Hear No RF Evil - See No RF Evil

LBA asks the Old RF Curmudgeon how “being wired-in continously” on hand held RF devices is affecting the (still) finite RF spectrum.

The Curmudgeon believes that, without necessary and sufficient prior consideration, the US is starting down a technological path which may well prove to be unfortunate, festooned with many unforeseen consequences. One wishes that some rational consideration would have been given prior to starting the journey, but with most of today’s consumer technology being driven almost entirely by free-market enterprise, “whatever can be done…..will be done” as long as a buck can be made.

The Curmudgeon is normally a big proponent of the use of the electromagnetic spectrum (i.e., radio) to do tasks that can’t easily be accomplished in other ways or, in some instances, couldn’t be accomplished in any other way. But not in this present case. There are too many liabilities waiting to arise.

He is speaking here of the on-going, uncritical mass public adoption of one- and two-way consumer-portable wireless devices, of which the iPhone is probably the signature icon. This does NOT include such specialized items as wireless medical monitors, industrial bar-code readers, mobile GPS navigators, and RFID tags. These special purpose wireless devices, along with many other similar items, have practical virtues and carry far less risk than does the new class of consumer-targeted devices.

These radio-based portable (i.e., routinely-carried-on-the-consumer) devices are intended to accomplish many contemporary telecommunications functions that previously were the province of stationary systems. Some of these new acceptances, most notably cellular telephones, have advanced to the point such that the devices are already in nearly universal usage. Others are just appearing on the scene: wireless Internet access, portable television receivers, text-messengers.

Now the Curmudgeon is not a technological Luddite; he well understands the engineering behind, and owns and uses many different pieces of electronic communications systems (in the broadest sense). But The Curmudgeon is both philosophically and practically opposed to the mass consumption of the radiofrequency spectrum by consumer-portable devices, and in some cases strongly opposed. Since nobody seems to want to present the case against them, he will herein present at least some of it.

1. Most importantly, the granting of “instant access directly to the person” through these devices — on what can easily become a continuous 7/24 basis—removes the possibility of maintaining an individual’s psychological “private space.” With these new devices in use there is no longer any “time out,” any chance to stop, to process information already received, to consider possibilities, to plan next-steps. The world becomes real-time, continuous, and without end. The distinction between “work time” and “leisure time” evaporates. Addictions (i.e., “can’t turn it off!”) begin, along with frustration as the individual begins to realize that the ceaseless incoming “data flood” can never be fully processed or mastered.

Most of the communications functions that are about to be adopted were handled previously by fixed, wired devices (i.e., corded telephones, desktop computers, in-home radio and television receivers) or, at most, in very limited ways by simple portable and mobile devices (car broadcast radios). One usually had to take very specific actions to use these, and if (s)he were away from the locations of the fixed devices, their use was deferred to a later time, almost always with very few negative consequences.

All this is about to vanish in less than an eye blink on the time scale of human evolution. The problem is…..the human brain evolves very slowly; it has no precedents or existing adaptations for the state of “being wired-in continuously.” The brain is probably is just now coming to grips with the previous generation of communications devices, and even for these there had been few earlier neural analogs when they were introduced. What is the brain to do with this massive new assault on a person’s private space? What unforeseen problems in human behavior lie ahead? Why weren’t these possibilities considered before we rushed ahead with even more technology “just because we can do it?”

2. The practical liability of the possession/use of these fully-portable devices is that they divert attention from a user’s local environment. If that environment happens to be a metropolitan street intersection, a busy highway, or even a farm tractor/combine, such diversion carries real risks. Significant injury to an individual can occur in just hundreds of milliseconds — sufficient time to avoid danger if one is attentive, or to suffer consequences if one is not.

Certainly not all portable devices are equally attention-diversive. Barcode readers, medical monitors, RFID readers carry almost no risk at all. One-way audio devices, such as broadcast radios, are probably only marginally risky. Slightly more risky would be some visual devices, such as mobile GPS receivers. Here, at least, the individual can choose his (occasional) viewing instants. More risky are the audio two-way devices, such as cell phones, that require little visual attention but do require mental participation in a conversation. At the highest risk level, in my opinion, are the two-way visual devices such as mobile television and text messaging, which foster both visual diversion and mental involvement. Some real thought should be given to consequences before these are made available to the general public.

3. Massive adoption of what are, in essence, portable broadband wireless digital stations inevitably requires massive use of the (still) finite RF spectrum. While new technologies generally lead to more efficient usage of each Hertz, there are “Tragedy of the Commons” limitations awaiting the complete consumption of the spectrum. What is to be done in the decades to come, as new (and perhaps compelling) wireless applications are developed, only to be shelved because of unavailability of usable spectrum? Should we not “save” today against tomorrow’s needs? Let’s use the RF spectrum for tasks that cannot be done any other way, and use our (nearly infinite bandwidth) wire line networks for those that can operate quite well without radio.

4. These portable wireless devices inevitably foster a feeling of “self-aggrandizement” on the part of their users, telling all that “I can make my presence, my skills, my expertise available anywhere, and at any time. I am thus an important person!” The Curmudgeon, however, believes differently. He is not a Public Safety officer, an emergency room physician, or a Supreme Court justice sitting on a convict’s appeal of a capital execution. There is nothing that he can do for another person *in real time* that carries any important consequences. Everything that he is able to do will not suffer from the delay of a few minutes or a few hours, or in some cases even a few days. There is almost always time to stop, to think, and to consider before action commences.

