Sticks and Sounds

[Chris_Milwaukee]

Greetings to all the engineers... you guys rock!

Just a couple of questions out of curiosity. If something bad happens ON the stick are the engineers the guys that climb up there to make the repairs or do you have contractors to do that?

Secondly, as I spin the dial there is an obvious difference in the sound quality (EQ if you will) form station to station. Do the engineers have the final say in how the station "sounds" to the listener? (I believe it is called processing now)

Thanks so much. Your hard work is appreciated by my ears!

Chris from Milwaukee
________________________

Life is rough... wear a helmet!

 

[Les]

> Just a couple of questions out of curiosity. If something
> bad happens ON the stick are the engineers the guys that
> climb up there to make the repairs or do you have
> contractors to do that?

Back "in the day" I climbed more than one tower to relamp (AM only
back then). These days there may be a few who still do it but the
owners are nuts if they allow it. OSHA regulations are so strict
and penalty-laden that to do other than hire a properly licensed
and insured contractor is just plain foolish.

> Secondly, as I spin the dial there is an obvious difference
> in the sound quality (EQ if you will) form station to
> station. Do the engineers have the final say in how the
> station "sounds" to the listener? (I believe it is called
> processing now)

Them days are gone forever in many places. The "sound" is regarded
by program directors as their little playground. It may be an
engineer that does the adjutment but if the sound doesn't please
the PD the engineer will be replaced or hounded into insanity.
There may be...and I hope there are...exceptions.

In TV there are stations where picture quality is similarly abused.
I worked for one station where the operations manager had the manager's
ear and the CE had NO real control other than scheduling and making
sure minimal standards were met. Once a month or so the OM would turn
on his home TV late at night, call the overnight engineer, and demand
that he put put up color bars and then tweak the proc amp to make the
bars look right to the OM on HIS OWN TV...and screw anybody whose
set might be properly set up. This is not an exaggeration!


<P ID="signature">______________
When you're done impeaching the prez, keep on going; recall every member of congress and lock 'em up! Let's try NO govt. for a while.</P>

 

[zachm]

I am glad to say that processing is still in MY lap...not the PD, GM, or any Sales person who says it doesn't sound right. I still make the final decision based on the fact that a)nobody has the passwords to the omnia, and b) nobody is allowed to touch anything outside of the control board.

Works for me!<P ID="signature">______________
Zach Morton
Chief Engineer
Legend Communications Of Wyoming, LLC.

</P>

 

[Chris_Milwaukee]

> I am glad to say that processing is still in MY lap...not
> the PD, GM, or any Sales person who says it doesn't sound
> right. I still make the final decision based on the fact
> that a)nobody has the passwords to the omnia, and b) nobody
> is allowed to touch anything outside of the control board.
>
> Works for me!
>
Thank you, Les and Zach. Doc.. how bout you?

 

[BrokeEngineer]

It's all me...

Les, at our 3 stations, it is my ears that set them. I sit in the TOC with a good pair of flat speakers and my chief in front of the 8400's at the trans and we spent weeks tweaking each one.
The AM has a so many audio transitions that the artifacts make me lose my mind when we try to tweak it. It does a double hop that we hope to reduce this spring and I was hoping to demo a DSP as well.
G
P.S. ain't no way my fat ass is climbing up a stick. We contract that out.

 

[k9ez]

> > I am glad to say that processing is still in MY lap...not
> > the PD, GM, or any Sales person who says it doesn't sound
> > right. I still make the final decision based on the fact
> > that a)nobody has the passwords to the omnia, and b)
> nobody
> > is allowed to touch anything outside of the control board.
>
> >
> > Works for me!
> >
> Thank you, Les and Zach. Doc.. how bout you?
>


I know Doc has been a tad busy the past few days. Hang in ther he will get around to the thread.

As for us, I NEVER climb a stick. That is reserved for those insane people!

Processing it is me. No one, and I mean NO ONE else touches the processors. Hense the reason (amongst otheres) they are out at the transmitters :-D. Out of professional courtesy I always discuss changes to any station with the PD.

Kent
CC - Milwaukee

 

[JasonW]

Disc jockeys climbing AM towers...

When he was just starting out in South Florida radio in the early 1950s, the late disc jockey-turned talk host Jerry Wichner used to have to climb the tower at WINZ 940 AM to change the beacon light bulbs.

