SBE Chapter 36 welcomes new member Mario Armstrong, who recently joined the engineering staff at KPBS. We asked a few questions and he responded:
Where do you work and what do you do there?
I’m currently a Broadcast Engineer at KPBS, a role I transitioned into after working in operations.
How did you make the transition from operations?
I didn’t start with a background in broadcast engineering, but my technical skills came from setting up PA systems for KPBS as a freelancer after college, and climbing the operations ladder at KGTV from stage manager to weekend director. I also gained hands-on experience working as a grip and gaffer for local commercial productions, which helped me get comfortable on commercial sets.
My real introduction to broadcast engineering came in late 2019 when I officially stepped into the field. The pandemic became my “soft launch” into this world, and it was a steep but rewarding learning curve.
Sage Alerting Systems announced today that it has ceased manufacturing its Sage Digital ENDEC, model 3644. “Some parts for the ENDEC are no longer available”, said Harold Price, President of Sage. We have parts on hand for repairs, and we expect to be able to continue repairs on ENDECs now in the field for several years. Warranty repairs will also continue.
Sage will continue to support the firmware in the 3644 ENDEC, and will continue to provide user support via email and phone lines. The next planned firmware update is a free maintenance release for minor bugs and to enable the Missing or Endangered Persons (MEP) alert code.
Sage has no immediate plans for a replacement for the 3644. Price says “EAS has always been an odd niche business with a very bursty sales rate. The FCC has been contemplating major changes to EAS rules for the last year or two. What happens next remains to be seen. Sage will continue to evaluate opportunities for new products in the coming months.”
I’ve posted the 2025 EAS Regular Monthly Test calendar for 2025 here.
The San Diego EAS Plan is undergoing a minor change to include the LP1 and LP2 HD2 and translator stations you may monitor. We’ll let you know when the plan has been approved by the state.
KOGO (AM) 600 kHz started broadcasting full-time from their new site at the west end of Santee beginning October 28, 2024. iHeart filed with the FCC a License to Cover the Construction Permit for that move from Emerald Hills. At the new site, KOGO will operate with a transmitter output of 9,000 watts daytime, 10,000 watts nighttime, both directional to the southwest with a slightly different pattern than they had at the old site. The extra power from their previous 5 kW output is needed to compensate for the inefficiency of the short antenna (69°) designed for KFMB (now KGB-AM) at 760 kHz, and the losses due to multiple matching and filter devices used to multiplex with KGB-AM.
When KLNV 106.5 and KWFN 97.3 are finished moving to the KGB-FM tower, owner Vertical Bridge will be free to convert the old Emerald Hills site property to a residential development.
KOGO had been at the Emerald Hills site since 1948, when its callsign was KFSD.
