1976-April - The Old CATV Equipment Museum

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TESTS
PR()VE
RMS
LESS!
UNITAPS
C()ST
That'sright,the RMSUnitapcansaveyou importantmoney.
1 . The fact is, we do not know of any competitor,
sellinga lesscostlytap,who is anxiousto have
you testtheir unit against
the "Unitap".
2 . The fact is, oncetestedagainstother major
3. The fact is that when you calculatethe total dbs
savedin insertionlossby usingthe Unitap,you
will soonfind that the savings
in lineextenderand
amplifierspacingalonewill far exceedthe difference
in pricebetweenour tap and the lesscostlyones.
brands,you will find the RMSUnitapvastly
superior,both electrically
andmechanically.
Dtrllslo
RMScATV
ELECTR0T{tCS,
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rnobe tAam /rcoolnJoeo.
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W O R L O W I D E E X P O R T S' I N C L U D I N G P U E R T O R I C O ' R O B U R N A G E N C I E S l N C . / C A B L E A D D R E S S : " R O B U R N A G E " / N E W Y O R K T E L E
Inc. 1976
@ nvs Electronics,
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Company,
P.O.Box2406,Hickory,
NorthCablina28601.
(7M)
Telephone
328-5n1.
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APRIT
.'/976
A
VOLUME3.NUMBER4
PUBLISHED MONTHLY, AS ITS OFFICTAL JOURNAL, BY THE COMMUNITY ANTENNA TELEVISION
ASSOCIATION, INC.,
O K L A H O M A C I T Y , O K L A H O M A A S A S E R V I C E T O I T S M E M B E R SA N D O T H E R S P R O V I D I N G C A T V / M A T V S E R V I C E
TO THE TELE.
VISION VIEWING PUBLIC LOCATED THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.
OFFICERS
Kyle D. Moore, President
B e n C a m p b e l l .V . P .
G . H . ( B u n k ) D o d s o n ,S e c / T s r
DIRECTORS
P e t e rA t h a n a s ( W i s c o n s i n )
E u g e n eE d w a r d s ( O h i o )
Warren Fribley (New York)
C h a r l e sF . K e e ( O r e g o n )
Jim A. Kimrey (Arkansas)
W i l l i a m R i s d e n( K e n t u c k y )
C a r l S c h m a u d e r( O r e g o n )
BenV. Willie (lowa)
R i c h a r d L . B r o w n , G e n e r a lC o u n s e l
STAFF
R . B . C o o p e r ,J r . E x e c . D i r . , E d i t o r
C e l e s t eR u l e , M a n a g i n gE d i t o r
Richard Montgomery, Production Dir
P e g g yJ o n e s , E d i t o r i a l A s s t .
S.K. Richey, Contributing Ecliror
OFFICES
CATA/CATJ
4209 NW 23rd, Suite 106
O k l a h o m aC i t y , O k l a h o m a7 3 1O 7
(405) 947-7664
CATJ subscription ratesg12.00 per year
f o r n o n - C A T A m e m b e r s ,$ 8 . 0 0 p e r y e a r
f o r C A T A m e m b e r - s y s t e m s ;$ g . 0 0 p e r
y e a r f o r i n d u s t r y e m p l o y e d p e r s o n n e lf o r
a t - h o m e d e l i v e r y .l n C a n a d a ,$ 1 3 . 0 0 p e r
y e a r f o r C A T V s y s t e m s ,$ 1 0 . 0 0 p e r y e a r
f o r s y s t e m e m p l o y e e s .F o r e i g n r a t e s u p o n
request.
T h i r c l c l a s s p o s t a g er a t e s p a i d i n O k l a h o m a C i t y , O k l a h o m a ,U . S . A .
T h e C o m m u n i t y A n t e n n a T e l e v i s i o nA s s o c i a t i o n I n c . i s a n o n p r o fi t c o r p o r a t i o n
formed under Chapter 19, Title 18 of the
Statutes of the State of Oklahoma. As
s u c h , n o p a r t o f i t s a s s e t so r i n c o m e s h a l l
be the property of its members; such
assets and income shall be devoted exc l u s i v e l y t o t h e p u r p o s e so f t h e C o r p o r ation.
CATJ is Copyright@ 1976 by the Community Antenna TelevisionAssociation.
Inc. All rights reserved. Ouedan reservados todos los derechos. Printed in
U.S.A. Permission to reprint CATJ published material must be given by CATA,
lnc., prior to re-publication.
A P R I L1 9 7 6
-CONTENTS-
P O I N T - A M O D E S TP R O P O S A LF O R A M E R I C A NT E L E V I .
S I O N - S o m em i g h t c o n s i d etrh i s a n " A p r i l F o o l s , , a r t i c l el .t i s
not. CommunicationsProfessorJohn M. Kittross (Temple Univ e r s i t y )i s d e a ds e r i o u w
s i t h h i sp l a nt o r e - a l l o c a tvei r t u a l l ya l l T V
c h a n n e l isn t h e U n i t e dS t a t e s . . . . . . . . . . .
C O U N T E R P ONIT - T H E R E I S N O T H IN G M O D E S TA B O U T T H E
K fT T R O S SP L A N - T h i si s t h e " A p r i l F o o l s "a r t i c l e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 0
CATJ'S GUIDE TO PASSIVES-part-One
of a new CATJ series
takes a look at the peculiarproblemsfaced by passivesuppliers.
i n c l u d i n ga l o o k a t f o u r c o m m o np a s s i vuen i t sy o u u s ee v e r yd a v . . . . . 2 3
A D D I N G T H E 1 3 T H C H A N N E L - A g r o u po f C a n a d i aenn g i n e e r s
havedone extensivedocumentationof 2nd and 3rd order beats
for the single-ended
amplifiersystem.They suggestyou may not
h a v et o r e - b u i l dy o u r p l a n tt o a d d c h a n n e lisn M i d o r S u p e rB a n d . . .3. 6
S H O U L DT H E R EB E L I C E N S E DP E R S O N N E L-? p r e t i m i n a r y
r e s u l t st o a r e a d e sr u r v e yc o n t a i n e di n t h e F e b r u a r yC A T J . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
. .9. .
SHOWTfME 76-A "few" of the new productsyou will be hearing
a b o u t i n t h e c o m i n gm o n t h sa n d p e r h a p s e ei n D a 1 1 a s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .b. .1. . . . . .
A L R I G H T ! W H O ' S T H E H A M ? - A n i m p o r t a n ts u b - c u l t u r ei n
CATV, the amateurradio operatorsbring into the industrya native curiosity about why thingstick (or do not tick, as the case
maybe)........
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5. .8. . . .
DEPARTMENTS
C A T A - t o r i a(l K y l e M o o r eo n F r a n c h i sR
e aidingl........
T E C H N I C A LT O P I C S( C o r r e s p o n d e n B
c er i,e f s ) . . .
F E E D B A C K - T h eM a r c hH e l i c aA
l n t e n n aR e p o r t
M O R E F E E D B A C K - B r o a d b a nAdd d r e s sI n c o r r e c t
Moreon CableFrequencyTesting
Are FCCTestsDate Real?
CATJ AppreciatedIn Brasil
Canadian
Sub-Carrier
DigitalNewsService
LocalBanksAs CATV Collectionpoints
( R e a l l y )L o w C o s tP o l eS u p p l i e s
Repeaters
On Your Tower?
4
. . . . . . .6. 0
C A T A A S S O C T A TM
E E M B E RR O S T E R . . . . . .
................62
CATA ASSOCIATE'SSHOWCASE(New ProductsAnd Services)
O U RC O V E R
Bl-CENTENNIAL
COVER NO. 2 - On Juty r, 1898, Cotonel
Roosevelt led the fabled rough-riders in a charge up K6ttte Hill near Sjn_
tiago, Cuba. Look closely at Roosevelt (with saber) and his four front-men.
Any resemblance between these five patriots and persons in the CATV industry is intentional !
3
CATA- roRinl
t f CA'f A, Inc
K Y L E D . M O O R E , P r e s i d e no
Happy Hunting Grounds
Whenthe FederalCommunicationsCommissionmarched
into the CATV world in March of 19?2,and proclaimedthetr
law was to be the law of the lanil, there were (accordingto
FCCrecords)2,839operatingCATV systemsin this country.
These 2,839systems were "grandfathered," which is a
clever Washingtonterm for being allowed to continueto
operatefor a period of someyears beforefull obeilienceto
the FCC conquerorsis required.
Of all of the requirementswhich grandfatheredsystems
faceby March 31,1977,onestandsout aboveall others.And
that is the requirementthat all grandfatheredsystemshave
on file at the FCCan applicationfor a Certificateof Compliance,by March 31, 1977.
Now the CACby itself is, as they say in Washington,,,a
pieceof cake." Unfortunately,the cakeis lacedwith arsenic
and here is why. To apply for a CAC, the grandfathered
systemmust go beforethe local town officials and obtain a
new or substantiallymodifiedoperatingpermit (franchise,
easement,etc.). The FCCrules require "total compliance"
with FCCfranchisingguidelines(76.31[a] 1-6and [b]); and
that means most (if not all) pre-72CATV permits, franchises,etc. have to be modified to suit the FCC's guidelines.
And that is where the industry is in deep trouble.
In the September,1974issue of CATJ, a report entiiled
"The Horrors of Preparingfor March 31,1922"
talked about
what might well happenout there in grandfatheredCATV
land whenexistingsystemswere forced to go to their local
franchising authoritiesto obtain new agreements.In that
report we quotedCATV's Madam AmbassadorPolly Dunn
of Mississippi,who said, "Supposea system upgradesits
technical specifications,as required by the lgZZtechnical
requirements,at a considerableoutlay in new capitalfunils.
Thensupposethe CATVcompanywentto its city counciland
askedfor a new franchise, a franchise that meets the re.
quirementswhich the FCChas set.Now. . . alsosupposethat
a secondparty or group has tlesignson your cable system
antlits franchise,andthroughlocal political pressure,backdoor politics or Just plain outright brlbery, talks the local
franchising authority into denying your request for a new
franchise,anil in granting a replacementfranchiseto this
secondparty or group. Then what?"
This question,baseduponthe real world politicsoneoften
finds in small and medium sizedcommunitiesof every size
andshapeandlocation,is uppermoston the mindsof several
thousand"grandfathered system operators" these days.
And for good reason,the fears of Ms. Dunn have already
begunto mature and existing systems are already losing
franchisesto new groups!
Here are two casesin point. On OctoberZl,Ig7S,the local
4
cableofficeof CablecomGeneral,Inc., in ldabel, Oklahoma,
was notifiedthat a requestfor granting a competitivefranchisewason the agendafor the Idabel City Councilmeeting
for that very night. Idabelis a community of approximately
6,000peoplein extreme southeasternOklahoma, and the
systemservesapproximately1,950subscribers,The system
has been operatedby CablecomGeneral since 1961.The
competingfirm,madeup of a coupleof veterancablepeople,
promised to deliver to Idabel a number of new services,
including: (1) Pay televisionconsistingof between5 and 10
major motion pictures per month, (2) Two news service
channels,(3) Local origination events of a local interest,
(4) Achanneldedicatedtouse
by localschools,and (5) carriage of network signalsfrom OklahomaCity, a point 215
miles distant,and,(6) an increasein the franchisefee paid
to the city. At the end of the presentationthe City Council
voted3 to 1to grant a newfranchiseto the new firm. Keepin
mind that Idabel has fewer than 2,000subscribers,and is
essentiallyfully saturated.
Now move aheadto November4,1975,and changethe
scenefrom ldabel, Oklahomato Hugo,Oklahoma,a nearby
community of 6,600residentsand 2,400cable subscribers.
Cablecom-General
alsooperatesin Hugo, where they have
operatedsince1957.The Hugo customersare servedby six
channelsof television,a weather channel, an emergency
(weather) alert system,and FM signals.Hugo has three of
its six signalsbroughtin via microwavewhile Idabel brings
in two of its signals via microwave.
On November 4, a group that identified itself as Hugo
Cablevisionaskedfor a new CATVfranchise.Hugo Cablevision consistsof the editor of the local Hugo newspaperand
his son,a local CPA, a local grocerwho coincidentallyis the
husbanilof a member of the Hugo city council, and, a local
attorney,who coincidentallyis also the City Attorney for
Hugo.
At a further meeting on January 13, Cablecom-General
andthe new firm, HugoCablevision,madeseparatepresentations to the Hugo city council. At that presentation,the
principalsof HugoCablevisionidentifiedas the "eaptainsof
their team" the same two veteran Cable peoplethat had
been awarded a new CATV franchise in ldabel back in
October.Cablecom-General
soughtto havetheir Hugofranchiseadjusted,updatedand extended,basedupon the FCC
requirementsas setforth in 76.31( a) and (b). HugoCablevisionwantedCablecom-General
bootedout of town and they
wanted their own group awarded a franchise.
Finally, on January 27, the Hugo city council moved to
adoptthe applicationfrom the new group,and by a vote of 6
to 1, Cablecom-General
was out of businessin llugo, effective this coming June 27 (six months following the vote).
Nowshift the scenenorthto a small town (that will for now
CATJ FOR
go un-identified,but it is real andthis is a true story, nonetheless) in southcentral Kansas.The town has a populationof
around800and the fewer-than-2O0
subscriberCATV system
operatingthere has beendoing a goodjob for more than 12
years.The owner-operatoris a local man, who hardly earns
evena partial living from the system,and he must depend
upon his general electric and electronicsbusinessto even
sustaina povertyincomelevelfor his f amily. Here a groupof
out-of-townsharpiesfrom a neighboringstatehave cometo
town to work up the local populaionagainstthe local cable
operator.His five channellow band systemhas beenundergoing a rebuild for several years, a piece at a time as he
could managethe cost of aluminum cable and solid state
amplifiers. The sharpies came into town and promised
"twice asmany channels."Thisindividualis nowlockedin a
life and death struggle for his very small (fewer than 200
subscriber)cablesystem,andthe focal point is his havingto
obtain a new franchise before March 3L, L977.The same
group is also working up the residentsin another nearby
community where a local operator servesfewer than 300
subscribersin a systemthat is 14yearsold in a town of 1,100
people.
In eachof thesefour towns,thelocal cablesystemhasbeen
invadedby peoplealreaily in the cablebusiness,peoplewho
operateon the fringe of legitimacy. Anyonewho has been
around a few years has picked up enoughof the blue sky
jargonto know how to persuadea city councilwith promises
suchas "distant signals," "5 to 10moviesa week," and the
like. The two fellows who engineeredthe Idabel and Hugo,
Oklahomatake-oversof Cablecom-General
franchiseshave
nearly forty combinedyears of cable background!
It has long beenthoughtthat the local operatorwould or
shouldhave the upper hand in situationssuch as this. He
was, afterall, on hand, in place, and doing businessin the
city. And if his local relationswere good,the theory went,he
shouldhavelittle difficulty stavingoff "strike applications."
Sadly, the local operator may be at a tremendous dis'
advantage.He is oftentimesa realist while the new appli'
cants are quick to promise the blue sky. The established
operatorhesitatesnot a moment to try to point out why a
distant200mile plus stationis not economicallyfeasbilefor
the system,while the applicantfor the franchisetalks glibly
about"satellites," microwaveand all of the other promlse.
them-anythingprogramswe can all rattle off without drawing a breath.
Nowthe mere fact that we haverelatedfour recentevents
in Oklahomaand Kansasshouldnot lull you into any false
senseof security.We havechosentheseeventsto relate only
becausewe havebeencloseenoughto watch with concern,
first-hand, as the stories unfolded.Our mailbox and telephonehas beenfilled of late with similar storiesfrom California to New York. Minnesotato Florida.
At a recent state-association
cablemeeting,an FCC type
personinvited to addressthe group was askedwhat assistance or relief the grandfathered cable operators might
expectfrom the FCC in this area. "You certainly have a
problem alright. ..but perhapsif you had taken better care
of your local city relations, you wouldn't have that
p r o b l e m . . . . " w a s t h e t e r s er e p l y .
The FCC man missedthe point completely.He, and his
fellow59cableattorneysin the CableTelevisionBureau,and
the sevenFCC Commissioners,are the causeof this prob.
lem. Withoutthe March 31,1977"franchise compliancerequirement," it is doubtfulthat Cablecom-General
would be
facing a "get out of town by June 27th" edict, in Hugo,
Oklahoma.Withoutthe Commission'ssteppinginto our pri.
vatecontractswith our Iocal municipalities,and withoutthe
Commission'sdemandingthat we modify thoseprivate contracts to a set of terms which they find more to their liking,
the sharpieswould not moving in on two small towns in
Kansas,nor would they be out making wild-eyedblue sky
promisesin Idabel and Hugo, Oklahoma.
Back in 1974,when Ms. Dunn of Columbus,Mississippi
voicedconcernfor her own system, an FCC man showed
concernnot for the potentialplight of Ms. Dunn, but rather
A P R I L1 9 7 6
he showed concern for a "continuation of cable service to the
town's subscribers." The commission clearly is not going to
act as a court of last resort to overturn local decisions. Nor
should they.
But they shoulil quit beating around the bush anrl hiding
from the plain truth, that being, that because of their rules,
Qozens,and perhaps hundreds of hard working cable operators may wake up on April 1, 197?and find that 10, 15,20 or 25
years of their lives have gone for naught. That because of the
FCC's CAC rules, and because of the FCC requirement that
franchises be re-awarded before March 31, 1977,the established system operator is, like Cablecom-General in Hugo,
leftwith tens of miles of local cable plant, andnolocal permit
to operate.
This is squarely a problem created by feileral medilling in
local affairs. The sharpies are using the federal rules to force
established operators out of business. They are using the fact
that the local cable operator is forced to update his franchise
as an excuse to move in on the local operator, promise lots of
blue sky, and romance the local city council away into a
never-never land.
Now - what can be done? WelI, for one thing, we could
publish a list of the names and addresses of these vultures
who would put fellow operators out of business. Then if and
when a supplier signed a contract to supply equipment to one
of these fellows or firms, we could publish that also. You, as a
concerned operator, might find it useful to know whose
equipment these vultures would be using. That might have
some bearing on the next equipment you would buy. But that
probably has anti-trust implications, and besides, the suppliers cannot be expected to be held accountable for who they
sell to; at least not in these perilous times that our supplying
arm is now experiencing!
No, the answer is not "after-the-fact;" it is "before-thefact." The answer, Iike it or not, is at 1919 M Street in
Washington: at the FCC. The FCC must and should recognize that they are the primary cause of this problem, and
that like it or not, their rule is being utilized by some people to
deprive existing citizens of their property, often without
proper due process.
The FCC must get their head out of the sand, adrnit they
are atfault, and take action to relieve the pressure before it
gets totally out of hand. They should immediately move that
rather than insisting on a March 31, 1977franchise compliance date, that grandfathered systems have until their present eity franchise (permit, easement, etc.) runs out to bring
the franchising instrument into "compliance." If the March
31,1977deadline is voided, and the existing grandfathered
systems are allowed to continue to operate without federal
franchise compliance until their present franchises (permits, etc.) expire, the pressure now placed on operators in
towns like Hugo and Idabel will evaporate. And that will slow
down the franchise grabbers in one big hurry.
/
I
"
THE lvrOOM THE STARS, WE SUN
AND THE SKY AAE YOUAS, IF WU
AWARD ME 7HE FMNCHIV ! "
youcc|ngetmoRE
for your lesting dollqrl
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NEW l0-4550 Dual-Trace
DC to 10 MHz Scope
H a sd i g i t a l l y - c o n t r o l l e
t idm e
b a s e , a u t o m a t i ct r i g g e r i n g ,
extra bright trace and fast
w r i t i n gs p e e d .A s p e c i a lT V
position on the trigger sel e c t s w r t c hc u t s o f f h i g h
f r e q u e n c i e sf o r t r i g g e r i n g
o n T V v e r t i c a lf r a m e s i g n a l s .
S h p g .w t . 3 1 l b s .
so-4550,
A s s e m b l e.d. . . . . . . . 5 2 5 . 0 0
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DC to 15 MHz Scope
O u r b e s t s c o p e f e a t u r e sv e r tical delay lines, 45 MHz
t y p i c a lt r i g g e r b a n d w i d t h ,
m a x i m u ms e n s i t i v i t oy l 1 m V
o v e r f u l l v e r t i c a lb a n d w i d t h .
The CRT has post-deflection
a c c e l e r a t i o nf o r e x t r a h i g h
b r lg h t n e s s .
S h p g .w t . 3 4 l b s .
so-4510,
A s s e m b l e d. . . . . . . . 7 7 5 . 0 0
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NEW SR-207 X.Y
SR-206 Dual-Pen
Input Recorder
Strip Chart Recorder
M o r e f e a t u r e sa n d f l e x i b i l i t v l d e a l f o r c o m p a r i s o nu s e s f o r t h e m o n e y ! B u i l t - i n both channels have identis w e e p ,v a c u u m p a p e r h o l d
cal inputs and sDecificad o w n , i n d i v i d u a l l yt l o a t i n g t i o n s .U s e sd i s p o s a b l en y l o n
X and Y inputs with front
tipped pens for distinct
p a n e lc o n t r o l l e dt i l i e r s .L e s s
traces at any chart speed.
than 1second balancetime.
F e a t u r e s2 5 0 m s e c b a l a n c e
T T L c o m p a t i b l er e m o t ec o n t i m e , d i g i t a l l yd e r i v e dc h a r t
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speeds,full remote control
s w e e ps t a r t .
c a p a b i l i t yS
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S h p g .w t . 2 6 l b s .
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APRIL1976
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A MODEST PROPOSAL
TO RESTRUCTURE
AMERICAN TELEVISION
For more than 30 years, with respect to the
"most pressing" (1)problem of television frequency
allocation and assignment, the Federal Communications Commission(FCC)has been embroiled in a
morass of political, technological, and economic
overtones and pressures.There is a lengthy literature on this situation. (2)In all these years-at least
"perfect" or even
since1944(3)-there has been no
generally acceptedsolution to the question of how
one provides (in the words of Section 307(b) of the
"fair, efficient, and
CommunicationsAct of 1934)a
equitable distribution" of television broadcasting
"the several States and communities."
service to
"ComIn the 1952 Sifrth Report and Order, the
mission said that it had. . . endeavoredto meet the
twofold objective set forth in Sections 1 and 307(b)
of the Communications Act of 1934, to provide
television service, as far as possibleto all people of
the United States and to provide a fair, efficient and
equitable distribution of television broadcast stations to the several states and communities. In
attempting to carry out these objectives, the Commission set forth certain principles, in terms of
priorities, underlying the Table of Assignments.
These principles were:
Priority No. 1: To provide at least one television
service to all parts of the United States." (4)
There is no oblection to this first priority. It is the
other priorities listed in this Report and Order (to
provide each community with at least one station,
and then to provide for competition within the
framework of the two priorities: two services,two
stations, etc.) (5) and the methods chosento implement them, that have led to the present situationwhich is neither equitable nor efficient:
1) although 8o/oof Americans have accessto a
dozen or more television stations, 18o/ohave
access only to four or fewer stations (1972
Nielsen datah
2) there are only four networks (including PBS),
thus restricting program diversity, reducing
by
John M. Kittross
TempleUniversity
Pa. 19122
Philadelphia,
12
opportunities for new talent, and so on;
3) the unequal distribution of channels has created conditions of monopoly or near monopoly
in a number of communities;
4) only a small proportion of UHF channels have
been activated, and-despite the more-than-adecade-oldrequirement that all receivers be
capable of tuning all channels-stations on
these channelsare generally at a competitive
disadvantagewhen comparedto VHF stations
in the same markets, although 1974data place
the median UHF station in the black (7);
5) time chargesin many markets are so high that
advertisers (including political campaigners)
often cannotafford to use television as a selling
medium;
6) there is a critical shortage of space in the
electromagnetic spectrum for other services,
including those involved in public safety
activities:
7) there is kttl,e financial incentive to provide television service to rural a.ndother sparsely populated areas;
8) there is a lack of local input into licenseeselection and retention; and
9) the high capital cost for entry into television
station ownership makes it very difficult for
less well financed groups or companiesto successfully apply for a license. This same high
capital investment apparently has contributed
to a reluctance on the part of the FCC to
"punish" errant licensees with the ultimate
"stability,"
penalty: loss of license. (8) This
oncea license has been granted, seemsalmost
directly related to the amount of investment
that would be disrupted or lost, even though in
some instances the public interest, convenience and necessity (9) might better be served
by change.
To modify this system naturally requires careful
planning, and consideration of a variety of political,
economicand technological factors. For example,
the enormous political inertia caused by the more
than $20 billion worth of television sets in millions
of American homes has frustrated nearly every
CATJ FOR
Edilor's
Note:
JohnM. Kittross
is Associate
Dean
andProlessor
of Communications
prepared
at Temple
University,
Philadelphia.
Mr. Kittross
initially
thispaperfor
presentation
totheMedia
Management
andPolitical
Economy
Paper
Session
attheAssociation
forEducation
in Journalism
Convention,
heldin ottawa,
plans
ol othernations
ontarioin August1975.Mr. Kittrossis suggesting
thattheexperience
oflheworldwiththeirownnon-USAtypetelevision
allocation
olterexamples
otmoreefficientuseoJtheVHFandUHFspectrum
thanthepresent
USAapproach
. In viewof recentrenewed
interest
ontheparl0f Cong
ress
problem
(i.e.House
inthelelevision
signal
delivery
Subcommittee
onCommunications
Report
Cable
Television:
Promise
Versus
Regulatory
Performance),
hearings
andCongressional
scheduled
forthisyear,CATJ
believes
thepaper
of Prolessor
Kittross
havewidedistribution
should
throughout
thetelevision
broadcasting
andreceiving
industry.
consideration of change in the allocation system
since the late 1940's; unequitable distribution of
channelshas given rise to many attempts to solve
technological problems by political fiat, most recently in New Jersey (10); the concentrated political strength in large centers of population makes
any reduction of service to them inadvisable,and so
on. (11)
Any suggestion for major change in the television broadcasting system must take into account
the emphasison the listener or viewer articulated
in the CommunicationsAct and in Red Linn (121,
and must overcome the inertia that no doubt will
lead toa chorus of "the mistakes were made in 1944
and 1952 and can't be changed." In addition, any
_newproposal must consider such varied legitimate
needs, interests and concerns as those of set
owners, present station operators,those who didn't
or couldn't apply for a television channelwhen they
were plentiful or those who don't get the programming they desire, program producers and the craft
unions with which they exist in interdependence,
advertisers, and citizens (as individuals or in
groups) who should have additional voice in programming and licensing and who should have access to the maximum amount of information which
they need in order to make rational decisionsin a
democracy.
Preuinus Proposals
During the 1944 General Allocations Hearings
and the hearings that led to the 6th Report ond
Order, a number of suggestions were made with
respect to rationalizing television frequency allocations. In essence,there were those who wished to
maintain the stotzs quo with respect to the number
and location of channels for television, and those
who wished (usually for businessreasons of their
own) to move television to a new location in the
spectrum. After 1954,when it becameobviousto all
that UHF stations were not able to compete with
VHF stations licensed to the same market, there
were three major propositions presented to the
Commission:an all-VHF system using some additional channels secured form the military; an allUHF system; and a policy of deintermixture, which
would make a given market either all-VHF or allUHF. The military wouldn't provide additional
channels,the weight of investment by the public
was an immovable barrier to the second (all-UHF)
solqtion, and local objections and FCC timidity
prevented full implementation of the third. (13)
Still later, the unsolved problem of providing
APRIL1976
sufficient choice and diversity of television programming to the American public was approached
by new and adapted technology.The choicesin the
late 1960sand early 1970swere the existing television allocationsystem (modifiedby deletion of some
under-usedchannelsat the top of the UHF band),
an all-UHF system (not seriously considered), an
all-VHF system (the military and other users still
prevented serious consideration of this, and the
fact that all existing receivers would be obsolete
would have turned Congress [and hence,the FCC]
against it), and, the one new idea, what is now
"the
called
wired nation." This last proposal, an
extensionof community antenna or cable television
(CATV), was expected to be a broadband wired
telecommunications network that would provide
multiple channelsof television and many ancillary
services to the home for a fee. (14) There were
many who thought that CATV would be the greatest invention sincethe zipper, but the reeessionand
numerous other factors have restricted cable's
penetration after more than a quarter century to be
150/oof U.S. television households.(15) The ancillary services (except for pay-TV over cable) have
failed to materialize on a non-experimental basis.