He would set up a wooden ladder next to the (energized!) tower and then jump from the ladder to the tower, then climb up to the top.

The station owner, Rex ("Sexy Rexy") Rand was cheap in the extreme, and he figured that since Jerry was a licensed ham radio operator he was qualified to work as a tower steeplejack. Jerry felt differently, but he needed the job. -- JasonW

 

[Chris_Milwaukee]

> > > I am glad to say that processing is still in MY
> lap...not
> > > the PD, GM, or any Sales person who says it doesn't
> sound
> > > right. I still make the final decision based on the
> fact
> > > that a)nobody has the passwords to the omnia, and b)
> > nobody
> > > is allowed to touch anything outside of the control
> board.
> >
> > >
> > > Works for me!
> > >
> > Thank you, Les and Zach. Doc.. how bout you?
> >
>
>
> I know Doc has been a tad busy the past few days. Hang in
> ther he will get around to the thread.
>
> As for us, I NEVER climb a stick. That is reserved for
> those insane people!
>
> Processing it is me. No one, and I mean NO ONE else touches
> the processors. Hense the reason (amongst otheres) they are
> out at the transmitters :-D. Out of professional courtesy I
> always discuss changes to any station with the PD.
>
> Kent
> CC - Milwaukee
>
Thanks, Kent. I appriciate the insight. Sorry about Don, AGAIN! Poor guy has to gargle with Desinex.

 

[RockManAC]

> As for us, I NEVER climb a stick. That is reserved for
> those insane people!

Yeah... Neither would I!

True story, we lost the tower lights a couple of months ago (since fixed) and the engineer on duty that night kept threatening to send me up there with a flashlight... (Hey it was foggy!) Sad part is, our MCO looked at me and said something along the lines of "Hey, I'd do it!".

-A<P ID="signature">______________

</P>

 

[Les]

Re: Disc jockeys climbing AM towers...

> When he was just starting out in South Florida radio in the
> early 1950s, the late disc jockey-turned talk host Jerry
> Wichner used to have to climb the tower at WINZ 940 AM to
> change the beacon light bulbs.

Then there was this guy who was an overnight jock at a station in Hartford, CT
who used to get sent up the tower for lamp changes. He got to liking it,
left radio, and put together a tower maintenance company that made him
much more than his talent would have ever earned in broadcast. He recently
sold the company and retired comfortably! I have purposely omitted call
letters because the station is still under the same ownership. <P ID="signature">______________
When you're done impeaching the prez, keep on going; recall every member of congress and lock 'em up! Let's try NO govt. for a while.</P>

 

[thedougpound]

Im not a ham operator, not a license tower climber.. just a DJ.. BUT....

if it were a short stick that was kinda wide, i might climb it.......

 

[Les]

> if it were a short stick that was kinda wide, i might climb
> it.......

Though I did it when I was young and foolish, I can't advise it.

If you do, you'll need at minimum a proper harness to keep you
from falling and make it the variety with a somewhat elastic
strap off the back that clamps to a tower rung so that if you
do fall you'll dangle in the air without a harsh impact.

Even then, without a proper ground person who also has the proper
equipment you're gonna be up there a long, long time. Ground
person MUST wear a high quality hard hat.

Don't mess with sneakers; good solid non-slip soles on whatever
you have on your feet. Without that your feet will fail you
more quickly than you can imagine.

Of course, if you feel invincible, give yourself at least a chance
by being sure that ALL RF is turned off, breakers opened, breaker
cabinets locked (with the keys in YOUR pocket) and warning signs
posted on everything that could possibly be turned on by some
clown who manages to get past the locks on the breaker boxes.
That includes any auxilliaries like 2-way, weather radio, etc.

If anything happens to you, hope your employer has excellent
insurance and deep pockets to pay the OSHA fines that will surely
follow. Having your own medical and life insurance is prudent
as well 'cause there'll be one hell of a fight over liability.

Now, if I haven't convinced you NOT to do it, spend a couple of
hundred bucks on a good psychiatrist before you take the first
step....just to be sure.

Yes, I know hams who climb their own towers and folks with wind
generators who climb theirs, they also tend to drive motorcycles
without helmets or leathers so might be excused.
<P ID="signature">______________
When you're done impeaching the prez, keep on going; recall every member of congress and lock 'em up! Let's try NO govt. for a while.</P>