THE BIRO TECHNICAL BULLETINS
JUNE 2000

NOVEL, COMPUTER-BASED TV RECEPTION AND RF INTERFERENCE STUDIES ARE JUST A CLICK AWAY

Computer based TV reception and RF interference studies are prerequisites to conducting productive on-site signal surveys, assisting the head-end engineer in the reduction of co-channel and adjacent channel interfer-ence, or eliminating the adjacent channel interference generated by the steadily growing number of Digital TV transmitters. There was a time when the CATV engineer's only weapon was studying aeronautical maps, the VHF and UHF transmitters marked on the map, determining the distances and directions of the transmit-ters with a measuring scale and protractor. It was a time consuming job and its accuracy a function of the engineer's interest in the project.
It's time to move into the 21-st century with computer-based, fast and comprehensive data search programs, the results (literally) just a click away.

A case-in-point is the computer-generated, computer-printed TV Reception Study, prepared for the Prince-ton, New Jersey antenna-site, turn to the next page, which presents essential technical and program parame-ters of all VHF and UHF stations within a 50 mile radius. Take note of the fifteen (15) Digital TV (DTV) stations in the New York-Philadelphia corridor, on-the-air, marked by X in the DTV column. The stations were listed in increasing distance order. By request, the listing can be changed to decreased field strength order, sorted by network affiliation, cities, states, call letters, or any other preferred format.
But the best of all, the calculation and printing time is measured in minutes (occasionally seconds), and the electronic transfer of the information is instant, just a click away.

The Computer Run's wealth of information includes:

