Radio World Buyer’s Guide articles are intended to help readers understand why their colleagues chose particular products to solve various technical situations. This month’s articles focus on antennas, RF support and power protection.
Martyn Horspool, TelevisaUnivision’s director of RF transmission for the western region, was tasked with upgrading FM station KQMR’s auxiliary site to its main transmission facility.
The station’s currently licensed main transmission facility does not have commercial power. “Converting our old auxiliary site to be the main site was a move to environmental and fiscal sustainability by using commercial power versus diesel generator as the prime source of power,” Horspool told ERI.
TelevisaUnivision selected an ERI Model MP-5E, five-bay Rototiller FM antenna, and it was installed at the end of October along with a new microwave dish.
KQMR is a full-service Class C FM. The location has an elevation of 7,500 feet above sea level, and the authorized height above average terrain for the new FM antenna is nearly 7,700 feet and an authorized ERP of 33 kW.
The end-fed MP Series medium-power Rototiller FM antennas are rated to handle up to 18 kW input power. The MP-5E model used for this application has a numeric 2.715, so the input power to the antenna to achieve the licensed ERP is only 12.15 kW. The antenna included optional radomes for protection from snow and ice and anti-rotation brackets to prevent the leg-mounted array from twisting.
Horspool told ERI in November that the antenna was working perfectly as expected. “We are currently operating with it as we prepare for the next step, which is to complete modifications to our existing GatesAir FAX FM transmitter and move it up to the new site.”
