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Friday
Jul252025

TWiRT 758 - Professional Radio Listener, Nick Dee

Most of us radio people - whether engineers, owners, programmers, or sales reps - tend to work in the same market for quite a while. It’s rare that we get a chance to listen to many other stations in other markets to see what’s going on in programming, processing, transmission, and so forth.  Nick Dee, however, is making a career of traveling thousands of miles every month and listening - really listening - to hundreds of radio stations on each trip. This exposure to many stations in many markets gives Nick a unique perspective on what’s right and what’s wrong with radio programming, audio, and transmission.  With his engineering education he understands when something isn’t right, and even carries a spectrum analyzer to make quick analyses on stations that seem to be transmitting a little more than they should.  

Show Notes:
RadioLand app for radio station info - for Android and iOS
ooTunes app for stream listening - for iOS

Guest:
Nick Dee - Professional Radio Listener

Host:
Kirk Harnack, The Telos Alliance, Delta Radio, Star94.3, South Seas, & Akamai Broadcasting

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TWiRT is brought to you by:
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Broadcast Bionics - making radio smarter with Bionic Studio, visual radio, and social media tools at Bionic.radio.
Aiir, providing PlayoutONE radio automation, and other advanced solutions for audience engagement.
Angry Audio and the new Rave analog audio mixing console.
The new MaxxKonnect Broadcast U.192 MPX USB Soundcard - The first purpose-built broadcast-quality USB sound card with native MPX output.

 
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Friday
Jul182025

TWiRT 757 - Unscripted with Chris Tarr

Chris Tarr is one of the busiest broadcast engineers you’ll ever meet. He loves radio engineering, and he’s highly motivated to work hard and keep learning more about his profession. Chris has assembled some recent experiences into some lessons for all of us on this episode.  From guiding some new broadcasters into legal and effective operations to modifying an older FM transmitter for additional years of reliable service, Chris has a lot to share this week.  

Show Notes:
Chris likes the Necto wireless monitor for temperature, humidity, and power. It’s promoted as a monitor for your unattended pet’s environment, but works great to unattended broadcast sites, too.

Guest:
Chris Tarr - Group Director of Engineering at Magnum Media, Inc.

Host:
Kirk Harnack, The Telos Alliance, Delta Radio, Star94.3, South Seas, & Akamai Broadcasting

Follow TWiRT on Twitter and on Facebook - and see all the videos on YouTube.

TWiRT is brought to you by:
Broadcasters General Store, with outstanding service, saving, and support. Online at BGS.cc

Broadcast Bionics - making radio smarter with Bionic Studio, visual radio, and social media tools at Bionic.radio.
Aiir, providing PlayoutONE radio automation, and other advanced solutions for audience engagement.
Angry Audio and the new Rave analog audio mixing console.
The new MaxxKonnect Broadcast U.192 MPX USB Soundcard - The first purpose-built broadcast-quality USB sound card with native MPX output.

 
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TWiRT 757 - Unscripted with Chris Tarr

Friday
Jul112025

TWiRT 756 - The Three Layers of Redundancy with Chuck Bullett

This Week in Radio Tech dives into how broadcasters can build rock-solid, multi-layered broadcast plants that keep them on the air and their audiences happy, even when equipment fails. Chuck Bullett, Director of Technology at Audacy San Francisco, shares his modular “backup B and C” philosophy—designing independent, mutually exclusive systems that can stand in when a mic arm snaps or a transmitter tower goes down. This episode discusses practical strategies like retaining reliable legacy gear as a parallel safety net while integrating new technology investments. Listeners walk away with a “what-if” mindset and concrete steps to harden their facilities against catastrophic, revenue-draining outages.

Show Notes:
Create a Weekly Report for Your Stakeholders - Contribution by Chuck Bullett to John Bisset’s Workbench column in Radio World

Guest:
Chuck Bullett, CPBE - Director of Technology | Engineering at Audacy, San Francisco

Host:
Kirk Harnack, The Telos Alliance, Delta Radio, Star94.3, South Seas, & Akamai Broadcasting

Follow TWiRT on Twitter and on Facebook - and see all the videos on YouTube.

