WFNZ does it again

people who get uptight about stuff that they aren't forced to watch/listen/etc annoy me.

 

I agree a test should have been done. Some sort of backup system should have been made available as well. I am a belt and suspenders guy when it comes to remotes...

Sadly our industry has deemed engineers unnecessary in many cases. In the good ole days a full fledged engineer would be on site at the remote with a full kit of tools and backup gear in case of trouble. Nowadays someone from the promotions dept is considered the engineer even though they only know enough to hook a few pieces of gear together...

WFNZ has a few of the best engineers around and the Danny Fontana Network engineer is as good as they come. The problem is they are so busy putting out other fires they don't have time to go to remotes.

t123

 

it wouldn't make me sad if danny fontana got run over by a bus.

 

Yeah, I thought cutbacks and generally being cheap was bad in television until I started doing some radio a few months ago. It's awful.

 

At these remotes. Do you get a copper circuit to make it work or satelite? ISDN? Is back up having both?

 

ISDN is the norm for remotes of this type. For a backup I would use a device called a POTS Codec. A POTS Codec uses a Plain Old Telephone Line like you have at home. You have two units, one in the studio and one at the remote. The Codec has a Modem in it like you would use to connect to the Internet. If you get a decent connection it can sound very good.

A copper loop from Spartanburg to Charlotte would be very expensive if even available...

In radio Satellite is almost never used point to point. The cost is just too high. Satellite is only cost effective to feed multiple stations at the same time.

t123

 

aren't we all? I mean, fucking really.

 

I would take it that rosinkski crew had a different circuit to use. So you backy up will never work if the cable gets cut. It kinda like having to use two different lines for a fire alarm system but both lines are coming down the same hallway and on the same 4 pair cable. Hard to cut cut one pair out. If it gets cut it gets cut. So its mostly a copper feed. Thanks for the info.

 

Why can't you guys put the Mic audio into your computer in whatever format it is in, convert it to .mp3, then upload it to the company website? It is easily doable once a simple, reliable internet connection is established.

*edit*
If you had a couple of hours or more, you could edit the entire program on your laptop, then upload the completely finished product for the spot.

 

In the case of Bill's show Tuesday there was a Long Distance issue on the ISDN at the Charis Studio. A POTS Line backup most likely would have worked but I found out this morning there is no POTS Line available at the Spartanburg location.

You are right about having both you main and backup circuits traveling along the same path. That leaves you very susceptible to 'backhoe fade'...

There are a couple of wireless methods of transmitting broadcast quality audio. If they were closer to Charlotte they could use what is called a Remote Pickup Unit. That is a transmitter/receiver setup that is typically in the 450 MHz band. 30 Miles is about the maximum range of one of those systems. WFNZ doesn't have an RPU system but sister station WSOC-FM does.

The other option works along the same line as the POTS Codec. It uses GSM cell phone service and the 9600 baud data path that's available. WBT has one of those units. It is really only good for short term use like to send in news reports and it doesn't sounds as good as the other options...

t123