CHANDLER, Ind.—ERI will introduce a new UHF Television Bandpass Filter with improved insertion loss and a unique forced air colling system at the 2023 NAB Show, April 15-19, in Las Vegas.

The UF1500B is rated for 1.5 kW average power at the filter output and is convection cooled. The Model UF5000B adds forced air cooling, increasing the power handling capability to 5.0 kW. The unique targeted forced air-cooling system employed uses distributed finned heat sinks with individual cooling fans to target the locations that generate the most heat, based on laboratory testing, ERI said. 

The system provides better heat removal using lower volumes of targeted airflow and has the benefits of less ambient noise and lower power consumption than traditional forced air-cooling methods, the company said.

The filters have lightweight aluminum construction and copper resonators. No finger stock is used. Rather, a mechanical clamping and copper collar firmly hold the resonator at its proper setting, it said.

The filter is temperature-compensated using an Invar stabilized copper bellows, which is part of the resonator assembly. Multiple cross-couplings are provided to increase the rejection of transmitter out-of-band emissions, it said.

Six and eight-pole designs are available for 8-VSB and COFDM applications. Input and output connections are unflanged: 1-5/8, 3-1/8 or 4-1/16-inch.

More information is available on the company’s website.

See ERI at NAB Show booth W3143.

LAS VEGAS—Electronics Research, Inc. (ERI) will showcase new circularly and elliptically polarized models to its ALV Series High Band VHF Television Antenna product family at the 2022 NAB Show in Las Vegas, April 24-27.

The high band VHF television antennas are built for any single RF channel from 7 through 13 (174 to 216 MHz). The  lightweight side-mounted antennas are primarily designed for use as auxiliary antennas and include a fiberglass slot cover to protect the antenna from rain, snow, and ice. 

All models of the ALV Series VHF television antennas are shipped with 36-inch (914 mm) standoff brackets for mounting on poles or tower legs from 1.5-inches (35 mm) to 7.5-inches (191 mm) OD. As optional items, standoff support pipes, face mount brackets, and mounts for larger diameter poles are available from ERI. Contact ERI for a proposal for these requirements.

ERI will exhibit the antennas at Booth #W6505 at the show.

CHANDLER, Ind.—Electronics Research Inc. (ERI) today announced Jeff Heldman has joined the company as western region account manager for television and will be responsible for managing ERI’s broadcast television equipment sales in the region.

Heldman comes to ERI with more than 30 years of experience in broadcast and telecommunications. For 15 years, he was a broadcast engineer in radio and television. Heldman completed a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electronics Engineering from State University in Terre Haute while working full time. As a broadcast engineer, he was responsible for maintaining a radio station and multiple radio and TV production studios. Heldman also trained communications students to operate radio and TV equipment. 

His career includes stints at Harris Corp.’s Broadcast Communications Division (now GatesAir), Axcera and Mitsubishi Electric.

"ERI is delighted to add someone with Jeff's experience to our U.S. sales team. He brings significant engineering and applications knowledge to our sales team. He will be a valuable contributor to the company and the customers he is charged to serve and support," said Dave Benco, ERI vice president of U.S. sales.

More information is available on the company’s website.

LAS VEGAS—Electronic Research Inc.’s NAB Show portfolio will include two new high rejection, low pass harmonic filters designed for high-band VHF television applications, the CF232 and CF3032.

The CF232 is rated for 6 kW average power, ATSC 1.0 (3 kW ATSC 3.0) with 1-5/8-inch unflanged flush cut female input and output connections. The CF3032, meanwhile, has 3-1/8-inch unflanged flush cut female input and output and is rated for 25 kW average power, ATSC 1.0 (16 kW ATSC 3.0). These 13-section filters provide harmonic attenuation of 60 dB minimum from the second through the fifth harmonic.

ERI will display these new filters at its booth, C1322. To register for the NAB Show, visit www.nabshow.com.

