Continuous learning is an essential part of broadcast engineering. In a such a constantly evolving technology industry, it’s imperative that your skills – and your knowledge – stay up-to-date.
With access to the expanding, virtual world of Internet, keeping your skills sharp has never been easier. Really! With so many options available (and most are free, y’all!) if you aren’t learning, you really aren’t trying.
We want to give you a nudge in the right direction, so here’s our all-star list of broadcast technology learning and information, readily available to radio and television professionals with a click of your mouse.
– The on-line newsletter The Broadcaster’s Desktop Resource, or The BDR. Edited by Barry Mishkind, the BDR is constantly updated with news, information and articles regarding broadcast technology, as well as FCC rules and regulations. With contributors from across the industry, a variety of topics is covered. Go to the website and sign-up for the newsletter.
– If you often run across tough issues that must be resolved immediately, we find these two technology-focused list servers – Christian Radio Tech Forum (CR Tech) and Broadcast List Server – managed by Barry Mishkind from The BDR and, like the CR Tech, extremely helpful. With hundreds, if not thousands, of subscribers, these list servers operate as brain trusts, and for good reason.
Being a subscriber is like having access to the experience of dozens of seasoned broadcast engineers. Problem with your transmitter? Not sure about the EBNO’s at your satellite downlink? Pose your question on one of these list servers and receive multiple responses from other subscribers – techs and engineers from coast to coast.
– Podcasts. Our favorite is “This Week in Radio Tech”, or TWIRT. Updated weekly, The TWIRT podcast is hosted by Kirk Harnack – an executive at Telos Alliance – and targets anyone interested in broadcast technology.
Entertaining, in-depth, informational and yes, at times, slightly irreverent, the hour-long weekly interviews are mostly about radio engineering. However, audio and television engineers will find the content useful, as well.
Content includes everything under the sun – from industry “war stories”, to tips on maintaining your transmitter, to IT security. Review TWIRT’s archive of podcasts and you’ll recognize more than a few of Harnack’s previous guests – a veritable “who’s who” of talented broadcasters. All podcasts are archived on the TWIRT website and on YouTube.
– The Society of Broadcast Engineers (SBE) is a professional organization for engineers in broadcast radio and television. According to their website, it’s the only organization of its kind devoted to the advancement of all levels and types of broadcast engineering.
The SBE provides a forum for the exchange of ideas and the sharing of technical learning and information. When you join the SBE you not only become a member of a local chapter, you gain access to an entire library of extended learning. Through SBE webinars you’ll master knowledge from experts in the fields of radio and television broadcasting.
You can choose to use this information as simply resource information, but we strongly encourage you explore the various certification opportunities in radio frequency and video and audio technology areas available to SBE members.
With the exception of a yearly membership fee associated with the SBE, all of the other resources mentioned above are free.
To subscribe to THE BDR newsletter, go to their website at https://www.thebdr.net
To subscribe to the CRTECH list server: Send an email to crtech-subscribe@crtech.org
To subscribe to Broadcast List Server, go to https://www.radiolists.net. From this page you can easily subscribe to one or more lists, or go directly to the archives for a list to read posts.
To follow Kirk Harnack’s TWIRT, go to: http://thisweekinradiotech.com.
And for more information how you can gain access to the broadcast educational resources provided by the SBE, go to https://www.sbe.org.
Do you currently utilize any of these resources listed above, or is there another you find helpful? Let me know! Please leave a comment below: