CHICAGO—For more than four decades, Installation Services has been synonymous with RF atop Chicago’s Willis Tower. From early collaboration with the late and esteemed broadcast engineer Jeremy Ruck to coordinating antenna systems and transmission lines to helicopter lifts and structural upgrades, our team has worked on nearly every major broadcast installation on the building since the 1980s.

Most recently, we completed one of the most complex projects in the tower’s history: replacing an aging Dielectric triple-stack antenna system with two new UHF systems serving WLS-TV, WFLD-TV and WMAQ-TV.

The Importance of Advanced Planning
The original triple-stack system dated back to the industry’s digital transition in the late 1990s. It served Chicago viewers well for more than two decades, but evolving operational requirements and long-term infrastructure planning made it time for an upgrade. The new configuration includes a Dielectric TFU double-stacked slot antenna system for WLS-TV and WFLD-TV, along with a separate single-slot antenna UHF installation for WMAQ-TV. Both systems feature vertically polarized design elements to improve building penetration.

Projects of this scale begin long before anything leaves the ground. Planning alone took roughly one year and involved structural analysis, engineering reviews, fabrication work, Federal Aviation Administration and Federal Communications Commission coordination, city approvals and extensive lift planning. On a structure as prominent as Willis Tower, every component must meet rigorous engineering and Chicago building code requirements. Multiple engineering teams and third-party reviewers evaluated every detail to ensure the systems would meet performance expectations for decades to come.

Before installation could begin, we first had to remove the existing 18,500-pound triple-stack antenna system. Using Helicopter Express’ heavy-lift aircraft, we dismantled the legacy system into sections and safely lowered it from the tower. Preparation work included replacing aging hardware with new bolts ahead of the lift to ensure smooth field operations during the critical removal window.

The replacement systems required substantial site preparation as well. We removed and replaced the original top plate assembly atop the tower with a newly engineered structure designed to current standards. That alone required a separate helicopter lift and additional reinforcement work beneath the mounting structure to properly tie everything into the tower.

Once the site was prepared, the real installation work began. The WMAQ-TV installation included a massive, fabricated transition section—what we refer to as the “wedding cake”—which serves as the primary support structure for the antenna above it. We also installed rigid transmission line systems to extend multiple floors down into the transmission facilities below.

The Big Lift
Coordinating the helicopter lifts is one of the most demanding aspects of projects like this. We shut down more than a dozen city streets, halted pedestrian traffic and coordinated with dozens of workers, engineers and public safety personnel. During lift operations, virtually every major TV and FM station on the building had to temporarily power down. It’s an enormous logistical undertaking that started before sunrise and requires precision from everyone involved.

Once the antennas were installed, the work shifted toward final optimization. Our crews spent weeks torquing hardware, verifying structural integrity and preparing the RF systems for operation. Third-party inspectors reviewed the completed work, after which transmission lines were connected and tuned. Dielectric engineers then performed system sweeps and final RF optimization to ensure peak performance across the entire transmission system.

These are extremely high-power broadcast facilities serving one of the nation’s largest television markets, so every detail matters. Seeing the new Dielectric systems successfully installed and operating atop Willis Tower is something that brings tremendous pride to our entire team. Projects like this remind you how much planning, engineering and teamwork go into keeping over-the-air television operating reliably for millions of viewers every day.

For more information, visit Dielectric’s website.

RAYMOND, Maine—Dielectric and Philippines partner 90 Degrees North said they have been working to extend the digital television service for BEAM (Broadcast Enterprises and Affiliated Media) beyond Mega Manila to cover secondary and tertiary cities.

The second phase of the expansion deployed complete ISDB-Tb Powerlite antenna systems with filters and flex transmission line to the major metropolitan regions like Cebu and Davao over the past 18 months, with subsequent shipments to cover the secondary emerging cities of Baguio, Naga, Ilo-ilo, Laguna, Batangas, General Santos and Zamboanga over the past year.

Dielectric also reported that it has now shipped Powerlite turnkey antenna systems for 2.4 kW to 5 kW low-power sites in the cities of Legazpi and Cagayan De Oro, bringing the third phase of the project closer to completion. Once installed and commissioned, BEAM will officially strengthen DTV service in Southern Luzon complementary to Naga, and offer DTV service to Northern Mindanao.

In addition, the two companies reported that BEAM’s DTV network expansion will continue as its programming extends into new cities, marking a fourth phase of the project.

90 Degrees North owner John Achilles “Achie” Denna said the network will reach up to 30 cities by the end of this phase, which will be completed in mid-to-late December.

“These are full-service projects that begin with RF network planning and constructing new or rehabilitating existing cabins/shelters. That is followed by electrical system installation, retrofitting of towers, and then installing transmitters and filters in the shelters,” said Achie Denna, who adds that site development accounts for “60 to 70%” of each project. “Dielectric has been nothing short of exceptional with aligning their manufacturing and delivery timelines to my installation schedules, which conclude with running line, adding antenna mounts and support, and installing the antennas.”

The project started in 2018 with the Mega Manila system, anchored by a TFU-WB UHF antenna for the UHF Channel 31 single-frequency network (SFN), with low-power DLP and TLP single-channel antennas filling out the flagship network. BEAM relays programming from Mega Manila to UHF Channel 31 frequencies in Cebu, Davao and Zamboanga; Channel 26 in Baguio and Iloilo; and Channel 32 in Naga. The General Santos transmission operates on Channel 51 with Dielectric Powerlite TLP antennas to radiate signals.

“With assistance from our partners at PROGIRA and using their market-leading RF Network Planning Software, we have optimized coverage patterns and areas, performance and efficiency through three specific design elements,” said Cory Edwards, OEM, distribution and Southeast Asia sales manager at Dielectric. “All antenna designs feature elliptical polarization to improve ISDB-Tb penetration into buildings and homes, the majority of which have concrete metal roofing. That added vertical element also strengthens coverage to mobile devices. We chose slotted antenna designs to reduce tower loads and streamline installation, and provided simple tunable coaxial filter designs with patch panels, components and loads that fit comfortably next to the transmitters. That is especially important in shelters that share rental space.”

Achie Denna added that Dielectric’s market share in the Philippines continues to rise as the country’s DTV transition moves forward, which includes a nearly wholesale shift from VHF to UHF frequencies. “Dielectric has captured approximately 35-40 percent of the digital TV transition business here in the Philippines to date, and we expect the DTV transition to continue through the year 2030," he said.

More information can be accessed at www.dielectric.com.

RAYMOND, Me.—Dielectric will focus attention during the 2025 NAB Show, April 5-9, at the Las Vegas Convention Center on its recent innovations for the future of NextGen TV as broadcasters advance towards a day in which ATSC 3.0 single frequency networks (SFNs) play an important role in supporting over-the-air TV and data distribution opportunities.

The company will showcase products developed for modern FR systems that are similar to the company’s recent work in the scientific community where RF technology is under study in meeting global energy needs. These applications use passive RF components similar to a broadcast transmission infrastructure, including amplifiers, transmission line, components and antennas — with some key differences, the company said.

Dielectric engineers used many decades of broadcast design experience to advance the company’s RF innovations to drive efficiency and performance improvements for the scientific community. In the future, these advances may similarly yield efficiency and new designs for the broadcaster, it said.

“Our RF design innovations are adaptable to the broadcast and scientific markets. We’ve been able to capitalize on those fundamental design affinities by offering similar yet unique design solutions for both markets.,” said Dielectric president Keith Pelletier.

“For example, high-power UHF television systems typically require coaxial transmission lines between four and eight inches in diameter,” he said. “In comparison, we are producing 12-inch coax for energy plants, using similar techniques to efficiently manage and dissipate the heat that is produced as signals move through the transmission lines. The similarities between the broadcast and scientific designs are beneficial to both markets.”

At the show, Dielectric will demonstrate its reconfigurable manifold combiners for TV master antenna systems, along with its complete range of broadband antennas for ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 systems. The latter includes low- to medium-power antennas built to serve SFN market configurations. Dielectric will also add two models to its OptiLoad series, expanding its modernized RF protection system solution to a broader set of broadcast customers.

See Dielectric at NAB Show booth W3000.

More information is available on the company’s website.

Seeking a bigger presence in Canada, antenna and RF product manufacturer Dielectric has announced a partnership with Pippin Technical Service.

“PTS will initially represent Dielectric throughout Western Canada, covering four provinces (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia) as well as Yukon and Northwest Territories to the north, with an emphasis on increasing Dielectric’s brand recognition and market share for FM radio,” the manufacturer said in the announcement.

The announcement was made by PTS President and CEO Tyler Everitt and Dielectric International Sales Manager Daniel Bizet.

Everitt was quoted: “We see a lot of opportunity for the FM replacement market in our immediate future. These projects typically begin with the transmitter and soon extend into the rest of the RF infrastructure. That means new combiners, filters and antennas, as well as the opportunities to modularly build onto existing systems as new frequencies are added.”

He also said, “ATSC 3.0 is causing some renewed interest in digital TV opportunities throughout Canada.”

This article first appeared on TV Tech sister brand Radio World.

RAYMOND, Maine—Longtime sales leader Christine Zuba has retired from Dielectric, concluding an impressive 49-year career that genuinely broke barriers. Michael Sharpstene, who joined the company in January in preparation for Zuba’s departure, officially steps into Zuba’s longtime role as the dedicated Regional Sales Manager on July 1.

Zuba’s broadcast career began on the station level as a college intern with WVIA-TV, a PBS member station serving the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre market in northeast Pennsylvania. She soon transferred to Penn State University as an electrical engineering major, with the combined experiences setting the stage for a broadcast career. She joined RCA upon graduating, accepting an engineering role in the company’s antenna division. She briefly left the company, gaining experience in cellular radio and broadcast consulting before rejoining RCA’s antenna division.

Dielectric acquired RCA in 1986 and Zuba held roles of increasing responsibility in engineering and product management before accepting the Director of Sales and Marketing role in 1989. Five years later she became National Sales Manager —  a role that she has held since — standing apart from most field sales specialists thanks to her advanced technical knowledge of complex RF systems.

That expertise, combined with her exceptional relationship building skills, is a big reason why Dielectric enjoys most of the US high-power TV market share.

“I never really wanted to be in sales,” shares Zuba, “yet it is one of the best decisions I have made. I always enjoyed the challenge of listening to customers, learning the unique parameters of their projects, and with our engineers, developing concepts that solve problems and address their needs. The triple-stack antenna we produced for installation atop the Sears Tower in Chicago during the US DTV conversion is a prime example.”

As she prepared for her final week, Zuba shared that her customers are in excellent hands with Sharpstene, also an experienced customer-facing professional. “I am really excited about all the people we have at Dielectric today,” she said. “Broadcast Antenna and RF inaccurately carries a reputation as a dinosaur full of aging people set in their ways. Dielectric has many long-time employees with years of experience who continue to innovate, and they are finding new inspiration in the many young, talented engineers who have joined Dielectric over the last 10 years. This is a company that continues to come up with new ideas and designs that challenge the broadcast industry’s modus operandi.”

Dielectric welcomed Zuba to Maine last month for a retirement celebration that saw the entire company and others join in to show their appreciation. Zuba looks forward to spending more time with her family including her grandson and her partner, and hobbies including golf, travel and time by the pool. “I thank Dielectric and my customers for the support they’ve shown me during professional and personal changes in my life,” she adds.

“We have had the luxury of calling many industry leaders and influencers longtime employees at Dielectric, and we are grateful that a true broadcast lifer such as Christine elected to spend nearly her entire broadcast career with us,” said Pelletier. “Our customers are grateful too. We will all miss her contributions and her dynamic presence at our NAB booth, industry events, in-person business meetings and conference calls. She may be signing off the air, but her station isn’t going dark; it’s just being repacked to a new channel assignment in the retirement spectrum. We wish her the best.”

LARGO, Fla.—Christian Television Network (CTN) operates 24 television stations throughout the United States. As director of engineering, my responsibilities cover all areas of the technical infrastructure for each station, including all RF facilities and systems. 

Preparing for an ATSC 3.0 future is one of our top initiatives group-wide and is keeping us very active on the RF side of the equation. We recently installed three new Dielectric antennas at WCLF-TV in Clearwater, and WFGC-TV in Palm Beach, both in Florida, as well as WHNO-TV in New Orleans as part of our ATSC 3.0 deployments. 

Power for NextGen TV
Substantial power increases were approved for all three stations, with WCLF and WHNO (both UHF stations) increasing to 1MW ERP and WFGC, a VHF station, increasing to 65kW ERP. All three stations were also relocated to new tower sites, adding another layer of complexity to already challenging timelines. 

WFGC was relocated from UHF Channel 49 to VHF Channel 7 during the spectrum repack, and we added a new Dielectric VHF antenna on our previous tower once we landed on our new frequency. That antenna was optimized for horizontal polarization per our choice, but we later realized that a vertically polarized antenna would provide better coverage in the market. 

We  ordered a new Dielectric THV Series antenna that was well-timed with our tower relocation. This time we made sure to add a V-Pol element to improve our ATSC 3.0 coverage. Our expanded coverage area also benefits from a much higher tower position, moving from 450 feet to 1150 feet. The difference has been enormous, and we are now maximizing our market coverage from Vero Beach south through into Miami, while also seeing major improvements in building penetration.

Maximized Coverage
Our THV Series antenna is a simple five-layer antenna design that radiates with a peanut-shaped azimuth pattern in alignment with our coverage requirements. Dielectric added a null to the back of the antenna to protect the signal from radiating over the Atlantic Ocean. The special azimuth null design includes specially designed fins that are mounted to the antenna, and these fins ultimately play an important role in shaping the direction of the signal.

WCLF-TV, which covers the Tampa Bay market on UHF Channel 21, has enjoyed the biggest coverage increase since installing our new TFU-26EST-R C220 antenna in late 2023, nearly doubling our ERP. This allows us to reach viewers northeast of Tampa and out toward the Orlando region—areas we couldn’t reach with our previous ERP.

We exclusively use Dielectric antennas across our network, and, as anticipated, the performance of our three new sticks are rock-solid. I swept all the systems at the time they went to air and followed with a second sweep at each site 90 days later. The results were identical, with no discernable difference in performance and no challenges with reflected power.

Our relocation to new tower sites essentially required a complete refresh of the RF infrastructure for each station, and we additionally sourced our filters, transmission line and other RF components where necessary. Dielectric’s ability to manufacture and deliver antennas and RF systems within tight deadlines assured that we had our new systems in time for our tower moves, and allowed us to meet our goal of having all systems up and running by the end of 2023.

Hugh Allegood oversees engineering for all CTN stations as director of engineering and RF systems engineer.

For more information on Dielectric, visit www.dielectric.com.

This month I’ll focus on what I saw on the exhibit floor at NAB Show. This isn’t a comprehensive overview of all the RF and transmission exhibits and show news—other articles in TV Tech do that well. Instead, I’ll be looking at a few exhibits I found interesting. Next month I’ll discuss other RF technology topics from the show, including BPS and 5G Broadcast.

Rohde & Schwarz
Many broadcasters purchased Rohde & Schwarz THU-9 transmitters during and after the repack, so I wasn’t surprised that Rohde’s unveiling of its new UHF TV transmitter, the TE1, attracted a large crowd Monday afternoon despite its location in the South Hall, far away from other transmitter and distribution exhibits.

Some of the changes are apparent looking at the transmitter. Unlike the THU9, which was designed for worldwide use, the TE1 was designed specifically for the U.S. market where higher power transmitters are required. The exciters mount horizontally in the rack, allowing up to 14 amplifiers per cabinet and increasing the per-cabinet output power to 24.5 kW. Looking at the back of the transmitter, you can see the changes in the combiner output and load. 

Also, the power input is now at the top of the cabinet, cleaning up the wiring on the right side (from the rear) power distribution panel. (The colorful LED cabinet lighting in the photo is not available as an option.) 

The exciter includes the ATSC 3.0 modulator—a separate SDE-900 unit is not required. Reflecting the TE1 North American market focus, the specifications show ATSC and ATSC 3.0 as the only supported standards. The product brochure says it is “Prepared for 5G Broadcast.” 

