Industry News

Dan Houg, right, jokes around with Jobie Sprinkle during a break at the 2016 Public Radio Engineering Conference. Both are past presidents of APRE.

Dan Houg made an unusual entry into the field of radio engineering in 2004. He was in his mid-40s, having never even been in a radio facility before.

That did not prevent him from working successfully on several major projects, nor from becoming president of the Association of Public Radio Engineers. But after 17 years he has moved on to a different venture.

Radio World asked him about that and about his tenure as chief engineer of Northern Community Radio in Minnesota, a two-station network consisting of KAXE(FM) in Grand Rapids and KBXE(FM) in Bagley, near Bemidji.

Radio World: Dan you posted on PubTech that you were about to “cease to be a broadcast engineer and become a semi-normal human being.” How does it feel to have made that big decision?

Dan Houg: I knew about a year ago that I wanted to wrap up my 18 years in broadcast and work on restoration projects of vintage electronics, motorcycles and vehicles at home.

However, KAXE had a construction permit for increasing tower height that was expiring soon. I had always intended to see that project through to completion, but funding delays kept pushing construction back until this April [2021], when I could finally start purchasing.

In May, I made the decision to leave at the end of October, hoping the project would be done but needing to set a date for myself to leave.

The tower crew finished up Friday afternoon, Oct. 29. I turned the new plant on at 3 p.m. and drove home for the very last time at 6 p.m. after a 13-hour day.

It feels incredible to finish this project that started over three years ago, get it on the air and be able to retire the day it is operational. It is exactly the right time to leave.

RW: What are your plans?

Houg: Well, I joke with staff that I need to be like the 17-year cicada and go underground and not be seen nor heard from. Being a small shop, I’ve been in 24/7/365 contact for the last 18 years, literally not having my phone off for close to two decades, so I need to hide for a while to shed some stress. My wife knows all too well the 2 a.m. voice of the Sine Systems and Davicom remotes.

Financially, I still need to bring in some income, so I call this “leaving radio” more than retirement. When I’m in my home shop I’m in my “happy zone” and will earn a few dollars fixing things.

RW: What is the FixIt Workshop?

Houg: The Fixit Workshop (thefixitworkshop.com) is my new venture to switch gears away from broadcast.

As with so many of us engineers, I’m good at fixing things whether it is diagnosing a fire-breathing 25 kW tube transmitter, setting up a microwave link or repairing the HVAC system. Now I’ll turn to restoration of vintage guitar amps, I have a pallet of 1960s European tabletop tube radios that need refurbishing, and I enjoy working on the big Sansui, Fisher and Marantz solid-state receivers from the 1970s.

I have two VW Westfalia camper vans to restore getting ready to sell one of them, and all sorts of projects have come my way from putting a new engine on a log splitter, welding up a maple syrup stove and sap evaporator to repair of an old slot machine. I have a particular fondness for 1980s Mercedes Benz diesels and am always on the hunt another one.

Our service as “do it all” engineers really reflects a skill set that is apparently in short supply in a small community. I nostalgically like to think of myself as Luis, the Fixit Shop owner on the children’s television series “Sesame Street.” Working on well-made appliances like the Sunbeam T20 Automatic Radiant Control Toaster, an incredible piece of American engineering, is so rewarding for me.

RW: Is it true you’d never been in a radio station when you started your KAXE job in 2004?

Houg: Yes. My friend, Maggie Montgomery, was the general manager of Northern Community Radio, and the previous engineer had left. I decided to leave a very nice government job that was sucking the soul out of me and try my hand being KAXE’s engineer. Straight up learning curve. I have so much respect and admiration for the folks that have been in radio their entire lives and have such a good grasp on the technology. I’m just getting to the point where I feel like I have a handle on some things!

RW: And here you were doing a buildout of a 100 kW FM.

Houg: This last project was a complete replacement of our tower, transmitter plant-plus-shelter, and microwave link.

Dan Houg at the KAXE job site.

KAXE went on air in 1974, but the original tower went down in 1984 when a truck was putting a load of Class V on our tower road, and the raised gravel box snagged the lowest guy spanning over the road and brought the tower down.

