CTE Transmitters Prove Themselves to Laet Exim
Romanian Clients Are Pleased With Ease of Operation and Reliability
By Marius Marin
Senior Engineer and Owner
Laet Exim
BUCHAREST, Romania — My company, Laet Exim, a broadcast systems integrator based in Romania, bought and installed for a client several CTE Digital Broadcast VL series air-cooled FM radio transmitters of 2.5 kW and 5 kW power. The VL series transmitters range from 2.5 kW up to 10 kW.
We recommended the VLs upon our technical and economic comparisons. The price that we paid was quite reasonable and the delivery time was two weeks from the order confirmation. The transmitters have been installed in five different sites, all of them some distance away from the capital city, Bucharest, in rural areas where the reliability of the electrical grid is questionable.
Easy Installation
Prior to the decision to choose CTE, we asked CTE for detailed literature about their equipment and the complete manuals for our prepurchase evaluation. We carefully analyzed the design of these transmitters, where the smart modularity concept was the most evident feature. To simplify maintenance operations, the RF amplifiers and the power supply unit are separated.
Installation and operation of the transmitters proved easy. The user guide was very helpful, something that can’t always be said and it actually included basic but detailed instructions for safe, fast and successful installation for both the 2.5 kW and 5 kW FM transmitters.
An attractive bonus for us, with no increase in the price, was the inclusion of a remote control and monitoring interface for IP networks (SNMP-compatible). This allows for the management of many operations using a simple Web browser.
CTE’s exciters for the VL series offer an AES/EBU digital input, remote control and capability for n+1 systems. In the design, a special effort was devoted to achieve friendly and fast routine maintenance, which is a much appreciated aspect to us. Frequency and other operational parameters can be set by a very intuitive menu that is controlled by four buttons and displayed by an LCD screen on the front panel.
To achieve power, RF stages of 1.3 kW nominal power are used. Each of them includes four SD2942 next generation MOSFETs. At our lab in Bucharest, we performed tests that measured very impressive high linearity. We have also found out that each module includes a control loop with a high-speed reaction time to protect the equipment against overheating or excessive SWR. These protections are independent with respect to the microprocessor.
The power supply is composed by three identical boards connected in parallel. It has the standard dimensions of 19 inches and is 2 RU.
The overall depth is 28 inches deep and just under 31 pounds in weight. Such compactness and reduced weight are sufficient to easily carry the unit, even by only one person.
Since installation all of the equipment has been running at full power, all day long, without any disruptions or inconveniences. Our customer is also happy because he has noticed a 30% reduction in the bill for electricity compared to the previous transmitters. Power spikes and instability in the mains have had no impact on the reliability and no variations in the signal have been noted.
Upon our overall positive experiences impressions, we recommend VL series transmitters from CTE Digital Broadcast.
For information, contact Enrico Antoniazzi at CTE Digital Broadcast in Italy at 011-39-02-96738811 or visit www.ctedb.it.
