Radio World 1328 - November 2026 by publications

Welcome to the

November 2026 issue of Radio World

Technology & news for radio decision makers

Project Nehemiah How K-LOVE engineers converted 712 target sites to IP-based delivery in a matter of months.

radioworld.com | November 2026 | $5.00

ERI is under new ownership

American Amplifier Technologies acquires another big name in RF.

Not quite a coat hanger

Mark Persons describes a wire antenna that can help you in a crunch.

We remember John Bisset

Our friend and longtime columnist died in October.

Vol. 50 No. 18 | November 2026 www.radioworld.com FOLLOW US www.twitter.com/radioworld_news www.facebook.com/RadioWorldMagazine www.linkedin.com/company/radio-world-futureplc CONTENT Managing Director, Content & Editor in Chief Paul J. McLane, paul.mclane@futurenet.com, 845-414-6105 Content Producer Nick Langan, nicholas.langan@futurenet.com Technical Advisors W.C. “Cris” Alexander, Thomas R. McGinley, Doug Irwin Contributors: Michael Baldauf, David Bialik, Edwin Bukont, James Careless, Ken Deutsch, Todd Dixon, Mark Durenberger, Charles Fitch, Donna Halper, William Harrison, Alan Jurison, Paul Kaminski, John Kean, Mark Lapidus, James O’Neal, Jim Peck, Mark Persons, Jeremy Preece, John Schneider, Gregg Skall, Dan Slentz, Randy Stine, Tom Vernon, Chris Wygal Production Manager Nicole Schilling Senior Designers Cliff Newman and Steve Mumby ADVERTISING SALES Senior Business Director & Publisher, Radio World John Casey, john.casey@futurenet.com, 845-678-3839 Advertising EMEA Raffaella Calabrese, raffaella.calabrese@futurenet.com, +39 348 229 3293 SUBSCRIBER CUSTOMER SERVICE To subscribe, change your address, or check on your current account status, go to www.radioworld.com and click on Subscribe, email futureplc@computerfulfillment.com, call 888-266-5828, or write P.O. Box 254, Lowell, MA 01853. LICENSING/REPRINTS/PERMISSIONS Radio World is available for licensing. Contact the Licensing team to discuss partnership opportunities. Head of Print Licensing Rachel Shaw licensing@futurenet.com MANAGEMENT SVP, MD, B2B Amanda Darman-Allen VP, Market Lead Carmel King MD, Content, Broadcast Tech Paul J. McLane VP, Global Head of Sales, B2B Dena Malouf Managing VP of Sales, B2B Tech Adam Goldstein VP, Global Head of Strategy & Ops, B2B Allison Markert VP, Product & Marketing, B2B Andrew Buchholz Head of Production US & UK Mark Constance Head of Design, B2B Nicole Cobban

FUTURE US, INC. Future US LLC, 130 West 42nd Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10036 All contents ©Future US, Inc. or published under licence. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be used, stored, transmitted or reproduced in any way without the prior written permission of the publisher. Future Publishing Limited (company number 02008885) is registered in England and Wales. Registered office: Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All information contained in this publication is for information only and is, as far as we are aware, correct at the time of going to press. Future cannot accept any responsibility for errors or inaccuracies in such information. You are advised to contact manufacturers and retailers directly with regard to the price of products/services referred to in this publication. Apps and websites mentioned in this publication are not under our control. We are not responsible for their contents or any other changes or updates to them. This magazine is fully independent and not affiliated in any way with the companies mentioned herein. If you submit material to us, you warrant that you own the material and/ or have the necessary rights/permissions to supply the material and you automatically grant Future and its licensees a licence to publish your submission in whole or in part in any/all issues and/or editions of publications, in any format published worldwide and on associated websites, social media channels and associated products. Any material you submit is sent at your own risk and, although every care is taken, neither Future n or its employees, agents, subcontractors or licensees shall be liable for loss or damage. We assume all unsolicited material is for publication unless otherwise stated, and reserve the right to edit, amend, adapt all submissions.

“What a dear man” Our family mourns John Bisset

adio engineering has lost a teacher, companion, a kind and gentle friend. John Bisset, associated with Radio World since the 1980s and author of our Workbench column for almost 37 years, died in October after a period of illness.

He was 73. I’m grateful to have known the man and deeply Paul aware of how fortunate we have been to have him in McLane our pages. Editor in Chief The column will resume next month, and soon I’ll announce his successor. But today I am thinking about John. In 2007, John received the Educator of the Year Award from the Society of Broadcast Engineers. In my nomination I wrote: “At a time when industry leaders bemoan a lack of new engineering talent, and while our engineering veterans speak of the disappearance of the ‘mentor figure’ … John has established himself as the single most recognized source of hands-on, realworld engineering information in the U.S. radio industry. “In a real sense, he is a mentor to thousands of radio engineers, providing guidance as well as collecting and sharing tips from readers.” John provided his training in an affable, supplier-agnostic style and gained the respect of even the most critical readers and manufacturing competitors. Beyond RW, he was an accomplished chief and contract engineer. He co-founded engineering company Multiphase. As a sales executive with major equipment suppliers, most recently at Telos Alliance, he was among the most well-known members in a “tribe” of road warriors. Even when selling he was as much educator as vendor. NAB invited him to develop an all-day Radio Transmitter Workshop that he organized and moderated at conventions at least 10 times, benefiting thousands of attendees. Nick Langan has written a beautiful piece about John that appears in this issue on the page where Workbench would normally be found.

Radio World (ISSN 0274-8541) is published 13 times annually (monthly, and twice in December) by Future US, Inc. 130 W. 42nd St, 7th Floor, NY NY 10036. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Radio World, PO Box 254 Lowell MA 01853. Please recycle. We are committed to only using magazine paper which is derived from responsibly managed, certified forestry and chlorine-free manufacture. The paper in this magazine was sourced and produced from sustainable managed forests, conforming to strict environmental and socioeconomic standards. The manufacturing paper mill and printer hold full FSC and PEFC certification and accreditation.

THIS ISSUE NEWS 3

From the Editor

Project Nehemiah rebuilds K-LOVE distribution

FEATURES 14

Remembering John Bisset, engineer, educator and mentor

Best of Show at IBC

A wire antenna to help you in a crunch

ERI is under new ownership

BUYER’S GUIDE 36

Photo by Elle Kehres

John and me at an NAB Show.

Problem Solvers & Studio Accessories

OPINION 45

Readers’ Forum

News Section Below This box was part of a series featuring Radio World contributors years ago.

What I want to share though are the words that come up most often when colleagues talk about John: Kind. Generous. Unselfish. Intelligent. Thoughtful. Meticulous. Encouraging. Also: Optimistic. That was true even as he was dying. John knew a week

before passing that medicine had done what it could. He texted me and wrote, “In two weeks or less I will be at the feet of Jesus.” On the phone the next morning I could hear that his faith was bringing him a very real sense of peace and comfort. I am so grateful that he found that. And I’m lucky to have known him. Mark Lapidus, a longtime colleague, put it simply about John: “What a dear man.”

“”

I could hear that his faith was bringing him a very real sense of peace and comfort.

Radio Infrastructure

Project Nehemiah rebuilds K-LOVE distribution Network’s engineers converted 712 target sites to IP-based delivery in a matter of months Writer

Nick Langan The author profiled the Sutro Tower last year.

Above The snow-covered path leads to the transmitter site for KKLF(FM) in Fairbanks, Alaska, atop Ester Dome.

ust how does K-LOVE manage to bring its audio to your market? The Christian contemporary network, operated by nonprofit K-LOVE Inc., is heard on more than 400 full-power stations across the 50 U.S. states, along with more than 200 FM translators. Air 1, its sibling Christian worship network, is heard on more than 200 stations and 150 translators. Expanding that footprint even further are HD Radio subchannels powering offerings like K-LOVE 90s, K-LOVE 2000s, K-LOVE Eras and K-LOVE Pop. This all makes for the most expansive Christian network in U.S. radio. For the longest time, K-LOVE accomplished delivery of its audio through satellite-based methods. Using C-Band and Ku-Band satellite capacity was reliable and familiar. But it also presented limitations. K-LOVE wanted a way to give its music programmers more hands-on access to each of its stations. And when the federal government began cutting down on available satellite spectrum, there was a heightened sense of urgency.

So the organization set out to transform its audio delivery infrastructure. It executed an ambitious initiative called “Project Nehemiah” in less than a year. Team members say the project has been inspiring and believe it offers a model for others in the industry.

