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 meetings include: 

• August 11, 2020 (6:30 PM):  Our guest speaker will be Dr. Bob Heil K9EID.  Dr. Heil, founder of Heil Sound, is known for creating the template for modern rock touring sound systems for The Grateful Dead and The Who.  Heil Pro audio manufactures world class microphones and headphones for stage, studio, broadcast, podcast and amateur radio use.  See our next meeting page for the details!

SBE National News

RJ Russell, Fred Baumgartner and Roland Robinson Receive SBE’s 2020 Top Individual Award Honors

The winner of the Robert W. Flanders SBE Engineer of the Year award for 2020 is RJ Russell, CPBE, of Middletown, DE. The award is presented to a member who has excelled in his or her career while furthering the mission of the SBE. Candidates are nominated by their peers. The 2020 James C. Wulliman SBE Educator of the Year award has been awarded to two recipients: Fred Baumgartner, CPBE, CBNT, of Elizabeth, CO, and Roland Robinson, CBTE, CBNT, CTO, of Tacoma, WA. The award recognizes outstanding service and excellence in sharing knowledge through teaching other broadcast engineers.

Robert “RJ” Russell has been an SBE member for 21 years. During that time, he has served as director, treasurer, and vice president on the National Board of Directors as well as serving on several national committees. RJ also has held officer positions in various local chapters. He served proudly in the United States Marine Corps as a cryptography technician. After service in the military, he worked for several stations, including those owned by Media General, Sinclair, Cordillera, Catamount, Sunbelt, Univision, E.W. Scripps, and Fox.

RJ worked as a broadcast engineering manager on the Sprint Nextel Project from 2004-2008, assisting many television stations with the 2 GHz repack and reimbursement program. While employed by Brigham Young University, RJ was instrumental in the design and construction of a new 100,000 square foot BYU broadcast center and associated transmission paths and signals. RJ has spent many countless hours working on the ATSC 3 project station in Cleveland.

Most recently, RJ accepted the critically important position of SBE frequency coordination manager as an independent contractor through his company, TBSI. RJ has a vast and unique knowledge of the frequency coordination process and is the SBE’s major representative to the Department of Defense and its contractors in the SBE-DOD-NAB transition process at 2 GHz. Through the direct involvement of RJ, who is respected very highly by the DOD, FCC and NTIA, the SBE and its members, broadcast licensees, and the DOD have benefited from the careful, meticulous planning that RJ has worked exceptionally hard on to maximize DOD-coordinated use of 2 GHz without constraint on broadcasters. RJ is presently overseeing preparation of a national database of 2 GHz users that will facilitate the work of SBE frequency coordinators, and he has revitalized the program at a difficult time in the history of volunteer frequency coordination.

Fred Baumgartner has been an SBE member for 47 years and has given countless hours to furthering the education of today’s broadcast engineers through his work with the Ennes Educational Foundation Trust for 17 years, he spearheaded the annual Ennes Workshop during the NAB Show, and recently produced the SBE presentation on NextGen TV during the 2019 PBS TechCon. One nominee said of Baumgartner, “He was supportive of my goals re: SBE and helped get me in touch with others in the organization to help me grow in my involvement and education.”

Roland Robinson has been an SBE member for 24 years. He is an instructor of classes in broadcasting and video production at Bates Technical College in Tacoma, WA. Robinson has taught at Bates for more than ten years implementing an SBE-approved certification curriculum in his broadcast classes. The curriculum was recently renewed unanimously by the SBE National Certification Committee, the members being impressed by the curriculum presented by Robinson. Robinson also serves on the Washington State Emergency Communications Committee (SECC) and provides a valued service to Washington State broadcasters by creating and maintaining the complex Required Monthly Test (RMT) schedule.

The SBE 2020 Awards Program also recognizes other achievements from SBE members, chapters and SBE sustaining member companies.

MultiCAM Systems has won the SBE Technology Award for the Air Bridge. Air Bridge is a new video solution for including remote guests in shows or conferences. Up to four guests can be live at the same time, and up to 12 guests can be on the waiting list. Users send a link to the guests. Once that link is opened, the guest is connected to the show with the host’s permission.

Chapter and Individual Awards
Chapters are the lifeblood of the SBE, and 2020 marks the seventh year that the Chapter Engineer of the Year Award has highlighted the achievements of members within their chapters. This year, seven chapters selected their own award recipients. Each winner will be presented with a special plaque and be recognized nationally on the SBE website and in a future issue of The Signal. The seven chapter winners also were automatically nominated for the national Robert W. Flanders SBE Engineer of the Year Award.