CHANDLER, IN–Electronics Research Inc. has appointed John Lynch as its Broadband Business Development Manager, Television Products. He will be responsible for the business development of broadband products and sales of ERI’s television transmission, structural products and associated services. He will be working with key broadcast industry leaders to develop the best in class antennas and complete transmission systems for ATSC 3.0 deployments, the company said.

Lynch arrives at ERI from the financial services industry and PNC Bank but has more than 18 years in the broadcast and telecommunications industry, starting out as a sales engineer for ITS Corporation in 1993. As ITS grew and was then acquired by ADC Telecommunications, his role and responsibilities expanded to include project development and sales of MMDS Wireless Cable and Mobile Video and Data Delivery systems. This gave him significant experience with a wide range of transmission system standards and technologies. Lynch also had responsibility for broadcast sales for all of Canada, at Axcera LLC, growing that region into a multi-million-dollar business, according to ERI. He is a graduate of the University of Dayton.

John has the experience with handling a wide range of sales challenges and is looking forward to playing a role in the emerging ATSC 3.0 market," said Dave Benco, ERI Vice President, US Sales “He has a strong grasp of both the technical and financial aspects of the broadcast business, and John will use these skills to help ERI and our customers achieve success. We are glad to have him as part of our team.”

For comprehensive coverage on ATSC 3.0, visit TV Technology's ATSC3 silo.

CHANDLER, IND.—Joe Wozniak has a new position with ERI, taking over the role of Eastern Region account manager for television products. According to ERI’s press release, Wozniak will be responsible for the sales of ERI’s television transmission and structural products and associated services.

Wozniak comes to ERI after serving as president and founder of Maple Leaf RF Systems & Service LLC, where he managed the sales, marketing and accounting functions. Previous stops included time as regional sales manager at Larcan USA, as well as time at Videotek and Acrodyne Industries.

The new role will have Wozniak covering the Eastern U.S., including bordering states Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi, as well as the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

CHANDLER, IND.—Electronics Research, Inc., has found its new Vice President, U.S. Sales, from inside the company, announcing that Dave Benco has been promoted to the position.

Benco has more than 20 years of experience in terrestrial broadcasting. Prior to his promotion, he served as the director of television sales for ERI. His past work has included time at GatesAir as a strategic accounts manager; national key account manager at Rohde & Schwarz; director of sales at Axcera; and technical sales positions at Westinghouse Electric Corporation and Indus International.

As vice president of U.S. sales, Benco will be responsible for leading ERI’s U.S. sales for television and radio antenna, transmission line and filter products.

CHANDLER, IND.—Electronics Research, Inc. (ERI) has announced that James Ruedlinger is rejoining the company, which he previously worked for from 2000-2014, in the newly created position of senior vice president, engineering. This new role will see him manage ERI’s RF and Structural Engineering Groups.

For the last two years Ruedlinger has worked as an engineering manager for Crown Castle. In his professional career he has also been involved in tower design and safety, including involvement in the TIA committee. He currently serves as the chair of the TR14 task group that is responsible for the ANSI/TIA-322 engineering standard on loading, analysis and design criteria related to the installation, alteration and maintenance of communication structures.

Kenny Brown, ERI’s chief operating officer, called Ruedlinger’s return to ERI “perfect timing” as the company—and the broadcast industry as a whole—is in the midst of the FCC spectrum repack.

CHANDLER, IND.—While the TV channel repacks, which is also expected to have an impact of FM radio stations, looms, ERI is moving forward with the expansion of its manufacturing facility on schedule. The company also announced that it plans to add engineering, manufacturing and installations staff for when the repack gets underway following the FCC’s Incentive Auction.

Announced during NAB 2016, ERI says that the expansion of its facility will expand its antenna manufacturing capability and give it the capacity to address FM radio stations’ needs that may also be impacted by tower work that results from the repack. Production of antennas and installation crews will be available immediately after the FCC issues new channel assignments, according to ERI.

