Issue 49 SMARTS Broadcast Systems September 1998
Hello, School is underway, and obviously all of the radio related events that go with it.
Ballgames, concerts, meetings, etc. Fire up the machinery, because the schedule is about to pick
up speed.
You might already be aware that many of my topics in the newsletter come from conversations
with stations in the previous month. While we don't mention names, there are lessons to be learned from each experience. And of course, there was the guy who said he didn't want to see himself in the next newsletter.
VERIFICATION LOG
Let's talk about the Verification Log for a moment. This is one of the greatest diagnostic
tools you will ever see. 
The Log shows every audio file that
plays, when it was replaced or not found, when the time was updated, when someone went into live
assist and out, and out of the system and back in. If you hear a liner play that shouldn't have,
if you hear a p.s.a. in a break that should have been all commercials, if you don't hear a break
and you should have…the first place to check is the Verification Log. The Log will tell you what
cut played, or what was replaced, or what couldn't be found. That is the beginning of the trail.
Next you can audition that item from Cut Manager or check on it in other ways. Feel free to check
into this to prove it for yourself. In the very latest version, the Log has been enhanced to report
even more information.
BREAKLOGS
Weekends are great, aren't they? Unless, of course, you have to go in because something "blew up"
at the last minute. That is one of the reasons that we recommend that you load all of the Breaklogs
through Monday before the close of the workday Friday. That way, should you have a failure or
malfunction in loading the Breaklogs, you would have immediate help from the Support Staff at
SMARTS. You also have staff to cover while the system is down, as opposed to the weekend when
stations usually run with a skeleton crew.
PREVENTATIVE
MAINTENANCE
We'll also remind you to do some Preventative Maintenance. The P.M. I am thinking about today
is the checking of the Fill Rotation and Function Rotation. The difference between a good station
and a bad station both using the same network is the use of Functions. The bad station sounds
very automated using one I.D., one magic call, one return liner, etc. The good station coordinates
the announcer's voice to their schedule and records a wide variety of Functions and then schedules
them in the Rotation. The greater the variety, the less the listener gets imprinted, and imprinting
is the death of a station. When I got my first SMARTCASTER, we had two files for Fill Rotation. One
for :30 and one for :60. The listener heard those spots a lot. Now you can designate up to 99 spots,
allowing for quite a variety of material.
CLASS
Here's something to mention to your station engineer. SMARTS will hold a SMARTCASTER Certification
class the first week in November. Dates are set for Thursday and Friday, November 5 and 6, here at
our home office in Emmetsburg, Iowa.
The purpose of the class is to train engineers on how to install and maintain SMARTCASTERS. Each
engineer who successfully completes the class will be given a certificate of achievement, stating
that he or she is qualified to install SMARTCASTERS.
The cost for the two-day class is $150 per person. Each attendee is responsible for his own expenses.
Registration forms will be included in the September newsletter. Please call Jan Schad at
SMARTS - 800-747-6278, x 203, for class details.
Doug Burton
OFFICE: 800-7476278 SUPPORT: 800-765-2930
SALES: 800-498-0487 E-MAIL: support@smartsbroadcast.com