Tips 'n Tricks
The following Tips ‘n Tricks articles have been featured in the Nautel Waves newsletter.
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Air Handling, Winterizing & Weatherproofing
Jeff illustrates what can happen when air handling, winterizing and weatherproofing are not properly addressed using a comprehensive troubleshooting repair guide written by David Kilpatrick, of TX Australia. David’s guide outlines the steps he took to restore a fairly new transmitter that had suffered damage as a result of too much exposure to the environment! |
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Transmitter Site Maintenance and Housekeeping
Jeff discusses transmitter site maintenance and housekeeping with real transmitter site examples and photos. |
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NAB Wrap-Up and VS Rack Customer Tip
Jeff gives a recap of NAB highlights plus shares a customer’s time-saving tip for easier VS transmitter rack installation. |
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Safety Tips: Hot Spots & IP
Jeff revisits his favorite topic of “safety” with a review of the FLIR ONE thermal imaging camera attachment for Android or iOS smartphones, and a reminder to double check a few things on all your IP accessible equipment. |
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More Tips from the Road
As Jeff prepares for winter in the northern hemisphere he asks “what do you do to get ready for winter?” He highlights a ‘remote wiring’ case that demonstrates the importance of keeping your transmitter clean and cool, and follows up on last issue’s discussion on slide rules and broadcast / engineering related apps. |
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Tips from the Road
It’s a busy time of year for Jeff so this issue incorporates suggestions from Corey Meyer of New Orleans, LA (mechanical line voltage thermostat), as well as some Nautel folks (slide rule resources and engineering/radio/TV related apps). |
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Post-NAB Musings
Jeff covers some post-NAB musings including; the NUG meeting, Safety, HD Radio™ power and headroom, Translators, and a few “things seen on the road” during Jeff’s post-NAB 10-day road trip. |
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Prepping for an Absence
Jeff gives some pointers on how you can help your station(s) survive you going to NAB… or anybody in an engineering position who is going on a leave of absence (e.g. vacation, convention). |
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Seasonal Safety Tips
Jeff has discussed many different aspects of broadcast engineering safety to date. In this issue he covers specific seasonal safety tips. |
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Advanced User Interface (AUI) and A3 Board Surface Mount Components Fix
Jeff discusses how to get the most out of your Nautel AUI and a non-expensive solution to an M50 exciter A3 board surface mount components issue. |
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Weatherproofing & Transmitter Site Maintenance
Given the weather the world has been experiencing this year and a recent three-hour power outage he experienced at home as a result of a nearby lightning strike, Jeff thought it would be an opportunity to discuss both weatherproofing and maintenance of the transmitter site. |
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Tips ‘n Tricks – A Wrap Up from NAB 2015
This article represents the NAB2015 wrap up episode with tips from Jeff’s safety presentation at the PREC including safe working practices and a short list of tools and PPE (Personal Protective Equipment). |
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Tips ‘n Tricks for Surviving NAB (updated for 2015)
As a long-time attendee of NAB, Jeff has a few NAB-specific Tips ‘n Tricks he’d like to share for surviving NAB. He covers everything from ground transportation and badge pick-up to food, gambling and staying comfortable. |
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Can You Hear Me Now? LTE Interference
LTE Interference is a hot topic currently affecting hundreds of stations, both with and without Nautel gear. Longer than Jeff’s usual, this article gives a comprehensive overview of the challenge and provides some decent, cost effective solutions. It contains input from three consultants, a contract engineer and a Washington, DC communications lawyer. |
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Install the Latest Software… Please!
After visiting several transmitter sites this summer, Jeff is on a quest (OK maybe a bit of a rant) to get you to upgrade your software. |
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Extending the Life of your Transmitter
While visiting transmitter sites in the upper Midwest, Jeff observed a few things covered in a recent transmitter reliability webinar which bear repeating as we enter the summer storm season in North America. |
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Have Your Transmitter Text Alarm Messages to You
In the old days, if something went wrong at the station, someone would dial your pager pretty quickly to get your attention. But now that we have moved on to mostly empty studios and monitor everything by smart phones and email, how can you be sure that you will not miss an important alarm? Jeff Welton has a tip to share. |
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Tips ‘n Tricks from the NAB 2014 Show Floor
During the NAB show, Jeff shook thousands of hands and spoke to an equal number of people. Some of these conversations were related to making Nautel equipment do certain things. Jeff shares and expands on these conversations in this article. |
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It’s an IP Enabled World
Jeff Welton discusses a few things to remember when configuring your transmitter for operation on a network. |
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What You Need to Know Before Calling Nautel
Jeff Welton details what you need to know to get the most out of your calls to us. What you need to know: before you order; at order time; before equipment is delivered; and, when calling for technical support. |
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Checking Ground Radial Integrity / Making a Quarter Wave Stub
Jeff Welton details how to check ground radial integrity without digging, and how to make a quarter wave stub. |
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Make Your Own Clamp-on RF Current Probe
Jeff Welton details how to build an RF current probe. In AM sites, this can be very useful in many ways. First, to check for the presence of RF on a wire, and to adjust tuning to null or peak the current flow. It’s also a good way to check RF currents in ground radials to see if you’ve got a broken radial. |
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Transmitter Site Safety
Jeff Welton discusses the importance of safety; both at Nautel and measures you can take to stay safe at the transmitter site. |
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How to Make ‘Roll Your Own’ Carbon Ball Gaps
Jeff Welton details how to make ‘roll your own’ carbon ball gaps; where to get them, how to make them, etc. Carbon balls make great spark gaps, because they don’t suffer from metal migration during arcs, like brass or steel. |
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The Ideal Surge Protector Location for Lightning Protection
Jeff Welton details the ideal surge protector location for lightning protection. |
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The UPS Interface Option
Jeff Welton details the UPS interface option, what it does and why it’s important. |
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Fixing AUI Lockups & the Importance of Software Updates
Jeff Welton details the official factory-approved reset procedures for AUI lockups on NX and NV Series transmitters, as well as the importance of updating your transmitters with Nautel’s latest software updates. |
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More Heating and Cooling
Jeff Welton features a letter from Mike Payne, with Townsquare Media’s Twin Falls, ID stations who wrote in to share his experience about why keeping things warm enough is as important as keeping them cool enough. |
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Heat & Hardware Checks
Jeff Welton discusses why it’s necessary to HEAT the transmitter room, and the need for annual hardware checks. |
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Heat Wave!
Jeff Welton discusses air handling. By examining the air handling specifics of two transmitter sites, Jeff demonstrates how a few minor changes can provide major benefits to your transmitter. |
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Shields Up!
Jeff Welton discusses the tried and true but frequently underutilized – Ferrite Toroid – as a means of surge/lightning protection and pickup reduction. |
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Staying Grounded
Jeff Welton discusses good grounding for lightning protection. |
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Critter Control / Air Handling
Jeff Welton discusses critter control, and air flow – both hot and cold. |
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iPhone AUI / Proper Grounding / Replacement Ampfet Fuses
John Bisset discusses: how to set-up Nautel’s AUI on your iPhone; fixing hot toroid cores on an XR12; and avoiding a short in the Rectifier/Regulator Module of an AMPFET 5. |
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VS300 as an Exciter / Avoiding Oxidation
John Bisset discusses the impact of Eimac discontinuing their 4CX300A tube, and why our Nautel field service technicians would never be caught without a can DeoxIT®. |
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NV Module Installation / Ampfet Cooling Tips
John Bisset discusses PA module protective panel covers for NV series transmitters and older Ampfet models. |
