By Dom Stasi, Warner Amex Satellite Entertainment Company
Selection of an earth station site whether for transmission or reception of TV programming is rarely, if ever a simple process. Selection criteria such as ownership of a tract of land or colocation with existing headend or office facilities usually renders one site a very strong first choice. Conditions such as a downtown location, which render a site desirable for an office or those such as a hilltop, which are attractive for a headend generally, unfortunately, represent the worst locations for earth station facilities due to interference.
A short couple of years ago, interference effects would have negated most of the type location we are discussing. That situation is changing. As earth stations for CATV proliferate, the experience each designer encounters in solving his particular interference problem adds to the collective pool of knowledge for the benefit of-the next.