Dielectric Announces New LPTV Antennas, Filters

By Doug Lung
published

Dielectric DLP low-power antenna
Antenna manufacturers are expecting to see an increase in demand for low power TV antennas after the FCC opens its filing window for new digital-only LPTV and TV translator stations. The filing window for nationwide first-come, first-served, licensing of such digital-only services, originally scheduled for earlier this year, was postponed until July 26, 2010.

In considering the transition to digital, many LPTV stations and translator operators may find that they need repeaters, and in some cases, a distributed transmission system (DTS) to fill in important areas that are shadowed from the main transmitter.

Dielectric will launch a new line of low power antennas, filters and transmission line products at NAB. Two of these products are likely to interest LPTV stations looking for more reliable signals from their limited power, and also full-power stations adding low power repeaters or DTS for improved mobile DTV coverage are the TUA-M mid-power and TUM broadband low-power circularly polarized (CP) panel antennas. Low-power linearly polarized antennas will also be available.

"With these products, we've applied Dielectric's groundbreaking circular polarization technology to the low-power market, giving customers the same performance advantages as higher power systems, particularly in mobile applications, said Garrett VanAtta, Dielectric' president.

Dielectric will also show their TFU-UT bow-tie slot turnstile and TUL UHF CP antennas.

Even low-power TV transmitters have to meet FCC emission mask requirements. Dielectric will be showing tunable and non-tunable UHF bandpass filters capable of meeting FCC stringent or non-stringent mask requirements.

"Our new economical low-power product family offers a number of antenna configurations, allowing broadcasters to select from horizontal, elliptical, and circular polarizations designed to create a system that specifically meets their unique broadcasting needs," said VanAtta. "With a number of antennas, filters, and transmission line offerings all engineered for low-power operation, Dielectric is providing an affordable solution for a wide range of low-power broadcasting applications."

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.