The "rookie" of the DXAS Editors group, Mark Durenberger is living in Grand Junction Colorado on the Western Slope of the Rockies, where he maintains a mini-ranch and a Beverage antenna site www.durenberger.com/bevjpeg2

Mark's been a broadcast technologist since 1955, when he fell in love with radio and began building high school and college stations, both closed-circuit and pirate. His Army Signal Corps experience brought him close to the American Forces Network (AFN) Europe, and an appreciation for high-power MW transmitter plants (at the time the AFN Frankfurt operation was running 150 kilowatts on 872 khz and AFN Munich was doing 100 kilowatts on 548 khz).

Mark had the good fortune to be involved in early stereo-radio testing in the 50's, (both AM/AM and AM/FM stereo), well before the FCC announced the official FM-only stereo system. He also broadcast the first quadraphonic ("Quad") sound tests in Minneapolis in 1970. He spent some good time in a high-tech recording studio, where he had a hand in the development of the 3M digital recorder, when he wasn't busy editing music and assembling the latest K-TEL smash.

The highlight of his long broadcasting career was his work at WCCO-830 in Minneapolis, as a broadcast engineer and later as developer of the first Ku-band satellite radio sports network. There he fell in love with the "Clear-Channel" broadcasting concept and the potential of wide-area coverage on the MW band. He worked on the coverage patterns of KSTP-1500 and also spent time at KOB-770, where he installed an AM "Synchronous Booster" for KOB, in Santa Fe.

On the TV side, Mark helped develop high-power DBS delivery strategy and early "direct-to-home" DBS marketing. He was a member of the design-review team for early high-power DBS spacecraft plans, and was involved in development work in the CONUS Satellite News-Gathering ("SNG") Control Center. While he spent a lot of time with government and industry advisory committees evaluating DBS and Advanced TV, Mark says: "You know what? It's only Television. AM Radio is much more fun" !

Mark has been a technical author for leading trade journals, created the technical curriculum for industry seminars, and had a hand in developing several technical products in wide use in the broadcast industry. He's a collector of Old Radio shows and broadcast production audio, and spends a lot of time on the road, where he collects station ID's to support John Bowker's habit.

Mark was recently inducted into the Pavek Museum/Minnesota Broadcasters Hall of Fame for his contributions to broadcasting. His DXAS column focuses on Clear-Channel AM broadcasting and on interviews with some of the folks who make our hobby so interesting.

Mark's snail-mail address is: 6400 Barrie Road, Suite 1600 Edina, MN 55435