ETHIOPIAN BROADCASTING CORRPERATION

ASSOSA UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL

&COMPUTER ENGINEERING COMMUNICATION STREAM

HOSTING COMPANY NAME ETHIOPIAN BRODCASTING

CORPORETION (EBC)

DURATION OF INTERNSHIP (from October to February)

Submitted by: DAGIM DENBI

ID NO: ETR/142/07

Date of Submission March 14, 2019

ASSOSA, ETHIOPIA
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Contents
ASSOSA UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL &COMPUTER ENGINEERING
COMMUNICATION STREAM................................................................................................................0
ID NO: ETR/142/07...................................................................................................................................0
OVERALL INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE................................................................................................1
2.1 Entrance to the Company..................................................................................................................1
2.2 Work Flow in EBC...........................................................................................................................2
2.3 Television broadcasting................................................................................................................2
2.4 Television Studio system..............................................................................................................7
2.4.3 Master control room (MCR)....................................................................................................10
2.12.1 Transmitter.............................................................................................................................25
2.13 Towers...........................................................................................................................................26

CHAPTER TWO

OVERALL INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE

2.1 Entrance to the Company
The university apprenticeship program is planned to create a good interaction between
universities and industries and also create students that have the capability of facing and solving
practical problems.
There are limited company for electrical and computer engineers and most of organized
companies are found in Addis Ababa therefore I started to figure out which company is helpful
for our apprenticeship experience and EBC was on my list because EBC is big television that
have wide

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network area in electrical engineering mostly for Communication stream and any other fields
(graphics and design, video editing…and so on) where I can take good experience and also it is
in the city center made it easier for transportation. Then finally EBC accept my apprenticeship
letter and gave me acceptance letter. EBC accept 20 electrical and computer engineering students
for 2019 internship program.20 students are too much for one section so they group us into 3 for
three section we stay one month in one section and proceed to another section. The three sections
these Satellite and OB section, system section and Transmitter section

2.2 Work Flow in EBC

At Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation there are three sections through media technology; which
are Radio section, television section and the engineering sections. Throughout the time I stayed
at the company I have got the chance to work with the television section and engineering section.
The media technology department of EBC is concerned with the gathering production and
transmission of the appropriate television programs and news.

Fig 2. 1 Media section

2.3 Television broadcasting

Television is a widely used telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving
images, either monochromatic (black and white color) usually accompanied by sound. The
television section of the media technology department has its own section and set of
responsibilities, the television section is consisted of the following four types.
 Digital satellite news gathering (DSNG)
 Outside broadcasting (OB)
 System section and maintenance
 Transmitter section

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The television system section has a responsibility of preparing live and recorded programs and
news in the studios, OB vans for programs which take place outside the studio (for example
football match, live concerts, AU meetings, Ethiopian great run), and also selection of the
appropriate output service. The system section also performs maintenance of studio system
devices by schedule (it can be weekly or monthly) and anytime when failure to the device occurs.
The television section of the EBC it has four studios which are fully equipped with every device
necessary for a program production and transmission. It’s a complex procedure involving so
many sophisticated personnel and equipment. Through the period of the internship I have seen all
the studios and based on that I have tried to briefly describe the complex task of the production
and transmission of a television program from the beginning which is signal generating up to
broadcasting. When I say television broadcasting in directly I am talking about two type of signal
which is audio and video signal. Basically I am going to briefly explain from where signal
originated to signal transmission .Signal is a description of how one parameter varies with
another parameter

2.3.1 Source
Source is where the signal originated or generated. Before getting to the detail explanation let me
start from what signal mean, the two types of signals and from where this two signal can be
generated respectively

Audio signal: is a representation of sound typically using a level of electrical voltage for analog
signals and series of binary numbers for digital signals .audio signal have frequencies in the
audio frequency range of roughly 20 to 20,000 HZ. Which corresponds to the upper and lower
limits of human hearing .it can be originate from transducer. The best example for this is
microphone. A device used in sound reproduction systems for converting sound into electrical

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energy. A vibration created by the sound wave converted into equivalent audio frequency electric
currents.

Video signal: is an electrical signal designed to produce an image. The device used to covert light
energy to moving picture or video signal is Camera. Camera uses an objective lens to create an
image of an object it’s the main component production of video signal. A video camera is used
for electronic motion picture acquisition, film rendition of that optical image. Mainly there are
three types of camera used depending on their purpose.

Basic Types of video signal cables

A. Component video
B. Composite video
C. S-video
D. Serial Digital Interface Video(SDI)
E. High Definition Multiple Interface(HDI)

Component video

It is a video signal that has been split into two or more component channels. In popular use, it
refers to a type of component analog video (CAV) information that is transmitted or stored as
three separate signals. Component video can be contrasted with composite video in which all the
video information is combined into a single line level signal that is used in analog television.
Like composite, component-video cables do not carry audio and are often paired with audio
cables.
When used without any other qualifications the term component video usually refers to analog
YPBPR component video with sync on luma.

