Antenna maker Dielectric recently supplied a 12-bay DCR-M antenna to Minnesota Public Radio’s KNBJ and KCRB FM stations in Bemidji, Minn.
The DCR-M is a ring-style antenna. A release explains the DCR-M was chosen because the design will “maximize bandwidth and reduce the effects that ice buildup creates — a critical requirement as the addition of radomes would exceed the weight threshold.”
Minnesota Public Radio Network Engineering Group Manager Vincent Fuhs said, “Northern Minnesota is among the harshest outdoor environments in the continental United States, and the effects of many long winters had finally caught up. … That included large cracks and moisture infiltration from icing damage, raising VSWR levels to the point where reflected power became a concern.”
He added, “The DCR-M design offers the amount of bandwidth we need to maintain the improved HD Radio power that comes with that 6 dB sideband increase, which makes HD Radio programming more accessible through the market.”
In addition Dielectric put in a new combining system to keep signals in their proper lanes from the transmitter to their final emission points.
Dielectric partner SCMS handled the deal.
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