Delivery of high-performance antenna and feeder cable for the base station for digitalized terrestrial broadcasts in Nagoya

In the three metropolitan areas (Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya) in which digitalized terrestrial broadcasts are slated for initial launch, base stations and repeater stations have already been constructed for the scheduled December 2003 broadcast start. In Tokyo and Osaka, respectively, base stations were established by adding digital broadcast equipment to analog broadcasting facilities in the Tokyo Tower and Mt. Ikoma station. But in Nagoya, space limitations and structural strength issues have made it impossible to add new equipment to the existing television tower. Instead, NHK and five commercial TV broadcasting companies banded together to build a new base station for digitalized terrestrial broadcasts, completing the Hatanaka Station in Hatanaka-cho, Seto City, in October 2003.
Hitachi Cable provided the ultra wide-band stacked loop antenna and feeder cable for this new base station. Since 1963, the company has been involved in numerous antenna system construction projects for UHF repeater stations. All of Hitachi's experience and cumulative know-how were brought to bear on the development of the ultra wide-band stacked loop antenna. Boasting superb bandwidth characteristics and cost performance, the ultra wide-band stacked loop antenna is ideal for digital broadcasts. Hitachi Cable plans to continue offering cost-effective solutions for the digitalized terrestrial broadcast base stations and repeater stations planned throughout Japan.

By conventional methods, four types of antenna must be combined to cover the UHF frequency band used by channels 13 through 62. Hitachi Cable's super-wideband stacked loop antenna offers broad bandwidth - about three times that of conventional antennas - using a technology that allows high-precision integration of the elements and feeder circuit. The resulting device uses only two types of antennas to handle all UHF channels, dramatically reducing total construction costs. Although this antenna system had been used primarily in repeater stations, Hitachi Cable successfully increased power capacity to allow use in digital broadcast base stations.