The FCC has always been a reluctant regulator.
Possessedneither of clear perogative jurisdiction,
sufficient information on which to basedecisions,or
the power to enforcethem, it is no wonder that this
politicallv sensitive body traditionally has ignored
problems in the hope that they will go away. (16)
The Commission rarely has asked for and the
Congressrarely has provided meansfor the FCC to
independently evaluate new technologiesor alternative proposals.As a result, the Commissionhas
tended to rely upon the adversary process that is
less likely to result in enhancement of the public
interest in a rule-making proceeding than in a law
suit.
A Fresh Look
It is for the reasons touched on above that this
speculative proposal for the allocation and assignment (17) of television channels is presented. The
proposal borrows from a number of solutions to
similar problems elsewherein the world, and from
suggestionsmade in prior allocationand other proceedings in the United States. The proposal is
deliberately brief, intended only to provide logical
underpinning for the basic scheme rather than
expand this article to include the nryriad of specific
details. (18)
First, establish a system of chonnel asignments
13
A r b i t r a r y r e c t i l i n e a rg r i d , a p p r o x i m a t e l y 1 5 0 m i l e s t o a s i d e ,a p p r o x i m a t e l y
1 3 0 C l u s t e r so r i n t e r s e c t i o n sw i t h i n t h e 4 8 c o n t i g u o u sS t a t e s .T h e s e c o n d ,
i n t e r l a c e d , g r i d a l s o w o u l d h a v e a p p r o x i m a t e l y 13 0 i n t e r s e c t i o n so r C l u s t e r s ;
each intersection would be in the middle of the cells shown.
DIAGRAM I
based upon an arbitary ftechnol.ogi,callydetermined) rectiltineargridpatternrather than the past
"marsystem of assigningtelevision channelsto
kets" more or Iess according to their size.
This system would be similar to the highly workable systemadoptedunder International TelecommunicationUnion auspicesin Europe (Stockholm,
1961)and Africa (Geneva,1963).(19)In thosecontinents, problems of potential interferenceare
greater than in the United States due to language
differences, and problems of adequate diversity
and coverage are greater due to the smaller geographical limites of nations-and radio waves do
not respect national boundaries.
In essence,a rectilinear grid would be established for the United States (seeFigure 1), analogous to arbitrary imposition of the system of latitude and longitude. The sides of each cell could be
approximately 175miles long. This would result in
"northapproximately 95-100intersections of the
"east-west"lines. As each'intersect'ion
south" and
is approximately the current co-channelseparation
distancefor Zone 1 (20) from every other intersection, it would be possibleto place transmitters for
VHF channels2, 4, 5,7,9,11, and 13 at eachof the
95-100 intersections without co-channel or
adjacent-channelinterference. (We will save discussion of the use of UHF channels until later).
"Cluster"
Each intersection point will be called a
hereafter.
However, it probably isn't necessaryto use a 175
14
mile separation.Sinceall transmissionsin a Cluster
"site,"
would be from the sametower or
use of such
spectrum-savingtechniquesas precision offset and
vertical vs. horizontal polarization on an alternateCluster basis (which will not substantially affect
receiver performance) should permit the Commission to order a reduction in co-channel(two stations
on the samechannel)distanceseparationstandards
to approximately 150 miles. The essenceof this
proposal,however, doesn't depend on this reduction in spacing. Slight adjustments to the pattern
"prime
mertd,due to terrain may be necessary,and
'inns" may be run through such cities as New York,
Los Angeles, New Orleans-Chicago and Los
Angeles-St. Louis-Philadelphia (or New York) to
insure continuation of full service to these large
centers of population.
With the exception of a relatively small area in
the center of each cell of the grid, which will be
discussedin the following paragraph, almost every
part of the United States could thus have at least
"area'in
seuen VHF channels available. The
the
m'iddLe"would be an exception.It would constitute
nearly one-third of the area within a rectilinear cell
under the 175 mile separation plan. But this unserved area of locations more than 80 miles from
the transmitters of a given Cluster would be reducedto lessthan one-sixththe area within the cell
if co-channelseparation were reduced to 150 miles.
However. there still would be some area in the
middle to serve.That area.and the desire for even
CATJ FOR
_____
rt
more potential choicefor the viewer would require
a second grid, to the same standards as the first,
but interlnced utith ft so that the intersections
would fall in the center of the cells or rectangles
formed by the first grid. At the intersections of this
grid there would be placed transmitters for channels 3, 6, 8, 10 and 12. The combinationsof the first
Cluster(channels
2,4,5,7, 9, 11 and 13)and second
Clusters (channels3, 6, 8, 10 and t2) would,prouide
at lnast l2-chonnel senttce to two-thirds of the
5 signal area only
o
7 transmitter Cluster site
t
5 transmitter Clustersite
T s i g n a la r e a o n l y
1 2 ( o r m o r e ) s i g n a la r e a
15Omiles
A P R I L1 9 7 6
DTAGRAM 2
15
United States (see Figure 2), and as many as 24
channels in some places. No Locationutould,haue
fewer than fiue VHF chonnels aauilnble. Those
limited locations would constitute roughly onesixth the area of a cell; a similar proportion would
have only sevenchannels-but the other two-thirds
of the nation would have at least 12 VHF channels
within reach. (Note: in the foregoing, all estimates
of coverage assume that the reception of VHF
stations up to 80 miles away is not unreasonable,
and that the 150-mile grid pattern is being employed.)
Although the plan outlined above only makes use
of VHF channels, this is partly to simplify the
presentation.UHF channelsalso might be used,
although the decades-oldproblem of inequality of
receptionrange would remain. Current FCC rules
requiring equality of VHF and UHF tuners in new
receivers(21)will help,but to date the performance
of the television set manufacturers has not been
inspiring. Furthermore, the variety of restrictive
assignment faetors found in $73.698,Table IV,
make it unlikely that more than ni,ne (out of 56)
UHF channelscould be used at a single location, as
contrasted to the more efficient use of the VHF
which, for variousreasons,permits sevenout of 12
channelsto be used at the samelocation.(An FCC
inquiry to re-evaluatethe various UHF channel
"taboos,"
assignment
Docket 20485,was initiated
in the spring of 1975.)
Naturally, if tuo groups of ni,ne UHF channels
are employed(For example,L6,22,28,34,40,50,56,
62 and 68), the remuining 38 chonnels can be relnasedforotherpurposes.Theseusesmight include
very Iow power television repeater stations (to
overcometerrain problems, much as is the practice
in the United Kingdom and Europe) or other telecommunicationsservices.Also. the Commissioninquiry, announcedin May 1975 regarding improvement of the quality of UHF tuners and other circuitry in order to eliminate the $73.698restrictions,
could eventually lead to use of.euerg-other-channel
UHF assignmentsat the two types of Cluster location. If this were the case,the first type of Cluster
might contain transmitters for channels2,4,5,7,9,
11,13,15,17,19,21,23,25,27,29,3L,33,3
5,39,41,43,45,
47,49,5I,53,55,
57,59,61,63,65,67
and 69.The second
type of Cluster might contain transmitters for
32,
channels 3,6,8,10,12,14,16,18,20,22,24,26,28,30,
40,42,44,46,
48,50,52,54,
56,58,60,62,64,66,
34,36,38,
68. Suchan arrangement would allow the first type
Cluster to supply 34 channels,and the secondtype
33.
Thus, if all channels (2-69)currently allocated to
television were usedas proposedabove,with transmitter Clusters of the same type located 1,50miles
apart, approximately one-sixth of the nation would
be within range (nominally, 80 miles) of only 33
channels,another one-sixth within range of only 34
channels-and two-thirds of the nation uithin reception ronge of at lcast 67 tel.euisi,onbroadcast
signals!
16
Even if the current restrictions imposed by
5?3.698remained in force, the first typ-e Cluster
would have some16 channelsand the secondtype
some 14 channels. This diversity, which would
reach every citizen at no additional regularly levied
cost (at most, a new antenna system would be
required), approachesthat of the more advanced
o p e r a t i n g c a b l e s y s t e m sa n d s u b s t a n t i a l l y i m proves the existing on-air system-with but a fraction of the capital investment per channel.
Second, the transmitter operation function
should.be separatedfrom the progromming function.
A separate, possibly public or at least cooperative, corporation should be establishedto build and
operatethe physicalfacilitesof the Clusters.Each
transmitter in a Cluster would be programmed by
one or more different "Programmers." The transmitter operating organization would have no programming responsibilities or powers. It would secure initial financing from any one of a variety of
sources(risk capital,the Treasury) and would pay
back these sums and operating expensesfrom income paid by the Programmers.
Whether the transmitter operating organizalion
should be a cooperative (asthe News Election Service)or a public corporation(as COMSAT) is properly a matter for the legislative branch to decide.
However, it should be completely unconnected
with the programming function and should operate
on a non-profit basis with the task of providing the
maximum number of signals to the public. (This
entire system is not unlike some aspects of the
IndependentBroadcastingAuthority in the United
Kingdom, which operates the transmitters and
"programme
franchises
contractors" to use them in
exchange fo_r a proportion of advertising
revenues I22l).
The savings in both capital investment and operating costs would be tremendous. There need be
only one transmitter building, one accessroad, one
antenna tower per Cluster. Because all transmitters would be operated by the same corporate
entity, in the sametransmitter hall, there shouldbe
substantial savings in personnel costs. A preliminary estimate indicates that, using a VHF sgstem
onlg,the number of TV stations presently on the air
could be inereased by 50o/obut that transmitter
personnel savings per year could approximate $15
million-with the saving in professional personnel
rising as the number of transmitters in a given
location rises. Becauseof the use of a single building, Cluster land acquisition,building construction,
utilities. and similar costs would be below the total
cost of the present system of each station building
its own. To illustrate, if a single transmitter and
antennacosts$200,000(purchasedin quantity), the
building $300,000,the tower $100,000,and other
on-site costs for the Cluster $100,000,the cost of a
Cluster of seven transmitters would be some $1.9
million, for a Cluster of five transmitters some $1.5
million, for an average of $1.7million per ClusterCATJ FOR
but at a cost of lessthan 9300,000per channel!This
is far below the average cost of "going it alone,"
with further_s^ayi1S9
tobe realized from operating
procedures. lf 240 Clusters were neededlo covei
the nation using L50-mileseparations,the total cost
would be in the neighborhood of 9400 million-a
substantial sum, but far less than alternative proposals (such as CATV or Multipoint Distribufion
Service via microwave) for the same number of
programming service to all homes.
For the purposes of this paper, it shouldn't be
n€cessaryto go into detail about the specific location of Clusters and similar matters. Manv details
must be left for additional research and discussion
in various forums. Some preliminary thinking has
been done about staffing (although fewer tranimitter engineersper transmitter will be needed,most
present transmitter engineers should be absorbed
within the new corporation,or return to a programmer as a member of the studio or maintenance
engineering staff), unions (unless truly a governmental organization, the corporation pioba-blywill
be unionized), the existing 9b0* transmitters
(most are depreciated over a fairly short period of
time; unamortized transmitters migtrt be sold to
the corporation and either used or scrapped),
AT&T network lines (it is probable that domestic
spaceeommunicationssatellites will prove far more
economical for interconnection of Clusters than
land line connections,since there will only be the
need for some 240 wideband receiving stationsone at each Cluster-rather than the present system of serving nearly a thousand separate noncooperatinglocationswith network service by wire
or microwave). There are many other poiential
problems and implications that await latei consideratlon.
Choice of Programmers
. The most delicateproblemremainingis the question: who is to program all these tiansmitlers?
Although this is fit material for another inquiry, it
also is part of the entire "package" proposed here.
Adequate and proper mechanismscan be established, it is believed,that would permit the Commission to license one or more Programmers to
program a given transmitter in the public interest,
convenience and necessity for a fixed length of
time.
Some form of local input into the Programmer
selectionprocess,after the prospectivelicenseehas
met minimal statutory provisions, would be de_
sirable. Much oppositionto longer (say, five years)
license terms would evaporate if there were more
local voice in determining whether a given applicant were to be licensedor not. The technique for
insuringthat localinput would haveto be chosenby
C-ongress.One possible, although extremely complicated,techniqueis that usedby the Netheilands.
Essentially, various groups (social,religious, and
some organized for the purpose) share the limited
amount of air time on the basis of the number of
APRIL 1976
paid up.members(who thus receive program
guides)they have.(23)A modificationof this p"rinci
ple, combinedwith the great number of chinnels
available for distribution, would enable minority
groups to have a fair share of air time under th"e
present proposal.Then again, a different method
n]ight be employed, although no technique for
choosinga Programmer shouldact so as to prevent
any change at the end of the license term.
The terms of the lease with the transmitter
operation corporation would be a difficult problem
for those charged with determining public policy.
On the one hand, there are those with the^beliLf
tha.tthe spectrum(and by extension,programming
rights suchas are being talked about-here),shoull
be auctioned to the highest bidder. (24) On the
other hand, we have the obviouspublic benefitsof
supplying broadcast facilities to non-commercial
educationalprogramming organizations.We also
needto set out someincentivei for programmers to
be willing to take on channelscoveringrural areas.
Incentivepricing (atoken feeof g100fo"ra transmitter covering a very small number of people, perhaps,as contrastedto many thousandsof aottari tor
Programmerswith a greater profit potential),subventions to subscriber-supportedor educational
programming organizations, or a form of ,,tie_in
sale" that would require a Programmer who has
beensuccessfulin bidding for the right to program
a transmitter in a Clusterserving one of the laigest
cities also to program a certa,tnnumber of transtrnitter s. couering_the lnss poputnted, counirg s,i.d,e,all
might be tried. Becausethere is no capitai cost for
transmission_equipment,
entrepreneu may find
Iess-populatedareas more attfactive.
might further stunt
, Sincethis plan, if successful,
the growth of cable television,the ,,publicaccess"
functionrequiredby the 7g72cabletelevisionrules
would have to be fulfilled in other ways. Although
the presenceof televisionproductionequipment"in
most schooldistricts has never beenexploitedfully
for providing the generalpublic accesj to an audience on cable or on the air, theoretical considera_
tionsand experienceselsewhere(northern Canada,
for instance [25]) lead one to suggest that radio
would be far more effective than television for most
kinds of public access.In addition, the increased
number of television channels on the air should
permit sometime on them to be made availablefor
public accessuse. Finally, and very important to
the entire concept, the lower capiial investment
re_quiredof a Programmer should permit easier
full-time accessto the marketplace of ideas by
minorities, the poor, schools, associations,und
others who might be able to aquire studio facilites
but not themoney with which [o purchasea transmitter, building, and antenna tower.
If some form of open bidding is used to initially
select the Programmer of a giien channel, rn"un",
must be found to weigh the bids of non-profit and
other groups whose only disadvantage'is a lean
purse. Arbitrary pricing, a multipliei for funds
17
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received from individuals in small amounts (subscribers), and a host of other techniques may be
used. Recognizing that the commercial Proglammer's percJptioni of the attractiveness to advertisers of ttrat channel in that Cluster (and his opinion of his competition's plans) generally will determine his bid, ii may be necessaryto establish a floor
for commercialbids depending upon the population
to be served. (26)
Somecurrent FCC regulations would need modification under this plan. Presumably non-commercial channelreservaiions would continue on a rough
"one channel in four" basis (two in a Cluster of
seven,onein a Cluster of five); again,reducedneed
for capital shouldlead to greater utilization of these
channels.The duopoly rule (2?) should be amended
to permit a Progr-ammerto apply for leases in all
Clusters servin[ a given me[ropolitan area. The
multiple ownerJhip iule should be on the basis of a
limit bn the propoition (perhaps25%) of the total
U.S. populaiion that can be served by a^ given
Programmer, rather than on the number of transmitters programmed.
Discussion
It is beyond the scope of these comments to
speculate it length on the effect such a radicalcbmpared to a few drop-ins (28) -change might
have on the different componentsof the American
broadcasting structure. Networks, with their control over piogramming sources and experience,
probably would survive as syndicators and news
sources.It is euen probablc that at lcast seuen
national netu,torks tttouLd'be uinbl'e-with others
filling specializedniches.Becauseof the increased
co-pietition expected from this plan, the Plonoged
restiictions on proportion of the population that
may be reached diiectly by a given programmer'
and ro-" shifts in transmitter location, it is probable that the present network owned-and-operated
stations no longer will dominate their own markets
or supply the lion's share of broadcasting'sprofit to
the network corPorations.
Another possibility is an increaseinthe amount
of exchange between stations of locally-produced
programs,It is hoped that there would be more
voicescapableof disseminat:ng national and international news, and that there would be greater
diversity in programming (a probable necessary
condition for ihe favor of voters in a plebiscite),but
such prognostication is very uncertain. The odds
seemio be that many might gain and few would be
harmed.
A schemasuchas presentedabovewould permit
oll members of the public to receive many more
channelsthan the average citizen now enjoys. It
should cost most citizens nothing, except possibly
an antenna rotor-thus protecting the multibillion
dollar investment in receivers. It would use the
r a d i o s p e c t r u mm o r e e f f i c i e n t l y . B r o a d c a s t e r s
would have a reduced investment, which makes
',iE:'*oNrcs'
CATJ FOR
entry into the marketplace of ideas far less expen_
sive for less-affluent groups. This reduction in investment may make the concept of revoking the
licenseof a broadcaster who hasn't been operiting
in the public interest less traumatic to the commisl
sion-and the "bad apple" broadcaster himself.
There would be opportunity for a minimum o{
sevennetworks, and concomittant competition and
diversity. All stations would be on the sbmefooting
with respect to transmission facilites. With thi;
competition and availability of time on many stations serving his market, local advertisers would
find time th-ey could afford. Certainly, more programs would be needed-together with the taient
to produce them.
Although some (particularly CommissionerRobert E. Lee) have enthusiastically promoted the
UHF channelsas the future home and hope for an
oj competitive television broadcasting,
flplglon
the FCC action to delete the uppermost 14 channe"G
from the UHF television band(?0-83)and reallocate
these frequencies to land mobile services clearlv
indicatesthat a majority of the FCC has lost faith iir
an all-UHF system.
The proponents of CATV are still active, although cable television itself, due to its financial
structure, has severely felt the impact of the recession of the early 1970s. Because of this loss of
momentum, many questionsabout cable hitherto
overlooked are being asked. Although cable entrepreneurs have maintained that the industrv reallv
would take off once the larger cities werl pendtrated with 20-or (30)-channel cable systemi, the
experience in New York has soured many cable
operators and their sourcesof financing on the idea
that cablewill take over program distribution from
over-the-air television. The author confessesa bias
against any distribution system including news
programming that is unavailable (becausJof the
Iimits of wired technology and CATV financial arrangements) to eueryone.
Accordingly, this is a good time to consider the
proposalpre-sented.Although these ideas may pro^citivide vast plblig benefits in program diversity,
zen control, different kinds of access,compelition,
television service to rural areas, and conservation
of a scarce natural resource (the electromagnetic
spectrum), it may be that they only will serve as a
stimulus to think more radically about basic assumptions and axioms about television frequency
allo.cationald assignmentthan has been acceptabl-e
in the past. Even if they do only this, they wili have
been worthwhile.
problems
1 Frederick
- some
W. Ford,"The VHF-UHF
Television
Possible
Solutions,"
address
before
the RadioandTelevision
Executives
Association
of Houston,
Houston,
Texas,
December
5, 1959,0.1.Then-FCC
Commissioner
Fordlaterbecame
Chairman
of the Commission. I
William
W.Golub,
Commission
onOrganization
ofthe
_2 See,in particular,
Executive
Branch
oJtheGovernment
(1g4gHoover
Commission),
Comrnittee
0n Independent
Regulatory
Commissions,
staflreoorton lhe Federal
Com-
A P R I L1 9 7 6
m u n i c a t i oC
n so m m i s s i ounn,p u b l i s h e
(m
d i m e o )S, e p t e m b .e1r5 ,1 9 4 g ;
Sydney
W. Head,
Broadcasting
in America
(2ndedition),
Boston:
Houghton
Mifflin,1972;JointTechnical
AdvisoryCommittee
hadio
ilRE-RTt\4A).
york:
Spectrum
Conservalion,
New
l\IcGraw
Hill,1952;JointTechnical
Advisory
Committee
(IEEE-ElA),
RadioSpectrum
Utilization,
Newyork:
Institute
of Electrical
andEleclronics
Engineers,
1g65;JohnM. Kittross,
"Television
"
policy
Frequency
Allocation
in theUnited
States,
unpublished
.1960;
doctoral
dissertation,
University
ol lllinois,
ErwinG. Krasnow
and
Lawrence
D. Longley,
ThePolilics
0f Broadcast
Regulation,
Newyork:St.
Martin'sPress,1973;Davidlvl.Leive,International
Telecommunications
andInlernation
Law:TheRegulation
0f theRadio
Spectrum,
Leyden:
A.W.
publications,
Suthoff
andDobbs
Ferry,
N.y.: oceans
1920;Harvev
J. Levin.
TheInvisible
Resource:
UseandRegulation
ol the RadioSpectrum,
Balti_
m 0 r e :J 0 h n sH o p k i n P
s r e s s 1, 9 2 1 ;K e n n e tA
h . N o r t o n,,, T h eF i v e _
D i m e n s i o ne al el c t r o m a g n eStpi ce c t r u m
R e s o u r cT
eh
: eS i l e nC
t risis
"
Screams,
policyBoard,
unpublished,
1962;president's
Commun;:ations
Telec0mmunications:
A Program
lor progress,
Wasirington:
Gov'ernment
Printing
Office,1951;RobertH. Stern,',TheFederai
Communications
',
^
Commission
andTelevision:
TheRegulato;
rn an Envlronment
ot
R a p i d T e c h n i c a l I n n o v a t i o n , " u n p u b t , s h cC' i s s e r t a t i o
Hna,r v a r d
U n i v e r s i t1y9, 5 0T; e l e c o m m u n i ciai ct iioer, r, r n e t , C o m m e rTc e c h n i c a l
AdvisoryBoard,Eleclromagnelic
Spectrunr
iJtilization:
The SilentCrisis,
Washington:
Government
Printing
0flice,1966.Thisbibliography
is by no
meanscomplete,
although
it doestouchmostimporlant
points.
3 Although
thelirstallocation
of frequencies
lortelevision
in the United
Stateswasmadein 1928(seeU.S.Federal
RadioCommission,
General
0rderNo.55, December
22, 19281,
thedecisions
thatactually
shaped
the
television
service
we knowtodaywerethe resultof the FCCheaiinos
in
Docket
6651,"ln the malterof allocation
of frequencies
to the vaiious
.10
glas-s-es
services
in the radiospectrumfrom kc to
91non-government
'l944."
30,000,000
kc," knownas the "General
Allocalion
Hearings
of
These
results
werelormalized
in a series
of FCCreports
datedJanuarv
15.
M a y2 5 a n dJ u n e2 7 , 1 9 4 5
4 U.S.Federal
Communication
Commission,
$ixthBeport
and0rderin
thematters
of amendment
of Section
3.606of theCommission,s
Rules
and
Regulations,
Docket
Nos.8736and8975;Amendment
oftheCommission,s
Rules
andRegulations
andEngineering
Standards
concerning
thetelevision
broadcast
jn the band
service,
Docket
No.9125;Utilization
ol frequencies
470to890mcsfortelevision
broadcasting,
Docket
No.8g76,released
April
14, 1952.0uoteis fromParagraph
63.
5 tbid.
6 P u b l iLca w B T - 5 2s9i g, n ebdy p r e s i d eKnet n n e d y o n J u l y 1 0 , 1l 9
t i 6s 2 .
knownas the All-Channel
Receiver
Bill of 1962.See FCCRulesand
Regulations
$15.65.
7 National
Association
of Broadcasters,
newsrelease
l4.lS, ,'Iypical
U H FT V S t a t i oInn B t a c ki n 1 9 2 4 , "( m i m e oJ,u n ei 9 Z 5 ) .
8 JohnD.Abel,Charles
Cliftlll andFrederic
A. Weiss,,,Station
License
Revocations
andDenials
of Renewal,
1934-1
969,,'Journal
of Broadcasting,
1 4 ' . 4 . 4 1 1 - 4( 2F1a l 1
l 970).
I Thetouchstone
criterion
forlicensing
ol stalions
underlheCommunicationsActof 1934[Section
302(a)and309(a)].Seeatso.Frederick
Furd,
"The
Meaning
ofthe'Public
Inlerest,
Convenience
or Necessitv.,"
Journal
o l B r o a d c a s t i 5n :g3, : 2 0 5 - 2 1( S
8 u m m e1r9 6 1 ) .
10 NewJerseyGovernor
Byrneandthe NewJersevCoalition
for Fair
Broadcasting
havechallenged
renewal
of Newyorkand'philadelphia
television.stations
onlhegrounds
thatNewJerseyis receiving
inadequate
VHF
servrce
andthatat leastoneVHFcommercial
station
shouldbelicensed
to
NewJersey.SeeBroadcasting,
June9, 1925,p.26.
.11
TheFCC-always
hasbeenverysensitive
to lheconcentration
of political
strengthin Congress.
Because
of the rural/small
town orientation
of
Congress,
servicelo suchareasalwayshas beena majorpriorityof the
Commission.
As thecomposition
0f the Congress
changed
in response
ro
Bakervs. Canandolher"oneman-one
vote" decisions
of the bupreme
Court,
theFCCalsoassumed
a moreurbanbias.Sincepopulation
density
is
nowreflected
morestrongly
in representation,
theFCC'sreluctance
to uoset
Congress
serveslo protectthe serviceenioyedby largermarkets.
19
"Thethatpeople
priorto
12 Section
307(b),
amendment
in 1936,provided
oJall the zonesestablished
by thistitleare entitled
to equality
of radio
broadcasting
service,
bothof transmission
and of reception...."The
Supreme
Court,
in RedLionBroadcasting
Company
vs. FGC[395U.S.367
(1969)l,heldthat" lt istherightoftheviewers
andlisteners,
nottheright0f
whichis paramount."
the broadcasters,
'I
"Television
3 Kittr0ss,
F r e q u e n cAyl l o c a t i oPno l i c yi n t h e U n i t e d
States,"op. cit.
14 SeeRalph
LeeSmith,
TheWired
Nation,
NewYork:Harper,
1972.Also
seeDonR. LeDuc,Cable
Television
andlhe FCC:A Crisisin MediaControl.
Philadelphia:
TempleUniversity
Press,1973.
1 5 A . C .N i e l s eC
n o m p a nN
y ,i e l s eN
n e w s c a sNt ,p . 1 ,1 9 7 5 ,p . 3 .
''One
16
ofthehallmarks
otthisandI suspect
mostregulatory
agencies
is
for knownevilsoverunknownevils.I am not surethat
a prelerence
' ' (Then
- FCCCommissioner
preferen
celeads
t0thebestpublicpolicyresult.
NicholasJohnson,
lettertotheauthor,
June7, 1972).
See,JohnM. Kittross,
"The Federal
Communicati0ns
Commission:
NeitherFishNor Fowl," in
(eds.),MassMediaandlhe Law:
DavidG. ClarkandEadR. Hutchinson
Fr6ed0m
andRestraint.
NewYork:Wiley-lnterscience,
1970,pp.360-362.
SeealsoKrasnow
andLongley,
op. cil., andRossD. Eckert,"Spectrum
"
Allocation
Incentives,Papers
andRegulatory
andProceeding
0l the Conference
onCommunication
Policy
Rosoarch,
November
17-18,1972.Washinoton:0fficeof Telecommunications
Policy,1972.
