digitalalertsystems.com/DAS_pages/resources_fsb.html. Instructions and download link for the bundle are found at that site.

Continue reading DASDEC EAS Users Can Update IPAWS Certificates →

Society of Broadcast Engineers