RF Technology
Doug Lung is regional vice president of technology for a major station group. Contact him via e-mail at
dlung@transmitter.com.
RF at the 2009 NAB Show - Part 1
by Doug Lung, 07.02.2009
The success of mobile DTV will depend on reliable coverage. More...
Improvements in Propagation Models
by Doug Lung, 05.01.2009
This month, I'll look at an ITU propagation model that could replace Longley-Rice and some major updates to the popular open-source SPLAT! propagation software. More...
Solving VHF DTV Reception Problems
by Doug Lung, 04.23.2009
Many TV stations with high-band VHF analog channels are moving their DTV transmissions to those channels after analog is shut down on June 12. More...
Fixing DTV Coverage Problems
by Doug Lung, 02.10.2009
Low-VHF analog TV stations with UHF DTV channels experienced the biggest loss in DTV coverage. Even with 1,000 kW of effective radiated power, a UHF DTV service area contour usually will not match the low-VHF analog Grade B More...
DTV Transition Survival Guide
by Doug Lung, 01.05.2009
While it's probably too late to make any major changes before the analog shutoff next month, there are steps broadcasters can take to avoid unpleasant surprises. More...
2008 IEEE Broadcast Symposium in Review
by Doug Lung, 12.04.2008
This month, I'll discuss some of the papers presented at the 58th Annual IEEE Broadcast Symposium that focused on TV broadcast RF topics and the U.S. DTV transition. More...
Polarized Power for TV Broadcasting
by Doug Lung, 10.29.2008
Once the decision is made to transmit an elliptical polarized signal, the next decision is how much power to devote to the vertically polarized (v-pol) signal. More...
Circular Elliptical Polarization for TV
by Doug Lung, 10.01.2008
Broadcasters have watched the number of people receiving TV service over the air drop in comparison to the number of people receiving TV over cable or satellite. More...
Analyzing Propagation Models
by Doug Lung, 07.09.2008
One reason the FCC F (50, 50) and F (50, 10) charts have survived so long is that they are based on field measurements throughout the country. More...
TV Receive Antennas
by Doug Lung, 05.01.2008
You shouldn't have to worry about infringing on someone's patent building this antenna. More...
How Well Does High VHF Work for DTV?
by Doug Lung, 04.09.2008
This month I’ll tackle a topic I’ve been thinking about for some time—what will happen on Feb. 18, 2009, when viewers used to receiving their favorite DTV station on UHF with its 1,000 kW ERP find it’s changed to a VHF channel at More...
Running SPLAT On Windows
by Doug Lung, 02.06.2008
Until recently, the only way TV engineers could obtain an accurate terrain-sensitive plot of a station’s coverage was to buy an expensive program or pay a consultant to create the map. Using the open source SPLAT program, any More...
Free and Not-So-Free Maps, Part 1
by Doug Lung, 11.07.2007
Accurate elevation maps are essential when calculating microwave paths over rugged terrain or the impact of mountains, hills and even buildings when predicting TV coverage. More...
DTV in the House, Part 2
by Doug Lung, 10.03.2007
This month, I’ll discuss some ways to achieve higher DTV signal levels. These techniques work without extending the noise-limited contour, thus limiting the interference to other DTV stations. More...