17 Allocation
istheapportioning
ol a givenpartor partsoftheelectromagneticspeclrum
to a particular
service,
suchas television
broadcasting.
partoi the
Assignment
is parcelling
outof channels
withinthatallocated
(or,inotherservice,
spectrum
toparticular
communities
classes
orusers).
A
givenuserwillthenbelicensed
to usea particular
channel
or channels
in a
partrcular
location.
'lB
Clearly,
t0 provide
validandreliable
details
ol Cluster
siting,detailed
financial
data,etc.lorthisproposal
wouldrequire
a greatdealof computerreserach.
proposal
assisted
Since
thebasictenets
of a preliminary
suchas
thisdo notrequire
suchdetails,
andsincelundingwasneither
soughtnor
received
for this paper,theywill not be presented
here.
COUNTERPOINT-
Telecommunicalion
1g lnternational
Union,African
VHF/UHF
BroadcaslingConference,
Regional
iortheAfrican
agreement
broadcasting
area.Final
protocol,
resolulions,
andrecommendation.
Geneva:
lTU,1963.Alsosee
"The African
VHF/UHFBroadcasting
ConJerence,"
EBUReview,80A
( A u g u s1t 9 6 3 )p p . 1 5 4 - 1 6 1 .
2 0 $ 7 3 . 6 1o
0 f t h e F C CR u l e sa n d R e g u l a t i o(n4s7 U S C7 3 . 6 1 0 ) .
(47 USC15.67&
2 1 $15.67and15.68ol theFCCRules
andRegulations
68)
22 Among
a number
of recentbookson Britishbroadcasting
areAnthony
Smith,BritishBroadcasting.
Newton
Abbot:DavidandCharles,
1974and
PeterBlack,TheMirrorin the Corner.London:
Hutchinson,
1972.(Both
thesevolumes
dealwiththe IBAat length).
23 WalterB. Emery,"The Netherlands:
Pluralism
with Freedom,"in
(ed.),National
Walter
B. Emery
andInternational
Systems
0l Broadcasting.
EastLansing:
Michigan
StateUniversity
Press,1969,pp 140-157.
24 Perhaps
themostcomplete
earlydiscussion
of this principle
is to be
''The
"
loundin R.H.Coarse, Federal
Communications
Commission,
Journal
ol LawandEconomics,
2:1-40(0ctober
1959).Levin,
0p.cit.,andothersin
(particularly
and out of government
at 0TP)alsohaveconsidered
this
approach
lo speclrum
allocation
andassignment.
See,in particular,
Roger
G. Noll,MertonJ. Peck,and JohnJ. McGown,
Economic
Aspectsof
Television
Regulation.
Washington:
The Brookings
Institution,
1973.
25 See,forexample,
reporls
appearing
frequently
in the Canadian
comquarlerly,
munications
InSearch.
Anextremely
interesting
report
byDouglas
WardoftheCBCwasinterspersed
withcommentary
byeditorLorenzo
Milam
1952,pp. 2-4.
and published
in The RadioTimes#115,December
26 The authortendsto holdthat the selection
ol Programmers
and
decisions
abouttheirretention
bestcanbedonebyviewers
in someformol
plebiscite
afterinitial
screening
bytheCommission
formeeting
minimal
legal
and financial
criteria-butthat is a subjectfor anotherpaper.
(47 USC73.35).
27 73.35ol the FCC'sRulesand Regulations
"drop-in"
28 TheVHF
inquiry
announced
in theSpring
ol 1975is Docket
2 0 48
1.
H r )
-\
r4
THERE IS NOTHING
MODEST ABOUT
67 CHANNELS
OF TELEVISION
"modest proposal for reJohn Kittross and his
structuring American television" is about 25 years
too late. Had the proposal been made, and properly
studied, during the 1948-1952FCC freeze on new
television allocations,it might have found sufficient
support to make it fly. But alas, nearly 25 years
after the infamous freeze has been lifted. it is too
much too late.
20
Still the proposal has merit and it should receive
honest debate and honest study. To dismiss it as
another example of academiameddling in the real
world is tempting but unfair to the Professor and
his considerable effort.
Professor Kittross correctly asserts there are
vast unserved or underserved segments of America-regions that receive too little or no television
CATJ FOR
]F
service. He attributes this shortage of signals to (1)
the allocationstable of 1952,and, (2)the liigh cost of
constructing and operating television broadcastfacilities, and he has obvious trouble with cable as an
answer to both problems.
In the Professor's view, if we "simply moved
some television stations around" and ireated an
allocations table based upon something the Europeans call "rectilinear grids," all of our problems
will go away.
Rectilinear grids are an interesting approach to
spectrum allocations.The Swedish have employed
this ap-proachfor a number of years, and are-apparently reasonably happy with the way it worlis
for them. Other Europeans have recently shown
interest in this approach to frequency allocations;
and a recent European agreement in principal will
re-structure the AM broadcastband throughout all
of Europe following essentially the rectilinear format. Seemingly, if several dozen sovereign states
can get together in unison following such a format,
one nation of 50 states shouldbe able to do the same
thing.
_Rectilineargrids recognize something that the
FCC recognizedin 1952,that being the spectrum is
finite, it has boundariesof its own, and its limits are
soonreached.Rectilinear grids accept those limits,
define those boundaries, and establish the maximum utility for the finite spectrum based upon the
characteristics of the spectrum and the transmitters that will occupy that spectrum. It is a neat
plan, a much better and more sensibleapproach to
proper useage of. a finite resource such as the
spectrum than the hodge-podgethe FCC created in
L952.
But we fear that it is not destined to be.
The Professor suggests the largest stumbling
block to the FCC's moving all television to UHF
channels (where adequate spectrum does exist
even for an FCC market-by-market approach to
allocations) has been the public's investment in
television receivers. The Professor suggests that
the rectilinear plan would not causethe public to
lose much or any money, simply because the receivers that now work for our present allocations
would continue to work after rectilinear grids were
implemented. That is, the channels we now have
are the channels we would have, only they would
come from different transmitting towers.
All-UHF was first considered in 1950-51.Then
FCC Chairman Wayne Coy thought the idea had
merit. There were but slightly fewer than 10 million television receivers in the handsof the public in
1950,a number that had risen to nearly 16 million
by the end of 1951.All-UHF was again considered
in 1954-55,an era that saw between 35 and 43
million television receivers in the hands of the
public. Clearly the public had a lot of money in-
vested in receivers by 1955and the FCC was itself
too late to seriously eonsider sueh a move by that
trme.
Professor Kittross suggests that because the
rectilinear- grid approach would not require new
rec-eiversJor the public, that the public would not
be harmed by such a move. He suggests"at most, a
rotor would be required." The Alliance Manufaeturing eompany should like this proposal. So too
should the likes of Channel Mastei, Winegard, and
JFD. If you take the six Philadelphia transmitters
out of north Phillie and move them 40-b0miles out
oftown, there are going to be a lot of new outdoor
antennas required. Repeat that all across the
United States, and you have some grasp of the
magnitude of the new public investment for antennas and possibly rotors.
And that is precisely why the plan, as proper as it
might be for a new nation starting out with no
publ;trinuestment in receiving systems and no
firmly entrenchedbroadcastingfiefdoms, is not the
answer Lo our present dag problcms.
Still, it doeshave merit. Even as one ticks off the
reasons why it does not solve ozr problems, the
advantagesto such a system keep coming back to
haunt you.
The FCC of the recent 1948-1952era was no
better and probably no worse than those that precededand followed it. The FCC of that era was just
as dependent upon "advice" from its regulatees as
the present industry is, perhaps even more so. The
FCC of that era cannot be faulted for not looking at
eachand,every plan aduanced.There were, as you
may recall from the March and April 1975issuesof
CATJ,_somepretty far-out suggestions.One plan
wanted to launch a series of flying transmitlers
that would circle aimlessly in figure 8's across the
nation, covering huge chunks of terrain from each
airplane transmitter, so that only 13 airplane units
would be required to cover coast to coast. Another
plan wanted every metropolitan area covered by
multiple transmitters operating on the same channel, replacingthe present one super pouer unit per
channelwith perhaps adozenlnut or mediu,rnpower
units per channel, and slaving them together so
that they would not interfere with one another.
Alas, for the all of the input the 1948-1952FCC
received, it did, not receiue a plnn for rectiltnear
grid, all,ocations.
If the FCC of that era can be faulted for one basic
bit of dumbness,it was that when the 1952 allocations table was released, it was not a new allocations table; rather it was the old (1944)allocations
table, with appendagesattached. The FCC of 19481952 kept stumbling over the 107 licensed and
operating television stations that existed when the
freeze was announced; and rather than incur the
wrath ofthese operating stations, the FCC choseto
Editor-ln-Chief
proposal
CATJ
BobCooper
responds
t0theJohnKittross
lora newnational
formal
tortelevision
allocations.
Atthe''bottom
line" Coooer
finds
proposal
theKittross
hasmeritbutquestions
whelher
lherewouldbelessneedlorcable
plan,or,alternately,
withtheKittross
a grealer
needforcable.
Cooper's
conclusion
is thatcable's
rolein thenation's
communications
system
proposal.
wouldbeenhanced,
notdiminished
by theKittross
A P R I L1 9 7 6
21
allocatearound them (with only a handfulof exceptions).
Those 107 operating stationsrepresenteda considerablebit of power at the FCC and to Congress.
They were successfulin keeping their pre-freeze
allocations for the most part, and they demonstrated just how much power television broadcasters could muster when the chips were down.
And tDis is the fatal flaw in the proposal of Professor Kittross; it ignoresthe reluctance,or refusal,of
the existing broadcastersto change one tiny bit
their present establishedstatus-quo.
The numbers which the good Professor plays for
us are impressive.As many as 67 channelsof service for some of the population, no fewer than 5 for
even the most remotely located American home.
There would be 260 separateclusters of transmitters, with from 33 to 34 possibletransmitters per
cluster. If our mathematics is correct, with all
transmitters operating at all cluster locations,the
nation would have 8710separatetelevision transmitters on the air. Considering there are only
slightly more than 8,000AM and FM radio transmitters on the air (includingeducationalradio outlets), that is one heck of a lot of television. It is
approximately 9 times as many transmitters as
presently serve the United States.It is more than
four times as many transmitter-channel allncati,ons
as the present FCC plan calls for, and that is some
indication of how sloppy the present FCC allocations schemereally is.
If all of this is too much for a poor nation like the
United States, perhaps the plan would be more
realistic if the UHF channelswere simply eliminated from the proposal. Professor Kittross does
this at one point, noting that if the rectilinear grid
format were followed,the present12VHF channels
could provide no less than five channelsof service
to every citizen.The top number would become12
under the VHF only plan, still not a bad number.
With 130 clusters of 5 transmitters each and 130
clustersof 7 transmitters each,the nation would be
blanketed by a total of 1560television stations, all
on VHF. If oneassumed,asthe Professordoes,that
in a 5 transmitter cluster one transmitter would be
dedicatedto ETV/PBS and in a 7 transmitter cluster two transmitters would be dedicatedto PBS/
ETV, we have room for a fourth network at 260
clusters(out of 260)and a fifth network at 130of the
clusters. Or if we stuck with the present three
networks, we would have room for at least one
non-network(i.e. independent)station at 130 clusters and room for 2 independentsat 260 clusters.
That holds a certain attraction for television
starved taral America, and the peoplewho slave in
Hollywood to produce programming ought to find
this appealing as well.
Still, as advantageousas an aIl-WF sustem
might be, and as beneficialto the nation'scomhunications system as turning UHF completely back to
two-way communicationsmight be, there are seri22
ous flaws even with the VHF-onlv
approach.
Present day transmitters are located by their
licensees where the transmitters will cover the
maximum number of people.This meansthat virtually every transmitter has been spotted,for profit
reasons,where shadow areas and dead spots, az'tft,zn population centers, wi,ll be mini,rnized.Within
broad FCC guidelines,the presentlicenseeshave a
fair amount of latitude as to where they will locate
their transmitters. Such latitude would not exist
with a closely policedrectilinear grid plan. For the
plan to work properly, the transmitters would have
to be within a few square miles of the exact spacing
specifiedby the grid. Inevitably, out of 260 grids or
clusters, many will fall in areas where tall towers
canbe constructedonly at very great expense.The
Professor seemsto opt for a single tower per cluster site,an admirableapproachfor the FAA and the
Ieave-the-countryside-unspoiled
buffs. But this is
not somethingone doeswith $100,000towers (the
number budgetedby the Professor).To hold high
safely, 5-7 television broadcast antennas with the
associatedfeedlinesand microwave reflectors, and
the inevitableFM antennas,is amulti-milkon dollnr
project per cluster site.
Now assumingthe Congressgot into the act and
the considerablepolitical persuasionof the existing
licenseescould,be beaten,what about the public?
Would it really benefit?
If all 260siteswere activated,there is little doubt
that many neut homes would receive their first
multiple channel television. But certainly a whole
Iot less than the full nation would receive the benefits of the program. The Professor ossunxesa
smooth earth; that is, one with no intervening
terrain. The clusters would require preeisetransmitter placement,even when that happensto create a situation that results in intervening terrain
taller than the cluster antenna farm between the
cluster transmitters and amajor population center.
Supposethe Denver-area cluster location was 40
miles east of Denver? And the Albuquerque 40
miles east of Albuquerque? Both communities
would suddenly become excellent cable-potential
cities. The possibilitiesare endlessand the opportunity for manipulation of grids in the planning
stagesalmost beyond comprehension.Detroit, for
example, might have 12 channelsavailable, 7 from
a grid cluster 50 miles north and 5 from a grid
cluster 70 miles southeast.Angone for cablingDetroi.t?
No, ProfessorKittross, we don't think the cable
role would dirninish with your proposal. We thinkit
would be enhanced. With half-decent odds. the
rural areas would end up with far better over-theair television than the metropolitan areas. This
might get cable out of the sticks and into the big
markets faster than anything the Congress, the
FCC, or the cableindustrg could.euer do.Instead of
being pressed to find auxiliary services to make
CATJ FOR
'l
cable fly in the big cities, we would be able to just
plod along as simple, efficient, communitg antenna
systems. While out in the rural countryside, where
the land is flat and the signals go forever, we would
have to devise ways to add auxiliary services to
make cable fly.
It is all a wonderful dream-the way cable might
haue been if some 25 years ago this industry had
been forced to wire the big citins first because
someoneat the FCC came along with a rectilinear
grid plan in 1951 or 52.
And the Swedeshave such an allocation'ssystem
now, you say? When does the next airplane leave
for Stockholm??
CATJ'S GUIDE TO PASSIVES
(Part One)
One Born EaerA Minute
The CATV passive supply
company operates in a strange
environment not unlike the Atlantic City Boardwalk carnival
operator. His matching transformer (pad, attenuator, splitter, direction tap, etc.) is the
greatest thing since sliced bread
and mom's natural milk. In an
industry with twenty five years
of.actiue history, the study of the
coming and goings of passive
manufacturers is a study in a
sub-culture. There is one born
every minute; or so it seerns.
To many segments of the
CATV operating industry, passives are the jockey shorts of life,
a necessary evil, but not something you spend very much time
thinking about or studying very
carefully. Like the jockey shorts,
they go through life holding up
their end of the system but they
seldom show up in public so you
don't waste any time choosing
which version you will use.
So the passivesalesmanhasto
resort to some real tricks of
s a l e s m a n s h i pt o a t t r a c t e v e n
yout rnarginal interest. "Smallest," "highest quality," "your
name imprinted free," "economy," are but a few of the sales
by-words of the passive salesman.
You yawn and ask how eheap
can you buy it for.
"Look
at this seal, it can't leak
no matter what." Or, "have you
ever seen such a strong box?".
You yawn again and repeat,
"how
cheap can I buy it?"
For most of the industry, buying passivesis a study in "Cost
APR!L 1976
What Is A Passiae?
Acceptability". That is, "how
cheap can you buy it?"
A system operator will spend
$2,000.00on a mainline amplifier
station that has redundant this,
bi-directional that, future
growth room and snap-in, snapout modules. He will critique the
color of the case and his engineers will spend days pouring
over the specifications, heating
it, cooling it, thumping upon it
and filling it up with sand and
water. Then the system operator
will call the amplifier manufacturer on the telephone and report, "You know that SuperWhammy 8 mainline station you
left for us to evaluate? Well. it
drops off 0.1 dBat297 MHz when
it gets down to 40 degreesbelow
zero and it is filled up with strawberry ice cream. What can you
do to fix that?".
But when the passive salesman calls and goes into his speel
the same system operator gestures with his hand halfwav
through the opening dialogue tb
cut the salesmanoff with "Print
my nameon the caseand knock4
cents off the 10,000lot unit price
and you have the order".
Chancesare his engineersnever
have the opportunity to drop the
temperature to 40 degreesbelow
zero, orfill it up with strawberry
ice cream. And chancesare
equally good that they wouldn't
bother if they had the opportun-
itv.
Passives, like jockey shorts,
are simply not very exciting.
We are not certain anyone has
ever taken the time to adequately define a passive.We
won't try here. At least not in
one neat Websterism.
Passiue. The word itself is 180
degrees out of phase with the
industry. Thk is an actiue industrg. lt always has been, and in
the near-term future, it will continue to be. There is something
negativeabout a devicethat just
sits there and does nothing
a c t i u e l E .P e r h a p s t h e p a s s i v e
arm of the industry made its first
mistake by calling themselves
passive to begin with.
Passiues. They are like
cookies; cut from a mold with
minimum wage labor. "Everyone is like every other one" one
passivemanufacturer touted not
long ago. He meant that his passive products had great quality
control. It came across differently.
Passiues. You can start a passivescompanyin your garage,or
basement.Several have started
in garages or basements.Simply
buy one-each-sample
from several leading suppliers,open up the
case,can or contarner,and "jap"
the innards. Buy several big
boxes of descrete parts and you
are in business.
Passiues. They don't command much respect. Rodney
Dangerfield would be a great
passives salesman.
"Passives
are just alike, buy
price" is a common bit of sage
adviee 'old-timers' give in this
industry.
Passiues, like jockey shorts
and Rodney Dangerfield,needa
new image. We'lI try here.
T u t oP i n k s , a B l u e . . . .
A n d a d o z e nu h i t e . . . .
Pick up a copy of Television
Factbook, services edition.
Dagtona Beach - Benco heod,end, Kaiser ampl:ifiers;
Superior Cable; Telemati.on
origination.
So what type of passivesdoes
Daytona Beach use? Factbook
doesn't care. You probably don't
either.
Chancesare they use several
brands. Maybe a dozenor more.
The Benco headend is actiue.
The Kaiser amplifiers are actiue.
The Telemationlocal origination
eqrripmentis actiue. The Superior cable is not. Cable manufacturers don't have the identity
problem that passive manufacturers do.
whs?
Because cable manufacturers
haue clnss. They sell the same
"every (foot) is Iike every other
(foo[)" product that passivemanufacturers do. They run big four
color ads spread across double
trucks. Their ads have class.and
wit (I'm in a telephone booth
halfway to Bermuda and we still
haven't run out of signal. . . .").
System owners welcome cable
salesmenwith open arms. And
they seldomfill the cableup with
strawberry ice cream and drop
the temperature to 40 degrees
below zero to see what happens
at channelW.
But then nobody ever started
a cable manufacturingoperation
in a garage or basement.
System owners select ampli
fier and headendsupplierswith
considerablecare, becausethey
half-erpect to have problems at
some point with the gear. And
uthenthey have those problems,
they want to be able to pick up
the telephoneand find some
help.ln a hurrg. They don't want
to have a recording comeon the
Iine and tell them that the number has been disconnectedfor
three months and the eompanyis
out of business.
But passivesaren't very complicated, and, they aren't very
24
expensive. And, they seldom(if
ever) quit. A passive, being a
passive, will probably work /oreuer if.it works the day it comes
out of the carton. In short. once
the passiveshave been bought,
and paid for, the hassleis over.
The buyer knows that. The seller
knows that unlike the active supplier, who can count on being
call,ed back in every now and
again for somehelp to replace or
repair a burned up active unit,
the passivesupplier is much like
the token taker in the subway.
The buyer won't call him because
something quits working. In
short, oncebought, installedand
working, the buyer doesn'tneed
the passiveseller again.At least
not until he runs out of inventory.
probably know a lot less about
them than you think you do.
True, they are not complicated.
At least not when comparedto a
piece of microwave gear or a
complex phase-lockheadend
unit. But. unlike'the microwave
gear or the phase-lockunit, they
cost a few pennies or dollars
each, and where the microwave
or phaselock unit manufacturer
can afford to charge off ten or
thirty hours of test and alignment time to that si,ngl,e
unit gou
order, the passivesmanufacturer is lucky if he gets to do
much more than eyeball the finished product as it moves down
the conveyor belt between the
nimble fingers of the assembly
girl and the carton packer at the
end of the production line.
Notbeing neededis the potential hangup every passivesalesman must face. Once the deal is
made ("imprint my name and
knock four cents off the unit
price"), he passesfrom view ond
from thought.
The secretof passives,if there
is one, is (1) creating an
optimized set of engineering conditions, and then (2) repeating
those conditions over and over
and over again every time the
product-masteris duplicated.So
the real key to passivesis quaktg
control, or the ability to take a
o n e - e a c hh a n d - w r o u g h t e n g i neering prototype and massproduce it again and again. That
is where the amateurs are separated from the novices with
passives.
Active-electronic engineers
seldom care much about passives,and they probably suspect
"a piece
that passives are
of
cake". Relative to the kind of
engineeringdone in secret engineering R and D labs at activeelectroniccompanies,theg are"a
piece of cake". But unlike the
active-units,which have numerous individual points for the
alignment personnel to tweek
upon the knobs and wires and
controls Lo bring an active unit
into spec, the passive unit either
flies, or, it dies. There is seldom
any tweeking possible, and even
if it is possible,you are not going
to tweek uerE lnng with $5-$7
per hour labor on a device that
nets to the user for 50 cents or a
dollar. In a word, the passive
business is under more strict
quality controls (if the company
@
At the risk of having belabored the problems faced by
the passivessupplier,we want to
make the point that the passives
end of CATV is (1) uastly underrated, and, (2) of consid,erablg
more 'importance than 990/oof
the cableoperatorsallow. It may
take us an issue or two to show
you how and why this is so,but in
the end we will do so.
To study passivesin some
depth, to provide some basic
knowledge you do nof now have
about passives,and to critique
some of the common problems
you have now hecause you
bought passivesbg prtce rather
than by performance(you know
you did!), CATJ has dug into the
present state of the passivesindustry with our usual (if not legendary ) devil-may-careattitude.
We aren't out to slay any paper
tigers, but, we won't sweepany
lnrge chunks of dirt under the
rug in the process either.
First of all, if you have never
r e a l l y s t u d i e d p a s s i v e s ,y o u
CATJ FOR
is going to succeed)than many of
the active companies.There is
simply no room for error in the
economicsof passives, because
there is not the money in passives (on a per piece basis) to
correct for sloppy workmanship
down on the assemblv line.
The Transfortner
The mightly matching transformer is the bread and butter of
the passives business.If there
are in fact some 11 million or so
cable connected homes in this
country today, with something
more than 1 set per home,there
are a like number of 75 to 300
ohm matching transformers
"hanging
around" in dusty, hot
corners doing their job.
The matching transformer
started out many years ago being a several buck per unit device. It also started out being
several times as Iarge as the
present versions.The matching
transformer is a pretty simple
device,and one would expect after 25 organized years of CATV
that we probably are about as
closeas we are ever going to get
in the development of the
"matching transformet"
stateof-the-art.
The variations one finds in
matching transformers today
are largely of individual (des i g n e r ) t a s t e .E v e r y d e s i g n e r
hopeshis "taste" will capturethe
fancy of the marketplace.Reference is made to diagram 1; the
schematicfor the RMS modelCA
2500 matching transformer.
The transformer accepts 75
ohm unbalanced RF energy at
one port (i.e. from cable drop)
and transforms that energy into
300 ohm RF energy at the opposite port. The CA 2500has a trio
of .001 dise ceramic capacitors,
one on the 75 ohm input and a
pair on the 300ohm output. They
are there largely as voltage protection devices to insure that
should somehowsomeoperating
voltage (i.e. not RF) appear at
either terminal, the voltage is
stopped at that point from (1)
getting into the transformer itself, and, (2) feedingthrough the
transformer and into equipment
on the oppositeend of the device.
Not all transformers have voltage blocking capacitors;nor do
all have the trio of capswhich the
CA 2500has. There are various
arguments for having three or
two capacitors.RMS maintains
three is the correct way to do it
without cheapeningthe product.
There are at least a couple of
others that maintain that two is
adequate.It hardly seemslike a
big deal when the capacitorsare
small and cost under a penny
each in the far east where they
are procured.
The transformer itself is truepassive,that is, when RF signal
goesthrough the device,there is
7 5 l 3 O OO H M M A T C H I N GT R A N S F O R I Y E R
(Ri!1SCA2500)
I
€____________o
.001
( 1 0 0 0v D c )
t
II
"oJlRt,o
II
'1,
DIAGRAM 1
A P R I L1 9 7 6
.001
( 10 0 0v D c )
IV RTCEIV€R
T U N E RI N P U T
When sr0nals d.e conrbrncd rn the recerver (rrner)
lhe oilqrnal + rnd
rranslornrer
{1.E. phase) srgnrls are combrne(l to add
io each olher (and they rre ncceple(i by lho tuner) Howev{r.
direct pickup tniecled al each srde ol the trrDslofiner lrno at
the sanre phnse wrll cancel rtsalf rt the transJornrar.
DIAGRAM IB
75tu
UNBALANCED
rrn--__J
some signal loss. This is true
with virtually any transformer
known to man, in virtually any
t r a n s f o r m e r t y p e ap p l i c a t i o n .
The amount of lossis a measurement of transformer efficiencg;
the lower the loss,the better for
you.
A transformer has something
known as "balance"; which
means it creates equal RF signals and exact 180 degree phase
inversion on both sides,on both
legs of the 300 ohm side of the
device (see Diagram 1-B). The
better the balance, the better
the transformer can deal with
strong local signals (i.e. reduce
direct pickup of local signals).
Balancedepends'largelyon the
CA.25(|()
MATCHING
TRANSFORMER
Design
Balanced
F r e q u e nRc a
y n g e.
4 0t o3 0 0M H z
R e t u rLno s s
. . . 2 2d B m i n i m u m
B a l a n cBea t i o
4 0 d Bm i n i m u m
I n s e r t iLoons s . . . . . . . . . .d9B m i n i m u m
Response.
.....+/-.25d8
lsolation
. 1 0 0 0v o l t s
Manufaclu
rer
R M SE l e c t r o n i cI ns c, .
5 0 A n t i nP l a c e
B r o n xN
, e wY o r k1 0 4 6 2
( 2 1 2 )8 9 2 - 1 0 0 0
25
care or skill with which the
transformer is wound (see
photo).
A transformer is subjectedto
considerablerough treatment on
the back of many subscriber
sets. One of the popular arguments is whether the 300 ohm
spade lugs on the transformer
should be soldered to the flat
ribbon lead coming out of the
t r a n s f o r m e r . I f t h e l e a d sa r e
soldered, they obviously have
greater pull-strengthshould
someonetry to lift an elephant
with the device. On the other
hand, copper wire (or copper
coated wire) when soldered
takes on a brittleness. It may
"pull" harder but it "snaps"
easier.And applying solderdoes
weaken the 300 ohm pigtail lead
somewhat, simply because the
heat applied to afix the spade
Iugs on the end of the 300 ohm
pigtail softens the poly insulation on the pigtail for a split second or so.When it re-hardens,it
is not as stout as it was in the
virgin (unsoldered)state. The
CA 2500 does not use soldered
lugs.
