Locality Switch

At 2CCR, we need to find someone to fill the position of Station Manager. I suggested that the best way to start was by developing a formal position description, so we know what the ideal candidate should be able to do, what their duties are, etc.

With nothing better to do after dinner one day, I decided I would give it a go. Here’s what I came up with:

Key Role:

• Must ensure the smooth day to day operation of the station

Responsibilities:

• Be the main contact person for all presenters, and emergency situations
• Maintaining regular contact with presenters, and attend to any issues arising
• Ensuring program vacancies are filled with a suitable casual presenter
• Able to troubleshoot basic technical issues, and delegate all other technical issues appropriately
• Have understanding of the policies and procedures of the station as well as codes of practice and legal requirements, and be able to enforce them as appropriate
• Providing regular written reports to the board, and attending board meetings as necessary
• Assessing newly trained presenters to ensure competency before going to air
• Welcoming new volunteers and making them feel comfortable

Requirements:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Competency with the usage of computers to fulfill the job’s requirements
• An understanding of radio broadcasting and how it functions
• Great people skills
• Enthusiasm, commitment and passion for community broadcasting

Availability:

• Should be able to attend the station for a minimum of five hours, during weekdays, each week
• Should be available at other times to visit specific presenters as the need arises
• Should be available for attendance at out of hours meetings
• Must be comfortable being on call all of the time to resolve or delegate responsibility of emergency situations

That’s what I wrote. What is it based on? Nothing, except my own personal opinions. Remember, this is just what I feel our station needs – your station manager could have a whole other set of duties not outlined here. Also, this hasn’t been adopted by our board, so it certainly isn’t final; it’s just my contribution.

Feel free to use it. Adapt it. Change it. Rejig it. It’s open for you to freely use. Enjoy!

With the CBF now accepting applications for the Audio over IP Outside Broadcast grant, I thought I would put together a hypothetical outside broadcast rig. Is it possible to put together a complete rig within the limits of this budget? We’ll soon find out.

This isn’t just the computer and 3G modem – this is my attempt to fit all the essentials into a rig (computer, modem, mixer, as well as PA gear). Let’s see if I can juggle it. All prices are for information only, and will probably change before the end of the week.

Laptop: Compaq Presario CQ60-210TU (Dick Smith Electronics – $748.00)

3G Modem: Huawei E1762 (Exetel – $145.00)

Mixer: Yamaha MG102C ($269.00 RRP)

Amp: Behringer EP2000 ($529.00)

Speakers: 2x Behringer B212XL ($275.00 each)

Microphone: Sennheiser E816 ($129.00)

Total: $2370.00 This leaves $130 to spend on some accessories (e.g. mic cables, stands, etc.)

So, this is pretty much the cheapest rig I could piece together. Remember, you may have some bits and pieces lying around, such as a computer and some better mics. Also, I have assumed that we will be using free software on the PC.

I don’t really like the Mixer, speakers, or microphone in the above rig. We can do much better than that cheap stuff!

What happens if we up the budget a bit? Let’s say, $4000. Here’s what I would do:

Laptop: Compaq Presario CQ60-210TU (Dick Smith Electronics – $748.00)

3G Modem: Huawei E1762 (Exetel – $145.00)

Mixer: Yamaha MG124CX ($566.00)

Speakers: 2x Yamaha R112 ($449.00 each)

Amp: Yamaha P2500S ($699.00)

Wireless Mic: Shure PG2/PG58 ($599.00)

Total: $3755.00 Leaving $245.00 for accessories

That’s much nicer. Now we have a proper mixer with faders, rather than cheap pots, as well as a wireless mic and some nicer speakers and amp.

What if we decide we want a full two way audio link, so you can have chats with the people in the studio? We’ll need something like the offering from AudioTX, coming in at a bit below $5000 (based on some rough calculations, only).

Finally, remember that I haven’t included any ongoing costs, such as the 3G connection charges. That will cost extra, but I don’t think you can claim these ongoing charges from the grant.

Can we get a full OB rig for less than $2500? Yes we can! Is the equipment ideal? Not quite, but it will work and will allow you to establish a regular presence in the community. What I suggest is that stations get the core equipment from this grant, and then buy the rest from additional station funds (or perhaps do some fund raising or a sponsorship drive to raise the cash).

