Australia
Testing digital transmission on the FM band on 95.5 MHz from Wagga NSW (500km southwest of Sydney) began Sept. 24, 2006. The antenna pattern is a directional system with transmitter power of 1kW. The transmitter is a BE FM3C which has been converted for analog FM and IBOC. The analog transmitter power is 2kW and IBOC power is 20 watts. The exciter is the BE FXi 250. The antenna is a RFS 828DA-4, with a 6dB gain and is located at 35° 2'56.62"S and 147°33'35.26"E. The objectives of the trial are to understand the practical implications of digital transmissions on FM bands. The tests will also determine the most effective operational modes for delivering digital services while examining current planning methods along with field results to see how to better plan for these services. For more details on the trial go to: http://www.hdradiotrial.info/When asked why is it necessary to test HD Radio technology in Australia, Trevor Howard (CEO of TJH Systems, consulting company in Austrlia) commented: “In Australia HD Radio technology on the FM band is being explored as a possible alternative for stations to ‘go digital’ because the announcement by the Government about adopting DAB only refers to commercial, national and maybe some community broadcasters. We have another category here called narrowcasters and they usually broadcast material like horse racing or sports and so on. There is no place for them in the DAB world.”