Shielding around the transformer guts is anotherimportant
c o n s i d e r a t i o n .T h e p r o b l e m ,
again, is direct pickup. Early
tranformers had no shielding
and this worked fine in systems
such as Gridley where there are
no local signals to be picked up.
But as systemswere constructed
in or near areas with local signals,the unshieldedtransformer
started to be fts oun antenna.
This causes ghosts on signals
carried on channel,or co-channel
on signals carried on the local
station'schannel.A metalshield,
bonded all around to the 75 ohm
fitting on one end, was part of
the answer (better transformer
balancewas the rest). Most
transformers today ore shielded,
-:::::-j----.>,/-X.
(l'.---------
swErP rN
N
r
sf
N
(f,
TR
MATCHIN
GA N S F 0 R M- E RT h r o u gahp a i r
top refermatching
transformers,
of CA-2500
line,bottom
lineis backencelineis comparison
Markers
arein
transformers.
matching
to-back
5 4 M H zi n c r e m e n t s .
,..1-
A
II
I
II
N
r
sf
M A T C H I NTGR A N S F 0 R M- E RB y b r i n g i n g
linedown1.0 dB,it almost
meelsthe
reference
transformer
line.Converthrough-back-t0-back
s i o nl o s s elso r p a i rr s 1 . 0d B f o r5 4 - 1 0 8M H z ,
r i s i n tgo 1 2 d Bl o rt h ep a i r1 6 2 - 2 1l6\ t l H zN o t e
s l i g hh
t u m pj u s ta b o v e2 1 6 M H z .
i
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sodo
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cA2500 H2
DIAGRAM 1A
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v
)
whether you are in Gridley or in
Tulsa with your cable system.
This may not be necessaryfor
the operators of the Gridley's of
the world, but that is the way the
market has gone and it is for the
better.
In evaluating a transformer
with a standard sweep test set
up, you really need a pair of,the
CATJ FOR
devices connected up "back to
back" as shown in diigram 1-A.
Note that what we have doneis
comein with the sweepsourceat
75 ohms to one transformer,
transformed to 300 ohms which
we back-to-backedwith another
transformer to its 300ohm side,
and then come out at ?b ohms
from the secondtransformer.
This does two things: it keeps
the measurementsat an impedance(75ohms)whichCATV lear
is set-up for, and, il d,oublcs-any
problems present in a single
transformer. For example,if fhe
conversion(i.e.through)lossofa
single__transformerin stepping
from 75 ohmsto 800 ohmsii 0.5
dB, then the loss throueh a nair
is 1.0 dB (as displayedon'the
scopedisplay).
Utilizing the Wavetek 10b1
customizedtest set describedin
the February CATJ (pages2g to
35) and the Wavetebfg0l0 display scope, the CA 2500 (and
other devices to be discussed
here) was checkedout for performanee.Photo 1 showsth;40340 MHz bandwidth of the CA
2500 (with two units back to
back)while photo2 showsthe 1.0
dB combinedlossof a pair of CA
2500units when 1 dB of compen.
satingpad losswas crankedinto
the display on the referencebase
line.
HIGH PASSFILTER/MATCHING TRANSFORMER
(Rr\4SCA-2600F)
75'IUNEALANCED
LOW FREO.
TO GROUND
F--<
J.00't
DIAGRAM 2
sweee
v -@-------_.'
l'e
SWEEPOUT
I
=___r-$*r'
E-------..,J
ge
qq----+
r
| >-----)
Y
|
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t
cA-26ooFflt
\-/
r
i
i
cl.zeoor *z
DTAGRAM 2A
The FunnA Transfonner
As CATV systemshave gone
more complicatedand the cable
spectrumhasfoundnew usesin
many markets,a specialized
matching transformerhas been
developed.Inthe RMS line,this
is the CA 2600F,with the "F"
standing for "filter".
- The problem is this. If your
plant has madesomeuse of the
"below channel
2" spectrumfor
return-bandpurposes,you have
somecableRF being carriedon
someor all of the spectrumfrom
say 5 to 35 MHz. Inspite of efforts to the contrary, this energ"y
ccn show up at the subscribei's
drop. And while few (if indeed)
any systems utilize the 40-45
MHz segment of the spectrum
A P R I L1 9 7 6
Every time a technician drives
out on a trouble call it costsmoney.
Troublecallsgobble
away at profits.
Call or write Avantek
and find out how our
CR/CT-2000TestSvstem
can improve your CATV
system'sperformanceand
dramatically reducethose
troublecalls.
Nt
Avantek ...yearsaheod.
today.
3175 Bow66 Awnu€, $nta Ctara, Catitohaa 9505r. phons ({8) 2aS7@.
27
I
M A T C H I NTGB A N S F ( ) R M E R / F I L- T E R
theaccendevices,
a pairol CA-2600F
Through
t u a t erd0 l l o fal l 5 4M H z( m a r k eirs)d o w n4 . 5d B
dr0p
factor).
Nolesudden
(seetexlforcorrection
lrap/
devicelineindicating
lettsideof through
l i l t e rb e l o w5 0 M H z .
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=
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M A T C H I NTGB A N S F ( ) R M E R / F I L- T E R
scaleshowspigtailearat around47
Expanded
attenurapiddropoffin through-loss
MHzbelore
to notch45 MHzi.f. range.
ationthatis peaked
28
for signal carriage, there are
such
problemswith sub-channels
as T9 getting into the 45 MHz i.f.
at tu;ice their cabl.efrequencg.
"trap out any RF
The solution is
energy below 54 (or 55.25MHz)
at the set", beforeit gets into the
receiver and creates a problem
with the TV receiver i.f. operating in the 40-45 MHz region.
"all
The filter or trapping for
energy below 54.0 MHz" can be
bullL into the matching transformer. See diagram 2. This is
the RMS CA 2600F matching
transformer. a transformer that
includes a set of filters for trapping or eliminatingall energy below channel 2.
The input to the filter at 75
ohms includes first a low frequency to ground (i.e. shunt to
ground) form of a high pass filber. All energy below approxi
mately 50-52MHz is shunted to
ground by the combinationof the
coil and the capacitor. Next
bhere is a 45 MHz shunt trap to
ground, tuned to sit on top of the
TV receiver i.f. range to createa
"trap notch" at that frespecial
quency. After the filter/trap secbions, the transformer looks
pretty much like any other
matching transformer.
HIGHPASSFILTERMATCHING
CA-26(]()F
TRANSFORMER
O e s i g n..... . . C o n s t aKnht i g hp a s sf i l t e r
. ... . . . . . . 5 - 3 0 0M H z
F r e q u e nRcayn g e
. . . 1 6d Bm i n i m u m
R e t u rLno s s
C u t - OFl lr e q u e n c y . . . . . . 5 0 M H z
. . 2 5d Bm i n i m u m
B a l a n cRea t i o
, 8d Bm i n i m u m
A t t e n u a t i o. .n5. - 3 5M H z 2
Manufacturer
Inc.
RMSElectronics,
The method of checking the
unit out is identical to the
straight-forward matching
tranformer; two units are conn e c t e d b a c k - t o - b a c k( d i a g r a m
2-A). Photo 3 shows the broadband response of the pair of
back-to-back,
transformers
while photo 4 showsthe up-close
notch depth and location (in frequency)of the 40'45MHz region.
Note that we do have some rolloff at the channel 2 visual carrier
frequency, we measured it as
3.?5dB at 55.25MHz for a puir of,
transformers, indicating it is
around 50o/oof that (1.875dB),
CATJ FOR
less the conaersionloss (0.5dB)
or, 1.375 dB per unit at 55.25
MHz in the CA 2600F.This slight
"lisp"
of the bandpassresponse
on the channel 2 visual carrier
should not causeanyone grief in
the field.
The FM Tap
4-5-6through it for TV purposes,
but he would be hard presied to
find much else in the wav of TV
signal there (20 dB down is the
spec for TV band). And that is
the. intent and purpose of the
unrt.
Another approach is also
S W E E PI N
q
(
t
TO DETECTOR
<:
trum'
IN/OUT
FMrAp
{RMS CA-1040/5)
OUT/IN
-=-€--r
+
_l'"
DIAGRAM 3B
S W E E PI N
The FM tap is one of those
passive devices all systems utilize, and never give much
thought to. Perhaps after reading what follows, you will be a
little more careful.
As shown in diagram 3 there
are at least two (actually there
are many more) engineeringapproachesto "takingan FM signal out of the cable." The top
diagram 3 is the RMS approach
for their model CA-1041/Ssubseriber FM tap off unit. There is
"TV-thru"
a
line, with an input
and an output (which can be reversed with no harm) and there
is an FM-out spigot. The FM out
spigot is a simple little FM bandposs filter which passesthe general region 80-120MHz with minimal degradation but which rejects rather badly the lower and
upper portions of the cable spec-
Ie
-->
S W E E PI N
NO TEBMINATOR
<_
DIAGRAM 3A
DIAGRAM 3C
R PRE.RMP
FRCT!
ll Your11.0dBNoise
Figure
Processor
Prod u c e sT h i sK i n d0 f
Picture.
...
. . . . W h eYn o uP u t
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FigurePre-Amp
Ahead
0f
YourProcessor,
Your
P i c t u rL
e o o k sT h i s
MuchBetter!
\
(A
yet manysystems
likesgrainy,noisypictures,
Nobody
Especially
subscribers.
deqrade
svstem
pertormance
-'5zto
bynotautomalically
usingpre-amps
whentheantenna
levelsignalis b"etow
dBmv.whenyoubuyyourpre-amps,
consider
noisefigure.consider
gain(ourmodelSX-0500
h a s 3 0 d B m i n i m u m g a i n ) . c o n s i d es reer av si ceeo(fq u i c k i n a n d o u t b o a ; d ) . i o n s i d e r o v e r v o l t a g e
protection
andtransient
(wehaveitl).Andconsiderthe
price(sx-0500is $139.50).
Getthefull
storytoday.
DIA ;;;*
If you put this little device on
the customer'sdrop line, the customer might get a bit of channels
APRIL1976
O.BIT CORPORATION
Melbourne, Florida 32901
29
shown in diagram 3 which is a
more complicated approach that
usestwo filters (onelow passand
one high pass) to attenuate
above 108 and below 88 MHz.
Such a unit utould be sharper in
frequency rejection and it would
Iimit TV-band usefulnessof that
"FM
dedicated outlet" more than
the RMS circuit shown.It would
clso cost rnore money.
Now - what happens when
you use this (RMS) unit?
Ifyou run the TV line through,
as shown in diagram 3-A, and
"forget"
to put a terminator on
the FM outlet side (i.e. do not
connect the FM outlet side to a
properly matched FM tuner or
simply leave the FM outlet with
nothing connected to it) you end
up with a sharp "suck-out" on the
TV line between 84 and 114MHz.
This would or could cause two
subscriber problems on that TV
through line:
(1) A roll offor lossofchannel
6 audio at 87.75 MHz:'
(2) No FM bond signals fi,r.ther on down or along that subscriber drop, shouldyou want to
stick in another FM outlet on the
same dtop.
See photo 5.
CA.1(l4()/S
FM TAP
Housing.
..Aluminumdie-cast,
stainless
steelbottom
olate
InsertL
i oons .s. . . . . . 5 d B t h rFuNpI o r t ,
0 . 5d Bt h r up o r t(s. )
TVSignalAttenualion.
20dBthruFMport
VSWR..
1.2101(.-)
lmpedance
.75ohms
Bandwidths
. . F M8, 2 - 1 0M
8H z
TV,5-300
MHz
Manufacturer
RMSElectronics,
Inc.
' - seetext
.. - VSWR
d e p e n dl as r g e loyn f r e quency
on FM output
FM TAP- withouttermination
deep20dB suck-out
side,theTVthrulineshows
peakea
d t 1 0 2 M H z .M a r k e ras r e i n 6 M H z
Incremenls.
30
Now, if you terminate the FM
outlet port with a 75 ohm load
(i.e.a terminator, a well matched
75 ohm input to a tuner, etc.),
what happens?See photo 6. The
suck-outat the FM band doesnot
go away, but it doesget better.It
also shifts the suek-out frequency somewhat. Whereas in
photo 5 the deepest part of the
suck-outwas at 102 MHz. with a
terminator on the FM out port, it
moves down to 99 MHz. The
depth of the FM (plus)suck-out,
as measuredat the output sideof
the TV through line has improved from 20 dB down in photo
5 to 6 dB down in photo 6. This
means that if you come back in
with a tap-off for a second FM
outlet after this point, on the
through drop for the TV, you will
start-off being 6 dB down for the
FM signals at that point.
Finally, what does the FM
through port look like? Not surprisingly, not far different than
the inverse of photo 6 (seephoto
7). The FM level signals are
CATJ FOR
-F
down 3.5 dB worst case,which is
about the expected through loss
for the FM bandpass filter built
into the unit.
The HAbrid, Spktter
The FM-out tap is not far away
from a splitter, only it is a splitter that is "frequency sensitive."
The splitter needs to be (1)
secure from the elements, (2)
rugged enough to install and forget, and (3) electrically designed
so that most anything donb at
one output port is not reflected
on the signal Quality and level at
any other output port. That is no
small order for a device that also
has to be broadband, and as they
"cost
say,
acceptable".
Any signal splitter is frequency sensitive.That is the nature of the animal. Now it mav be
that the unit you are buying is
not frequency sensitive from say
10 to 300 MHz; but by the time
you get up to say 500 MHz, it zs
going to bevery frequencysensitive. Take a standard VHF "hybrid" splitter and try to use it as
UHF. You will promptly find, if
you have the ability to measure
performance, that it is from 10 to
20 dB "down" in performance at
say 500 MHz from what it was at
300 MHz.
We mention this because we
have heard time and time again
of a fellow grabbing a top of the
line VHF hybrid splitter from a
box to co-phase a pair of UHF
antennas, only to discover after
much trial and error that his antennas are OK; but his "splitter
choice" for combining antennas
was a very poor one.
Reference is made to diagram
4. This is the RMS MA2OU/SM
splitter; a device intended for
the frequency range 10 through
900 MHz. That is a lot of "octaves" (6.5 to be near-exact)and
that is no easy trick. In any splitter, there are frequency limitations. In this cireuit, capacitor C2
would typically be 1-2 pF z/ the
unit was good through the UHF
region, but 8-10 pF if the unit
was good through only lheYHF
(say to 300 MHz) region. We
mention this in case vou are
APRIL 1976
FM TAP- withtermination
on FM output,
depthofsuck-out
isnow6 dBandcenterof notch
is downlo 99 MHz.
FMTAP- FMbandpass
withsweep
inatone
TVthruport,olherportlerminated
anddetector
atFMoutport.FMpassband
centers
at99 MHz,
fallino
isdown
3.5dBbestcase
oflto6.5dBat
9 0 a n d1 0 8M H z .
INPUT-10/900MHz
HYBBIO 2.WAY VHF/UHF SPLITTER
(RMS MA20u/SM)
DIAGRAM 4
OUTPUTS (3.5d8 DOWN}
31
put port keeps on delivering
ghost free signals. See diagram
4-4.
In photo 8 we have a sweep
display that was produced with
the test setup shown in diagram
4-A. The top line.isthe reference
line while the bottom line is the
signal after going through the
output port. The secondoutput
was not terminated.
Now see diagram 4-B and
photo 9. Here the referenceline
was dialed down to the actual
through line and the splitter
"loss" measured at from 3.2 to
3.4 dB. In photo 10 we have the
same situation, unchanged,ercept that rather than allowing
the second output to lie there
without a termination, a 75 ohm
terminator was stuck on. Note
that overall there is some, bzlf
slight, changein the signal present at the detector-fed output
port, after the other port wos
properly terminated.
H Y B R I D T W O . W A YS P L I T T E-R R M S
Matchandbalance
at two0utputs
lMA20U/Sl\il.
"tweekable" varying
spacing
between
L3
is
by
0utpulp0rts),
andcaseinnerwall(13 between
match
tlutsh0uldbedoneonlywhile0bserving
over operaling
and split loss simultaneously
ol device.
bandwidth
l _
I
Ir
N
I
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r
sl
N
cr)
+
rr)
- WithSWeED
IN At INPUI
SPLITTER
HYBRID
port,detector
outat oneoutpulport,andsecond
p0rtnotterminated.
Toplineis relerence,
output
load.
bottomlineis oulputporl with detector
"laying around"
tempted to usea
"you
hybrid splitter
think is good
for UHF also", simply pull it
apart and checkthe value of this
capacitor.
Now the mark of a good
32
brid) splitter is that if you introduce signals into one port (input
port) and take them out of one of
the output ports, without
bothering to term'inafe the unusedoutput ports, the in-useout-
Now see diagram 4-C. The
sweep source was moved from
the input side of the splitter to
one of the two output ports, and
the detector-fed signal was
taken out of the second output
port. The input was left unter"isominated. See photo 11; the
lation" provided through the device (with the input unterminated) is only 6 dB.
And seediagram 4-D; the situation is the same but the input
has now been properly terminoted. Now seephoto 12,the isolation between the two outputs is
now in excessof 20 dB (reaching
27 dB from 150-250 MHz)
through the spectrum.
Of course it would be hard to
operate a splitter without ang
source-matchat the input, but it
utoul.dbe possibleto operate one
"poorer than 75 ohm"
with a
source-match.And if or when
you do, yo:ucan erpect the isolation between the two (or more)
output ports of the splitter to go
to pot in a hurry.
So the important things to remember about using hybrid
splitters
( 1 ) T h e isolation between the
two (or more) output ports is
CATJ FOR
A
I
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;
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swercrr.r
4A
N O T E : 2 n dO U T P U T
NOT TER|llINATED
----->
S W E E PO U T
TO DETECTOR
I
RADAR
CABLE
TESTSETS
VisuallySHOWCONDITION
otTELEPHONE,
POWER
and
CATVCable
I
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HYBBID
SPLITTER
lhetopreference
l i n ed o w ni n 1 d Bs t e p w
s i t hW a v e t e1k0 5 1
custom
testset.thethrulineandthereference
l i n ea r em a t e dA. v e r a gl e
o s si s 3 2 d B i n t h i s
unterminated
situation,
worsecasea00ears
at
2 7 0 l V l H(za b o u3t . 7 d B ) .
These lightweight, easy-to-operale test sets use the TDR
p r i n c i p l et o a c c u r a t e l yl o c a t e
both ordinary and hard-to-find
f a u l t so n a v a r i e t yo f c a b l e s .
FEATURES
. L i g h t w e i g h tp, o r t a b l e ,
o Rechargeable
batteries
p r o v i d eu p t o 5 h o u r s
c o n t i n u o u so p e r a t i o n .
l
I
. D e t e c t sw a t e ri n c a b l e ,p l u s
o p e n s ,s h o r t s ,s p l i t s a n d
resplits.
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- Thejoysof a propgr
HYBRID
SPLITTER
term i n a t i oT
n .h ed i f f e r e n ci sen o tg r e a t b, u t t h e
bumpnear270MHzallbutdisappears
whenthe
du
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s e c 0 n(du n u s e o
n o wa v e r a 0 e3s. 2 d B a c r o s b
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A P R I L1 9 7 6
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. R u g g e dc o n s t r u c t i o n .
Wilte or phone
lor lree inlormation
\t
(\
cf)
JamesG. BiddleCo.
P l y m o u t hM e e t i n g P
, a .1 9 4 6 2
Phone:(215)646-9200
51.1
33
| ,*,., ,,u
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FY B R I D
H S . 2 O U l MVMH F / U HH
SPLITTER
l"
=
--:>
DIAGRAM 48
SWEEPOUT
D e s i g. .n. . . . . . . . Z i n c d i e - c a s t h o u s i n g ,
weatherproofed
0 Hz
F r e q u e n c y R .a.n. .g. e. . . . 1 0 - 9 0 M
0utputs:
Between
lsolation
..... 22d8
2 0 - 5M
0 Hz
.. ...25d8
50-110MHz
.. 30d8
1 7 0 - 2 2M0H z. .
. . 3 0d 8
4 0 0 - 7 5M
0 H z.
...25d8
750-900MH2...
Loss:
lnsertion
1 0 - 2 2M
0 H z. . . . 3 . 4d 8 ( t h r us p l i t s )
4 5 0 - 9 0M
0 H z. . . . 3 . 8d B( t h r us p l i t s )
VSWR:
.. ....1.2.1
10-220MHz
..1.4:l
4 5 0 - 9 0 0 M H .2 .
Manufacturer
Inc.
RMSElectronics,
z
I
F
J
o
(n
- Withsweepintroduced
SPLITTEB
HYBRID
at
intooneof theoutputports,andthedetector
outputport;withtheinputportopen
thesecond
lineis 6 dB
Topreference
(i,e.nolterminated).
inthis
line,indicating
detected
thethrough
above
ol 6 dB
the splitterhasan average
condition
outputportl0 0utputp0rt.
isolalion
Do You Receive Alexander's Advertiser?
il,,--I:,IP):RI'tER
T2PagesofDiscountPriceson Audioand VideoTapeand
Acceslories,ClosedCircuit Television,Audio, Audio/
Visual,Securityand SoundHardware'
New Catalogmailedeachquarter.
Wr iteDept.113
AffiIIPffi
1820WyandotteSt., KansasCity, Mo. 64108
Telephone(816)474-6656
-2043
TOLL FREE1-800-821
34
I
- Withthe inputDortter_
HYBRID
SPLITTER
minated
wttha 75ohmresistor,
thetooreference
line (straightline whichis top-most
of three
shown)
is 21.5dB down(bypadadjustment
lor
measurement)
t0 the 54 MHzmarker,25 dB
downat 108MHz,27dBdown162,216and270
l\4H2,and 26 dB downat 324 MHz.
j
:
-+*
I
II
.1.._.
g,
N
I
l
I
l a r g e _ l yd e p e n d e n t u p o n t h e
"quality"
of the input iermina_
tion. The poorer match at the
input (out to an extreme of zo
match suehas the openshown in
photo 10), the poorer the isolation between outputs.
( 2 ) A w e l l b a l a n c e d ,w e l l d e signed and constructed hybrid
splitter is relatively inseniitive
to mis-mateh at one or more out_
put ports, vis a vis the isolation
bg.try_een
the output
ports.
-commonly
{3) Hybrids, as
utilized for combining devices for
p h a s i n g a n t e n n a J ,s h o u l d b e
double-checked before use for
combining any UHF antennas.
Most (if not all) VHF hybrids
have a natural shunt to ground of
all fr_equglcies between say 800
and 500 MHz (and zp); and this
creates medium to high loss in
theUHF region, especiallyat the
high end of the UHF region.
A
s
I'
I
I
I
Y
E: NOTERMINA
ON INPUT
F----l
I
=
<-
SWEEP
IN
-----)'
SWEEPOUT
TO DETECTOR
DIAGRAM 4C
After Passiues
The "climate" for our discuss i o n o f p a s s i v e sc r e a t e d , t h i s
series will continue through the
Summer issues of CATJ on an
irregular basis until all common
(and many
_notso common)passive units have been covered.
<-
S W E E PI N
-.
SWEEPOUT
TO DETECTOR
JUMPIN
DECIBELS-THAT'S
SOME
CONTEST!
h ratop
hfse i n d u s t r y ' s 2 5 t h
. T h i s m o npt he,r h a p shionn o rtohfe n a t i o n ' s b i - c e n t e n n i a l 0 rhpoenr o
show,
orperhaps
(annual)_trade
because
theyaresmart
people,
marketing
RMSissponsoring
a CATJ
Reader
Contest
thatoughtto appeal
to everyone.
Theprizeis anexpense
paidtripto NewYorkCityonRMSandCATJ,
fortwopeople.
Round
trip
travel,
big-city
hotelaccommodations,
spending
money
(nigtimestuti;
andBroadway
Showtickets
arepartof the dea,.
Youcanenter
more
thanonce.. . .attheRMSBooth
attheDallas
tradeshow,andby using
the
Reader
Contest
Entry.Form
page
fgund
opposite
57
of
this
issue.
But
priz'e
do
enter.
The
is
foi
tne
"afriend";and promises
winnerand
RMS
nottoaskfora marriage
certificate
whenyougetoffthe
airolane
!
A P R I L1 9 7 6
35
BEATING THE BEATS
(The 13th Channel Problem)
The dominant criterion for the
design of cable television sYstems in North America has been
the necessity to conform with
the frequency plan assigned to
television broadcasting bY the
Federal Communications Commission some thirty-two Years
ago. One result of this is that the
industry has standardizedon the
distribution of twelve channels'
and during the past decadethis
number has generally sufficed to
meet the needs of the Public.
But, a gradual proliferation of
broadcast transmitters coupled
to the influence of Government
has now created a demand for
more channels.
To a large extent the problems
imposedby increasinga sYstems
channelcapacitycan be summarized by considering two aspects
of system design, namely, the
choiceof spectrum to use for the
additional channels,and the type
of amplifiers to be used. A common denominatorto both aspects is the problem raised by
intermodulation distortion.
Provided that the constraints
imposed by intermodulation distortion can be overcome,the logical spectrum spaceto use is that
bounded by the limits. t20-L74
MHz, an area widely referred to
as the midband. To the newer
systems,i.e., those built within
the last five years, the Problems
arising from intermodulation
have been reduced by the availability of the push-pulltyPe of amplifier whose A2 and 43 coefficients are superior to their
single-endedpredecessors.
However, there are many
CATV systems (Community antenna television systems)in Canada and elsewhere that are in
operation with broadband
s i n g l e - e n d e da m p l i f i e r s , a n d
faced with the pressing demand
for additional channelsthey are
either engagedin, or are contemplating a costly programme of
amplifier replacement.
It is to such systems that the
work described in this paper is
addressed, inasmuch as it pre-
sents a method whereby channels can be addedto the midband
using the existing single-ended
amplifiers.
Int errn odulnti,on Dist ortion
The problems associatedwith
amplifier nonlinearity in broadband transmission systems have
beenwell documentedby numerousauthors.An excellentreview
of the subjectwas given by C.A.
C o l l i n sa n d A . D . W i l l i a m s ( 1 ) ,
wherein the build-up of second
c0
F
E
g
cc
U
F
o
S O U N DC A R R I E R
F
J
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z
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q
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P I C T U R EC A R R I E R
0
1
2
3
4
5
b
F R E O U E N C YO F I N T E R F E R I N GS I G N A L W I T H R E F E R E N C ET O L O W E R E D G E O F C H A N N E L , M H Z
DIAGRAM I
Editor'sNote:
in
t0 operate
of Canada,
andin newCATVplantsbeingdesigned
manysections
rapidly
throughout
is growing
techniques
Theuseof phaselocking
which
artandtheadvantages
tothisbito1engineering
hasnotbeenexposed
otthecableindustry
Yetigoodlyportion
States.
aieasoltheUnited
melropolitan
which
anexperiment
thistechnique,
in Canada
utilizing
conducted
measurements
of system
ieportona series
Theauthors
subscribers.
it otfeistothecable
plantswithout
thesingleendedplantto come
causing
distribution
amplifier
to existing
single-ended
canbeadded
howthe13th(etc.)channels
illustrates
aoartat the seams.
CATJ FOR
and third order distortion pro-was
ducts in cascadedamplifiers
analysed. In a noteworthy address on eoherent carrier operations, I. Switzer(2) related- how
the emphasison amplifier design
for CATV use has been placed6n
minimizing third ordei distortion eomponents with little regard to secondorder characteristics.
T h i s d e s i g n p h i l o s o p h yc a n
also be traced to the FCC frequency- plan because it designated the midband region as an
unusable "guard band" in anticip a t i o n o f s e c o n do r d e r i n t e r modulation distortion resulting
from conventional twelve chan-nel operation.
Intermodulation distortion
appears as an overlay of a number of black lines superimposed
on a television picture. The degree of visibility of this interference is a function of the frequency and amplitude of the distortion product as it relates to
the television picture carriers as
shown in Diagram 1.
