Lotus Communications on December 18, 2024 announced it was acquiring KFBG 100.7 MHz San Diego from Local Media San Diego. LMSD will continue to operate Tijuana stations XHITZ 90.3, XETRA 91.1, and XHRM 92.5. LMSD had acquired KFMB-AM and -FM from TEGNA in 2019. Employees were told to expect being discontinued when the transition is approved by the FCC.
2024 SBE Chapter 36 Holiday Luncheon
Our annual holiday gathering on December 18 was a rousing success this year. Thanks for attending!
Meet Mario Armstrong
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.
Continue reading Meet Mario ArmstrongSage Ends ENDEC Production
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.”
EAS RMT Calendar Updated for 2025
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.