Dennis Thompson
Back from the big tower in the fog, what a great trip! You can catch a few of the photographic hi-lights here.
Thanks to Chairman Ken Holden and Secretary-Treasurer Steve Dresser for spending a lot of time and effort to make the trip possible. Our knowledgeable host, Eric Dausman provided a great tour through the Sutro facility and transmitter buildings, very impressive. We’ll be having our own transmitter tours coming up, as the annual Meadow Lakes Picnic and BBQ approaches–more on that in a moment.
For those of you that may have missed Rych Wither’s email, Randy Stover is recovering from a stroke he had last month. Randy is still at Valley Healthcare at 4840 E Tulare (just east of Chestnut). He is under hospice care now (he says the food is still terrible), and visiting hours are 11 AM to 8 PM, 7 days a week.
The FCC has begun granting tower owners permission to modify the lighting on their structures. Hoping to save some money in power costs, a few station owners have applied to turn off some of their tower lights. Federal wildlife biologists and other wildlife experts believe fewer migratory birds would die each year if steady red obstruction lights for towers taller than 351 feet were turned off while blinking lights are left on. Broadcasters who want to turn off the steady lights must go through a two-step process, first asking the FAA electronically for permission, using the FAA’s “Deviation from Red Obstruction Light Standards.” Once approved by the FAA, the tower owner must then apply to the FCC, also electronically, to turn off the specific lights. When the steady red lights have been turned off, the tower owner then needs to notify the FCC using Form 854 for each structure.
Stay CALM! You have until December 13, 2012 to comply with the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act. Check out the quick facts here, and remember both promos and advertising need to have the same average volume as the programming.
Here are two reasons to remember September 22. The summer of 2012 officially ends and the Annual SBE66 Picnic officially begins!
Check out the information here and we hope to see you at one of the festively decorated picnic tables adjacent to the lake.
