Latest articles by Charles W. Rhodes
The FCC has a spectrum utilization committee, which is now studying all the test data. When they will finish these studies is not yet known.
I expect the FCC to soon grant permission for LightSquared to proceed with its build-out.
Additional testing set for January was to involve prototypes of GPS receivers and active GPA antennas for commercial aircraft
If my antenna is on my rooftop, everything is probably OK, but if my antenna is indoors, it may pick up enough signal power from a nearby cellphone to block DTV reception.
The FCC suggests that by adopting a Single Frequency Network topology, the present minimum distances allowed between DTV transmitters could be substantially reduced.
It is a little early for ghost stories, but let’s hope single frequency networks don’t come to haunt broadcasters.
Could an SFN support our ATSC standard, or would we have to change our DTV standard to embrace COFDM and thereby obsolete millions of receivers?
The first time I received an e-mail about DTV reception only during daylight hours, I was dubious.
Without any changes to OET-69, the commission could not take up any additional planning criteria such as interference between DTV signals having a channel relationship other that N±1 and N.
By now almost everyone knows the NAB has filed a lawsuit against the FCC over its spectrum auctions TV channel repack.
I have serious concerns about the viability of such a broadcast service.
Our friend reminded us that the day we came was warm and sunny, and when it rains, that channel simply vanishes.
We found that the maximum undesired signal at which these units could perform was between –22.2 dBm for the best box, to –28.7 dBm for the worst.
In addition to DTV sideband splatter into adjacent spectrum, there is another source of noise jamming built into receiving devices that have poor RF selectivity.
While many broadcasters may wish that DTV was not about to replace analog terrestrial broadcasting, that is unrealistic. Broadcast spectrum is going to be reduced dramatically and soon.
My research into DTV-DTV interference resulted in some interesting spectrum plots concerning third-order intermodulation (IM3) products as a source of such interference.
I replaced my 27-inch CRT receiver with a 42-inch plasma panel HDTV display more than a year ago, and I've never regretted doing so.
By all accounts, the IEEE Fall Broadcast Technology Symposium was a success.