(For the record, many of the prices on this page came from Turramurra Music‘s website. I have no hesitations in recommending them as a great place to buy PA gear from.)

During work experience, I was able to get very familiar with the Axia Audio-over-IP Studios. From my knowledge, there aren’t any that many stations using Axia studios, and I don’t even remember seeing them at SMPTE09, so their choice to invest in this brand was interesting to me.

However, there was a very valid reason they chose this brand over, say, Logiteck or Klotz. With either of these alternate brands (and others, I believe), the audio is all connect directly into the studio engines via I/O cards.

What happens if you have an audio source which needs to be used in multiple studios? You can access the audio over the network no matter what studio it is connected into, but if the studio with the audio for that feed connected into it needs to be brought offline, or perhaps restarted, you loose access to that source.

How do these companies suggest you get around this issue? Distribution amplifiers – run the audio into each studio’s engine through a DA. Hang on! Isn’t the point of Audio-over-IP equipment to avoid all of that thick multi-pair cable which is so expensive and takes extra time to install?

Let’s take a look at how Axia does it: no audio is actually connected into the studio engine. It all is connected into Audio Nodes, which are basically a 1RU device which hooks into your audio network via a single run of Cat6, and has some analog inputs and outputs on the back. All of that audio is now available on the network, to be accessed wherever you desire.

The end result: if you need to turn off a whole studio, you don’t risk taking any station-wide audio off the network. You also don’t need any multi pair cable into each studio, and DAs.

The problem I think the other manufacturers are facing is old thinking. (Actually, this is what the technical manager at Hope 103.2 described it as – and I agree with him). They are using the old methodology of all audio being connected into the studio, rather than having it connected into anywhere on the network. I can’t blame them for thinking like this – studios have been doing this for years, why change it for digital, right?

Why would you want to stick with this old approach when it’s obvious that this node approach of Axia’s is better thinking? By the way, it’s not as if Axia came up with this approach – computer networks have been doing this for ages.

Let’s move forwards and adapt new ways of thinking. Let’s be agents of change.

(I don’t mean to bag out Logiteck or Klotz. I spoke to both of them at SMPTE09, and they are great people. However, I believe that perhaps they are using the wrong techniques for this digital studio revolution.)

If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you would know that I have been at Hope 103.2 all week, on Work Experience. It’s been great. Truly, it’s probably been the best week I’ve had for several years.

I learnt heaps, especially about Axia Audio over IP systems, as well as Dalet 5.1, and all sorts of other tech goodies they have in master control. I was able to go around to each of the departments at the station, and see what their jobs entail, and help out a bit. I even got to do a cold call to try and sell sponsorship!

However, the best part wasn’t the tech. It wasn’t the marketing, sales, programming, promotions, events, creative, production, or on air teams. It was the atmosphere of the whole team at Hope 103.2, and the great vibe of everyone. I haven’t seen such a unified team in a long time (I believe the last time was LoveThat a few years back, but it was a smaller team).

I’ve met some great people at Hope 103.2, and I hope to keep in touch with them as time goes by. Perhaps I should even sign up as a volunteer? Would I have enough time in the day if I did that? Maybe. I suppose I should just be lead by God, and follow his guidance.

Anyway, thanks so much, Hope 103.2!!

In radio, highly accurate clocks are a must have. You can’t run without one. Even being out by a second or two can make timing out to the news a nightmare. Luckily, it’s really easy to synchronise your computer’s clock with highly accurate internet clocks.

It all works with NTP, or Network Time Protocool. It’s basically a protocool which allows you to synchronise one computer’s clock with another (hopefully accurate!) one. There’s heaps of clocks to synchronise with, and the NTP Pool Project is where you can find the network addresses for these clocks.

Signing up to the NTP Pool to get your clock synced with is pretty easy, and just requires some basic registry editing. Windowsnetworking.com explains the registry settings for NTP clients, and once you get one machine setup it’s just a matter of adding the registry changes to your logon script (or doing it manually, if you so desire!).

However, if you want more control over your synchronisation, you may setup an internal time server of your own which all of your network machines sync to. In the Windows world (read: Active Directory), it’s just a matter of telling your Windows Server to sync to the NTP pool at a fairly regular interval (once an hour?), and then tell your clients to sync to your own Windows Server at a regular interval – it can all be set with some logon scripts.

