CINCINNATI — The South Carolina Educational Television Commission is turning to GateAir for nine UHF and one VHF transmitter to support the statewide repack of 10 of its TV stations to new channel assignments.
SCETV has selected Maxiva ULXTE liquid-cooled transmitters for its UHF stations and is working with GatesAir on choosing a high-power VHF transmitter that will allow its WNTV in Greenville, S.C., to maximize service.
[Read: Hearst TV, GatesAir Ink Deal On Maxiva TXs For 13 Repacked Stations]
The FCC has assigned the public broadcaster, which transmits PBS and NPR programming throughout South Carolina, to four repack phases. More than half of its stations are assigned to Phase 5. Transmitters are due to begin arriving at those stations in the coming weeks to meet the testing deadline in early September, GatesAir said.
GatesAir is working with SCETV to avoid disrupting the broadcaster’s eight FM radio stations as its TV stations are repacked, the company added. Each of the radio stations is collocated with the TV transmitters in common facilities.
“GatesAir’s service department has worked closely with us and our repack antenna supplier, Dielectric, to ensure that none of our TV or FM operations are interrupted as work progresses,” said Mark Jahnke, SCETV VP of Technology and chief information officer.
Jahnke added that the liquid-cooled GatesAir UHF transmitters will help SCETV achieve its goal of reducing its carbon footprint.
“Considering the higher power levels of our stations along with South Carolina’s year-round hot and humid climate, GatesAir’s liquid-cooled transmission systems will clearly deliver the highest possible cost-savings across cooling and electrical costs,” he said. “While we’re still working through the exact calculations, there is no question we’ll immediately downsize our air-conditioning systems by a significant margin.”
The transmitters are outfitted with GateAir ATSC 3.0-ready Maxiva XTE exciters to ensure the broadcaster is ready for Next Gen TV operations, he added.
