Lee Bowen and the DAWNco D5502

Grays Communications knows this only too well, as we’re a systems integration firm serving clients in a market who expect nothing less than the best. Whether it’s a quick-turnaround design, construction and launching of a network flagship broadcast station, or the retrofitting of an existing facility, we have to be ready to move out in a hurry and ensure that customers have the best equipment. It’s our job to know what’s possible and what isn’t in terms of product quality and availability. We stay abreast of technology, filtering fact from fiction, as the ability to serve our clients and our reputation are based on cost-effective and high-quality products that can be delivered in time to suit a customer’s needs.

One of our recent projects was the construction of a satellite downlink system for KWHY-TV. the Mundo Fox flagship station serving the Los Angeles market. The sat system was designed to receive daily live feeds from Mexico, and as the station relies heavily on these feeds there could be no compromises. We had to supply equipment that was bulletproof, feature-rich and cost-effective, and we had no hesitation in turning to DAWNco to supply this, as our dealings with that company have always been very satisfactory and we know that their products are top of the line.

A VERY FLEXIBLE RECEIVER

For that application, we needed a receiver which could operate with both MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 signals and accept inputs from multiple sources. DAWNco’s D5502 handes both flavors of MPEG, and accepts RF, ASI and even TS/IP inputs. And the receiver outputs available provide even more flexibility—it delivers everything from analog composite and component signals to SD and HD SDI, TS/IP and even HDMI.

We had a tight timeline to get the KWHY-TV satellite system up and running and DAWNco’s ability to deliver the D5502 receiver from stock helped us meet our deadline. DAWNco worked with us every step of the way.

For the KWHY-TV installation, we also needed a 3.7 meter dual-axis motorized antenna, position controller, high-quality LNBs, nonpenetrating roof mount and low-loss cabling. DAWNco delivered these items in a very timely and responsive manner.

As our installation schedule was very hectic, we couldn’t afford any last minute “gotchas” or glitches, and there were none. The project turned out to be plug-and-play at its best, going from opening shipping boxes to a fully operational system in no time at all. We didn’t have time for last-minute frenzied phone calls about missing pieces or units not fitting, and DAWNco took care to ensure that none were needed.

We were pleased and our client was pleased too, and we owe it all to DAWNco and their D5502.

Lee Bowen is a broadcast/sales engineer with La Qunita, Calif.-based Grays Communications. He may be contacted at lbowen@grayscomm.com.

For additional information, contact DAWNco at 248-391-9200 or visit dawnco.com.