It is evident that this form of
distortion must be overcome in
any proposal to place carriers in
the midbandas an additionto the
carriers used in the low and high
VHF bands.
imposed by this unlikely marriage, suffice to say thit with
literally millions of standard receivers connected to cable svstems, the family is too big-to
contemplate a divorce.
Therefore, a prime consideration in proposing a new frequency assignmentis that it
must be compatible with the fine
tuning range of the standard reeelver.
Phasel,ockingto Off-Air Carriers
When receivers are connected
to a CATV system in close proximity to a broadcasttransmitter,
a type ofdistortion can occur due
toa-mbient signal pick-up.(A)
This beat frequehcy interferenceis producedby the eombina_
tion of two circumstances.
(1) Inadequate immunity on
.
the part of the receiver to itrav
pick-up from the transmitter.
(2) Use of a carrier by the
pATY s.yst91-r
whose frequency
is slightly different to the-transmitter. (This is due mainly to
(A) Thistypeof interference
is nol to be confusedwith a similartype of interference
encountered
in longdistance
reception
from
antennas.
Todifferentiate
between
lhe two
the CATVtypeol interference
is generally
relerred
to as "ambientpick-upwith oncnannel
operalion."
Receiuer CompatibiktA
In contrast to a number of related_operations in Europe, the
North American cable television
industry is predicated upon subscriber ownership of receivers.
Receivers designed specifically
for cable use have not ippeared,
and in consequencethe distribution systems are designed for
compatibility with receivers
which have been manufactured
for off-air reception in accordance with the standard frequency plan.
It is beyond the scope of this
paper to discuss the limitations
Eitherunit providesan easy,low-costway to increase
subscriberserviceand revenue.The Econo_Cod
e con_
v e r t sa n d u n s c r a m b l eas p r e m i u mc h a n n e l T
. he SCC
( S i n g l eC h a n n eC
l o n v e r t e rc) o n v e r t as m i d - b a n dc h a n _
n e l .O n e - t i m eh e a d e n di n v e s t m e ni ts m i n i m a l .
i';
'trl
For complete information, call or write:
bs
E.W. Finlng,
J. Cappon
Delta-Benco-Cascade
Toronto, Ontaria
Canada
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r e l i a b i l i tayn d l o n g t i f e backedby a one-year
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l ab or .
lDltI(
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hrc. cor"uNrcAroNscRoup
CATV DIVISION cRysrAL
LAKE.
rLLrNors
60014
TELEPHONE
8 r 5 . 4 5 95 o O 0r w x 9 1 0 6 3 4 3 3 5 3
SEEUSAT NCTABOOTH+728
APRIL1976
37
t
sulting From Standard Carrier
Operation
amplifiers, all single-endedand
comprising fifty-one trunk stations, a bridger, and five line exThe investigation commenced
tenders. A full complement of
with a measurementof the spuristandard low and high band carous frequenciesgenerated by inriers was applied,and the tests
termodulation through a chain of
conducted using a spectrum
analyzer whose output was reCATV amplifiers. It was decided
to use this empirical approach
corded on an x, y plotter.
becausethe results of previous
The x, y plot given in Diagram
attempts to correlate between
2 shows the location and amplithe predicted and measured
tude of the spurious frequencies
amounts of intermodulation
appearing in the midband, and
products has in general been
clearly illustrates how the interpoor.
modulation processrestricts the
The location chosen for the
use of this spectrum space as a
measurementwas a ooint on the
transmissionmedium.
system preceded by fifty-seven
Someof the spuriousfrequenIntermodulntion Products Recieshavebeen identified to draw
the reader's attention to the fact
that the most restrictive ones
encountered both in regard to
magnitude and location, are the
products of second order sum
and difference combinations.
Diagram 2 can also be used to
RADTATIONDEIECTOR
S'GNAI. LEVELA4ETER
justify the statement made concerning the poor correlation between predictionsand measurements. The analysis by Collins
and Williams(1),and others, has
c o n c l u d e dt h a t a s e c o n d h a r monic would predictably be 6dB
less than a sum or difference
product for equal amplifier input
levels.
Reference to Diagram 2 will
Tests
FCCRadiation
M a n u aTlu n e4 - 3 0 0M H z
show that the second harmonic
TuneAny14 Channels
of channel 5 is more than 10dB
A d i u s t a b5l0e M H zt o 2 5 0M H z
PushButton
the sum of channels5 and
below
Amplifier
Powered
To NoiseTestFor Builtin Battery
BuiltIn Signal
6. Better correlation is evident
FCC
Factor
or Correction
No Formula
between the secondharmonic of
BuiltIn VoltMeter
Maybe UsedSeParatelY channel6. and the sum of chanAmplilier
nels 5 and 6, where the separaSystem
RotaryAttenuator
Elements
Antenna
Replaceable
tion is approximately 7 dB.
NewFineTuningControl
Stick
Lay-uP
FitsStandard
There appears to be a complete
Peaking
Circuit
Automatic
absenceof the second harmonic
of channel4, but channel4 is seen
FCCtests.The
simplilies
TheRD-1greatly
Nolongerthe newgadgetfor salebut the
hasthe levelsin dBmV
oam0hlet
combining with other carriers in
The manual instructi0n
meteravailable.
mostversatile
to passthe 20uv/meter
at
tuningdialtunesfrom4-300MHzandyoumay thatarenecessary
sum and difference combinalt is alsohandyforevery
in thisrange. 10 leetspecification.
setanywhere
orderpushbuttons
tions.
fittings.
ofbroken
0r loose
shooting
daytrouble
lrom-40 to +50
measurements
Amplitude
It is assumed that this situaRD-.1
is
the
lowest
cost
dipole
and
amplifier
The
level
tests.
and
carrier
Signal-Norse,
dBmV
tion
can be explained by the vecavailable.
dipole combination
alsoworksJinewiththeRD-1
Thismeter
tests.
for FCCradialion
torial additions of the combina-
crystal tolerances.)
To eliminatethis interference,
CATV systems use a process
whereby the broadcast carrier is
compared with the CATV carrier. A frequency difference pro"error" voltage which is
ducesan
applied as a correction to the carrier generationequipmentat the
CATV systems head-end.
This technique is known as
"phaselocking"(B) and because
in its absencethe number of useable channels available to a
CATV systemwould be reduced,
it is an essential consideration.
TWOWAYS
to helpyou do your testing
Complete
$970.00
I
V
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lLrl
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^rrirN=
N(
r
rr (.tr'r 'N(r
AVt
HtFarr
aintrvl . rNDnNn
,r{;r-7
(B) lt is truethata tixedphaserelationship
is
However,
it is
established
at thehead-end.
notthe phaseanglethatis of importance,
rather
it isthec0ngruence
ofthefrequencies
"Frequency
lock" that servesto
or the
Therefore,
the beatinterference.
eliminate
phaselock
is reallya misthe description
n0mer.
CATJ FOR
12-4
10-4 ,
9-3 -l 3+a
8 - 2 r l
'/
to.1
6+3
13-4
5+3 12-3
6+2 11_2
-1t3-_-5 -\lt z ' - - \
:_!
-80
I
dB
Mhz-
120
rJo
DIAGRAM 2
toz
Hor. Scafe: Approx. 2.SMhzlcm
tbu
174
Vert. Scale: 5dB/cm
The
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A P R ! L1 9 7 6
39
tions in conjunction with random
phase shift through the amplifier
chain. The point is, there does
not appear to be a substitute for
the empirical method.
The most important observation to be made from Diagram 2
is that if the positions of the
wanted carriers could be relocated to be congruent with the
spurious frequencies arising
from the second order sum and
difference combinations, then
the resulting beat frequency
interference might be circumvented.
Stundwd Cotriprs in Analytit
Form
To exploit this possibility a
table of the standard carriers
was developed in a form that
would permit a ready analysis of
the second order intermodulation products. By introducing
"ff"
"3t"
and
and
the constants
assigning values of 6 MHz and
0.25 MHz to them respectively,
the standard carriers can be expressed in analytic form as
shown in Table 1.
"ff"
By examiningthe valuesof
and"E" resulting from the various sum and difference combina-
tions, the positions ofthe second
order products ean now be seen
at a glance. This can be illustrated with two examPles:i
(1) Channel 4*channel 6
--25r
* 2A
(2) Channel 10-channel D
=9r
Television
Caniers
inAnalytic
Form
Standard
x=6MHz,y=o.25MHz
One
Frequency Table
Equalion
Channel
(MHz)
z
9x+ 5y
55.25
J
1 0 x+ 5 ; '
61.25
4
11x+5Y
67.25
1 3 x- 3 y
7 7. 2 5
14x-3Y
6
83.25
22x+ 5y
133.25
D
2 3 x+ 5 Y
139.25
E
24x+ 51'
145.25
F
2 5 x+ 5 y
151.25
u
26x+ 5Y
157.25
2 7 x+ 5 Y
H
163.25
I
2 8 x+ 5 y
169.25
29x+ 5y
7
175.25
8
3 0 x+ 5 y
181.25
I
31x+ 5y
187.25
'10
3 2 x+ 5 y
193.25
11
3 3 x+ 5 y
199.25
12
34x+ 5y
205.25
13
35x+ 5y
211.25
0ffi[n
H[[R
A glance at Table 1 shows the
sum product of the first example
to be troublesome to channel F
becauseitsequation is25r * 6y,
hencea\E or 0.75MHz beat will
occur.
The difference product of the
secondexample appears at a distanceSyremoved from channel2
hence a7.25MHz beat is predictable.
00[|PlllY
Standard
andModilied
Television
Canier
Equations
TabreTwo
NewAssignment
Channel
Freq.MHzStandard
9x+ 5y
2
55.25 9x+ 5y
1 0 x+ 5 y
3
6 1 . 2 5 1 0 x+ 5 y
4
67.25 1lx+5y 11x+5y
13x-3y
5
77.25 13x-3y
6
83.25 14x-3y 14x-3Y
22x+ 2y
C
133.25 22x+ 5y
23x+ 2y
D
139.25 23x+ 5y
24x+ 2y
E
145.25 24x+ 5y
2 5 x+ 2 y
F
1 5 1 . 2 5 2 5 x+ 5 y
26x+ 2y
G
157.25 26x+ 5y
H
1 6 3 . 2 5 2 7 x +5 y 2 7 x+ 2 y
28x+ 2y
|
169.25 28x+ 5y
29x+ 7y
7
175.25 29x+ 5y
I
181.25 30x+ 5y 30x+ 7y
I
1 8 7 . 2 5 3 1 x+ 5 y 3 1 x+ 7 y
10
193.25 32x+ 5y 32x+ 7y
11
199.25 33x+ 5y 33x+ 7y
205.25 34x+ 5y
12
34x+ 7y
13
211.25 35x+ 5y 35x+ 7y
40
CATJ FOR
- From this it is apparent that
the controlling factor in the
formulationof beatsis the resulting value of the "z/"constantand
that by reassigningthe valuesof
"y,"
the desired frequency con_
grqence can be accomplished.
Table 2lists the modified carrier equations,and if the examples are reexamined it is now
evident that the sum product of
F{q*pl" 1 falls at 25i * 29 and
is identical to channel F, ani the
difference-product of Example 2
occursat 9r * 5E which is identical with channel 2.
Reassignment of Carricr
Frequencies
It follows that if the values of
"r"
and "y" ate resolved and
used as the base oscillators in an
appropriate frequency synthe_
slzer,the desired output fre_
quenciescan be realized.
The values of "f" and ,,gf"are
derived by solving two 6f the
carrier equations simultane_
ously. This method allows considerable flexibility as the equa-
TableThree
Comparison
ofStandard
andReassigned
Television
Carrier
Frequencies
phaselocked
WithTwoCarrielrs
Channel
2
3
4
5
6
c
D
E
F
G
H
I
7
8
9
10
11
12
I J
Standard
Frequency
(MHz)
552
,5
6 1. 2 5
67.25
7 7. 2 5
83.26
113.25
13 9 2
.5
1 4 5. 2 5
1 5 1. 2 5
1 5 7. 2 5
1 6 32 5
16 9 .2 5
175.25
1 8 1. 2 5
187.25
19 3 .2 5
19 9 . 2 6
205.25
211.25
tions can be selectedto produce
the least amount of shiff off the
standard carriers, and mav be
chosento allow phaselockingto
off-aircarriers where on-chainel
operation is necessary.
_ As an exampleof the solution
IDEALFORFSM
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2
Avallablein Canada-Comm.ptexEleclronics Ltd.
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osor
CATECAG, Luzern,Switzerland,
Habsburgerstr,22I let.oar-ez
7Bt68
I TelexTELFT
A P R I L1 9 7 6
Frequency
Shitl
0ff Standard
(kHz)
246
253
260
17
zero(locked)
979
986
993
1000
10 0 7
1015
10 2 1
38.5
3 1. 3
24.2
1 7. 1
zero(locked)
2.9
4.2
o_f"r" and "g" and to illustrate
the
.flexibility afforded by this
method, a situation is asiumed
yhgre it is necessary to phase_
lock to off-air channeis 11 and 6,
both offset by 10 kHz.
From Table 1:
U4dB-f8#JfifiI
Tolally eliminates
cumbersome luning required
by competitive calibrators
lt
Beassigned
Frequency
(MHz)
s5.0036
60.9965
66 9893
77.2671
83.26
132.2708
14 8 .2 6 3 5
144.2564
15 0 . 2 4 9 5
156.2422
162.2351
168 2280
175.2884
18 1. 2 8 1
3
187.2742
19 3 . 2 6 7 1
19 9 . 2 6
205.2529
211.2457
SPECTRUM
CALIBRATOR
tI4ODEL
260.8
t
TableFour
Channel11-33r *7 A -199.26
Mhz
C h a n n e l6 - l 4 r - 3 7 - 8 3 . 2 6
MHz
By simultaneoussolution the
"r" and "y"
values realized for
are 5.9929MHz, and 0.2135MHz
respectively.
Substituting these values for
"r" and "?" in the carrier equations results in the reassigned
carriers shown in Table 3. The
amount of shift from standard
carriers is included.
Where there are no phaselocking requirements,the amount of
shift from the standard carriers
can be minimized by expanding
the carrier equations. The "y"
components,5y, 3y, 2y and 7g
Frequencies
Carrier
Televisi0n
Beassigned
Requirements
WithNoPhaselocking
Channel
2
3
4
5
6
c
D
E
F
G
n
I
7
8
I
10
11
12
I J
Equation
9x+v
1 0 x+ v
1 ] X+ V
13x+u-v
1 4 x+ u - v
22x+u
23x+u
24x!u
25x+u
26x+u
27x+u
2Bx+u
29x+u+v
30x+u+v
31x+u+v
32x+u+v
33x+u+v
34x+u+v
35x+u+v
Reassigned
Frequency
(MHz)
5 5 . 12 5
6 1. 1 2 5
67.125
77.125
83.125
132.250
138.250
144.250
15 0 . 2 5 0
15 6 . 2 5 0
162.250
16 8 . 2 5 0
175.375
181.375
187.375
193.375
199.375
205.375
211.375
Frequency
Deviation
(kHz)
-125
-125
-125
-125
-125
-1000
-.1000
-1000
-1 000
-1 000
-1000
-1 000
+ 125
+125
+ 125
+125
+125
+125
+ 125
are replaced by u, ll-u, 'tL,and u
* o and by assigningthe values
of 6 MHz to x,0.25 MHz to u, and,
1.125MHz to u, the secondorder
is
c a n c e l l a t i o n o bj e c t i v e
achievedwith a carrier shift of
ony 125KHz as shownin Table 4.
The expansionto three variablesr, z, and o permits phaselocking to a maximum of three
off-air carriers. The amount of
frequencyshift is determinedby
bheoff-air channelsto which the
system is locked as shown in
Table 5.
MAKE THE CHANGE
. . .from a barely acceptablesignalto a good
usablesignal!
l n s t a l lt h e n e w S I T C OM o d e lS B A - 2 V H F
AntennaPre-amplifier.Thesepre-ampsare
for the
exclusivelyand specificallydesignedasan accessory
S I T C OM A o r C A s i n g l eb a y ,s i n g l ec h a n n eal n t e n n a s .
T h e c o m b i n a t i o no f t h e S B A - 2 p r e - a m pi,t s c o m p a n i o n
PS-24 power supplyand the MA or CA antennas
, i g hg a i n ,c l e a r
w i l l m a k ea n u n b e a t a b l leo w n o i s e h
s i g n a il n s t a l l a t i o n .
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ITGO
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P O R T L A N D ,O R E G O N9 7 2 2 0
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42
Use of Table 5:
(a) Decidethe channel(s)to be
locked to off-air signals.
(b) Determine the channel
group(s) to which they belong,
2-4. 5-6 and/or 7-13.
(c) Selectthe column(s)which
indicate a 0 freq. shift for those
channel group(s).
(d) The shift in other channel
groups is indicatedin that same
column.
Note: It is not possible to lock
three carriers when each one is
in a different channel group.
To illustrate the use of Table
5:
Assume a lock is required to
off-air channels5, 7 and 9. Channel groups to which they belong
are 5-6, and 7-13. The fifth
column shows 0 shift for channel
groups5-6and 7-13,it also shows
a shift of 250 kHz for channel
group 2-4 and 1000 kHz shift for
channel Group A-I.
CATJ FOR
TableFive
Phaselock
to
nel
Chan
Groups
one0rlwo
outof
ch.2-4
one0rlwo
outof
ch.5-6
one0rIWo
outof
c h .7 - 13
noneout
of
c h .A - l
MaxFreq.shittinkHz
-167
-250
-167
-125
-
to/
-125
0
0
+ 125
-1000
-1083
0
0
0
-250
0
-500
0
0
+ 250
+ 500
0
+ 167
-1000
-750
-1250
-917
-1000
' Slightly
greater
values
mayoccur
depending
onthe10 KHz
oflsets0f thechannels
to be locked.
Effe-ct of Corrinr Reassignment
on SecondOrder Produbts
Assuming the use of the modi
fied carrier frequencies contained in Table 3, a calculation
was made of all secondorder sum
and difference products in relation to the channels of interest
and arising from the inclusion of
five lowband, nine midband and
seven high band channels. The
complete results of the channel
by channel analysis is appended
to this paper; however, they can
be summarized as follows.
(1) Total possible unwanted
products=108
(2) Number locked to wanted'
carriers=72
Of the 36 which remain, a total
of 18 are located at a position of
wanted carrier plus 1.72 MHz.
A further 18 are located at
wanted carrier plus 4.28 MHz.
Comparisonof the locations of
the unlockedproducts to the susceptibility curve of Diagram 1
reveals that a product at wanted
carrier plus 1.72 MHz requires a
margin of 46d8. A product located at carrier plus 4.28 MHz
requires a smaller margin of
34d8.
Considering that the product
of greatest amplitude was measured at 49dB below nearest carrier as shown in Diagram 2,itcan
be reasonably expected that no
beat interference due to second
order intermodulation will be
visible.
EQUIPMENT
MENTS
lated RF carriers at the precisely
interrelated frequencies (based
onn, u,and u), a master generator was built employing 3 crystal
oscillators as shown in Diagram
3.
By mixing a sample of the outgoing RF signal of each proeessor with its adjacent channelsignal from the master generator, a
"difference
frequency" at the approximate value of "ff" is gener-
M A S T E RC A R R I E RG E N E R A T O R
HEAD ENOPROCESSORS
TO DISTRIBUTION
REQUINEM A S T E RR E F E R E N C O
E S CLI L A T O R S
To obtain the required modu-
A P R I L1 9 7 6
DIAGRAM 3
43
,
ated. A further comparison be"diff
tween this
erence frequency" and r, produces the DC
correction voltage which controls the local oscillator frequency of the processorsoutput
DTAGRAM 4
converter thereby obtaining a
precise lock.
Since either adjacent channel
can be used to develop the "difference frequency" only a
limited number of reference carriers need to be fenerated. Diagram 3 illustrates a situation
where 15 carriers can be locked
to the master oscillator by use of
11 reference signals. Locking to
"off-air"
signalsrequires the
master generator to be slaved to
the "off-air" signals,which is also
shown in Diagram 3 in a simpli
fied block diagram.
Measurement of Tripl,e Beat
Recognizingthat the coherent
aspect of the proposed carrier
arrangement would tend to
stack third order products, it
was decided to measure the amplitude of the triple beat de-
scribedasfl */-
P, +/- fr.
This could then be directly compared with the noncoherent or
random carrier use generallyencountered in CATV operations.
To conduct this test a carrier
generator was built to provide
seven carriers tuned to the high
band channels(7-13),and spaced
at precise 6MHz intervals as
shown in Diagram 4. The triple
beats appearing in the region of
the channelI carrier (168 MHz)
were recorded using a spectrum
analyzer at the same test location at a point 57 amplifiers
"deep,"
as previously described.
"s", "y" plots given in DiaThe
grams 5 and 6 indicate that the
triple beats resulting from the
sevencoherent carriers added to
produce a single spurious frequency whose magnitude was
10dB greater than the individual
triple beat resulting from a random carrier source. However, it
should be noted that this test
conditionrepresents a worse
case situation because the proposed system limits the carrier
coherencyto the carriers of individual bands.Moreover, carriers
that do not contribute to the
formulation of second order
products are excluded from the
master oscillator unit.
S E ET H E C H A R A C T E RFSR O MM S IA T T H E N C T AS H O W
CATJ FOR
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
r{-
+
+
+
+
f
+
+
+
l +
+
+
+
f
+
+
+
+
ll +
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
i l f
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
ll +
+
f
+
+
+
+
+
+
ll +
(Mhz)
168
DIAGRAM 5
|
+
-
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
posed on to Diagram 7. The frequency coincidence of the
wanted carriers and unwanted
products are self-evident.
The placement of caniers in
the midband as an addition to the
earriers of the lovizand high band
channels produces a second order combination whose products
lPpear in the low, mid and high
band. This aspect was included
in the analysis of second order
products containedin this paper,
and to confirm this analysis two
of the spurious frequencies
which are not congruent with
wanted earriers were measured.
Again the same test location
was used together with a spectrum analyzer and r, E plotter.
The products measured were
channell minus channel6,which
was expected to appear at channel 6 picture plus 1.7 MHz, and
ehannel G*channel 6 predicted
to appear at channel H picture
plus 4.28 MHz.
Examination of the results
which are given in Diagrams 8
and 9 reveals the channell minus
channel 6 product was not measurable and cantherefore be eonsidered to be at least l4dB below
the permissible level established
b-yDiagram 1. The channel6 plus
channel6 product was measured
at 27 dB below the permissible
level.
Subjectiue Tests
'
+
_
+
+
r't
r,UU _+
+
+
+
+
+
169.25
DIAGRAM 6
Meosurernent of Second Order
Products
With the output frequencies
eorresponding to those listed in
Table 3, a 17 channel head-end
was installed and connected to
the system. The number of channels used was restricted in deferenceto the regulation of the Canadian Department of CommuniAPRIL1976
cations against the use of midband channels A and B.
By using the identical test
method and location described,
the midband spectrum was
plotted and is shown in Diagram
7. This allows direct comparison
with the results shown in Diagram 2 and to this comparison,
the positions of the reassigned
carriers have been superim-
The objective tests described
previously were supplemented
by a critical viewing test of each
system channel. The tests were
conducted at three system locations, the head-end,a mid point
preceded by twenty-two trunk
lmplifiers plus a bridger amplifier, and finally the deepestpoint
of the system described (b? amplifiers deep ).
Typical broadcastreceivers of
different manufacture were used
to evaluate the picture quality,
including two receivers sipp[ed
by member representatives of
the Electronic Industry, Association of Canada. It can be noted
that the two receivers referred
to are purported to have the
45
tightest A.F.C. rangesof any receivers available to the public.
In relation to the system considerationsthe tests can be described as follows:
(1) When viewed at the system's deepest point, no beat frequency interference was observed.
(2) Accompaniedby member
representatives of the E.I.A.C.
tests of the compatibility with
receiver fine tuning was conducted by switching back and
forth between the standard and
reassigned carriers. All receiversrequired only a slight retuning. Predictably, the receivers local oscillators could accommodate a250 k}jz shift. But
the small amount of adjustment
required exceededexpectations.
Receiversequippedwith A.F.C.
required no adjustment.
(3) No visible evidence of
crossmodulation was observed.
This was confirmed by conduct"blank screen" test on the
ing a
systems community channel,
channell0 by removing the modulation and operating with normal sync and pedestal levels.
I
I
ll
ll
ll ll
ll
ll
ll+
ll
It
rl -r
ll
ll
il
rl
1l
tl
rl
tl
ll
ll
!
6
o
143
153
163
DIAGRAM 7
CONCLUSIONS
The test results indicate that
the use of judiciously selected
carrier frequenciesas a meansof
circumventing second order
intermodulation distortion in order to permit use of the midband
is practical.
The amount of carrier shift resulting from the use of this system demonstrated it was fully
compatible with standard television receivers.
The frequency shift occurring
in the midband region, 1000
kHz, is not anticipated to be
problematic since the number of
receivers in use that are
equippedwith midband tuners is
negligible. Hence to accommodate the use of midband channels
the standard receivers will be
dependentupon an external converter. The tuning range of
these converters is more than
adequateto meet the prescribed
frequency shift.
Becausethe results were ob46
DIAGRAM 8
CATJ FOR
CHANNELH
P I C T U RE
DIAGRAM 9
tained through an operating
CATV system with 5l trunk amplifiers, 1 bridger amplifier and
five line extender amplifiers in
cascade,all single-ended,it can
A P R I L1 9 7 6
be reasonablyassumedthat better results will be obtained in
systemswith a shorter amplifier
cascade.
As noted in the section here,
the tests did not includemidband
c h a n n e l sA a n d B ; h o w e v e r ,
sincetheseehannels
are included
in the analysis of secondorder
products and in the light of the
test results obtained,thev can
predictably be used.
Circumvention of second order distortion leadslogicallyto a
discussionof third order problems. The results of tests described herein suggest that triple beats will not impose a severe constraint on midband use
on a typical system.However, as
more channels are added the
third order distortion products
must be consideredas the limiting factor to system reach. In
particular the effectsof coherent
carrier operationwill require
close attention since the amplitude of triple beat was shown to
increasedramatically in this
mode of operation.
Another third order problem
that will be encounteredby additional channeloperationis crossmodulation.Increasingthe number of system carriers will re-
47
a
A P P E N D I XI
SE S U L T I N G
SECOND
O R D E RP R O D U C TR
F R O MT H E
R E A S S I G N ELDO W ,M I D A N D H I G HB A N DT V C A R R I E R S
( L O C K E DP R O D U C TASR E U N D E R L I N E D )
BY CHANNEL
L O C A T I O NO F S E C O N DO R D E RP R O D U C T S
c
2
3
A-3
A-2
B-4
8-3
a-2
c-5
c-4
c-3
D-6
D-5
D-4
c-2
7-A
E-5
E-5
8-B
8-A
9-C
9-B
l0-D
t0-c
l0-8
H-6
H-5
a-?
II-E
u-o
Il-c
ll-A
l-6
9-4
r0-4
Ig_L
t2-t
L2-E
t3J
t2-B
l2-A
u-5
l2-5
t3-G
13-F
r3- E
l3-c
13-8
t2-6
r5-o
l l
lt
t0
8
7
7
6
6
A
D-3
D-2
2/
F-6
E-4
E-3
3+3
9-A
G-5
4
5
I
3+4
7-2
9:3
D
E
4+4
2+6
3.1' 6
9-2
J?f,
4+5
8
H
I
9
l0
ll
L2
l3
E
}E
2+F
2+G
319
3+E
3+F
3+c
4+C
4+O
4+E
4t
tl
LL-Z
u-4
I l-5
r2-3
L2-2
l3-5
t2- 4
l3-4
l3-3
6
5
5
l.
5 '5
I 0-?
