KEYC Engineering

Want technical info and updates regarding KEYC News 12? This is the place. For news, follow @keyc. For WX, @keycweather. Emergency? Call [phone].

[KEYC Engineering @keyctech]

Hey Southern Minnesota and Northern Iowa,

We know it's been awhile, but the KEYC engineering team has been hard at work bringing you quality television coverage completely free over the air. We look forward to providing a behind the scenes look at your local TV station.

[KEYC Engineering @keyctech]

Mourning the loss of *the* original KEYC engineer, who passed this week. He arrived before the station was built, retired as chief eng. in '99, and remained involved right up to the end. Words fail to describe what he’s meant to this place over the years.

https://t.co/P6WUoVOwzA

[KEYC Engineering @keyctech]

Thanks for watching!

[KEYC Engineering @keyctech]

Every ending is also a beginning - and so now, we congratulate staff engineer Tyler. He was instrumental in many of our biggest projects of the past year... and now, he'll be taking over as chief engineer of KEYC/KMNF. We look forward to the next era of TV innovation he'll bring!

[KEYC Engineering @keyctech]

Even though chief engineer @KeithThelen always stayed off-camera, his work has been all over our air. He hustled nonstop for the past 5yrs to keep KEYC running, and performed countless upgrades. He's leaving for another job - but the stuff he built will be here for years to come!

[KEYC Engineering @keyctech]

This tower picture @tvjeff shot. Of the hundreds of pictures taken of technical stuff at KEYC over the past several years, this has to be the coolest. #keyctech12things

[KEYC Engineering @keyctech]

@egftechman Yes. (It was originally planned as a directional on 13, with lobes over Mankato, Fairmont, and New Ulm. Changing to 7 allowed it to go ND.)

[KEYC Engineering @keyctech]

KMNF, the new Channel 7. Talk about a long road to victory: two tower sites, three channel assignments, and more late nights than we care to count… but we finally grew this little UHF translator into a full-on VHF station - and an NBC affiliate, no less. #keyctech12things

[KEYC Engineering @keyctech]

@egftechman Ross. 128x128 Ultrix for the main house router, 32x32 Ultrix for bypass/minimal MC in an emergency, and MC1 switchers all around.

[KEYC Engineering @keyctech]

New master control. It took months of hard work - but now our on-air systems are fully modernized and reliable. #keyctech12things

[KEYC Engineering @keyctech]

Color-coding the mics and IFBs. Seriously, little things like that make a big difference. #keyctech12things

[KEYC Engineering @keyctech]

Friday nights at the tower. And all the other nights, weekends, and holidays we've spent keeping Channel 12 (and 7) on the air. No matter what, we’ve been dedicated to delivering you the TV you love. #keyctech12things

[KEYC Engineering @keyctech]

Road trips to Watertown. 18 hours each way, straight through, to visit our sister station in upstate New York. Much equipment was traded to keep both stations humming along. #keyctech12things

[KEYC Engineering @keyctech]

Home-brew monitor walls. They were just a proof of concept, but one of them ended up finding a permanent home when the News 12 This Morning set was built. #keyctech12things

[KEYC Engineering @keyctech]

Superior audio + video processing. The first of many equipment upgrades designed to make KEYC look and sound its best, deployed just ahead of Super Bowl 50. Most noteworthy: it led to over-the-air FOX in HD. #keyctech12things

[KEYC Engineering @keyctech]

IP phone system. Based on Asterisk, and customized to the hilt. Our “solve a math problem or we won’t complete your call” hack still gets rave reviews from callers on a daily basis. #keyctech12things

[KEYC Engineering @keyctech]

CasparCG. It started as an experiment - but ended up becoming the system that still powers many of our on-air graphics today. #keyctech12things

[KEYC Engineering @keyctech]

All that second-hand equipment we installed. Sure, they were just off-lease PCs, decommissioned servers, switches, etc… but the end result was a symphony of IT excellence. #keyctech12things

[KEYC Engineering @keyctech]

HD skycams. Thanks to these customized, motorized outdoor cameras, you can bask in the glory of live video from scenic locations all around News 12 viewing-land. #keyctech12things

[KEYC Engineering @keyctech]

It's the end of the year, the decade - and the end of an era at KEYC, as we sail into our 60th anniversary year w/ new owners, all-new equipment, and a technological changing of the guard.

Today, we'll tweet #KEYCtech12things we want to pause & remember, in no particular order…