BORDEAUX, France—As broadcasters continue to deal with the repack, Sutro Tower in San Francisco is collaborating with two WorldCast Group companies to update its equipment. WorldCast Systems and CONNECT are the two selected to develop and supply an Antenna Switch Controller System and a unified monitoring platform for RF operations.
As part of its repack process, the 977-foot Sutro Tower, which handles both radio and television in San Francisco, is replacing several antennas, adding additional RF feeds and replacing its existing antenna control system. The WorldCast product that will be installed incorporates hardware and software from both the Eresco (RF) division and CONNECT.
Based on the new Eresco Switch Controller, the system is designed specifically for the Sutro Tower and is responsible for moving the RF switches as commanded by customers. The system monitors/records data for real-time display and analysis. Each ESC can manage five motorized RF switches and is built on FPGA hardware that will link the controllers to a network to manage connections. One controller will be installed in the suite for each broadcaster customer at Sutro Tower.
Initially, Sutro Tower has ordered 10 controllers for TV and five for radio, which will control approximately 35 motorized RF switches. The expected product delivery is some time in 2019.
For more information on the repack, visit TV Technology's repack silo.