The trick to this method if selecting a Stratum One or Stratum Two NTP server on the web, from the public list of NTP Project servers. The reason for this is so you get a steady and reliable time source, rather than just selecting one at random from the NTP Pool.

Rode make great microphones, which suit broadcasters, studios, and live performers. They are built really solidly, and have a generous warranty to back it. As a bonus, they’re an 100% Aussie company!

They are currently running a promotion where you buy a qualifying product of theirs, and they will give you a M1, M2 or M3 for only $1 – upon redemption. Here’s the blurb:

What can you buy for a dollar? Not much these days. A cup of coffee? Unlikely. Your choice of the rock-solid RØDE M1 live dynamic microphone, the RØDE M2, a live vocal condenser microphone or the RØDE M3, a versatile 1/2″ condenser microphone? You wouldn’t have thought so, but this August RØDE is giving you the opportunity to pick up any one of these critically acclaimed mics for just one Australian dollar when you purchase another qualifying RØDE mic from a participating dealer!

I’m thinking of grabbing a Procaster for about $200, and using that to redeem an M2. That would be awesome :)

On the page of the Procaster, there is a great little video of Ken Sparkes talking about the mic, but also mic techniques. This is the sort of stuff that we should be teaching to all presenters we train in community radio. It’s such a fundamental, but quite often we take it for granted.

There we have it. The Rode Procaster and some great microphone techniques for radio in the one video.

Spring is coming soon, and in The Hills, we celebrate with the Orange Blossom Festival – it’s an annual festival encompassing over forty events over a two week period.

2CCR FM is the local broadcaster for this area, so it’s our duty to broadcast as much of this as we can. With the festival official community opening on the 12th September, we have only a month to get our act together. Luckily, our first meeting was last night.

I’m hoping to broadcast at least five or so of these events, mainly the outdoor fetes and markets they are holding. The general nature of these outdoor fetes means there is no phone line available, meaning we can pot any POTS codecs away (not that we ever owned a pair!). I’m hoping for Audio-over-IP all the way, man! (Using open-source software, such as IceCast)

I won’t go into the details of our meeting right now – I’ll reveal bits and pieces as the days go on.

However, here’s a few key things which I hope to work on for the festival to ensure we really reach out to our community, and make the most of it:

• Full OBs – not just live crosses The presenters, music, etc. should all come live from the venue to capture the full spirit of the event
• Heaps of people I don’t want a half-heated attempt from anyone; we need swarms of our people dresses up in the polo shirt mingling with the crowds of onlookers
• Heaps of Interviews Quick chats on-air with members of the public, as well as longer interviews with interesting people
• Particular focus on membership and sponsorship We need to make sure we talk with interested people to sign them up as members; the same goes for potential sponsors – it needs to be viable
• Heaps of brochures No one should walk past us without getting one of our fancy glossy brochures

It’s going to be a long journey to get the results I dream of, but I know we can make it. The key to making this work, in my opinion, is to make sure we involve as many people as possible from the start. When the meeting was called, I made sure I called heaps of people to confirm they could come (never rely on a mass email for anything!). That is a start, but that needs to keep happening throughout this whole thing.

Wish us luck! (And if you want to help, email me!)

This morning, commercial radio stations around the nation gathered to celebrate the launch of Digital Radio. In cities around the nation, joint outside broadcasts were held.

In Sydney, the venue was Martin Place. At 7.40am, they did a roadblock across every station, broadcasting the same audio segment. From the Digital Radio Plus news release:

In a world first, the metropolitan commercial radio industry effectively road blocked Australian metropolitan radio at 7.40 am today, when they simultaneously broadcast a four minute audio piece featuring competing commercial breakfast show presenters in each market describing their most memorable radio moment or a moment they would like to hear in the future, over a re-working of the iconic Australian song, You’re The Voice.

Commercial Radio Australia chief executive officer Joan Warner said the aim of the Radio United outside broadcasts and the playing of the audio piece was to demonstrate the importance of radio in Australian listeners’ lives.

“Competing broadcasters have come together today in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth to celebrate the start of digital radio in Australia. The industry has united for this event and in the audio piece to illustrate the power of radio broadcasting and the effect it has on people,” said Ms Warner.

