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The 2wcom DSR01 at work in the rack at Antenne Bayern. MUNICH, Germany — Antenne Bayern is Germany’s most listened to radio station, with more than 3.8 million listeners a day and an average of over 1.2 million listeners per hour. It transmits its programs using 42 FM transmitters. The signal is supplied via the Astra 3A through satellite links.
In 2009 the replacement of Comstream satellite equipment was to be carried out by our partner Media Broadcast. After detailed testing it was decided to opt for a professional satellite transmission system concept with complete redundancy. This system is maintained and operated by Media Broadcast.
Features required
Using satellites for distribution requires reliable integrated satellite receivers and decoders (IRD). For our application, the focus was placed on the following features: absolute time synchronized receiver, ideally fitted with PCR time stamp to avoid time delays during RDS switchover of overlapping FM transmitters; excellent sound quality, with AAC-LC and MPEG Layer II option for encoding of DVB-S signals; outstanding error correction to guarantee reception even in bad weather conditions; and noncritical power supply components with long-term stability.
Another consideration was the need for dynamic transmission of RDS data because Antenne Bayern sends out dynamic data, i.e., radio text and TMC services.
Using these guidelines we opted for the DSR01 IRD from 2wcom in Germany. In addition to the aforementioned features, the DSR01 receives DVB-S2, an option for tasks in the future based on the DVB-S standard.
The configuration of the DSR01 can be carried out via Web interface conveniently. This enables new configurations as well as copying existing configurations to a receiver of the same type without complications.
The complete system is being integrated in the network management control system of Media Broadcast and is to be monitored 24/7/365.
Another useful feature of the 2wcom DSR01 is the ability to use definable SNMP traps (alarms) that can be triggered and forwarded at predefined conditions, e.g., loss of signal in adverse weather conditions, loss of auxiliary RDS data, audio errors and more. Notification of these conditions can be forwarded via SNMP or via relay contacts. Apart from predefined switching thresholds it is possible to access different presets via input control (GPI) in order to switch over to a certain carrier or satellite if necessary.
We have also been happy with the customer support of 2wcom, listening and corresponding to our demands as well as carrying out improvements promptly and integrating those into updates quickly.
The author is an audio engineer with Antenne Bayern.
For information, contact Bill Marriot at 2wcom/viaRadio in Florida at (321) 242-0001 or visitwww.2wcom.com.
