RF Shorts - July 20, 2012

First Review of NV20 Indoor Fractal TV Antenna

Vito Pilieci has the first review I've seen of the NorthVu NV20 indoor fractal TV antenna I described last week. In his article An Ottawa-made indoor HD antenna that works, he describes the antenna and his experience with it. Unfortunately the only comparisons are with an outdoor antenna, not one of the competing indoor antenna designs. 

He writes, “For the purposes of testing the NV20, made by local company NorthVu Systems Inc., I hooked the sleek black router-shaped antenna up to my TV at home. I live about 30 kilometers outside of downtown Ottawa, where over-the-air signal strength is less than optimal. I placed in the antenna in a window facing west. I could receive a total of six digital channels, including CBC, CHCH, Omni, CTV and Citytv. The picture on each channel was vibrant and clear. CBC’s HD feed was as good, if not better, than what I get over satellite.” 

The neighbor with the outdoor antenna received 16 stations. 

Pilieci’s conclusion? “For someone in an apartment or a condominium development closer to a major urban centre, where signal strengths may be stronger and an exterior antenna isn’t allowed, the NV20 would likely provide all of the free over-the-air TV signals a person would want.”

Arrest Made in Stolen Kentucky FM Antenna Case

Deputies at the Perry County, Kentucky Sheriff's office arrested a man in connection with the sale of several pieces of metal from an FM transmitting antenna belonging to WSGS in Hazard. As is often the case in copper thefts, the value of the pieces removed was about $100, while the antenna will cost much more to replace. The new antenna was not in use at the time, but rather stored away in the station’s transmitter building. For details see Bailey Richards' article Man charged with receiving metal stolen at radio tower on Hazard-Herald.com. 

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.