Antennas, a transmission line and a complete RF system, all from Dielectric Communications, is supporting a new tower site that is bringing high-power DTV broadcasts to the Denver metropolitan area. The system is currently on-air and broadcasting signals for four separate stations.
The new installation serves Lake Cedar Group, an organization that represents Gannett Broadcasting-owned KTVD (a MyNetworkTV affiliate) and KUSA (an NBC affiliate), McGraw Hill-owned ABC affiliate KMGH, and CBS owned-and-operated KCNC. The group faced a number of technical and logistical challenges in the design of the system, which had to be overcome in order to gain support from the surrounding community.
By airing signals from the new 730ft tower located on Lookout Mountain west of Denver, the stations have reported improved transmission performance. By merging their operations, the group has reduced the number of towers visible on the mountain, which was a concern of community activists. The installation is unique in its construction of a 250ft underground tunnel that houses the 10 phased transmission line runs. The tunnel was designed to reduce impact on the appearance of the mountain, maintaining as much of an uninterrupted ridgeline as possible.
The Lake Cedar Group has installed a custom-designed RF system with three VHF antennas and three UHF antennas that allows six channels to operate in both main and alternate configurations for VHF channels 7 and 9 and UHF channels 16, 17, 19 and 33. Previously, the channels were limited to transmitting low-power digital signals from the tallest building in downtown Denver.
For more information, visit www.dielectric.com.
