Welcome!
Thank you for visiting the Washington DC Chapter of the Society of Broadcast Engineers. We're glad you're here!
The Society of Broadcast Engineers (SBE) is the only organization devoted to the advancement of all levels and types of broadcast engineering. With more than 5,000 members and 114 local chapters, the SBE provides a forum for the exchange of ideas and the sharing of information to help you keep pace with our rapidly changing industry. The SBE amplifies the voices of broadcast engineers by validating your skills with professional certification, by offering educational opportunities to maintain and expand those skills, and by speaking out on technical regulatory issues that affect how you work.
SBE Chapter 37 is a very diverse group, including a variety of media professionals in the Nation's Capitol. Our members include local radio and television engineers, national and international network technicians, consulting engineers, electronics manufacturers and Federal employees working in media and broadcast related positions.
Regardless of your area of broadcast interest, you are sure to find a warm welcome at the Washington DC Chapter of the Society of Broadcast Engineers. Please join us at our next meeting and try us out for size. We hope you will enjoy your visit.
Upcoming Events
Please check out details of our next meeting. We hope to see you there! Future SBE events include:
- March 9th (6:30 pm): Nathan Mumford of RCS will discuss Remote Hybrid Workflows and Cloud Disaster Recovery. He will also introduce local workflows and discuss the future of radio automation. For details, see the next meeting page. Please Register here!
- May 12th (6:30 pm): In what has become an annual tradition, Chris Imlay of Booth, Freret & Imlay, LLC will join us for Rules, Regs, and the Broadcast Engineer - his unique view on technical regulatory topics, spectrum allocations, and broadcast auxiliary spectrum issues.
SBE News and Events
In January, the Indiana Society of Association Executives (ISAE) announced the full list of recipients of the 19th Annual STAR Awards. The STAR Awards, the Society’s Top Association Recognition Awards, recognize professional association managers and their industry. The awards were first presented in 2002.
Among the award recipients for 2020 was former SBE Executive Director John Poray, CAE, as Association Executive of the Year. The award was presented on Jan. 21, 2021, with more than 130 association professionals and industry suppliers gathered virtually. The event is usually held in-person.
To be considered for the ISAE Association Executive of the Year, the nominee must be a regular, voting member of the ISAE and actively involved in a full-time position as the chief staff executive for an association. A minimum of three years association management experience is required. This person has shown dedication, innovation and leadership. This is the kind of executive all association professionals aspire to be.
Joh Poray retired from the SBE on Dec. 31, 2020, after serving as the executive director for more than 28 years.
The Indiana Society of Association Executives serves more than 500 association professionals, including supplier members. As an educational and networking organization designed specifically to meet the needs of association professionals, the ISAE helps members be stronger leaders who lead stronger organizations.
The post Indiana Society of Association Executives Recognizes John Poray with Award appeared first on The Society of Broadcast Engineers.
The Society of Broadcast Engineers, in its continuing effort to advance its Program of Certification, has added a new Specialist Certification to its offerings: The ATSC3 Specialist. The new level of certification was developed by the Society of Broadcast Engineers Certification Committee, chaired by Ralph Hogan, CPBE, DRB, CBNE, with direct assistance from the Advanced Television Systems Committee. The first ATSC3 SBE Certification exams were made available during the February 2021 SBE exam period.
In addition to various certification levels that require a certain time of professional career experience and cover a broad knowledge base, the SBE offers several Specialist Certifications, each one focusing on a specific understanding of a technology. Existing Specialist certifications include the 8-VSB Special-ist (8-VSB), AM Directional Specialist (AMD), and the Digital Radio Broadcast Specialist (DRB). The first SBE Specialist Certification was offered in 2005. To apply for a specialist certification, an individual must currently hold certification on the Broadcast Engineer, Senior Broadcast Engineer, Professional Broad-cast Engineer or Broadcast Networking Engineer Certification level.
The initial idea to create the SBE ATSC3 Specialist Certification began in 2018. The SBE Certification Committee worked closely with key ATSC members for input on suitable information to include in the exam. The Certification Committee also worked with several SBE members with direct experience in-stalling ATSC 3.0 systems. From this, a set of questions was created, beta tests were conducted, the questions were reviewed and adjusted and additional beta testing was held. The final question pool covers a mix of practical application and technology standards.
“The SBE is grateful to the ATSC for its help in assembling the exam question pool,” said SBE Certifica-tion Chair Ralph Hogan. “As is the practice in creating any level of SBE Certification, a group of subject matter experts is consulted.”
“I also extend my thanks to the ATSC members who helped in the exam development process. As the foremost experts on ATSC 3.0, their contributions were invaluable. I was also continually impressed by the SBE’s methodical exam development process, ensuring that the exam would fairly and accurately assess a candidate’s understanding of ATSC 3.0. Individuals who successfully pass the exam will have earned a truly meaningful certificate,” added Madeleine Noland, president of ATSC.
Like all SBE Certifications, the exam questions will continue an ongoing review process to ensure the information being covered is relevant and current. Certifications are valid for five years, and then must be renewed or advanced to a higher level. The SBE launched its program of certification in 1975.
Exams must be completed within three hours and consist of 50 multiple-choice questions (two points each) and one essay question (20 points maximum). Specialist certification examinees are provided one essay question to answer. Exams are pass/fail, and a score of 84 is a passing grade.
The SBE provides a list of suggested references to help prepare for all SBE certification exams. The SBE also offers the SBE CertPreview practice test software. The ATSC3 portion of CertPreview should be available later in 2021.
The post New SBE Certification: ATSC3 Specialist appeared first on The Society of Broadcast Engineers.
The Society of Broadcast Engineers will hold the 2021 SBE Leadership Development Course June 8-10, 2021, in Atlanta, GA. This three-day course is an intensive study of successful leadership and management, designed specifically for broadcast engineers.
The course explores the nature of leadership, the difference between being a manager and being a leader, how to build a winning team, the importance of attitude in the leadership position, communication insights and much more.
Instructing the course for the 13th year will be Rodney Vandeveer, professor of Organizational Leadership and Supervision at Purdue University. Vandeveer brings more than 30 years of experience in human resources management, training, development and manufacturing. Vandeveer also owns a leadership training business, VanTech Training. A previous course attendee said, “Rodney [Vandeveer] knows this stuff inside and out and makes it interesting as well. Plus the real-life examples from his careers help prove the points.”
To register for this professional development opportunity, go to sbe.org/ldc. The enrollment fee is $670 for SBE members and $725 for non-members. Questions? Contact SBE Education Director Cathy Orosz at corosz@sbe.org.
The SBE has presented the SBE Leadership Development Course since 1997. The NAB sponsored the course from 1965 to 1995. This intense course is designed specifically for broadcast engineers who have or aspire to have management responsibilities. Details on the course and registration information are available at sbe.org/ldc.
The 2021 SBE Leadership Development Course will be held at the Hyatt Place Atlanta South; 1899 Sullivan Road; College Park, GA 30337. The SBE has a block of rooms at $125/night. Room reservations can be made by calling 888-HYATT-HP or at hyatt.com. Use the reservation code G-SB20 as the group/corporate number. Make room reservations by May 9, 2021, for the special rate.
The post SBE Leadership Development Course Set for June 2021 appeared first on The Society of Broadcast Engineers.