WTVJ-DT Broadcast Transmitter

On July 1, 2003 WTVJ commissioned its state of the art digital broadcast transmitter manufactured by Thomson Inc. (formally Thales Broadcasting). This transmitter is made up of 4 inductive output tubes (IOT) that provide 19,000 watts of radio frequency power each. Thus the transmitter outputs 76,000 watts of power up the tower into the antenna.   This provides 1,000,000 watts of effective radiated broadcast power of NBC 6 HD throughout Miami-Dade and Broward counties. 

The brain of the transmitter are its dual digital exciters that input the digital stream from the NBC 6 studios in Miramar and makes the signal suitable for transmission. Exciters are analogous to CPU’s in computers. This transmitter boasts 2 exciters in order to provide the amount of redundancy needed to supply continuous 24/7 broadcast service to South Florida.
 
As well as the outstanding digital video provided by the transmitter, the audio output of the transmitter has the capability of supplying 5.1 Dolby SurroundÓ to its antenna viewers. Of course, this happens when 5.1 programming is present. 
 
The NBC 6 HD transmitter location is equipped with 700 KVA of uninterrupted power supplies (UPS) and a 800 KVA power generator to ensure that the transmitter never looses AC power. This was evident after hurricane Wilma in 2005 when the transmitter ran for 6 continuous days without power from Florida Power And LightÓ.
 
The transmitter enables viewers to receive a pristine HD signal simply by using an outdoor antenna or indoor “rabbit ears”. Most antenna viewers boast of an NBC 6 picture sharper then that of cable and satellite, which is true because there is no need to compress the transmitter antenna signal. NBC 6 engineers proved this during the 2007 Health and Fitness Expo at the Miami Beach convention center. Utilizing a $40.00 Radio ShackÓ antenna, NBC 6 engineers were able to provide a crystal clear digital signal inside the convention center to several digital TV’s and an analog TV using a converter box.
 
Given it’s design, complexity and redundancy, the NBC 6 HD transmitter is sure to provide South Florida with the best in digital broadcasting for years to come.
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