This is not to deny that there are times when real-time communications are absolutely required, and these portable devices can do that task well. But the Curmudgeon very much contends that the numbers of such occasions are not nearly as large as the number of instances when subscribers use their portable devices to make themselves feel self-important, for tasks that don’t even remotely require such real-time usage. Perhaps the difference between real need and self-aggrandizement usage amounts to orders of magnitude.

So the questions remain: What are the real costs, and the real consequences, of the mass adoption of these wireless, always-on-the-consumer communications devices? Is the Curmudgeon really the first to ask these questions?

What do you think?
“Let’s keep the universe safe for RF”

The Old RF Curmudgeon

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LBA asks: What do you think of the future of AM broadcasting as you see it today? 

This one is emotional, of course.  After all, AM radio is one of the very oldest uses of the radio spectrum (beginning ~1919), as evidenced in part by the Medium Frequency band on which it began and still operates.  There isn’t much other remaining on-air activity that predates it on the spectrum, perhaps just the Maritime Service, a few Public Coastal stations (overseas telegrams), and the Amateurs.  AM broadcasting is one of Mother Spectrum’s first children, and it will be sad to see it go.

But it should go.  It’s been operating essentially unchanged through a turbulent period in the advance of technology and telecommunications, and it just doesn’t fit well any longer.  As a medium it can’t compete effectively, its audience is growing smaller, the economics are poor, and in the long run it’s probably best just to close it down, with appreciation and admiration, and to move forward.  The Curmudgeon will try to make that case.

By FCC mandate, for decades now the U.S. has been supplied with dual band AM-FM consumer radios.  Everyone in the US has access to the broadcast FM band; everyone appreciates the inherent quality advantage that FM (stereo) possesses.  AM’s declining market share and limited variety of programming amply indicate that fact.

There was once a time when broadcast AM radio signals reached far across the sparsely-populated countryside, bringing news and entertainment to isolated rural communities.  The existence of a dozen or so “clear channel” nighttime AM station assignments in those days ensured that everyplace in America could be “connected” to the major population centers in a way never before possible.

But not anymore.  The clear channel AM station assignments have long since passed into history.  Just about every burgh now has its own FM station, or can receive service from a nearby city.  Satellite radio can rain signals down onto almost every location in the continental US, bringing more programming and diversity on one carrier than exists on the entire AM broadcast band.  The Internet can provide world-wide radio programming in dizzying abundance.

So what is the current state of AM?  Let’s look at the engineering side first.  There have been no major improvements in the basic transmission system for perhaps seventy-five years.  Its old technical limitations still remain: restricted audio frequency bandwidth, no inherent noise immunity for reception, and an engineering nightmare in spectrum management because of the nighttime ionospheric propagation.  The VHF broadcast FM band has none of these.

And there’s not much hope for future AM improvement either.  Well, there is AM HD transmission (i.e., IBOC).  True, it does help close some of the performance gap with FM.  But IBOC, as it is currently practiced, really requires 20 kHz (occupied bandwidth) channels; just look at a spectrum analyzer to see for yourself.  So, if you want to “rescue” the AM band with IBOC, then plan to re-engineer the entire band on a 20 kHz channel raster.

From an economic viewpoint, AM cannot compete with FM in musical programming, which comprises the majority of the radio broadcast arena.  All AM programming now provides (typically) is news/sports/talk.  And all of these formats certainly would fit into FM just as well.  There really is nothing in AM programming that is unique any longer. Amos and Andy, along with the great networks, are now long gone.

It’s come to this: we just don’t need AM broadcasting any longer!  We can move forward quite well with terrestrial FM/satellite/Internet radio.  So, with many a tear bouncing off his desktop, the Curmudgeon says: Let’s just “sunset” it!  Let’s pick a date, perhaps fifteen to twenty years in the future, on which, with great nostalgia and fanfare, we will just turn it off.  The same way we should handle the future cessation of terrestrial television broadcasting.

And many of the same planning points will apply to the sunseting of AM radio as apply to terrestrial television.  The present broadcasters should receive accelerated depreciation tax credits for their transmission plants and the value of their licenses.  They also can expect handsome windfalls from the eventual sale of their transmitter sites, around which communities have grown.  These are now very valuable parcels of land!

But what about continuance of their programming, post sunseting?  Aha, technology to the rescue!  Their programming, the news/sports/talk channels, will fit quite nicely on the HD-2, HD-3 channels, etc., of city-of-license VHF-FM stations.  In fact, at least one major metropolitan all-news AM station has already begun simulcasting its entire main program stream on the HD-2 channel of a company-owned FM station in the same city.  Indeed, everything worth saving can be fit into FM HD.

Finally, once we will have “liberated” over one Megahertz of Medium Frequency spectrum, what in the world can we then do with it?  That question took some thinking on the part of the Old Curmudgeon, but at least one clear answer did finally emerge. 

With the wide land coverage area inherent in MF transmission, the “AM Megahertz” would be ideal for a broadband regional data distribution service for the Public Safety community!  What a wonderful asset it might become: the ability to push maps, photographs, drawings, and text messages out simultaneously to first responders everywhere, engaged in major disasters and emergencies!  And to do so in a way that no VHF/UHF/microwave system could do.  That alone is worth “the price of admission.”  Re-using the band for this purpose is almost “poetic:” after all, Public Safety one-way voice dispatch began, in the 1930s and 1940s, with the use of AM transmitters on channels just above the top end of the conventional AM broadcast band!

