Broadcast antenna and RF system manufacturer Dielectric, will unveil its new RFHawkeye monitoring system at the 2019 NAB Show (April 8-11, Las Vegas Convention Center). Co-axial transmission line systems, an expensive and essential component of any broadcast air chain, are subjected to environmental and operational conditions that can lead to potentially damaging, changes over time. This new IP- connected system now gives broadcasters a way to monitor the performance and condition of this critical system in real-time, 24/7 and under full power.
“Undetected deterioration of line or elbow components has repeatedly been shown to result in extensive damage and down time,” said Dielectric’s VP of Sales, Jay Martin. “RFHawkeye performs continuous time domain measurements of the RF system while the station is on the air at full power, providing advance warning of deterioration to local or remote operators, enabling early corrective actions.”
The system consists of a line section, or monitoring point, and a proprietary data logger powered by proprietary custom software. The software collects and analyzes system performance data at the tower site.
“Perhaps the gas barrier is failing above the elbow complex, or connectors are failing in the transmission line 500 feet up. RFHawkeye provides a pre-diagnostic heads-up to tell crews how far up the tower to climb, and where to pull the system apart for faster, safer inspections,” Martin added.
Dielectric installed a prototype of RFHawkeye at WGME-DT in Portland, Maine and will review results at NAB. Development of the final production version continues, and attendees are invited to visit Booth C2213 to see the system in operation.
March 29, 2019
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