Failure is not an option

In scripture, Nehemiah led a high-speed, 52-day rebuild of a wall around Jerusalem through grit, teamwork and focus, refusing to let naysayers interrupt the work. K-LOVE’s physical C-Band satellites were to be deorbited, or moved physically out of position, on May 1, 2025, while Ku-Band service guarantees were set to end by Dec. 31 of that year. Facing the loss of satellite capacity, engineering leadership evaluated their options. Re-pointing dishes and switching C-Band satellites would have cost an estimated $3 million, with a similar expense to shift Ku-Band satellites. That’s not even factoring in a spectrum repack that it likely would have had to incur due to the reallocation of the upper C-Band approved by the FCC this summer. “So we made the decision to rip the Band-Aid off right

radioworld.com | November 2026

Radio Infrastructure K-LOVE Vice President of Engineering Kevin Cecil.

there,” recalled Vice President of Engineering Kevin Cecil, who joined the ministry in 2023. Beyond ditching satellites, Project Nehemiah offered an opportunity to make its transmitter sites more manageable for K-LOVE’s team of roughly 45 regional field engineers and its Network Operations Center. Approximately six generations of assorted air chain equipment were in use across those sites. The task ahead: Overhaul 712 transmission sites, with the lion’s share of the conversions taking place during a fivemonth stretch between September 2025 and January 2026. To rally the team behind a staggering workload, Cecil turned during an engineering meeting to a cinematic moment: He conjured NASA’s legendary Gene Kranz. “In the movie ‘Apollo 13,’ when the scrubbers failed in the command module, they had to make square filters fit into round holes using only what was on the spacecraft,” Cecil said. “He looked at the team and said, ‘Failure is not an option.’” Managing the engineering team was a primary responsibility, but K-LOVE also takes seriously its position as a network that the industry looks up to. There was also resistance to such an ambitious conversion of audio delivery, what Cecil described as “convergence.” “We definitely heard some pushback,” K-LOVE Enterprise Architect Bill Jackson said, “but just because delivery has always been done in a certain fashion is not a good enough reason to give up.”

Changes at the station level

Jackson has had experience in radio from programming, on-air and promotion in Baton Rouge and San Antonio to the managing of gameday Louisiana State University sports. He joined K-LOVE 12 years ago. He said the inspiration to overhaul the entire distribution network actually can be traced to 2018. At that time, he was

Above The landmark “Stonehenge” broadcast tower in Portland, Ore., home to affiliate KLVP(FM).

serving as the foundation’s acting studio engineer out of Indianapolis. “I was talking with a vendor, looking for a box out there that would replace a Pico satellite receiver with something over the internet,” Jackson recalled. K-LOVE did not have a mechanism to play market-specific tracks — or to play local content down to different songs in a major market like New York on WPLJ(FM) — and then rejoin its primary network feed. For program distribution, K-LOVE relied on satellite distribution across almost all of its sites. Eight years ago the scope seemed reasonable: Target K-LOVE’s top 50 markets, representing around 83 transmitter sites, convert them to IP-based distribution and give programming teams the tools to split feeds on demand. Over a multi-year horizon, the project felt manageable. But after K-LOVE faced the loss of satellite capacity for hundreds of its affiliates, the scope widened. “Instead of 83 sites, it became 712,” Jackson said.

radioworld.com | November 2026

Radio Infrastructure to airing alerts sent via the Emergency Alert System — as every K-LOVE and Air 1 station must do, along with all radio stations in the U.S. — the network operates differently than most. “The majority of stations have their EAS units at the studio and fire them into the air chain there,” Jackson said. “We are the antithesis of that. Our EAS units live at the transmitter sites, and we have to remotely trigger them for weekly tests.” Legacy satellite receivers come equipped with physical relay terminals on their back panels. The box at a K-LOVE transmitter site would read an auxiliary data channel sent over satellite and physically close a relay wire connected to a Digital Alert Systems DASDEC or a Sage ENDEC to trigger a weekly test. K-LOVE needed a reliable way to pass General Purpose Input/Output (GPIO) relay commands over standard internet connections if it was to convert all of its sites to IP. Rice asked Jackson if he could build a custom workaround to trigger relays over HTTP Live Streaming (HLS). Jackson estimated this would take two years. “You’re gonna have to do it faster,” Rice told him. Jackson went to work studying how to pass control data through standard web audio chunks. “If I am being completely transparent, there was doubt on my part,” Jackson said. The solution, conceived by K-LOVE’s team with cooperation from specific vendors, was hiding tiny digital triggers directly inside HLS streams using JSON metadata strings — the same text format used across web APIs to transfer data. “There’s definitely future-proofing that goes along with all of this,” Cecil said. HLS delivery is not in use at most of K-LOVE’s transmitter sites yet, but it’s on the ministry’s short-term roadmap. At

A crate containing a preconfigured Nehemiah equipment rack arrives in the bed of a field truck at a transmitter building, ready for installation.

Must go faster

In December of 2024, Jackson began mapping out how to feed hundreds of sites over the internet. Ed Rice, chief technology officer at the time, walked into his office at the organization’s new headquarters in Franklin, Tenn., and asked why they couldn’t stream audio to K-LOVE Inc.’s transmitter sites. Jackson knew why it would be a problem. When it comes

Right K-LOVE Enterprise Architect Bill Jackson.

radioworld.com | November 2026

Radio Infrastructure

Above The vista from the KLVS(FM) transmitter site near Livermore, Calif., looking out above the clouds toward the San Francisco Peninsula.

the time of publishing, K-LOVE has converted around a hundred sites to HLS.

The Franklin assembly line

There was inherent pressure once the conversion process started to get Project Nehemiah to the finish line. But neither Jackson nor Cecil viewed Project Nehemiah as an order from K-LOVE’s upper management. “We had support at the highest levels of the ministry to do what the entire team did,” Jackson said. But once the work started it moved at a breakneck pace. While the goal was to upgrade 712 sites in nine months, “In reality, we did a little over 600 sites in five months,”

Jackson said. In the busiest stretch, between late fall and this past January, the team converted 64 sites in a single week. To keep up, K-LOVE set up a central assembly line in Franklin. Vendors adapted to the tempo. For instance Orban Labs assigned two software engineers to support Nehemiah full-time. Managing the sheer volume of gear created logistical concerns. “Our bottleneck was a moving target,” Cecil recalled. “At first it was just, how do we order and facilitate getting this stuff in? And then once we get it here, where do we put it? We had to bring shipping containers in and line them up out back to store inventory.” Every rack was built on a blueprint, with an Aruba

radioworld.com | November 2026

Radio Infrastructure

Above Midday sun sits low on the horizon at 88.3 KKLF(FM) in Fairbanks, Alaska, where field engineers waded through deep snow to complete winter rack conversions.

6000-series 48-port switch, a Peplink SD-WAN router, a local compute cluster, DASDEC and existing Endec EAS units, and Inovonics modulation monitors. For site connectivity, the team followed a directive: Pair two diverse broadband paths that never share the same physical ground infrastructure. That meant pairing “fiber-class” links (terrestrial fiber, Starlink satellite or cellular SIMs) with “copper-class” links (cable coax). “When you pair up Starlink with fiber, copper and cellular where we need to, we’ve got a good layered strategy for having reliable distribution at our sites,” Cecil said. K-LOVE deployed 400 Starlink satellite dishes — plus backup Peplink cellular routers at all 712 sites — to ensure multi-WAN redundancy. “If I’ve got a site and I have a broadband connection of sorts, and I get assigned an IP address, I am up in about 30 seconds,” Jackson said. At K-LOVE’s HD Radio sites, processing is handled by Omnia.9 Mark II units — upgraded so Nielsen PPM

“ Right A fully assembled Project Nehemiah rack installed alongside a Nautel GV10 transmitter at a K-LOVE site.

The task: Overhaul 712 transmission sites, with the lion’s share of conversions in a five-month stretch between September 2025 and January 2026.

encoders run inside the box — while analog sites are running Orban Optimod 5950 HD processors. HD Radio transmitter feeds were delivered using either a Nautel HDMC+ or a GatesAir FMXi 4G, depending on the transmitter used on site. To feed the new IP architecture, K-LOVE is deploying Adventure 33’s Prism distribution platform, pushing streams from Franklin and a backup server near Las Vegas. For market-specific programming, RCS Zetta and Zetta Splits handle custom, song-level localization, while Super Hi-Fi’s platform manages content creation and distribution. From there, an in-house HLS encoder packages and time-aligns the audio with metadata before it reaches the stream. Completed racks were pre-configured, serialized and shipped out of Franklin at a remarkable pace. “It was like Ford building B-24 bombers at the rate of one every 30 minutes,” said Mike Pappas of Orban Labs. In the field, regional engineers pulled crates off transport trucks, hauled them up to the transmitter buildings,

radioworld.com | November 2026

“ ”

Radio Infrastructure

It was like Ford building B-24 bombers at the rate of one every 30 minutes.

swapped the racks out and shipped the old gear back to Tennessee for decommissioning.

Boots on the ground

Below Logistics in action: A custom wooden shipping crate carries a complete transmitter rack loaded onto a pickup truck for transport to a remote site.