So let’s bid a sad farewell to AM broadcasting, with all the echoes of its past greatness.  We love you, we’ll remember you, but we’re moving forward now.

What do you think?

“Let’s keep the universe safe for RF”

The Old RF Curmudgeon

At the production test facilities of a major circuit fabricator, it was dance time – all the time!

This company fabricated garage door openers by the thousands, and put them through their paces on a neat row of test positions. The problem was, one tester would open his “door”, and his neighbor’s “door” would go down! A fun time, but terrible for production rates.

The problem was that the production test fixtures were hot with RF from the door opener transmitters on a common frequency, so were interacting with each other.

The frustrated quality control chief presented the problem to LBA Technology EMC engineers who were able to design a custom EMFaraCage™ that fit the existing test fixtures. Using an internal antenna probe, testing showed complete isolation of the test positions.

After LBA provided custom EMFaraCages™ for all the test fixtures, the dance of the garage door openers came to a stop!

EMFaraCages™ have solved problems of RF interference in some of the most unlikely places from lab animal cages to nuclear enrichment facilities to cell phone testers. LBA is anxious to tackle your RF shielding or isolation problem.

Ham radio commemorative QSO party, learn more here.

The MSK-200 TV Signal Analyzer combines the best of everything in measurement capabilities.  With the demands of the broadcast industry and new beginnings and unknowns with the DTV conversion, the MSK-200 is equipped to handle challenges today and tomorrow.  The MSK-200 comes out of the box with the ability to demodulate all DVB signals whether terrestrial, cable or satellite.  It analyzes both analog and digital signals and demodulates every standard.

I might add that the MSK-200 is a product of the renowned German technology firm Kathrein Werke, and is widely adopted in much of the world. LBA Technology is now exclusively bringing this Kathrein Schomandl excellence to DTV users in the Western Hemisphere.

Today, broadcasters demand functionality in a piece of test equipment across the board whether making spectrum, constellation, or transport stream analyses.  Traditionally, separate pieces of equipment were required to generate the desired results for each measurement type which is cumbersome, expensive and required professional operation driving up overhead costs on personnel and equipment.  Not anymore.  The MSK-200 is a full spectrum analyzer, constellation analyzer, transport stream monitor, picture quality analyzer, MER/BER analyzer, memory oscilloscope and desktop PC all in one at an affordable price.   Compared to its arch nemeses FSH3-TV and the ETL-TV by Rhode and Schwarz, the MSK-200 is ready to go out of the box, without the need of extra options to achieve needed measurements.  The FSH3-TV and ETL-TV would have to add on several expensive options to match the functionality of the MSK, and they cost more.  The MSK-200 comes included with a hard case which will run you about $1000.00 with Rhode and Schwarz.  Also the Rhode and Schwarz units do not have a full desktop computer with browser for office tasks.

For example, the FSH3-TV comes standard with DVB-T analysis.  If you need DVB-C, ATSC, 8VSB, you need to add an option.  If you need a preamp, you need another option, if you need QAM analysis, add an option.  Get my drift.  These are challenging times for broadcasters and now even more during this economic downtime, why limit their use and require costly additions.  Peace of mind can come in knowing everything is included in one and you are ready to go, and the MSK will not leave you wishing you had added that extra input or measurement option.

Another very unique feature of the MSK-200 the Rhode and Schwarz units do not have, is the DisEqC control of multiple antennas and LNB’s.   With 22KHz, Tone Burst, DiSEqC 2.0, and UFO Micro, the MSK-200 is separated in its own class.  The DiSEqC 2.0 allows for switching between 4 satellite sources and bi-directional communications.

   
The MSK-200 also has a 10.4” TFT Color Infrared touch screen and user friendly operation anyone can use right out of the box that will accommodate both left and right handed users.  In addition, in case users get stuck, a unique “HELP” function guides users easily.  It uses actual images of each button and a browser type layout with step by step instructions to give both verbiage and a visual representation shortening the learning curve and making it seem like surfing the web.  The neat thing about the “HELP” feature is that regardless what you are doing with the MSK, the “HELP” feature will display results for whatever operation the unit is conducting at that time which always determines the “stuck” point, or simply find what you want assistance with by scrolling through like your internet browser.  Ultimately, the MSK-200 will reduce overall equipment costs and precious personnel costs.

The MSK-200 also totes a Real Time Color Constellation Analyzer up to 400 mbps where the FSH-3TV is only at about 200.  The difference is the ability to spot every carrier, with color representation, where some may otherwise be missed.

While there are similarities with the MSK and Rhode units, there are differences as well.  It is these differences that set the MSK apart.

In addition to measurement option differences, the MSK-200 comes complete with every connection available.  It has 2 USB ports, Ethernet, PCMCIA, RF input, ASI in out (2BNC), Transport Current parallel ( 2 SUB-D ), PS2 input, RS-232 Mini Din 9-pin.

Use the PCMCIA slot to add your choice of WiFi, WiMAX, or cellular wireless data connectivity. With the on board browser, your MSK-200 integrates with your web or intranet based technical files anywhere, and troubleshooting collaboration with your other technical resources across the company or the world is instantaneous!

