Profiling recipients of the Radio World “Cool Stuff” Award:
credit: Photo by Jim Peck This collaboration by Omnia and Nautel is intended to improve the quality of FM air chains.
The Omnia Direct digital composite interface will be available in the Omnia.11 processor and Nautel NV series transmitters. As Omnia, part of the Telos Alliance, puts it, “In the past, stations concerned about maximum modulation needed to use an analog composite signal. This was primarily due to the required high sample rate of A/D converters used to create discrete left/right inputs to the digital exciter.”
The interface allows an AES-EBU cable between the Omnia.11 and the Nautel NV Series transmitter to carry the baseband signal in digital form. “This 100 percent digital path eliminates the noise and distortion of A/D converters and reduces potential overshoots, while ensuring full FCC mask compliance.” Omnia’s Frank Foti calls it the digital equivalent of the analog BNC-to-BNC composite connection, taking the output of the audio processor stereo generator and coupling it directly to the modulator of the exciter.
The functionality is available on NV series transmitters from 3.5 kW to 44 kW. New transmitters are shipping with it standard; older ones may be upgraded with a software release due shortly.
Shown: John Whyte and Peter Conlon of Nautel; Frank Foti of Omnia; Chuck Kelly of Nautel; Cornelius Gould of Omnia.
Info: omniaaudio.com; nautel.com
