Jacksonville NPR Affiliate Outlines HD Radio Plans; Harris Chosen as Vendor

Harris said NPR affiliate WJCT(FM) in Jacksonville has purchased an HD Radio
transmission package and will go on the air with it this spring.
The order includes a Z16HDS 3.5 kW transmitter operating in Harris’ Split-Level Combining method
with an existing analog transmitter; Flexstar HD Radio products; and NeuStar HD/FM codec processors.
“The package also will fully prepare WJCT to launch a complete Tomorrow Radio service dependent on FCC approval,” Harris stated, “including supplementary audio and data and an HD Radio simulcast of its current analog radio reading service for the sight-impaired.”
The project also involves a switching solution that creates a combiner bypass system. In the event of a catastrophic failure, the combiner can be bypassed so the analog signal can still reach listeners throughout the region.
Garrett Wood is broadcast engineer at WJCT-FM/TV.