Unlock that Cellphone!

Ever seen a really cool-looking cellphone and then heard the dreaded "available exclusively from (insert wireless carrier here)". You're bummed, man...you dig that phone but you know that Verizon doesn't work in your apartment. Or that T-Mobile's coverage stinks in your office. Or that Cingular really screwed you over when they bought your AT&T Wireless service.

Well, apparently you don't need to worry about that anymore! CNN is reporting that the US Librarian of Congress James H. Billington approved new rules that allow owners to break software locks on their handsets in order to use them with competing carriers. It should also allow certain features that may be inherent to a phone, like MP3 playback, to be unlocked if the wireless carrier (or the RIAA) decided that they didn't want you to have that feature.

The rules were announced on Wednesday Nov.22 and are in effect for the next three years, at least. Call up your cellphone provider and demand the unlock codes today!

Who Needs Vinateri When You've Got WMWM in the Clutch!?!?

Now this is what college radio is all about. Apparently the recent sale of local AM station WESX left the annual Thanksgiving Salem/Beverly high school footgame game without a signal to broadcast on. This game is a big deal in these suburbs of Boston...it's a VERY old rivalry (started in 1900) between the two towns' high schools.

But with less than 48 hours notice, brave volunteers and students for Salem State College's WMWM 91.7FM set up a deal with MooreStuffOnline to simulcast their web feed so everyone got to hear the game! And this year, in stereo FM no less!

Congrats to all on a job well done!

Congrats also to Stephen Gostowski; the Patriots' kicker nailed a 52 yard field goal this weekend against the Bears...longest of his career!

Git-R-Done!

Lately I have seen a few examples of several companies getting so hung up on the details that they're not getting work "out the door". Some of these are small companies, others huge corporations.

The context on the reports I've seen is that this is a bad thing. The counter-argument is that it's better to not put out anything than to put out sub-standard work.

Personally I think it's usually better to put out something rather than nothing...but I can see both sides' arguments. What's your take?

More Radio Shack and HD Radio

I hear Radio Shack will be selling the Accurian tabletop HD Radio for $99 on Black Friday and the weekend. Quite separately, (and not through RS) the Sangean HDT-1 is alleged to be available commercially by Christmas.

Don't expect the Accurians to be in stores, though...the top few thousand RS outlets might have them but not the rest. Call ahead or just order off the website. I have seen the Boston Acoustics Recepter HD in RS stores, though.

I have heard from reliable engineering sources that both the Accurian and Sangean radios are pretty good. The Accurian's speakers leave something to be desired, but it should be a good kitchen radio (it doesn't have an alarm clock so not much good for the bedroom). The Sangean supposed has lots of nifty little engineering/techie indicators of signal-to-noise and whatnot that'll make the geek in you very happy.

Methinks I'll have myself a nice HD Christmas this year!

Clear Channel's loss could be College Radio's gain?

Let the feeding frenzy begin! With this buyout, Clear Channel is divesting itself of dozens of stations across the country. Supposedly none of them are in markets above Arbitron #100. But that could mean that a decent signal could be up for sale near your college, quite possibly for "cheap".

Of course, it'll still be many thousands (more likely 100's of thousands) of dollars. But the reality is that's still cheap for a decent AM or FM signal. And since you pay once for an item that reaps benefits immediately and continues to reap them for decades...it amortizes nicely. A perfect candidate for a capital campaign, no? Remember, it doesn't matter if you want a non-commercial/education station; the FCC allows you to make a station in the commercial band (92.1-107.9) into a NCE if you want. It's just commercial operations that can't run in the NCE band (87.9-92.1).

Below is a list of markets that CC has filed with the SEC that they have intentions of selling a station(s) in. Check it out, if there's something near your college...start talking to your college administration!

(Thanks to John Devecka via the CBI listserv for this list!)