I’m Paulo Fernandes, your MSK-200 contact at LBA Technology Test Equipment Group. I would love to carry this conversation onward to your application! Please email me, or call me at 252-757-0279.

LBA now offers users the convenience of USB and Ethernet access to systems under test in its popular EMFaracage® electromagnetic shielded chambers. Fiber optic signal isolation requires no compromise to the faraday cage isolation, or to the data stream.

The picture shows an FC-10 lab top RF shielded chamber equipped with a wide bandwidth fiber appliance. Note the tubular waveguide which permits the egress of multiple fiberglass cables without isolation impact to above 6 GHz. A high isolation filtered AC power utility is also provided for operation of the internal fiber components, as well as to power the device under test and associated RF test equipment. The unit shown is convection cooled, but forced air cooling is an option, as is a glass viewport.

To learn more about LBA EMFaracages® and other electromagnetic RF shielding systems contact Paulo Fernandes at 252-757-0279 or via email.

In a breakthrough action, the Federal Communications Commission today authorized digital television stations to use DTS technology. Read more here.

The Schomandl/Kathrein MSK-200 Digital Transport Stream Analyzer has been generating lots of interest in the HDTV community. But there is another exciting capability of the MSK-200 – it also handles satellite applications!

The MSK-200 is an Analog and Digital analyzer covering 5 MHZ – 3GHz making satellite applications simple without compromising measurement capabilities.  The MSK-200 has a refresh rate of 5 sweeps per second and LNB Multimeter making dish alignment a breeze.   Also the MSK-200 features DiSEqC switching technology to handle multiple LNB’s.  The MSK provides functions such as signal to noise and Hum measurements, data logging and networking with its built in computer with browser, low resolution bandwidths for monitoring small carriers, channel selection in frequency entry, channel entry, and user lists, MER and much more.  The MSK-200 is a versatile device due to its size making portability possible even in the brightest conditions, allowing for remote control, and being loaded with bench-top measurement features.

As Account Executive for LBA’s Test Equipment Group, I’ll be glad to discuss your satellite system test needs. Just contact me, Paulo Fernandes, at email link or 252-757-0279.

Exciting things are happening for LBA Technology test equipment solutions customers!

German RF equipment manufacturer Kathrein and subsidiary Schomandl will exclusively distribute its radio frequency test equipment, including devices for digital TV, radio, wireless, CATV, satellite and laboratory use, through the RF systems expertise of LBA Technology, throughout the western hemisphere.

Read more here!

Radio frequency test equipment now offered by LBA includes instruments for digital TV, radio, wireless, CATV, satellite and laboratory use. The supply of this equipment in the Americas through LBA is fully supported by the entire Kathrein – Schomandl team!

Read more here!

The 2008 annual PCIA Wireless Show is now in progress. If you are in the Southern Florida area, please stop by and visit our booth #705, located at the Westin Diplomat Resort and Spa in Hollywood, FL and visit with our President of Lawrence Behr Associates, Inc., Mr. Silver Miller. Learn, first-hand the latest developments in AM colocation, RF safety management, and AM protection.

LBA asks: So many of those in our industry are amateur radio operators, including staff at LBA, that we asked the Old RF Curmudgeon to come out of his den and give us a read on the health of ham radio today.

The Amateur Radio Service has an almost unduplicated position for a recreational activity/leisure time pursuit because of its historically tight coupling to the wireless telecommunications, broadcasting, and military communications industries.  Few other hobbies have supplied such a sizeable number of both motivated and trained workers and of useful technological improvements to their associated commercial industries.

There was once a time in the industry when it would have been routinely assumed that an applicant for a technical job was a licensed Amateur and had a station on-air.  No longer is that true, of course.   But, whether or not most people in the industry explicitly recognize it, the health and survival of the Amateur service is still very important for the industry – if for no other reason, because Amateur radio is one of the few remaining services where an individual can still develop practical, hands-on, trial-and-error RF experience on his own!  And since such practical RF experience is becoming scarce in today’s raging digital flood, that’s not a small concern.

In the Curmudgeon’s view the health of the Amateur Service today is only average.  Not robust but just “so-so,” a kind of flabby middle-age.  And that is ironic, for the level of RF technology available to the Service has improved tremendously in the fifty years since the Curmudgeon earned his first license.  But during these decades the sociology associated with the Service has degraded considerably.  That degradation extends to licensees’ on-air behavior, to their motivation and interest to learn and to experiment, and to their willingness just to “lend a hand” to benefit others, whether in helping new initiates to qualify for licenses or in public service activities.

Today’s Amateur Service is not your grandfather’s hamming.  “Yep, Bubb, it really was more fun back then!”  Too many of today’s active hams are too disinclined to pick up a soldering iron, too egocentric in their on-air operating practices, too focused on artificially-produced competitiveness when cooperation would work equally as well.  The character of the Service has degraded over the decades, perhaps tracking that of the larger American culture, and the obvious question is “Why?”

The Curmudgeon ascribes the sociology problem to two causes, one natural and one man-made.  The natural cause is the ageing-out of the senior ham population and with that the demise of some semblance of historical understanding, experience, and quality in the ranks.  That of course is unstoppable.  The man-made cause is something that the Curmudgeon now has to admit that he erred in initially favoring.  That was the restructuring of the FCC license exam process as manifested by the establishment a few years ago of the “No Code” Amateur Radio licenses (i.e., no requirement to demonstrate ability to send/receive the International Morse Code, plus other unrelated changes).

