In this episode, Tyler shares his recent career transition from a broadcast network engineer role back to field engineering, reflecting on his experiences and challenges in the broadcasting industry. He discusses the importance of autonomy in his work, the impact of communication issues, and his…
A low power FM station in Valdosta, Georgia has a real interference problem. Instead of accepting the engineering explanation, they decided to accuse broadcast engineers, large radio conglomerates, and apparently the atmosphere itself of running a coordinated campaign against them. I break down…
Radio loves patting itself on the back for showing up during hurricanes and tornadoes. I grew up in Florida watching cones of uncertainty aim at my house, so I get why that story feels good. But building your entire pitch around being useful only when everything else breaks is a terrible way to run…
Diesel prices are all over the news right now, but everyone's talking about it like it's just a trucking story. It's not. I'm a broadcast engineer, and I'm here to tell you diesel is the thing keeping radio transmitters and cell sites alive when the power goes out, and right now that backup power…
On November 17th, every radio and TV station in the country is going to interrupt whatever you're doing with that awful screeching tone. I'm breaking down what that nationwide Emergency Alert System test actually is, how a warning message travels from a federal agency all the way to your car radio…
The STL, or studio to transmitter link, is the unglamorous connection that keeps a radio station on the air, and when it fails everything goes dead silent even if every other piece of gear is working perfectly. This episode covers why most stations never built backup STL systems, how broadcast…
HD radio hijacking happens when a distant station's digital signal takes over a local frequency the moment that local station's own HD signal goes dark. Tyler breaks down how this happened to him on his commute, why small and low power FM stations have zero regulatory protection against it, and how…
HD radio was pitched as the FM upgrade that would save terrestrial radio from satellite and streaming, but two decades later most listeners have never heard of it. Broadcast engineer Tyler Woodward traces the FCC's 2002 approval, iBiquity's royalty driven business model, and how media consolidation…
Spotify decides what counts as a stream and there is no outside auditor checking the number that decides how artists get paid, unlike broadcast radio which uses Nielsen ratings and portable people meters. This episode breaks down how a 30 second play counts as a full stream, how one guy ran a years…
For over 40 years, a radio signal in the UK has been quietly switching household heating systems on and off. It's called the Radio Teleswitch Service, and it's one of the best examples of hidden data riding on broadcast signals that most people have never heard of. I explain how RTS works, how the…
