CINCINNATI—GatesAir last week announced shipment of its 100th TV transmitter as part of the FCC-mandated repack of television spectrum to Hearst Television’s WMOR-TV in Tampa, Fla.

The station, which is taking delivery of a high-power Maxiva ULXTE liquid-cooled transmitter, is one of 13 Hearst Television stations GatesAir is supplying under an exclusive agreement announced in December 2017.

WMOR, destined for UHF channel 18, is installing a ULXTE-100 transmitter capable of 62.9kW. Initially, the station’s transmitter will operate at 58.9kW TPO, allowing headroom for future digital services. The station operates from Riverview Antenna Farm, which is owned by America Tower.

The FCC has assigned the station to Phase 5 of the repack, and Hearst VP of Engineering Martin Faubell has worked closely with GatesAir to make sure the new transmitter is delivered and installed to meet the phase deadline. According to Faubell, the performance of GatesAir during the initial repack phases has been critical to the station group meeting its assigned deadlines.

“We started working with GatesAir very early in the planning process with the knowledge that repack was going to be a serious challenge for Hearst Television, as well as the broadcast industry at large,” said Faubell.

So far, Hearst has taken delivery of five transmitters for stations being repacked. WTAE in Pittsburgh was the latest Hearst station to go on air with a new Maxiva transmitter. That station is not transmitting on channel 27.

The solid-state GatesAir Maxiva transmitters offer several benefits, said Faubell. “Solid-state technology has improved to the point where excellent efficiency is possible with high-power UHF transmitters,” he said. “With GatesAir’s Maxiva transmitters, the reliability will be higher, and the maintenance and power consumption in our facilities will be lower.”

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