End-to-End ATSC 3.0 Transmission System
Anywave showed a complete ATSC 3.0 signal chain that will make it easy for broadcasters, particularly LPTVs, to switch to ATSC 3.0. It includes the encoder, gateway and scheduler, and exciter. 

A key feature of the gateway/scheduler is a custom design using FPGAs rather than software running on a server. This enables a complete ATSC 3.0 encoder, gateway/scheduler and exciter in three rack units of space to consume a fraction of the power required for a server-based system. 

Their AW9200 Exciter+ can be configured for use as a translator for ATSC 3.0 with a gateway option that allows modification of signaling at the translator site without additional gateways.

Smart Dummy Load
As transmitters become more efficient, engineers are taking a closer look at the power consumed by dummy loads in systems with multiple transmitter cabinets. When one of the cabinets shuts down, the combiner becomes unbalanced. 

In a two-cabinet system, this results in half the remaining power going into a reject load. This doesn’t happen that often, so any power used to cool the dummy load while both cabinets are operating normally is wasted. 

Dielectric’s solution is the “OptiLoad,” which turns on the cooling pumps only when required. This is more complicated than it sounds. If the reject load fails, it will shut down the entire transmitter. Worse, if it fails to shut down the transmitter and a cabinet fails, the coolant pressure and steam generated by the load can cause a mess before the reflected power takes down the transmitter. The OptiLoad includes RF sensors and other features designed to prevent such disasters. 

Simplifying ATSC 3.0 Station Configuration
Most ATSC 3.0 stations set their modulation and coding and PLP configura-tions once and don’t change them. Triveni showed its “Station Manager,” which makes setting, storing and restoring ATSC 3.0 configurations easier. 

Anyone who has looked at the ATSC 3.0 standard knows there are an almost infinite number of configurations available. Changing one parameter can require changing another parameter to maintain a legal ATSC 3.0 stream. The Station Manager interface makes this easier. 

I can also see how Station Manager could become an important part of the broadcast core network, which will allow broadcasters to offer excess data capacity for other uses, such is IoT. This will likely require participating broadcasters to change their transmission parameters to accommodate demand for data delivery with different bandwidth and robustness requirements. 

Broadcast Positioning Service Solution
Many engineers see the ATSC 3.0 Broadcast Positioning Service (BPS) as a key driver of ATSC 3.0 support from the government and perhaps device manufacturers as well. I’ve discussed BPS before and will have more on it next month, but wanted to highlight one product that will make it easier for broadcasters to add BPS capability to their transmission systems. Stations that want to transmit BPS signals will need to precisely time the transmission of the ATSC 3.0 bootstrap. 

The Avateq AVQ-1050 consists of a BPS receiver and a BPS synchronizer, which together compare the received signal with a reference clock and adjust the transmission time to make it a stable, precise time source. It can directly control the transmission time from a Rohde & Schwarz exciter without connection to the gateway and scheduler, which may not be located at the transmitter site. 

ATSC 3.0 for Legacy Cable Systems
As the transition to ATSC 3.0 progresses, there will be a need for cable companies to receive ATSC 3.0 signals. While the ideal scenario would be for the cable companies to deliver a stream that enables most of the ATSC 3.0 features, during the transition, they will need to convert the ATSC 3.0 to a form that will work with their existing set-top boxes. 

To that end, the Sencore TXS3800 ATSC 3.0 to ATSC 1.0 transcoder can provide decryption and transcode video and audio from ATSC 3.0 to ATSC 1.0 formats in an ATSC 1.0 transport stream. 

NextGen-Compliant Dongles
I was happy to see several low-cost set-top box devices displayed in the ATSC booth that support A3SA content protection. However, I’m still looking for an ATSC 3.0 NextGen-compliant tuner I can plug into a USB port of my laptop to view ATSC 3.0 protected content on the road.

Dongles have been available for a few years, but none made it to the consumer market and none I’ve found support A3SA content protection. It doesn’t appear that will happen soon, but after seeing compliant set-top boxes based on Android TV, perhaps it will be possible to create an ATSC 3.0 dongle that will work with Widevine-enabled Android tablets. ATSC 3.0 has many advantages when it comes to mobility so I expect there would be demand for portable ATSC 3.0 receivers, especially in areas prone to hurricanes and other natural disasters. l

As always, your comments and questions are welcome. Email me at dlung@transmitter.com. 

With ATSC 3.0 (aka “NextGen TV) now reaching approximately 75% of U.S. households, emphasis at the 2024 NAB Show will be on refinements and new applications for the advanced broadcast format—the most visible being HDR (high dynamic range).

“We’re expecting broadcasters to begin ‘taking the new car for a drive,’ with the expansion of high dynamic range programming to show viewers one of the key advantages of the new service—exceptional video that is matched with the Dolby audio system,” said ATSC President Madeleine Noland.

“We’re calling this ‘the year of HDR’ because a lot of stations have received, or will receive, permission to scale services into High Dynamic Range,” added Dave Folsom, Pearl TV group’s engineering lead. “At least two encoder manufacturers can now do this scaling, and that will make the service better. In most locations it will be provided as a 1080p service.”

Mark Aitken, senior vice president of advanced technology at Sinclair Broadcast Group, also weighed on the addition of high dynamic range.

“HDR is very significant, and one of the promises of the ATSC 3.0 standard is better television for America’s living rooms,” said Aitken. “It was the focus of the ATSC at this year’s CES. CBS’s delivery of the February Super Bowl LVIII in HDR should spur others to add this enhancement to their ATSC 3.0 transmissions and I expect to see announcements from other networks,” said Aitken, noting that HDR is nothing new at Sinclair. “We’ve been broadcasting HDR 24/7 at all of our stations with ATSC 3.0. Some 40 Sinclair stations are on the air with Advanced HDR by Technicolor.”

Seeing is Believing
West Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center will host most of the 3.0 exhibitors and perhaps the best first stop for attendees interested in 3.0 is the ATSC booth (W3056).

“We plan to showcase both the NextGen TV sets and also upgrade accessory receivers at the NAB Show to make sure broadcasters are aware of the variety of set-top devices coming for consumers,” said Noland. “Already, consumers have their choice of NextGen TV-certified and security-verified receiving devices from ADTH and Zinwell.”

“There are a lot of standalone devices now available to enable NextGen TV reception with legacy receivers,” added Pearl’s Folsom. “All modern TV sets have HDMI input capability, so when a conversion device is added the user can painlessly switch between ATSC 1.0 and 3.0. This should go a long way to greasing the skids to full adoption.”

Aitken says Sinclair will also have an exhibits-area presence at the show with ATSC, and both an “on-floor suite” not far from  the ATSC booth, and a Wynn suite, both demonstrating ATSC 3.0 datacasting. He also promised some surprise announcements at the show on recent major datacasting developments.

Additional Space for 3.0
Aitken says he hopes there is news from the NAB Show on a date for sunsetting 1.0, giving broadcasters more bandwidth to roll out the full inventory of audio, video and data enhancements that are part of 3.0.

“I believe there’s good progress being made in the Future of Television Initiative [dealing with ATSC 1.0 switch-off and other 3.0 transition issues] within the industry, with the NAB playing a key role and the FCC and other regulatory bodies coming to an understanding of the nature of what has to happen in order to jettison the first stage of this rocket, ignite the second stage, and be securely in orbit,” Aitken added.

Anne Schelle, Pearl TV’s managing director, spotlighted another big NextGen TV development — “Run3 TV—that will be featured at the NAB Show.

“Run 3 is a powerful middleware solution that acts as an abstraction layer, simplifying the complex process of developing and deploying NextGen TV applications across varying operating systems and devices,” said Schelle, adding that it will allow broadcasters to reach wider audiences with more efficiency and less technical overhead.

“At the 2024 NAB show, developers such as Velope, Playanywhere, Gameloop, and Roxi will showcase the innovative applications and capabilities enabled by Run3TV, highlighting the platform’s role in driving the future of interactive TV,” Schelle added.

New NextGen TV Hardware
Along with the new and updated 3.0 applications, manufacturers have been busy developing new products to show on the exhibit floor.

Heading the lineup of new transmitters for ATSC 3.0 is the new E-Compact EC600HP-BB3 series from Hitachi-Comark, optimized for LPTV/MPTV replacements and ATSC 3.0 SFN deployments, according to Joe Turbolski, Hitachi-Comark’s vice president of sales and marketing. 

GatesAir will launch its Maxiva VLXTE-OP, “which essentially rounds out the top end of the Maxiva family for ATSC 3.0 transmission,” said Steve Rossiter, GatesAir TV systems applications engineer.

Although details weren’t fully available at press time, Rohde & Schwarz is also promising a new transmitter launch. “Rhode & Schwarz has developed a new and next-generation ATSC 3.0-native transmitter that embraces the liquid-cooled design and legacy while enabling operators to maximize their efficiency at minimized operational cost,” said Manfred Reitmeier, R&S’s vice president of broadcast and amplifier systems.“

Dielectric President Keith Pelletier says the company will show their latest antenna offerings, including the Powerlite TFU-WB-LP series. “Dielectric has spent the last several years building out its portfolio of ATSC 3.0 solutions,” he said. “We are 95% there in terms of filling out the entire product line, which will essentially allow us to serve any ATSC 3.0 requirements. Dielectric expects to fill in some final gaps with new models at NAB 2024.”

Attendees will also want to check out Harmonic’s XOS media processor and cloud-based VOS 360 Media SaaS offerings. “These feature a unique cloud-native common software foundation and next-gen media processing technology,” said Jing Zhou, Harmonic’s director of broadcast solutions. “They enable broadcasters to deliver ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 services simultaneously and efficiently, with feature enhancements including AI-powered video compression and quality optimization, simplified SDR/HDR conversions, and more.”

Also, look for Sencore’s new AG 2700 for monitoring of both ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 OTA signals. It provides ASI and IP outputs signals, and includes SNMP functionality.

These new product offerings only represent a small sampling of NextGen TV technologies that will be on display at the 2024 NAB Show. 

NextGen TV Educational Opportunities
In addition to tire-kicking and networking opportunities at exhibitor’s booths, you’ll also want to take advantage of the large number of presentations being offered on ATSC 3.0 television. These are part of the BEIT (Broadcast Engineering and IT) sessions featured Saturday through Tuesday at the 2024 NAB Show.

Presentations will cover advanced emergency alerting, ATSC 3.0 television translators, use of ATSC 3.0 transmissions for positioning systems, converging ATSC 3.0 and 5G technologies, offloading of video streaming content via NextGen TV and more.

Of particular interest to broadcasters is the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society’s Saturday afternoon presentation, “ATSC 3.0 Business Case and Monetization,” focusing on creating additional revenue streams for stations. According to the session organizers, such topics as the delivery of audio (radio) services via ATSC 3.0, targeted advertising, use of geo-localized datacasting, and delivery of ATSC 3.0 enhancements through the use of virtual (Internet-delivered) channels will all be included.

Paul Shulins, IEEE BTS president and president of the Shulins Solutions consulting firm, terms this session a “must-attend” event. 

“Broadcasters today have many different options to generate revenue besides the traditional advertising dollars,” said Shulins. “Thanks to ATSC 3.0 this session will showcase several new creative concepts for monetizing your data capacity.”

Another session explores a relatively new ATSC 3.0 technology, “core networks,” which will provide delivery of television services and data across multiple TV transmission facilities in multiple markets.

“The ATSC 3.0 Broadcast Core Networks: Serving diverse use-cases across a heterogeneous broadcast and supplier ecosystem,” Tuesday afternoon panel discussion will be moderated by Spectra Rep COO y the chief operating officer at Spectra Rep, John McCoskey.

“Broadcast core networks connect broadcasters, end-user service providers, and virtualized network infrastructure providers and enable data-centric businesses using ATSC 3.0,” McCoskey. “Don’t miss this session if you are interested in learning about the role, value, and importance of broadcast core networks as a critical part of the ATSC 3.0 broadcast ecosystem.”

For a complete listing of BEIT ATSC 3.0-related sessions and times, visit https://nabshow.com/2024/learn/conferences/broadcast-engineering

RAYMOND, Maine—At the 2024 NAB Show, Dielectric plans to unveil a new green, cost-reducing load solution featuring a closed-loop cooling system, protecting RF System components from failures that can cause extensive harm to the transmission system and shelter. 

OptiLoad uses programmable logic controls (PLCs) to sense rising RF power and temperature levels, awakening the system to take action, according to the company. OptiLoad’s PLCs also monitor the health of the demand-driven circulator pumps and fans that are activated to address RF flow and temperature rises.

The OptiLoad design includes a water column load that Dielectric has offered for two decades, with more than 5000 units shipped worldwide. Using the water column load as a building block, Dielectric has added a built-in heat exchanger responsive to PLC activations. The water column load can run without coolant flow or fans activated with powers up to 5kW. This ensures plenty of headroom when RF is detected and the coolant and fans start to operate prior to the load seeing 5kW.

The entire SNMP-enabled system is centralized to a compact cabinet with wheels that can be located quietly in the corner, and easily be moved to a new space in the facility as transmission systems are redesigned. The SNMP functionality will allow the transmitter to do a daily handshake. If that handshake does not occur the station will be notified to prevent failures.

“OptiLoad’s modern design is a true convergence of passive RF equipment, electronics and sensing that was brought to life by our engineering team,” said Keith Pelletier, President, Dielectric. “It speaks volumes to the future of the RF business. For our customers, it addresses the all-too-frequent failures in the RF chains and a peace of mind that they have a solution that they do not need to worry about. The OptiLoad was customer-driven and we listened to their concerns about reliability and required features.”

Pelletier explains the importance of the passive RF load and a closed loop system in the design of the OptiLoad.  This will prevent the coolant from getting contaminated and causing failures within the load that would eventually cause failures in the RF plumbing to the combining system.  Once the load fails, other components will as well if not caught soon enough. “Once the coolant  stops working or is no longer flowing through the pipes, failures and damage are imminent. Entire systems must be replaced in some cases, and cleanup services may be required to remove coolant from the floors. It can quickly turn very expensive.”

The OptiLoad can be used in multiple scenarios. For high-power TV systems, OptiLoad assumes the role of load solution for the transmitter combining rack. In this scenario, the typical RF power moving to the load is very small or non-existent. “OptiLoad brings value here because when amplifiers in a transmitter rack fail, it causes a power increase to the load,” said Pelletier. “The more amplifiers that fail, the higher the amount of RF power within the load.”

In traditional RF TV systems, the standalone load requires the consistent flow of coolant moving through the system to prevent catastrophic failure.  OptiLoad’s logic controls only apply power to the fans, releasing coolant flows through the load as required. This makes OptiLoad a very green solution, as the load remains turned off 95 percent of the time. When a power imbalance occurs, OptiLoad protects the entire RF chain until the amplifiers can be replaced or repaired.  Once repaired, OptiLoad goes dormant until called upon again, according to Dielectric.

OptiLoad is also ideal as a RF troubleshooting tool. In this second scenario, engineers can use OptiLoad as a station load when they need to test the transmitter or isolate the transmission line and antenna to identify and solve a problem. Same as the first scenario, OptiLoad only awakens and ramps up to full power if the load is being utilized, offsetting electricity costs and reducing power bills for the broadcaster.

OptiLoad further protects the broadcaster’s RF investment through several operating modes, the company said. It will transition to standby mode without RF power present when coolant temperatures are less than 130 degrees. OptiLoad initiates flow from the high-efficiency circulator pump when temperatures land between 130 and 150 degrees; fans are activated when the temperature rises from there.

“OptiLoad turns on the moment it senses the presence of RF, and ramps up from there utilizing variable speed fans and adjusting coolant flow rates,” said Pelletier. “This is the first system of its kind to recognize the presence of RF, which simply makes it the safest choice for protection in the market. As a closed-loop system, the coolant circulates strictly within OptiLoad to keep the liquid fresh. We have also simplified the overall design, favoring a minimal number of connections to ensure the coolant lines run consistently and without failure. We have essentially eliminated all leak points and addressed all necessary activations for system protection to ensure RF shelter floors remain dry and the passive RF parts remain intact for future use.”

The 2024 NAB Show takes place April 14-17 in Las Vegas. Dielectric will be in Booth W333 in the West Hall of the LVCC. 

