NAB: Antenna Engineers Push Circular Polarization

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All of the major antenna manufacturers were recommending full circular polarization (CP) to provide the best possible Mobile DTV coverage.

Antenna manufacturers showed an interest in Mobile DTV at the NAB Show. All of the major antenna manufacturers were recommending full circular polarization (CP) to provide the best possible Mobile DTV coverage. While it may be impractical for broadcasters operating at the maximum UHF power of 1,000 kW to implement CP without reducing coverage or doubling transmitter size, stations operating at lower power and 700 MHz licensees with a limit of 50 kW effective radiated power should be able to implement CP without much difficulty.

I've discussed the advantages of CP or the compromise elliptical polarization (EP) in past RF Technology columns. At NAB, thanks to a series of presentations organized by Richland Tower, I was able to learn about some new tests that show the value of CP. How about rotating a car on top of a turnstile at an RF test range? I'll have more in my RF Technology column.

Doug Lung
Doug Lung
Contributor

Doug Lung is one of America's foremost authorities on broadcast RF technology. As vice president of Broadcast Technology for NBCUniversal Local, H. Douglas Lung leads NBC and Telemundo-owned stations’ RF and transmission affairs, including microwave, radars, satellite uplinks, and FCC technical filings. Beginning his career in 1976 at KSCI in Los Angeles, Lung has nearly 50 years of experience in broadcast television engineering. Beginning in 1985, he led the engineering department for what was to become the Telemundo network and station group, assisting in the design, construction and installation of the company’s broadcast and cable facilities. Other projects include work on the launch of Hawaii’s first UHF TV station, the rollout and testing of the ATSC mobile-handheld standard, and software development related to the incentive auction TV spectrum repack. A longtime columnist for TV Technology, Doug is also a regular contributor to IEEE Broadcast Technology. He is the recipient of the 2023 NAB Television Engineering Award. He also received a Tech Leadership Award from TV Tech publisher Future plc in 2021 and is a member of the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society and the Society of Broadcast Engineers.