Claim OwnershipThis Week In Radio Tech (TWiRT)
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“TWiRT” is your go to show if you want to get behind the scenes on what makes broadcasting possible. The show addresses common issues as well as explaining past experiences from a wide array of hosts who each come from a different background in radio technology. This show is a must for any tech geek or for anyone who is interested in what goes on behind the boards and wires.
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What kind of “radio station” is on-the-air only twice per hour? How about CBS Radio News? With the precision of a watchmaker, the CBS Radio News network delivers news updates to hundreds of radio stations and millions of listeners. Mitch Glider is the Supervising Engineer at their headquarters on West 57th Street in New York City. Through the challenges of at-home news anchors (through the pandemic) and changes in technology, Mitch and just a few colleagues keep the audio and metadata correctly routed. In this episode, we’re learning about past, present, and future network radio operations. Mitch encourages engineers to “Respect the past, and embrace the future.”
If you’re building a new radio studio, or rebuilding one, Chris Tarr is here to help. This is your opportunity to get The Ninjaneer’s expert advice without laying out thousands of dollars in consulting fees. In this episode, we’re looking at various technologies to link your radio studio with your transmitter site. There are more choices now than ever! And we’re looking at today’s radio studios; how are they different from those of the past? We think studios can be a lot simpler than they used to be, mostly thanks to Audio over IP technology.
If you’re building a new FM radio station, or rebuilding one, Chris Tarr is here to help. This is your opportunity to get The Ninjaneer’s expert advice without laying out thousands of dollars in consulting fees. This episode focuses on what to do when you get your FCC Construction Permit. Chris gives hard-earned advice on towers, antennas, transmission line, transmitter selection, and more.
What’s ahead in 2025 for radio programming? For radio talent? For radio programming executives? Where does Artificial Intelligence fit in? What audience is key to attract to radio and how can radio programmers make headway on that? How will new “PPM Wearables” affect station ratings? And how important are streaming and on-demand programs to radio’s future success? We got answers and opinions on all these questions from John Shomby at Country’s Radio Coach. John’s been a consultant, programmer, and coach focusing on Talk Radio and Country Radio formats, and he’s our guest this week filling us in on the key topics and strategies for radio’s future success.
Jeff McGinley is the kind of engineer who pays attention to the important things. He’s focused on the technologies that bring value to the on-air talent and to the listeners, all the while satisfying the shareholders drive for return on investment. Jeff’s advice is based on real-world experience, so you know there’s value there, too. On this episode we’re discussing the end of official support for Windows 10, and moving to Windows 11. Plus, Jeff and Chris both relate the importance of good metadata for listeners via RDS and PAD (for HD Radio). And we discuss the significant benefits of 11 GHz IP Radio links.
Akamai Broadcasting bought six radio stations (2 AM & 4 FM) plus a number of translators on Maui. Russell Laferty has been building new facilities, and your TWiRT host, Kirk Harnack, is helping with the final wiring and configurations. In addition to a new rack room and (so far) one studio, Russell is moving several studio-transmitter link (STL) systems and installing new ones. One highlight of the work has been improvements to two tower sites on Mt. Haleakala. We visit the upper site at close to 10,000 feet above sea level where Russell gives us a video tour of the building. Plus, learn how a defective Ethernet switch earned Kirk a trip to this transmitter site above the clouds.
Necessity truly is the mother of invention. So, when Jim Gray and Alex Hartman needed to gain remote control of some late-model CD players, they developed “Babelfish.” The Babelfish Ecosystem is a solution for logic integration amongst systems that typically are unable to communicate with each other. Whether it's a 40 year old on-air light system that only speaks in relays or a new IP based system that only communicates virtually, the Babelfish Ecosystem allows unlike systems to communicate as one. Babelfish, speak any language for GPIO control. Alex and Jim join us to explain the necessity, the solution, and the tech behind these useful tools.
Engineers are usually the unsung heroes of Broadcasting. But Mark and Paula Persons have set a high bar for professionalism in our industry. They were both inducted into the Minnesota Broadcasters Hall of Fame and join us to talk about it. Did you know that Mark never wore blue jeans to work - not even at transmitter sites? And Paula’s keen accounting and PR skills made the most of Mark’s efforts both in the field and in the repair shop. We engineers can all learn from the Persons’ professionalism and teamwork.
In late September, 2024, hurricane Helene hit parts of Florida and caused wind damage and severe flooding in Georgia, South Carolina, and especially Western North Carolina. Hurricane Milton hit Florida in October, 2025, causing even more damage there. In both storms, electricity was knocked out, cell phone service disrupted, and Internet was down for many. In these disasters, local and regional radio largely remained on-the-air, alerting listeners to the storms’ arrivals and keeping them updated with news of emergency services, relief sites, and a lot more. Christian Vang and Dave Anderson are broadcast engineers in Northern Georgia and Tampa, Florida, respectively. Both are seasoned in planning for disasters and working those plans while being flexible in emergency response, all the while keeping studios and transmitters operational. Chris Tarr joins us as well with some additional notes on emergency preparedness for broadcast engineers.
Most broadcast engineers love a good project - especially when planning and resources overlap to enable a worthy outcome. But even solid “enablement” requires an engaged and knowledgeable engineer to guide the project’s moving parts, seeing the project through, and making sure the outcome fits the goal. That’s where Aaron Cox comes in. Aaron appreciates a good project - even a complex one - and he’s our guest, describing several compelling broadcast projects. From a couple of tower projects to new studios and upgrading an AM directional array, Aaron brings a “can-do” spirit to each job. Chris Tarr co-hosts this episode, adding his parallel expertise.