Testing had begun quietly in late 2024. Jackson and Cecil installed the first pilot rack in Nashville at WLVU(FM) and let it run for four to six months to monitor packet stability before putting a second test unit in Washington, D.C. at WLVW(FM). Full field deployment was shaped around the calendar. Beginning in April 2025, the engineering team mapped out “winter challenge sites” — remote or high-elevation locations where access roads freeze over by mid-October and stay closed until spring. “Bill and I spent 42 nights in hotels in November and December 2025 alone,” Cecil said. “But it was our field engineers who showed incredible grit and unwavering commitment.” Cecil felt it would be impossible to single out individuals for their work because it was all-hands on deck across the field team. And during the big push in September to January, Mother

Nature offered plenty of resistance: In Fairbanks, teams waded through thigh-deep snow. At Mount Diablo, Calif., an engineer drove down the mountain in pitch darkness through driving rain and fog. In Livermore, Calif., engineers navigated around active rattlesnake habitats. In Phoenix, an engineer took a helicopter up to South Mountain three days in a row, with the aircraft idling on the peak while he worked on the install. The camaraderie between Jackson and Cecil helped keep them going during their own long stretches on the road. Jackson credited several industry mentors for perseverance, namely Ed Rice of K-LOVE, Mike Pappas of Orban, Marty Sacks of Telos Alliance and Bo Hoover of Technical Services Group. Cecil described Jackson as “the brains of the operation,” but the latter demurs. “It wasn’t supposed to be the Bill Jackson show — it was a collaboration,” Jackson said. Cecil spent 23 years at LifeWay Christian Resources, including 17 as a senior application specialist. His knowledge of IT and networking runs deep. “I needed him to be at the same level I was so I could be body-checked against the glass, so to speak,” Jackson said. The reward for those long drives wasn’t just checking sites off a list. “Sometimes we were able to stand on top of a mountain and just have a breathtaking view for a minute,” Cecil said. “Those are the things I remember more than the busted knuckles.” All 712 target sites were converted to IP-based delivery by Jan. 20 of this year. The big engineering effort inspired an 11-minute video that was released within K-LOVE and posted on the internet called “Boots on the Ground: The Engineers Behind the Signal.” As one team member notes in the opening: “It takes a special person to be an engineer.”

Next steps

For triggering emergency alerts, proprietary HLS delivery over the SD-WAN infrastructure represents stage two of this project. The team described implementing this solution as a “crawl, walk, run approach,” with around 100 sites converted as of September. At present, non-HLS sites rely on IP-fed receivers of the legacy ATX system, or the original “Top 50 Market Project” architecture bridge combining a studio routing controller and Axia Pathfinder commands, all encoded via Telos iPort or Zephyr

radioworld.com | November 2026

Radio Infrastructure Connect and delivered via SRT to transmit audio, metadata and triggers over the internet to activate local rack relays. Coupled with EAS units monitoring local LP-1, LP-2 stations over the air and other required monitoring, K-LOVE can perform mandatory emergency tests as its HLS rollout continues. But once HLS is instituted, K-LOVE’s architecture will split a six-second audio chunk at the same millisecond the JSON string triggers the RWT EAS tests. The receiver at the transmitter site receives the analog trigger derived from the JSON string in the digital metadata, firing the rack relay without leaving long silent gaps, clipping header tones or throwing off on-air timing. “We’re executing a network doughnut hole for local tests to occur,” Jackson said. Meanwhile, programmers for K-LOVE and Air 1 now have the ability through RCS GSelector’s Schedule Subscription Service and Zetta, as well as Super Hi-Fi’s architecture, to make song changes at the station level.

Future-proofing the dial

Now that they’ve had a chance to catch their collective breath, Cecil and Jackson are able to reflect on what seemed like an impossible challenge. “Moving to IP is certainly not something that we did first, but we are future-proofing what we’re doing,” Cecil said. “Look at telecom in the early 1990s. They were pushing back on some of the same IT integration that people in radio are pushing back on now. “Go find an analog phone system somewhere today,” he continued. “If you’re not future-proofing your broadcast system today, you’re probably not going to be broadcasting in a few years.” It is a mindset that Cecil and Jackson believe can serve others. “If you can present things to your organization that show efficiency, you’re a superhero,” Jackson said. Beyond solving the satellite cutover and transforming this to a digital-first architecture, Project Nehemiah was built on another rule: Never rely on a single supplier. “From a practical standpoint, it’s not good to put all your eggs in one basket,” Jackson said. “If COVID-19 taught us anything, it’s that certain vendors went out of business or suffered severe supply disruptions.” That approach extended to transmitter choices. K-LOVE divided the installs between GatesAir and Nautel based on site requirements and will seek a third vendor by the end of 2026. “We want radio to not only survive, we want radio to thrive,” Cecil said. “For it to thrive, we need everybody working together. If we survive and commercial stations don’t, we die. Competition drives innovation, and everything is not about cost.” By replacing $25,000 legacy STLs with redundant broadband connections, K-LOVE believes it has proven

Above A newly installed Nehemiah rack on site at K-LOVE affiliate 107.5 KNOL(FM) in Jean Lafitte, La.

that IP distribution is within reach for stations or groups of any size. And to document its work, according to K-LOVE, the consortium of Super Hi-Fi, K-LOVE, Orban and Omnia has open-sourced the HLS metadata work and GPIO methods. “There are those in the radio industry set in their ways,” Jackson said. “I can’t stress enough how important it is to change from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset.” While the work on HLS conversion continues, the team at K-LOVE is developing an AI-based system to gather telemetry from every transmitter site or distribution end point. It is what Cecil and Jackson call a proactive rather than a reactive approach. “We want to put a model out there and let people know there is another way,” Jackson said. “If the industry dies, we die. Let us use what we’ve bloodied our knuckles on and the opportunities God provides us so that other broadcasters don’t have to.”

radioworld.com | November 2026

Workbench Writer

Remembering John Bisset — engineer, educator, mentor We mourn the loss of the author of Radio World’s Workbench

Nick Langan Editor of Radio World SmartBrief and content producer

ohn Bisset, the longtime author of Radio World’s Workbench column, died in October after a period of illness. He was 73. A skilled engineer, consultant and educator, he spent 55 years in the industry, during which he also served in sales roles for a Who’s Who of manufacturers, including Delta Electronics, Harris Corp., Dielectric, Broadcast Electronics, Nautel, Tieline, Elenos and Telos Alliance. Each edition of Workbench has delivered hands-on tips to help engineers in their daily work, based on suggestions from readers and industry experts as well as his own experience. “One of the fun things about this business is the long-term relationships you make, even though you may not talk to these people for years,” he once wrote. Workbench will continue, as John wished, with a new author to be announced soon. John continued to write the column until he went on hiatus this summer to tend to his health. He leaves behind his wife Diane. We have savored every word and we mourn his loss deeply.

Early start

Right John Bisset at the 2019 Public Radio Engineering Conference.

He was born in 1952. At age 10, he appeared on Willard Scott’s “Bozo the Clown” show in Washington, D.C., his first taste of broadcasting. John recalled going home and, with the help of his father, rigging up his own version of Bozo’s TV studio, using boxes to model as television cameras and empty fruit cans as mocked-up lenses. His first professional job came

Photo by Jim Peck

at WFAX(AM) in northern Virginia, serving the Washington market. “Program Director Roy Martin hired me as a summer relief announcer when I was 16,” John recalled. “I worked there part-time through high school and college, and joined the full-time staff after graduation.” Around that time, he received training in technical writing from an influential teacher, Professor Joey Horobetz. He was eventually promoted to WFAX chief engineer. He earned an AAS in broadcast engineering technology cum laude from Northern Virginia Community College, as well as an AA in communications/liberal arts cum laude from the institution. From 1980 to 1988, he managed the engineering services department

radioworld.com | November 2026

at Metroplex Communications’ 730 AM (it held the WPKX, WRMR and WCPT calls during that time) and 105.9 FM (WVKX/WCXR) that served the Washington, D.C., market. John said he was later inspired to become a Christian while playing religious programming on a station. “Becoming a Christian gave me tremendous encouragement,” he would say. He joined Delta Electronics in Alexandria as sales manager for its broadcast products division. Some of his favorite memories included early AM radio improvement efforts and demonstrating the Delta Electronics’ Splatter Monitor to the FCC with colleague Tom Wright. John also co-founded Multiphase, a broadcast engineering service company, in 1990.

Workbench He was acknowledged as a transmission systems expert. He served as regional RF sales manager for Broadcast Electronics. At Dielectric, he directed the completion of several product initiatives, including the Dielectric Pattern Viewer. At Harris Broadcast, he earned several sales awards and sold 55 transmitters in one year. John created and moderated an all-day Radio Transmitter Workshop that was presented 10 times over seven years at spring and fall NAB conventions. He was a frequent presenter at SBE Ennes Workshops and at chapter meetings. He most recently was with Telos Alliance for 12 years, most of it as director of western U.S. sales.

