It depends. If an engineer hasn't kept up with new technology, especially in terms of the practical applications for that technology, they won't be able to handle the station's needs beyond the transmitter. Meanwhile the job of radio engineering has gone way beyond running the transmitter. Although the main thing the FCC cares about is the transmitter.
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- Thread starter chuckmcmillan
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It depends. If an engineer hasn't kept up with new technology, especially in terms of the practical applications for that technology, they won't be able to handle the station's needs beyond the transmitter. Meanwhile the job of radio engineering has gone way beyond running the transmitter. Although the main thing the FCC cares about is the transmitter.
I got my 3rd endorsed (I think an orange color) in Detroit in 1975. I got my First Class license in Miami in 1980 (almost just in time for it to be eliminated) after 6-week Wonder School in Sarasota, and it was yellow. I got the General renewal, and think it got left behind at a station. So I got the post card. I don't remember needing anything to operate the TV station, though.
At REI in Sarasota, probabl 3/4 of my class consisted of TV people who needed the Radar Endorsement to run microwave trucks. How times have changed.
At REI in Sarasota, probabl 3/4 of my class consisted of TV people who needed the Radar Endorsement to run microwave trucks. How times have changed.
Going back to the 60's with Paul Schaffer's automation gear, we were already entering a "solid state" world. Heck, the 70's line of Gates consoles were called "Solid Statesman" and all transistorized.
Heck, I got my first HP 35 scientific calculator in 1972 and I could do all kinds of stuff on it, like trig for antenna calculations. I put together an Altair computer made by some college dropouts in Albuquerque in 1975... it had the OS on a paper tape that was punched by Bill Gates, one of the dropouts. By the end of that decade, we were building our own S-100 bus systems and programming things like station research.
My point is that anyone involved in the business has seen these changes to solid state and then to ICs and digital systems as a very slow evolution, not an "approaching iceberg" disaster.
And remember, the FCC used to rely on "good engineering practices" as a criteria in station inspections back in the 70's. A messy studio install that could result in deficient audio could, indeed, be written up. Even things like having synchronized WWV time on studio clocks could get an infraction notice!
But there's a difference in the job description. I saw it first hand when a boomer chief engineer I know retired and was replaced by a millennial. The first thing the millennial did was change the house wifi system. The old wifi was just fine. But the new guy made it faster and more efficient. They both knew the theory. But the millennial knows the current applications and uses for the technology. Everyone could see the change.
Conversely, I see a view expressed here that radio stations will have trouble finding people to do the old school transmitter maintenance as the boomers retire.
I think the radio industry is going to see some big changes moving forward, as boomer CEOs and owners get replaced by millennials and Gen Zs.
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There can be lots of reasons why a seasoned engineer does not instantly adopt the newest technology, ranging from budget respect to having already had their share of early adopter experiences.
Absolutely true. The worst case scenarios will be in directional AMs and both AMs and FMs sharing the same antenna.
Agreed.
Anymore the sought-after engineers are able to:
1. Translate technobable into business, let alone plain English that normal people can understand.
2. Keep up on tech trends while keeping a sharp eye on how it can be integrated to create new revenue or save expenses.
What used to drive me apoplectic, was when some veteran engineer would say something like: "I don't care about any of this networking stuff." "As long as we're on the air, that's what matters."
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