[BC] Websites

[tpt at literock93r.com]

The "back story" here is that my 34 year old Harris 2.5H3 melted its  
plate loading capacitor.  One would think such an aged and experienced  
transmitter would avoid overdosing on electrons, but, hey, it happens..

So I started looking for a replacement. Luckily we hat this  
transmitter's younger sibling sitting as a backup at our other  
station, so I robbed the air variable out of that box and got the 2.5H  
up at a kilowatt. Quite adequate coverage at this level for an  
over-height Class A. Our antenna height/ antenna combination needed  
2450 watts TPO, so my search for a new transmitter was in the range of  
2.5~3.5 kw.

My first stop was at the manufacturer's websites, hence the subject of  
this post. None of the transmitters I'm now considering appeared on  
their manufacturer's website. I wrote off one firm (Nautel) because  
(apparently) they only offered a kilowatt or a five kilowatt, nothing  
in between.

As it turns out, (see Jeff Welton's post in the Tech Assist archives)  
Nautel not only has a kilowatt, but also paired kilowatts that will do  
2.8 analog, and a 3.5 kw. Jeff claims the 2.8 kw model--a "V-2" is on  
their website, but darned if I can find it.

So, some advice for manufacturers on their websites:

1. Guys who do websites are not engineers, nor do they think like  
them. We think in straight lines, their thoughts start with French  
curves and get more convoluted from there.

2. The marketing guys get involved.  I realize managers like glossy  
brochures with pretty pictures.  Fine, keep those as linked PDF's

3. Give the rest of us a page that has the critical information:

A: What models do you have and the power ranges?

B:  A front and back picture, especially for the smaller transmitters.  
  Nice to know where the feedline will come off the box so we can plan  
the plumbing.  Same with ventilation. Remember the old adage that  
pictures are worth a thousand words.

In my area we have a number of mountain-top (well, hill-top) sites  
with not much room for the transmitters.  On the other hand, the  
height means some respectable facilities may only need a kilowatt or  
two.  Saw one recently that shared space with a cable TV/paging  
headend, their 500 watt box was in the same rack with the  paging  
set-up. So a good picture is important.

C: Dimensions of the entire transmitter set-up, including combiners,  
etc. If your design wants some space between amplifiers, or separate  
power supplies, mention it. Some of us like everything in one box,  
some of us like separate boxes for the combiners, power supplies, etc.  
because it is easier for one man to handle.  You have what you have,  
can't please everyone.

D. Of course, the spec. sheet with all the fine print.