In case you missed it, the four minute audio segment can be downloaded off the internet. Sydney United Radio OB 20090806

Of course, no one was there from Community Radio. The metro community stations won’t get on DAB+ until next year, and who knows when the sub-metro and regional stations will be able to get access. Here’s some info from a CBAA press release:

The President of the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia, Deborah Welch says,

‘It is fantastic to see Digital Radio getting off the ground in Australia, and this is only the beginning. You’ll see a raft of new services coming through over the next year, and particularly the innovations that always come from community radio.’

Metropolitan community radio stations are starting later than their commercial and government funded counterparts because infrastructure funding, confirmed in the May 2009 budget, is arriving a year later than first expected.

There are more than 350 community radio stations around the country. While some are getting started on the first stage of Digital Radio, the broader sector keenly await the next phase of the roll out and looks forward to the opportunity to introduce Digital Radio in regional Australia and to sub metropolitan community radio services.

It’ll be fascinating to see what happens with all of this.

So, you in the market for a new mic? What key criteria do you have for selecting the perfect mic? Have you considered checking the frequency response charts?

A recent Shure Notes article covers the topic very well, so I won’t bother re-explaining the whole thing. Here’s an except from their great article:

A microphone’s frequency response chart can tell you a lot about which situations are appropriate for a given microphone and which situations are not.

The chart is usually over the 20 Hz to 20 kHz range, which is the range of human hearing. So, how do you read it?

The horizontal numbers in a microphone frequency response chart represent frequencies (again, usually over the 20 Hz to 20 kHz range) and the vertical numbers represents relative responses in dB (Decibels). As you look at a frequency chart, you can tell how a given microphone performs at certain frequencies.

It’s interesting to check out the frequency response of different microphones. Luckily, they are all published on the internet, so it’s easy to compare the response of the mics.

Here’s the response of the good ‘ol Shure SM58:

Compare that to the Rode Broadcaster:

Comparing the frequency response of these two very different microphones is quite interesting – you notice that the Rode Broadcaster has a much better response in both the high and low frequencies. Another difference between these two microphones is the price – there is a difference of a couple of hundred of dollars, which I suppose isn’t that much to pay for good sound.

Finally, here is a frequency response chart from the AKG C1000S, which I have seen used in quite a few radio studios (including my own):

I’ll leave you to make your own conclusions.

Of course, when selecting microphones you also need to take into consideration the pickup pattern; something which is very important. However, you can get a good comparison between models and brands of microphones from the frequency response chart.

By now, I’m sure you all would be aware of the stupid stunt which Kyle & Jackio pulled on 2DayFM last Wednesday. I won’t repeat the awful details here.

Kyle and Jackio have been supended indefinently from their brekky show, and Kyle has been sacked from Australian Idol. It was stupid mistake to have the whole lie-detector segment in the first place, and it was an even bigger mistake to allow a teenage girl on the show in such a segment.

However, it has been revealed recently that 2DayFM runs it’s brekky show without a seven second delay. Why? It would seem Kyle doesn’t like it:

A 2DayFM staffer said  Sandilands believed “pure” live radio was “better entertainment” – an approach which has long made his colleagues nervous.

“Kyle believes the kill button kills the truth, but it is there for a reason and everyone who was in the studio at the time wished it could have been used,” the program source, who requested anonymity, said.

[The Daily Telegraph, Holly Byrnes, July 01, 2009]

Live radio with segments such as the ones run on 2DayFM is dangerous enough – it’s just suicide doing it without a delay.

It’s not that these delays are necessarily expensive. A basic one from Elan Audio can be bought for just over $3000. If you step up a few notches to the AirTools range, the price will increase, but you don’t need an expensive thing doing this job. If you just want to save yourself from the repercussions of airing stupid things like what we have heard, then a cheap one will do just fine.

Of course, nothing could have saved Kyle from this embarrasment – he has a bad attitude, and seems to refuse to do his show with a delay. But, that’s not a technology problem; it’s an ego problem. No amount of technology can fix that.

RadioInfo asks a simple question:

…So why do many FM announcers, like cabbies, consider it as some sort of badge of honour to travel without the simple apparatus that could save their broadcasting lives in the event of the type of emergency that occurred on 2Day… ?

[No delay at 2Day, 31st July 2009, RadioInfo]

I don’t know the answer to that.

One thing I do know is that my own station does not have a delay, but we also have a very strict rule about airing live phone calls: don’t. Sure, record it and then play it back later, but never, ever, ever, air a live call.