4
E
-v
4{ o
5i
.6
l3-2
6+6
2+A
2+B
3+8
4+B
5+B
5+C
5+o
3+A
4+A
5+A
6+A
6+8
6{C
2
3
4
5
5
5
lmproved
The best
is now beiler.
CATJ F O R
ducethe amount of crossmodulation margin on a CATV system;
however, this form of distortion
is not related to the choice of
carrier frequencies.
REFERENCES
( 1 ) C o l l i n sC, . A . ,W i i l i a m A
s ,. D . ," N o i s ea n d
intermodulation
problems
in multi-channel
closedcircuittelevision
system."Contere n c ep a p epr r e s e n tteodt h eA . l . E . EF. e b r u a r y 3 , 1 9 6 1i n N e wY o r k .
( 2 ) S w i t z e r ,1 . , " C o h e r e n ct a r r i e r sf o r
"
C.A.T.V.
paperpresented
Conference
May
1 7 , 1 9 7 2i n C h i c a g o .
imenton the York Cablevision
systemin
Toronto.
procedure
(3) Reproduced
fromBroadcast
23,
issued
bytheCanadian
Department
of Comm u n i c a t i o nJ su,l y1, 1 9 7 .1
(2) The Canadian
Department
of Communicationsforgranting
permission
to conduct
the
experimenls,
and for witnessing
the test
resulls.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Theauthorsexpress
theirthanksto
(1) PremierCablevision
Limited,Vancouver,
Canada,
lorpermission
toconduct
theexper-
(3) TheElectronics
Industry
Association
of Canadaforproviding
member
afiendance
during
someof thetestsconducted
andfor providing receivers
with high sensitivity
to frequencyshiftsoff the standard
operation.
SHOULD OUR INDUSTRY
LICENSE TECHNICAL
PERSONNEL?
(Preliminary Survey Results)
The February CATJ, on our
insert card between pages 40
and 41, asked for industry responseto the question "Sh,ould,
Our Industrg License Technical
PersonnelT'.As we go to press
for the April CATJ, there are
sufficient survey cards back in
our hands to make a preliminary
report on the results to date.
It shouldbe noted that we will
cont_inueaccepting the survey
cards from the February CATJ
until April 30th, at which point
we will cut-off the survey, tally
the results and make them public. Ifyou havenotyet responded
to this survey, we urge gou to d,o
so at this time. Dig out your February 1976 CATJ, turn to page
41 and look smartly to the left.
There you will see the survey
card, at the bottom of the inseripage card. Fill it out and drop it
tlllt}"
mail, postage is paid by
CATJ.
The February survey card utilizes the same exact questions
previously framed by the Soci
ety of Cable Television Engi-
_--
TIMEs
UUIre[.Cable
alffihq
-
358HallAvenue,
Wailingford,
Connecticut0G492(203],265-2361
P.O.Box 14975,Phoenix,Arizona85062(602) 279_5576
A P R I L1 9 7 6
49
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s f r u r atlr u n k. . tf-r- -o ma
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theBrown
Mini-Mizer
helped
ourproblem
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"When
we sawthe^first
advertisement
for the BrownMini-Mizer
in CATJ,we l0okedintothe possibility
thatthis unit wouldhelpour
p r o b l e mW. e r u n 1 6 m i l e so { r u r a tl r u n kt i e i n gt h e C l e v e l a n
s yd s t e m
t o o t h e rs y s t e misn B o y l eR
, u l e v i lal en d D r e w A
. l o n gt h a tt r u n k .
whichis powered
by ruralelectrication
systems,
we havenumerous
hot-spots
wheresheath
currents
causelineampli{ier
failures.
We get
"
it lromligntning,
frompowercompany
surgesand switching
spikes.The Mini-l\4izer
seemsto havehelpedour problems
Grady
Rowsev.
Microwave
Engineer.
WarnerCableof Mississippi.
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guarantee.
is a fullone-year
Mini-Mizer
lvlini-mizer
usesa patenled
approach
to shunting
surgesandhightransients
to groundbeforefusescan blowor equipment
can be damaged.Thereare severalmodelsavailable,
including
a 240 VACmodelfor microwave
s i t e s .l n d 0 o ar n do u t d o om
r o u n t i ncQo n l i q u r a t i oP
n rso. t e cvto u r s e l l . . . w i t h e B r o w n
Mini-Mizer!
Artemus Road,Barbourville,Kentucky40906
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50
CATJ FOR
neers in a study of their membership approximately 20 months
ago.
"a"
asks:
Question
"Do you
believe that job classi.
fication by license grade is a desirable direction for the industrv
to move?"
CATJ respondents to date answer in this way:
(L) Yes - 7\.42oto
(2) No - 27.58o/o
"b"
asks:
Question
"Po
you believe if licensing is
implemented it should be at ihe
Federal, State or municipal
level?"
CATJ respondents to date answer in this wav:
(ll Federal - 85.19o/o
(2) State - 3.7Io/o
(3) Municipal - ll.l0o/o
"c"
asks:
Question
"Do you
believe a variation on
the FCC broadcast license, with
an emphasison cabletechnology,
would suffice?"
CATJ respondents to date answer in this way:
(1) Yes - 84.620/o
(2) No - 15.38o/o
"d"
asks:
Question
"At
what point should job
classification and/or licensing
begin?"
(l) Installer - l7.81o/o
(2) Technicinn - b3.b1olo
(3) Aduonced Techni,cinn7.L4o/o
@l Chief Techizicinn I0.7lo/o
(5) Chipf Engineer I0.72o/o
(61 Other - 0o/o
When all of the cards are tallied after the April 30th cut-off
date, a full report on the genesis
of the original study and the
CATJ results will be prepared
for the June ,issue.
SHOW TIME 76
(Someof The New Products
You Can See in Dallas)
Becausethis is the month of
April, and becausethe month of
April brings with it the annual
industry trade show (the 2bth
i n c i d e n t a l l y ) ,t h e r e i s t h e a s sumptionthat severalimportant
new technicalaids or pioducts
are about to burst forth on the
industry like so many coopedup
spring flowers. It is a uatA ossumption.
CATJ hasmadeno special
ef-material
fort to solicit advance
from suppliers,preferring in-.
stead to wait our turn at the
Dallas,Texasshow to visit first
hand with the "innovators" of
the new product concepts,and
then report back to you in our
TechnicalTopicscolumnin our
M a y i s s u e .H o w e v e r ,s e v e r a l
suppliershave soughtus out to
revealsomeof the new products
they intend to be showingand
discussingfor the first time in
Dallas, and it is worth noting
thosethat we are awareof just in
caseyou don't makeit to Dallas,
and cannot wait until the Mav
issue of CATJ to learn what ii
new, from whom.
Strip Audin Control
As CATJ discussedat some
A P R I L1 9 7 6
length in the December (19?b)
issue (pages 12 to 13), if your
system utilizes strip-type AGC
amplifiers for headend signal
processing, you have a potential
problem in meetingFCCspecbefore March 3L,1977.It shouldbe
repeated that the specification
calls for aural carrier level control that maintains the aural
carri,er leuel from minus 13 to
minus 17 dB, referenceth e s(nnechannel visual carrier. for cable
plant distribution. It is also
worth repeating that a/you have
done some careful measurements of the aural carrier levels
on the plant, and if you have
found that even with strip amplifiers, the aural level stays pretty
constant (but in any case within
the minus 13-17 dB "window")
on your cable channelsprocessed
with strips, that you do zot need
to worry about adding to, modifying or updating your strips to
comply with this spec (i.e. you
already do so).
The onlE system(s) with a
problem are those systems that
haue measured autal levels, and
found that the strip-type AGC
system, which AGC's only the
visual carrier, is leaving the
aural carrier wandering around
in level on the plant. As noted in
December CATJ, this will aszally only happen with far Grade
B to beyond Grade-B signals,and
even then before Aou ossurne
anEthing, go out and measure
the plant aural signal levels before you invest a dime in a new
piece of headend gear. Be sure
that the visual AGt is working,
but that the aural without ali
A.GC is -not being held by the
visual AGC (the visual AGC lt iU
hold the aural os lnng as the visual and aural fade together simultaneously).
Now the solution; and there
are a couple of them.
The first is the new AUDIOMATIC fr om Blonder-Tongue
Zobs (OneJake Brown Road,Old
Bridge, New Jersey 088b2).The
Audiomatic is an "after-strip"
modular type box that retro-fils
'ahead"
of the strip amplifier. Its
function is to sample the aural
carrier, sense when the aural
carrier is changing level relatiae
to the aisual carri,er lnuel present, and lhen adjusf the aural
carrier (i.e. AGC it) to stabilize
the aural carrier. Seediagram 1.
The unit consists of electronics
which senses the rati,o between
the visual and aural carriers and
51
I
1975
THANEVER...THE
BIGGER& MORECOMPLETE
The mosl complele ond rnosleoslly used reference
work on eleclronicmedio ond reloted fields in lhe industry-ondlhe mostfocluol-bocked bysolidprofessionqlsond 30 yeorc of publlshlngexperlence. I
Since1945,lhe Ielevlslon Foclbook hosbeen the outhodlotlve soulce for informotionon oll segmenls ol
lhe Industry.lt is used by-ond lor Informollonon:
In 2 BIGVolumes
. felevisionsiolions,networks. TVqnd film production
of broodcost,
ond distributors
firmsond progrommers. odvertisingogencies . qdvertisers. monufocfurers
. CommuniiyAnlennoSysiems. communiCATVqnd electronicequipment. siotionsolesrepreseniotives
colion ottorneys. consultingengineers. reseorch,monogemenlond technicolconsultingservices. brokeroge ond finoncingfirms. the Congressond governmentogenciesossociotedwith broodcosting. educo. librories. publishers
MAPSshowGrode A
ond ossocioiions.I TVSIATIONCOVERAGE
tionol institutions
At leosf one full poge ls glven lo eoch commelclol lelevlslonslollon ond includessuch
& B contours.
ond 5-24%;lofol homesqnd
voluobledolo os: Percenfogeof coverogeby counties-SO%ond over,25-49%
net weeklyond overogedoily circulotion-pluspersonnel,digestof rotes,lechnicolfocilities,
TV Households,
TVStotionshqve
nelworkoffiliotions,ond solesrepresenlotives.I Educqtionol,Conqdionond Inlernotionol
Sysore devoted to CAIV SYSIEMS'
500 PAGES
lheirown directoriesond ore lisledseporotely. I NEARLY
tems ore listedolphobeticollyby stotesond ciiies.Ownership,oddres, felephone.personnel,numberof
poy-coble stofus,populotion,storiingdqle, chonnelcopocify,slotionscqnied, equipmenf,miles
subscribers,
etc.,ore givenfor eoch lisling.
fees,ownership,locol originolions,
of plonl, homesin frontof plont, subscriber
And in oddition,oll personsor componieswhich hove on intereslin lwo or nroresyslemsor fronchisesqre
ore olso conied seporolelyos well os broodcoslers
listedin o seporotedirectory.Conodion CATVSystems
hovingCATVholdings.I Also included ore: . completefobulotionsof siolionond receivergrowthslncethe
yeor-by-yeor.
stortof TV . officiol FCCreportson finqnciolperformonceof TV sfolionsmorket-by-morket,
.
(comeros,
on
oll TVsfolion
video
recorders,
elc.)
defoils
studio
equipment
tobulolion
of
stolion-by-stotion
solessince1949. direcioryof CPsond pendingopplicotions. for eoch nelwork. directoriesof executives,
offilioiesond offilioteboord members. rotes. TVchonnelollocolions. tronslolors-ond o myilod of ofher
vltol slotislics.
Tenevlslon
e@tb@@k
r-r------l
NOW!! ,*ot'fgfeyiglgf N.W.Woshington,
ORDER
D.C. 20036
Ploce,.P|g-"S!:-Ipg.
1836Jefferson
Withthe lgT6lelevlslon
Foclbookothond,you
hove immediote occes
I
I
!
tolhemosloulhorilotive I
ond compelensive
I
sourceot foctsond figuresI
on lhe entireuniverseof
Television
ond CATV.
o*tt
Please
send
-
Factbook.
Television
copies
ot1976
cnarge.
handting
andshipping
modest
o ,'r.r, biilme,including
Pl6e print
Name
$74.50
$67.00 FOR5 0R ltlORE
AI
FACI8OOKSORDERED
SAMEIIME.
citv
State
ZiD
Block Diagram-B-T AUDTOMATTC@Aural/Visual Ratio Gontrol
AURAL
CARRIER
IN AGC
CHANNEL
INPUT
r------
AURAL,/vlsUAL
RATIO CONTROL
SOUND IF PROCESSOR
REGULATED
POWER SUPPLY
C H A N N E LS A M P L E
OUTruT
ANY
TEST JACK
STRIP AMPLIFIER OR HETERODYNEPROCESSOR
6\
\./
OUTPUT
AGC,EDAURAL
6\AGC'ED
VAND VISUAL
._ __Y_ _Yl!:g _vlsgl!_ i
utilizesthis informationto hold
tunedfiltercomesfromasensing sor, through the output test
the aural carrier at a pr-ese-nt networkthat-samples
the outptii, point.Thi
byadjusting
":,l"ffiT# lilffiT:ff/H#'1,fi;'ll",ifr'3#1
lli::;illT'3ll#i""'JX"i'#Jil;
-aural
leler
DC controlled
carrier
notch filter.
The Audiomatic is shown in
diagram 1 as an add-on box for
the Blonder-Tongue version of
the on-channelor strip amplifier.
However, it can be added to virtually any known on-channel
(strip) amplifier of any manufacturer, or if such a need arose,
even after a heterodyne type
processor.
The Audiomatic actuallv is installed aheod,ofthe strip processor or heterodyne processor,
but, it work s after the processor.
.This amazing feat is accomplished as follows:
(1) The input signal from the
antenna system (with or without
preamplification) is fed through
the Audiomatic, and then to the
strip/heterodyne processor. At
the Audiomatic, a voltage tuned
(i.e. varactor) HiQ helical resonator notch filter regulates the
aural carrier level. The HiQ filter, says B-T, meets FCC specs
for in-channel flatness and ihev
claim it has no bad effects on thb
color sub-carrier. The voltage
that tunes the Hi-Q varactor
APRIL1976
Rftlllicrouaueis
noutruice
asm0d.
Better
bU3dB:
We'vebeendoinga littlemultiplying
too!AMLreceiversensitivityhas beendoubled.The noisefigurehas beenimproved
r Reducessi2eand
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cost of antennasrequiredfor the same performancer lmprovessignal-to-noise
ratior lmprovespropagation
reliability
and reducesdurationof signalfadesr Your signal reaches
more distantreceivingpoints r Splits power into twice as
many dirsictionsr lmprovedperformanceis compatibleto
existingTheta-Comsystemson a retrofitbasis.Ahd, as always,AMLis the onlyoperablesystemcurrentlyapprovedfor
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Call us toll-freeat 800-528-6048.
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A subsidiaryot HUGHESAIRCRAFT
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In Canada,AML equipmentis dislributedto the CATVindustryby WelshCommunications
Company.
53
coming out of the strip/
heterodyne processor, and the
"analyzed"
signal is
for the ratio
between the visual and aural
earriers at this point. Then as the
aural carrier moves up and down
in level at the output test point, a
voltage is developed in the
Audiomatic which tunes the HiQ helical resonator filter at the
inputto the system. This closedloop "perpetual motion" machine
adjusts the aural earrier level to
stay within the limits set.
SO - if you have this type of
problem,and you were agonizing
about the very large price jump
from an on-channel signal processorto a heterodyneprocessor
(the latter is not supposed to
have this problem), BlonderTongue has a soluti,on.The price
will be around $205.00per channel.
Lous Cost Heterodune
As noted, a heterodyne processor is not supposedto have
this type of "fluetuating aural
carrier" problem, largely because the heterodyne unit maintains separate AGC systems for
the visual and aural carriers anyhow. Only the heterodyne processor costs quite a bit more
money than a strip processor,
usually quite a bit more thon
the $205.00add-on price of the
Audiomatic from B-T. Well, that
is not quite true any longer.
Someonehas come along with a
small sEstern approach to the
heterodyne,and it is called(with
some imagination) the MiniDyne. That someone is Ri,cheg
D e ue lopment Compang (1436
SW44th, Oklahoma City, Okla.
73119).The Mini-Dyne is more
than a low-cost heterodyneunit
(it lists for $380.00per channel,
VHF in and out same channel);
althoughatthatprice, itis bound
to ruise a few eyebrotas. The
Mini-Dyne designer and developer, Steve Richey, started
out on the project by designinga
new front end for the older tubetype Jerrold Channel Commander I units (August 1975CATJ,
pages15 to 21).In the proeessof
developing the substitute front
end for the Com-I units, Richey
took the package the next step
and designedan i.f. for it. From
that point, going back up to RF
was "simply another converter",
and so the Mini-Dyne was born.
The Mini-Dyne has a couple of
interesting things going for it,
specs that you will be hard
pressed to duplicate, regardless
of the price you are willing to pay
for a heterodyne processor. One
is the nozsefigure, it is specedat
3.0 dB worst case at VHF channel 13, and that is very comparable to many of the good grade
CATV pre-amps on the market
today. In a test conducted for
CATJ, we watched an input signal that was taken down to -20
dBmV and at that point we just
started to seea sign of graininess
in the picture. That impressed
us.
Next it has a very wide AGC
range, something tiichey found
absolutely necessary with the
high gain of the package (80 dB)
Jelrold/Texscon'sModel 727
SIGMT LEVELMETER
the
p_!o4en
stondord
of the
industry
...oroiloble
from stock.
RANGES:5-2'16MHz...Plug-inodopter exlends
tr FREoUENCY
rcnge lo 300 MHz.UHFplug-ln odopter for 470-890 MHz ronge.
RANGES:'10
microvolls lo
n MEASUREMENI
3 volls ('10longes, collbroted ln dBmV).
tr ACGURACY:meosules ony video
signol-level omplllude to wlthin +'1.5dB.
'15dB.
! ADJACENI-CHANNEIREJECTION:
Model727 con be powered from its own rechorgeoble boftery
from 42V dc lruck source, or lrom 'l'15V oc source.
Contocf your mon from
Jerroldlor complete
specilicolionsin new CATV
fesl equipmenlcololog.
o GENERAL
INSTRUMENT
compony
JERROID
EIICIRONICS/CAWSYSIEMS
DIV.
200 Wmer Rood. Horshom.Fo.'19044
JERROLD
54
T h e q u a l i t y o f L R C c o n n e c t o r sc o m p a r e dt o o t h e r c o n .
nectors has made the cost/performance value of LRC
c o n n e c t o r sv i r t u a l l y i r r e s i s t i b l e .C A T V C O N N E C T O R S
l S O U R B U S I N E S S .W e b e l i e v e o u r a d v a n c e m e n t si n
t h e C A T V c o n n e c t o r i n d u s t r y a r e u n s u r p a s s e d .M a n y
manufacturers have copied our ideas. However, we
k n o w w e m a i n t a i n t h e h i g h e s t p e r f o r m a n c es t a n d a r d s
i n t h e i n d u s t r y .T h e t i m e h a s c o m e t o m a k e t h e L R C
c o mp a r i s o n .
How many of these featuresdoes your
presentconnectorhave?
Features
f0r C0rr0si0n
nesistance
1. 6262Aluminum
2. Stairless
Steelnadiation
Sleeves
Stops(iloTorque
Wrenches
0r
3. Positiye
Iools)
Special
4. Sire(tasyAss€mbly)
(Positive
S€al)
5. C0ntrolled
0{ingCompression
Parts
6. Captive
(Cannot
7. neusable
overtighten)
LRCvs. Others
v
v
V
\/
\/
l/
Gallthe CATVConnectorSpecialists.
IRC
E L E c r R o N r c rsN
, c.
901 SOUTH AVC., HORSEHEAOS, N.Y.r46a5 PHONE 60t-73$38'X
A V A t I A B L Et i l E U R O P lEX n U : E l e c r o S s r v i c ei . V . , X l e i n . i l i . u w e n d i j l 4 0 , I 2 6 0 0 M i c h e l e n .g e r S i u n
CATJ FOR
and the low front end noise figure,70 dB AGC range is the spec.
That means that the output is
held constant to within + /- 0.5
dB for any input that stays in the
"window" range of -20 dBmV to
*50 dBmV. That is some dynamic range!
The low noise figure is appealing, or should be, for small systems looking for ways to save
bucks. In many cases, the outboard pre-amp can be eliminated. The wide AGC range
should prove a boon to remote
headend sites where you can't
get to them as often as you would
like to tweek upon the controls.
The Mini-Dyne is available
with UHF inlVHF out, different
VHF in and VHF out combinations as well, at slightly greater
prices.The Mini-Dyne will not be
formally seen in Dallas, developer Richey is much too busy
trying to get caught up on orders
at this point. (You can see a unit
in a working display at the
TOMCO booth, however). We
have been promised a unit sometime soon to conduct a CATJ lab
test, however, so if you wait
around long enough, we'll tell
you if all of the claims made for
the unit are real or not.
Computer Headend
If you will recall the October
(1975) CATJ, we reviewed the
"any
channelin
TOMCO SR-1000
- any channel out" processor
package. This unit allows the
CATV operator to manually dial
up any VHF or UHF channel at
the input, and any VHF (or optionally any mid-band or superband) output channelat the flick
'of a couple of switches. It is perhaps the ultimate standby headend unit in CATV today.
Well, Tom Olson of TOMCO
has done it one better. They have
announced a new unit, (the
SR-2000),which doesall of those
things, and a few more, by remote control! Borrowing freely
from some computer logic systems and leaning heavily on the
t e l e p h o n ei n d u s t r y t o u c h t o n e
system, Olson has developed a
rernotely progrmnrnable headend piece that can be switched to
any input channel, and any output channel, via a standard
touchtone telephone unit, from
virtually anyplace in the world!
The main service feature of
the unit is that a system manager can from his home or office
quickly direct the new unit to
switch to input channel whatever and to output channelwhatever, to replace a cable headend
piece that has gone on the fritz.
And he can do this from his home
(or the neighborhood bar or the
FORSPECIFIC
FILTERS
CATV PROBLEMS.
AND THEYWORKCo-Channel
Eliminators
AdjacentChannel
Fi lters
ChannelDroppers
*Or
we refund
in full
Pay-TVSecurity
Traps
'PayOnly' Band
PassFilters
Specialized
Customer Problems
F R O MT H E P E O P L EW H OC A R E
MICROWAVEFITTER
CO
STREET
6743KINNE
.13057
EASTSYRACUSE,
NEWYORK
PH0NE
315-437-4529
(GlynBostick,
GhielEngr)
56
eountry club) by simply calling
the headend on the telephone
and commanding it to do the
switching.
There is another application
that has perhaps escapedOlson.
CATJ had a letter no so long ago
from an affluent West Virginia
resident who was in the process
of constructing a $20,000.00
headendfor his home. The headend was going to be up on a hill, a
couple of miles away from his
home. and via a link of aluminum
coax, the fellow was going to
send 12 signals down the hill to
his home. Now. if he had one of
the new TOMCO units on the
hill, with a suitable collection of
antennas, preamps, et al, he
could send a single chonneldown
the hill on his cable and save a
bunch of money on separate
headend processors!
Neut Suseep Package
Just when we got used to the
new model 1051 75 ohm
sweeper
dedicated-to-CATV
from the folks at Wavetek, they
introduce the 1052!
If you will go back to the February issue of CATJ (1976)and
read the review of the Wavetek
1051,you will notice (or remember) that for review purposes
Wavetek sent out to our CATJ
Lab a custom'ieedtest package
that included the 1051,but also
included a host of other features.
You probably think we are
about to tell you the L052is that
customized test package.
You are wrong.
The 1052 rs the basic 1051,
with a number of features (but
not all of the features) taken
from the customized test package discussed in the February
CATJ. If you liked the customized test package options, take a
look at the 1052 (either in Dallas
or wait for our review here in a
coupleof months).Onceagain,it
shows (we think), that Wavetek
"listen to what
is continuing to
CATV operators want" in their
test equipment.
CATJ FOR
WCucbccnadding
channcls
toTUryrtcms
for25ycars.
DON'T
TRAPPED
GET
Y()USEE
UNTIL
EAGLE
ATNCTA'76-DALLAS
That'swhyYcdcsigncd
oulown modulators.
EAGLEWORKS-guaranteed
superiorperformance
& c h o i c eo f c h a n n e2l t h r u 7 , m i d b a n dt o o ;t a m Our threenewmodulators
incorporate
25 yearsof exper-proofsecurityshieldoptional.
perienceaddingprogramchannelsto rf systemsin
EAGLE'STOUGH-outstanding
shockresistance&
apartments,
condominiums,
schools,ETV.and CATV
b
r
a s sh o u s i n gn, i c k e l
t
h
i
c
k
w
a
l
l
d
u
r
a
b
l
e
s
t
a
b
i
l
i
t
y
;
We know more aboutTV systemproblems
systems.
potted.
plated
&
completely
thananyone
else-adjacent
channel,
beatproblems,
any
EAGLE'SEASY-threadson & off fast,fit up to 4 on
problems
involved
in mixingintoa system
mostall taps;specialtoolsfor security& speed;
The AVMT4923 orovidesboth a modulated
visual
m a c h i n e da n d i n t e r l o c k e tde r m i n a l sw o n ' t p u l l
and modulatedauralrJ carrieroutputon any single
f ree.
vhfTVchannel.
TheVMT4922orovides
a modulated
visualrf carrier EAGLE'SBEST-low, low adjacentchannelloss &
rejection;
deep,temperature
stablepay-channel
outputon anysingle
vhfTVchannel.
provides
TheAMT4921
and mechanically.
onlya modulated
betterelectrically
auralcarrieroutputandunmodulated
visual
at
carrier
on anysingle RE-USABLETOO-factory channel-retuneable
vhfTVchannel.
pay
why
littlecostfor recyclingintootherareas;
Rounding
outthe lineis our currentAVM4920,an
morefor lesselsewhere?
model.
audio-video
. Lowvideodistortion
15%)and9O%modula[typically
tionusing1S-kHz
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. High-impedance
loop{hrough
or 75 ohm terminating
videoinput.
. Audiodistortion
11yp0.7%)@ 25-k1zdev.
. Truepeakovermodulation
indicators
usingcalibrated
light-emitting
diodes.
. Vestigial
sideband
filterresponse
suitable
channel
coloror monochrome
ooeration.
.Independent
auralcarrier(auralto visualcarrierratio)
I ORDATA OR SAMPLE:
C A L L OR WRITEF
control.
rt1
tr
\_
BLONDER-TONGUE
Blonder-Tongue
Laboratories,
Inc.,
Old Bridge,NewJersey
08857.
A P R I L1 9 7 6
EAGLE
COM-TRONICS
[315J692-265
INC.
8 0 1 6C H A T H A D
MR I V E ,O M A N L I U S
N,. Y . 1 3 1 0 4
57
A T R I G H T. . .
VYIIO'STHE HAM?
T
T
t:
&3
b:
In the January (1976)issue of
CATJ, we published an inquiry
card asking that if you were a
Iicensed Ham (amateur) radio
operator, involved in some way
in CATV, that you register with
CATJ. The purposeof the registration is to provide a listing for
CATJ (seehere)by which Hams
could identify one another, and,
possiblyset up operating schedules on one or more Ham radio
bands.
For those who are not Ham
operators,there is a spirit of kinship between fellow Hams that
extends far beyond the kinship
we normally find even in a
tightly-knit industry such as
CATV.It is the nature of CATV
that we stick together, but it is
also the nature of CATV that
when we coagulatein one spot,
that we seldom talk about anvthing but CATV!
FirstDistrict
For thoseindustry peoplewho
are in attendance at the Dallas.
