GatesAir Supplies Transmitters for Test Transmissions from One World Trade Center

By Doug Lung
published

GatesAir announced last week that it will provide its latest high-efficiency Maxiva UHF and VHF transmitters for testing over-the-air coverage from One World Trade Center. GatesAir will aid in the installation of the transmitter and provide on-site training to ensure broadcasters and engineers from The Durst Organization, manager of the space at One World Trade Center, are familiar with the design and operation of the transmitters.

John Lyons, assistant vice president and director of broadcasting for The Durst Organization said, “These tests will showcase the advantages of broadcasting from this next-generation site, and we’re enthused that GatesAir is supporting our efforts with their latest high-efficiency TV transmitters. We believe that One World Trade Center will become the premier transmission site for over-the-air TV and radio broadcasters due to its attractive downtown location and clear line of sight.”

Once the transmitters are installed, GatesAir will take the opportunity to measure the efficiency of the transmitters as the tests progress. The transmitters use GatesAir's “PowerSmart 3D” broadband transmitter architecture.

The transmitters will deliver power to separate VHF and UHF circularly polarized RFS panel antennas mounted just below the top of the spire. The antenna mount is designed to allow the antennas to be oriented in different directions from NW to East during the overnight testing. The tests, authorized under FCC STAs, will use Channel 12 at VHF and Channel 32 at UHF. (Editor's Note: Article originally said Ch. 34 instead of 32. Channel 32 is correct.)The signals from One World Trade will be compared with those from 10 existing VHF and UHF stations broadcasting from the Empire State Building using the antennas, equipment and software I describe in my January 2015 RF Technology column.

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.