Boise, ID * Market 203   1A   108
Lancaster, PA * Market 393   1A   113
Victorville, CA * Market 344   1A   127
Reading, PA * Market 147   1A   131
Shreveport, LA * Market 208   1A   132
Burlington, VT * Market 337   1A   136
Fayetteville, AR * Market 267   1A   141
Salisbury, MD * Market 347   1A   146
Ann Arbor, MI * Market 350   1A   147
Tyler, TX * Market 288   1A   149
Albany, OR * Market 230   1A   150
Montgomery, AL * Market 300   1A   151
Huntington, WV * Market 329   1A   156
Rome/Utica, NY * Market 151   1A   159
Poughkeepsie, NY * Market 339   1A   162
Anchorage, AK * Market 248   1A   172
San Luis Obispo, CA * Market 384   1A   173
Lincoln, NE * Market 273   1A   176
Fort Smith, AR * Market 268   1A   177
Binghamton, NY * Market 245   1A   179
Lebanon, NH * Market 392   1A   180
Lubbock, TX * Market 284   1A   182
Midland/Odessa TX * Market 286   1A   188
Tupelo, MS * Market 379   1A   189
Amarillo, TX * Market 277   1A   195
Yakima, WA * Market 242   1A   201
Tri-Cities, WA * Market 407   1A   202
Duluth, MN * Market 424   1A   204
Santa Barbara, CA * Market 186   1A   207
Medford, OR * Market 231   1A   212
Bangor, ME * Market 352   1A   216
Fargo, ND * Market 361   1A   223
Laurel, MS * Market 381   1A   227
Rochester, MN * Market 371   1A   230
Charlottesville, VA * Market 174   1A   231
Muskegon, MI * Market 375   1A   232
Marion/Carbondale, IL * Market 380   1A   235
Eau Claire, WI * Market 348   1A   242
Abilene, TX * Market 360   1A   243
Wheeling, WV * Market 330   1A   248
Lima, OH * Market 220   1A   249
Parkersburg, WV * Market 410   1A   249.1
Battle Creek, MI * Market 294   1A   258
Billings, MT * Market 403   1A   260
Wichita Falls, TX * Market 387   1A   261
Texarkana, TX * Market 287   1A   262
Augusta, ME * Market 377   1A   266
Williamsport, PA * Market 159   1A   269
Sioux City, IA * Market 395   1A   272
Mankato, MN * Market 370   1A   273
Lawton, OK * Market 276   1A   282
Cookeville, TN * Market 107   1A   284
Bismarck, ND * Market 211   1A   285
Grand Forks, ND * Market 244   1A   287
Jonesboro, AR * Market 374   1A   289
Cheyenne, WY * Market 240   1A   290
The Florida Keys, FL * Market 123   1A   291
Mason City, IA * Market 372   1A   292
Meridian, MS * Market 408   1A   295
Casper, WY * Market 239   1A   297
Ashland/Mansfield, OH * Market 369   1A   NR
Ashtabula, OH * Market 368   1A   NR
Bozeman, MT * Market 404   1A   NR
Burlington, IA * Market 197   1A   NR
Centralia, WA * Market 237   1A   NR
Chillicothe, OH * Market 214   1A   NR
Defiance, OH * Market 217   1A   NR
Dickinson, ND * Market 363   1A   NR
Fairbanks, AK * Market 249   1A   NR
Farmington, NM * Market 262   1A   NR
Findlay/Tiffin, OH * Market 218   1A   NR
Fort Dodge, IA * Market 200   1A   NR
Frankfort, KY * Market 411   1A   NR
Gadsden, AL * Market 298   1A   NR
Gallup, NM * Market 362   1A   NR
Laramie, WY * Market 420   1A   NR
Lufkin, TX * Market 285   1A   NR
Marion, OH * Market 222   1A   NR
Minot, ND * Market 246   1A   NR
Missoula, MT * Market 405   1A   NR
Ogallala, NE * Market 274   1A   NR
Pocatello, ID * Market 204   1A   NR
Randolph, VT * Market 390   1A   NR
Sandusky, OH * Market 223   1A   NR
Shelby, MT * Market 406   1A   NR
Somerset, KY * Market 391   1A   NR
Springfield, IL * Market 292   1A   NR
Twin Falls, ID * Market 206   1A   NR
Victoria, TX * Market 289   1A   NR
Yuma, AZ * Market 260  1A  NR 

AM Radio Antennas

Lost in the 20+ years of ever-shrinking radios is the importance of the antenna.