RAYMOND, Maine—Dielectric has appointed industry veteran Michael Sharpstene as national sales manager effective immediately. He will report to vice president of sales Jay Martin. In the new post, Sharpstene will oversee all Dielectric U.S. sales and business development responsibilities east of the Mississippi following the retirement of Christine Zuba. He will work closely with Zuba and her customers over the next six months to ensure a seamless transition.

Sharpstene joins Dielectric from SCMS, a manufacturer’s representative and solutions provider serving the global broadcast industry. His journey in the broadcast industry started at SCMS in 2010, where he was responsible for office management and the creation and launch of SCMS’ lucrative e-commerce site. These responsibilities led to more customer interactions over the years, which allowed Sharpstene to develop strong relationships with a wide range of SCMS customers, including broadcast engineers working for TV and radio stations and groups. 

Sharpstene’s experience allows him to effectively leverage his existing industry relationships and develop new ones on behalf of Dielectric, while his knowledge of broadcast technology gained at SCMS provides him with the technical expertise required to help customers identify the right RF solutions, the company said. 

“SCMS represents more than 400 manufacturers, which, along with my military experience that included working with RF and satellite equipment, has helped me establish a very strong understanding of the broadcast industry and its technology ecosystem,” said Sharpstene. “That experience, combined with my customer service skills, well-prepare me for the opportunity to help Dielectric’s radio and TV customers with the best solution while evaluating antennas, filters and other RF products for their broadcast systems.”

Sharpstene said that he is especially excited to introduce Dielectric’s more recent innovations in RF monitoring (RFHAWKEYE) and analytics (Apollo) to his customers, which he believes completely differentiates the company from competitors. “This is all about providing next-level information and peace of mind for broadcasters, and it’s something that many stations don’t have in their toolboxes today,” he said. “We see a lot of opportunity for this technology moving forward.” 

“We thought long and hard about who could best fill Christine’s shoes following her retirement, and Michael quickly rose to the top of our list of candidates based on his diverse experiences gained over nearly 15 years at SCMS,” said Martin. “He joins Dielectric at a critical juncture for the broadcast industry where TV stations are starting to plan their future ATSC 3.0 network designs and radio stations are investing in higher efficiency RF systems that include next-generation antennas. We welcome Michael to the team and look forward to his contributions for years to come.”

MONTGOMERY, Ala.—Alabama Public Television (APT) is at work on a complete RF upgrade to its terrestrial TV network with the assistance of Technical Services Group (TSG) in Baton Rouge, La., to position itself for ATSC 3.0 service.

“We don’t know when [APT will launch 3.0 service], but we will hit the ground running once our NextGen TV plans come to fruition,” said Windell Wood, APT director of engineering.

TSG will install GatesAir Maxiva VAXTE air-cooled VHF transmitters at two stations and a Dielectric TFI top-mounted UHF antenna at another. Deployments are expected to begin in the fall, TSG said.

The new transmitters will replace legacy Harris Platinum VHF transmitters at WBIQ-DT in Birmingham, Ala., and WDIQ-DT in Dozier, Ala. Maxiva XTE exciters will be integrated into the units for quick conversion to 3.0. The VAXTE for WBIQ was specified to support an approved power increase for ATSC 1.0 and future 3.0 coverage improvements, raising WBIQ’s ERP from 3kW to 3.4kW, it said.

TSG CEO Bo Hoover worked closely with the GatesAir engineering team to specify the VAXTE design for WBIQ’s power increase, which required proper alignment with a previously installed Dielectric antenna.

“The FCC locks WBIQ into a lower power level to avoid interference with Channel 9, which makes indoor reception a challenge,” said Hoover. “Through the approved power increase and an elliptically polarized antenna, we were able to specify a system that improves ground coverage for both ATSC standards.”

WDIQ will continue transmitting at 30kW. Both statins broadcast on VHF Channel 10, it said.

WIIQ-DT, which serves Meridian, Miss., will replace its decades-old antenna transmitting on Channel 19 with a new Dielectric antenna. The new antenna will add substantial vertical polarization to improve indoor reception of both 1.0 and NextGen TV services, it said.

Dielectric’s Future Fill technology is built into the antenna. It will allow WIIQ to support ATSC 3.0 services through a simple increase to the antenna’s null fill, smoothing out the antenna for uniform NextGen TV coverage, it said.

TSG is providing initial system design and specification services and will decommission existing systems. It also is procuring equipment and will test, commission and proof the systems, said Hoover.

The final RF system upgrades follow TSG’s buildout of APT's new statewide 3.0-ready microwave distribution system and transmission system upgrades at several RF sites. Following these final RF upgrades, APT’s entire nine-station network will be capable of delivering NextGen TV content, TSG said.

“TSG’s exceptional work on our microwave system enable[s] the IP system architecture required for ATSC 3.0, and all nine of our stations will soon have antennas with approximately 30 percent vertical polarization. That, along with new high-efficiency transmitters, will provide a robust and reliable ATSC 3.0 capable transmission network for our stations well into the future,” said Wood.

All nine stations will use GatesAir transmitters and Dielectric antennas once installations are finalized.

“We only have seven field engineers throughout the state to take care of nine TV transmitters and 30 microwave sites, among other responsibilities,” said Wood. 

“GatesAir Maxiva UHF and VHF transmitters are very similar in construct with modular designs and common parts that make maintenance easy. There are no surprises for our engineers from site to site. And Dielectric’s antennas are very well-built and engineered. We have had other antennas burn up in the field that required emergency replacement work. That doesn’t happen with Dielectric.”

Wood is currently exploring the addition of a 10th TV station on the network, which would be APT’s first low-band VHF station on the network.

More information is available on the GatesAir, Dielectric and TSG websites.

Dielectric has appointed Nicole Starrett to the position of director of electrical engineering. She will direct a team of engineers and technicians and manage coordination between Dielectric’s Antenna and RF Systems departments.

Starrett reports to Vice President of Engineering John Schadler.

“Nicole has proven her capabilities over the years to design solutions that directly benefit our customers as well as a healthy bottom line for the company,” Schadler said. “We look forward to Nicole’s contributions in a well-deserved role that applies her talents across a broader set of management and engineering responsibilities.”

The company said Starrett has played an instrumental role in transitioning Dielectric to more efficient design and production processes since joining the company nine years ago. Her implementation of software-based antenna design accelerated production schedules from weeks to days and increased operational efficiencies—both of which paid dividends through the busy spectrum repack period.

Starrett is also responsible for the original work and modeling for Dielectric’s new broadband pylon antenna. She was active in the simulation and development of two Dielectric products—the DCRU high-power multi-station FM antenna and the APT panel TV antenna with its variable vertical component.

RAYMOND, Maine—Dielectric will introduce its first top-mounted, free-standing UHF broadband pylon antenna at NAB Show 2023 next week, building on more than 15 years of field-proven Dielectric broadband technology with new patent-pending design innovations, the company reported.

“Broadband panel antenna systems require higher part counts, external feedlines, and  more connection points for installation than pylon systems,” said Keith Pelletier, president and general manager, Dielectric. “That complexity increases wind load and reduces system reliability, which increases field maintenance and repairs. Our new generation of UHF broadband pylon antennas enable the coveted top-position on the tower and ensure excellent circularity, made possible by utilizing multiple techniques developed over the past few decades by Dielectric’s engineering team.”

Broadband pylon antennas bring exceptional bandwidth, performance and pattern flexibility to broadcasters. However, they have traditionally been offered as side-mounted solutions due to structural hindrances that compromise the pylon from being self-supporting, the company explained. 

New for NAB, Dielectric has engineered a structurally-sound, broadband pylon design for top-mounted configurations without sacrificing horizontal and vertical pattern circularity, bandwidth characteristics, and elevation pattern gain.

The breakthrough was made possible through Dielectric’s work developing top-mounted, stacked antenna systems and combining that knowledge with techniques used for side-mounted broadband pylons. The result is a free-standing, high-efficiency pylon alternative to top-mounted panel antennas. The new slotted coaxial design supports up to 10 UHF channels while reducing wind load and footprint on broadcast towers, Dielectric reported.  

Available immediately, Dielectric has already shipped two UHF broadband pylon antenna systems to broadcasters in Omaha, Nebraska and El Paso, Texas. In addition to high-power panel replacement opportunities, Pelletier sees strong opportunity for NextGen TV deployments over the coming several years. 

“These are attractive designs for higher power applications with multiple stations, and will typically accommodate input power ratings of 60 to 120 kilowatts,” he said. “That makes it perfect as the main antenna for an ATSC 3.0 SFN network, and is otherwise an ideal replacement choice for panel antennas in the field that are nearing end of life, or have become increasingly expensive to maintain.”

Dielectric exhibits at Booth W3601 at the Las Vegas Convention Center during the 2023 NAB Show beginning April 16.

RAYMOND, Maine—Dielectric is using the 2023 NAB Show to mark the debut of its new Apollo advanced analytics platform. Apollo is designed to help TV and radio engineers take quick and decisive action on current problems, and take preventative actions that eliminate potentially disastrous situations in the future.

Apollo—which Dielectric previewed at the 2022 NAB Show—accurately detects anomalies in RF systems for TV and FM broadcasters, the company said. The advanced analytical software is an extension of RFHAWKEYE, Dielectric’s IP-based remote RF monitoring solution. RFHAWKEYE’s software suite integrates Apollo to help users quickly analyze and formulate site data into actionable reports. These reports can be customized to prioritize important system information and performance trends over selectable time periods.

Apollo brings a managed services offering to their portfolio. Dielectric will house Apollo in its new network operations center (NOC) and provide reports to customers on a quarterly basis that offer performance insights, communicate alarm instances and actions taken, and provide maintenance suggestions intended to reduce system failures and increase performance. Dielectric customers are also provided remote access to Apollo to generate and review system and performance data 24/7.

“Apollo allows us to create a detailed performance record using the real-time data collected through RFHAWKEYE. With this information, we work with the customer to evaluate any degradation that has taken place over time and in some cases, recommend preventive maintenance to eliminate catastrophic failures and improve service,” said Jay Martin, Vice President of Sales, Dielectric. “We will provide insights into the problems we see and recommend specific actions to take, and also deliver this information within executive summaries that are quick to digest and easy to understand.”

Martin notes that Apollo will bring strong value to customers with multiple transmitter and tower sites. One example is how Apollo will observe and capture VSWR measurements from multiple sites connected to RFHAWKEYE’s monitoring platform, and identify any degradation over a specific timeframe. That includes specific instances of when a problem crosses a threshold, and how these can be avoided in the future.

“Apollo shines in multi-site situations where customers can create a centralized Apollo experience,” he said. “Apollo will provide maps of multiple sites, and users can drill deeper into the data for any site on that map. The reduction in labor will be exceptional for these customers as Apollo removes the burden of manually visiting, inspecting and developing reports for each station. This is a very user-friendly tool for every customer from the single-site owner to networks with large, national footprints.”

Dielectric will be in Booth W3601 in the West Hall of the LVCC.

The 2023 NAB Show runs from April 16-19 in Las Vegas. To register, visit nabshow.com/2023

RAYMOND, Me.—Dielectric will unveil reconfigurable manifold combiners that are adaptable for FM radio and UHF television at the 2023 NAB Show, April 15-19, in Las Vegas.

The design introduces new system expandability to manifold combiners, which have long only been expandable by adding constant impedance filter (CIF) units. The solution is particularly attractive for new master broadcast antenna installations, enabling them to add new tenants in the future without the space constraints and assembly labor required when using a CIF-based expansion strategy, Dielectric said.

Dielectric’s reconfigurable manifold combiners are essentially modular fixed units built to specification. For example, a site owner with five broadcasters today and a goal of seven total tenants can specify a manifold combiner with seven ports. Dielectric builds the initial system with five filters and protects the two open slots with shorted ports, or “shorts.” Shorts are removed as filters for new tenants, which Dielectric can also build in advance and added to the manifold combiner, the company said.

The company provides calculations that consider how site owners can add other broadcast frequencies in the market in various combinations that exceed what the site owner may have originally envisioned for the maximum number of tenants, it said.

“We first provide an analysis of the market that confirms how many potential stations in the market can logically join the master antenna system,” said Keith Pelletier, president of Dielectric. “We may find that number to be 10 broadcasters.

“The site owner ultimately decides how many broadcasters they want to accommodate immediately, and how many they want to add in the future. Using our High Frequency Simulation Software (HFSS) tools, we can calculate how each possible frequency will affect the combiner’s output splines. New tenants are added quickly and easily by simply removing a shorted port, plugging in a new filter and changing some transmission line.”

Manifold combiners are also recognized for their consistent electrical specifications across all stations on the system with similar loss and electrical characteristics across the chain. That means stations further from the antenna in the combiner chain will not be affected by higher group delays or signal loss that can ultimately degrade signal quality, it said.

See Dielectric at 2023 NAB Show booth W3601.

More information is available on the company’s website.

MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL—WUCW-DT, the CW affiliate here, has gone on air with a new Dielectric UHF antenna that employs an end-fed pylon system and reimagines the design of a traditional stacked antenna array, Dielectric said.

The challenging E-Type antenna design addresses current tower code requirements for exposed transmission line and was delivered in a modular configuration that simplified the antenna replacement project for Tower King II, which managed all site preparation and installation work. The system also retained the existing Dielectric repack antenna on the top position without requiring extensive tower modifications, it said.

Several broadcast antennas are located on the south tower at Telefarm Towers, a two-tier transmission site for TV and FM radio broadcasters. 

To optimize tower real estate and provide true omnidirectional performance, WUCW and ABC affiliate KSTP-DT have long transmitted from a top-mounted broadband stacked antenna system. The original system included a Dielectric TU Series Deltastar panel antenna on the lower position of the stacked array, it said.

The existing antenna, configured as a “five-around panel antenna,” was supported by a wide, robust mast.  As replacement loomed, Dielectric recognized the project would prove to be one of the most challenging it has ever faced, Dielectric said. 

“WUCW engineers first considered making an adapter for the top antenna and the existing support system, but changed course toward preferring a modernized stacked array that was simpler and provided enhanced long-term reliability over the panel system,” said James Butts, a mechanical engineer at, Dielectric.

“While that was indeed the result, the work required to get there made this one of the most mechanically unique UHF antennas we have manufactured," he continued. "This WUCW antenna is a very large variant of our E-Type antenna design that was carefully engineered to meet the customer’s unique design needs.”

One big challenge was finding the best way to run the transmission line to the top KSTP antenna. Previous revisions of design codes allowed Dielectric to run the line up the side of an antenna mast, exposed to the elements without increasing the mast drag coefficient, the company said. 

“The latest code revisions required by Telefarm impose mast designs with exposed appurtenances such as transmission line with higher drag coefficients, which greatly increase wind loads,” said Butts. “We had to come up with an antenna feed system design that would obscure the transmission line without increasing the windload on the bottom antenna. That meant routing the feed to the top KSTP antenna under the radome of the bottom WUCW antenna,” said Butts.

Dielectric designed a two-piece mast for WUCW that measures 20 inches in diameter and is two inches thick. The antenna employed innovative technology to verify WUCW maintained an omnidirectional azimuth pattern in both the horizontal and vertical patterns. Typically, the azimuth patterns are distorted on the bottom of a stack antenna due to the transmission line to feed the top. This, along with the mechanical stoutness of the antenna, makes the deployment an innovative achievement, the company said.

To make installation easier, Dielectric split the new bottom antenna into two pieces, adding a flange in the middle, making it possible for the tower crew to raise the antenna and split the lifting load on the tower and ginpole. Total weight without the split would have been close to 30,000 pounds, but the design made it possible to connect the two pieces with the flange, it said. 

“The biggest challenge mechanically was to keep the weight of those two sections low enough for a potential helicopter lift or a reasonably sized ginpole,” said Butts.

Splitting the load in half gave the Tower King II crew more installation options.  “We set the first section and then the second section, and then connected the bottom and top antennas with the transmission line,” said Tower King II owner and President Kevin Barber. “In the end, the thought that Dielectric put into the design and the modularity made the installation very clean and easily achieved.”

More information is available on the Dielectric website.

