Keeping the power on
There is an old joke that has been floating around the industry for years. It claims that a station chief tested the standby power plant every week for
Prevent antenna failures
In January, this column discussed the growth of the antenna complex on the Sears Tower in Chicago. As noted in that article, the installation was successful,
DTV transmitters
When the DTV rules were first announced, or even offered for comment, broadcasters started to worry about how a second channel could be accommodated within
Low-power transmitters
Up to this point, most of the reporting on DTV transmitters and antenna systems has focused on equipment for the large, full-power DTV systems. That includes
Transmission lines
As almost all TV stations have a DTV facility in operation, it is time to plan what moves need to be made in the transmission line on the tower. Should
Arc flash safety
In a typical television transmitter installation 30 years ago at a time when big power was coming into play (three-phase, 460VAC) power was fed from a
Identifying hot spots
The development of new sensing devices has made temperature-testing tools extremely useful for broadcasters. The devices permit testing under power a
DTV antennas
Careful planning, design and installation can lead to an effective radiation pattern.
Pattern directions
Two directional TV antenna patterns exist: What the FCC wants and what's realistic.
Transmitters: The new ones are bigger
When you wandered through the halls of NAB2006, the transmitter offerings seemed to be the same old things. There were small solid-state ones, ones with
Emergency preparedness
This year's hurricane season is expected to bring more named storms than average. Prognosticators also predict that this higher-than-average occurrence