Remember the antenna? Yeah, that wire that comes out the back? Looks ugly? Usually you stuff it behind something else?

Sigh Yeah, that's the antenna. And it's at least half the equation when it comes to static-free listening. Ever wonder why your walkman, or your clock radio, has such crappy reception? There you go...there's almost no antenna whatsoever in those things.

So today I'll share with y'all a great list of AM radio antennas I saw on the wonderful PUBtech listserv. If you've always thought of AM as a vast wasteland of static, consider some of these antennas. Many you can make yourself for less than $10, or contact your local SBE chapter and some engineer will likely make you one in trade for a cool, refined libation. Some you can buy for less than $50, too. Virtually all of them will make SOME improvement to your AM reception.

Even if you don't have connections for an external AM antenna, some of these models (like the Select-A-Tenna) will improve reception even sitting next to your radio. Nifty, eh?

http://beradio.com/notebook/radio_shieldedloop_am_antenna_2/

http://www.mindspring.com/~loop_antenna/amloop_calc4.htm

http://www4.tpgi.com.au/users/ldbutler/Loop18MHz.htm

http://www.selectatenna.com/

http://www.ramseyelectronics.com/cgi-bin/commerce.exe?
preadd=action&key=SM100

http://www.mindspring.com/~loop_antenna/

http://www.hard-core-dx.com/nordicdx/antenna/loop/hulaloop.html

http://home.datacomm.ch/hb9abx/loop1-e.htm

http://www.frontiernet.net/~jadale/Loop.htm

http://entropy.brneurosci.org/loopantenna.html

http://www.io.com/~n5fc/loop_ant.html

http://www.schmarder.com/radios/misc-stuff/loops.htm

http://www.wellbrook.uk.com/


Don't forget to connect that ground wire, too!

HD Radio in Radio Shack

Old time engineers have bemoaned the lack of radios in Radio Shack for some time now. But Radio Shack is taking the lead, sort of, when it comes to "HD Radio" (aka "digital radio" or "IBOC"). They're the first major nationwide retailer (AFAIK) to start selling HD Radios in their stores. Locally, Tweeter ETC has been selling the Boston Acoustics Recepter HD for several months, but Tweeter isn't as ubiquitus as Radio Shack is.

Unfortunately, Radio Shack's "You've got questions, we've got confusion" mantra is still sort of in play. The early versions of the Recepter HD radio had a gawdawful "rat tail" antenna that made it next to impossible to reliably receive any radio signals, much less HD Radio signals. I stopped by my local Radio Shack and discovered that they had the rat tail and, sure enough, I couldn't get any HD signals reliably.

Now, to this Radio Shack's employees' credit...when I suggested they put a pair of "rabbit ears" antenna on the Recepter HD, and when it took a few adapters to make that work...not only did they gladly do so, they were pretty enthusiastic about the improved reception.

However, it pains me to think that these nice folks didn't know that to begin with. Why didn't they at least try another antenna? Even a [shudder] amplified one? That simple rabbit ear solution was under $10 and 10 minutes of work, and it made an unjustifiable $250 for a radio suddenly "worth it" because customers could now actually hear the multicast channels.

Moreover, why aren't local radio stations...that have shelled out $75k, $100k, $250k for their HD Radio transmitters...going around to all the local retailers and making sure they're aware of this stuff? How else can they expect listeners to pay for those HD Radios to hear their big investments?

RANT: The MBTA route maps goes OLD style

Visitors to Boston quickly learn that our subway system, the MBTA...or just "The T"...is mighty damned confusing. What visitors don't know is that even us locals are usually pretty perplexed!

The system is inherently confusing to begin with; part of the legacy of being over 100 years old. But the MBTA is notoriously bad about signage. Last weekend my wife and I really got a taste of just how bad when we went to the Copley Square / Green Line station. On the outbound platform they're doing lots of construction, and it appears that a old subway system map was ripped off to reveal an even older map. How old, you ask? Well, it still shows the Red Line ending at Harvard, which it hasn't done since 1985. Yikes! There were also all the old Orange Line stops like City Square and the Washington Street Elevated that were all torn down in 1987. Sure hope nobody planned their trip based on that system map!