RAYMOND, Maine—Dielectric has launched a new filter for broadcasters deploying ATSC 3.0. The new Single Mode Filter targets high-power, single-channel applications and adjacent channel combining. Used as a combiner, the new high-power UHF filter is built for two adjacent TV transmission systems with a capacity of 60 kW TPO per channel and supplies additional power capacity for broadband applications. It can also be used as a single-channel 80 kW reflective filter, making it an economical alternative to the traditional dual-mode Constant Impedance Filter (CIF ) or the repack waveguide tunable CIF. The first orders are in production and ship in October.

The Single-Mode Filter reduces the number of components required for 80 kW applications, according to the company which notes that the innovation uses a reflective design approach versus the CIF approach, which requires two filters and input and output hybrids. The reduction in hardware also reduces the installation footprint — a substantial benefit for broadcasters with limited RF facility space. The fact that the filter is single-mode means it requires very little parts to make it work, which yields reliability for broadcasters.

The timing of the innovation is helpful for broadcasters planning their ATSC 3.0 systems. According to Cory Edwards, Director of OEM, Distributor and Southeast Asia Sales, broadcasters are looking for solutions that can handle more average and peak powers. 

“The ATSC 3.0 standard adds a stronger vertical polarization element than ATSC 1.0 to deliver NextGenTV broadcasts more effectively to mobile devices,” said Edwards. “That ‘V-Pol’ element requires the broadcaster to send more power through the transmitter, which results in a much higher amount of voltage in the first filter cavity. That problem escalates when you start to combine adjacent channels.”

Edwards notes that while the single-mode filters optimize power efficiency for ATSC 3.0 systems, they share the same performance efficiency as Dielectric’s waveguide dual-mode filters.

“The losses in our reflective and waveguide filters are very low across the board,” said Edwards. “The single-mode filter provides a more economical option for very high-power UHF broadcasters, and a more robust solution for ATSC 3.0 systems.”

RAYMOND, Maine—Dielectric has appointed 27-year broadcast industry veteran Dave Benco as the company’s Western sales manager. Reporting to Vice President of Sales Jay Martin, Benco will manage new and existing Dielectric accounts west of the Mississippi, with an emphasis on helping broadcasters prepare their TV and radio infrastructures for the next generation of over-the-air opportunities.

Benco has spent his career in the RF technology space, joining Axcera in 1995. He gained additional experience with transmitters while holding account management roles with Rohde & Schwarz and GatesAir before joining ERI as vice president of sales in 2016. In this role, he learned the antenna and RF systems side of the business. Collectively, these roles give him a complete understanding of the entire RF chain, and how to optimize broadcasters’ efficiency and market coverage. 

“It’s rare to find a sales professional with such a rich depth of experience on the RF side of the business today,” said Martin. “Dave brings a strong reputation in customer service, account management and technical knowledge to this new position. We welcome Dave to the team and look forward to his contributions. 

“Fresh off what I learned with the spectrum repack, I will bring value to broadcasters who have started to develop strategies for their ATSC 3.0 systems and NextGenTV opportunities,” said Benco. He added that, while the TV repack is over except for some final LPTV projects, more than 1,000 U.S. TV stations were not repacked. “Many are ready to make changes, and Dielectric is well-positioned as the market leader in technology to help them modernize their systems.”  

Andrew Whiteside, president of Dielectric since 2015, died April 30 in a climbing accident at Independence Monument in the Colorado National Monument National Park.

Whiteside, 67, of Lutherville Timonium, Md., is survived by his wife Patricia and his son Griffin.  

Whiteside was a member of the executive leadership team at Sinclair Broadcast Group and Dielectric.

“I first met Andy in Atlantic City when he was sent to the U.S. from EEV in England to investigate some abnormal behavior of a klystron. It was during that time with Andy that I became aware of his unique talents and very special personality. Over the ensuing months I convinced him to come to work with myself and the others at Comark,” said David Smith, executive chairman of Sinclair Broadcast Group.

“There came a time later, after we acquired Dielectric, that I asked Andy if he would take over the company," he continued. "It was through his leadership and expertise, along with an enormous talent pool at Dielectric, that they were able to become the dominant force in the transition of the local TV industry. I consider it one of my great privileges professionally and personally to have known Andy; he was truly an incredibly special person, and for sure one of the great men in our profession. He will be sorely missed.” 

Born in England, Whiteside graduated from the Imperial College of Science and Technology, London University, and worked for EEV (English Electric Valve), a manufacturer of high-power transmitter tubes.  He emigrated to the United States in the early 1980s to take a job as vice president of engineering with Smith and Nat Ostroff at Comark Communications, manufacturing high-power transmitters for UHF television stations, receiving an Emmy Award for his work developing the first Inductive Output Tube (IOT) UHF television transmitter.

“It is a rare life event when an individual you meet in your professional career becomes a treasured long-term associate and a dear friend. Andy Whiteside was such a person that I came to know as a dear and treasured friend. We struggled together to create and then marveled at the results of the eventual success,” said Ostroff.

“We suffered through the tough times building more than one company, and we succeed together," he continued. "Andy was not only respected for his knowledge and patience but also as a mentor to many who worked with him. It is not an exaggeration to say that he was loved by many who now morn his passing. I miss him. My world and the wider world is poorer as a result of his leaving it.”

Longtime friend and co-worker Mark Aitken, senior vice president of advanced technology at Sinclair, reminisced about Whiteside.

“Just couple of things out of hundreds that could describe Andy, a true friend for more than 40 years," Aitken said. "His ‘humor’ was quite ‘coloured’ in a British sort of way. Sarcasm, tongue-in-cheek, filled with puns and wit that kept class with Monty Python (he enjoyed being told that!). His friendship, complete and honest and evident to the closest of us. Willing to share in delights along with the unpleasant, never petty, and always seeking and embracing the truth. Truly a class act….”

A longtime customer and eventual co-worker Harvey Arnold, vice president of engineering for Sinclair said, “I have worked with Andy for over 40 years. He had a keen intellect and was a well-regarded industry expert on high-power RF transmission systems. He inspired good engineering practices and broadcast engineering is in a better place due to Andy’s work.”

In 1999, Andy joined Sinclair and then at its subsidiary Acrodyne Technical Services as a research scientist, eventually rising to General Manager and vice president of engineering.  Andy led the design team that successfully introduced the Quantum IOT (Indictive Output Tube) and Depressed Collector ESCIOT (Energy Savings Collector IOT) transmitters. 

This technology increased the efficiency and operational costs associated with high-power television transmitters. Andy authored numerous technical papers and articles on transmitter technology and was deeply involved in the FCC Spectrum Repack initiative for U.S. broadcasters and had been integral in the development and rollout of ATSC 3.0/NextGen TV.  

Andy was planning to retire this summer to spend more time with his family and pursue his passion for climbing. 

Donations can be made to the Mesa County Search and Rescue Team (add a note to designate the Technical Team as the intended recipient) at Donations Ground Team | Mesa County Search and Rescue  or to the Family Meal Train service at  https://mealtrain.com/9m5vlo

Details on services and arrangements are not yet available. 

RAYMOND, Maine—Sinclair Broadcast Group this week promoted Keith Pelletier to president of its Dielectric subsidiary.

Pelletier, a 25-year veteran at Dielectric where he most recently was vice president and general manager of RF antenna and system manufacturing, is taking over for Andy Whiteside who plans to retire this summer, the company said.

“Keith has in-depth engineering and manufacturing experience coupled with strong leadership skills and excellent rapport with Dielectric’s customer base,” said Whiteside. 

“Keith recognized early on the unprecedented demands that the U.S. spectrum repack would place on the industry and drove his team to develop and implement the innovative engineering and manufacturing process changes that resulted in Dielectric providing over 85% of the TV antennas to the repack program – a key factor in ensuring the timely success of the repack effort.”

Pelletier earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Maine, Orono. He is the author of many technical papers and has frequently presented at major engineering conferences.

“I am looking forward to leading the company into the future,” said Pelletier. “Dielectric will continue to embrace change and lead efforts to stay on the cutting edge of technology and manufacturing while solving broadcasters’ future RF needs.”

Sinclair acquired Dielectric in 2013.

More information is available on the company’s website.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.—KATV-TV, the Sinclair Broadcast Group-owned ABC affiliate here, has installed a Dielectric RFHAWKEYE system to monitor RF system health beyond the transmitter, the company said today.

The RF monitoring system was installed together with a new transmitter in late 2021 and immediately removed barriers associates with decades-old monitoring procedures that required a degree of guesswork and were time-consuming, the company said. 

“We knew that there was potential trouble in the transmission line or the antenna if there was a significant increase in reflected power, but smaller, localized changes were not caught — and often too late to prevent damage,” said Rusty Mooney, SBG manager of transmission system. 

The previous system in use monitored only forward and reflected power in the transmitter, he said.

“Our only option was to use a network analyzer to perform a full sweep of the line to identify and locate the problem. That is a very time-consuming process. Not only does it require a rigging crew to climb the tower but the station engineer, or RF consultant, must open very heavy transmission line components. It means working above your head and turning wrenches from a ladder while pulling apart the line. No one enjoys doing that, but it was the only way,” he said.

The real-time, IP-based RFHAWKEYE system discerns small, yet potentially damaging changes in the transmission line while the station is on the air. Due to its continuous time-domain measurements of all post-transmitter RF passive components, the system provides insight into performance trends over time, helping engineers predict and address problems before significant damage and downtime happens, the company said.

RFHAWKEYE enables engineers to understand and pinpoint the exact location of an issue from a computer or cellphone with RFHAWKEYE’s user interface. If the local engineer is not familiar with Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) measurements, the system can be monitored remotely by a regional or group manager as well as by Dielectric engineers, the company said. 

“RFHAWKEYE allows us to monitor line arcs and degradations along with forward and reflected power, which by default helps us understand antenna health,” said Mooney. “If we have high reflected power but there are no arcs or degradations in the line, we know that something is off with the antenna. The ability to prove there aren’t any issues in the line is a huge step forward.”

The station recently used its RFHAWKEYE system to address the aftermath of a direct lightning strike to its tower. The strike took out antenna obstruction lights and a generator while also damaging the generator’s automatic transfer switch. More urgently, a microwave system went down, taking the station off the air.

“We got the microwave up fairly quickly, but then realized that the transmitter had a high amount of reflected power after the lightning strike,” said Mooney. “This was shortly after we installed RFHAWKEYE, so we worked with the Dielectric team to review historical and trending data.”

The review quickly confirmed there was a 1.4 to 1 mismatch with reflected power. “We correlated the time with the transmitter log, and we were able to pinpoint that the strike was where the problem started,” he said.

“At the same time, we were troubleshooting that problem, RFHAWKEYE confirmed that there was nothing wrong with the line, and the problem was in the antenna. There was no need to break the line apart section by section, and no need to calibrate everything and sweep the line. After the antenna repair, the RFHAWKEYE TDR display returned to the original stored baseline. The amount of time we saved on troubleshooting was astounding.”

There are three parts to the RFHAWKEYE system: a coupling unit with directional couplers and probe used at the facility in monitoring line degradation; the system’s signal processing unit; and the central monitoring unit, which reports to the user via the system’s user interface. It is also possible to integrate the system into the transmitter’s interlock system or remote control via SNMP for shutdown once fault conditions occur. 

“Every connection where the transmitter line mates is a potential failure point, which is one reason why a full line sweep is so time-consuming,” said Mooney. “Even the most subtle variations in time-domain measurements point to a problem that has likely been occurring for some time. RFHAWKEYE lets us review past data to see when a specific line degradation started. That helps us get in front of a potential burnout that takes the station completely off the air. We can pinpoint the exact area of the problem and point the tower crew to the exact location on the tower they need to climb. That kind of detailed visibility can save the station a ton of money when constrained to a window of maintenance work.”

More information is available on the Dielectric website. 

RAYMOND, Maine—ARK Multicasting has selected Dielectric as its main antenna provider, relying on the company to build and store Powerlite Series antennas for nearly 50 of its mostly UHF stations affected by the FCC low-power repack, Dielectric announced this week.

Dielectric is also providing ARK with antennas for two repacked VHF station and 150 single TUA panels for non-repacked UHF stations, the company said.

“Because Dielectric has applied its technology and experience from the full power repack to LPTV, we’ve been able to design and build ARK’s antennas way ahead of their needs,” said Cory Edwards, director of OEM, distributor and Southeast Asia sales at Dielectric. 

“And knowing those antennas are already in process helps ARK plan better for their upcoming installations. We also worked closely with ARK to make the FCC reimbursement process more efficient for their business and operational needs, which was critical to meeting their repack deadlines.”

ARK’s 300 LPTV stations reach about one-third of U.S. households. The FCC repack displaced almost 60 of ARK’s stations. Those stations will be assigned new broadcast frequencies by September 2022. Within three years, ARK plans to upgrade the affected stations to ATSC 3.0 operation and offer datacasting services as well as its current religious programming, Dielectric said.

ATSC 3.0-ready Powerlite slot and panel antennas are designed specifically for U.S. LPTV broadcasters. 

For the ARK antennas, Dielectric recalibrated its automated pole fabrication machine, originally built for full-power broadcasters impacted by the repack, to accommodate low-power, pre-production workflows, making it possible to build antennas more efficiently and for broadcasters to bring their displaced stations online more quickly, the company said.

Dielectric will ship antennas to ARK stations around the country in coming months. The company worked with ARK engineers to develop custom antenna patterns for each station based on coverage and market conditions, it said.

“Dielectric has been an important partner for ARK Multicasting as we navigate the broadcast repack,” said ARK Multicasting CEO Josh Weiss. “The ability for Dielectric to anticipate and meet our antenna needs has allowed ARK Multicasting to more efficiently navigate the myriad of supply chain challenges confronting low power broadcasters impacted by the repack.”

More information is available on the Dielectric website.

RAYMOND, Maine—Dielectric has appointed Daniel Bizet to the position of international sales manager, reporting to Jay Martin, vice president, sales. In his new position he leads the company’s international sales efforts with a strong focus in Latin America.

“We are excited to welcome Daniel to the Dielectric team,” said Keith Pelletier, vice president and general manager, Dielectric. “He truly understands the broadcast industry, which means he can help our customers select the right hardware and software for their specific transmission requirements.”

Bizet joined Dielectric after working with Broadcast Electronics for more than 30 years, most recently as its Latin America sales manager. During his time in Venezuela, Bizet served as a dealer for BE as president and owner of Professional Broadcast Supply and led sales of broadcast equipment and radio station turnkey solutions across the country. Bizet began his career as the technical manager at Circuito Union Radio in Caracas, Venezuela, where he was responsible for installation and maintenance for all network stations.

"I'm thrilled to join the Dielectric team," said Bizet. "Dielectric is a very strong global brand that builds and delivers antennas and RF systems optimized for every TV and FM radio broadcast. Based on a proven reputation, close customer engagement, and excellent service, they are for me the key to success."

RAYMOND, Maine—Dielectric is revamping its production floor and workflow in response to the final stretch of the FCC’s TV spectrum auction and the Sept. 5, 2022, deadline for displaced LPTV, TV translator and FM stations to move to new frequencies, the company said.

While the company shipped nearly 1,100 high-power repack systems over the 12 phases of the repack affecting full-power stations, the needs of this constituency of broadcasters is somewhat different. A great deal of collaboration will take place on the front end among Dielectric, transmitter companies and tower owners to ensure the most cost-effective systems are deployed by LPTV stations, the company said.

With expediency as the goal, Dielectric has recalibrated its precision automatic pole machine, first commissioned for the repack of full-power stations. The machine is equipped with a Bridgeport head with an automated flex drill.

Driven by Dielectric’s CAD package, which includes the appropriate custom programming for each low-power antenna, the system ensures low-power antennas can be built faster than previously possible, it said.

“The poles range from 15 to 25 feet long for lower-power slot antennas, and fit into a series of saddles on the machine,” said Cory Edwards, director of OEM, distributor, and Southeast Asia sales at Dielectric.

“The CAD software, which automatically uploads once the design work is completed, tells the flex drill precisely where every slot and hole on the antenna should be located. We can finish an 8-bay antenna for an LPTV customer in less than an hour, compared to what previously took nearly a full business day, and antenna tuning times have improved by 50 percent, which means quicker deployments,” he said.

