Broadcast antenna and RF systems maker Dielectric announced it has added new engineering team members in anticipation of the TV spectrum repack. The company has formed a dedicated research and development team, headed by Vice President of Engineering John Schadler; and Jack Chandler and Jim Chadwick join the engineering staff as veteran designer and proposal engineer, respectively.
Jim Butts (shown above at right) will manage the new dedicated R&D team, reporting to Schadler. He previously served as senior mechanical engineer for Dielectric from 1997–2005, overseeing the design of high-power antenna projects, including a rooftop Empire State Building installation and a triple-stack antenna system on the Willis Tower in Chicago. His R&D experience includes antenna design and structural analysis software.
Chandler joins Dielectric with more than 30 years of experience related to the mechanical design of broadcast antenna systems. He specializes in the use of 3D CAD software for detailed system modeling.
Chadwick has more than 10 years’ experience as a broadcast systems applications engineer positions him as a valuable asset for TV stations as they plan and budget for spectrum repack activities.
These personnel additions follow the December appointment of Jay Martin as vice president of sales, when he returned to the company after working for Radio Frequency Systems as a global wireless and broadcast infrastructure specialist. He had previously worked at Dielectric for 23 years.
“In the U.S. specifically, broadcasters anticipate both temporary and permanent redesigns of their RF plant and tower structures due to TV channel reassignments, which will also affect FM and HD Radio broadcasters sharing sites with TV stations,” said Keith Pelletier, Dielectric’s vice president and general manager, in the press release. “The expansion of our engineering and R&D teams assure we are fully prepared for the multi-year repack period as well as post-repack markets.”
— Radio
