Antenna Elevation Pattern Info Now Required in CDBS

By Doug Lung
published

As reported last week, the rules for distributed transmission systems require submission of antenna elevation pattern data.

After downloading the CDBS files Wednesday to create the TV Engineering Database spreadsheets at www.xmtr.com/fcc/ and the DTV Station Status report in this week's RF Report, I noticed some new tables had been added.

These new files include antenna elevation and make. Some new fields have also been added to the application database, including one for a station's network affiliation. The DTV transition database has picked up additional fields, including information on analog nightlight operation and Neilsen DMA data. Other new fields were also noticed in the site's "tv_app_indicators" and "tv_end_data" databases.

I'll be examining these new files to see if any of the data can be included in my TV Engineering Database spreadsheets. With the final analog shutdown three months away, I'd be interested in comments from readers on whether they would like to continue to see the DTV Station Status report every other week. With the DTV transition coming to a close, is it still useful? I will attempt to post the FCC TV Engineering Database spreadsheets every other week whether or not the DTV status report continues in my RF Report.

Doug Lung
Doug Lung

Doug Lung is one of America's foremost authorities on broadcast RF technology. As vice president of Broadcast Technology for NBCUniversal Local, H. Douglas Lung leads NBC and Telemundo-owned stations’ RF and transmission affairs, including microwave, radars, satellite uplinks, and FCC technical filings. Beginning his career in 1976 at KSCI in Los Angeles, Lung has nearly 50 years of experience in broadcast television engineering. Beginning in 1985, he led the engineering department for what was to become the Telemundo network and station group, assisting in the design, construction and installation of the company’s broadcast and cable facilities. Other projects include work on the launch of Hawaii’s first UHF TV station, the rollout and testing of the ATSC mobile-handheld standard, and software development related to the incentive auction TV spectrum repack. A longtime columnist for TV Technology, Doug is also a regular contributor to IEEE Broadcast Technology. He is the recipient of the 2023 NAB Television Engineering Award. He also received a Tech Leadership Award from TV Tech publisher Future plc in 2021 and is a member of the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society and the Society of Broadcast Engineers.