Rohde & Schwarz has created what it describes as a world’s first in developing a new super-compact and lightweight portable emergency DAB+ transmitter for Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR) in Munich, Germany. This new transmitter design is a variant of the company’s R&S TMV9-4 DAB+ transmitter and ensures continuity of broadcast across BR’s DAB+ radio network.
Despite having one of the most stable and reliable DAB+ transmission networks, BR’s engineers saw a need for a reliable back-up transmitter in the rare emergency situations or where scheduled maintenance requires a transmitter to power down temporarily. Rohde & Schwarz’s adapted TMV9-4 DAB+ transmitter is incredibly compact (73 x 147 x 86cm) and weighs just 250 kg – but still provides impressive 3 kW output power.
BR is using the transmitter as an emergency transmitter during the extension of its DAB+ transmitter network as an important and reliable bridging option. The new transmitter is mounted in a specially designed mobile transmitter rack system with hand grips to ease lifting and wheels to assist moving to and from a vehicle. The Rohde & Schwarz unit easily fits within a small trailer pulled behind a car or small van, and can be taken to a transmitter site within minutes of an outage occurring.
Rohde & Schwarz engineers have developed a series of optimised hardware plug-in interfaces on the transmitter, which are designed to enable ultra-fast, on-site set up and commissioning. Despite its innovative design, the new transmitter utilises the same standard components that are found in the transmitters throughout BR’s DAB+ network so no extra spares inventory is required.
“Incidents where part of our DAB+ transmitter network goes offline are extremely rare, but still we felt that this back-up option would be valuable,” commented Roland Janik, head of special department – Infrastructure Transmission Sites at Bayerischer Rundfunk. “What they have created is unique in that a transmitter in this power class can be transported easily without a truck, and system setup is optimised for ultra-rapid bringing to air once it is on site.”
Manfred Reitmeier, vice-president transmitters and amplifier systems at Rohde & Schwarz, added: “Appreciating BR’s requirements, we demonstrated our ability to create customised solutions based on our standard transmitter system portfolio. With the implementation of this special customer requirement, we are also strengthening our market position with full compatibility between standard and customised solutions. “