When it was replaced, I don’t think the management at the time communicated to Pirod that in addition to our 100 kW 12-bay antenna with radomes, there would be ANOTHER 100 kW tenant with a 10-bay with radomes, all interleaved in the top 100 feet of the tower.

We had a tower analysis performed a few years back, because every tower maintenance crew that came out would say “Man, that tower looks overloaded.” The engineering report stated the tower was in danger of failing, even if bare with no antennas, and that it did not pass current standards for a 40 mph wind!

So as part of a long-term infrastructure improvement project, we knew it had to be replaced. We got a construction permit to go from 315 to 499 feet, and got to work raising money.

The new tower is on the same site as the old tower, 15 feet away, and the new tower was used to destack the old tower.

Now we have an ERI guyed tower that meets current standards and I sleep much better. I worried every night with high winds that the old one would come crashing down.

We have a Nautel NV30LT-N transmitter being supplied program material using a GatesAir IP Link 200 with dual IP paths of land fiber and a licensed 11GHz link, an Orban 8700i processor and a gorgeous Tunwall switch controller for the Dielectric 6000 series switch that eliminates an old patch bay (which was mounted at the perfect height that every generation of engineer has bonked his head on).

I reused our old Electro-Impulse 25 kW dummy load, having cleaned it, replaced the power cord and fixed the air flow switch. It works great except it smells like mice when it gets hot.

RW: What other accomplishments are you proud of from the past 17 or 18 years?

Houg: Through the financial genius of our former general manager, we’ve built new studios at KAXE in 2005, and added the new station KBXE in 2012 with full studios at 50 kW with a new ERI 499-foot tower.

I’ve done three towers and two studios now. My first tower, a 90-foot self-standing, taught me the importance of soil borings I’d neglected to obtain; it became the “STL tower from hell” after they found 6 feet of muck below the surface that required much excavation and foundation support.

Then with the KBXE 499-foot tower I learned that every large project takes a serpentine path, despite laying out the process linearly. It nearly killed me with stress with twists and turns in everything from siting, property acquisition and construction.

This last tower project I knew there’d be twists and turns. When an obstacle would come up I tried to say “Okay, let’s figure this out.”

There’s an old adage that every engineer should return to the first studio they built and apologize. So true with KAXE. There’s things that I was able to do much better on my second studio for KBXE including my own plan for sound isolation that a very highly paid architect did so poorly at the KAXE studio.

RW: Briefly tell us about your career before you came to this job.

Houg: Well, I started working running carnival rides, so don’t disparage those folks!

I worked for the Minnesota Department of Health for 17 years doing health care facility inspections, food and lodging inspections, and ended up in water quality doing testing and providing technical assistance for public water supplies.

I have a degree in social work, one career in health and another in broadcast; and I’ve just now figured out what I want to do in retirement!

RW: You mentioned a couple of people in your post as having been helpful in the radio part of your career.

Houg: Having zero radio background when I started, I needed a lot of help building a new studio within eight months of starting employment. I was in over my head.

A former engineer of KAXE, Shane Toven, was a font of information for the studio build and programming of our Logitek and ENCO systems. Many know how brilliant Shane is, and he had installed KAXE’s first satellite system, an SOSS, at age 14 as a nerdy kid looking for a place to hang out after school.

As projects kept coming and I was buying equipment, I ended up with a career-long relationship with SCMS salesman Jim Peck. Jim steered me to good equipment decisions and helped me think through projects to account for all the pieces. Having the ability to talk to a knowledgeable sales rep versus scrolling through web pages was so crucial in making the right decisions.

And I’d met Gray Haertig of Haertig and Associates at my first Public Radio Engineering Conference. I noticed this loud man in an Aloha shirt in the front row brilliantly interacting with speakers who then got up and gave a stunning presentation himself.

I’ve used Gray for our RF engineering and FCC filing since that time and am indebted to his generosity and knowledge as well as friendship. Shane, Jim and Gray have told me to breathe when needed, gotten me out of jams and given great advice, some of which I’ve taken and foolishly disregarded the rest. They are great friends.

RW: You’ve been active in the Association of Public Radio Engineers. How is the organization holding up, through the many months of the pandemic?

Houg: The APRE Board comprises station staff, industry reps and organization members, all of whom saw their workload and workflow drastically change over the last two years.

The APRE has two very important strengths that keeps it thriving. First, the board members themselves are incredibly committed radio professionals who are task-oriented and work together as a cohesive group. It has been my great pleasure to be part of this organization with such highly functional people, including our current Board President Victoria St. John as well Jobie Sprinkle and Paxton Durham.

The second strength is that being a volunteer organization unlike a manufacturer or vendor, the APRE doesn’t HAVE to make money or put on conferences to stay afloat. As they negotiate conference postponements and cancellations due to the pandemic, the assets and resources are not depleted.

The APRE is meeting actively all through the pandemic and is ready to bring the Public Radio Engineering Conference back in full.

RW: What else should we know?

Houg: If I could impart any passing wisdom to engineers, it would be to feel free to ask the stupid questions. Seek help, ask advice and admit you don’t know something as there are brilliant people willing to help you.

Dan Houg invites hearing from readers by email to thefixitworkshop@gmail.com.

The post Dan Houg Leaves With a Job Well Done appeared first on Radio World.

The plaque outside WSTA noting the station’s role during and after Hurricane Hugo (click to embiggen)

Jeff Huggabone forwarded this picture of the plaque outside WSTA(AM) in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, in the U.S. Virgin Islands. As the plaque notes, “Lucky 13” was the only station to remain on the air in the wake of Hurricane Hugo in 1989.

Jeff was reminded of the plaque by the announcement on Jan. 31 that Addie Ottley was retiring from his six-days-a-week post as host of the “Addie Morning Show.” Ottley had announced last November, on his 80th birthday, was beginning his “semi-retirement” and stepping down as president and CEO of Ottley Communications Corp., which operates WSTA.

“If you read the inscription and really take a moment to unpack it, I think it can give you a feel for Addie’s sense of dedication and what this radio station represents to mush of the residents in the territory of the U.S. Virgin Islands,” Jeff wrote.

The post Mailbag: The Lucky 13 appeared first on Radio World.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — No less than 14 individuals are being elevated to new roles at Sinclair Broadcast Group, owner of broadcast TV properties and Bally Sports RSNs.

And, it is at the regional sports networks where many of the promotions are being seen.

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With World Radio Day coming up, UNESCO is offering a list of suggestions about how radio organizations around the world can celebrate it.

“We encourage all radio stations to plan and take part in this global event by organizing original activities related to the theme ‘Radio and Trust,’” it wrote in the introduction to a list of 13 ideas.

“Make the themes of the day your own — trust in radio journalism; trust and accessibility; trust and sustainability of radio stations.”

Suggestions include special programs, contests and quizzes.

Here is the list, in PDF format for downloading.

The 11th World Radio Day is Feb. 13. The event started in 2011 on the anniversary of the founding of United Nations Radio.

The post 13 Ideas for Celebrating World Radio Day appeared first on Radio World.

G Networks announced a partnership with Text Groove to offer text messaging to U.S. radio stations on barter.

“One of the many benefits of the Text Groove platform is its ability to enable text messaging on a station’s existing studio phone number (landline, toll-free or VoIP), enabling immediate listener text interaction,” the company said in its announcement.

It quoted G Networks Chief Development Officer Rich O’Brien saying the technology was designed for radio station contexts specifically, to encourage listener interaction.

The announcement was made by Curtis Machek, CEO of Text Groove, and Warren Friedland, president of G Networks.

Text Groove launched in 2017 and says it has some 300 stations using its service in Canada and the United States. It says it has the ability to text-enable any landline, toll-free or VoIP phone number.

G Networks is a network audio company, part of media ad sales firm Gen Media Partners.

The post Text Groove Partners With G Networks appeared first on Radio World.

