Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/810267
Broadcasters Show Daily 3 7 Monday, April 24, 2017 cable and satellite networks protect their signals from the effects of weather on earth station dishes. For example, our products help protect 24/7 program sig- nals serving 95 million-plus TV homes in North America alone. That includes major uplinks and downlinks from top basic and pay cable networks, U.S. broadcast networks, a "who's who" of top global TV programmers, as well as DBS operators and top cable systems. BSD: Compare your products and tech- nology against the current market. RP: Walton's unique Hot-Air De-Ice design with a Plenum mounts behind antennas from 3.7 to 32 meters, provid- ing the most economical, reliable sys- tems on the market. Uniform surface heating minimizes distortion losses, unlike electric pad or heat tape anti-ice systems. Electric, natural gas or liquid propane heater options are available to best fit a broadcast facility's energy needs. For smaller antennas, from 0.6 to 6.3 meters, we offer other unique prod- ucts that protect dishes from snow, ice and rain. Our Snow Shield antenna cover sheds snow to prevent ice buildup using an architectural fabric that is virtually 'invisible' to RF signals. A station can use it as a passive snow shield cover, or combine it with a gas or electric heater that seals in hot air for maximum per- formance as only Walton De-Ice can. The unique and patented Ice Quake invention is a system that enhances the reliability of a passive snow shield cover by shaking off snow before ice forms, and optionally melting ice. With our Ice Quake system, TV stations and cable TV W.B. Walton Enterprises (Cont'd. from p. 1) satellite downlink head ends achieve up to 100-fold energy savings compared to using conventional anti-ice solutions. Head ends can achieve up to 20 times less data loss using Walton products for some kinds of services. These kinds of benefits help explain why America's largest cable system operator, Comcast, has added scores of Snow Shield covers in the past 24 months, both passive, heat- ed using electric or gas forced air, and Ice Quake systems to protect its antennas across the continental United States. BSD: What's in store for NAB? RP: At NAB, we will be emphasizing our latest products, like Walton's next- evolution of CE-certified dual hot sur- face igniter gas heating units. These have proven to be extremely reliable since their introduction three years ago, and our broadcast customers have been enjoying great success with these upgrades to their Walton De-Ice Plenum, Snow Shield and Ice Quake systems. In the past few years, TV networks have upgraded their de-icing systems across North America with over 190 of our next- gen heating units. NBC Universal, Starz and many other leading satellite operator and teleport facilities are among the numerous broadcast and cable operators who have upgraded their Walton De-Ice systems recently by swapping in our new dual surface igniter heaters to replace older pilot igniter models. For more information, contact W. B. Walton Enterprises, Inc. at 4185 North Hallmark Parkway, San Bernardino, CA. 92407, call 951.683.0930, fax 951.684.5019, go to www.de-ice.com, email sales@de-ice.com or stop by booth #OE907. the RF spectrum from LF to X-Band and beyond. We provide transmitters, power supplies and amplifiers as well as support services for broadcasting and many other RF applications. BSD: What markets do you serve? MR: At the NAB show, we plan to meet with broadcasters from AM and FM radio, TV and shortwave radio markets. We have been serving the broadcast markets since 1946. However, most broadcasters proba- bly don't realize that we also have many customers in many other areas that require our high power RF solutions. You can find our equipment in NASA's Deep Space Network, where our transmitters are used to support communication for missions and research in space. We are also relied upon by Navy forces around the globe for communication with submarines. Our high power amplifiers are used in fusion research in multiple parts of the world for generating plasma to start that process. Scientific labs use our amplifiers and power supplies for producing isotopes for medical diagnostics and also the treatment of cancer. Our amplifiers and power sup- plies are at the forefront of trials for alter- native techniques for recovering uncon- ventional natural resources. Our high power RF solutions are used for astronomy as well as line of sight and over the horizon radar systems. We're proud of the markets we serve and the expertise we provide to all our customers. Our customer base is very broad and this provides stability for our company for the long term. As specif- ic markets rise and fall, our diversity Continental Electronics (Cont'd. from p. 1) allows us to continue to support all our customers at a high level. I think many broadcasters can appreciate the importance of this. Continental has customers operat- ing transmitters that are more than 35 years old and we still provide technical support and parts for these transmitters. BSD: What products are you focused on at this year's NAB? MR: For NAB 2017, we're focused on the CTX Series transmitter for UHF TV broadcasting. As broadcasters begin to transition for the repack, the CTX Series is positioned really well and offers the latest in UHF broadband technology. The transmitters use GaN (Gallium Nitride) transistors that are a leap forward in tech- nology for