Technorama Resources

Here’s a page with quick links to Technorama-related resources that you might find useful in your professional and Community Radio life. It will be updated from time to time.

Selected resources

COVID-19: helpful support information

It's hard to know where to turn for good solid information on the COVID-19 pandemic, the underlying cause, and what you can do. Two quite different and extraordinary links might provide everything you need to know ...
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Pantyhose popfilters and COVID-19: not so good

Question: If you put a pantyhose filter in front of a microphone, does it work to protect the microphone from passing on a virus? Answer: almost certainly not. In fact, it creates a sense of security that doesn't exist. John Maizels reports with a bit of studio hygiene science ...
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COVID-19 and your station

Are you looking for some tips? Here's a list of things you can do to reduce the risks at your station and hopefully stay live. ...
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99.9% fatal to germs; 100% fatal to microphones!

In the past week we've been repeatedly asked: can you get sick from a pop shield? Do pop shields harbour COVID-19? Can you spray pop shields with disinfectant? Should you spray anything? Protecting people from harm is incredibly important, but so is protecting the gear. Fortunately you can do both, and in this article we explain what's going on with a virus, what's safe to use on equipment, and what you can do to stay healthy ...
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800MHz band: not dead yet!!

True or false: FM links are going away? All the spectrum has been sold? Licences aren't being issued or renewed? Bzzzt. All FALSE!! Technorama consulted the Oracle and obtained some very good answers ...
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Winning Strategies for CBF Grant Applications: your role as the Tech

Great help from the CBF - the presentation that Georgie Boucher delivered at TR18 is online for you to view ...
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Getting the best from a CBF grant application

There are ways to do better on your CBF application: ask for help from CBF, and check comments made by your peers. We give you links to both ...
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Tips about Studio and Control Room Wiring

The folk at Elan collected a great document full of neato tips that will not only help you wire up a studio or control room, but also shows how documentation is done too. The document includes sections on: Power Wiring ...
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Education: CMTO FB Live replay

CMTO asked if we would do a FB Live broadcast to flesh out some aspects of the January 2018 Webinar on Station tech architecture, and take questions. It worked, it was very interactive, and here's the result ...
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Collection of Windows 10 tips to manage auto update reboots… and others

Some useful links relating to management of Windows machines, and especially how to stop autoupdating ...
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Education: Bootcamp webinar replay

Our first Bootcamp Webinar was SRO even on the net! If you're a non-technologist, this is just the session to help you understand how your station works from mic to antenna. And it's available for replay ...
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ACMA: 850 MHz Restack

Many stations will be affected by the plans to clear the 849-852MHz segment currently used by Studio-Transmitter Links (STLs) or Sound Outside Broadcast Links (SOBLs).   The ACMA recently ran a Tune Up session to update plans, and get feedback.  They ...
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CBAA 2016

Technorama supported the CBAA at the 2016 Conference, with a panel titled “Future-proofing your broadcast technologists”.    The panel members and moderator all identify as technologists, but critically and atypically, three of the panel members are women.  Here are some excerpts from that session:

• How to plant and grow technologists at your station – watch this talk from Technorama’s John Maizels.
• How to maintain your station’s relationship with your technologists – listen to ABC’s Bernadette Young (note: link broken – has been reported to CBAA)
• How do we (and how should we) recognise our community radio technologists? Listen to 3MBS’s Sharon E Eccles.
• Supporting women in community radio technology – listen to Bernadette Young and Sharon E Eccles.

Holly Ransom’s CBAA 2016 plenary

The CBAA 2016 Conference kickoff was amazing.   Brian Nankervis’ did such a great job of his keynote opening that the room was thoroughly rampted up.  But then he was followed by one of the best plenary presentations ever.  Holly Ransom’s key points  – “start before you’re ready” and “embed your why in their why” might be two of the most valuable lessons that could be learned by technologists.

You can watch the replays here, and find out what you missed:

Brian Nankervis  Keynote Address
Holly Ransom  Opening Plenary:  Change is not a Dirty Word

The full “Plant and Grow”

This is the presentation from CBAA 2008 in Alice Springs. It’s called “Planting and Growing Technologists at Your Station”, an exploration of how to build a technology team, and what motivates them.   The presentation includes an explanation of the Four Drivers of Technologists™, and a map to help you characterise fault reporting and callouts.