Dennis Thompson

 Hello Radio, and TV, and all the ships at sea.

As we are approaching the halfway point of 2021 I hope everyone is surviving the up and downs of the industry. You know, the ups: Time to head to the hill for some transmitter work and generator refueling. The downs: time to crawl into the racks to find replace/check/add that cable(s).

June is busting out all over, hailed the Rodgers and Hammerstein song. Soon the masking requirements for California will end and perhaps we will bust out of our Zoom gatherings to a suitable watering hole for the monthly SBE meetings. The NAB2021 will be busting out in Las Vegas in October (9-13) and has now opened registration for the long awaited busting out. Check out NAB2021 H E R E.

The FCC is busting out a rate increase (approximately 8%) in the annual station fees charged to broadcasters. See chart below:

And the EAS NPT is still scheduled for August 11 2021 to make sure that things aren’t busted. Unless something big busts before then. If so, look for a rescheduling.

Drones are busting out all over, too. Check out the SBE’s upcoming Webinar (July 29) on how to use drone technology to keep your antenna/tower system from getting busted.

Finally, SBE Secretary-Treasurer Steve Dresser, who has never been busted in his life, so I’m told, has the latest scuttlebutt on the Central Valley FCC happenings right here in this Newsletter. Remember that our Newsletter advertisers that support SBE66 are always available with their services, so please check them out. Their expertise just might keep something in your facility from getting. . . uhh, busted.

Dennis Thompson

 Covid-19 restrictions are changing, restaurants are opening for (limited) indoor dining, and more of the population are receiving the vaccination(s). The SBE66 meetings may become less virtual and more actual—but not this month. Join SBE66 for the April meeting via ZOOM on Thursday April 29^th at 12:00PM (noon). Look for the accompanying email to this Newsletter for the meeting link and information.

“What we have here, is failure-to-communicate”, said a famous movie actor. On April 26 FEMA said the same thing. On April 26, 2021, the Required Weekly Test (RWT) from IPAWS was transmitted with an incorrect signature. The test messages had a mismatch between the digest inside the message, and the digest computed by receivers. This is a part of the validation for an alert, and checking it is required by FCC Rule 11.56(c): The FCC says that, “EAS Participants shall configure their systems to reject all CAP-formatted EAS messages that include an invalid digital signature.” So, in theory, you should NOT have received this week’s RWT. If your received logged it, it should have said: “digital signature invalid.” All EAS devices should have rejected the test. The error affected all units, Sage Endec, DasDec and Trilithic. Some facilities have reported that their systems were configured correctly, but they still got the test. What say you? Our EAS box at the FM station where I work, did not receive the usual Monday morning alert. Check out the EAS Update story in this Newsletter for more information.

Also, The has FCC issued a Public Notice to announce the effective date of the FCC’s 2019 Report and Order on RF Exposure. This requires all stations to do an evaluation no later than two years of the RF Exposure on the site. It goes into effect on May 3rd. New and modified stations must do the evaluation immediately.

How good is your old reliable table-top tube set and long wire antenna? The FCC has released its latest census of broadcast facilities. As of March 31st, there are 4,546 AM and 10,895 full power FM stations with 2124 LPFM, and 8521 FM translators and boosters. That should keep you busy DXing in front of the magic eye tube for a few evenings at least. Hope to catch you in one of those tiny zoom boxes.

If you can’t find the accompanying email, here is the information for the upcoming Thursday (April 29th 2021) ZOOM meeting:         Meeting ID: 817 7628 3417   Passcode: 970358