Translators, Boosters, and SFNs, Oh My!

SG192 FM55_2560A few years ago the FCC relaxed its rules on simulcasting HD multicast programming on analog FM translators. Now broadcasters have opportunities to introduce unique formats via these analog translators that can be received on millions of receivers already in the field.


This is a big enough development that our audio processing nerds Mike Erickson and Jeff Keith spent a fair amount of floor time going over processor settings and options for broadcasters anticipating running their HD2 or HD3 programming on an existing or new FM translator.

At the center of those discussions was our new FM-55 audio processor, which has multiband AGC, limiter and stereo enhance as well as a built-in stereo generator with multipath control and MPX digital baseband to the FM exciter. Broadcasters at the show got a feel for our new intelligent five-band AGC technology, or iAGC, which we coupled to a five-band limiter to give the FM-55 a spectrally balanced sound during severe program density variations.

They also got to push some buttons on our new SG-192 FM stereo generator, which can be used with an existing processor for a translator application or, given it has a dedicated input for 10MHz GPS locking, can be used for booster and single frequency network applications. Both the SG-192 and FM-55 have adaptive L-R control for adjusting the ratio between L-R and L+R, which can be useful for multipath mitigation in some terrains.

We’re always up for a conversation on translators, boosters and SFNs, so give us a call anytime.

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