The Broadcasters' Desktop Resource

Written by George Kimble Posted in Observing the Broadcast Industry. [April 2026] Tell the truth: at least once in your career, you have thought that “I can run a station better than this guy!” If you plan properly, you can turn that into a good living. George Kimble explains. The thought must have crossed your mind at some time: Should I look at buying my own station? As it turns out, now would be a good time; stations are priced far more reasonably than in the past.

Written by George Kimble Posted in Observing the Broadcast Industry. [April 2026] Tell the truth: at least once in your career you have thought that “I can run a station better than this guy!” If you plan properly, you can turn that into a good living. George Kimble explains. The thought must have crossed your mind at some time: Should I look at buying my own station? As it turns out, now would be a good time; stations are priced far more reasonably than in the past.

Written by Greg Ogonowski Posted in Streaming. [March 2026] Storing, handling, and streaming audio is a lot different today than it was at the turn of the century. Yet, all too often, we see people using some of the oldest and most destructive codecs available. Greg Ogonowski offers a quick tutorial and reasons why we should be using more effective and efficient codecs. There is little to no reason to use MP3 anymore.

Written by Barry Mishkind Posted in Silly Business. [April 1, 2026] An exclusive interview between Barry Mishkind of the BDR and Jeff Welton of Nautel on April 1, 2026 Barry Mishkind (BM): Jeff, Nautel has just announced the new iTube transmitter series, and I have to say—it sounds almost too innovative. Software-defined transmitters… with tubes? Jeff Welton (JW): That’s right, Barry.

Written by Hank Landsberg Posted in Solutions & Tech Tips. [March 2026] Whenever a broadcast engineer sees a lightning storm, the first thought that comes to mind is about the tower at the transmitter site sticking its “nose” into the atmospheric display of natural power. A little less obvious but important, is the effect on the incoming power grid. Is there anything that can protect the transmission operations from these outside impacts.

Written by Reid Brandon Posted in Broadcast History. [February 2026] With word of the upcoming closing of the Econco tube rebuilding facility, we thought it was worth looking back at an industry that grew up fast and saved stations a lot of money, but now is fading as solid-state transmitters have replaced a lot of the high-power rigs using tubes. Reid Brandon was there and can provide some interesting history.

Written by Barry Mishkind Posted in Richard Haskey's: The Worst I've Ever Seen!. [February 2026] A Spring Surprise awaits for many of us. A suggestion or two might save you time and frustration over the next few months. As the Winter yields to Spring, transmitter sites all over place start sprouting all sorts of greenery and other things that are not exactly conducive to site operations or maintenance, much less personal safety.

Written by John Wilton Posted in Maintenance Shift. [February 2026] When you are buying new equipment, sometimes customer service is not a major consideration. After all, the gear is new. It is tested. But, over time, there comes a time you will need to get help from the factory. Unfortunately, getting customer service these days is not always easy. More often than not, you have to navigate those AI-infested digital menus that frustrate callers and often do not provide the needed information or help.

Posted in Site Operations. [January 2025] Have you read any reports lately about copper theft from transmitter sites? Likley the weather has kept many of the thiever away for the moment. But you can be sure that as the weather warms up over the next few months, they will be back around. As Clay Frienwald originally wrote, site security is important, as just a relatively small amount of copper stolen can cost major dollars in repairs. Have you looked at copper prices recently?

Posted in Contract Engineering. [December 2025] As we watch the broadcast industry further consolidate, a couple of issues surface: (1) is radio – and job prospects – dying, and (2) do I really have a place in broadcasting? Mike Vanhooser has a story that might give you some ideas. In a world where Broadcast Engineers are a vanishing breed, perhaps a new generation will arrive. I started out in 1969 as an engineering intern at KPFT in Houston, a Pacifica station.