Engineer's Corner

TheEC: RIPR & MVYradio Leverage HD Radio for FM Translators

Aaron Read — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 22:43:44 +0000

So there's big news on the engineering front here at RIPR: we're partnering with MVYradio (formerly heard on WMVY 92.7FM on the Vineyard) to put MVYradio content on our 102.7HD2 digital signal in South County, and in turn it's being simulcast on the 96.5FM analog signal in Newport.

TheEC: Emergency Generator Power

Tue, 20 Nov 2012 15:47:18 +0000

Providence, RI – This week: POWER. Not such "fight the" but rather "emergency backup"! RIPR and the Wheeler School are installing an emergency backup power generator at WELH 88.1FM on November 20th. This will allow us to stay up and running during a power outage for almost five days!

TheEC: Multi-band Audio Processing

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 15:42:06 +0000

Providence, RI – Audio purists refer to it as the scourge of music, but "audio processing" is a critical part of any radio station's transmitter system...automatically making content with wildly different volumes all sound consistent, so you don't have to constantly adjust your volume knob.

TheEC: Height is King for FM

Wed, 24 Oct 2012 15:28:16 +0000

Providence, RI – A look at FM propagation, and why are FM towers are so tall? It's because the physics of FM operate on a "line of sight" method.

TheEC: Solar Outages

Thu, 11 Oct 2012 13:48:34 +0000

Providence, RI – SOLAR OUTAGES. I know, I know, it sounds like the next (terrible) Michael Bay movie, but it's far more benign and a function of orbital dynamics, satellite program delivery, and the tilt of the earth. Wondering what the heck I'm talking about? Read on to find out!

TheEC: Streaming Dropouts

Tue, 25 Sep 2012 18:23:44 +0000

PROVIDENCE, RI – Audio dropouts on RIPR's stream can have many root causes, but the solution for many of them can be to increase the buffering. How to do that? Read on for some tips!

TheEC: Emergency Alert System

Tue, 11 Sep 2012 22:16:08 +0000

Providence, RI – This is a test. This is a test of the Emergency Engineer's Corner. It is only a test. Those iconic words (perhaps slightly paraphrased) coupled with the tell-tale "brraaaaap... brraaaaap...brraaaaap" data tones, are widely known as the Emergency Alert System, or EAS.

TheEC: Skywave Propagation

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 22:20:22 +0000

Providence, RI – WBZ 1030AM is famously "heard in 38 states!" How's that possible? Skywave propagation!

TheEC: IP Audio Codecs

Tue, 14 Aug 2012 20:41:30 +0000

Providence, RI – From MP3's on your iPod, to making calls on your cellphone, to special connections from RIPR's studios to distant transmitters...CODEC's a fact of modern communications!

TheEC: Atomic Clocks

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 20:17:35 +0000

Providence, RI – At Rhode Island Public Radio, we rely on precision - and pricey - clocks to coordinate with NPR. But at home you can get pretty close for $20 or $30 by using an "atomic clock," available at most Radio Shacks, Walmarts and other, similar stores.