Still, I wish the MBTA would pull that map down, clean it up, and put it on display somewhere in a museum or something. It's at least 20 years old, probably more like 30+...that's pretty much "historical" at this point.

ISDN and College Radio

If you've never heard of ISDN, that's okay - it's a bit obscure. In radio terms, it usually refers to a device that uses ISDN telephone lines to make a high-quality audio connection to a remote location, with almost no delay. It's like having a cellphone but with CD-quality sound.

NPR & public radio make extensive use of ISDN...most affiliate stations have an ISDN box or "codec" in their studios. Lots of universities love having their professors and staff being interviewed on NPR. It's almost a status symbol these days.

But most of the time, those professors and staff don't want to hoof it over to the NPR affiliate's studios. They'd much rather stay on campus. At the same time, NPR always prefers to interview over ISDN instead of a regular telephone; audio quality is something they take seriously.

So this is where you, at your college radio station, come in. If your campus doesn't have ISDN...you can offer to provide it for any of your campus's professors/staff, if the college pays for the ISDN codec & line fees.

It's a win-win all around...you get a free ISDN (that you can use for sports games and other remote broadcasts if you like), your college's media relations office will love you for providing the service since NPR is bound to call on your college's professors more often, and your professors are happy to stay on-campus and not drive 30 minutes to another station.

Best of all, besides just your campus's professors, you can rent out your studios for the purpose. Common rates are anywhere from $50 to $200/hr. Say you're in a small college town, and there's a local policitian that NPR wants to interview that has nothing to do with the college. There you go! NPR will pay you to rent your ISDN for the purpose of interviewing that politician. Happens all the time.

If you're not sure if your college has ISDN already, call up the media relations dep't and ask. If your campus already has an NPR affiliate with ISDN, obviously it's all moot...but if not, and if media relations doesn't either, suggest the idea above. Odds are good they'll like it.

Telos Systems makes the Zephyr Xstream, a common and well-designed ISDN codec. Other manufacturers of good models include Musicam USA, Comrex, Tieline, and AEQ. Prices for many of these are available at Broadcast Supply Worldwide, among other dealers. I mention BSW just because they're pretty good about having prices on their website...but if you have a preferred dealer then by all means, go with them.

You'll also need to work with your college's IT/Telecommunications office to get the required ISDN phone lines installed.

And finally, once it's all set up - don't forget to publicize it! Have your info posted at these sites: http://wpr.org/isdn and http://www.digifon.com/aboutddl.html and set up a page on your website detailing what your capabilities are, how much you charge, when you're available, and who to contact about booking the studio. Example sites include studio rental pages for Living on Earth and The Infinite Mind.

Quicktip: Mixing levels

If you're not sure if your theme music's volume level is "right", try changing the volume on your monitor speakers approximately -20dB and then back to 0. A-B it back and forth a bit.

If it sounds right at both the lower volume, and the normal volume, you've got it pretty close... if not set properly. This is a great way to check your mix on the fly when you're doing a live broadcast.

How not to suck as a manager

So today on my blog trolling I spotted this article about "managerial entitlement" by Computerworld's Paul Glen and found it fascinating. Not just because I suspect it's more true than any us care to admit, but because I know it's more true than I would care to admit.

One thing that leaps out at me - being the kind of person who always shows up 10 minutes late to meetings, thus making everyone wait for them. I have known, many, many people who do this. Not always maliciously, but a lot of people. I'm glad I haven't worked under many of them!

Paul focuses on managers, but let's face it...how many of you have had a job you hated and started thinking all the horrible things "they" did to you "earned" you the right to steal office supplies, goof off on the job, knife someone (metaphorically) in the back, etc.?

Yeah, I thought so. I certainly know I'll be keeping an eye on myself so I won't become "that guy".

The first post...

...is always the hardest. This is just to get the blog rolling, in the coming posts I hope to have something intelligent, or at least mildly amusing, to say about my passions in life. Usually college radio, public radio, radio engineering, politics, the MBTA, life in Boston and the vagaries of being among the newly-wed.