Long relationship

John had begun contributing to Radio World by the late 1980s. “Perhaps the biggest pitfall in any studio or transmitter installation project is the lack of adequate documentation,” John wrote in these pages in 1988. “It’s not that we engineers don’t have good intentions, but somehow we never have the time or the manpower to produce detailed wiring diagrams, wire running lists or equipment layouts.” Around that time, Radio World founder Steve Dana sought to expand the publication’s tech content. John was Radio World’s technical editor and was teaching a collegelevel broadcast engineering course

“

part-time, so it was a natural fit. The first Workbench appeared on Aug. 8, 1990. John began authoring the column three months later. In his first column, he wrote: “I’d like to encourage you to look around your plant to see what you’ve built that could help someone else. We all know of those little insignificant projects that may appear to be ‘just common sense.’ However, we’ve also all been in the position where we can’t see the forest for the trees.” He authored approximately 920 columns. Readers routinely told us that this was their favorite section of the publication. In 2007, SBE honored John with its Educator of the Year Award. In addition to providing tech tips, he encouraged engineers to advocate for themselves in their jobs and careers. “Make friends with your group’s personnel manager,” John would write. “They can be an ally.” Take the GM to your transmitter site, John suggested in 2003. “Not only will it give them some perspective of the work you do, but you’ll earn a little more respect when they see the inside of a transmitter or phasor.” On an episode of “This Week in Radio Tech,” he told host Kirk Harnack: “It is really important to let the people above you, the managers, the owners, know that you are taking care of their facility and are doing a good job with it. You’re saving the station money and you’re keeping it on the air at the same time.” Following John’s 2009 installation

Above John started in the business at age 16 doing summer relief announcing work at WFAX. He is at center in this undated photo.

It is really important to let the people above you, the managers, the owners, know that you are taking care of their facility and are doing a good job with it. radioworld.com | November 2026

of an FM and HD Radio transmitter at UMass Dartmouth, Frank Baptista wrote on LinkedIn: “John Bisset is an ‘engineer’s engineer.’ Anyone who has been a broadcast engineer for any length of time will know that he is considered one of the experts in the industry.” It wasn’t just engineers who benefited. John was proud of the column’s popularity among programming and management readers. Some nuggets made us laugh. An almost understated simplicity was the column’s calling card. But every now and then, John would insert a piece of life wisdom that would resonate beyond the workbench. “Time. In this business, it can control us,” he wrote in 2007. “If time gets out of hand, it can destroy us.” And he helped readers keep their stressful jobs in perspective. A director of engineering had told John early in his career that no radio or TV station was worth dying for. John reminded readers of that frequently, writing: “Your most important job is to work safely and return to your family at the end of the day.”

Best of Show Awards

Best of Show, IBC 2026 An overview of the recipients

adio World announced the winners of the Radio World “Best of Show” Award at the 2026 IBC in Amsterdam. The awards celebrate companies leading the way in media and technology, as exhibited at the convention. Information about how the program works can be found in an FAQ at www.futureevents.uk/bestofshowat-ibc.

Wheatstone VMX Virtual Mixing Platform

With this tool you can mix from anywhere via web browser and centralize your mixing resources on one server or appliance. It’s a virtual platform for adding to studios, production rooms, voicetrack booths and remote mixing instances on demand without big cap-ex costs. VMX comes with tiles — types of virtual mixers from basic interfaces or utilities to full virtual consoles. You enter the URL in a Chrome or Safari browser, and a virtual console comes up on your phone, tablet, laptop or studio touchscreen. VMX is AES67-compliant for interoperability within SMPTE ST 2110 facilities and scalable from large enterprise systems to the VMX Nano for remote or emergency broadcast applications. Shown are Danny Tuenissen and Darrin Paley. Info: www.wheatstone.com/product/vmx

Tieline ViA Duo Tieline said ViA Duo bridges a gap between field reporting and live commentary. It’s a portable broadcast platform that functions as an IP codec, AoIP commentary node or off-tube production solution supporting both audio and video workflows. Audio processing, recording and playback are integrated into this compact unit. It can operate at venues connected to remote trucks or integrate into REMI-based production models, delivering AoIP protocols including Ravenna, Dante, AES67, ST 2110-30, Livewire and NMOS. Multiple layers of redundancy can be automated through Tieline’s SmartStream Plus hitless packet switching over multiple network interfaces. In the booth are Jacob Daniluck and Charlie Gawley. Info: www.tieline.com/via-duo

radioworld.com | November 2026

Best of Show Awards

Thimeo Stereo Tool Version 11

WorldCast Systems Ecreso FM AiO Series 5 kW

Stereo Tool 11 is the latest version of Thimeo’s audio processing software for FM, AM, HD and streaming. New are version 2 of the RuleBreaker final clipper and version 5 of MicroMPX, Thimeo’s technology for transporting an FM composite MPX signal over IP. The new version of the RuleBreaker delivers approximately 0.4 dB more loudness at comparable quality, the company said, with punchier transient handling, more open highs through revised frequency prioritization, “greatly improved” pumping protection and a new “Pling Plong” filter that reduces crackling artifacts. It is a free update for Stereo Tool users and Thimeo hardware platforms, including STXtreme and StereoToolBox. Shown are Tom Evers, Hans van Zutphen, Marianne Seidler and Matt Levin.

WorldCast Systems now offers its Ecreso FM AiO Series transmitter in a 5 kW version. It is a compact, modular solution for broadcasters seeking to reduce infrastructure complexity and operating costs. It includes built-in five-band audio processor, UECP RDS encoder, Icecast streaming serve and APT IP Decoder. It also supports future µMPX integration, enabling flexible MPX-over-IP transport using µMPX, APTmpX or linear MPX as broadcasters modernize their IP distribution networks. The transmitter uses tool-free quick-release RF amplifier modules, allowing modules to be replaced in minutes. It also has hot-swappable power supplies and cooling fans. The transmitter has a 10-year warranty. Celebrating the win are Christophe Poulain and David Houzé.

Info: www.thimeo.com

Info: www.worldcastsystems.com

Omnia XII FM + HD/DAB Radio Audio Processor This is Telos Alliance’s new flagship audio processor for FM, HD Radio and DAB. The company promises sonic impact and creative flexibility in creating a signature sound. “Developed by Frank Foti and the Omnia team, its all-new 2RU platform delivers maximum processing power, maximum I/O connectivity and maximum flexibility, with a software-driven architecture that matches today’s broadcast workflows while providing the power and capability to meet future processing needs as well,” it says. Features include wideband AGC, five bands of intelligent multiband AGC and compressors, six bands of multiband limiting, “smart” dynamic EQ and refined bass management tools. The company says the “Clemenza” clipper is Frank Foti’s cleanest and most musical design. Omnia QuickTweak controls speed up processor tuning by adjusting multiple parameters simultaneously. Features include a dynamic RDS encoder, ratings watermark integration, internal audio player for emergency playout; and optional Super Hi-Fi HLS+ stream receiver with metadata routing to RDS. Shown are Max Pandini, Scott Stiefel and Cam Eicher. Info: https://omniaxii.com

radioworld.com | November 2026

Best of Show Awards Broadcast Bionics CreatorNode CreatorNode is a software-defined tool running on a small PC that you provide. It creates a software layer between affordable production hardware and professional broadcast infrastructure. It allows a station or podcaster to bring mixers such as a RØDECaster into their production environment, with low-latency bidirectional AES67 audio, mixer linking, talkback and backfeeds, as well as GPIO and wider studio control. Pressing Record can trigger a connected content workflow. Rather than creating files on local removable storage, audio, video and metadata can be captured centrally through MOR>, Broadcast Bionics’ multi-object recorder. “Individual audio sources and NDI ISO video can then be made available through central file storage or a TAMS architecture, ready for editing, retrieval and repurposing.” Ash Wright and Dan McQuillin are shown. Info: www.bionics.co.uk

Orban MXneo Limiter

Aiir Aiir Scheduler

Orban calls the MXneo limiter a a significant upgrade to the MX Limiting in its Optimod 5950 and 5950 HD processors, with substantial improvements in distortion behavior. For pop, rock and similar formats, it significantly reduces audible midrange distortion that could occur with harderdriven processing. “It also improves HF distortion performance, particularly on material with a high amount of high-frequency harmonic content relative to its upper-midrange energy.” Users now can shape the trade-off between distortion, loudness, punch and HF energy. Factory presets for MX limiting also have been recalibrated. MXneo includes a Classical Music Mode that bypasses processing elements related to punch and density. Shown, Peter van Beusekom, Robert Sack and Dennis van Benthem get to the point.

