Drone Journalism Lab
Thursday October 27
Professor Matt Waite
University of Nebraska Lincoln
Details of the meeting are still being worked out.
In August UNL hosted the first ever Drone Bootcamp for broadcasters. The week long training was designed to prepare professionals and students to take the recently implemented certification exam which allows broadcasters to use video from “unmanned-aircraft”. Professor Waite will give us an overview of what is needed to qualify for the FAA certification plus a demonstration of video drone technology useful for broadcast.
The Engineering sessions were a great success at the annual Nebraska Broadcasters Association convention (NBA) in August. Fred Baumgartner tells us that it was the largest regional Ennes Workshop ever! A special thank you to Mary Schnelle at Broadcasters General Store www.bgs.cc for sponsoring the room AND buying us all lunch! Thanks to Jim Timm for including Engineers in the NBA Convention.
An audio note for anyone who attended. The sound reinforcement used was a single 15 watt Fostex speaker sitting on the table in the corner of the room pointing at the ceiling. It was an audio corner reflector! I have heard expensive systems do much worse.
Nebraska Educational Telecommunications (NET)
Wednesday November 16 Noon for lunch
1800 N 33rd St, Lincoln NE
Please email JSkinner@kptm.com so we have a count for food. There will be a charge, menu TBD.
1:00 PM
Troubleshooting the Broadcast IP Network
Wayne M. Pecena CPBE, CBNE, 8-VSB, AMD, DRB
Texas A&M University - KAMU TV & Radio
SBE National Education Committee Chair
IP networks have become an integral aspect of the broadcast technical plant. Integration with the legacy broadcast infrastructure can range from minimal control functions to a complete IP based content transport facility. Regardless on the integration level or complexity, the IP network is yet another critical system for the broadcast engineer to understand and maintain. When abnormalities do occur, how does the broadcast engineer isolate and resolve IP network issues in a timely manner? Too often, “shooting from the hip” troubleshooting approaches occur under the pressure of quickly resolving the problem. This presentation will present a structured approach to IP network troubleshooting modeled after the industry standard “OSI model”. Emphasis will be placed upon use of common tools and techniques that verify data flow layer functionality. Protocol analysis will be introduced utilizing WireShark for upper layer verification.
IF YOU CAN STAY FOR THE AFTERNOON, ADDITIONAL PRESENTATIONS WILL BE OFFERED ON NOV 16
2:30pm – Advanced IP Topics with Wayne Pecena
3:30 – ATSC 3 with Chris Homer PBS VP of Engineering.
We are SBE Chapter 74 of the Midlands proudly serving Omaha, Lincoln, Council Bluffs and surrounding areas in eastern Nebraska and western Iowa.
All are welcome to attend any SBE Chapter 74 Meetings.
To signup for the newsletter email jskinner@kptm.com
Double Header from Nick at GatesAir
Tuesday September 27, 11:30 AM to order food
Village Inn 7837 Dodge St, Omaha
TV Spectrum Re-Pack Update
An update on the impending re-pack situation and how it may impact your transmission facility. A brief look at options for existing equipment, including upgrade versus replacement. Efficiency and Total Cost of Ownership of old versus new equipment will also be discussed. Is your FM station one of the 35% that will be affected by the FCC TV spectrum repack?
Liquid Cooled FM Transmitters enhancing Total Cost of Ownership
Many broadcasters are pushing for continued Green initiatives for equipment and infrastructure. With the rise of electricity prices and various site conditions GatesAir has made considerable R&D strides to develop a solution. As a case study the Freedom Tower / World Trade Center in NYC will require all transmitters in the building to be liquid cooled, and they will hook into the high efficient Air-conditioning system that was designed into the tower. GatesAir has been doing liquid cooled TV transmitters for years, this presentation will detail proven technology and system variables to consider.
Nick vanHaaster is currently the Regional Sales Manager for GatesAir based in Mason, OH. Nick has been in the broadcast industry for more than 19 years, starting with Pacific Research and Engineering (PR&E) in Carlsbad, CA in 1997 as a systems design engineer for studio facilities. Previously at Harris/GatesAir Nick was responsible for project management and the broadcast architecture of some of the largest Radio & TV implementations both domestic and international. Before returning to GatesAir in 2015 Nick held the Sr. Project Manager position at Fox Broadcasting in Los Angeles, CA with the responsibility of managing special projects for the network and engineering team that included Program Management, Capex Planning, Systems Engineering and Installation for Fox, FX, FXX, FXM, NatGeo, WILD, FSN, FS1, FS2, and Mundo Fox.
With two topics we hope to have Nick start at 12:15 if possible. We should plan to order food ASAP.
"Any time you see two engineers talking you can bet they are discussing a common problem or some topic that effects the industry."