Chapter 37 in Washington, DC, has won the Best Educational Event for the NextGEN TV Summit held Jan. 16, 2020. The event was held in conjunction with SMPTE. Fred Willard, who helped produce the event said, “We were amazed at the number of folks that traveled great distances to attend this event. It was truly regional. Thomas Janner from Rohde and Schwarz flew from Germany just to present.”

Statistical Awards
Percentage Growth of New Members:
Class A: 106 Florida Panhandle; Chapter Chair Mark Johnson, CSRE
Class B: 103 Nashville; Chapter Chair James Campbell, CPBE

Highest Percentage of Certified Members:
Class A: 115 Southern Idaho; Chapter Chair Thomas Kettwi, CBT
Class B: 131 Inland Empire; Chapter Chair James Alexander, CPBE, CBNT; Certification Chair Paul Claxton, CPBE, CBNT

Highest Percentage of Member Attendance at Meetings:
Class A: 112 Western Wisconsin; Chapter Chair Todd Zschernitz, CBTE
Class B: 69 Alamo Area; Chapter Chair Christopher Anderson

All the winners will be recognized at the SBE Membership Meeting and Awards Ceremony, held online on Sept. 23. Nominations for the 2021 awards will open in February.

Note: Class awards are determined using the median chapter size as of Dec. 31, 2019, as the dividing line between Class A (fewer than or equal to the median) and Class B (more than the median).

Society of Broadcast Engineers 2020 National Meeting Goes Virtual

The SBE 22 Broadcast & Technology Expo, the partner event, has been cancelled.

The Society of Broadcast Engineers planned to hold its 56th SBE National Meeting in Liverpool, NY, just outside of Syracuse, on Sept. 22 and 23. The event was to be held in conjunction with the SBE 22 Broadcast & Technology Expo, a regional exposition and educational event that restarted in 2019 after a short hiatus. The Expo would have included a media equipment and services tradeshow and multiple technical sessions of interest to all media engineers, technicians, post-production, A/V and media IT professionals.

The in-person expo has been cancelled following restrictions imposed by the state of New York to reduce infections because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Because of current conditions, travel for exhibitors and attendees would also have been difficult.

While the in-person event has been cancelled, the SBE will hold several of its events virtually on Sept. 22 and 23. The SBE Annual Membership Meeting will be combined with the awards ceremony that would have been part of the Annual SBE National Awards Dinner. The membership meeting and awards ceremony will be held online at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on Wednesday, Sept. 23. This will include the induction of officers and directors elected this month, presentation of the individual and chapter awards, including the Robert L. Flanders SBE Engineer of the Year, James C. Wulliman SBE Educator of the Year and Technology Award, and induction of the two new SBE Fellows, James Leifer, CPBE, and Ralph Beaver, CBT. There will also be a special presentation of the SBE John H. Battison Award for Lifetime Achievement.

The SBE Board of Directors will meet on Tuesday, Sept. 22 at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT.

A Fellows Breakfast is held each year at the SBE National Meeting. Since the group won’t gather in person, a virtual reunion will he held on Sept. 23. The time will be announced later.

All the SBE events will be held online. Details on how to watch the SBE Annual Membership Meeting and National Awards Presentation will be shared via the SBE website, SBE-news email newsletter and social media.

SBE Releases 2020 Compensation Survey Results

From April 1 to May 31, 2020, the Society of Broadcast Engineers conducted its fifth annual compensation survey to determine salary levels and benefits among broadcast and media technology engineers. This survey provides a wealth of useful information, and it adds to the baseline being developed for subsequent surveys to establish compensation trends.

The complete results of the survey are available at no charge to SBE members as a benefit of membership. It can be accessed through the SBE Bookstore. SBE members will login to view and download the report.

The survey included 24 questions that gathered information about job titles, broadcast market size and compensation in dollars and offered benefits. SBE membership was not required to take the survey. About the survey, SBE President Wayne Pecena, CPBE, 8-VSB, AMD, DRB, CBNE, said, “We rely on technical people in the industry to participate so we can provide the most meaningful data. The SBE appreciates the input of those who took the time to complete the survey.”

While all responses remained anonymous, demographic data collected included market size, job category/title, age, years working in broadcasting, salary, benefits received, and any certification held. The data is split into radio or TV and radio results, with greater detail on job category and market size. President Pecena added, “There’s a great deal of information provided in the survey. I hope all SBE members will take advantage of the information and apply it to their situation.”

SBE members can access the survey at this link. SBE login is required.