In recent months, Dielectric has used the machine and automated workflow to manufacturer nearly 60 Powerlite low-power TV antenna systems. The systems include those for “analog sunset” LPTV stations facing an early July deadline. Another 60 are in the works, and Dielectric expects up to 500 more in the coming months, he said.

The Powerlite Series, which serves broadcast requirements of 6kW or less, includes all required RF components in a single system, making it easier to meet the challenging deployment schedule facing LPTV stations, he added.

It ships with Dielectric antennas, transmission line, tunable filters and RF components. The company recently added a 5kW tunable filter to the series, helping Dielectric to meet specific transmitter power levels that have become more common in the LPTV repack project, he said.

See Dielectric at the 2021 NAB Show, Oct. 10-13, in LVCC booth C7215.

More information is available on the company’s website. 

RAYMOND, Maine—Dielectric today announced it will showcase its NextGen TV Powerlite TFU-WB-LP series at the 2021 NAB Show, Oct. 10-13 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, featuring an extensive pattern portfolio and coverage optimization for single-frequency network (SFN) and LPTV applications. 

Announced in 2020, the new antenna system series is built with NextGen TV in mind, offering a series of elevation gains, azimuth patterns with high front and back ratios and software tools to assist broadcasters in designing and deploying ATSC 3.0 SFNs, the company said.

Dielectric’s Proposal Generator software will help broadcasters configure SFN systems that meet very specific network designs. Broadcasters can select the proper power level, directional pattern, height above ground level, and other pertinent design criteria for each SFN location, it said. 

“After extensive calculations and design process changes, we launched our repack product portfolio with ATSC 3.0 power requirements in mind, but optimized for high-power broadcasting,” said Keith Pelletier, vice president and general manager of Dielectric.

“There is more to the SFN than being robust enough to get the ATSC 3.0 signal out there. They require even bit distribution from two or more transmission sites throughout the broadcast market. That means supplying antennas with exceptional accuracy to ensure that coverage gaps between transmission sites are properly filled, and that signal strength is uniformly increased in the market,” he said.

Dielectric developed the series while working with consultants on theoretical SFN deployment plans. Customers specifically requested products designed for an SFN business model, the company said.

The new Powerlite TFU-WB-LP series offers antennas, transmission line, tunable filters and RF components into an all-inclusive package. They are built in four-bay increments with a maximum ERP of 100 kW for each antenna. They are also available with higher power options, the company said.

The new series is adaptable to multi-frequency networks and can serve both narrow-band and broadband RF configurations. The series can also work in concert with more traditional high-power high-tower antennas, which many broadcasters will want to keep in operation, Dielectric said.

The 2021 NAB Show will be held Oct. 10-13 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. See Dielectric at NAB Booth C7215. 

More information is available on the company’s website. 

RALEIGH, N.C.—Hindsight brings perspective to any broadcast installation, particularly when we look back at the unique challenges of the recent repack. A Phase 5 project for MyTV affiliate WRDC-TV and CW affiliate WLFL-TV was no exception as we navigated the deadline-driven pressures of this particularly active phase. 

Both stations transmit to the Raleigh-Durham market from atop a candelabra tower, which has six top-mounted antenna positions with exceptional sightlines. To maximize signal coverage and reduce weight, we opted for a stacked omnidirectional UHF antenna system from Dielectric that would serve WRDC's Channel 14 assignment and WLFL's Channel 18 assignment.

TWEAKING THE DESIGN

The omnidirectional coverage is necessary due to the market's size and terrain. Since the antennas are stacked, both transmit into free space as true top-mounted arrays that do not interfere with each other. In a typical stack, the bottom array becomes directional due to the effect of the transmission line feeding the top antenna. Both the horizontal and vertical azimuth patterns are affected, with the vertical seeing more negative impact. 

The Dielectric engineering team overcame this drawback with an innovative design that results in the bottom of the stack being as omnidirectional in both polarizations as the top. This is a significant engineering breakthrough that assures WLFL will not suffer from interference issues.

The design includes plenty of vertical polarization to enhance signal reception through the region's rolling hills and valleys. Both stations broadcast NextGen TV content today, and that vertical signal component will increase in importance as more viewers consume NextGen TV content on mobile devices.

We scheduled a helicopter lift to raise the stacked antenna system, with WRDCÕs center of radiation (1,950 feet) roughly 60 feet above WLFL's (1,888 feet). A temporary Dielectric TFU-WB side-mounted antenna continued on-air operations while the old antennas were removed. The stacked system, which comprises two Dielectric slot antennas, positions WRDC's more compact custom 27-bay TFU-ETT antenna atop the larger 26-bay TFU-JBH structure. 

The new antennas are each fed by seven 3/16-inch Dielectric transmission line runs, with one newly installed digiTLine run. The post-installation RF sweeps confirmed that both overall system VSWR results were excellent, comfortably bettering our minimum requirements and enabling the transmitters to run at optimum efficiency.  

A NEW KIND OF FILTER

This system requires an unusually complex filter design for WRDC since it operates on Channel 14. A typical UHF transmission system requires a six- or eight-pole filter to reduce out-of-band emissions to meet FCC specifications. Channel 14 is unique in that it requires a very steep roll-off at the lower side band to prevent interference into land mobile frequencies just below the band edge.

Dielectric engineered a very sharp-tuned 12-pole filter to eliminate out-of-band emissions from WRDC's (Channel 14) 108 kW transmitter. While the 12-pole design creates a larger physical footprint, we worked closely with Acrodyne Services to ensure a clean installation in a tight space, including temporary use of their 20 kW MAT (Mobile Acrodyne Transmitter) outside the building to facilitate new equipment placement inside. The filter was floor-mounted alongside WRDC's six-cabinet transmitter, WLFL's four-cabinet transmitter and filter, a dual-channel combiner and all associated plumbing and switching systems.

Moving forward, we plan to install Dielectric's RFHAWKEYE to monitor antenna and RF performance for both stations over IP. That will add a new level of operational efficiency for our Raleigh-Durham engineering team, especially as we put more emphasis on ATSC 3.0 and NextGen TV signals in the years ahead. 

Dale Scherbring is the director of engineering for WRDC-TV and WLFL-TV. He can be reached at 410-487-3492.

For more information, please contact Jay Martin at Dielectric at 207-655-8138, or visit the company's website at www.dielectric.com.

RAYMOND, Maine—Dielectric has appointed Dan Glavin to the role of Western Region sales manager and will be responsible for all U.S. TV and FM sales and customer service west of the Mississippi River. He steps in for Steven Moreen, who retires following a 52-year career in the broadcast industry. Glavin reports to Jay Martin, Dielectric’s vice president of Sales.

Glavin joined Dielectric in 2018 as an electrical engineer, with an emphasis on system design, data analysis and antenna testing. He has since led technical development initiatives and field installations for RFHAWKEYE, which the company says is the broadcast industry’s first IP-based RF monitoring system.

Glavin’s fusion of engineering and communication skills encouraged Martin to appoint Glavin to the western sales role, given his ability to clearly translate each broadcaster’s unique, exacting technical requirements into an effective over-the-air solution.

“The ability to identify product requirements and respond in a technical capacity is key to this position, and Dan’s level of problem-solving expertise is rare among field sales,” said Martin. “Dan is an extrovert and extremely technical, and will be a strong mediator who can communicate complex technical requirements between our customers and internal Dielectric engineers. His fluency in Spanish will benefit the Hispanic communities we serve, and his experience across site logistics, off-air challenges and other common over-the-air issues will benefit all customers.”

“The expansion and integration of ATSC 3.0 broadcast systems, single-frequency networks, and investment in public television and radio all represent exciting opportunities for business development throughout the western U.S. region,” said Glavin. “Steve has set the bar high, but I look forward to building on his example in working closely with customers to help them solve problems, and explore the next generation of over-the-air opportunities.”

“Please join us in congratulating Steve on his retirement from Dielectric,” said Keith Pelletier, vice president and general manager, Dielectric. “We wish him all the best as he enters the next chapter of a diverse and fulfilling life."

RAYMOND, Maine—Dielectric has promoted Mike Spugnardi to the position of director of RF Systems and Components as the company shifts its strategy to better support broadcasters in the post-repack world.

Serving previously as TV antenna manufacturing manager, Spugnardi lead the company’s strategic repack initiatives, which enabled more than 1,000 repack customers to transition to new channel assignments within tight timelines.

In his new role, Spugnardi will bring that same strategic focus to the company’s RF Systems and Components division, which includes new product designs as well as making products more efficient for international TV and radio customers.

“Mike’s emphasis on the finer details was a primary reason we were so well-prepared for repack, which was arguably the busiest period of Dielectric’s nearly 80 years of existence,” said Cory Edwards, director of OEM, Distributor and Southeast Asia Sales. “He is now leading the charge with an emphasis on new products and existing product redesigns, particularly around our UHF TV filters.”

Spugnardi will lead an expanded team of senior RF engineers and mechanical designers, which Edwards says will “strengthen our bench for a new RF era.” He is also leading the charge on developing new internal technical resources. A striking example of Spugnardi’s experience and emphasis on the “finer details,” the initiative has already delivered a complete revision and update of Dielectric’s RF specification sheets.

RAYMOND, Maine—Dielectric has begun offering a TV antenna performance validation service that relies on data collected by a drone operating within a tower structure shield that is compared to a computer-derived prediction of antenna performance at a given height to confirm the antenna’s far-field elevation pattern and azimuth pattern. 

The service addresses a problem stemming from the length of time it takes for the Federal Aviation Administration to grant a waiver to allow drone operators to fly their aircraft at elevation several thousand feet from the antenna. FAA waiver applications can be stalled for up to 18 months, the company said. 

“FAA rules place several restrictions on flying drones for commercial use. There is a 400-feet altitude restriction on commercial drone flights, unless the operator can fly the drone within a 400-foot radius around a structure, and does not fly higher than 400 feet above the top of that structure,” said Dielectric Vice President of Engineering John Schadler.

“Unfortunately, waivers for these rules take many months to process, and may never be granted due to other restrictions. Our technique solves the problem of getting a waiver beyond the FAA shield. That means no need to create flight plans and safety simulations, among other requirements that lengthen the approval process,” he said.

The technique devised by Dielectric has an added advantage since far-field measurements are subject to signal reflections, multipath and interference, as are the more complicated ground-vehicle measurements, the company said.

Before a drone is deployed, Dielectric engineers construct a full virtual model of the entire antenna, including tower support structure, based on final antenna and tower drawings.

Using the company’s high-frequency modeling software with the virtual model produces a detailed prediction of azimuth and elevation data at a given distance from the tower—at or within the 400-foot FAA limit. That allows a comparison of the virtual model with the actual near-field measurement, which is, in fact, an unfocused representation of what the radiation characteristics look like in the far-field, Dielectric said.

After the drone collects data during its flight, Dielectric engineers plot the data over the virtual model. Once compared and confirmed, a report is provided to the end customer, which is typically a TV station engineer or a consultant representing the broadcaster, the company said.

Before offering the service, Dielectric verified the results of its comparison technique by conducting far-field drone measurements, said Nicole Starrett, an electrical engineer at the company.

“The added benefit is that the antenna characteristics can be quickly transformed to any distance, near or far, for comparison,” said Starrett.

Starret will present “Near Field Drone Measurements of Broadcast Antennas,” Oct. 15 at 10:45 a.m. CDT during the Wisconsin Broadcasters Fall virtual event and at the Radio Club of America Technical Symposium on Nov. 20.

More information is available on the Dielectric website.

RAYMOND, Maine—Federico d’Avis is retiring from his position as international sales director of Dielectric; he’ll continue as a part-time consultant to the antenna manufacturer, while John Macdonald takes over his former role.

“Federico was responsible for Dielectric’s growth in the CALA region and Canada over 12 years with the company,” the firm said in an announcement. “He substantially raised Dielectric’s visibility and market share in these regions, and was responsible for the company’s largest regional projects.

“He also built partnerships in countries that helped Dielectric get closer to its customers. This notably includes Brazil, where he established local manufacturing agreements to eliminate high import expenses, and minimize RF and antenna costs for Brazil’s broadcasters.”

Among his projects were an eight-channel FM radio antenna and dual-manifold combiner for CRP Medios y Entretenimiento in Peru; RF and antenna systems for TV Azteca’s national ATSC DTV network in Mexico; and TV channel relocation projects for Canada’s DTV Allotment Plan.

Before joining Dielectric 11 years ago, he worked in microwave antenna sales with Gabriel Electronics and Radio Waves.

John Macdonald has worked with international transmission manufacturers such as Broadcast Electronics, Thomcast and Nautel. He will report to Jay Martin, vice president of sales.

For more information, visit www.dielectric.com.

RAYMOND, Maine—Dielectric has made a list that it wants broadcasters to check twice when it comes to transitioning to the new ATSC 3.0 standard. 

The “RF Systems Considerations for ATSC Change” is meant to check every box as part of a thorough evaluation of RF systems for their readiness for NextGen TV, which Dielectric describes as significantly different from the process of transitioning to ATSC 1.0.

The checklist addresses two major consequences of transitioning to ATSC 3.0: the increase in occupied bandwidth and the increase in peak power. Other elements touched on in the checklist are the removal or replacement of old RF equipment; RF system service, including sweeps performed by Dielectric engineers to improve overall VSWR performance; and compatibility of components, including acceptable filtering levels and the presence of appropriate interlock and RF monitoring points.

Dielectric does acknowledge that many broadcasters may have critical components in place because of RF upgrades made during the repack.

“[W]e will work with transmitter vendors and broadcasters to ensure that their elbows, switches, transmission line and other RF systems inside the shelter are primed and ready for NextGen TV performance,” said Cory Edwards, Dielectric sales manager.

The Dielectric whitepaper checklist is available on the technical resources page of the company’s website. 

VICTORIA, Canada—As the U.S. spectrum repack winds down, a “mini-repack” of sorts is taking shape north of the border. The Canadian DTV Allotment Plan—launched in 2015—essentially reconfigures the 600 MHz band across all provinces and territories, and includes new channel assignments for both high-power and low-power TV stations.

CHEK-DT, an independent TV station licensed to Victoria, B.C., relocated to UHF Channel 16 (from Channel 49) at the end of April as part of the DTV Allotment Plan. Owned by CHEK Media Group, a consortium of station employees and local investors, CHEK-DT primarily serves new programming to viewers in the southwestern area of the province.

The transition from Channel 49 to 16 was substantial enough to require a new transmitter. In addition, since the existing transmitter was nearing end of life, we decided to overhaul the entire system, including the STL and antenna. For the latter, we went straight to Dielectric, given our previous experience with Dielectric antennas, along with their industry longevity and engineering quality.

TOWER-ING JOB

We selected a TLP Series slot antenna from Dielectric’s Powerlite Series—specifically, the TLP-8M model—for the new Channel 16 assignment. The TLP-8M is an eight-bay, elliptically polarized directional antenna side-mounted on the tower at a height of 482.4 meters (1,582.6 feet) above average terrain. Dielectric customized the polarization to include a 30% vertical ratio to improve reception for viewers with indoor antennas.

The Powerlite Series is ideal for TV stations seeking an all-in-one antenna system. The Channel 16 system includes a wall-mounted filter and 1-5/8-inch rigid transmission line inside the transmitter building, among other essential RF components. The existing transmission line outside the building was retained and factored into planning for the new antenna’s size.

Mounting the new antenna proved a fairly simple job, requiring a small tower crew with a pulley system. We worked with Dielectric to ensure that our existing antenna-mounting hardware could be used, which simplified installation. We also specified an antenna of the same approximate  weight and wind load, which eliminated the need to reinforce the tower structure. Dielectric’s sales and engineering departments stayed in touch with us throughout the design process, providing feedback and advice on the structural design and key performance specifications.

BOOSTING THE SIGNAL

As for performance, the new system is exceeding expectations in the early days. We had a close eye on VSWR performance, and immediately recognized that the VSWR was very low, with minimal return loss or reflection back towards the transmitter This ensures that the RF power transmitting through the system and out from the antenna is remarkably efficient. We have also noticed minimal signal loss through the new Dielectric filter, which contributes to the overall efficiency of our transmission system.