*** COMPUTER AIDED TV RECEPTION STUDY ***

SITE: PRINCETON, N.J.
COORDINATES: 40/23/25 74/33/56
DIST
MILES
CHAN

 CALL

 LOCATION

 STATE

 NETWK
DTV
POWER
kW
OFST
HAAT
FT.
AZIMUTH
DEGS.
LEVEL
dBmV
POLAR.
9.77 52 WNJT TRENTON N.J. ED
1950.0
-
889.
220.6
19.3
H
16.28 58 WNJB NEW BRUNSWICK N.J. ED
1320.0
0
726.
11.4
12.9
H
36.50 2 WCBS NEW YORK N.Y. CBS
21.0
0
1578.
52.3
4.1
H
36.50 4 WNBC NEW YORK N.Y. NBC
18.0
0
1690.
52.3
2.5
H
36.50 5 WNYW NEW YORK N.Y. FOX
18.0
+
1688.
52.3
1.7
H
36.50 7 WABC NEW YORK N.Y. ABC
65.0
0
1611.
52.3
2.1
H
36.50 9 WWOR NEW YORK N.Y. UPN
47.9
+
1640.
52.3
0.5
C
36.50 11 WPIX NEW YORK N.Y. WBN
59.0
+
1663.
52.3
1.0
H
36.50 13 WNET NEW YORK-NEWARK N.Y. ED
60.0
-
1637.
52.3
0.8
C
36.50 28 WNBC NEW YORK* N.Y. NBC
X
178.0
0
1453.
52.3
-1.0
H
36.50 31 WPXN NEW YORK N.Y. PAX
2800.0
-
1560.
52.3
10.8
H
36.50 33 WPIX NEW YORK* N.Y. WBN
X
265.0
0
1493.
52.3
0.4
H
36.50 36 WNJU NEW YORK* N.Y. SP
X
200.0
0
1503.
52.3
-1.0
H
36.50 38 WWOR NEW YORK* N.Y. UPN
X
143.0
0
1493.
52.3
-2.6
H
36.50 47 WNJU NEW YORK N.Y. SP
4570.0
+
1505.
52.3
11.9
H
36.50 61 WNET NEW YORK-NEWARK* N.Y. ED
X
219.0
0
1470.
52.3
-2.1
H
37.93 50 WNJM MONTCLAIR N.J. ED
2094.0
+
803.
30.1
8.0
H
37.93 51 WNJM MONTCLAIR* N.J. ED
X
200.0
0
781.
30.1
-2.3
H
39.18 24 WNYE NEW YORK* N.Y. ED
X
200.0
0
1348.
50.7
-0.8
H
39.18 25 WNYE NEW YORK N.Y. ED
2432.0
0
1295.
50.7
10.0
H
39.18 40 WXTV NEW YORK-PAT.* N.Y. SP
X
300.0
0
1381.
50.7
-0.1
H
39.18 41 WXTV NEW YORK-PAT. N.Y. SP
2340.0
-
1381.
50.7
8.7
H
39.18 44 WNYW NEW YORK N.Y. FOX
X
246.0
0
1207.
50.7
-1.2
H
39.18 45 WABC NEW YORK N.Y. ABC
X
182.0
0
1303.
50.7
-2.6
H
39.18 56 WCBS NEW YORK* N.Y. CBS
X
349.0
0
1302.
50.7
-0.4
H
39.18 68 WHSE NEW YORK-N.BR. N.Y. IND
2630.0
0
1440.
50.7
7.7
E
42.24 42 WTXF PHILADELPHIA* PA. FOX
X
317.0
0
528.
237.4
-2.9
H
42.70 10 WCAU PHILADELPHIA PA. NBC
191.0
0
1160.
236.2
4.9
H
42.79 67 WCAU PHILADELPHIA* PA. NBC
X
759.0
0
1125.
236.0
1.6
H
42.82 63 WMBC NEWTON N.J. IND
2200.0
0
732.
358.0
6.4
H
42.87 26 KYW PHILADELPHIA* PA. CBS
X
786.0
0
1360.
236.3
4.2
H
42.88 3 KYW PHILADELPHIA PA. CBS
100.0
0
1000.
236.3
9.0
H
42.88 6 WPVI PHILADELPHIA PA. ABC
74.0
-
1094.
236.3
6.0
H
42.91 32 WPSG PHILADELPHIA* PA. UPN
X
107.0
0
974.
235.8
-4.9
H
42.91 57 WPSG PHILADELPHIA PA. UPN
5000.0
0
1158.
235.8
10.3
H
42.94 29 WTXF PHILADELPHIA PA. FOX
5000.0
0
1140.
236.0
12.0
H
42.94 35 WYBE PHILADELPHIA PA. ED
1918.0
-
931.
236.0
7.5
H
42.94 12 WHYY PHILADELPHIA PA. ED
309.0
0
960.
236.1
6.6
H
42.94 17 WPHL PHILADELPHIA PA. WBN
2340.0
-
1049.
236.1
9.7
H
42.99 48 WGTW PHILADELPHIA PA. IND
2340.0
0
1095.
236.3
7.5
H
42.99 27 WGTW PHILADELPHIA* PA. IND
X
45.0
0
1099.
236.4
-8.3
H
43.02 64 WPVI PHILADELPHIA* PA. ABC
X
1000.0
0
1280.
236.3
2.9
H
43.12 31 WPPX WILMINGTON* DE. PAX
X
250.0
0
1306.
237.1
-1.2
H
43.13 54 WPHL PHILADELPHIA* PA. WBN
X
200.0
0
1302.
237.1
-3.6
H
47.25 39 WLVT ALLENTOWN PA. ED
575.0
0
980.
285.2
1.1
H
47.48 46 WFMZ ALLENTOWN* PA. IND
X
50.0
0
961.
285.0
-10.0
H
47.48 62 WLVT ALLENTOWN* PA. ED
X
47.7
0
965.
285.0
-11.1
H
47.48 59 WBPH BETHLEHEM* PA. IND
X
40.0
0
932.
285.0
-11.7
H
47.51 65 WHSP VINELAND N.J. HSN
4095.0
-
920.
197.9
8.1
H
47.51 69 WFMZ ALLENTOWN PA. IND
1078.0
0
1026.
285.0
2.1
H
47.52 66 WHSP VINELAND* N.J. HSN
X
200.0
0
919.
198.0
-5.0
H

RECEPTION INFORMATION PRESENTED IN VISUAL FORMAT

The tremendous amount of tabulated data on the previous page may confuse even the most experienced en-gineer, distracting him/her from the essential technical information.

Computer science provided the aid in the form of the Signal Direction Sheet. The computer-generated, com-puter-printed Signal Direction Sheet displays all VHF stations for the Pawling, NY antenna site, in a 50 mile radius. A glance at the sheet shows that the majority of the VHF antenna-arrays have to be mounted on the south-leg of the tower; a warning for the engineer in charge of tower-design.

ALL VHF STATIONS WITHIN 75 MILES

The Signal Direction Sheet, presented on the center of the first page, developed for the Pawling, NY antenna site, displays all UHF stations within 75 miles. The number of UHF stations more than doubled those dis-played on the VHF Signal Direction Sheet above.

An interesting visual observation: not all Hartford, Bridgeport and Springfield UHF stations arrive from the same direction. To reach the same conclusion, it would have required a much longer scrutiny of the Computer Run's tabulated format.

 

For emergency co-channel interference engineering services:
Call: (609) 883-9866
E-mail: steven@biroengineering.com
Web site: www.biroengineering.com

Biro Engineering
P.O.BOX 2175
PRINCETON, N.J. 08543