Dennis Thompson
TRIVIA! Quick, what was the first ever audio trademark to be accepted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office? ANSWER: The NBC Chimes. Most of us still remember those three distinct pitches; G3, E4 and C4 (middle C) sounded in that order. The chimes were originally used as an attention signal or cue for radio stations across the network to begin broadcasting their station identifications or local feeds. While we’re on the subject of attention signals, let’s try trivia question #2. The attention signal of the Emergency Broadcast System (EBS) was a combination of what two sine wave frequencies? (Remember this is a test. . this is only a trivia test.) ANSWER: Due to its unpleasantness on the human ear, the frequency combinations were, 853 and 960Hz. Onward to trivia question #3! I promise, this is the last one. How much has the FCC issued in monetary forfeitures in the month of November for false, fraudulent or unauthorized use of the EAS Attention Signal? Hint: This is THE $64,000 question. ANSWER: You’re right again, it’s $64,000! Turner Broadcasting was assessed $25,000 and WNKY-DT is in for $39,000. The serious message in this test is: False, Fraudulent or Unauthorized Use of the Emergency Alert System Attention Signal and Codes is Strictly Prohibited.
The complete FCC Enforcement Advisory on false EAS tones is contained in this newsletter for those who would like to read it.
Have any of you AM guys noticed a shopping mall being built where you once parked your car to go inside the station? Apparently selling off the land under old AM stations has been a trick used by a number of companies over the years. This month Cumulus has announced they are planning to sell the property where KABC has been for decades. The 10-acre site in SW Los Angeles, is said to be worth as much as $90 Million. Anyone have an idea what the land on North Barton Avenue might be worth?
I know many of you are amateur radio operators. The HF bands have been quite good of late. Increased sun spot numbers and the possibility of a double-peak on the current solar cycle 24 are creating some interesting conditions. With such good propagation it might be possible to hear/QSO the SBE HAMnet with just a modest station set-up. For all you Hams and SWL’s more information about the SBE HAMnet is included in this Newsletter.
Once again our illustrious Chairman, Mr. Holden has lined up a must-see presentation for our November meeting. Carl Hicks, Director of Broadcast Sales at JVC will be presenting and demonstrating the proHD line of cameras. If you haven’t caught the information yet in this newsletter you can see it HERE.
Please have a great rest of the month and I hope you all can share some quality time with people that matter most in your life during the upcoming Holiday. See you at the meeting.