TWiRT is brought to you by:
Broadcasters General Store, with outstanding service, saving, and support. Online at BGS.cc

Broadcast Bionics - making radio smarter with Bionic Studio, visual radio, and social media tools at Bionic.radio.
Aiir, providing PlayoutONE radio automation, and other advanced solutions for audience engagement.
Angry Audio and the new Rave analog audio mixing console.
The new MaxxKonnect Broadcast U.192 MPX USB Soundcard - The first purpose-built broadcast-quality USB sound card with native MPX output.

 
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TWiRT 756 - The Three Layers of Redundancy with Chuck Bullett

Friday
Jul042025

TWiRT 755 - Broadcast Freedom in the USA with Andy Gladding

As we celebrate the 4th of July - Independence Day - in the United States, we’re reminded of the relative freedoms we enjoy here in the realm of broadcasting. In our case we’re speaking of radio broadcasting.  Dr. Andy Gladding teaches broadcasting at Hofstra University, plus he’s the Market DoE for the Salem radio stations in New York City. Additionally, Andy is the new owner of WKZE-FM in Saulsbury, Connecticut. His work (and working vacations) have taken Andy to several other countries where he gets to know and understand the radio broadcasting landscape.  Who better to compare and contrast broadcasting rules and practices with those in the USA?  Join us for a fascinating look at radio broadcasting in a few other countries as we celebrate Independence Day in the USA.

Guest:
Dr. Andy Gladding, EdD, CBT - Salem Media, Hofstra Univ., & WKZE-FM

Hosts:
Kirk Harnack, The Telos Alliance, Delta Radio, Star94.3, South Seas, & Akamai Broadcasting

Follow TWiRT on Twitter and on Facebook - and see all the videos on YouTube.

TWiRT is brought to you by:
Broadcasters General Store, with outstanding service, saving, and support. Online at BGS.cc

Broadcast Bionics - making radio smarter with Bionic Studio, visual radio, and social media tools at Bionic.radio.
Aiir, providing PlayoutONE radio automation, and other advanced solutions for audience engagement.
Angry Audio and the new Rave analog audio mixing console.
The new MaxxKonnect Broadcast U.192 MPX USB Soundcard - The first purpose-built broadcast-quality USB sound card with native MPX output.

 
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TWiRT 755 - Broadcast Freedom in the USA with Andy Gladding

Friday
Jun272025

TWiRT 754 - Broadcast Engineering Degree at UW-Oshkosh

The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh is launching a rare program to train students in broadcast engineering. The emphasis followed years of planning and consultation within the RTF department and the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association. William Kerkhof and Andrew Smock join Chris Tarr and Kirk Harnack to reveal the motivations and planning going into this new program. And we get an introduction to some of the courses and emphases available through this degree program. 

Show Notes:
University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh - Radio TV Film with Broadcast Engineering Emphasis

Guests:
William Kerkhof - Operations Director at RTVF at University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
Andrew Smock - Associate Professor, Department of RTVF at University of Wisconsin Oshkosh

Hosts:
Chris Tarr - Group Director of Engineering at Magnum Media, Inc.
Kirk Harnack, The Telos Alliance, Delta Radio, Star94.3, South Seas, & Akamai Broadcasting

Follow TWiRT on Twitter and on Facebook - and see all the videos on YouTube.

TWiRT is brought to you by:
Broadcasters General Store, with outstanding service, saving, and support. Online at BGS.cc

Broadcast Bionics - making radio smarter with Bionic Studio, visual radio, and social media tools at Bionic.radio.
Aiir, providing PlayoutONE radio automation, and other advanced solutions for audience engagement.
Angry Audio and the new Rave analog audio mixing console.
The new MaxxKonnect Broadcast U.192 MPX USB Soundcard - The first purpose-built broadcast-quality USB sound card with native MPX output.

 
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TWiRT 754 - Broadcast Engineering Degree at UW-Oshkosh