Aiir Scheduler is a cloud-native music scheduling system, running from within a browser with no desktop client involved. New features include automatic scheduling, which runs and exports logs at regular intervals, populating logs up to a month in advance without human intervention. Logs can be delivered to automation systems via API integrations or via an intermediary service such as Dropbox. A month of output can be maintained without daily involvement. Also new is the ability to sync libraries and reconcile with more automation systems, including Zetta, ENCO DAD, Myriad and Station Playlist. Logs are pushed to the automation and as-played data is returned to Scheduler, keeping item histories accurate without moving files by hand. Shown are Phil Ray and Jonathan Cresswell.

Info: www.orban.com

Info: www.aiir.com/scheduler

radioworld.com | November 2026

Best of Show Awards

deliver.media aircheck

Jutel RadioMan for Media Monitoring

Aircheck is a cloud-based platform to record, monitor and analyze media streams, track content that matters and speed up editorial workflows. “Audiences expect relevant content quickly, but finding key moments, verifying airtime or clipping highlights manually takes hours editorial teams do not have,” the company says, while organizations need transparency into what was broadcast, how competitors are communicating and whether paid promotions were aired. Aircheck “helps broadcasters find relevant content faster, monitor what matters and repurpose material for editorial use.” Its AutoCut workflow was deployed during the UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 and refined in collaboration with WDR/ARD Sportschau and the European Broadcasting Union. In the booth are Hervé Zucchinetti, Michael Buholzer and Kim Locher.

This is a AI-powered broadcast monitoring platform that aims to transform radio and TV content into searchable, actionable commercial intelligence while supporting compliance. It combines continuous capture, AI analysis, compliance monitoring and reporting in a browser-based solution. The platform continuously records broadcasts, creating a searchable archive of monitored content. AI transcribes, indexes and analyzes it, allowing users to search for keywords, identify commercials, verify transmissions, monitor compliance and review historical content without listening through hours of recordings. Users receive real-time notifications when predefined keywords, brands, people or topics appear, helping them respond to important mentions, compliance issues or commercial opportunities. From left: Jarmo Kropsu, Gunther Kuse, Olli-Pekka Lukkarinen and Anni Pelander.

Info: www.deliver.media/aircheck

Info: www.jutel.fi/radioman-for-media-monitoring

RFE Smart Link RFE Smart Link is an integrated remote site management solution that turns passive monitoring into active, autonomous edge control. The system acts as an intelligent “local brain” installed at remote transmission sites. Smart Link independently executes operational logic, manages site emergencies and triggers physical I/O automation even during network blackouts. It operates on an industrial Linux-based platform with electromagnetic and electrostatic discharge (EM/ESD) immunity across extreme temperature ranges. The core technical architecture is based around the Cortex 360 unit, which features high-resolution analog inputs, digital inputs, status lines and programmable virtual gates and logic schedulers. Then the operational algorithms and control logic embedded within Smart Link are designed by RFE, unifying primary transmission equipment with third-party site infrastructure including auxiliary sensors, generator controllers and climate hardware, into a centralized ecosystem. Pictured are Maria Iencarelli, Elena Rando, Elena Ditadi and Vittorio Pontieri. Info: www.rfebroadcast.com/products/rfe-smart-link

radioworld.com | November 2026

Best of Show Awards On Air Solutions Vertex.Framework Vertex.Framework is an operating model in which “algorithms and AI work alongside programmers and brand leaders to propose, analyze, prepare and enrich change,” according to On Air Solutions. Vertex is a module-based orchestration platform that connects production, music scheduling and distribution systems into a coherent operating layer. “In a Vertex operation, algorithms and AI continuously analyze the programming, the market and the brand. They surface what has drifted, propose what should change and prepare the change in full — but they indicate rather than impose.” On Air says a small team now can govern an operation many times larger than headcount would otherwise allow without surrendering control of what airs. The framework works with MusicMaster Scheduling. Shown are Kevin Hopkins and Max Müller of On Air at center, with Melanie Knapp and Joseph Knapp of MusicMaster. Info: www.vertexframework.com

Telos Alliance Axia Pulsar IBC marked the Euro debut of Axia Pulsar, an AoIP mixer in a small form factor, with eight faders expandable to 16. Its Master Module has bright TFT IPS displays for readability. Each channel strip has a customizable color stripe to allow quick identification of input groups, as well as two user-defined function buttons that integrate with the Axia Pathfinder Core PRO broadcast control system and touch-sensitive encoders. Spill-proof 100 mm motorized faders provide position recall when used with remote control inputs, Show Profiles presets and automation systems. The Monitor/ Control section includes five more user-programmable function keys, as well as a meter section with Increase Revenues & Ratings integrated EBU R128 loudness metering. MAKE

Monetize the dashboard YOUR STATION POP!

nautel.com/hdtestdrive

Dual operating layers give access to all 16 selected inputs using eight faders. For those who prefer hardware access, Pulsar can be expanded to 16 physical faders using an optional module. Pulsar integrates smoothly into Livewire and AES67 facilities. Celebrating are Cam Eicher, Luca La Rosa and Scott Stiefel. Info: www.telosalliance.com/Pulsar

radioworld.com | November 2026

Best of Show Awards

Sound4 AoIP.CL The AoIP.CL is a software-based audio processing environment for professional IP broadcast applications, “build for openness and interoperability.” It integrates into broadcast infrastructures and supports SMPTE ST 2110-30, SMPTE ST 2022-7 with dual network attachment, AES67, Ravenna, Livewire and Dante AES67. That compatibility makes it suited to existing architectures and new, fully IP-based facilities, the company says. Running on Linux, the platform enables broadcasters to build virtual audio processing clusters and scale capacity to match their operational needs. Systems can be sized according to the number of programs, microphones or audio feeds required, then expanded without redesigning the entire infrastructure. Features include real-time mic processing with Big Voice; DAB and HD Radio processing with Sound4 Impact; FM processing with a MicroMPX-compatible output; and scalable processing for web radio networks. Vincent Defretin and Camille Gonnet are in the booth. Info: www.sound4soft.com

Flexible SNMP Remote Control

Built-In Relays, Status Inputs, and Metering ALL FOR LESS THAN $2K!

IOX-24S SNMP Remote Control •Standalone SNMPv2 remote control system with included Windows GUI for full control and status monitoring. •Provides 24 control relays, 24 status inputs, and 8 analog metering inputs for broad monitoring and control needs. •Responsive, simple Windows App supports up to eight IOX-24S units—even across different locations. The IOX-24S delivers a cost-effective yet fully capable SNMP remote control solution for broadcast facilities. It adds extensive monitoring and control to any site. Easy setup, PoE/AC power options, and SNMP compatibility make integration simple and reliable.

Broadcast Devices Inc. https://broadcast-devices.com

Game-Changing Rock-Solid Audio/ MPX Transport FM Transmitters

Ecreso Series APTFM IP AiO Codec

Tech Tips Writer

Mark Persons CPBE, CBNT, AMD

A wire antenna to help you in a crunch It is not quite a coat hanger, but here’s an example of using “ham” technology in AM broadcasting

Photo: Getty Images

s broadcast engineers, we are sometimes tasked to come up with innovative solutions. This story is an example of using amateur radio “ham” technology in commercial AM radio broadcasting. A friend called to say his money-making 500-watt non-directional AM station on 1390 kHz might

have to run into a wire antenna for a few days. Yes, smalltown radio can still make money, and my friend didn’t want to lose any during a possible interruption. Years ago, we would say that an AM tube transmitter could operate into not much more than a “coat hanger” for an antenna. Hams have been using wire antennas since the beginning and have found ways to make them work. The difficulty is that today’s solid-state transmitters are very particular and require 50-ohm antennas. Many hams now use solid-state transmitters, which have the same requirement.

Antenna theory

Fellow Radio World contributor Buc Fitch wrote in a recent article, “Radio is magnetism through space.” To that end, we know that it takes two elements to make an antenna work. The radiating element for an AM is a tower. The other half is a 120-radial ground system. RF circulates between the two and radiates to the world in the process.

Fig. 1: Single-wire antenna over a ground system.

Coaxial cable to tuner

Regular AM ground system

175 FT

More than ten feet

Tech Tips Fig. 2

350 FT

Coaxial cable to tuner

Fig. 2: Dipole antennas.

