MT. OLIVE, NJ—At the 2024 NAB Show, April 14-17 in Las Vegas, Vislink Technologies will unveil its smallest transmitter yet, the DragonFly V. The  ultra-compact HEVC HDR COFDM transmitter weighs less than 55 grams, making it one of the lightest and most portable transmitters on the market, according to Vislink. It delivers high-definition HDR video transmission with low latency and supports video formats up to 1080P-50/60 HDR.

 “With the launch of DragonFly V, we are redefining the boundaries of live broadcast technology," said Mickey Miller, CEO of Vislink.. "This tiny yet mighty device exemplifies Vislink's commitment to delivering innovative, high-performance solutions that our customers have come to expect. DragonFly V is the epitome of advanced engineering, designed to empower broadcasters and content creators to capture the world from angles never before possible.”

DragonFly V offers HD/SDI or HDMI input options and caters to a myriad of applications, from sports and entertainment to public safety. Its energy-efficient design ensures extended operation times, critical for remote and dynamic live broadcasting environments, the company said.

Key features include:

• Innovative Miniature Design: DragonFly V offers unparalleled portability and ease of use without sacrificing quality or functionality.
• HEVC HDR Encoding: capable of handling up to 1080P HD video, it provides crisp, clear images that are essential for modern broadcast workflows.
• Flexible Connectivity: equipped with either HDMI or SDI inputs, it ensures compatibility with a wide range of cameras.
• Ultra-Reliable Transmission: with a 50mW COFDM output power, DragonFly V enables stable and secure video even in the most challenging conditions.
• Low Power Consumption: for efficient and extended use.
• Comprehensive Control: features like Wi-Fi control and RS232 remote control add convenience and flexibility to operations.

Vislink will be in Booth W3632 in the West Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center.

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. 

ALLENTOWN, Pa.—WFMZ-TV 69 is an independent VHF station serving the Lehigh Valley and Berks County of eastern Pennsylvania. At 80.6kW ERP, WFMZ’s over-the-air signal penetrates the Philadelphia market to the south, east into New Jersey, and several counties north and west.

After the repack ended in 2020, WFMZ moved from its 800kW UHF Channel 46 to WBPH Bethlehem’s 80 kW Channel 9, also shared by WLVT Bethlehem, which also broadcasts WPPT Philadelphia in SD on its shared space.

Post-Repack Challenge
Post-repack, various technical challenges reduced our signal penetration. The original Channel 9 antenna was a Horizontal polarized six-bay directional antenna with a transmitter TPO of 10kW. The sharing partners agreed to solve the lost signal problem by moving to an omnidirectional, four-bay antenna system with 50% horizontal and 50% vertical polarization and doubling the power of our existing GatesAir 20kW Maxiva VAXTE VHF transmitter to 40kW TPO. 

To my understanding, this is the highest power air-cooled VAXTE transmitter GatesAir has produced, and it has once again powered our signals into the neighborhoods we lost post-repack. 

We had the choice of increasing our transmitter size or starting over with liquid-cooled. We chose the former, and our refurbished Maxiva VAXTE went live in January 2023.  Along with price point and confidence in their longevity and technical support, we stayed with GatesAir because they were a common denominator for all three broadcasters in the channel-sharing agreement.

That importance is amplified by the fact that the transmission systems are on the WFMZ property. WFMZ’s studios and tower are colocated on South Mountain in Allentown, and we have long hosted the other two stations’ transmission systems.

GatesAir and their installation partner managed the original installation and upgrade. We updated the coaxial and electrical infrastructure inside our transmitter building in 2018, and installed a constant impedance filter (CIF) to take the VAXTE signal to the antenna. Rather than replace it in the upgrade, 

GatesAir suggested we add a second CIF to the “new half” of the transmitter and combine the two signals at the output. With 48 power amplifiers in the VAXTE, managing the timing, combining and line lengths for the RF signal, sampling, measuring, and correction is a weighty challenge. Their service team worked through those challenges, and the result has been impressive.

The New Footprint
Our new transmitter footprint spans six cabinets, with eight amplifier modules per cabinet. While that seems big, it is expected for an air-cooled transmitter at this TPO. Full-sized doors on the rear of each cabinet provide access for maintenance. Replacing an amplifier module is simple, with only some quick disconnects required while the transmitter remains on the air.

