Les - well done!!! If we can get some folks in other parts of the country
to do what you did there should be a lot more tests. It's a lot better to have a
real live person talk to them as opposed to listening to a tape a
DX'er sent in that supposedly has their station on it (but doesn't
have enough to warrant a verification). Most CE's are nice guys but they are
expected to do a lot more than when they got started (like take care of a whole
bunch of stations and/or work on equipment that's a lot more sophisticated than
it was way back when). A lot of them don't get paid enough for what they do.
Trying to sell a college student on a career as a broadcast engineer has been a
tough sell for quite some time now.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2005 9:24
AM
Subject: [IRCA] Meeting with SBE
Chapter
We had an opportunity to speak with
approximately twenty members of the local
SBE (Society of Broadcast Engineers) chapter
yesterday. The program consisted
of a brief discussion about DXing, some sound
clips of distant receptions, and
more clips of DX tests.
We then progressed to discuss DX tests, QSLing,
etc. Questions were taken,
and I stuck around for at least an hour after the
meeting answering questions. As
part of my "sales pitch" I had already made up
CD's with test material and
:60 "Inventory Inserts" as Fred V. has suggested.
These were presented to
the engineers of the stations of interest.
We also handed out copies of both IRCA and NRC
bulletins. Since some
of the engineers were TV station types, I touched
briefly on TV DXing.
The really good news is that Frank Giradina, CPBE
and Director
of Engineering for Citadel Broadcasting has
already agreed to run tests
on both WAPI 1070 and WJOX 690 in
Birmingham. We're working together now
to set up dates.
Some observations:
1. Most engineers said their relationships with
DX'ers were very
cordial. The only real complaint was reception
reports lacking
in enough detail to verify reception from station
logs.
Most said that they were very interested in
getting recordings
of their stations, and e-mail was cited as the
best way to send
in reception reports by most. All of them
stressed that they
had limited time, so e-mail might be the "QSL
route" of choice.
2. There was a lot of interest in hearing about
how DXing had
changed. Lots of questions about the use of
unattended recording
via computers, and phasing antennas. In
hindsight, I might have
been more technical in my discussion.
3. Many expressed being DX'ers as kids...and
certainly understood
our love of radio. Out of 20, I'd say we had 8 or
9 amateur radio
ops, so that was a good point of connection.
Their faces all
lit up as we played recordings of RJR and ZNS.
Likewise when
they heard WAPI "nulled" and KNX 1070 traffic
reports come up
out of the noise.
4. Best news, no one reported any problems with
DX'ers.
5. After the meeting, some expressed surprise
that I didn't mention
IBOC. Most of them seemed very skeptical about
it's long term
success.
Also in attendance was the Chairman of the SBE
Atlanta Chapter. We're
now trying to arrange a chance to speak with
their group as well.
If other members are interested in reaching out
to their local chapters,
I'd be happy to help out with presentation
materials, Program
test CD's, etc.
You can find a contact name at:
Scroll down on the left, and click the link
marked "Chapter Meeting Information".
This beats writing letters that are rarely
answered any day!