Prior to the advent of restructuring, earning an Amateur license probably required more than the amount of work and dedication that would have been proportional to the reward, and thus the arduous licensing requirements overly restricted the entrance of new participants.  Now the qualifications for the restructured Amateur licenses are probably set too low, and this has resulted in the influx of telecommunications consumers and casual hobbyists in quantities that threaten to seriously change the nature of the Service. 

To be fair, the elimination of the code proficiency requirement itself was inevitable; it was a change that occurred in the same time period when Morse Code was also being dropped as an authorized emissions mode for other (commercial) radio services.  By itself “No Code” is probably not sufficient to account for all the degradation.  Rather, the Curmudgeon believes that the open publication of the license exam question pool, with its “just cram for the exam” ethic, and the concurrent rise of commercial “Amateur exam quick study courses” of various kinds has created much of the damage. 

Just consider the advertisements for the nascent “FCC Amateur exam preparation industry.”  In one case an entrepreneur advertises that an individual can go from zero telecommunications knowledge to passing the (entry level) Technician Class exam in a one-weekend “camp!”  In another case an individual possessing the entrance grade license reported that he successfully passed the (highest level) Extra Class exam after just twelve hours of study using an on-line (for profit) Web site.  There are testimonials also from individuals who claimed to have passed all three current levels of license exams from scratch in the course of only two months, using the various exam preparation services!  These rapid time scales and minimal work loads were unknown in the Service prior to restructuring. 

But perhaps the most telling example of the lowered level of the current exams involves an English ham…a chap who is a graduate engineer and a long-time holder of the highest level UK ham license.  Recently he attended a UK national ham convention where he unexpectedly discovered that the US Amateur license exams were being given.  With no preparatory studying whatsoever, never having ever read the FCC’s Part 97 Rules, and acting strictly on impulse, he instantly decided to take the US exams.  Ninety minutes later he departed with a new US Amateur Extra Class license!  A “special case,” of course, but what does it say about the quality of the current exams?

The Curmudgeon asks, “Where is the growth of skills and knowledge that comes with invested time, experience, and dedication to the Service, producing as a natural consequence the ever-increasing ability to pass the exams?  Where are the proven benefits from this new license structure to the Amateur Service?  To the industry?  Isn’t this just more instant gratification for the ‘I want it….and NOW!’ crowd?”  And so the culture and quality of the Service shift and continue to move over time. 

Overall, this is a serious problem, and there aren’t any quick and easy solutions.  Much of any reform that may occur will have to come from within the Amateur Service itself.  But there is a definite role for the industry in the pursuit of this reform: recognizing, encouraging, supporting, and demanding the improvement of the Amateur Service!  Not solely as a pro bono initiative; it’s really in the self-interest of the industry too!

What do you think?

“Let’s keep the universe safe for RF!”

     The Old RF Curmudgeon

LBA asks: There has been a lot of activity recently among FM broadcasters, what with adding IBOC digital, more transmitting power and station upgrades for better coverage. Knowing your “RF sensitivity”, where is all this going for our spectrum?

One day not too long ago I happened to have my spectrum analyzer connected to the outside discone broadband antenna.  Out of curiosity I scanned the entire first GigaHertz of the RF spectrum, curious to see who had the strongest RF signal into my house.  It turned out to be a pair of FM broadcasters.  So I then focused in on the FM broadcast band spectrum.

I quickly discovered two FMs who jointly held the top signals.   I measured received signal levels from each station of -16 dBm.  These two are the strongest measured off-premises signals at my residence between 0 and 1,000 MHz, and probably in the entire RF spectrum.   When that signal level is developed across a 75 ohm receiver input, it produces more than 43,000 microvolts! 

Few, if any, non-broadcast broadband receiver front ends are going to handle a signal of that magnitude without folding into compression.  It’s no wonder that my sensitive monitoring receivers on outdoor antennas curled up and died whenever they were tuned to within a few tens of Mhz of the FM broadcast band.  That grossly excessive received signal level is really needed only for receiving broadcasts on electric toothbrushes! 

I then went to the FCC Media Bureau database to determine just what transmission conditions these two stations were authorized.  And I discovered, after some data analysis, that great changes had recently occurred in the FM authorizations in my market. 

First, both of these “top signal stations” are now authorized 50 kW ERP.  Both are atop the same six hundred foot tower whose primary use is as an AM (ND) antenna.  The tower is located on flat land, line of sight to my driveway, three miles due south, and in the middle of a long-established residential area.  But there is no rational purpose in using this great a power level in my area, since VHF signals are always blocked by existing terrain before they can decrease to the noise level at far distances.

The primary FM had always been a twin of the co-sited AM, but it appeared that the FM had recently received a power increase authorization.  The second FM had been first established at an mountaintop broadcast site but had moved down to the ground and in doing so picked up about another 10-13 dB in authorized ERP.

Two more established FMs had moved their locations to another pair of AM towers, these only four miles distant from my house, and also had been granted 50 kW ERP each.  So the game became clear to me:  relocate to a tower on the ground, receive big ERP increases, and be able to sell air time to your clients on the basis that they are buying onto a “dominating 50 kW signal!”

