Broadcast

Typical Applications

AM Radio, FM Radio and Television
Broadcast tower and supporting infrastructure product requirements
Broadcast antenna and waveguide product requirements
Antenna system installation and rigging services requirements
Site grounding for personnel safety, lightning protection, service reliability and improved signal propagation (notably AM Radio systems)

Risks and Opportunities

Loss of service and equipment and infrastructure damage resulting from lightning strikes
Loss of service and equipment and infrastructure damage due to accidental aircraft | tower collisions
Noise and electrical interference caused by improper grounding practices and systems - especially at sites shared by multiple vendors whose individual grounding systems may conflict with each other - resulting in degraded quality of service or costly service interruptions
Lost time and revenue from lack of project management or sourcing and integrating issues associated with broadcast related projects, whether deploying new installations or upgrading existing infrastructure
Explicit personnel safety and insurance cost associated with tower rigging work
Aircraft collisions with high broadcast towers due to inadequate or non-code compliant obstruction lighting
High tower operational costs due to expensive and obsolescent incandescent obstruction lighting

Potential Solutions

Sole source your broadcast tower equipment, installation, integration and project requirements from SAE Inc. and its broadcast related divisions: Gray Site Solutions (GSS) and Great Lakes Integration (GLI)
Replace existing incandescent tower obstruction lighting to comply with regulatory requirements and to improve operational cost effectiveness
Improve site electrical and lightning protection systems to comply with regulatory standards and best practices, and to reduce ambient electrical noise and risk of lightning damage that cause outages and degraded service
Improve performance of grounding system with effective, long-life electrodes that dissipate the high levels of lightning energy without damaging broadcast equipment or infrastructure
Improve the electrical protection system to reduce disruptive ambient electrical noise and surges
Review and audit site surge protection to ensure site equipment is adequately protected against electrical spikes and power line surges that can degrade or disrupt service

Next Steps

Installing a new site, or upgrading or expanding an existing broadcast site? Contact GLI to assist in defining or responding to your requirement, from material supply to installation and project integration and management services.

Suffering from unexplained technical problems or noise at one or more of your broadcast sites? Poor or incorrect grounding systems are often responsible, and SAE is happy to investigate, analyze and resolve potential grounding issues, especially in shared equipment environments.

Concerned about the loss of service and financial impact of a damaging lightning strike? Call or eMail SAE for a complete audit and analysis of your internal and external grounding system. Specific recommendations can be followed up with engineered grounding system designs and the installation of effective, robust and long-life grounding solutions.

Grounding & Electrical Protection
Lightning Protection
Engineering Services