Enhancing broadcast reliability with remote telemetry systems

In the competitive world of commercial radio broadcasting, maintaining uninterrupted service is vital. Sydney’s Harbour Media, a shared facility that hosts three major radio stations — 2KY Broadcasters, owned by Tabcorp; 2GB, owned by Nine Radio; and Sports Entertainment Network (SEN) — faced the challenge of managing continuous operation across multiple transmitter sites.

To address this, Tabcorp, supported by Ovarro’s advanced remote telemetry units (RTUs), has streamlined its operations into a triplexer setup, which means multiple radio frequencies are now managed through a single antenna. Ovarro’s TBox and Kingfisher RTU systems have played a vital role in this project.

Tabcorp’s primary objective was to ensure minimal downtime at its transmitter site. Ovarro’s Kingfisher RTU and TBox systems were selected as part of the project’s telemetry solution due to their ability to monitor critical aspects such as transmitter performance, audio status, antenna switching and environmental conditions — the transmission site experiences frequent lightning storms. Kordia, a telecommunications company, managed the construction of the site, ensuring that all systems were installed and functioning correctly.

The TBox system provides real-time SMS and email alerts to multiple recipients. Technicians at each station can receive alerts specific to their services, with flexibility to modify recipient lists as needed. Meanwhile, Kingfisher RTUs monitor various components of Tabcorp’s network; they track transmitter operations including output power, modulation, alarm statuses and power cutbacks that reduce damage to equipment during storms. The RTUs also monitor the audio interface, program failures, and signal paths between different antennas or cables, as well as overseeing tower lighting.

Avoiding outages

The TBox and Kingfisher RTU systems have become critical to Tabcorp’s operations at the Harbour Media site. The ability to receive rapid alerts and monitor essential components enables continuous service operation, which is crucial in the highly competitive commercial radio environment where outages must be avoided at all costs.

The collaboration between Tabcorp, Ovarro and Kordia has resulted in a robust and highly customisable telemetry solution that enables continuous operation of Sydney’s Harbour Media transmitter site. Through the integration of Ovarro’s TBox and Kingfisher RTU systems, Tabcorp has enhanced its ability to monitor, manage and maintain critical broadcasting infrastructure with minimal downtime.

Both systems have now been in use for over seven years without any issues. The success of this project thus underscores the importance of selecting the right technology and partners to meet the always-on demands of modern radio broadcasting.

“Ovarro’s TBox and Kingfisher RTUs have proven invaluable in maintaining our site’s reliability,” said Glenn Duncan, Radio Support Engineer at Tabcorp. “Their quick alerting and robust monitoring capabilities have significantly minimised downtime and ensured smooth operations for our radio stations.”

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