Signal coverage and quality has improved overall as well, notably in Victoria and Vancouver. Some of our viewers in low-lying areas, where we previously had signal strength challenges, have reported improvements in reception. This validates our strategy of enhancing the vertical component within the elliptical polarization, as the new antenna uses the same elliptical pattern and points in the same directional pattern as before.

Working with Dielectric has always proven simple, with outstanding communication and a desire to build systems that address our requests to exacting specifications. We anticipate that this antenna will remain in service for decades as we continue to broadcast to our local communities.

Kory Andersen can be reached at kandersen@cheknews.ca. 

For more information on Dielectric, contact Kim Savage at kim.savage@dielectric.com. 

RAYMOND, Maine—Dielectric has begun to transition the focus of its antenna and RF component production from television stations assigned new channels in the FCC’s spectrum repack to the needs of TV broadcasters wishing to deliver ATSC 3.0 over-the-air service.

The repack, which is entering its final phase, has seen Dielectric book nearly 1,000 antenna systems, 82% of the repack market, the company said.

“We have booked 959 repack or displaced antenna arrays in North America since we began taking repack orders, and have shipped more than 930 of those arrays over a 30-month period,” said Jay Martin, vice president of sales, Dielectric. “Upon adding in non-repack projects, we estimate that Dielectric will ship 1,065 medium-to-high power antennas within that period in North America alone by the conclusion of repack.”

To meet the surge in demand created by the repack, Dielectric set up two manufacturing facilities focused on designing, building and stocking antennas and other RF systems, the company said.

“Beyond antennas, we built 111 miles of transmission line, 1,039 RF filters and 101 multichannel combiners for TV alone,” said Martin. “We built 395 complete RF systems, and we built many of these within days to address very short lead times. The volume of product we have manufactured and shipped has been astronomical.”

With the repack nearly in the rearview mirror, the company is preparing for demand it anticipates will stem from NextGen TV. It is employing strategies to prepare for ATSC 3.0 that are similar to those it used to ready for the demand created by the repack.

“That will ensure we can properly address growing interest in our Powerlite low-power antenna systems for ATSC 3.0 SFNs, while also serving our other customers without delay,” said Martin.

PLUS: NextGen TV to Spur Transmission Market

The company also anticipates the replacement market for TV antennas around the world to remain strong, as more than 200 high-power antennas and transmission line runs in North America alone have been in operation for 30 years or more, said Martin.

Dielectric also sees demand coming from the LPTV market. Its design tools will hasten fulfillment of international orders from broadcasters that largely operate at lower power. Further, NextGen TV and domestic LPTV operators will contribute to demand, said Keith Pelletier, vice president and general manager of Dielectric.

“We have added support for nearly 20 additional antenna patterns that apply to NextGen TV SFN systems and low-power TV systems worldwide, along with a comprehensive software toolset for consultants to enhance SFN coverage analysis and antenna configurations,” said Pelletier.

The company also recently introduced its RFHawkeye real-time monitoring system for antenna feeds. RFHawkeye, the Powerline Series and NextGen TV developments will be presented this week during the NAB Show Express online event. The company’s virtual presence is accessible online May 13-14.

Dielectric has also posted a white paper that was to be presented by its Vice President of Engineering John Schadler at the cancelled 2020 NAB Show in April. The paper, “ATSC 3.0 SFN Network Planning and Antenna Design,” also is available online.

LAS VEGAS—Dielectric’s 2020 NAB Show presentation will be based around an update to its Powerlite brand that is designed around NextGen TV requirements. This includes the Powerlite TFU-WB-LP series that aims to address the requirements of ATSC 3.0 single-frequency networks (SFNs).

Powerlite systems combine antennas, transmission line, tunable filters and other RF components into a single package. The new TFU-WB-LP series is an evolution of Dielectric’s TFU-WB line, which consists of main and auxiliary UHF antennas developed for the U.S. spectrum repack.

TFU-WB-LP antennas are built in four-bay increments, with a maximum ERP of 100 kW for each antenna—higher power options are available. Customers can use Dielectric’s Proposal Generator software to design an antenna for coverage needs specific to each site, including elements like power level, directional pattern, height above ground level and more.

The new Powerlite series will be adaptable to multifrequency networks and can serve both narrow-band and broadband RF configurations.

Dielectric will showcase the Powerlite TFU-WB-LP at its booth, C2622, during the 2020 NAB Show, running from April 18-22.

For more information, visit www.dielectric.com.  

RAYMOND, Maine—As the spectrum repack continues, Dielectric has announced that it is supporting three Maine stations in Phase 8, with one recently completed for WMEA-DT, a Maine Public Broadcasting Corporation station.

Using Dielectric antennas to deliver over-the-air PBS stations, WMEA-DT in Biddeford, Maine, has completed its repack transition from UHF Channel 45 to Channel 36; it’s official switchover is scheduled for March 11. Dielectric also provided a system that would support a large power increase, nearly triple the station’s previous TPO—50,000 to 149,000 Watts—according to Dielectric.

Installation took place in November, with WMEA purchasing Dielectric’s TLP-12E side-mounted auxiliary antenna, which will serve as a temporary Channel 45 up to March 11. Dielectric worked with WMEA-DT to design an antenna system that used its same directional pattern on a different frequency.

As of the March 11 transition, WMEA will operate from a Dielectric TFU Series UHF end-fed antenna, with vertical polarization. When installed the antenna was connected to an existing Dielectric digiTLine rigid transmission line that will be re-usable for Channel 36. The stations also installed a new Dielectric mask filter and a new transmitter.

In addition, the TFU antenna is equipped with a non-pressurized, protective radome to deal with the weather elements.

For more information on the repack, visit TV Technology's repack silo.

RAYMOND, Maine—The 2020 NAB Show is going to serve as the public debut for Dielectric’s new Dual RF Switch Controller (DRFSC), a new simplified version for local and remote control of transmission systems.

Integrating SNMP and secure web-based capabilities, DRFSC streamlines the management of waveguide and coaxial transfer switch activation for modern TV and radio transmitters. With SNMP integration, the controller has an intuitive touchscreen-enabled configuration that enables installers to setup and deploy the system in two hours or less, per Dielectric.

Powered by Burk Technology, the platform can control up to two, four-port RF switches to provide flexible RF routing in systems with auxiliary transmitters and/or antennas. Users can locally activate control applications from its front panel, or remotely through a web browser interface. Burk’s Plus-X protocol is also integrated, allowing for connectivity to Burk’s RAC Plus remote control system via a network connection for centralizing DRFSC functions with other control and monitoring applications.

Additional protection comes from DRFSC’s ability to control transmitter interlocks as switches change position, preventing damage by ensuring that RF energy is turned off when RF switches are commanded to move to a new position.

The 2020 NAB Show takes place from April 19-22 in Las Vegas. Dielectric will present the DRFSC at its booth, C2622.

LOS ANGELES—The spectrum repack has produced unique challenges and situations to almost every affected broadcaster. Perhaps no case study is as compelling, or rare, as being repacked from UHF to low-band VHF.

Such is the case at KWHY-TV in Los Angeles. One of the first TV stations to broadcast in the city (as KBIC-TV in 1954), the station has served Los Angeles’ Spanish-speaking community since 1991, operating on UHF Channel 42 since its transition to digital in 2009. As an independent broadcaster—Meruelo Media purchased the station in 2016—it became clear moving to VHF would be our most economical option. As part of the TV Repack, the station received its Phase 2 Notice with a VHF Channel 4 assignment, broadcasting from a shared tower site on Mt. Harvard.

A CHALLENGING SWITCH

The move presented several technical concerns. For one, indoor VHF reception is a challenge, and would require proactive viewer education about antenna selection. Second, the fact that KWHY was moving to low-band VHF—an even scarcer scenario—left few professional supplier options. Third, with a fairly short, shared tower structure, a much lighter and condensed antenna was required versus the traditionally very large, low-band VHF systems.

Of the companies evaluated, only Dielectric could meet these three requirements, while also delivering the broad coverage patterns KWHY needed.

Following a mechanical analysis that determined that the tower structure could not support a low-band VHF panel antenna array, Dielectric engineers custom-designed a segmented helical antenna, borrowing technology from its DCR radio antenna family.

Widely used in high-power FM radio transmitter sites, the Dielectric DCR series of antennas provides full bandwidth, high-power handling capability and excellent elliptical polarity axial ratio. Dielectric’s low-band DCR-Q VHF antenna offers all of these features, plus the directivity required to fulfill the KWHY FCC construction permit and maximize their coverage over the L.A. market signal.

Consisting of eight circularly polarized ring-style radiating elements, the DCR-Q reduces the weight, wind load and required tower space to a fraction of that required by a traditional low-band VHF panel antenna system. The DCR-Q design is also ATSC 3.0-ready.

EXPANDING COVERAGE

The station was originally allotted 3.7 kW of power, which would serve only a small percentage of the Los Angeles DMA. Following legal challenges, the ERP was increased to 35kW when station representatives presented a directional pattern that matched the contour of the largest station in the market. In a clever arrangement, the directional pattern is created by the positioning of the radiating elements in relationship to each other and the metal tower structure.

Dielectric’s outstanding customer service extended into (and beyond) installation. The design team continued its work as tower crews prepared to bring the old antenna down and run new transmission line, also supplied by Dielectric. A 60-foot structure was added to the top of the tower, allowing KWHY to operate both antennas for a brief period and make a clean break to VHF.

The new Channel 4 system, which includes a GatesAir Maxiva VAXTE air-cooled transmitter, went on the air on April 10—just days before the Phase 2 deadline. With the coverage and performance solidly meeting our expectations, KHWY continues its efforts to educate viewers on antenna selection, with the goal of serving and supporting the local Hispanic community.

David Gray can be reached at 760- 275-9897, or via email atdgray@meruelomedia.com.

For more information on Dielectric, visit the company’s website atdielectric.comor call 800-341-9678.

RAYMOND, Maine—Two Dielectric stacked antenna arrays with Adaptive Polarization Technology (APT) are on their way to American Tower for use in Dallas and Boston as part of the FCC-mandated TV spectrum repack, the company announced today.

APT enables broadcasters sharing an antenna array to select their own polarization ratio regardless of what other stations operating on the same array choose to do. Adding a vertical component improves reception of both ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 signals.

“Most antennas of this nature require that the polarization ratio is defined and locked in upfront,” said Dielectric VP of sales Jay Martin.

However, the arrays destined for American Tower are anchored by Dielectric’s TUM-APT series UHF panel antennas for the vertical real estate company’s master antenna TV station clients, while customized antennas for other stations are on top of the stack.

“The TUM-APT panel antenna offers our customers an enormous advantage by allowing for polarization ratio changes inside the transmitter room. And while these arrays are optimized for ATSC 3.0 broadcasting in the future, they will provide increased power density to improve indoor reception for today’s ATSC 1.0 broadcasts,” said Martin.

A dual-channel, center-fed elliptically polarized TFU series UHF array for KUVN-DT and KSTR-DT tops the stack in the Dallas setup, while the Boston installation for WGBY-DT adds a circularly polarized TDM series VHF array above the TUM-APT, according to Dielectric.

The design of the stacked arrays offers improved azimuth pattern performance when compared to traditional main and side-mount antennas, which can disrupt the azimuth pattern and cause reception problems due to the tower, the company said.

Stacking the arrays enables them to be top-mounted and unencumbered by the tower, eliminating tower scattering effects and allowing for a stronger, interference-free pattern, the company said. The TUM-APT design also locates the transmission line for the top-mount inside the mast, eliminating distortions to the azimuth pattern associated with locating the line outside the mast as is traditional.

Following the installation of a TUM-APT panel antenna, station engineers have the ability to optimize antenna polarization in the combiner room with no modifications to the antenna required, Dielectric said.

This feature is well suited for stations wishing to use the TUM-APT with horizontal polarization today but planning to add elliptical or circular polarization in the future to support signal delivery to mobile devices under ATSC 3.0, it added.

The antennas headed to American Tower have the bandwidth and high-power handling capability to accommodate more stations and their specific polarization needs in the future, the company said.

The TUM-APT structure is designed to support the weight of stacking an additional array on top due to splines designed to support both arrays from a single installation point. Both antennas are designed to be lifted by helicopter to expedite installation. The antennas are due to go on air in the summer, the company added.

For more information on the repack, visit TV Technology's repack silo.

RAYMOND, Maine—Dielectric announced that it has completed a repack project for DTV Utah’s community TV transmission facility, for which it installed an ATSC 3.0-ready multi-channel combiner and waveguide switching system.

The DTV Utah facility houses transmission systems for nine Salt Lake City-area stations. Eight of the stations, six of which were repacked to new channel assignments, broadcast from specialized multi-channel antennas. James and James Consulting managed the project, including the design, integration and commissioning of the Dielectric system.

Requirements for the project called for a system that could transmit from 9,050 feet above sea level and across the Wasatch Front terrain north and south of Salt Lake City with specialized antennas built in 1999. DTV Utah was not able to retune the RF system for all of the repacked channels, which called for replacing the combiner system. In addition, there were mask requirements for three adjacent channels.

Because the previous combiner and mask filters could not be removed from their location, Dielectric designed what it calls its most compact combiner to date, a 14x16-foot system to fit into the available 17x20-foot space while leaving room for a tenth transmitter.

Some of the reported technical challenges had to deal with the three adjacent channels and their need for sharply tuned filters to allow for the full use of each channel’s bandwidth. While the group delay measurement is increased slightly from a more broadly tuned filter, the facility’s new GatesAir and Rohde & Schwarz transmitters provide corrections to make the group delay at the channel edge negligible.

Dielectric’s other contribution to the DTV Utah facility was the waveguide switching on the combiner’s input. This allowed for various combinations of main and backup antennas.

RAYMOND, Maine—As San Francisco DTV broadcasters KGO-TV and KRON-TV prepare for their repack, they will be getting an update to their antenna courtesy of a newly designed THV series directional pylon antenna from Dielectric. The stacked antenna array will be installed atop Sutro Tower in San Francisco later this year.

As Dielectric customizes its THV series of antennas for its customers, the company cited specific challenges with this latest model due to the strict earthquake code antennas must comply with in the San Francisco Bay area, as well as other environmental considerations and the ability to support antennas for both stations.

“These design considerations called for a grade of steel that is much thicker and stronger than that which is customary for antenna construction,” said Keith Pelletier, vice president and general manager at Dielectric. “By design, the stack will be cable of handling the extra weight, and compliant with all earthquake restrictions.”

Pelletier says that a third-party structural engineering firm is currently reviewing the design to ensure it meets the earthquake code. If approved, the antenna array will be constructed during the second quarter of 2019.

For the installation, the stacked antenna array will be affixed to one of Sutro Tower’s three “candelabra” arms, reinforced with guy wires in accordance with the earthquake code, a unique feature for the Sutro Tower. The antennas feature slotted coaxial designs to avoid possible interference between antennas. It also features a low windload and an auxiliary antenna (TLSV series) to ensure no off-air time during the repack process.

“Since KGO is already operating in the VHF band, we will install an auxiliary antenna lower down on the tower that allows them to operate on channel 7,” Pelletier said. “That frees up the tower top and allows us to install KRON and KGO new antennas on top of the tower and allows KGO to remain on air. Once that’s completed, KGO can move to its permanent antenna on top and Sutro Tower will remain outfitted with an auxiliary VHF antenna.”

Sutro Tower is scheduled to be repacked during phase nine. KGO-TV will be repacked from channel 7 to channel 12, while KRON-TV will go from UHF channel 38 to the vacated channel 7.

Dielectric will showcase its VHF antennas, including the THV series, at the 2019 NAB Show.

For all the latest news and insight on the repack, visit our repack silo.

RAYMOND, Maine—After a pair of meetings over the last five months, the FCC has heard from a number of broadcast companies and representatives about issues concerning repack site completions. Following the most recent meeting on Jan. 31, where the FCC Incentive Auction Task Force and Media Bureau met with these representatives, there seems to be a key takeaway:

“The FCC will be flexible in considering STA applications, and extensions if justified, potentially allowing more stations to use interim antennas to meet phase deadlines,” said Keith Pelletier, vice president and general manager of Dielectric, which was one of the companies that attended the meeting.

