IBC 2015 Tech: GatesAir

GatesAir, a global provider of wireless, over-the-air content delivery solutions for radio and TV broadcasters, will demonstrate the latest advances to its solid-state Flexiva radio and Maxiva TV and DAB Radio transmitters at IBC 2015 (Sept. 11-15) — including the international debut of the Flexiva FLX range of liquid-cooled transmitters for FM and digital radio broadcasters (HD Radio, DRM+).

Building on the foundation of the award-winning Flexiva FM air-cooled platform and leveraging advances first instituted in medium-to-high power Maxiva transmitters, the Flexiva FLX design incorporates a heat-to-liquid transfer that removes heat from the RF plant without excessive air conditioning, helping broadcasters cut monthly utility costs and establish a greener plant. The transfer itself cools the air in the RF plant, moving transmitter heat to the outside via a liquid-to-air heat exchanger with redundant fan systems.

In addition to low total cost of ownership over the long term, GatesAir’s high-efficiency PowerSmart 3D transmitter architecture slims down the overall size and weight through a significant reduction in number of internal modules and power supplies. This exceptionally high power density significantly lowers operating costs for higher power, solid-state transmitters thanks to a much more energy efficient and compact design. Notably, the significantly fewer number of internal parts to manage also equates to minimal, single-engineer maintenance—a valuable benefit compared to tube transmitters.

“Our continued efficiency increases in solid-state liquid-cooling technology makes operations far more cost-effective, and simpler to maintain than in the past,” said Rich Redmond, chief product officer, GatesAir. “Add in a quickly changing broadcast engineering workforce and dwindling availability of tube transmitter parts, and the value proposition for solid-state quickly becomes clear. As a result, we see as many broadcasters transitioning to solid-state transmitters for both maintenance and power efficiencies.”

To obtain maximum efficiency, the liquid-cooled design, in most installations, integrates low-noise pump modules within the transmitter to further reduce its already compact footprint. Two fully redundant cooling pumps operate in a closed-loop design, with auto-changeover capability in the event of a failure to ensure proper and constant transmitter cooling. The associated size and weight improvements are especially helpful for broadcasters who lease space in the RF plant by the square foot. For example, Flexiva FLX provides a foot print reduction of over 50%—a remarkable difference in monthly rental costs.

GatesAir will also demonstrate 10 kW Flexiva FLX and Maxiva ULX-T transmitters on the exhibit floor, additionally demonstrating the high-efficiency broadband amplification of Maxiva transmitters for TV and DAB Radio broadcasters. Broadband amplification, a core benefit of the PowerSmart 3D design, ensures that broadcasters can streamline frequency and modulation changes through a single-amplifier design. This simplifies changing to new channel assignments, for example, by eliminating labor-intensive component and sub-assembly changes; and reduces spare parts to a common set that can be shared across large transmitter networks for additional value.