Texas April 4-7 25th annual ind u s t r y c o n v e n t i o n ,C A T J h a s
created a special three-inch
multi-color shirt or coat pin that
"I
says AmaHom."The pin (see
illustration here) identifies you
as a Ham operator, and has a
place for you to fill in your amateur radio call letters. The pins
are available at the TOMCO
booth at the convention.There is
no charge of course - we are
happy to spend a few bucks doing this to promote greater kinship amongst CATV operators
who just happento also be Ham
operators.
for
W1RXE- HowardC. Arnold.consullant
FillerCompany;
512 EllioltStreet,
Microwave
e 0-10
m e t e rasn d2
B e v e r lM
y ,a . 0 1 9 1 5A.c l i v B
meters.
SecondDistrict
Allentown
D.Burgess,
owner
K2HTE- Joseph
e ,. Y .
C a b l eT V ; H a n o v eHr i l l R d . ,W e l l s v i l l N
in
14895.0perales
6 meters,n0t interested
SKCS
O.
Jr., FieldengiWZT(IK- WalterE. Pfiester,
1 Skadden
Terrace,
neerEastern
Microwave,
T u l l yN
, . Y .1 3 1 5 9O. p e r a t 2
e0
sa n d7 5 S S B i, s
interested
in skeds.
Third District
Now, if you were not at Dallas,
but you are a Ham operator and
would like one of the CATJ "1
Am A Han't" operator badges,
please do the following:
( 1 ) Drop us a note with your
name,address,companyaffiliation and a brief description of your job function in
CATV;
Giue us your Ha:rn call, the
amateurbandsyou operate,
and note whether you
would be opento "schedule"
other Hams in CATV on an
amateur band.
I'M A
H A M IN
CATV. MY
C A L LI S ;
The following listing is for
Hams who registered through
late February with CATJ. It is
arranged by amateur radio call
districts.
- threeinchmulti-colored
IAMA HAMlN CATV
pin,produced
lreet0 any
by CATJ,is available
withCATJ.
in CATVwhoregisters
Hamoperator
b . l
tsJ{
[w
E
I
it -.L
{" ". :
t
I
- Ted Gibson,Co-owner
W3DGX
and engineer,PineGrove
TVCable,
19W. Pottsville
St.,
Pa.17963,Operates
PineGrove,
all bands,in(04/64)on 2
licensee
lor WR3ACI
including
meters.
- R a l p hS p e n c eH, e a d e nadn d
WA3MXD
maintenance,
Cable
TVol Chester
County,
bench
1 6 S . B r o a dS t r e e tH, o n e B
y r o o kP, a .1 9 3 4 4 .
is interesled
in skeds.
0perates
80-10meters,
- J a m e sC . N l o o r eB, e n c ha n d
WA3NCM
headend
tech,WeslMoreland
CableCo., 53
Pa. 16229.0perates
2
MainStreet,Freeport,
in
meterFM and20 meterphone,is inleresled
sKeos.
FourthDistrict
K4B0J- R.C.Townley,
installation
andrepair
i n c l u d i n g W S F A4- 7T1V5,B a r bR
y d . ,M o n t g o m ery,Ala.36108.0perates
20SSB,CW,is inlerestedin skeds
K4NTA- TedA. Hul,engineer,
PerryCable
C o . , 1 4 9 5N W B r i t tR d . ,S t u a r tF, l . 3 3 4 9 4 ,
0perates
6, 2 anda32(l\ilHz).
Wouldbe interestedin skeds.
- BillMeacham,
WB4SXX
Chief
TechforComm u n i lA
y n l e n n a2 ,2 2A t k i n s oSnt . ,L a u r i n b u r g ,
0 Wa n dS S Bp, l u s
N . C 2 8 3 5 20.p e r a t e1s6 0 - 1C
2 FM. Wouldbe interested
in skeds.
W4VBT- B.L.Coleman,
Chief
Engineer,
l\4aslnc.P.0.Box577,Peterstown,
terTelecable,
W.
Va.24963.Semiacliveon 6 meters.Miqhtbe
in skeds.
inleresled
r
i
l_bjb"*l*]
nwet,:ff:*.,,.
At RCA
It'srrr
lry
ffi
r:--r
N
M
Growth Throuoh ffi
Berte::::::::,,,
r:*
-@ffP'Frn
*::m!
1213.1764-2411
n
k{
J
'i*.-'
Fifth Dislrict
W5BGW- FrankNarramore.
Manaoer/Tech
f o r T V C a bCl eo . .B o x6 0 5 ,Y e l l v i l l A
e ,r k . 7 2 6 8 7 .
Operates
80, 20and10 whenactive.
Wouldbe
interesled
in skeds.
- John Lord, Manager,
KSHSP
Clayton
TV
C a b l e1,6N o r t 4
h t hA v e . C
, l a y t oN
n ,. l \ i 8
l .8 4 1 5 .
Operates
75and2 melers.
Would
beinterested
in
sK e so.
WSKHT- BobCooper,
Jr., Editorin Chief,
CATJ,420
N9W2 3 r dS
, uite
1060
, k l a h o mCai l y ,
0k 73107.Semiactive6, 2, 220 and 432.
- J a c kl V .T h r e a d g i E
WASLBC
l l ,n g i n e e r ,
HearneCablevision,
803 Tanglewood,
Bryan,
Texas77801.Whenactive,75 and40 meters.
'
B
i
l
l
'
K5QMY W.G.
C o m e a u xF,u t r o n i c s ,
I n c . ,8 0 6 7L aS a l l eA v e n u eB, a t o nR o u g eL, a .
7 0 8 0 6N. o t a c t i voep, e r a t e s B 0 , 4 02am
n de t e r s .
W B S R G-Y J o s e p h JW. o r m s eM
r ,a n a g e
Prr o d u c t i o nE n g i n e e r i nTg0,C 0 M ,7 1 0 6 l \ 4 e a d o w
Rd , Dallas,
Texas75230.0perates
40 and20
CW (ex-WSGKX),
interested
in skeds.
WsTMJ- AlanHatzell,
Engineer,
lVlcAlester
C a b lTeV ,B o x2 6 7 ,M c A l e s t e
0 rk,. 7 4 5 0.1O p e r a t e s1 0 , 1 5 a n d 2 0 , n o ta c t i v e .
K S U M V- W a l t eCr . D i l l a r dO,w n e rT, VC a b l e
C 0 , 6 0 5 N W a s h i n g t ol n\ i,l u r f r e e s b A
o r ok ,.
7 1 9 5 8O p e r a t eBs0 - 1 0w h e na c t i v ei,s i n t e r
estedin skeds.
Bryant
Street,
SanFrancisco,
Ca.94103.0peratesB0-10,2 and 432.Wouldtikeskeds.
- GlennChambers,
(WOVLL)
Regional
EngineerinA
g ,T CB
, o x5 6 5 ,A p p t e t oW
n ,i s c5. 4 9 1 .
License
currently
expired,
didoperate
80,40and
15 melers.
- NortheK. 0serink,publication
WAOZEM
Writer,Avantek,
lnc., 3401FloralRd.,Santa
C r u zC
, a . 9 5 0 6 2 . o p e r a8t e
0 s, 4 0 a n d 2 0
'CATV
melers,
CWandSSB;suggests
a
Roundt a b l e ' o nl h e a i r .
SeventhDistrict
n,
W B T A H-L D o n a lRd.' B o b ' J o h n s t o
Districl
Engineer,
Lander
Cable
TV(TCl)Box483,Lander,Wyoming
82520.0perates
80, 40 and20,
wouldbe interested
in skeds.
- CarlE. Schmauder,
KTEWG
lVlanager,
Lino yns t e m Isn, c . ,B o x8 1 5 ,L i n c o l n
c o l nT e l e v i s iS
C i t y0, r . 9 7 3 6 7W
. h e na c l i v eo, n 2 5 , 1 0a n d2
melers.
W A 7 T C-o R . S .' J o e 'p i n n e rC, a b l e
Technic i a nT
, e l e c o m m u n i c a tI inocn. s6,g 5N o r t hg t h ,
LandeW
r , y o m i n8g2 5 2 00. p e r a t e1s6 0 - 1 0
melers,is interested
in skeds.
EighthDistrict
SixlhDistrict
- JamesRieger,Engtneer,
WAoEZL
Naval
Weapons
Center
CATV,
Code
3243,ChinaLake.
Ca.93555.Operates
2 meters
andu0, is interestedin skeds.
WNOFDG Michael
ThomasDougtass,
Lineman,Emmetsburg
CableTV, 2305Main,Emm e l s b u r gl o, w a5 0 5 3 64. 0 a n d1 5 C W ,w h e n
active.
- Raymond
WAbGEJ
E. Crawlord,
ChiefEngin e e rA, p p l V
e a l l eTyVC a b tC
eo.2
, 18 0 5H w y1B ,
AppleValley,Ca. 92307.Operates
6 and 2
m e t e r sw, o u l dl i k es k e d s .
01
W A 6 P K N J e r r yP l e m m o nKsO
, E D - TjV
,1
- B o b J .H e i mC, h i eEf n g i n e eNr o
KSHLH
, rth
C e n t rT
a lV ,1 0 5W . S h o r e l i nReo a dS, a n d u s k y ,
0 h i 04 4 8 7 0 O
. p e r a t e8s0 , 4 0 , 1 5 , 1 0 a n d 6
melers.
KBJCB- Reynold
J. Johnson,
ChiefTechnician,lowaVideo(ATC),
80x1425,Ft. Madison,
l}wa 52627.operates
80 thru 2 meters.ls
interested
in skeds.
- DaleE. Bock,ChietTech,Wood
WBSKPM
T V C o r p o r a l i o1n1,8N . M a i nS t r e e tB, o w l i n g
Green,
Ky.43402.operates
6 and2 meters,
is
interesled
in skeds.
W B B V P-I R a y m o nCdh a p m a nM, a n a g e r ,
Richwood
TVCable
Co.,1 E. MainStreel,Richwood,W. Va.26261.0perates
2 meters,
intere s l e da ns k e d s .
NinthDistrict
K9CVW- Raleigh
B. Stelle,Sates,Texscan
C o r p o r a t i7o1n0, 1E . 4 3 r dS t r e e tI ,n d i a n a p o l i s ,
lndiana46226.0perates40 CW,interested
in
skeds.
K 9 H J N- W i l l i a m JD. r a e bC, h i eTf e c hD
, raeb
E n t e r p r i sE
e lsl ,i R
s d.R
, l .2 , K e w a u n eWei,s c o n s i n5 4 2 6
1 .W h e a
n c t i v eo,n8 0 ,4 0a n d2 m e l e r s .
W A 9 H Z-T W i l l i a m
H . E l l i sT
, e c h n i cM
a la n a g e m e nT
l ,e l e s i C
s o r p . ,1 0 1 8 L i n c o l nA v e . ,
Evansville,
lndiana47714.TwomelerFl\4.n0
t i m ef o r s k e d s .
TenthCallDistrict
K0LCB- David
C.Bland,
Program
Production,
Director
of Broadcasling,
P.0.Box1059,Indep e n d e n cM
e ,o 6 4 0 5 1A. c t i v a
e l l H F .5 0 , 1 4 4
M H zS S B / C W
a n dF M .
- J o h nF .J o h n s t oTne, c h n r c i a n , C a .
WB60DW
blevision
ol Colorado
Springs,
4507N Carefree
C i r c l eC, o l o r a dSop r i n g sC, o .8 0 9 1 70. p e r a t e s
40 meters,is interested
in skeds.
F. Provine,
W0PFM- George
0hiefTechnician
F o r tC a b l e v i s i o
l nnc, . ,1 4 E . 2 n dS t r e e tF. o r t
S c o t tK, n . 6 6 7 0 1 . 4 0 a2n0dC W t s i n t e r e s tiend
SKCOS,
- PhilipR. Brown,Systemlvlainten.
WAoZFE
a n c eC
, o w l eCy a b l e v i s i oI nn c, .1 0 0 4M a i n
S t r e e tW
, i n f i e l dK, n .6 7 1 5 6 0
. p e r a t etsw o
meters,is interested
in skeds.
Canadian
V E T B V-P S h a n n oDn.H o t tC
, .R.T.V
A.s s o c i a t i o nC
. h i eTJe c h 5, 9 41 1 t hA v e n u eC, a m o b e l l
R i v e rB
, . C . V g W 4 G 4O p e r a t eBs0 a n d 2 0
meters,is interested
in skeds.
VETXK- WalterGreen,l\4anaqerial,
Alberni
- ZthAvenue.
port
CableTelevision.
LId..2726
A l b e r nBi ,C .V g Y2 J 7 .O p e r a t 7
e5
s ,2 0 ,1 5 ,1 0
a n d2 m e t e r s .
So there you have it, 40 CATJ
readers are involved in CATV
and share the common bonds of
Amateur Radio. There must be
at least another 40 of you out
there. . .let's hear from you!
Now at Introductoryprices
asLow
"'
$1 ,232
The RCA CTM 10 Color TelevisionModulatoris a
companionunit to the RCA HSpl Signal processor
designedfor maximuminterfacecoilpatibility with the
processor.Commonfunctionssuch as lF swiiching
optio.ns,operatinglevels,phase-lockcapability,anOOC
auxiliaryp_owering
are similar in both prbducts-.The
design of RCA's new modulatorallowi the operatorto
specify the configurationbest suited to his application,
then later add or modify through the various piug_in
":_,,.": availabte.
t'1-
TOPICS
TECHNICAL
_ HELIXANTENNAS
FEEDBACK
(1976)CATJcarried
a report0n
Thelvlarch
polarized
exanlenna
the statusoi multi-mode
perimenls
beingcarriedoul at the CATJLab.
" w i n d i n gy 0 u r
T h er e p o ritn c l u d edda t af o r
for lowor high
own" helixor helicalantenna
b a n dV H F .
concerning
Therehasbeensomeconfusion
andwe adof theinstructions,
cerlain
aspects
of theexplamitthatwedidnothelptheclarity
droppinga full paranationby inadvertently
graphfromthetext!
the
on page13 presents
Table1 appearing
n isv e nf o rt h e
l i r s tp r o b l e mT.h ed i m e n s i o g
thathasa
7 anlenna
are{oranantenna
channel
0 H z .I n o t h e r
c e n l e r l r e q u e n c1y7o5l - 1 8M
rangeof this anwords,the designfrequency
6 H z .T h i sc o v e rhs i g hb a n d
t e n n ai s 1 3 3 - 2 2M
VHFalright,but,theusershouldnol be misled
patternmaterial
as
appearing
by the antenna
theantenna
4 onpagel 4 int0believing
diagram
thesame
in table1 willoroduce
builtasdetailed
patterns
for lhe antenna
shown.Thepatterns
witha
4 arefor an antenna
shownin diagram
oJ236 MHz.Theandesigncenterlrequency
p l o t si n d i a g r a m
4
t e n n as h o w ni n p a t t e r n
c o v e r 1s 7 5t o 2 9 7 ( . 5l)\ 4 H 2 .
for
typically
is designed
Thehelical
anlenna
but,
rangeol interest,
thecenterof frequency
patterns
(i.e. bestfrontto back,
the cleanesl
of
extremities
lrontto side)willbeat thelowest
rangecovered.
thefrequency
in table1
if theantenna
described
Therefore
you shouldexperithe pattern
is conslructed,
e n c ew i l lb e s i m i l at ro t h a ls h o w nf o rt h e2 1 5
4; notthe
in diagram
and 235 lvlHzantennas
4. More
shownin diagram
175 MHzantenna
aboulthisshorlly.
t0 us that
Next,it shouldhavebeenobvious
whengivingthetable1 designdatathatil you
, n dt h e r ea r e
h a v es i xl u r n so n y o u rh e l i x a
spaceswhichare .22
5 turn-1o-turn
therelore
wideeach,thatyoucannothavea
wavelength
helixwithan axiallengthol 1.65wavenlength.
T h a ti s , 5 t i m e s. 2 2w a v e l e n gi st h1 . 1 0w a v e l e n g t hn. o t1 . 6 5w a v e l e n g t h s .
To achieve
a 1.65axiallengthhelixwithsix
spacingol .33
turns requiresa turn-to-turn
ll youdesignfor the centerfrewavelengths.
quency,
youractual
works
spacing
turn-lo-lurn
l ig
k et h i s :
o u ts o m e t h i n
:
(1) Turn-to-turn
lowestfrequency
spacing
.22wavelength
:
(2) Turn-to-turn
frequency
median
spacing
.275wavelength
:
(3) Turn-to-turn
highestlrequency
spacing
.33wavelength
of
Thespacing
staysthesame,butbecause
ol lhe anrangecoverage
lhe widefrequency
(asa lunction
of
spacing
tenna,
lheturn-to-turn
Therange
thatisacceptable
varies.
wavelength)
turnfora 6 turnhelixis .22to .33wavelength
t o - t u r sn p a c i n g .
is
axiallength
the1.65wavelength
Therelore,
a l t h eh i g h e sf tr e q u e n c( y2 9 7 . 5M H zi n o u r
end (175
at the low lrequency
case)whereas
M H z i)t i s a r o u n 1d . 1w a v e l e n g0t hu,ra p o l o g y
"dropping
that
theparagraph"
for
tothereader
60
explained
this,andto thosewhohavecalledto
equal1.65!
askhow.22x 5 canpossibly
trequency
versuspatNowbacktothecenter
shownin table1
Thedimensions
ternproblem.
(withthe exception
of the axiallengthhandle)
ol 175-180
arecorrecllor a centerfrequency
MHz.However.
areyouwanttheclean
chances
pattern
4, lor 175MHz,
lobesshownin diagram
pattern
shown
lessdesirable
notlhe somewhat
set0f
a modified
lor2150r 235MHz.Therelore
appearherewhichshowsthe didimensions
lrequency
of 236
mensions
lo lollowlora center
(i.e.a lowfrequency
of 175MHz).lf you
l\ilHz
yourpattern
should
be
follow
thesedimensions,
f0r
7. If youwantlo design
onchannel
improved
7 high bandchannel,
a higher-than-channel
frequency
o{ thechannel
takethevisualcarrier
range
multiply
thatby 1.7 (frequency
desired,
between
of antenna),
andhalvelhe dillerence
t0 thehigh
to addthatnumber
thetwonumbers
Thatwill
lrequency.
visualcarrier
bandchannel
which
frequency,
around
design
beyourcenter
shownherecan be
lunctions
the wavelength
calculated,
7(* )
Channel
Measurement
4
0',
Plane
Ground
(GPto 1st turn)
6"
Spacing
82.5"
A x i aLl e n g t(h1 . 6 5 )
IO.J
( .s3 3 )
T u r nS p a c i n g
(.32)
16.0"
TurnDiameter
6
Number
Turns
. - Lowestusefulfrequency
noted
thatit
readers
Finally,
somesharp-eyes
hasfive,not
aDoears
thatourCATJLabantenna
; nd
s i x ,t u r n sa l o n gt h ea x i alle n g t hl .t d o e s a
''do we say,notaswedidl "
as
thisisa caseof
_ WE G()()FED!
SORRY
1976issueoJ CATJcarriedan
The l\4arch
Inc.
for Broadband
Engineering,
advertisement
hashadsucha
Broadband
onpage37. Recently
growth
t0 new,
intheirbusiness
thattheymoved
In moving,
theynaturally
aclargerquarters.
quireda new addressand a new telephone
incorrectly
number.The Marchadvertisemenl
listedboth.
is nowlocated
as
Broadband
Forlhe record,
lollows:
Road,Jupiter,Fl. 33458
535E. Indiantown
(305-747-5000).
MEASUREMENTS
MORE-FRE(lUENCY
"l
wonderwhy a personhas to go to the
thecable-carriage
measuring
lrouble
o.factually
il in lactthereis a wayt0 determine
frequency,
frequency
withoutall of the
the cablecarriage
beatol setting
upa heterodyne
{ussandbother
ing system,or usinga specialpieceof test
(i.e.MidStateSP-2)
to drivea counequipment
ter.
yout00kan average
Forexample,
suppose
priced
grade
andsampled
the
reasonably
counter
frequency
in eithera helerodyne
localoscillator
ll
unitor in anUHFto VHFconverter.
conversron
youmeasured
L0(whichif yousample
lheactual
frequency
is
or oscillator
it al the fundamental
youwould
at,nearor below100l\4Hz),
typically
netthe frequency-delermining
be measuring
srgnal.
workJorthe on-cable-channel
E x a m p lCeh: a n n1e4l i s4 7 1. 2 5( p l u so rm i n u s
offset,il any)t0r the visualcarrierfrequency.
forcablecarriage.
14107(175.25)
Youconvert
is 471.25 minus
f requency
Themixerinjeclion
175.25ot 296 MHz.To createa 296.00MHz
i n j e c t i osni g n a l ,y p i c a l lay9 8 . 6 6 6( e t c . )M H z
oscillator.
Many
is usedin theconverter
crystal
will readup to 100 MHz(0r
low-cost
counters
lf youtapped
out
lowcostscalers.
150l\4Hz)with
o f t h e o s c i l l a l oi nr t h e 9 8 . 6 6 6M H z s e c t i o n ,
anddirectly
capacitor,
through
a 500pFcoupling
atthis
thelypicalRFlevelpresent
intoa counter,
hight0 drivea ho-hum
is sulficiently
frequency
is + /Thetolerance
kindolcounter.
oermitted
2 5 k H za t 1 7 5 . 2 5M H z ,a n ds i n c et h e9 8 . 6 6 6
that25 kHz
(nominal)
is tripling,
MHzoscillator
'window'
atthet0lerance
by3 lo arrive
isdivided
Thusthe local
at 98.666(nominal).
allowable
wouldhavetobewithin+ /- 8 kHz0f
oscillator
'legal'.
9 8 . 6 6 6o,r9 8 . 6 5 t8o 9 8 . 6 7 4M H zt o b e
withdual
Lifegetsa littlemorecomplicated
(i.e,incoming
RFdownto heterodyne
conversion
RFusing
processor
i .f. ; lheni.l. backup tocableoscillator),
but it couldstillbe done
a separale
with a low costcounter.
I wonder
whattheFCCwouldsay?ls thisan
meato makingJrequency
approach
adequate
lt surewouldcut the costsol the
surements?
And if it wouldfly, how
required.
equipment
(UHFto VHFand
uptheconverler
aboutjacking
plustheheterodyne
processor
manVHFtoVHF)
an L0 signaltestpointon
to provide
ufacturers
spotsuchas the
theirgear,at someconvenient
takinq
backapronwherewecangetto it without
the wholeboxapart?"
DickKirn
Sarasota.
F|.33578
Dick
"The
0f the
frequency
76.605(a) (2) states
v i s u acl a r r i esr h a l lb e m a i n t a i n e1d. 2 5 M H z
ol the
the lowerboundary
+ / - 25 kHzabove
"
. . . elc. Thereis
channel.
cabletelevision
nothingin the rulesthat saysyou havet0 meaor evencheckit "at cable
surethefrequency,
"
whyyour
frequency.Weseenoreas0n
carriage
wouldnotwork,andwe agreewith
technique
y o u . . . i f y o u c a n u l i l i z eo n eo f t h e l o w c o s l
test,youateahead
t0 makethisannual
c0unters
in dollarsandcents.As t0 the manufacturers
providing
they never
L0 test points,perhaps
thoughtof it belore.
FCCTESTDATES
"
yourarticles
0n
Reading
withgreatinlerest
that
testsandyourstatement
the1976technical
by
teslsfor currentyearmustbe completed
M a r c 3h 1, 19 7 6 .H o w e v eI rn,o t et h a t7 6 . 6 0 (1c )
ol eachcablesystemshall
thatoperalors
states
perlormance
once
testsof thatsystem
complete
year(butnotlo exceed
14 month
everycalendar
intervals).
of theaboveis thatwe did
l\4yintdrprelalion
teslslastyear,s0we
nolhaveto do lrequency
thattest by l\4arch
31, 1976;
mustcomplete
0Jthe
wedid do the balance
however,
because
t0
22,1975,wearenotrequired
teslson l\4arch
CATJ FOR
complete
thoseothertests(i.e.non-frequencyrelated
tests)until14 months
thereafter,
or, Mav
22. 1976.ls this a validinterpretation?"
J. B.Dyer,Manager
Tillamook
Television,
lnc
Tillamook,
oreqon
97141
permonthf0r this service,
provides
the CATV
company
witha duplicate
copyof the deposit
recordeachday,andfromthis the CATVcompanyhome
oftice
isabletocheck
offtheaccounts
that are paidas theyare paid.This particular
company
utilizes
36 monthcoupon
billing,and
whena customer
showsup sixweekspastdue,
JBhegetsa collection
letterdirecting
himto go to
Wehaveno problemwithyourinlerpretation
at
thebankandgetcaught
upwithintendaystime.
all.Andwe doubtthatlhe FCCwouldeither.ln
lf the customer
failsto do this,the system
anyevent,wetrustthatif theydohavea problem
operator
schedules
a disconnect
for the late
withyourapproach,
that they will let us know
cuslomer
thenexttimehe is in town(a weekly
hereat CATJandwewillin turnpasslheinformavisittypically).
tion alongt0 lhe balance
of the industry.
othersystems
havetakenit a stepturtherand
thebank sends
outthelatenotices
andreminder.
APPRECIATED
IN BRASIL
Banksusually
geta fewextracentsperaccount
"l picked your
t0 handle
thisphase
of yourcollections
as well.
up
volume
l, number
1 atthe
Lest
we
arouse
the
ireof theFCC0nthisone,
1974annual
CATV
showamongst
theheaps
of
wearequickt0 pointoutthatthesearetypically
printed
matterscattered
aboutthelables;and
verysmallsystemswith 200or so subscribers
after
scanning
theissue
inmyhotel
room,
imme- maximum
(alth0ugh
somelargersystems
als0
placed
diately
anorder
fora subscription.
Since employ
practice)
this
wheren0resident
manager
thenI havebeenfollowing
thedevelopment
ol
c0uldpossibly
beafforded.
ThebankthenbeCATJ
withincreasing
interest.
Please
accept
my
congratulations
ontheworkyouareperforming comesthefocalpointfortheCATVservicein the
alfilialed
stattons.
0l special
interest
to CATV
system
operalors
in
(andnearthe Canadian
Canada
borderin the
U.S.A)is whatsuper-engineer
Switzerwill be
doingwiththeSCAchannel
ol his12 FMtransm i t t e r sS. w i t z e pr l a n st o o f f e rc h a r a c t e r generator-digital
videoonthesub-carrier,
freeto
anyandallCATV
systems
thatwantlo receive
the
off-FM-air
serviceand carryit on theircable
"CATV
systems
0na channel
as a
NewsChannel.''
Theservice
willlookjust
likeany
othercharactergenerated
newsfeedto CATVcustomers,
but
instead
of beinglinkedlo a national
or regional
newscentersuchas APor UPIvialandline,
the
CATV
company
willinstall
an SCAreceiver,
demodulate
thevideodataandinterface
il withhis
localgenerator
lor CATVchannel
service.
Switzer
explains
thattheservice
willbeavailablel0 anyonewho wantsto installhis own
receiving
equipment
and generator.
Approximately
every30thlinein thevideodatareceived
willbea commercial
message
(whichtheCATV
company
muslagreet0 leavein place,intact).
National
Canadian
companies,
suchastheRoyal
Bankof Canada,
canbeexpected
t0 sponsor
lhe
newsin segments
andtheywill begivena one
linecreditevery30thline(approximately).
Atthepresent
timeSwitzer
andhisassociates
areappearing
at Canadian
hearings
to win approval
for thefullcoast-to-coast
network
ol l2
FMstations.
0ncethatapproval
is granted,
construction
of the networkwill beoin.
IOWN.
withs0much
vigorandcourage;
bothpolitically
Athirdoperator
contacted
points
byCATJ
out
andtechnically.
" People
seem
ready
to paythelocalbankfaster
Yourstruggle
lor CATV,
fighting
sulfocating thanthey
wouldsendoffa checkormoney
order
lawsandrulesbytheFCC,
is topped
byyour
0n
"Undoing
their
own,
t0a distant
townor evena oost
November
issue
editorial
AWrong".