Mike Dosch has served as the CEO of Telos-Omnia-Axia, and is the Founder of Angry Audio. But his passion is audio circuit design and manufacturing. Mike joins us to talk about solving some vexing audio problems, and getting the best performance from analog audio interfaces. Isolating audio circuits from the noisy data circuits that connect them was a challenge - one that is solved in the USB Audio Gizmo from Angry Audio. Mike also discusses Common Mode Rejection Ratio (CMRR) and how this figure of merit is important in real audio facilities. Josh Bohn joins us to announce a new wireless data connection path for remote sites. And we meet Mike Hutchens, the new Director of Technical Services at MK Technical Services.
Amazing that this worked out, but thanks to Pierre Lonewolf’s topic idea and Bill Murdoch’s eagerness to join us, we have a fun and informative TWiRT episode! Two chiefs who engineer at two different high-power AM radio stations - each broadcasting at 720 kHz on the AM dial. And we’re having this conversation on episode 720 of “This Week in Radio Tech!” It had to be fate! Between Pierre and Bill, we find plenty of similarities and some big differences in their transmitter operations. Pierre’s station is KOTZ in Kotzebue, Alaska. Bill’s station is WGN in Chicago, Illinois. The towers are about 3,200 miles apart from each other, so neither station gets interference from the other, but each station has interesting and individual challenges. You’ve got to check out Pierre’s and Bill’s Tips of the Week at the end of the show. Great wisdom there!
Conditional Access systems for building security have always seemed like a “per building” or “per campus” proposition. But with today’s ubiquitous Internet access, and somewhat autonomous operation, conditional access systems can be deployed in remote locations. They can provide not only conditional access security, but also inform site owners of who is opening doors and gates, and exactly when they’re doing it. It’s convenience for those requiring access, and verification for those who need to monitor such access. Ty Magnum has assembled the right ‘best of breed” security systems and is installing these systems at transmitter sites and broadcast studio facilities. Chris Tarr joins us to apply his perspective on rolling out this technology and the equipment that makes it work.
We radio engineers who aspire to be fondly remembered in our careers should take a few notes from Ed Glab. Ed engineered the studios and the remote broadcasters for WLS, Chicago, for over 40 years. His career and his positive ingenuity are fondly remembered by the DJs and radio hosts who worked with him. On this episode of TWiRT, we get to talk with Ed and hear his perspective and stories about engineering at “Music Radio - WLS”.
Listen fast, because George Whittam reveals a LOT of gold nuggets of useful audio capture and production information in this episode of TWiRT. Just look at the long list of Show Notes below! George is the engineer to the Voice Over stars, and the rest of the voice talent world, too. We engineers can learn a lot from George’s tireless efforts to help voice talent get the most from their equipment and studios, and modify or build new spaces when needed. Check out George’s advice, then follow him on other podcasts and his website to dig into solid audio engineering advice.
TWiRT is on location at a Nashville radio station - Jazzy 88, WFSK-FM. Rick Durham is a provider of managed IT services in Middle Tennessee. He’s also the engineer for WFSK-FM. WFSK is preparing for their annual fundraising event, where they broadcast live from the parking lot and take drive through donations while interviewing numerous Nashville dignitaries and music artists. We also spend a few minutes with Sharon Kay, WFSK’s General Manager, and Xuam (X-Man) Lawson, WFSK’s Program Director. We discuss some engineering and how WFSK is keeping up with an Audio over IP audio plant. We also discuss the engineer’s role in keeping the jazz playing and the public affairs programming on the air, too.
Lee Melton is one of those semi-crazy radio guys that we know and love. And many of us wanted to BE that guy! Lee’s career started at KFI, Los Angeles, and he’s been at about 25 radio stations, even building a couple in Southeast Texas. Some have called him “The Kind of Radio Trade-Outs” while many others called him a friendly and fun voice on the radio. Lee’s radio recollections inspire plenty of banter with Chris Tarr and Kirk Harnack. And Chris reveals his encounter with Paul McCartney! It's an hour of radio stories and fun, with a little engineering talk sprinkled in.
Sometimes we originate a TWiRT episode from a newly-built radio studio. Today, however, we’re visiting beautiful studios that are under construction. Bill Jackson works with K-Love, a nationwide Christian radio group. He’s in charge of the design and build-out of a couple dozen radio studios, podcast rooms, edit, and news booths. Bill is absolutely maximizing Audio over IP technology throughout. Let’s take a “cook’s tour” of a couple large studios, plus look at a data closet and the broadcast portion of the restricted-access data center.
The Alternative Broadcast Inspection Program (ABIP) was created around 1989 to aid the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in making sure all broadcast operations are in compliance and to help stations understand the rules in a one-on-one setting. In the beginning, the ABIP inspectors were retired FCC engineers. As the program began to expand around the country, other engineers were recruited and trained by regional FCC inspectors. ABIP inspectors have long used a basic Self Inspection Checklist that became woefully out of date. Tom Ray, working with other committee members at the Society of Broadcast Engineers (SBE) has rewritten and greatly expanded these checklists for AM, FM, and TV stations. ABIP inspections are an excellent tool for broadcasters to assure compliance with FCC Rules, and do so in a friendly, non-adversarial encounter.
The rise of AI-generated lyrics and music is giving engineers something to chuckle about. But could this “easy creativity” inspire other engineering solutions? Kirk drew a comparison with photographer Jeremy Cowart and his use of an LED wall to produce 60 different portraits in 60 seconds. Anthony Kuzub, an engineer at CBC in Canada, pointed out the AI that’s involved with lighting a new studio, matching accent lights to the video monitor feeds. Matt Aaron is programming a fully-AI streaming station that’s playing “Broadcast Engineers Gangster Rap”. Are these just passing curiosities? Or are they signals of technologies and techniques to come for broadcasting and content creation?
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