We use redundant Maxiva XTE exciters in the transmitter. These are ATSC 3.0-upgradeable units that provide stable power and meet all performance specifications for the signal. The VAXTE’s web GUI allows us to monitor exciter performance and drill down to see the voltages, currents and temperatures for each PA module, as well as reflected power and general power output from the transmitter. Connectivity to a remote-control system provides alarming if any power thresholds are crossed.

Viewer response to the increase has been positive. A contributor to an online local broadcasting forum recently commented that WFMZ’s signal once again reaches into his neighborhood on the market’s outer edges, and a family member of our staff reports she can now receive the station at her home northwest of Philadelphia. That tells me that the transmitter and antenna system upgrade have fulfilled the purpose of improving our coverage.  

More information is available at www.gatesair.com.

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—WSMV-TV has been a fixture in Nashville for more than 70 years and we have been very proud of our reputation as a key broadcasting presence in the community. Recently we recognized that our current RF equipment was beginning to show its years and since it was past the typical service life we began to look for something that we could depend upon again to carry our transmission without fail with a support team to back it up. 

A FAMILIAR CONNECTION

We’ve had a longstanding relationship with Comark dating back to September 2002, and there is a reason we stick with them. Our prior transmitter, an Optimum TDV2-7K50 LV two cabinet, was also supplied by Comark and for nearly two decades of operation, they provided helpful and reliable customer service. Given their reliability, we sought out our trusted partner to see what they had to offer for today’s broadcaster.

Considering all the accolades their PARALLAX series has received, we decided on an HPTV-PRLX-V6 model, a single cabinet VHF that houses six power amplifiers rated at 8.7 kW TPO rated and 6.35 kW while running. In operation we are putting out a tremendous signal at 45 dB SNR with 61 dB shoulders. We’ve also employed the EXACT-V2 exciters in the PARALLAX transmitter and we are seeing excellent synergy within the system. The front panel user interface is both simple and informative, allowing us to dig down to the individual transistor’s operating parameters.

EASY & EFFICIENT

Despite our conveniently located transmission site, there are always sweat and tears that go into the work of replacing such large and complex machinery, but the Comark and WSMV Engineering team was more than prepared. 

The turnkey installation was a breeze and we were up and running on the PARALLAX system in less than a week, ensuring that we did not experience any down time transitioning from our old transmitter to our updated system.

The PARALLAX liquid-cooled transmitter touts its cooling system as simple and effective when it comes to removing waste heat evenly with the utmost efficiency, and despite it being installed in December, we immediately noticed a difference. 

With the conspicuous reduction in consumed energy we saw a subsequent reduction in our energy bills. Within weeks of installation we recognized that our new system was helping to pay for itself with its impressive efficiency. 

The “WSM” of our call signs hearkens back to the motto of the National Life and Accident Insurance Co. that was based in Nashville: “We Shield Millions.” While National Life has resettled themselves into the history books, we seek to embody that motto with our work, broadcasting for the greater Nashville area and with the help of Comark’s equipment and customer service we can assure our service will continue uninterrupted. 

Dana Lyons is director of engineering & operations of the WSMV engineering team, using over 17 years of practical and leadership experience to lead his maintenance and operational staff in the technical department. Lyons takes great pride in the station’s operations and improvements including all IT electronics and broadcast equipment as well as building-related enhancements. He can be reached through www.wsmv.com. 

For more information, visit: https://comarktv.com/.

CINCINNATI—WRAL-TV in Raleigh-Durham launched the first ATSC 3.0 simulcast earlier this week, utilizing GatesAir’s Maxiva transmitter. Designed for ATSC 3.0 content delivery, the Maxiva includes a 7kW ULXT liquid-cooled UHF transmitter and its XTE exciter.

Maxiva in WRAL's transmitter room

The Maxiva ULXT features the latest PowerSmart Plus transmitter architecture and ultra-efficient liquid cooling, integrates next-generation LDMOS power amplifiers for reduced power consumption and transmitter footprint, and supports AC to RF efficiency. The Maxiva XTE exciter provides advanced signal processing, throughput and IP capabilities to deliver ATSC 3.0 signals and data, including emergency alerts, to fixed mobile devices.

WRAL, in working with GatesAir and other vendors, will share findings from the project to refine the end-to-end architecture.