Also, almost all of the other local FMs had separately moved to the premiere established broadcast hill and all picked up additional ERP; the average now from that hill (about ten miles away from my house and also line of sight) is about 30 kW.

But one dirty little secret remains.  The local FM NCEs don’t have that gross power level.  They kick out with an average 2 kW ERP.  AND NO LISTENERS EVER COMPLAIN THAT THE NCEs  “CAN’T BE HEARD!”

So the commercial broadcasters are all pumped up with “superpower” ERP authorizations, and non-broadcast VHF receivers all over the region are being squished.  And for what?  What’s the point?  Where’s the ecological regard for “Mother RF Spectrum?”

We have lots of RF power in the region producing bone-crusher signals that go nowhere.  Lots of primary electrical power being consumed for transmitters and A/Cs in a region noted for continuing power insufficiency.  Lots of imported oil, domestic coal and natural gas being burned to generate lots of electricity.  Lots of carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides spewing into the atmosphere.  But just what do we get for all this waste?  The Curmudgeon can’t see the point in it.

Media Bureau, do you have any idea what you are doing?

The “fix” to my receiver desensitization problem was fairly easy, even if it came at my own expense.   A commercial FM band-stop filter, working ahead of a broadband distribution amplifier and the multiple monitoring receivers, solved the problem.  The filter has a minimum of 22 dB attenuation from 88 to 108 MHz, and a notch of 45 dB at one of the -16 dBm carriers.  My monitoring receivers can handle FM band signals in the range of -40 to -50 dBm without folding.  I can hear VHF aircraft band once again!  The receiver blanketing is essentially gone!

For many years I unquestioningly believed that “bigger outdoor antennas were better antennas.”  Finally I measured actual received signal levels.  And I discovered that the real problem was far too much RF in the air over my residence, not too little!

“Let’s keep the universe safe for RF!”   

          The Old RF Curmudgeon
 

LBA Technology has restructured its operations to include a new Test Equipment Group. The new group will take responsibility for existing test products manufactured or sold by LBA. It is also in the process of activating major new third party test equipment distribution agreements under the Group.

According to Jerry Brown, President of LBA Technology, “Our rapidly expanding test equipment business has gone beyond our traditional business core. We think it makes a lot of sense to divide it into a Test Equipment Group and an RF Systems Group for best service to our customers and vendors”.

The new Test Equipment Group will include state of the art antenna testers, digital TV signal analyzers, personal RF safety monitors, EMF shielded laboratory enclosures and related components. Product lines will include TOMCO, Jennings, and COMET. The Group will focus on exclusive distribution of top line international manufacturers in the North and South American markets.

LBA has pioneered solutions that permit cellular, PCS and 4-G providers to use AM broadcast towers as antenna platforms. The CoLoCoil™ is one of the LBA proprietary AM colocation solutions widely used by major carriers. The CoLoCoil™ safely separates AM and wireless operations, and isolates both directional and non-directional AM towers from impacts of the wireless carrier coax installation.

AM towers frequently have been located in the heart of densely populated areas for years. Often these towers require little or no rezoning to accommodate wireless antennas! Read more about RF zoning strategies in our Wireless University.

Installation of the CoLoCoil™ solution can be seamlessly planned and supervised by LBA, including all AM station coordination and FCC details.

Pictured above is LBA account executive Cathy Scott at our plant with a dual CoLoCoil™ system recently shipped to Indiana. This system will isolate 12 coaxial lines onto a single AM tower. The system will be installed on a 5000 watt directional AM tower by Bechtel Telecommunications for AT&T Wireless. LBA will provide on-site supervision and testing.

When wireless antennas must be installed on a tower near AM antennas, LBA can provide Detuning Systems that make the wireless tower compatible with the AM antenna.
 

*** If you are new to The Old Curmudgeon series, read the previous blog for a brief introduction.***

LBA asks - “Well, RF Curmudgeon, what do you say to this RF interference and spectrum pollution from the nifty LED devices popping up everywhere? Why I can’t drive through an intersection without LED traffic lights blanking out my FM! And don’t get me started about the LED billboards! Maybe my memory fails (it’s been so long) but didn’t the FCC enforce spectrum purity when we were kids?”

As to your LED transmitter observation, I have only a UHF two-way radio in my car, so I haven’t noticed the “LED effect” on VHF high band.  We have plenty of LED traffic lights in my area, so that part of the equation is in place.  And don’t forget about all those red LEDs in automobile tail lights now.  I haven’t noticed anything from the LEDs directly on FM broadcast channels either, including IBOC stations, but that’s more a reflection of our having such strong broadcast signals in my area of the country.

In answer to your other observation, yes, the FCC doesn’t give a twiddly-damn about the RF spectrum or its purity.  I think that this trend started well over a decade ago, and it is fueled by two deeply-held policy positions within the Commission.  First, they badly want to get out of the regulatory enforcement business.  They don’t get any major brownie points or funding from Congress for running the Field Enforcement Bureau (or whatever it’s called now), spectrum enforcement is a bottomless pit for them, and it’s a never-ending chore.  They would rather auction the spectrum off and tell the happy purchaser, “You look after the cleanliness of *your* bands!  We’re outta here!” 