this market and have great benefits over older LDMOS systems. The CTX Series transmitters achieve operating efficiencies up to 50 percent across the UHF band. The high efficien- cy and longer operating life of the GaN devices save on operating costs. In addi- tion, these transmitters contain many fea- tures beneficial to broadcasters and com- monly found in today's transmitters. The amplifiers utilize a broadband Doherty design which adds to the efficiency. Hot- swappable power amplifiers and power supplies are used for ease of mainte- nance. An N+1 pump solution is offered in the liquid cooled models and commu- nication to the transmitter is via external PC or a local touchscreen. For more information, visit www .contelec.com, call 214.381.7161, email mrosso@contelec.com or stop by booth #N7520. We work with any operator, integrator or newcomer serving these locations, from the largest cable MSO, telco, satellite provider, to the new companies focused on streaming media. The solutions we create cover this full gamut; we don't just focus on any one single market, or single technology. Blonder Tongue has been a pioneer in the video and data delivery industry since its start in 1950, and has been running its R&D and manufacturing operations in the same Old Bridge, New Jersey facility since 1970. In 2012, Blonder Tongue acquired R.L. Drake Holdings, our largest competitor, and it continues to be Ohio- based as it has since 1943. In 2015, we expanded by establishing an engineering branch based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. All told, we have over 140 years of experience and combined knowledge to back up our manufacturing excellence in this industry. R.L. Drake is exhibiting with us for its first time this year in booth #SU7521. R.L. Drake will run live demos of its newest public, education and government targeted PEG encoder, the PEG Plus, as well as the ND-24-IP decoder, and will show the multiplexing QAM modulator MEQ1000B with SDI and IP input mod- ules. Blonder Tongue is demonstrating the new Studio LiveLAN™ integrated in-house IP streaming server, the option- filled FlexCoder transcoder and profes- sional HDE-4S-PRO encoder with low- latency for live broadcast. BSD: How do you adapt your products or services to your customers' needs? JS: Our specialty is taking the best tech- nology in the industry and tailoring it to create concentrated, cost-effective and high-quality solutions that are cus- Blonder Tongue (Cont'd. from p. 1) tomized to fit our customers' business application needs. Our products are developed by our engineers and manu- factured on-site, so the design, support and future enhancements are all under our control. BSD: What was the most significant event or series of events affecting your company over the past year? JS: The ever-changing advancement of technology. It is not about whether or not we can keep up with the tech- nology, because we can. It is that cus- tomers are becoming more confused about how to move forward in their decision-making process. Should they go with HD, 4K or wait for 8K, and what is beyond that? Is everyone watching content via the internet, or will there still be traditional forms of video distribution? We have grown accustomed to this indecision ever since the digital transition in 2009, and have found that by simply asking where the content is coming from, it has helped guide our customers to make the right decision. BSD: To what do you attribute your com- pany's success? JS: Since we design and manufacture in the same building, we are able to keep up with the changes and react quickly to our customers' needs. We have always deliv- ered reliable products that last the test of time at a very competitive price-to-per- formance ratio. We include feature sets that other companies consider options or upgrades in our basic product. For more information, visit booth #SU7521 or go to www.blondertongue.com or www.rldrake.com. technology. The range of units are perfect for use in small markets, environments such as military and emergency field operations and even emergency back-up for larger stations. BSD: Is there a real difference in manu- facturing your transmitters in the USA? LL: Absolutely. Because we control every aspect of the supply chain – from sourcing electrical components to sheet metal fabrication – it enables us to pro- duce the highest quality products at a very compelling price point, and we know exactly when we can deliver. BSD: What are some features that distin- guish PTEK from the next transmitter manufacturer? LL: PTEK's equipment has been re-engi- neering over the last couple of years to increase frequency stability, front panel PTEK (Cont'd. from p. 1) frequency access, over-temperature pro- tection, front load power supply (PS Series) and are highly efficient. Additionally, PTEK transmitters aren't just black boxes; our products not only deliver solid performance, they also have a very distinctive design. BSD: Speaking of performance, what can your customers expect in the way of support after purchase? LL: That's another competitive advan- tage for PTEK – our engineers are right here in the USA and have been real- world broadcast techs, so they know how important it is to keep our cus- tomers on the air. That is apparent in the speed and expertise of our customer service support. It's not just a job to them – they love the radio industry, and it shows! For more information, go to www.ptekpower.com, call 888.889.2958 or stop by booth #N7216.