Severe winter weather and a shortage of qualified tower crews are part of the reason why there is concern over whether broadcasters will be able to meet phase deadlines. As these delays continue to build, they could eventually impact the implementation of permanent antennas.

“Some of our customers have been forced to place their permanent repack antennas in storage,” said Pelletier in a press release. “Stations that fail to vacate their channels in time could prevent stations in future phases from staying on schedule,due to the critical linked changes in the transition plan. We see potential for a serious bottleneck in phases three through six.”

Dielectric contends that because there are more crews capable of safely installing side-mounted broadband antennas, installing these interim solutions could help keep the repack schedule on track.

“The FCC had indicated their willingness to approve interim facilities for reimbursement with suitable engineering support, demonstrating that the interim facility does not significantly harm the station’s over-the-air viewership,” said Jay Martin, vice president of sales for Dielectric. “If the choice becomes going off-air or staying on the existing channel and disrupting critical linkages, operating an interim facility may be a viable compromise for all concerned.”

About 143 stations moved during phase one of the repack, which ended Nov. 30, 2018, with another 115 scheduled to move by the April 12 deadline for phase two. More than 30 of these stations are now operating under STA approvals. More than 400 stations are expected to move channels in phases three to six between mid-April and Oct.18.

For all the latest news and insight on the repack, visit our repack silo.

RAYMOND, MAINE–DTVPros and GTI America recently partnered to relocate a Tulsa, Ok.-based TV station’s transmission facilities to comply with the current spectrum repack.

KWHB, a Family Broadcasting Corporation station serving Tulsa and Northeast Oklahoma, relocated to the tallest building in the CityPlex Towers office complex upon being repacked from UHF Channel 47 to Channel 16. This 60-foot skyscraper is also the longtime home of Oral Roberts University-owned KGEB-DT, an independent broadcaster repacked from UHF Channel 49 to VHF Channel 12.

Both stations hired DTVPros, a full-service buyer’s agent that specializes in RF system planning and selection processes for local TV stations, to manage the unique relocation project. The complex project required helicopter lifts to remove existing KGEB antennas, and install new Dielectric repack antennas for each broadcaster’s new channel assignment. New antenna mounts were also required to comply with modern building codes.

Working closely with GTI America, the broadcast services company in charge of installation, DTVPros coordinated services and equipment to meet each station’s repack deadline. KGEB, a Phase 0 repack station, cut over to its new VHF Channel 12 assignment on Sept. 4 while KWHB, a Phase 2 repack station, will begin broadcasting on UHF Channel 16 in April 2019. DTVPros also worked closely with Hodge Structural Engineers of Evansville, Indiana, to produce the new specially designed mounts.

“This was a very unusual project as the installation was to take place on a building in a congested metropolitan area as opposed to a remote broadcast tower,” said Jim Heard, owner of DTVPros. “Additionally, the existing mounts were no longer in code, and we were under a tight timeline to find a helicopter service for antenna removal and installation. These were all obstacles that made overall program management among the most challenging of my career, but the professionalism of my partners shined through.”

Dielectric supplied elliptically designed antennas for both stations for enhanced coverage and performance in ATSC 1.0, and in preparation for ATSC 3.0. Once live on Channel 16, KWHB will use a TFU GTH Series UHF broadband slot antenna, which offers an electrically center-fed design for superior frequency response across one or more channels. KGEB is broadcasting from its new VHF assignment with a THV Series high-band directional antenna. The complete systems for each station also included Dielectric tunable waveguide filters and HELIAX flexible transmission line from CommScope.

For all the latest news and insight on the repack, visit our repack silo.

RAYMOND, MAINE—Dielectric today announced it has received an order for its 500th antenna for the ongoing FCC-mandated repack of TV spectrum.

KSHV-DT, a Nexstar Media Group-owned station serving Shreveport, La., will install its new TUA-P4-4/10H-1 SM broadband, side-mount auxiliary antenna in Q1 2019, Dielectric said.

The station, part of Phase 2 in the FCC repack schedule, can use the antenna on its existing channel and for its future UHF channel assignment.

“Since reaching our 500th antenna milestone with long-time customer Nexstar, we’ve taken at least 42 more orders for spectrum repack arrays, and we’re shipping about 100 antenna systems per quarter. Business is moving at a fast and furious pace,” said Dielectric Vice President of Sales Jay Martin.

KSHV-DT’s new antenna will transition the station from channel 44 to its new assignment on channel 16 when the antenna array is in place, the company said.

Dielectric designed the antenna to radiate in a unique, directional, peanut-shaped pattern optimized for coverage of Shreveport and Texarkana, Texas and Ark., it added.

Dielectric opened a second, repack-focused production facility in December 2017 to accommodate the influx of repack business.

While the new capacity has helped the company meet the aggressive deadlines of its customers affected by the repack, a shortage of tower crews for antenna installation remains, said Martin.

“There is a serious shortage of qualified crews to work on complex installations on tall towers that will likely cause an installation bottleneck in the field, perhaps even before the end of 2018,” he said.

The Dielectric TFU-WB antenna and Powerlite series side-mounted designs can be installed more quickly, offering broadcasters that run the risk of missing their phase deadline a way to meet the schedule, he added.

More information is available on the Dielectric website.

For all the latest news and insight on the repack, visit our repack silo.

SALT LAKE CITY— In March 2017, DTV Utah began plans on repacking six of its eight DTV Utah Stations that were required to change frequencies as a result of the spectrum auction. DTV Utah, LLC is a television transmitter site located in the Oquirrh Mountains above Salt Lake City, Utah, and was the location of a complex, channel repack project involving nine UHF television stations, with eight of the transmitters combined into a community antenna.

DTV Utah, LLC was formed in 1998 as a nonprofit corporation that owns and operates the community television facility. Greg James of Bonneville International originated the concept of a community site for the new digital service.

“The discussion revolved around the problem created for viewers, if stations were dispersed over a wide geographic area,” James said. “As I thought about multipath in the mountainous area we live in, it made a lot of sense to broadcast from a single location.”

[Read: Eight TV Stations On One Stick Ponder Repack]

Other benefits of co-locating the markets transmitters include economies of scale and reduction of intermodulation interference.

The television stations currently in the DTV Utah group include:

• KSL (Bonneville International)
• KUTV and KJZZ (Sinclair Broadcasting)
• KTVX and KUCW (Nexstar)
• KUED and KUEN (University of Utah)
• KBYU (Brigham Young University)

The DTV Utah site is located 9,000 feet above sea level, with limited access via a 10-mile single-lane dirt road, limited space for construction and a limited seasonal construction window of four months due to weather conditions and road access.

The original DTV Utah site consisted of two four-channel Dielectric combiners, connected to either the main Kathrein antenna, or to an auxiliary antenna through a complex waveguide switching network with five modes of operation. In addition, all eight stations could be combined together and routed to any of the three antennas.

COMPLICATIONS ARISE

It was soon discovered that the original WR 1500 waveguide was not going to pass the new frequencies. The existing Kathrein community antenna also required evaluation to determine if it would perform under the new parameters. The repack design was also complicated by the frequencies that were assigned. Channel 34 (KUTV) and Channel 36 (KUEN) did not require change, but as fate would have it, Channel 35 was assigned to KUCW, creating three adjacent channels and potential intermodulation issues.

Other challenges included transmitter cooling at the thin air of 9,000 feet, transmission line performance, and the requirement to stay on the air while creating a seamless transition to the new channels.

The repack design included a patch panel that provided a path for the N+1 transmitter to replace any of the eight transmitters at the input of the combiner.

Marsand Inc.'s Matthew A. Sanderford, Jr. PE and David Sanderford installed the transmitters while Legacy Electric of Salt Lake City did the electrical work. Tower and antenna work was performed by GTI, America and Burk Technology designed the control system. Climate Control (CCI) handled HVAC.

TRANSMITTERS AND COMBINER

Each station decided on the make and model of the eight new transmitters; Five Rohde and Schwarz THU9evo transmitters and three Gates Air Maxiva UXLT transmitters, including the N+1 transmitter were installed along with one Dielectric combiner and six Dielectric WR1800 waveguide switches for nine different combiner/antenna/test load modes.

Each station purchased their own transmitters based on their own evaluations. “Given the complexity of the project, I suggested one installer for all of the transmitters,” James said. “It would have been a nightmare to schedule different crews on each transmitter. The same was true for electrical, HVAC, and so on.”

The new Dielectric, dual four-port combiner was installed in a very tight 20 x 17 x 9-foot space.

How do you keep your station on the air, while removing your old transmitter and installing the new one? All eight stations were operated at lower power into the auxiliary community antenna through the period of construction and transition. The GatesAir N+1 transmitter was delivered with broadband power amplifiers. As the N+1 was placed on the air, the old transmitter was decommissioned and the new transmitter installed, tuned to the original frequency and tested through the combiner/mask filter to a load.

SEVEN-DAY PROCESS

Each transmitter switch-out took about seven days and the process of bringing each transmitter on line was complex. First, engineers had to run transmitter power at the level that delivered the power calculated to meet ERP requirements of the station, when measured at the dummy load at the output of the combiner. They then had to measure the input power to the combiner hybrid; measure transmitter power out, and calibrate that as 100 percent power. This had to be repeated for each of the four profiles in each transmitter.

A spectrum analyzer was used to perform a power-band measurement on the four combined channels to verify spectrum compliance. As a final step, each station’s reflected power spectrum was recorded to determine a baseline for monthly performance tests.

COMMUNITY ANTENNA REBUILD

The original Kathrein antenna (two Kathrein eight tier by three bay antenna systems—48 panels total), was selected because of the extensive use of the antenna in the Swiss Alps. The temperature extremes at the DTV Utah site are very similar to the Alps, with a thermal swing of over 100 degrees winter to summer (-18F to +85F) Grundy Telecommunications Inc., America, was asked to review the existing Kathrein community antenna system and Kathrein Antenna Works sent an engineer who helped in the evaluation. After band sweeping and physical inspection, engineers determined that the existing antenna system would not perform well for the repack system.

The original tower was custom-built to support the Kathrein 70 x 6-foot radome cylinder. DTV Utah considered replacing the antenna with a different make and model, but structural modifications to the tower would have made replacement cost prohibitive. Kathrein was asked to develop a replacement antenna system … since the radome cylinder supported the antenna, it seemed possible to remove the old antenna system and replace it with a new one.

The next step was demolition and rebuild of the antenna system. Grundy removed main power dividers, cabling harnesses, tier power dividers and panel mounts—some three tons of it—in less than a week. The crew then began installing the new antenna, and six weeks later the rebuilt antenna system was ready for testing.

Katherine field engineers did a proof-of-performance; results were good with the lower antenna showing 28 dB return loss on the lower antenna and 30 dB return loss on the upper; this equates to a VSWR on the upper in the 1.08:1 and the lower antenna at 1.1:1.

OTHER SYSTEMS

For the Burk remote control system, equipment was specified and truth tables developed for interlocking. In some of the modes, reduced power is required. The Burk unit can talk to the transmitters based on the selected mode and ensure that their power levels are correct. If not, the it will shut the offending transmitter down and alert the operator.

Transmission line arc protection was provided by South-Tek Systems, N2-GEN, nitrogen generators.

RESULTS

After a month and a half of construction, all transmitters were installed and operating on the old frequencies. Once all transmitters were installed, commissioned and tested, the new transmitters were retuned to the new frequencies and switched into the refurbished community antenna.

Mario Hieb is a professional broadcast engineer based in the Salt Lake City area.

For all the latest news and insight on the repack, visit our repack silo.

RAYMOND, MAINE--Like the island itself, many of Puerto Rico’s TV stations continue to deal with the devastation created by Hurricanes Irma and Maria, which struck about one year ago.

To relieve Puerto Rican TV broadcasters from working to put their RF infrastructures back on air only to face Phase 3 or Phase 10 repack do-overs of the work, the FCC amended its spectrum repack transition phasing to assign a pre-Phase 1 deadline of Aug. 1 to these broadcasters.

[Read: FCC Allows Early Repack In Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands]

To assist these broadcasters, antenna manufacturer Dielectric has expedited orders from Puerto Rican broadcasters for 11 antennas, 10 of which are being used for the spectrum repack. The eleventh is replacing an antenna damaged in the hurricanes, the company said.

The antennas, which include top-mounted and side-mounted primary antennas, are in various states of manufacturing and shipping, Dielectric said. Among them are mid- to high-power TFU series UHF antennas and low-power TLP series antennas. The company is also providing RF filters and components to OEMs for these antennas.

Although Dielectric has two antenna plants with broad manufacturing capability, logistical challenges are bound to surface when there are close to 500 other repack antennas the company has contracted to build, said Jay Martin, Dielectric vice president of sales.

“However, that isn’t going to stand in the way of helping our friends in Puerto Rico. We proactively reached out to them to find out what they needed, and we’ve been diligently generating technical proposals for antenna systems that address their unique needs, such as withstanding Category 5 force winds and other extreme weather conditions,” he said.

For more information on the repack, visit TV Technology's repack silo.

BEAUMONT, TEXAS—As we navigate a busy planning period across all phases of the FCC spectrum repack, we are nearing completion on our first two Deerfield Media stations: Fox affiliate KBTV-DT and CBS affiliate KFDM-DT, both in the Beaumont, Texas market.

KBTV has been repacked to UHF Channel 27 from its long-running Channel 40 assignment. This required a new antenna to replace the previous channel-specific antenna, as well as an auxiliary system to continue broadcast operations while the current main antenna was replaced. We opted for Dielectric main and backup systems with an output switch to ensure a seamless cutover after the installation is compete.

AN IDEAL FIT

We selected a TFU-GTH pylon model for the main antenna. This top-mounted steel antenna was the most ideal fit due to its wind load performance for Rev G tower specifications. The Rev G formula considers the unique wind load characteristics for each area of the country, with specifics that include maximum wind speeds and gusts.

We worked closely with the structural engineers at Stainless (tower) and Dielectric to determine the proper design requirements to meet Rev G standards. A tower study determined that the guy wires required retensioning, so we added sub-horizontal member bracing to three tower sections. This reinforcement would also support our new Dielectric antennas, both of which were engineered to withstand the 110 mile-per-hour winds outlined in our local Rev G specifications.

Our existing Dielectric Channel 40 antenna with elliptical polarization has provided excellent coverage, so we opted to use the same vertical-to-horizontal ratio on the new channel 27 TFU-GTH antenna. This essentially futureproofs the installation for ATSC 3.0, when we fully expect to take advantage of the enhanced reception characteristics for mobile services.

FIVE-WEEK WINDOW

We were pleased to retain our existing six-inch rigid transmission line—which has provided us with excellent performance—for our new channel assignment. To make our 1000 kW ERP for Channel 27 with our existing line, we required a power input of 52.1 kW. The TFU-GTH comfortably exceeds that with its 55 kW rated input.

With an approximate five-week window between removing our old main antenna and lighting up the new TFU-GTH, we looked at options to ensured uninterrupted broadcasts. We chose Dielectric’s TFU-WB auxiliary antenna, side-mounted 500 feet above ground level. While its wide cardioid antenna meant that we lost some coverage on the outer market edges, it ensured our signal reached the majority of the local population. A lightweight design with wind load estimated at 75 percent of similar-sized panel antennas ensured we remained well within Rev G standards.

The TFU-WB offers a broadband design from Channels 14 to 51, which gives us plenty of options for the future. One option is to move the antenna to other sites in cases of an emergency. In the meantime, the output switch remains if we ever need to cutover to our backup for maintenance reasons on the main system.

The KFDM project takes place in the same time period as KBTV and follows a very similar plan—a TFU-GTH elliptically polarized antenna, a TFU-WB interim antenna and, in this case, new transmission line—in the move from Channel 25 to Channel 15. The KFDM and KBTV sites have new transmitters equipped with new Dielectric floor-mounted RF systems, which use tunable mask filters in a Constant Impedance configuration to accommodate the higher transmitter power levels.

We also chose Dielectric because of the company’s longevity and reliability. As noted, our previous Dielectric antenna and transmission line performed in top condition for many years, and most recently survived the devastating power of Hurricane Harvey. We needed boats to reach our transmission building, and the KDFM facility was filled with 18 inches of water. It’s a testament to the durability and engineering reliability of Dielectric antennas that they survived such a powerful storm, with no repairs required or disruption to broadcast operations.