In addition to increasing manufacturing space and additional equipment to boost services, ERI is increasing its staff. Currently, 155 people are employed at ERI, according to Bill Harland, vice president of marketing, that is an increase of 55 people since April's NAB show. He says the company plans to staff more than 200 by the first quarter of 2017.

"We're putting all the resources in place that people can meet that 90-day filing deadline," said Harland.

ERI’s new facility will be in Chandler, Ind.

LAS VEGAS—In anticipation of the conclusion of the FCC’s Broadcast Incentive Auction and expected mandated television channel changes, Electronic Research, Inc. announced at the 2016 NAB Show an agreement with T-Mobile that will see the acceleration of antenna production by what ERI describes as 800 percent.

ERI has announced that installation crews will be immediately available after the FCC issues new channel assignments to broadcasters that are either relocated within the UHF television band or relocating from UHF to VHF channels. The company says that this will accelerate the process of clearing the 600 MHz frequency band within the FCC’s 39 month repacking timeline.

“ERI will have the capacity to manufacture television antennas, transmission line, and filter systems and to have trained and equipped installation crews at the beginning of the FCC’s 39 month clearing window,” said Tom Silliman, ERI president and CEO.

In order to meet these goals, ERI has announced that it will hire and train manufacturing, test and installation personnel, and expand its manufacturing and test facilities.

ALEXANDRIA, VA.—Recalling the frantic period of activity to get antenna systems in place leading up to the June 2009 deadline for the U.S. DTV switchover, could it be “déjà vu all over again” when the 2016 incentive spectrum auction dust settles?

A multitude of qualifi ed tall tower workers will be key to accomplishing the necessary postauction TV station “repack.”

Given the number of stations likely to be impacted by an anticipated channel repack, the National Association of Broadcasters commissioned Digital Tech Consulting to examine the matter. Early last month, the Dallas-based research firm released its findings in a 60-page document (“Broadcast Spectrum Repacking Timeline, Resource and Cost Analysis Study”) which examined several industry sectors critical in moving the repack forward. One of these was tower workers.

CREW CRUNCH
The availability of qualified tower workers has to be a major concern, for no matter how much channel-change hardware (transmitters, antennas, RF components and tower structural modification members) can be delivered, without sufficient installers it will be just so much dead weight languishing on pallets and in packing boxes.

It all seems to boil down to: “Are there enough tall-tower workers to handle the anticipated changes within the three years the FCC has allotted?”

Given the many variables, this is not an easily answered question. No one really knows how many broadcasters will sell out, will remain on the same channel, or will need a new antenna (and in some cases, transmitting facility relocation). The study suggests that 800–1,200 stations will require fairly extensive changes involving new antennas and replacement of associated RF components. It assumes that there may be 16 tall tower crews available when the channel swapping begins, and given this number (and the time required for a typical job), finds that no more than 130 antenna/tower retrofits could be accomplished in one year. It concludes that the repack clock may tick out with perhaps only 360 antenna jobs completed—not even half of the low end number anticipated.

FCC DROPPED THE BALL
Several individuals and organizations likely to be involved in repack activities were contacted for their take on the situation. Tom Silliman, president and CEO at antenna manufacturer ERI (and a tower rigger himself), estimates that the number of qualified crews is about the same as it was prior to the DTV transition.

Tom Silliman

“I’d say that there are around 15 qualified crews,” said Silliman. “If a station gets repacked they’re probably going to need an auxiliary antenna and reinforcing for the tower, and that takes time; however, the real problem is that people aren’t going to start ordering antennas until next summer and it will be a year before things start going out into the field. Immediately you’ve lost one of the three years due to the turnaround. I told the FCC this myself: ‘You’re going to need at least five years.’

“Another factor is that the FCC has crippled the TV transmission supply side. There are fewer antenna manufacturing companies than there were a few years ago because of the FCC television ‘freeze.’ We dropped literally half of our capacity. We didn’t lose any of our capability; we just lost a lot of our depth. Where we needed technology we’ve kept people; but where we could afford to let people go, we did.”