I
olficeboxin town.Webelieve
thelocalbank
havesentXerox
copies
ofseveral
ofyourCATA- collection
pointis verygoodpsychologically
lor
torials
to0urMinistry
ofCommunications,
which
thisveryreason."
isactually
engaged
inruling
lheBrasilian
CATV
CANADIAN
NEWS
SERVICE
industry.
Ourindustry
hereis ontheverge
oJ
beinglegalized
andyourCATA-torials
maywell
plansandapplications
ll thepresent
helpourlegislators
now
whowanlto avoid
worn-out
J E R R YC O N N
pending
pathways.
before
theCanadian
authorities
bear
. Represenltltg
pioneer
{ruit,cable
Sruki
I understand
Switzer
andassociates
theCATJ
isedited
bypeople
who
i0s iftrner-o
willbeconstructing
a national
network
actually
ownandoperate
of
1
2
Flvl
CATV
systems.
The
. Reprqdntfrig
"
C
"
Prqerrttlg
, I,
C l a s s ( i . ec. l e a r c h a nFnMes)lt a t i o n s w h i c h
technical
articles
arewritten
in a colorlul
lan"allnews,
LRCGLgcTRdfutcs
guage
a l lo f t h et i m e . "T h e1 2
andtheyaretherightbalance
belween w i l lb e
ALUMINU.MA1\lO"rstalions
willserve
practical
virtually
allof theCanadian
andscientific
approaches.
Please
exCONNECTORS
areas
fromVancouver
tendmyappreciation
to the Maritime
to yourtechnical
editors. border
Thestations
willprovide
lfanyofyourstaflshould
a uniquely
beavailable
inDallas provinces.
CALL (7171263-82580R (7171264.5884
news
service
forFMlisteners,
atthisyear's
andthe
convention,
I should
enjoy
meeting Canadian
proving
stati0ns
will
grounds
be
the
w i t ht h e m .
toracompre550 CLEVELANDAVE.
trialof a national
all-news
network
of
Augustin
L.Woelz hensive
CHAMBERSBURG,
PA. 17201
Senior
Member,
IEEE
Fabrica
Nacional
deSemiconductores
SaoJoseDosCampos.
Brasil
AugustinYourc0mmenls
areappreciated
ofcourse.
We
alsonotewithgreatinlolssly0urbrochure
ex.
plaining
yourCATV
equipment
linemanufactured
your
byyourcompanyfor
SoulhAmerican
CATV.
technology
appears
veryadvanced,
and we
W r i t eo r c a l lt o - d a yf o r y o u rc o p yo f B R O A D B A N DN
SE W1 9 7 6
wouldliketo knowmore.Wecerlainly
do not
high
reliability
replacement
components
catalog.
All manufactuhavea corner
0n smarts
in theUnited
States:
quitethoc0nlrary,
our near-neighb0rs
rerslisted.
t0 tho
(Canada)
North
havebeenshowing
us ,,how"
lor morethana decade
in thoCATV
industry!
PARTS
PROBLEMS
?!!
BANKS
ASCOLLECTION
POINTS
Manysmaller
CATVsystems,
operating
in
communities
withouta full-timeCATV
ofJice(we
know-that's
against
therules!)
have
found
that
thelocalbank(even
thesmallest
communities
seemto havea bank)makeexcellent
CATV
payment
points.
collection
0neoperator
t0ldusrecently
hehasa bankin
each
ofhistowns
where
thecustomers
cancome
in andpaytheircablebiil.Signsin thebank
announce
thisfact,andtheCATV
company
maintainsa depository
account
inthebankto receive
thefunds.
Thebank
charges
a ltat$20.00
or1%
APRIL 1976
*
*
*
*
A L L R . F .C O M P O N E N Tl O
S O %R . F .T E S T E D
TRANSISTORS,
DIODES,HYBRIDS,CAPACITORS,
I.C.S
IMMEDIATE
DELIVERY
T O L L F R E EN U M B E R
ROADBAI{D
535 E. IndiantownRoad
Jupiter,Fla.33458
AIC 305-747-5000
61
thewrecking
company
canpulldownandr0ll
clamps
t0usethestulf.lf youwantto
attachment
up),mileattermileof #12highstrength
money
in ruralareas,
steel
savesome
thisisoneway
Throughoutthe
United
States,
theBellsystem wire(notjacketed),
poles.
andof course
to do it!
(andmostindependents)
areengaged
in a naCATJ
discovered
onewrecking
()NYOUR
outfitin the
REPEATERS
T()WER
tionalprogram
of abandoning
existing
overland 0kahoma
Cityareathatwasworkingona 28mile
'tollcircuit
systems.'
Back
inthe20's,30'sand
Thereare probably
several
wreck-out.
hundred
Thecompany
hadsalvaged
CATV
around
intothe50's,thetelco's
even
towers
ollenconstructed 900poles,
being
co-shared
by
two-way
over
radio
trans800
miles
of
the
wire,
#12
and
'tollcircuits'
between
a regional
mitting
center
suchas
antennas.
Most
01these
literally
tunction
t0nsot hardware.
without
Wefoundtheywere
Louisville
andoutlying
regions
where
telcosub
totheCATV
(i.e.910.00 interJerence
system
selling
thepoles
andthepractice
for40cents
a Joot
offices
orindependent
telc0olfices
werelocated. for25f00tpoles,
isspreading.
pressure
Having
a 300-600
Joot
stickinthe
trealed
andin very
Manyof these'tollcircuits'wereconstructed g00dshape),
middleoftheflat-lands
givingawayorsellingby
is its ownformo{attracbutlargely
jusl
alongrailroad
rightsofway,although
some
thepound
lhehardware.
CATJ
alerted
0klahoma t i o n .
headoutoverthecountryside.
MostCATV
companies
areleery
olallowing
CATV
operators
the
tothissupply
source
anddozens
At the present
time,the independenl
lirsttwo-way
telesystem
ontotheirtoweror headend
have
since
descended
upon
thiscompany
tohaul
phone
companies,
andinparticular
thelederally- awaypick-up
sile;as 0neoperator
in Missouri
loads
commented
oJhardware
tora fewcents
"wideopenCATV
(through
funded
lowinterest
loans)
indesmall
frontendsand25
0nthedollar.
Thepoles
didnotlastlongeither. resCntly
pendent
cooperatives,
haveembarked
powersimplydo
ona nawattst0250wattsoftransmitter
How
doyoufindsuch
a wrecking
outfit
inyour
program
lional
0lreplacing
these
tollcircuit
links
notmix."
area?
witheithermicrowave
or newerunderground
guidelines
Here
aresome
Jorwhattowatch
G0tothelocal
(i.e.Bell)
out
telephone
company
"District
landline
circuits.
Therefore
thetelephone
forwhenthelocaltwo-way
comradiopeople
invade
and
speak
with
the
Construction
Fore'wrecking
panies,
largely
yourofficeclamoring
Bellinmost
areas,
are
Jorlowerrentalspace:
man."Thisis thefellow
whois in charge
ol
out'thetollcircuits.
(1) Responsibility-Some
Hereis howlhatworks:
ofthe'pros'in the
letting
contracts
to'wrecking
companies'
andhe
(1) Bell(orthe
mastercompanyinthearea)
lets
youwitha listof(1) thelobsgoingon
2-waybusiness
havedeveloped
verypolcanprovide
a contract
witha 'wreck-out'
company; atthistime,(2)theiobscoming
ishedapproaches
to CATV
companies,
in
up,and(3)the
people
wherein
lhewreck-out
arepaidso
(0rc0mpanies)
which
theypromise
thattheirtransmitte(s)
c0mpany
wh0have
contracted
for
muchforthejobof dismantling
thetoll
willnotinterfere
withyourCATV
thiswork.Thengoseethese
reception.
companies
about
circuit,
andremoving
all hardware,
wire
Thatis allwellandgood,
buyingthis hardware
butwesuggest
andpoleset al as the
(ottenopenwire)andpoles.
youdrawup withthe
thattheagreement
oklahoma
ooerators
havesincedone.
(2) Bell(0rtheowner)
getsthecopper
usually
2-way
operator
include
0newordabout
the#12highstrength
a provision
suchas
steel
coaled
wireback,asparlolthedeal,butit
follows:
Wehaveseendozens
wire.
ol
miles
oJ
cable
allows
thewrecking
plants
company
to keep"as
(a)Whereas
(that's
builtinruralarea,
legal
using
oneotthesmall
talk),ABC2-way
salvage"
the balance.
promises
l a s h i nwg i r em a c h i n emsa d el o r t h i ss i z e
company
thattheequipment
tobe
"strand,"
Thebalance
includes
miles
ofstrand,
boxes
of
installed
willnotin anywaydegrade
to lash.412and.500cables
to the
the
2 and3 boltgalvanized
clamps,
eyebolts,
(CATV
steel
wire.Thesteelnon-stranded
Company)
receiving
wiredoesnot
apparatus
or
'strand'
straight
bolts,
thimble
eyebolts
andonandon.
pictures
thecable
swayin thebreeze
likethestranded
delivered
tosubscribers,
Andit includes
shortpieces
oJ6Mor7Mstrand
does,andforthscostit canbeb0ught
ABC2-wayherein
lor,it is
agrees
thatwhenthe
(usually
upto500feetata whack,
oraslarge
as
worththeextragriefol having
inslallation
to reworkpole
agreed
tohereiscompleted
that
L()WC()STPOLESUPPLIES
Model \ISM-Sftom Jenold/Texscqn:
Io
NEWSPECTRUM
AMTYZER
4 to 350MHzmeosurementswith o lqly_porlobleunil.
Model VSM-s
con oe
powel€o
from ils own
rechorgeoble
botlery fom
'12V dc truck
source,01
from{,15-230
V oc sourca.
Now
in
Stock
tr SIGNATLEVEIS
Are power line surgesyour problem? Do
thunder storms shut you down? Then
p r e v e n te q u i p m e n td a m a g ew i t h C - C O R ' S
S U R G EP R O T E C T I O NM O D U L E Si n s t a l l e d
i n y o u r a m p l i fi e r s t a t i o n s U
. n i v e r s aal p p l i c a tion and economicalprotection for any make.
Write for specs,applicationsinformation and prices.
! HUMMODUTATION
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! CO-CHANNEI
! CARRIER.TO-NOISE
Uselhe porloble VSM-S
to comply
with F@ Regulotions,
Porl76.
Conrocryourmonrom
Jenold for complele
speciticolions in new CAIV
r
r
resf
equipmenf
coforos.EllI
I
JERROTD
o GENERAL
INSTRUMENT
compony
JERRO1D
ETECTRONTCS/CAW
DM
SYSTEMS
200 Wilmer Rood, Horshom,Pa. 49044
62
C-COR Elehmalhc.
6 0 D e c i b e lR o a d , S t a t e C o l l e g e ,P e n n s y l v a n i a1 6 8 O 1
Tefephone: 81 4-234-261
CATJ FOR
a0neweek
trial(test)
period
willcommence
duringwhich(CATV
Company)
wiil have
theopportunity
t0inspect
thequality
0fthe
CATVpictures
duringperiods
whenlhe
ABC
2-Waytransmitter(s)
isoperating;
and
il, in theopinion
of (CATV
Company)
the
operation
oftheABC2-Way
transmitters
is
(CATV
degrading
Company)
service
inany
way,finalfulloperation
of theABC2-Wav
transmilters
shallbepostponed
untilsuch
timeas(CATV
Company)
hasapproved
the
mutual
operation
of thetwo-way
transmit_
ters,and
thecablesystem.
In otherwords,makethetwo-way
operalor
totally
responsible
forthepictures
youdeliver
to
yourcustomers
vis-a-vis
histwo-wav
antennas
andequipment.
Hisantennas
cancreale
reflections;
histransmittercancause
herringbone
beats
intooneor
more
olyourchannels;
histransmitter
canoverload(i.e.crossmodulate)
oneor moreol your
towermounted
pre-amplifiers.
A 250watt40
MHztransmitter
cancreate
havoc
withthei.J.
amplifiers
in yourheterodyne
processors.
A 25
watt461MHztransmitter
cancause
vour30dB
gainUHFpre-amplifier
tofoldupandquit.RnO
onandon.Thetechnical
possibilities
forinterfer
ence
areliterally
inthehundreds;
andno-one
can
foresee
allofthesein advance.
Soto besafe,
make
thetwo-way
operator
totally
responsible
for
anyalfectshe causes.
Hemayhave
tobuyyoua newpre-amp
ortwo.
Hemayhavetomovehisantennas
toanolherDart
ofyourtower.Hemayhaveto getoff yourtower
completely.
youarein theTV
Justremember,
picture
business
andanything
thatdetracts
lrom
thequality
of yourservice
maycoslyoucustomers.
(2) Tricky
Leases-Tower
space,
withspace
in yourheadend
lorthetwo-way
gear,is worth
whatyoucangetJorit. Normally,
if thetransmitteris 25wattsor lessandsolidstate,vouare
pretty
safeinassuming
thathewillnotuiemore
thanfiveto tendollars
a monthin electricitv.
Beyond
25watts,better
to have
lheoower
companyinstall
a separate
meter
headona seDarale
ACpowerlinefor hisspecilic
service.
li thev
can'torwon'truna newlineintoyourneadend,
'AC'service
puta separate
simply
in0noneleo0J
yourpresent
ACservice
andinstall(atthet'wowayoperator's
expense)
a separate
meter
head
on il. Takeyourownreadings
andbill him
accord
ingly.
"leases"
plusheadend
Tower
space
generallyrunforoneormore
years;
lhetwo-way
operatorlikeslongleases,
youshould
make
it annual
so youhavetherightto givehimthe bootif
conditions
change.
Prices
runfrom$50.00
oer
month
toseveral
permonth
hundred
depending
yoursileis,howhighhegoes,
onhowgood
and
s 00 n .
Backin theolddaysol two-way
it tookone
pertransmitler
antenna
toreachtwo-way
sys"diplexing
tem.Nowit ispossible
through
couplers"lo slackseveral
(even
upto six)two-way
transmitlers
ona single
transmit/receive
antenna.oftenthetwo-way
operator
wantsyouto
charge
himperantenna.
Let'ssayyoucharge
him$100.00
permonth
forhanging
a 6 dBgain
20footlong460MHzantenna
at the300foot
levelonyourtower.Hegoesupto theantenna
witha 1-5l8inchtransmission
line.Down
atthe
bottom
by usinga diplexer
or two,he stacks
several
ofhisowncustomers
onthesam8
anlenna.Hebillseachol themmaybe
per
$100.00
A P R I L1 9 7 6
month,
andlor his $100.00
rentlo vouhe
perhaps
collecls
$600.00
a month.
Thetower
space
heusesstays
thesame,
oneantenna;
but
theheadend
goesupbecause
space
heis stack'cuslomers'
ingnew
of hisownon hissinole
antenna.
youwantyourcontract
0bviously
with
himt0 rellect
notonlytowerspace
pluselectricity,buttwo-way
transmitters
also.onesolulion
t0thisisto billhima Jlatrateperantenna
olus
50%ofthatrateloreverytransmitter
beyonci
the
lirstone.
(3) 0n Going
Responsibility-Two-way
radio
geargetschanged
outveryolten.Thefirsttransmitter
heinstalls
maybeasclean
asawhistle
and
y0uapprove
theinstallation
youseeno
because
interlerence.
Then
down
theroadheaddsa new
transmitter
orlwo,or replaces
theoriginal
one
youhave
andsuddenly
herringbone
lines
allover
c h a n n1
e9
l .
Thetwo-way
operator
maytryloconvince
you
I
t t t l
o
.
.
.
.
.
.
thatsomething
hashappened
to yourchannel
1g
(0r whatever)
equipment
and the problemis
yoursto fix. Couldbe...or maybehedid it by
changing
outor addingsomething
of his own.
Thesolution
to thisis backat theinitialcontract; it shouldsimplystatethat anytimeany
interference
develops,
afterthe initialtest and
period,thatyou havethe rightto deapproval
mandtheproblem
befixedandto shutdownallof
hisequipment
untilhedoesfix it. Thatshould
keephim straight.
(4) Headend
Access-Thetwo-waycompany
probablyhas severalservicepeople,and from
time to time whenthey havean emergency,
anyoneof thesepeoplemay showup at your
headend
to lix theirgear.ll youallowthemin
yourheadend
t0 beginwith,fortheirequipment,
you are alsoopeningup the possibility
that
someone
notc0nnected
withyourcablecompany
will bein andoutol yourheadend
at all sofisoj
odd hours.
J o
: I (ll'^'/
tfl
qfl
[.
a
I
I
a
F
t l
Weatheralert.The new weather radio that sounds an
alarm when the weather'sgoing to be alarming.
. lmmediateweatherwarningsfor sportsmen,farmers,
boat-owners,
home-owners,anyone.
. Soundswarningsiren-triggered by U.S. Weather
servrcecode slgnal-when emergency
c o n o r t t o n st h r e a t e n .
. Siren followedby specialbroadcaston the dangerand
survrvalInstructtons
Under normal conditions,pic-ksu.pweatherstation's 24-hour report_
v o l u m en e e d n o t b e a u d i b i ef o r s i r e nt o s o u n d .
Developedin support of the weather
service'snew reportingand
ModelTA-3F
w a r n t n gs y s t e m .
AC-powered-built-inbattery
a u t o m a t i c a l l tya k e so v e r s h 6 u l d
e l e c t r i c i t yf a i l .
4 0 - 5 0 m i l e p i c k - u pr a n g e
Solid-state.Crystal-control
led.
OnlYl"X5X'LVa".
Parts and labor warrantv.
. As a distributorfor Weatheralert,
yousellthe
unitstc yourcustomers
at a markup,and getthem
as an extra.outlet
customerat the sametime.
olert $49.9b
Ordersampletodayto test receptionyour area:
Weatheralert,Dept.C/ 637 S. Dearborn/Chicigo,lllinois60605
c.,1975by Weatheralert", Chicago,illinois 60605'
63
ASSOC
IATE
MEMBER
ROSTER
caba
Inc., 1963FirstAve. S., Seattle,WA. 98134(01)
Anirtor-Pruzan,
, A .9 5 0 5 1( [ 1 8 )
s v e n u eS, a n t aC l a r aC
A v a n l e kI,n c . ,3 1 7 5B o w e r A
lN. 47374(M3)
Dlvlsi0n,Box1327, Richmond,
Eold8nCorp.,El0clronic
parls)
lNC.,850 old DixieHighwayLakePark,FL. 33403(09, foglacomont
ENGINEERING,
BRoADBAND
B u r n u p& S i m s ,B o x2 4 3 1 ,W . P a l mB e a c hF, t . 3 3 4 0 1 ( S 2 ,S 7 , S B )
o ,A . 9 4 0 8 0( S 8 , 0 q u i p m ornot p a h )
C a b l eD y n a m i cI sn c . , 5 0 1F o r b e sB l v d . ,S o . S a nF r a n c i s c C
AZ. 85008(S6)
CABLEllEWS,2828N. 36th Street,Phoenix,
NJ.07729(M3, il5, M7)
Products,
HallsMill Road,Freehold,
CerroCommunication
P,. 0 . B o x2 4 0 6 ,H i c k o r yN, C .2 8 6 0 1( i l 3 )
CE
0MPANY
C0MM/SCOP
( M 8 ,M g , S 8 , S 9 )
C o m S o n i cl nsc, . ,P . 0 . B o x1 1 0 6 ,H a r r i s o n b uVr a
g ., 2 2 8 0 1
( i 1 1 ,M 4 , M 5 , M 6 , M 7 , D 3 )
C o R A Ll ,N C . , 4 0 0N i n t hS t r e e tH, o b o k e n
N,. J . 0 7 0 3 0
DELTABENCoCASCADE
lNC.,40 CometAve., Eulfalo,N.Y. 14216(i,|4, ltl7, it8, 03, S8)
J o r r yC o n n& A s s o c i a t o s , 5 5
C0l e v e l a nAdv e . ,C h a m b e r s b uPr gA,. 1 7 2 0 1( 0 3 , 0 5 , 0 6 , D 7 )
C - C o RE L E C T R o N I C
I nSc,. , 6 0 D e c i b eRl d . ,S t a t eC o l l e g eP,A . 1 6 8 0 1( M 1 , M 4 , M 5 , S 1 , S 2 , a n d S 8 )
D A V C oI,n c . , P . 0 . B o x8 6 1 , 8 a t e s v i l lA
eR
, . 7 2 5 0 1( 0 1 , S 1 , 3 2 , 5 8 )
DEVINES
Trailers& Accessories,
Grantville,
PA. 17028(M9, cablotrailors)
E N T R o NI n, c . , 7 0 - 3 18 4 t hS t r e e tG
, lendale
N,Y . 1 1 2 2 7( t i l 4 ,i l s , 0 4 , 0 5 , S 8 )
SC
, . ,3 1 7 C o xS t . , R o s e l l eN, J . 0 7 2 0 3( t t l s )
G A M C oI N D U S T R I El N
Eloctronlca
JEBBoLD
Corp.,200WitmerRoad,Horsham.
PA.19044(M1, il2, ltl4, ltl5, M6, M7, 03, 08, S1, 52, S3,
s8)
Kay Elemetrics
Corp.,12 MapleAvenue,PineBrook,NJ. 07058(il8)
lllicrowavs
Flll0rCo.,6743KinneSt., 8ox 103, E. Syracuse,
NY. 13057(115,bandpass
lllt6rs)
tllD STATEConmunlc.llonr,
Inc., P.0. Box203, BeechGrove,lN. 46107(ltg)
Pro-Com
Electronics,
P.0. Box427, Poughkeepsie,
NY. 12601(ltl5)
0-Bit Corporation,
P. 0. Box2208, Melbourne,
Florida32901(M4)
gox
227, NewEerlin,PA., 17855(119,tools& oquipm0nt]
Co.,
0E t[anufacfurlng
RilS CATVDlvlslon,50 AntinPlace,Bronx,NY. 10462(tlls, IllT)
S a d e l c oI n, c . , 2 9 9P a r kA v e n u eW
, e e h a w k eN
n ., J . 0 7 0 8 7( M 8 )
SITCoAntennas,
P.0. Box20456,Portland,
0regon97220it02,03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 09, M2, il4, il5, il6, ilg)
Wireand Cable,Inc., P.0. Box21007,Phoenix,
Systems
Az. 85036(il3)
TEXSCAT{
Ave., Indianap0lis.
|N.46219 (i18, bandpass
Corp.,2446N. Shadeland
liltors)
P.0. Box9728, Phoenix,
Thola-Com,
AZ. 85068(i11, lll4, tls, trl7, Irl8, 51, S2, S3, S8, Ailt Miclowav0)
TllllESWIRE& CABLEC0., 358 HallAvenue,Wallingford,
CT. 06492(il3)
Tocom,lnc., P.0. Box47066,Dallas,Texas75247$1,1[4, 1[5, Conyo.tsrs)
TollEBCableEqulpmonl,
Inc., 4'18Caredean
Drive,Horsham,
PA. 19044(02, 03, 04, 05, 06, D7)
laddsroquipmsnt]
Van Ladder,Inc., P.0. Box709, Spencer,lowa51301(l[9, automatod
W A V E I EI n( d i a n . , 6 6N . F i r s tA v e . ,B e e c hG r o v el,N . 4 6 1 0 7( M 8 )
Ssrvice,8ox 347, San Angelo,Texas76901 (i12, Towors)
WesternCommunication
lloTE: Alsoclatoslirtsd in boldfacoaro ChartsfMombors.
TRACKING
ANALYZER
(2446
Texscan
Corporalion
N.Shadeland
Aven u e I, n d i a n a p ollni sd,i a n4a6 2 1 9h) a sa n nounced
a newmodel
9650RFTracking
Sweep
Analyzer.
Thetrequency
rangeoftheinstrumenl
is 1 to 350MHz.
generincludes
Thepackage
atracking
sweep
scope,
reflecator,spectrum
analyzer,
display
gainandlossmeasuring
detector,
tionbridge,
test comparator
andcrystallreattenuators,
quency
markers.
Thesweep
widthisadjustable
Jrom10kHzto
thedisplay
350MHz,plustheCWposition;
is + /- 0.25dBover
thelullsoectrum
tlatness
o t + / - 0 . 1d Bo v e a
r n y1 0 M H zs e g m e n t ;
ratesarelinesync,andvariable
sweep
.05to 5
Hzand
5 Hzto30
Hz,manual
0rexternal
control;
andharmonic
distortion
isdown
spurious
30dB;
response
is + /- 1 dBovera disperlrequency
is20,
scaling
ot500Hzto350MHz;display
sion
64
is -110 dBm,or
40or80dB(log);sensitivity
for 200kHzresolution
andthe
0.7microvolt
is80dB.Thepriceis $6,600.00
range
display
APP()INTED
REPS
SALES
Inc.(Box444,ChamAssocialss,
JerryConn
sales
Pa.17201)
hasbeenappointed
bersburg,
prodProducts
Corporation
repslortheREPC0
enclosures,
and
uctsthat includeoedestals,
olDelaware,
Maryland,
lorthestates
accessories
Virginia
andWestVirginia.
0hio,Pennsylvania,
Inc. (535EastInEngineering,
Broadband
Road,
Jupiter,Fla.33458)hasandiantown
repretheappointment
0Ja pairolsales
nounced
lnc. ot EngleMEGA
HERTZ
SALES,
sentatives.
product
Colorado
willhandle
Broadband's
wood,
for CATV
lineol replacement
components
amplilowa,Kansas,
Nebraska
and
tiersin Colorado,
Wyoming.
Dislributors:
D 1 - F u l l C A T Ve q u i p m e n
l i tn e
D2-CATVantennas
D3-CATVcable
D4-CATVampliliers
D5-CATVpassives
D6-CATVhardware
D7-CATVconnectors
D8-CATVtest equipmenl
Manulaclurors:
M 1 - F u l l C A T Ve q u i p m e n
l i tn e
M2-CATVantennas
M3-CATV cable
M4-CATV ampliliers
M5-CATV passives
M6-CATV hardware
M7-CATV connectors
M8-CATV test equipment
SorvlcoFkms:
S1-CATV conlracting
S2-CATVconslruclion
53-CAw linancing
S4-CAW sottware
55-CATV billingservices
36-CATV publishing
S7-CATVdrop installation
S8-CATVengineering
D.B.CATV
SUPPLY,
lNG.of Hicksville,
New
Yorkwill handle
the samereoresentation
tor
Broadband
in Connecticut,
Maine,Massachusetls,NewJersey,
NewYork,Rhode
lsland
and
Vermont.
NEWCATALOG
CI)NCEPT
(CATV
WireandGable
ProdTimes
Company
Wallinglord,
Ct.
uctsGroup,
358HallAvenue,
hasannounced
theirnewlull-line
catalog
06492)
lor the asking.Thenewcatalog
is available
firstuseby an American
markstheapparent
manufacturer
oJbothAmerican
andMelric
CATV
lorcable
specificaandmeasurements
standards
studyin
tions.Thebookis a comprehensive
cablecharacterislics
including
all imporCATV
pertormance
parameters,
mechantantelectrical
versusfrequency
icalparameters,
attenualion
graphs
andmore.
CATJ FOR
A snop tc use.Feedswire dlrecf
wifhoulkinksorfongles.
Sovesllme. No reels,spools or
plpe rocks to drog bock ond
forth.
r
BULK RATE
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
OKLA. CITY, OK.
P E R M I TN O . 9 1 9
llow that uc
havc your
attentlonooo
2A<.
6
youthat
Letus remind
t3;l dolpltin products
a]C-still
available.
Madeunderlicense
by
GAM
C0,to exacting
C0 standards.
GAM
We'refriendly
to
all sealife!
EI I NE E
I N DU ST R I ES
I NC.
2 e 1c o x s r R E E r .R O S E L L E
N ,E WJ E R S E o
y i 2 o 3l 2 o 1 2
o L E Xi 3 8 . 0 0 b
) 4 1 . 7 s or E
h;1'1