• THE CANADIAN BROADCAST COMMISSION'S VICTORIA, REGINA, AND WINNIPEG STUDIES (1982)

As part of the CBC's FM deployment, three intensive studies were undertaken specifically to study the multipath effects of circular and horizontal polarization when used in conjunction with horizontal and vertical receiving antennas in varying terrain conditions. These studies were well documented and concluded that

The CBC report recommended that horizontal polarization be used in British Columbia, Maritimes and Newfoundland, where "long-range multipath distortion might be experienced. In Southern Ontario and Quebec, where the amount of the vehicle traffic is the highest, it appears that circularly polarized transmission might have some advantage."

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Polarization Primer Table of Contents

• Introduction
• The NTSC Report
• The 1965 Jampro Paper
• The 1966 IRT Study
• The 1980 European Broadcast Union (EBU) Reports
• The Canadian Broadcast Commission's Victoria, Regina, and Winnipeg Studies (1982)
• The TV-6 Negotiations: Studies In Need of Funding
• The 1987 Crouch Field Distorter Paper
• The 1989 Santos Report
• The Allentown Studies
• Conclusion
• Biblography

• THE TV-6 NEGOTIATIONS: STUDIES IN NEED OF FUNDING

In early 1983, in response to the issues in the TV-6/noncommercial proceeding, NPR Senior Engineer John Kean drafted a detailed test procedure entitled Field Test of Mobile FM Reception With Vertical and Horizontal Polarized Transmission. It was designed to determine the average electrical field strengths in the transmission receiving modes of H/H, V/H, and V/V in a variety of receiving locations. Everyone familiar with the finances at NPR during this period will not be surprised that the network was unable to fund the experiment. Funding was not found at CPB or other public radio entities and further consideration was deferred until after the adoption of 73.525 in 1985. [Select this link to view 47 CFR Sec.73.525]

In the mid-1980s several studies were done by noncommercial broadcasters to support the use of vertical polarization where the limitations of the TV-6 compromise rendered vertical the only mode of permissible deployment of new FM stations. Studies prepared by consulting engineers Kessler & Gehman and John F.X. Browne independently concluded that there was no substantial difference in field strength using vertical polarization versus circular polarization when vertical receiving antennas were used, but that horizontally polarized receiving antennas would receive less signal.

Both of these reports were generated to assist applicants for Public Telecommunications Facilities Program (PTFP) grants in convincing NTIA that the vertically polarized provisions of the TV-6 rules were not "an experimental" technology that PTFP should not be funding. PTFP engineering staff permitted the applications to be funded but have continued to voice their concerns about reception quality in hilly terrain.

Next page | Previous Page | Return to Continuing Education

Polarization Primer Table of Contents

• Introduction
• The NTSC Report
• The 1965 Jampro Paper
• The 1966 IRT Study
• The 1980 European Broadcast Union (EBU) Reports
• The Canadian Broadcast Commission's Victoria, Regina, and Winnipeg Studies (1982)
• The TV-6 Negotiations: Studies In Need of Funding
• The 1987 Crouch Field Distorter Paper
• The 1989 Santos Report
• The Allentown Studies
• Conclusion
• Biblography