Keith L. Pelletier, vice president and general manager of antenna manufacturer Dielectric is also concerned about industry readiness.

“If you look at the players that went through the DTV build-out, the range of preparedness varies,” said Pelletier. “Dielectric is preparing for the repack, but the proposed timeline is going to be a real challenge. We’re being aggressive with the steps we can take to be ready. You need to be aware too that there are a limited number of qualified structural engineers and tower crews. It is going to be a problem, especially considering weather, [in] getting the repack done in the extremely short timeframe while maintaining safety standards.”

SAFETY CONCERNS LOOM
Safety issues are on the radar also at a major tower trade association, the National Association of Tower Erectors.

Placing a multi-ton TV antenna atop a 1,000- foot tower is markedly different than installing panel-type cell site antennas.

“The timeline is a concern to us, especially the 36-month window,” said Todd Schlekeway, NATE’s executive director. “In our industry after the digital conversion there hasn’t been much work from a contractor’s perspective in that space. The workforce migrated over to the wireless and cell tower side, and all the new workers in the last several years are familiar with [only] that type of work. You start ramping up broadcast again and there could definitely be a shortage of contractors qualified to do work, and broadcast towers are a whole different animal than cell towers. We’re concerned about safety. Given the nature of the work and [lack of] familiarity with working on broadcast structures… and the timeline, [there is] a concern from a safety perspective and we’ve sent correspondence to the FCC that said as much. We’re going to be watching things very closely.”

Joe Burdette, vice president and co-owner of U.S. Tower Services in Frederick, Md., also believes that there could be manpower shortages and safety issues, and notes that the situation is not the same as when broadcasters were preparing for the DTV changeover.

“Qualified crew availability is much worse,” said Burdette. “When the first big change came about there were plenty of companies that did this sort of work. That’s not the situation now. Most of the work going on is in connection with cell sites, and those crews aren’t necessarily qualified to do tall tower work.”

ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS
Even if a much larger workforce could be readied immediately, there are other factors that could slow the overall repack program. Weather can be a big player with windy conditions halting a job and low temperatures greatly impeding progress.

“You can work through the winter,” said Silliman, reflecting on a job he did in Chicago. “But it’s painful and you’re not nearly as efficient.”

Another slowdown may come from a pending industry requirement. “There’s a new TIA [Telecommunications Industry Association] code that’s probably going to come out within the next year that’s going to make things even tougher for tall tower jobs,” said Burdette. “There’re going to be changes in things like wind loading, metal fatigue and other areas. Even if you install a smaller antenna, you must follow the latest code.”

Dielectric’s Pelletier also flagged the interrelationship between some television markets as a potential retarding factor.

“The whole eastern seaboard is going to be problematic,” he said. “You’ve got so many large markets in a small geographical area—Philadelphia, New York City, Baltimore, Washington, all the way down the coast—that a change in Boston may trigger changes all the way down to Charlotte, N.C.”

ARE THERE ANY SOLUTIONS?
Given the “Mission Impossible” nature of the pending repack, is there anything that broadcasters can do now to speed up matters when the flag drops?

“Do some homework,” said Pelletier. “Get a VSWR sweep of your system and determine what is band-limited and what is not, and figure out what channels will work with the transmission line length you have now. It would be good to speak with your RF system and antenna manufacturer to get a high-level understanding of system capabilities and what they may be able to do to help you with a frequency change.

“In some cases the old analog antenna is still on the tower,” Pelletier continued. “This could come down in advance to make way for a new antenna. The more things you can do proactively now—structural studies, transmission line inspection and sweeps—the better.”

ERI’s Silliman also offered suggestions.

“If a station really wants to get ahead of the game and they’re worried that they’re going to go down in frequency they ought to have someone look at the tower—have it analyzed in terms of capacity and possibly do some reinforcement work.”

Asked if ERI will establish a “waiting list” for prioritizing repack work, Silliman was quick to answer.

“It’s strictly going to be first-come, first-served.”