(from RBR/TVBR's Solutions Magazine, 12/05 issue)

The year 2005 has been very busy for me, having first moved the WOR general offices to our new location of 111 Broadway from 1440 Broadway in New York City while maintaining programming offices and studios at the old location; moving the tech facility and ironing out the bugs; building our new transmitter facility in the Jersey Meadowlands; starting the implementation of HD Radio at all of our Buckley Broadcasting stations, and being named a Corporate VP.

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The move of WOR's studio facilities has been most rewarding and is working out very well for the station. We had several options when deciding on what to do with the new facility. One of the options we had was to build the facility analog. This would have necessitated running large amounts of multipair cable to the studios, and we would have had issues integrating to some of the newer digital technologies. I felt that the company would get the best bang for its buck with Axia. It uses off the shelf, high end computer networking hardware; there is no single point of failure; the cabling to the studios from the tech center would be minimized as it is wired with standard Cat 6 computer cable; the system would offer flexibility for any future expansion or changes to the WOR operation.

But this also made me nervous, as the Axia concept was still somewhat new; sending high speed, packetized data from point A to point B in standard TCP/IP format. Well, the system has been on the air since April 30 and has more than proven itself.

There were a few challenges with building the facility. My assistant, Kerry Richards, formerly worked for United Artists theaters and is certified in THX. We literally took a page from the THX manual to design the studio walls. The other challenge was what to do about the noise from the outside windows that the studios have. The street noise, only being 3 floors up, was bad enough. But when the high school at the end of the street let out, well, lets say that the language coming through those windows would have made former WOR personality Joan Rivers blush. Taking the windows out was not an option, as we are in a landmark building and that is not allowed. So, we had the contractor put in 1/2" thick plate glass between the studio and outside window, with a good 1 to 1-1/2" of air space between them. This gives us a good 70dB isolation from what we had and works well.

Being a pioneer is nothing new to me or to WOR, one of the very first stations on the air in the US. We added HD Radio to WOR in 2002, October 11, 2002 to be exact. We were a test station for iBiquity Digital, simultaneously becoming New York's first AM HD Radio Station. We proved that the HD signal will work correctly when passed through a less than perfect antenna system. We assisted in identifying issues with the previous codec. We helped debug several versions of iBiquity exciter software. We performed nighttime testing. And I've taken a great deal of heat from various factions over my stand on HD and the fact that we made WOR one of the first high power AM HD stations in the country. But I can say that I'm proud to be part of broadcasting history with WOR's pioneering effort in HD.

Our nighttime testing was enlightening, and I am eagerly awaiting nighttime authorization from the FCC. The nighttime "debacle" and the "horrible" interference that detractors state will be generated by nighttime HD operation will not be, in my estimation, the isle of devastation some make it out to be. The unfortunate thing is that many AM stations consider their coverage area wherever anyone can decipher their audio from the noise, but nighttime HD operation is based on the FCC defined contours. This needs to be understood.

With all the competition radio has for our audience, most of it digital solutions for consumers, we need to make ourselves modern and relevant in the eyes of potential listeners. HD for AM really makes the station sound as good as present day FM. HD for FM eliminates multipath distortion. And on AM, let's face it. The noise floor from our electronic environments has increased dramatically in the past 10 years making AM coverage less than it once was.

Our new site is completely state-of-the-art, built from the ground up with HD in mind. STL facilities, both landline and over the air, are completely digital. The facility employs two state-of-the-art Harris 3DX50 transmitters. The directional pattern remains relatively the same. The new facility has a completely functional backup studio with listener call in lines, a bathroom with shower, a 300KW generator with fuel for almost two weeks, redundant air conditioning, and an ENCO workstation with all of WOR's audio backed up to the main server at 111 Broadway. We have landline and satellite Internet capabilities. We can operate WOR and both radio networks from this facility. And it should last WOR another 30 years or until the State decides to once again redevelop swamplands in the Meadowlands.

Finally, I am extremely lucky to be associated with Buckley Broadcasting. And I'm not saying this because Rick Buckley is reading this. Buckley is still one of the true family operations left in the US. When I need something, there are no planning meetings, budget meetings, presentations to shareholders or any other such nonsense. I pick up the phone and talk to "the man" and get a decision immediately. I'm lucky that Rick trusts my judgment and lets me do things my way. Not every Engineer gets that freedom. Working at WOR and for Rick Buckley and WOR GM Bob Bruno is like working for family.

It's exciting being on the cutting edge of technology, having arguably the most technically advanced AM facility in New York City. I eagerly await what the future will bring. Heck, my past 28 years have been amazing and most enjoyable. The conversion to digital facilities and HD Radio makes me realize what Marconi and Armstrong must have felt watching the industry evolve. We live and work in interesting times, and they can only get better.

Thomas R. Ray, III CPBE
Vice President/Corporate Director of Engineering
Buckley Broadcasting/WOR Radio
New York City