17 5

5 17

FM antennas have two arms, so to speak. One arm has RF and the other is the ground. The difference here is that 88 to 108 MHz FM is about 100 times higher in frequency than the middle of the AM broadcast band. Thus, a 1000 kHz wavelength is about 100 times longer. As you know, one-wavelength spaced FM antenna bays are about 10 feet apart. One wavelength at 1000 kHz is 984 feet. In the case of my friend’s 1390 kHz station, a temporary AM antenna could be a single 175-foot wire, starting at the center of his existing AM ground system and fed by a coaxial cable with the cable shield connected to the ground. See Fig. 1. Another choice is a wire dipole 10 or more feet above the ground. See Fig. 2. More height is better for efficiency! For 1390 kHz, a dipole should be about 350 feet in length, fed in the center with a coaxial cable. At 1700 kHz it would be roughly 285 feet. At 540 kHz it is about 890 feet. Remember, we are talking long wavelengths! Almost any wire size will work from AWG 10 through 20. Doesn’t matter if it is insulated or not. RF goes to one wire and the cable shield to the opposite side of these two wires, hence the name dipole. The RF travels between the two sides while radiating into the air. Broadcast engineering consultant and friend Mark

Coaxial cable to tuner

Mueller said he used this scheme successfully, but with a bit of a twist. The feed point where a coaxial cable connected to the center was almost 100 feet off the ground with the ends closer to the ground in what hams call an inverted-V. Dipoles have their own ground side, so they do

Tech Tips from Valcom, Isotron and Information Station Specialists. There is also the hand-built antenna described in my RW article in 2021 titled “Quick, We Need a Temporary AM Antenna.” Read it at tinyurl.com/rw-temp-AM. Today’s article is about a simple temporary antenna that takes only hours to build for just a few days use.

Making it work

not need a traditional buried ground system. None of these schemes guarantees a 50-ohm feed point. The goal is to get close so a simple matching network will bring it to 50 ohms.

Alternatives

To be fair, there are other choices for AM broadcast antennas. They include, but are not limited to, antennas

Fig. 3: An MFJ-962C Antenna Tuner.

I had an extra MFJ-962 Versa Tuner III, which is used by hams for matching transmitters to antennas (Fig. 3). The unit weighs less than 8 pounds and was priced in the $300 range. This one is no longer manufactured, but there are many similar new and used units on the market. We use the term antenna coupling network in AM broadcasting, but units like this are known in the ham radio community as antenna tuners. Typical of most designs, this tuner is a T-network with an air-variable input capacitor, a multi-tapped coil to ground, then another air-variable capacitor on the antenna end (Fig. 4). Variable capacitors and adjustable inductors are required because hams operate on many bands of frequencies. One benefit of this unit is it contains a VSWR meter, which is a nice feature when tuning. Published specifications say this tuner will work over a

Tech Tips Fig. 4

Cable to Transmitter

Cable to Antenna

Antenna Tuner

1.8 to 30 MHz range. That doesn’t mean it can’t tune the AM broadcast band. My spare parts inventory had a two-inch diameter coil of #18 wire that is 3 inches long. I added it to the existing coil to help it reach down in frequency. Those who have been around a while are familiar with ICAS, which is Intermittent Commercial and Amateur

Fig. 4: The antenna tuner schematic.

Service, while CCS means Continuous Commercial Service. Amateur radio tuners are ICAS and not built like the heavyduty designs that we use in commercial service. This particular tuner is rated at 1.5-kilowatt peak power. For perspective, a 500-watt AM transmitter modulated to 100% has 2000 watts peak power. Worse yet, it is 2530

Tech Tips

watts peak when the positive modulation reaches the FCC allowed 125%. In this case, running the station at no more than 250 watts carrier with 1265 watts peak power is a wise choice.

Fig. 5 A test setup on the service bench.

Testing 32

The unknown was what the antenna impedance would be on a temporary non-traditional wire antenna. Bench testing was in order (Fig. 5). I connected a $300 Sysjoint SV4401A Vector Network Analyzer to the transmitter side of the tuner, which was looking into a 50-ohm resistive load on the antenna side. This is when I added a .00015 mfd/6 KV/2.4-ampere Type 291 fixed capacitor across the variable capacitor that is on the transmitter end of the network. It is standing up from the chassis by two preclean insulators. You see it with dashed lines in Fig. 4 and as a black cylinder with aluminum plates on top and bottom in Fig. 6. The modification gave the tuning capacitors and switched inductor plenty of range to pass 50 ohms to the transmitter. Then I put a 100-ohm resistor in series with a .0005 mfd capacitor, which was the same as an antenna that is 100 ohms resistive with about 200-ohm capacitive reactance at 1390 kHz. The tuner was able to translate this simulated antenna, back to 50 ohms for a transmitter to see. Then I put a 27-ohm resistor in series with a 10 uHy inductor, which is the same as an antenna that is 27 ohms with 100 ohms inductive reactance. Again, the tuner was able to perform

Fig. 6 Showing the extra fixed capacitor installed.

the impedance transformation to 50 ohms. I tried other odd impedances and became assured there was enough range in the tuner to accommodate a fairly wide range of impedances. In the end, the temporary antenna was not needed. However, it was a great exercise in engineering thinking and bench testing. Mark Persons, WØMH, is an SBE Life Member, CPBE, CBNT, AMD. He is now retired after more than 60 years in radio broadcast engineering, including 44 years in business. He started by turning the dials of broadcast transmitters at age 11 and stays active by mentoring four radio broadcast engineers. He and his wife Paula were inducted into the Minnesota Broadcasters Hall of Fame. Their website is www.mwpersons.com.

radioworld.com | November 2026

Radio Suppliers

ERI is under new ownership American Amplifier Technologies adds a big name in RF to its growing corporate umbrella

lectronics Research Inc. has a new owner. American Amplifier Technologies LLC, which in recent years has purchased several familiar broadcast companies including Shively Labs and Kathrein-Scala, now has acquired majority ownership of ERI from Tom Silliman. The terms were not disclosed. Silliman, its president/CEO since 1977, is retiring. ERI designs, manufactures and installs broadcast antennas, towers, transmission line, filters and combiners. AAT owner Steve Wilde told Radio World that he will continue its products and operations, including its facility in Chandler, Ind. ERI customers, he said, should expect continuity in service, support and business relationships, and can continue communicating with their contacts through existing channels. “The acquisition is intended

Writer

Paul McLane Editor in Chief

to strengthen ERI by providing additional resources, expanded capabilities and continued investment in the company’s long-term success,” he said. He highlighted ERI’s significant market share in broadcast antennas and said its other offerings compliment AAT’s business. He noted the companies’ combined engineering, manufacturing, RF laboratory analysis, field-service and installation capabilities. “We see tremendous opportunity in

Above ERI’s facility in Chandler, Ind.

Right Tom Silliman, who was a secondgeneration owner of ERI, is retiring with the sale of the company.

IEEE Broadcast Technology Society

radioworld.com | November 2026

ERI. It has a long-standing reputation for producing proven, high-quality products and has earned the loyalty and trust of its customers.” ERI, he continued, has “an exceptional facility, a highly capable structural steel division and extensive engineering expertise. What truly sets ERI apart is its unique combination of manufacturing capabilities and an installation division. Few companies in the industry can offer this level of expertise and capability.”

Background

AAT makes and carries a diverse line of RF products. Wilde founded the company in 2008, along with sister firm SWE Services. Over the past seven years he has been active at seeking acquisition opportunities. In 2019 AAT acquired Mauna Towers, which operates tower facilities in Hawaii and Arizona. In 2023, it purchased antenna and filter manufacturer Shively Labs

“

Radio Suppliers

and also started a partnership with System Engineering Solutions. Then in late 2025, AAT acquired Kathrein Broadcast USA, also known as Kathrein-Scala. AAT is based in Citrus Heights near Sacramento, Calif. Kathrein-Scala continues to run out of White City near Medford, Ore. “ERI, Shively and Kathrein-Scala are names that generations of broadcast engineers know and trust,” Wilde said. “We recognize the responsibility that comes with bringing companies with those histories together. We intend to protect what makes each of these companies special while giving the personnel and technologies new opportunities to grow.” Electronics Research Inc. was founded during World War II, making antennas for military aircraft. Later moving into broadcasting, its innovations have included the Rototiller antenna line, the Lambda optimized FM mounting system and Cogwheel master FM antennas. In 2003 ERI acquired Andrew Corp.’s Broadcast Products business, including its television antenna products, rigid transmission-line

What truly sets ERI apart is its unique combination of manufacturing capabilities and an installation division.

Below AAT owner Steve Wilde is shown with colleagues at the 2025 NAB Show. From left: Sean Edwards, Dale Ladner, Sam Wallington, Steve Wilde, Mike Johnson and Markus Gerl.

products and related broadcast RF components. Wilde called ERI “an exceptional company with a remarkable history.” ERI’s headquarters and main manufacturing facility include over 100,000 square feet of manufacturing, design and office space. The facility also houses a 70,000-cubic-foot anechoic chamber, which according to ERI’s website is the largest of its kind in North America.

Silliman legacy

The Silliman name has long been associated with ERI. Robert Silliman was involved with the company from its earliest years, eventually becoming one of its owners. Tom joined the company in 1969 and

radioworld.com | November 2026

”

became president/CEO in 1977. Robert received the NAB Engineering Achievement Award in 1993, and Tom received it in 2008. Robert Silliman died in 2001. “One of our primary goals is to honor Tom Silliman’s legacy by continuing his commitment to quality, engineering excellence and innovation, while expanding our capabilities to better serve the broadcast community,” Wilde said in the announcement. Tom Silliman was quoted: “I am proud of what the people of ERI have built over the years, and I believe AAT is well positioned to carry that work forward. We share a commitment to engineering, quality, customer service and the broadcast industry.”