The second is the deeply-held regulatory notion that “cellular transmission” with its concurrent frequency re-use is the highest and best use of the spectrum.  If you do cellular, you don’t have to worry too much about the ambient noise level as the transmitters are always fairly proximate to the users.  The cellular regulatory model is at work not only in public land mobile, but also in private land mobile (where it’s very difficult to get new PLMRS licenses for wide-area mountaintop or major tower stations, and if you do get one about the most station you can then run is “walkie talkie” power levels.  And in broadcasting (LPFMs and LPTVs, which also conveniently use up all available channel slots).  And in unlicensed consumer Part 15 wireless LANs.  “Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera,” as the King of Siam would say.

Don’t know whether you caught it at the time, but a few years ago the Commission floated an NPRM which proposed to *allow* interference sources onto licensed channels (in this case, microwave), using a concept known as the defined “Interference Temperature!”  The idea was that “smart radios” in the interference generator source would “know” when the source had gone one bridge too far and would then shut itself down.  Lacking that degree of equipment capability by the interferers, the licensee of the channel could always monitor and scream when the measured “interference temperature” rose past established limits. 

The industry quickly shot that *^@(&^ idea down!

So, driven by these two philosophical points, the Commission now says, “Please proceed to trash the spectrum with lots of unlicensed low power devices, singing power lines, chirping power meters, high speed digital logic with femtosecond switching times (I exaggerate, but not by much!), screeching LEDs.  We don’t care, and we don’t enforce the law here in Dodge City any longer!”

As soon as some clever businessman figures out a use for the 4 degrees Kelvin cosmic microwave background radiation, it too will be quickly licensed and eventually auctioned off. 

You and I, being old timers in this art and science, understand the invaluable resource that the RF spectrum represents and we respect it and we do what we can to maintain it in good working shape.  The Commission, especially in later years, has been directed and run by lawyers, economists, and politicians who don’t know the physics behind electromagnetic transmission, have none of the “vision thing” for the future non-economic uses for which quiet spectrum could be employed, and consider the spectrum mostly as an exploitable economic good.  What would you expect?

Adding to this outrage, there is too much transference of communications today from wired to wireless modes.  Most people don’t really need “Web service to the belly-button!”  Now my eleven year-old granddaughters are getting their own cell phones.  Give me a (&#%$@& break!

Many, many services could be well and cheaply provided by wire, if we just had a broadband Universal Fiber Network in this country.  But that’s yet another Commission failure in the “vision thing.”  The Asians and perhaps the Europeans will “clean our clocks” on this failure alone.

So, sayonara RF spectrum, my dear old love!  I will always remember you as you were in those long-ago days when you were still young, fresh, and beautiful.

“Let’s keep the universe safe for RF!”

The Old RF Curmudgeon

The Old RF Curmudgeon has been poking his beak into the RF world for very close to fifty years.  With both commercial and amateur radio experience, close contacts in broadcast engineering, radio site management experience, lots of paper pushed into the FCC, an immense curiosity about “how things work,” and a “real gud college education,” the RF Curmudgeon has seen a lot of telecomm evolution.  And he remembers almost all of it, can relate historical items to “modern developments,” and has a sharp sense of “what’s proper….and what’s not!”

The RF Curmudgeon will be churning out occasional pieces for the LBA blog.  No set schedule for them, just whenever the mood strikes.  Come around here often, see what’s happening, and toss in your own fifty cents worth (inflated from the classical “two cents” of antiquity). 

“Let’s keep the universe safe for RF!”

There are several proactive steps to coping with external RF interference that start with selection of the facility design. An RF survey of a new location or problematical facility is a first step. An LBA NARTE Certified Electromagnetic Compatibility Engineer will visit the location and inventory potential on and off site RF interference sources. He will review plans and make measurements of signals as needed. Then LBA will work with the owner and his team to prescribe appropriate remediation. If possible, shielding for specific spaces should be part of the original architectural design.

An obvious remediation of RF interference is appropriate shielding of equipment pieces or exam rooms containing diagnostic and recording equipment. The trick is to ensure that unwanted RF signals are attenuated enough to cause no harm to medical equipment.

New innovations in electromagnetic shielding often make it possible to lower unwanted RF interference to manageable levels at a reasonable cost. Applying metalized fabric composites and conductive coatings, along with proper entry, power, and piping treatments, can achieve attenuations of 40dB or more in existing facilities. Such shielding effectiveness is often adequate to prevent RF ingress into your medical equipment.

For small pieces of equipment and lab experiments, stand alone Faraday cages such as LBA Technology’s EMFaracage™ can be employed to block virtually all RF signals from entering or leaving.

Don’t forget protection of personnel where high intensity electromagnetic fields are present! In order to comply with OSHA and FCC rules consider having exposed personnel use personal RF monitors, such as the SafeOne™ available from LBA.

In addition to protecting your investment in expensive medical equipment, judicious use of shielding can reduce maintenance costs and increase safety, reliability and patient satisfaction.

The 2008 annual PCIA Wireless Show is coming to Hollywood, Florida
October 12 -15, and Lawrence Behr Associates will be there! Come join
LBA at the Westin to see the value packed SafeOne™ Personal RF Monitor, and to learn the latest in AM colocation, RF safety management, and AM protection. Contact Silver Miller or Mike Brittner to discuss your requirements.

Diagnostic tests are an invaluable tool in identifying patient problems. The results must be accurate if the diagnosis is to be correct. The tests are often too expensive to be repeated, and facilities are in too high demand to tolerate scheduling changes to accommodate repeat procedures. This is particularly so if they are due to RF interference which can be prevented!