Dale Scherbring is regional engineering director for KBTV-DT/KFDM-DT. He can be reached atdjscherbring@sbgtv.com.

For more information on Dielectric, visitwww.dielectric.comor contact Kim Savage at 207-655-8258.

RAYMOND, Maine — Dielectric has announced the immediate availability of new low-band VHF systems, which include the company’s circularly polarized DCR-Q FM ring-style antennas with tunable filters and its durable rigid transmission line for Channels 4 and 5.

The systems are well-suited for UHF band broadcasters that opted out of the band as part of the FCC’s incentive auction and chose to relocate to Channels 4 and 5. The tunable filters, in particular, fill an industry void, the company said.

The DCR-Q is a more affordable alternative to panel antennas typically used on Channels 4 and 5, it said. They are also more compact, reducing the time needed for installation.

[Read: Dielectric Opens Lewiston Factory]

“The DCR-Q provides Channel 4 and 5 broadcasters with a much lighter option [than panel antennas] that vastly reduces loading and physical space,” said Cory Edwards, OEM sales, Dielectric. “The circular polarization of the DCR-Q brings additional value to Channels 4 and 5 broadcasters by improving indoor reception.”

A side-mounted broadband antenna, the DCR-Q was initially developed based on a customer request to support nine FM stations. Its wideband characteristics and high-power handling capability make it equally well-suited for low-band VHF television broadcasters.

The antenna also offers low weight and wind loading, which should benefit broadcasters looking to sidestep the cost and challenges of reinforcing towers to handle heavier panel antennas, the company said.

The systems’ tunable filters make use of the same efficient design characteristics available as part of Dielectric’s tunable waveguide filters introduced last year. When installed the design adapts to environmental changes like temperature and humidity to maintain channel tuning as signals move along the RF filtering process, it said.

The systems may also prove to be popular among low-power broadcasters moving to low-band VHF following the repack of Class A and full-power TV stations, added Edwards.

More information is available on the Dielectric website.

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GARLAND, TEXAS AND HUNT VALLEY, MD.—Earlier this year, TV Technology first reported on the combined effort of several broadcast related organizations, including Sinclair Broadcast Group, its ONE Media innovations division, and American Tower, in building the world’s first single frequency network (SFN) using ATSC 3.0 technology in the Dallas/Ft. Worth (DFW) television market. The plan—which was devised last fall—is to deploy the new transmission technology initially on an experimental basis, and when the last bit of data has been gleaned and reports prepared, to move forward on finalizing the SFN as a permanent component of the television delivery infrastructure for viewers in that market.

The original projection was to have the entire system operational by NAB Show, but as this is a “first initiative” there were the and “lessons learned” associated with such a pioneering venture.

However, the project continues to roll out, and a visit to one of the SFN sites in late April revealed that the physical infrastructure is almost completely in place and ready to take to the air.

Peter Starke, American Tower’s vice president of broadcast, and Jerry Folk, the company’s broadcast construction manager, hosted the tour of the Garland, Texas SFN facility and offered insight about the project.

VERY DIVERSE TRANSMISSION FACILITIES

“American Tower and Sinclair feel like this site is probably going to be typical of installations for wireless sites where you have a shelter with limited space and power,” said Folk. “We purposely picked three different types of existing tower sites for this trial installation. The tower in Garland is a small guyed tower with a 40-inch face [and home to cellular service and a low-power FM station]. There is also a 1,000-foot high 11-foot face guyed tower, [a former TV broadcast tower] in Ft. Worth, and an old 200-foot self-supporter in Denton that was originally an AT&T wireline site, built in the 1950’s [and] capable of withstanding an atomic blast.”

Folk further explained that the trial sites were also selected on the basis of electrical power available, as each has a different source, ranging from single-phase 240V to three-phase 208/120 and 480/277V supplies.

“This was a factor, as we wanted to see what might work best for the ATSC 3.0 equipment and Comark transmitters chosen for the trial, although we expect that single-phase 240V power will be the most commonly available service for SFN sites,” said Folk.

The test sites also reflect a full range of equipment containment structures.

“There’s [this pre-fab] shelter here in Garland, an existing TV transmitter building in Ft. Worth, and an old AT&T ‘bomb shelter’ with nine-inch concrete walls in Denton [Texas]. With the tower, shelter and electrical service differences, this adds up to three totally different scenarios,” said Folk. “An important element of this project [is] to define the many variables and resulting requirements to be able to anticipate needs across a wide variety of sites.”

Starke noted that all three facilities were under American Tower ownership or jurisdiction.

“We own two of them and have management rights for the third—the former WBAP-TV transmission site in Ft. Worth,” he said.

READY BY THE FOURTH

When asked about the project’s progress, Fred Baumgartner, Sinclair Broadcast Group’s director of next-generation implementation, observed that while the “brick and mortar” elements had come together nicely and on schedule, clearing regulatory hurdles and making sure all the necessary paperwork reached the right people took time.

“The transmission gear is pretty well in place,” he said, noting the Garland facility was ready for turn-on. “The Ft. Worth site installation was also just finished and that only leaves Denton.”

Baumgartner noted that of the three sites, Denton had been the most challenging.

“We encountered a zoning issue there,” he said. “We wanted to put the antenna on top of the old AT&T microwave tower, but local ordinances wouldn’t allow us to go far enough above the top deck to place an antenna there. Also, we found we’d have to run reduced power at this site to stay within the primary station’s signal contour. It even required a last-minute change in antennas.”

In commenting on the non-physical aspects of the project, Baumgartner observed that this is where “The long pole in the tent is getting the various transmission agreements in place with the stations involved and in getting notifications out to the various Multichannel Video Programming Distributors (MVPDs) involved. We have to get the message to the front line technicians, and that means we have to call these folks and speak directly to the engineering departments, as the notification that says they need to retune and make service changes goes to the front office, but usually doesn’t reach the engineers who have to make the system changes.”

Baumgartner observed that the final transmission gear should be in place in Denton by the end of June and ready to go. “Everything seems on track, and we expect to light the SFN up on the Fourth of July when we have the connectivity.”

And out of all the technical challenges encountered, lack of connectivity to the transmission sites appears to be the largest one. “We don’t have all of the fiber that’s needed in place yet,” said Baumgartner. “And that’s something you really can’t do yourself. We are putting an interim microwave system online to ensure timely connectivity.”

In elaborating on the requirement for backbone connectivity, American Tower’s Starke stressed its importance in setting up a realistic test of ATSC 3.0’s capabilities. 

A LEARNING OPPORTUNITY ON ALL FRONTS

And while this unanticipated difficulty in obtaining site connectivity seems at first to be a big hurdle, it’s almost fortuitous that it did occur, as that’s what this first implementation of a real-world ATSC 3.0 SFN is all about—a learning laboratory for determining where the hurdles are and how to head them off in other such rollouts of this technology.

American Tower’s Starke elaborated on some of the other information to be gleaned in this trial installation.

“The trial test has different facets to it; it’s not all about driving the van around and figuring out what the signal strength increase and signal strength density is, it’s also about site construction—what’s it going to cost for broadcasters to go out and build SFN sites. We’re looking at efficiencies of scale, because it’s going to be difficult and costly, especially at the beginning of the 3.0 rollout, for stations to build out SFN sites on their own. We’re looking at how you can convert existing towers—wireless towers—into broadcast towers, and a lot of wireless sites have a limited amount of land. A wireless site typically has a 100 by 100-foot compound and that’s it. Most of the wireless carriers drop in their own shelters and mechanicals, So, there’s really no infrastructure to support broadcast and we know broadcast transmission is a lot different in terms of what’s needed. That’s the other trial here—you can’t go out and build new towers all over the place. The regulatory cost on the wireless side of the business has created a lot of regulations in a lot of municipalities. One of the things that municipalities look for before they approve a new tower is whether you can collocate on an existing tower, so we have to look at that too.”

Starke also noted that such technical items as determination of optimum SFN operating power was also a checklist item.

“Sinclair and Univision haven’t filed for final ERPs yet, but there is a consulting engineer working to determine what power levels are needed,” he said. “Part of a trial is the ability to turn up and turn down ERPs. The licenses that Sinclair is filing for will improve coverage within the licensed contour as provided for by current DTS regulations. The concept here is to figure out what the optimal ERPis for each of the SFN areas to achieve a proper contribution for the individual SFNs.”

He said a preliminary determination of operational ERP has indicated it would fall in the neighborhood of 100 kW Horizontal, with approximately 30 kW additional delivered in the vertical plane.

So, what happens when all the operating points have been optimized, data collected and the final reports issued? Will the sites be dismantled and written off as just another page in TV history?

“Not so” say both Starke and Baumgartner, pointing to the very considerable amount of money and time being invested in the project. When the repack phase hits the DFW market, these sites will simply be returned for their final channel. All the SFN site components have been constructed as “All UHF Band”, and can be easily optimized for final channel assignments.

READY FOR COMPANY

As constructed, in addition to a transmitter and ATSC 3.0 encoder/exciter, there’s also a large combiner/filter network to allow multiple TV carriers to share the broadband antenna.

“We keep talking about these sites as a trial test, but we’re actually building them out to go commercial,” said Starke. “It isn’t going to be build, test, and then tear down. They will eventually go commercial. Depending on ERP or antenna input power, each could handle up to possibly 10 to 12 stations.”

He observed the initial DFW SFN trial calls for the airing of programming from Cunningham Communication’s KTXD-TV outlet (RF Ch. 46) and UniMás’s KSTR-DT (RF Ch. 48). (Sinclair has no broadcast properties in the DFW market). Starke noted that since both stations fall above the latest TV broadcast spectrum upper bound, they will be moving to lower channels (RF Ch. 34 & 23) as the nationwide repack initiative reaches the DFW market. (Interestingly, there’s another television operation mixed into the broadband antenna shared by the KTXD-TV and KSTR-DT SFN transmitters, and this one—Ch. 56 (722-728 MHz)—will not be moving as it’s owned by Dish Network, which secured this slot in the earlier 700 MHz spectrum auction.)

“These will be the stations converting to 3.0, and we’ll have a hosting station down in Cedar Hill [the principle DFW TV transmitter location] to keep their 1.0 signals on the air,” said Starke.

THE CHANGING TV BROADCAST LANDSCAPE

So, what will be the future of over-the-air television? Will the tall stick and high-power model established some 80-years ago prevail, or will broadcasting move to a low-power distributed transmission platform?

Starke thinks it will be combined set of existing tall towers augmented by smaller sites for the near future; and as American Tower now owns and maintains a large number of U.S. cellular and broadcast tower sites, one of the reasons for partnering with broadcasters in this seminal ATSC 3.0 SFN Pilot.

“People [describe] towers as wireless towers and broadcast towers, but at the end of the day, it’s what’s being operated there,” said Starke. “Here we are taking this wireless site and turning it into a broadcast tower. Part of this trial involves how you can convert existing towers—wireless sites—into broadcast towers. So that’s the other trial here—you can’t just go out and build new towers all over the place [to accommodate new broadcast operations].”

“Another thing is that back in the day, TV stations used to brag about who had the tallest tower, the highest ERP, and the largest coverage. You really don’t see that anymore. Now [with cable and satellite distribution], it’s all about distribution of content. In the future, with ATSC 3.0 it will be all about high QoS service area and advanced services.”

Starke noted another factor that may drive the future chapters in the over-the-air television operations guide.

“If you think about the industry and the role of RF engineers in this industry, we all know it’s an industry where graduates coming out of college today aren’t saying ‘hey, I want to be an RF engineer,’” said Starke. “It’s been a challenge for the last 10 years or so to find qualified staff to run transmitters. Previously, RF engineers may have been running only one transmitter in a market and now, all of a sudden, RF engineers have many transmitter sites to operate. American Tower sees this as something we may want to investigate down the road—actually providing a complete transmission service.”

Even though the current repack is playing heavy on the minds of TV station engineering and management personnel right now, a lot of industry eyes and ears will be glued on this DFW ATSC 3.0 SFN deployment project as it continues to roll out.

“We are very open to working with just about anyone and sharing what we know and learn,” remarks Baumgartner in closing. “As much as our schedules will allow, we would be happy to show broadcasters what we are doing here and at the ONE Media NextGen labs outside Baltimore.”

For a comprehensive list of TV Technology’s ATSC 3.0 coverage, see our ATSC3 silo.

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RAYMOND, ME– Antenna and RF systems provider Dielectric has landed several key TV and FM radio deals in the Philippines in partnership with 90 Degrees North, Inc., a video and audio production, broadcast equipment supply and systems integration firm based in Manila.

90 Degrees North struck a partnership to sell and install Dielectric products last year to address a gradual DTV transition that is scheduled for completion in 2023, and a renewed investment in FM radio infrastructure by many broadcasters.

[Read: 2018 NAB Show: Dielectric Highlighting ATSC 3.0-Compatible Spectrum Repack Antennas]

Since striking the partnership, 90 Degrees North has landed several large RF contracts in the country. The most recent contracts include a Dielectric UT8D4-50 filter, Branch Combiner, Constant Impedance Filter (CIF) and Combiner, and transmission line deal with Broadcast Enterprises and Affiliated Media (BEAM), a subsidiary of the Globe Telecom conglomerate; and a turnkey FM radio deal with government broadcaster Philippine Broadcasting Service (PBS) covering antennas, filters and accessories.

The BEAM project will leverage Dielectric filters and combiners to simplify their DTV transition, allowing the customer to simultaneously broadcast analog and digital signals without requiring a complete tear down and rebuilding process along the way. 

PHOENIX — Five broadcast technology vendors, including Dielectric, Enensys, GatesAir, Harmonic and Triveni Digital, will help television broadcasters in Phoenix make the Pearl TV-led ATSC 3.0 Model Market Initiative a reality.

Stations owned by E.W. Scripps Co., Fox Television Stations, Meredith Local Media Group, Nexstar Media Group, Tegna, Telemundo Station Group and Univision are taking part in the initiative, which will test advanced business models made possible by Next Gen TV.

The initiative also will demonstrate that it is possible to transition to Next-Gen TV while maintaining legacy ATSC 1.0 DTV service.

“We are delighted to announce the first group of technology suppliers who will help make the Phoenix model market a reality,” said Pearl TV Managing Director Anne Schelle in a press release announcing the participation of the companies. “This is just [the] first round of key broadcast equipment vendors who are now at work to create an over-the-air ATSC 3.0 deployment.”

[Read: 2018 NAB Show Marks Next Gen TV’s Arrival]

The Phoenix model market will provide an open test bed for all of the stakeholders in the TV ecosystem, according to a press announcement. Several objectives are planned for the initiative, including: confirmation of basic TV service parameters and performance; determining the appeal of HDR and immersive audio to consumers; assessing TV application features and implementation requirements; testing interactive and addressable ad functionality; and determining consumer device and service appeal, the announcement said.

The initial technology deployment supporting the initiative includes:

• Dielectric UT8D7F-3K filter, a 3 kW low-loss, high-efficiency, eight-pole, UHF bandpass filter;
• Enensys ATSCheduler, an ATSC 3.0 broadcast gateway that encapsulated MMT and ROUTE IP streams into an ATSC 3.0 multiplex, allocating data to different sub-frame and physical layer pipes and managing SFN synchronization;
• GatesAir Maxiva AXTE-3 UHF air-cooled TV transmitter for ATSC 3.0 transmission in Phoenix;
• Harmonic Electra X ATSC 3.0 encoding and statistical multiplexer media processor to deliver multiple HEVC programs over DASH;
• Triveni Digital GuideBuilder XM signaling, announcement and transport generator and StreamScope XM advanced monitor and analysis system, both part of the company’s Broadcast Services Management Platform.

All participating vendors will be exhibiting at the 2018 NAB Show, April 7–12, in Las Vegas. Dielectric will be in booth C2613; Enensys will be in booth SU6521; GatesAir will be in booth N3703; Harmonic will be in booth SU610; and Triveni Digital will be in booth N1427.

For a comprehensive list of TV Technology’s ATSC 3.0 coverage, see our ATSC3 silo.