Problem-Solvers & Studio Accessories About Buyer’s Guide

Tech Update BDI Offers Passive Audio Switchers

The Buyer’s Guide section appears in every monthly issue, focusing on a particular category of equipment and services. It is intended to help buyers know what’s on the market and gain insight into how their peers are using such products.

The RAS‑200 Series and PAS‑200 Passive Audio Switchers from Broadcast Devices cover a range of routing, backup switching, and EAS integration needs while maintaining transparent performance through passive, relay‑based signal paths. The RAS‑200 Series includes two models. The RAS‑208 selects up to eight stereo inputs to one stereo output, while the RAS‑216 supports 16 mono inputs to a single output. Both use sealed relays with no active circuitry. Analog audio, AES3 digital audio or DC control signals pass through without modification. The series supports GPIO, RS‑232, Ethernet and SNMP v2. User‑programmable serial interfaces enable automation and satellite receiver integration. Preconfigured RS‑232 command sets support Sage and DAS systems. A free Windows app manages configuration and labeling, with optional breakout panels for XLR and BNC connectivity. The PAS‑200 extends passive switching with a configurable 16‑channel A/B platform. It accepts

16 balanced A and B inputs and switches them in user‑defined groups from one to all 16. It’s suitable for transmitter backup selection, public safety communications, satellite distribution and automation workflows. It too uses passive relay paths for analog, AES3 or control signals. Control options include GPIO, RS‑485, Ethernet and SNMP v2, with support for the included Windows app. Dual power supplies with separate cords enhance reliability. Remote panels are available for both families. They connect via a single Cat5 cable up to 1,000 feet. Current BDI audio switchers meet the new FCC password security requirements for EAS participants. BDI also offers optional rack-mounted audio breakout panels available from TASCAM standard DB25 to XLR and BNC connections. Info: https://broadcast-devices.com

Tech Update Angry Audio Puts VoIP on the Air The USB Phone Gizmo is an easy way to upgrade costly POTS to clean VoIP phone calls — “and save some money too,” Angry Audio says. The Phone Gizmo snaps onto the back of the popular Yealink SIPT46U office phone and connects to its USB port. The phone handles the VoIP side, including wideband HD Voice, while the Gizmo delivers balanced audio to and from your console through StudioHub+ RJ45 connections UPGRADE to a Nautel (XLR adapters included). “Because send and receive stay separate, it’s a true and we’ll BUY BACK your four-wire connection,” the company says.

SOLID STATE LAST TUBE Get up to

$10,000

“No hybrid needed; just feed it a mix-minus. Inside, the Phone Gizmo is galvanically isolated: no digital whines, buzzes or other annoyances.” The USB Phone Gizmo is bundled with a Yealink SIP-T46U phone, ready for SIP, at $699, or available by itself for $399. Info: https://angryaudio.com/products/phonegizmot

*conditions apply

Learn more at nautel.com/tube

radioworld.com | November 2026

Tech Update Broadcast Tools Shipping Alert Sentinel 2 Broadcast Tools now offers Alert Sentinel 2, a two-station stereo analog alert monitor/switcher designed to insert alert audio into broadcast program signal paths, following in the footsteps of the Broadcast Tools STA-III WX. The Alert Sentinel 2 is suitable for weather/local authority alerts, remote broadcasts and live sports broadcasts or as a backup MP3/WAV audio player. It features a POTS telephone hybrid interface, a balanced analog external audio input compatible with a studio console, codec or radio link. A built-in microSD-based MP3/WAV audio player is included for playing individual pre-recorded messages/music or audio folders. Folder-

based audio playback is available for use as backup audio source. Control options include DTMF commands via its POTS telephone interface or external audio input, remote contact closures, USB serial commands and TCP/UDP Ethernet commands. The DTMF and USB// Ethernet command interfaces support 15-character access codes. A surge-protected 12 VDC universal switching desktop power supply with an IEC AC inlet is included. Dual power input jacks allow for redundant power with optional second power supply. Two units may be mounted on the optional rack shelf. Info: www.broadcasttools.com

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Buyer’s Guide

Tech Update Inovonics 651 Blends Two Antennas or Stations

“Translator operators have lived with a bad choice for years,” Inovonics states, “put up one antenna and accept whatever the signal does at that site, or put up two and let a switcher pick between them, which swaps one compromised signal for another every time it flips.” Inovonics says the Aaron 651 takes a third approach. Its dual tuners use maximum ratio combining, evaluating both antenna inputs continuously and deciding whether Antenna 1, Antenna 2 or a weighted blend gives the cleanest result. It calculates the ratio rather than picking a winner, so a site might run 70 percent from one antenna and 30 percent from the other, then shift as conditions move. The 651 is an FM-only version of the model 656, which adds HD Radio reception and took a Radio World “Best of Show” Award at the 2026 NAB Show. Inovonics says the combining approach helps most in difficult

reception areas, particularly around bodies of water and in weather or inversion-layer conditions. New is a feature called Unlink Tuners. Rather than feeding both tuners from separate antennas aimed at the same station, an operator can set Tuner 1 to one frequency and Tuner 2 to a second. Both are monitored constantly, and the receiver takes whichever is delivering the better RSSI at that moment. For a translator relaying programming available from two sources, that is a failover path with no dead air on the handoff. The signals need to be synchronized in time for a clean transition, so it is worth confirming that before a site depends on it. Standard operation still puts two antennas on one station, with the receiver combining or selecting to hold the best signal available. Info: www.inovonicsbroadcast.com

Tech Update On-Air 285 Is a Smart Light Controller NotaBotYet describes the On-Air 285 as a significant addition to its family of solutions for studio installations. In 2024, the company introduced On-Air 85, a solution for controlling 12-volt on-air lights and removing the need for “hackedtogether perf boards of transistors, relays and optocouplers.” The new On-Air 285 adds dual independent outputs and expanded lightcontrol options. The dual 12-volt outputs allow the unit to control newer dual-color on-air lights and can be used to mix those colors to create a third color. “This means an on-air light with red and blue LEDs can also produce purple,” the company notes. Different colors can be used to signify various studio statuses, such as “Live Mics” or “Show Production.” The dual channels also can be used to independently control two separate on-air lights if desired. The On-Air 285 goes beyond “ON” and “OFF” capabilities and offers various pulsing and flashing patterns, creating an attention-getting alternative to a simple red glow. A secondary “simple mode” is included for applications that do not need flashing patterns. The control input is “plug-and-play” with Wheatnet IP Logic ports as

well as Axia GPIO ports, using NotaBotYet’s 15-Pin Breakout for Axia. It can also be controlled by standard GPIO or dry contacts. Info: https://notabotyet.com/on-air-285/

radioworld.com | November 2026

Buyer’s Guide

Tech Update Sprite Media Game Machine Enlivens Events “We’ve worked more radio remotes, promotions and trade shows than we can count,” says Sprite Media in a release. “Too often, we see booths with a few giveaways, a static display and not much happening to attract attention.” The Sprite Media Game Machine is an interactive video display designed to add life, movement and fun to remotes, promotions, trade shows and other events. It features video versions of familiar games and activities, including a prize wheel, cups and balls, pig races and trivia questions. “Station personnel can operate the games manually for a game-show-style experience, or put the system into automatic operation to continuously attract and entertain visitors.” Trivia ranges from easy to challenging, with humor mixed in. Questions can be customized for a station, advertiser, business or event. It requires only AC power and a television or display. No internet connection is required. Sprite says setup is simple, and that the display has a polished, TV-style appearance that can be customized with logos, QR codes,

promotional messages and ads. The Sprite Game Machine is available from Broadcasters General Store. Info: www.Sprite-Media.com

Buyer’s Guide

Tech Update MiniPod Maxx Headphone Amp from Henry Engineering Henry Engineering has released the MiniPod Maxx, a “highperformance” headphone amplifier. This is a new version of the MiniPod, which Henry said was the first “daisy-chainable” headphone system. “The new Maxx version produces 400% of the output level of the original unit, providing extended headroom and audiophile-grade performance,” it says. “The new design eliminates all electrolytic capacitors in the audio path for exceptional transient response, solid bass, and ultra-low distortion.” Multiple Maxx units can be daisy-chained to create a multi-user system. Cat-5 cabling will distribute power and audio to the units in the system, eliminating the need for multiple power supplies and audio DAs. Each unit is a separate headphone amplifier; any combination of headphone types can be used without interaction between units. The Maxx is compatible with the original unit and with other Henry

“Pod” products. It’s the same size as the original model and can be mounted to a tabletop or to the underside of a counter. Info: https://henryeng.com/minipod-headphone-amp

