Sorted! Alan Dick & Company solves congestion conundrum for U.S. broadcasters

The first two installations of an innovative range of antennas designed and manufactured by Alan Dick have come to the aid of television broadcasters in the USA.

The ingenious design solves the twin problems of handling higher power and broader frequency ranges for the extra channels needed for new digital television (DTV) transmissions in North America. Extremely versatile, the design is the ideal "universal building block" for a wide range of antenna requirements and is cost-effective in all situations.

Both antenna systems are now in service and were delivered by AlanDick's U.S. sales partner, Andrew Corporation. They have solved an acute problem facing every broadcaster entering the DTV market now. Stations that have already made the transition to digital are sitting pretty but for all others finding and negotiating extra antenna space will be a major hurdle. Most towers are fully allocated, new sites are unavailable for zoning (planning) reasons and public pressure is making the installation of additional antennas an increasingly precarious proposition, not withstanding the U.S. public's insatiable appetite for more television.

 
 

Alan Dick's solution was a broadband UHF panel antenna (model H72) that avoided the need for extra antennas. Covering the full UHF television frequency band and providing 72 degrees beamwidth per panel, the H72 handles both existing analogue channels and the new digital signals without increasing tower loading. The arrangement of five panels around the tower, instead of the normal four, provides significantly more room behind the reflector for the feed harnesses. This in turn allows the use of more substantial transmission lines that can handle the greater power dissipation required when several digital signals are momentarily all at peak power.

AlanDick's H72 antenna is both cost-effective and versatile, suitable for high power UHF arrays and smaller stations alike.