PESA Switching Systems has shipped a new "Cheetah" 512 x 512 SD/HD routing switcher to WLS in Chicago, Ill. The Cheetah is a multirate matrix switcher that can handle digital signals from 3 Mbps to 1.5 Gbps, and has a 512 x 512 capacity in 41 RUs.
The Cheetah 512 frame, currently populated to 256 x 256, will interface to an existing control system at WLS through the PESA UCI2000P protocol converter. This integration will help the station use the compact system cost-effectively with its existing control system.
Engineers at the station cited the purchase as a result of needing an affordable, reliable, single-rack SD/HD system with redundancies that provide no single point of failure in the on-air system.