These are good times for RadioDNS, it seems.

“Anyone can implement our open standards without needing our involvement or agreement,” said Project Director Nick Piggott in a press release previewing the organization’s upcoming annual General Assembly.

“That means they’re growing in use, both visible and invisible, across a growing number of areas of the radio industry globally. RadioDNS has established itself as a valuable and reliable resource.”

RadioDNS will hold its 16th General Assembly virtually on Feb. 23; it is open only to members. (See a list of members.)

“Our standards have been widely adopted by broadcasters, manufacturers and service providers, and are now proving valuable across the entire industry, not just hybrid radio,” the not-for-profit organization stated.

“As hoped and intended, our standards are now part of commercial offerings which create differentiation and competition but without creating unnecessary implementation costs and complexities.”

The service is free, and can be adopted by broadcasters directly or through a service provider.

Among other topics at this month’s assembly, RadioDNS will present its plans to develop hybrid radio functionality further.

Among organizations joining RadioDNS in the past year are IEEE BTS, Gracenote and NXP.

The post RadioDNS Readies for General Assembly appeared first on Radio World.

Joining RBR+TVBR Editor-in-Chief Adam R Jacobson on the latest InFOCUS Podcast is Paul Kelly. He’s the Chief Revenue Officer for A Million Ads, and has two decades of experience leading creative and commercial teams for such organizations as Viacom.

Paul shares his insight and knowledge on audio advertising, and how it’s so hot, LinkedIn is getting in the game.

What can Radio glean from this? You’ll learn more in just 11 minutes.

Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: Paul Kelly” on Spreaker.

Thanks to the efforts of Volker Moerbitz, the longtime Research Analyst with the Kagan arm of S&P Global Market Intelligence’s Media & Communications broadcast sector advisory services, a full review of the 2021 transactions marketplace has arrived.

The biggest takeaway: “Cautious optimism” abounds, as year-end deal numbers for 2021 are higher than that seen in 2020.

That’s the overall portrait, however, fueled by television.

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Radio Azadi journalist Mohammad Homayoon Hewad at work in Kabul (from the Radio Azadi website)

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is noting the 20th anniversary of the relaunch of broadcasts to Afghanistan in the Dari and Pashto languages.

“RFE/RL’s broadcasts resumed less than five months after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the U.S. and nearly a decade after the Dari and Pashto services were closed down in 1993 as part of an overall restructuring of RFE/RL operations following the end of the Cold War,” the organization noted in a press release.

“Despite last year’s withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan and return of the Taliban to power, Radio Azadi continues to serve the Afghan people as a trusted and reliable source of news, analysis, and responsible discussion – on radio and, especially, on digital platforms.”

RFE/RL President Jamie Fly was quoted saying Radio Azadi has been “a trusted friend and partner to the Afghan people, in good times and bad.” He said the service’s work is important now “when so many of the achievements of the past twenty years are at risk.”

Radio Azadi marked the anniversary with a video report about the past 20 years, a photo gallery of journalists and a video of colleagues sharing experiences.

The organization said that its journalists “have endured death threats and other forms of harassment from Taliban and Islamic State forces, trends that intensified prior to the Taliban takeover.” It said four colleagues lost their lives in bombings in the past four years.

“The changing reality of producing journalism in Afghanistan forced RFE/RL to take dramatic steps to protect its staff, including the closure of its Kabul bureau, and evacuation of threatened local journalists from the country. Many former Radio Azadi staff remain in Afghanistan, ineligible for refugee status under U.S. government or international resettlement programs. Their situation remains highly tenuous.”

The post RFE/RL Marks Radio Azadi Anniversary appeared first on Radio World.

When it comes to sports networks, nearly all involve a MVPD and are regional in their approach. This includes the Bally Sports RSNs owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, the Baltimore-based media company that has taken a front seat on the rollout of ATSC 3.0.

A few miles to the southeast of Charm City, a local media company that has a formidable presence in the First State and across the Delmarva region is about to launch its own sports network. Only, it is to be a digital multicast piggybacking on its CBS affiliate.

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