High-power FM transmitters support HD Radio

Rohde & Schwarz has announced that the R&S THR9 family of high-power FM transmitters now supports the HD Radio standard, which represents the fourth generation of digital radio. According to the company, this helps operators of HD Radio stations to slash energy, maintenance and leasing costs over the entire lifecycle of their transmitters.

The R&S THR9 delivers output powers between 3kW and 45kW in hybrid mode and up to 80kW in analogue FM mode. The FM transmitter achieves outstanding efficiency due to an innovative amplifier design and a system design focused on maximum efficiency and reliability. All RF power components, including the power combiner and the RF rigid line, exhibit minimum attenuation. As a result, the transmitter system achieves efficiency of up to 75 per cent in analogue FM mode and up to 57 per cent in hybrid mode.

Radio station operators benefit especially from the compact design introduced by Rohde & Schwarz for its new generation of transmitters. The R&S THR9 achieves up to 24kW RF power in hybrid mode and 40kW in analogue FM mode, all in a single 19in rack. A variety of additional components can also be integrated into the rack, further reducing space requirements. Possible configurations range from single transmitters with built-in pump unit to multitransmitter systems (MultiTx systems) in a single rack. By making it possible to integrate high output powers as well as multiple transmitters, the R&S THR9 offers the highest power density on the market, making it ideal for transmitter sites requiring high output powers in very tight spaces.

The R&S THR9 operating concept is backed by many years of user experience, which makes it exceptionally field-proven and optimised to meet the needs of station operators. The easy-to-access transmitter display unit has an ergonomic design. The intuitive GUI provides quick access to components and parameters for various tasks, both on site and remotely. R&S THR9 transmitters can be integrated into a network management system for parameter and performance data monitoring and diagnostics.

The R&S THR9 is the first HD Radio transmitter on the market to feature advanced liquid cooling technology. This results in substantial footprint reduction, plus it lowers energy consumption since it does away with conventional, high-performance air-conditioning systems. Maintenance costs for the cooling system are reduced accordingly. While conventional air-conditioning systems require multiple maintenance visits per year, the R&S THR9 liquid cooling system requires only one maintenance visit every four years. It has two pump modules operating in active standby and a heat exchanger equipped with two redundant fans. This design ensures high availability of the transmitter cooling system.

The R&S THR9 family of high-power FM transmitters supporting the HD Radio digital standard is available from Rohde & Schwarz. Existing R&S THR9 FM transmitters can be upgraded to this standard.