In this two-part yearly RBR/TVBR series (from our September and October RBR/TVBR Solutions Magazine), we ask top engineers at the radio groups where 2006 budgets and capital expenditures are heading. What's tops on the list for projects and new equipment? This year, we asked the following:

Glynn Walden, Infinity SVP/Engineering
Milford Smith, VP/Engineering, Greater Media
Cris Alexander, Director of Engineering/Crawford Broadcasting
Norman Philips, VP/Director of Engineering, Susquehanna Radio
Steve Davis, CC Radio SVP, Engineering & Capital Management

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What are your CEs asking for most for next year? Why?

Smith: It varies a lot from location to location but HD multichannel is right up there, along with automation system upgrades in many cases to allow "extra" streams to be created for multichannel, webcasts or other distribution channels.

Alexander: The one thing that no one seems to have enough of is hard drive space on the server. As we enter into the HD Radio, multicasting and streaming arenas, we are finding that we have to either upgrade or replace the file servers on our digital media systems. Our CEs are also asking for monitoring and test equipment for our HD Radio operations is also high on the list.

Philips: New studio work surfaces and router technology to replace early vintage digital consoles and to allow new functionality.

Davis: It really runs the gamut. A lot of reliability and hardening equipment such as lightning and surge protection, generators, UPS equipment, etc. Computers are always widely requested. Many stations are asking for RDS equipment to enable them to transmit song title and artist and other information for their analog channels. Servers and facilities to stream programming on the web are increasingly being requested. Remote RF or landline codecs are popular. Audio console and transmitter replacements as current equipment is aging or fully depreciated, or related to HD rollouts, are plentiful in our request lists. As we concentrate on improved commercial creative for our "Less is More" initiative, production systems including consoles and software are being requested.

Any major projects you're planning?

Smith: We are consolidating several of our NJ stations in a new facility, working on some AM improvements and putting the finishing touches on our company wide HD radio implementation.

Alexander: HD Radio, multicasting and streaming are priorities for our company, and we will be hip deep in implementing those new technologies in our facilities in the coming year. By the end of 2006, we plan to have HD Radio signals on most of our stations. All our FM stations will be testing multicasting. In one market, we plan to build an all-new consolidated studio/office facility, bringing all our operations in that market (five stations) under one roof.

Philips: Continued roll out of HD radio for the remainder of the stations.

Davis: We always have these on the books. We are looking at a major consolidation in New York City, new studio facilities in San Jose, a building expansion in Poughkeepsie, to name just a few. Plus a number of signal upgrade projects including relocating some AM DAs and increasing the heights of FM towers (some in response to C0 triggering notices), plus a number of common antenna projects in partnership with other broadcasters.

We also need to rebuild some AM DAs and phasors to make them "HD capable". We'll be building out new facilities for our Creative Services Group to help our stations to do agency-grade production and improve the quality of our commercial spots, and we're building out new and expanded facilities for Evan Harrison's CC Online division in New York, LA and other markets.

Will the new TIA/EIA 222-G tower standard which takes effect 1/1/06, affect your tower plans/agenda at all? If so, how?

Smith: Anything new we have built recently meets the new standard. I do not anticipate upgrading older towers that continue to meet the applicable standard(s) in effect at the time they were constructed.

Alexander: We do have one big tower project under consideration for 2006, and the new standard will certainly affect the design and cost of that 1,500-foot tower. Steel prices, driven by the Chinese, will have an equal if not greater effect. We are keeping a close eye on this.

Philips: We have been looking to those standards and have been performing all tower stress studies utilizing the new criteria. The most recent tower purchases have been specified and installed utilizing the new guidelines.

Davis: We are currently examining the impact of this on our plans.