Case Study: A regional medical center established a sleep lab. In reviewing the traces of bodily parameters taken during the night, doctors noted weird sleep patterns never before described in the medical literature! Alas, no Nobel prizes came from this. Alert technicians realized that these behaviors happened only when the radio station down the street was broadcasting.

LBA interference engineers confirmed this as the problem, and prescribed electromagnetic shielding for the sleep lab.

Case Study: Several years ago, an incident occurred in a local hospital when an Ultrasound machine used for tracking fetal growth developed noise in the display that obscured the picture. In addition to being an aggravation to the medical attendants, imagine the erosion of confidence on the part of the patient and her husband viewing a distorted and obscured fetus!
This problem was traced to a nearby radio station by LBA engineers. As it happened, the station went out of business before archetectual shielding was installed. The old adage that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is definitely true in the case of RF emissions and medical technology. It is never too early to plan for effective RF interference abatement.

Beyond the cases outlined above, RF interference might manifest itself as false positive or negative readings, transient, undesirable audio-on signals, and aberrant readings on EKG and ECG machines from unshielded leads, to name but a few.
Medical offices are, by virtue of their focus, usually clustered in specific areas in any urban setting. Frequently, this cluster of medical facilities includes a hospital with its abundance of medical technology. Urban areas are a hotbed of constantly evolving RF sources both local and ephemeral, including multiple high power broadcasting stations. This provides a distinct possibility of higher RF interference which will have an increasingly greater impact on the medical equipment within the area. A convenient and free computer tool to provide an alert to local sources of high power radio interference may be found at the LBA Toolbox.

RF radiation is everywhere in medical facilities! We can’t smell it, see it, hear it or touch it, yet we know it is out there. It has beneficial therapeutic applications. Other times it can be downright mean!

Medical diagnostic equipment provides unreliable results. Weird audio can be heard through testing equipment. Rock and roll music accompanies a medical diagnostic test. Wheelchairs motor of on their own!

These gremlins may be caused by high-power RF installations like radio and TV stations as much as several miles away. Or, they may be right around the corner. Guard radios, EMT trucks, WLAN’s, MRI, and linear accelerators can add to the brew.

Medical equipment manufacturers work hard to provide immunity in their products, but user setups vary, and problems slip through; sometimes with unfortunate consequences.

Case Study: A neurologist was testing his new Neuro-Conduction/EMG machine. When applying the concentric needle to his wrist, he noted that his arm was dancing to clearly heard rock music!As an amateur radio operator, he was quite conversant with radio frequency and understood that this behavior by the machine was connected in some way to outside signals.This particular interference was traced by LBA engineers to an AM radio station a mile away. LBA supplied an architectural shielding design and materials, which were quickly and economically installed by his builder in the exam rooms, that solved the problem. On a technical note, the LBA engineer detected a signal of about 1 Volt/meter emanating from the radio station. Federal Communications Commission(FCC) guidelines suggest that RF interference problems with electrical medical equipment can be elicited within the 1 V/m field of a radio station. Go to the free LBA Toolbox to see if there are any broadcast stations threatening your facility. 

In our next installment, we have more on medical RF interference – check back soon.

For the fourth consecutive year, LBA Group has received recognition from DiversityBusiness.com, as one of the top 50 diversity-owned businesses in the state of North Carolina. LBA was also cited as advancing in ranking over last year.

The NC Div50 is the 8th annual listing of the State’s top diversity-owned businesses. The companies listed on the Div50 represent the State’s top multicultural earners and challenge the long-held notion that a small or diversity-owned business is insignificant.

Newspaper reporters on assignment at a hospital in Seoul, Korea noticed smoke coming from a colleague’s briefcase today. They rushed the briefcase outside where local news accounts say it exploded in flames. Is this what reporters call a “hot assignment”?

The notebook computer was reportedly made by LG Electronics, and the battery by a subsidiary. This incident brings new attention to the hazards that mobile device batteries may pose. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has just last week imposed new restrictions on batteries that airline passengers may carry on board.

Lithium and lithium ion battery technologies are at the focus of safety concerns. The TSA website has an extensive discussion of battery safety, as well as transportation rules. Find it here.

A typical LG Notebook

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We call Greenville, North Carolina, USA home - where LBA was founded in 1963. Greenville is a city of nearly 100,000 people. It is also home to East Carolina University and its well known medical school. In past years Greenville was one of the largest tobacco markets in the world, which has given way to diversified technology manufacturing. Greenville is also home to the largest Voice of America facility in the world!

As you can see from the map, we are near the Atlantic coast in an area of farms, forests, and much water. Boating, golfing, hunting, and fishing are popular pastimes of LBA employees.

You are invited to visit us anytime that you are in this part of the world.

LBA Group is excited to announce a partnership with Ex-Im Bank. The Export-Import Bank will support the financing of U.S. goods and services to creditworthy LBA customers in qualifying countries.

According to our CFO Wayne Hildebrandt, this creates a team that empowers LBA to offer highly competitive financing terms to our qualifying international customers.

LBA Group announces that it has made Inc. magazine’s list of the top 5,000 fastest-growing businesses in the nation with a ranking of 3,613 and a three-year sales growth of 80 percent. Inc. 5,000 lists companies, that when put together, represents the back bone of the U.S. economy. The Inc. 5,000 is an extension of Inc. magazine’s annual 500 list.

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