[BC] Designing a four station RF STL system

[Stevan A. White]

Beware the Big Pipe!  The only way I'd trust it for that many stations 
at once is to put it on a dedicated circuit from end to end.  Amount of 
network traffic, the ISP's router, and many other things affect the 
quality of the end product.  IF you can get your ISP to give you WAN 
type performance on their network it might be OK.  I run a Comrex Access 
at one of my stations that goes from one access point through their 
router to the other access point and it is OK, not great, but OK.  I 
have a friend who is an engineer at a station in another town whose 
network distributes _everything_ to _all_ their stations via the Big 
Pipe.  They once had problems no one could (or would?) fix and it 
stuttered, stammered and hiccuped from a Friday afternoon until some 
time Monday morning -- ALL WEEKEND!  The only song they needed to play 
then was the old ballad "Where Have All The Listeners Gone?"  Be very 
sure that the Big Pipe is the right solution for the first "hop" in this 
system, otherwise it could be quite a problem!  I'd leave the ISDN 
backups in place if I could justify it.  Starlinks are great from there 
to the transmitter sites.  You might save a dollar or two by using the 
four channel Starlink to deliver the audio to the site where there are 
two co-located transmitters.  All you need be concerned with there is 
getting the gozintas and comezoutas in the right spot.  Let us know what 
you decide.  You may turn out to be the guru if you plan and execute 
this scheme well.

Best Wishes,
Steve White

jeff at rfproof.com wrote:
> Request to the brain trust:
>
> Oh gurus,
>
> We are designing an RF STL system for four stations. The studios are in a valley. The present STL paths are Intraplex based and interconnected by T1s. Backup is by Zephyrs interconnected by ISDN. One backup is a pair of 15kHz EQ'd lines.
>
> We are nearing a contract for the rooftop of a nearby 12 story building with line-of-sight to the three sites where the four transmitting plants are located. The rooftop has six penetrating mounts in place plus coax to an equipment room from a previous installation.
>
> Our initial plan is to utilize a BE Big Pipe from the roof of the studios to the roof of the 12 story building carrying all four signals multiplexed - analog, HD, and IP each.
>
> >From there we are considering Starlinks for each of the four stations. Two of the stations are at one of the remote sites. All links will have to be licensed.
>
> What say ye? Better ideas? Caveats?
>
> Jeff Johnson
> Bonneville Cincinnati
>
>
>
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