Buyer’s Guide

Tech Update New ScreenBuilder: BYO Touchscreens Wheatstone released version 4.5.3 of ScreenBuilder, adding features to its “build your own” touchscreen app. It adds enhanced metering, greater widget customization and a redesigned script editor. ScreenBuilder is a virtual development suite for creating mixers, control interfaces and other touchscreens that tap into the WheatNet IP audio network for access and control of mics, codecs, levels, settings and automation or other thirdparty systems. Broadcasters choose from knobs, faders, timers, meters and other widgets, and apply scripting for a variety of touchscreen menus and functions used with or in place of hardware. For example, users can create touchscreens to manage shared access to a dozen codecs across multiple studios. They can customize producer touchscreens to control mics and talkback during shows, create virtual

interfaces for routing signals to backup transmitters, add intercom interfaces between studios and venues, and consolidate automatic gain, source selection, intercom and mixing in one menu-driven news workstation. Screens tie into logic anywhere in the network to set up maintenance routines, check status of tallies and establish emergency crosspoint connections based on if/then commands. Screens can be developed to allow operators to re-route audio paths to various rooms or multiple transmitter sites, or map talkback buttons to studios, talent positions or remote locations. With script wizards, it can pull in realtime information from sources such as live RSS weather, news and sports feeds, and display them on screen. Info: https://wheatstone.com/product/ screenbuilder

The Alert Sentinel 2 is a two station analog switcher/monitor designed for alert audio insertion into broadcast program signal paths. It's perfect for remote weather alerts, remote broadcasts, live sports, or backup audio playback. Features include: telephone hybrid interface, external audio input for studio console, codec, or radio link, and a MP3 file/folder player. Control with DTMF commands via telephone or external audio input, contact closures, or with commands via its USB-serial or TCP Ethernet interfaces.

The AES Audio Sentinel®+» Web is a web-enabled two channel AES/EBU silence monitor combined with an integrated 2xl switcher. It is designed to monitor two AES audio sources, one primary, the other back-up. When silence is detected on the primary input it can automatically switch to the back-up input via mechanical latching relays. It features a browser-based HTMLS web interface and supports SSL/TLS email (Gmail, etc.), SMS-email notification, as well as SNMP.

The SS 6.1 MLR/BNC is a transparent 6xl BNC switcher designed for N+l installations and other applications where composite/MPX baseband, AES-3id, or other signal switching is necessary. Switching is accomplished using mechanical latching gold contact relays. It can be controlled and monitored locally via front panel controls and/or remotely with simple opto-isolated contact closure inputs and dry contact status relay outputs, as well with multi-drop RS-232 serial commands, or TCP/UDP commands over Ethernet.

PROUDLY MADE IN THE USA

www.broadcasttools.com

Sales@inovonicsbroadcast.com +1-831-458-0522

The Silence Sentinel Basic G2 is an economical stereo/dual mono analog silence sensor designed to monitor any stereo, or two independent monaural, audio sources and generate contact closure alarms when silence is detected but doesn't include an audio switcher. The stereo/dual mono audio input is balanced and features pluggable screw terminalblock and standard RJ45 audio input connectors wired in parallel for ease of wiring

Buyer’s Guide

Tech Update DHD Adds AI-Based Noise Reduction Manufacturer dhd.audio has introduced AI-based audio noise reduction as an option for its XD3 IP Core. Developed in cooperation with ai-coustics, it allows the removal of noise and distortion in live broadcast voice presentations. Potential applications include enhancing the audibility of a commentator in a noisy sports stadium, or of a reporter presenting a live bulletin against city-center motor traffic. “The process can be applied in post-production as well as for live applications, allowing program editors or newsroom staff to work with content that might previously have been unusable,” the

company states. “Processing intensity can be adjusted quickly and easily at a DHD mixing console or remotely. AI-based audio noise reduction is available as an integral element of the DHD XD3 IP Core for use with any DHD audio mixing desk.” Cores are at the center of each DHD system, processing the audio as well as connecting DHD mixing consoles. Three stereo noise reduction instances can be run in parallel on one XD3 Core. Info: https://dhd.audio

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radioworld.com | November 2026

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radioworld.com | November 2026

Readers’ Forum

How to submit

Radio World welcomes comment on all relevant topics. Email radioworld@ futurenet.com with “Letter to the Editor” in the subject field.

DMM on the cheap

Changes at CBC

I thoroughly enjoyed Mark Person’s article on multimeters (“Here’s Something I Cannot Live Without”), although I will take issue with his point about DMs that cost around $20 and/or come from China. A few months ago my equipment bag was stolen. While the K3/0 Mini and RRC box were the biggest loss, also in that bag was a classic no-name multimeter, probably 25 years old, with my WQ6X call sign stamped on the back, not visible unless you take it out of its rubber case. Looking for a replacement meter on e-Bay, I found several that cost around $25. But one priced at $18, prolly Chinese, also came with tools and a soldering iron all in a zip-up case — with free shipping, no less. It’s shown in the photo. Note only does the meter work great, but I recently made use of the soldering iron to repair a set of munged audio cables. Bottom line, don’t necessarily judge a unit by its price. My current-handling requirements are minimal, so the unit is adequate for most of my purposes. My most frequent use of a DMM is for the beeping continuity tester.

About the Q&A with Jon Medline, CBC/Radio-Canada’s executive director, policy and international relations (“A View of Radio Issues from CBC/Radio-Canada,” radioworld.com): What I miss most often about CBC is the AM band services, as well as HF broadcasts. When traveling in geographically challenged regions with no local service, it’s handy to have a voice keeping you informed. I understand the simplicity of FM and the reduction of costs, but often we cannot hear FM stations in many regions. Frederick R. Vobbe

Analytics with a caveat

Ron Fitch

Credit: LinkedIn

Regarding the article “Cumulus Lays Out Its Reasons for Embracing DTS AutoStage” (http://radioworld.com): What’s not mentioned is that DTS only gathers information from “connected” cars, meaning vehicles with infotainment systems with built-in internet connectivity. Vehicles that fit this requirement are typically newer, mid- to high-end models generally not driven by folks in the lower economic classes. Indeed, my family’s vehicles are a late-model Ford car and Chevy truck, neither of which are “connected.” And I’d consider my family to be solidly “middle-class.” Indeed, a recent DTS press release informs us that it is “integrated into 10 million vehicles globally” but consider: There are over 13 million passenger vehicles registered is California alone! That Cumulus suggests that DTS AutoStage is a viable replacement for Nielsen simply misses this point: Until the majority of all the vehicles on the road are “connected,” a large majority of DTS’ data will be skewed towards the

radioworld.com | November 2026

Readers’ Forum higher economic demographics, those who drive newer, high-end vehicles, significantly under-reporting the actual actual listening by those of us whose cars and trucks are not “connected.” Mike Worrall Los Angeles

Say what, now?

Re Dr. Paul Tapper’s article “I Can’t Understand What They’re Saying” in the August Opinion section: I’ve noticed the same problem in TV, but there is a way to measure unintelligibility there that does not exist in radio. Turn on the captions. Notice how little sense the captions for spoken audio make when intelligibility is low. If the AI of a caption machine cannot understand what’s being spoken, why would anyone think listeners would not change the channel under such conditions? Why some TV stations keep employing reporters without insisting that they attend diction classes is more than I can understand. Thank goodness for the mute button.

Photo by Jim Peck

WWWW on 106.7 MHz. The excitement of having the cleanest and loudest signal on the air — until everyone else figured out what enabled that and bought their own! — is still a clear and happy memory. When CBS was involved in ISO/MPEG/CCIR testing in the early 1990s for low-bit-rate perceptual coding algorithms, it was the biggest and most humble thrill of my life presenting a paper and panel on its progress at the NAB while sitting up on the same stage with Bob Orban. Thank you for presenting and preserving an account of his work.

Dick Abraham

Thanks, Bob

“

Above Bob Orban listens to an Ennes Workshop presentation at the 2025 NAB Show.

Greg Urbiel

Paul, thank you for that wonderful interview series with Bob Orban (radioworld.com, search Bob Orban). I so enjoyed reading the history of this great man. Back in the day in the mid-1970s, I was the first in Detroit to have an Optimod 8000 on the air, at what was then

A sign for your desk

You don’t have an expense problem. You have a revenue problem.

In response to the article about Bruce McKirdy in the September issue headlined “Radio Can’t Cut Its Way to Prosperity”: Larry Grogan, the VP/operations at Susquehanna Radio, had a sign made for each general manager’s desk. It read: “You don’t have an expense problem. You have a revenue problem.” That was good advice in the ’90s and it is true today, even though today’s corporate doesn’t understand it.

radioworld.com | November 2026

Bill Ruck San Francisco

Correction

The letter “Nourish Those Connections” in the September issue was misattributed. It was written by Bill Wertz of Wertz Media in Holland, Mich.

9000