I am reminded of a Pink Floyd compilation album from the very early 70s. The music dates back to the late 60s and Syd Barrett. Poor Syd; shine on you crazy diamond!
I recently finished installing these rather nice GatesAir FLX-40 transmitters:
Audacy New York decided to move 94.7 from the East Orange, NJ location down to the WOR transmitter site in Rutherford, NJ. Acting as contractors for GatesAir, we installed these two transmitters. I can say, I like the liquid-cooled transmitters for several reasons. First, once installed, they seem to be very stable. I believe that the cooling scheme helps prolong the life of the RF devices by keeping the junctions at a constant temperature. Those semi-conductor junctions are tiny for the amount of current that they need to handle. Second, they cost less in the long run to operate. Anytime a refrigerant cycle can be skipped, that reduces or greatly reduces the electrical use. The Heat Exchangers in this system use VFD’s for fan motor control. That means more constant control over the HTF temperature and reduced electrical use on the fan motors themselves.
The pump stations have backup pumps as well. In the newer transmitter firmware, the pump control needs to be set up to automatically failover to the standby unit. It is a couple of clicks in the GUI to do this.
We didn’t have anything to do with the antenna installation, however, it is a good-looking antenna! ERI 4 bay 3 around mounted on one of the WOR towers.
Overall, this was a good project. Lots of moving parts during the installation, but we were flexible working with the client and other contractors and sub-contractors on site.
What is the service life for the glycol in transmitter cooling system?
Elsewhere in industry I’ve been involved in, the heat transfer fluid is eye-wateringly expensive, but can be used until it becomes too dilute due to condensation (on refrigerated loops) or its antibacterial properties are below acceptable levels.
Matt,
That is a good question. The HTF in these systems is a propylene glycol/water mix. Condensation is not a concern, but acidification is. It is recommended that a sample be sent to a lab every 4-5 years and analyzed. The lab would be looking for ph as well as any metals or other compounds that would indicate the reactivity of the HTF. I know there were older analog TV transmitters that had the original HTF when they were retired after 15-20 years of service.
Quick note from NJ – I believe the old tower is in West Orange, not East Orange on “First Mountain”…
That said, did you work at all on the old site or just the new? And if you did, would be curious to hear your thoughts on WFMU’s setup in the old site.
You are correct; it is West Orange. Regarding WFMU; when I was there, which was many years ago, there was an FM on a crank-up tower in the parking lot. I am not sure if that was them or not.