No table of figures entries found.Composite video: It is an analog video transmission (without

audio) that carries standard definition video typically at 480i or 576i resolution. Video
information is encoded on one channel, unlike the higher-quality S-video (two channels) also it is

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use one cable only for video. Example Y, Y-B, Y-R. Color (chrominance) and luminance signals
are mixed into a single carrier wave.

Fig 2. 4 Composite video signal cable

Separate video (S-Video): is a signaling standard for standard definition video, typically 480i or
576i. By separating the black-and-white and coloring signals, it achieves better image quality
than composite video, but has lower color resolution than component video.

Fig 2. 5 Video signal cable

Serial digital interface (SDI): is a family of digital video interfaces first standardized by SMPTE
(The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers) in 1989.For example, ITU-R BT.656
and SMPTE 259M define digital video interfaces used for broadcast-grade video. A related
standard, known as high-definition serial digital interface (HD-SDI).

Fig 2. 6 Serial digital interface cable

High Definition Multimedia Interface: is the All-Digital interface where the signals are carried in
digital format and hence there is no conversion required at either end. HDMI stands for. It is an all-digital
audio and video interface which carries signals in uncompressed format. It has been accepted by the
consumer/ institutional electronics industry. HDMI cables consist of 19 separate wires which carry high
speed video, audio and other digital information. The digital audio and video data is encoded in to three
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color channels and a clock channel. HDMI enables loss-less transmission and better quality video at low
brightness scenes at higher resolutions. So, the video quality is much better than their analog counterparts
as there is no conversion involved either. Two way communications between video sources are enabled by
HDMI Interface, which enables automatic configuration (between 480p or 720p, 16:9 or 4:3).

Fig 2. 7 HDMI cable

2.3.2 Studio
Studios are the heart of digital broadcasting Medias without studios the programs recorded is
full of noise, production becomes so costly and boring, the corporate have 4 studios namely
studio A,B,C,D

Studio A:-It is full of kid’s materials and used for preparing program only for kids, and it holds
only two studio cameras and two CCU and edited in the same production room with studio B.
both of the studios have a composite output of SD data type.
Studio B: - It is in the same place with the studio A and it holds three studio cameras, three CCU.
Most of the time this studio is used for pre-cast recorded productions.
Studio C:-It is the latest studio found in the corporation, it can provides HD composite data and it
have background screen, we can change the background pictures simply in the computer
connected with it, and it have the best ventilation and lighting system with it.

Studio D:-It holds almost similar components found in the studio C except the background
screen, it also generates composite HD signal and it holds three studio cameras. It’s a complex
procedure involving so many sophisticated personnel and equipment.
2.3.3 Color television standards
There are different standard signal types in the world NTSC, PAL, SECAM throughout
Ethiopia the television standard is 625-line PAL (phase alternating line) systems. In analog video
transmission the component video signals which carry the three primary colors Red, Green and
Blue separately and the composite signal which contains all the three primary colors together
have a standard 25 frames per second.

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Luminance: It is the intensity or brightness of a video signal, usually represented by the letter Y.
Video signals are split into separate Luma and Chroma (color) components for higher quality and
more efficient transmission and encoding.
Chrominance: It is the color of a video signal. Video signals are split into separate Luma and
Chroma (color) components for higher-quality and more efficient transmission and encoding.
Full- color video signal format, consisting of three elements: Y (luminance), U and V
(chrominance).

2.4 Television Studio system

For a television studio to be a studio it needs the following rooms:
 news room
 productioncontrol room
 master control room  VTR or storage room and  equipment room.
2.4.1 News room
News room is the place where the live transmission begins the video and audio signals are sent
separately to the production control room through wall box.

Fig 2. 8 Signal flow in news room

Video Camera: A video camera is used for electronic motion picture acquisition, film rendition of
that optical image. Camera uses an objective lens to create an image of an object; it’s the main
component at the studio. Studio cameras don’t record the video they just transmit the video
signal to the Camera control unit through wall box. The difference between studio cameras and
ENG (electronic news gathering) camcorders including a VCR (video cassette recorder).
Production camera types have more than 73 types according to their task and resolution power,
but EBC use only 3 of them for production purpose:-
a) Electronic field cameras (EFP): - cameras are similar to studio cameras in that they are
used primarily in multiple camera switched configurations, but outside the studio
environment, for concerts, sports and live news coverage of special events.
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 b) Studio cameras: - thus cameras are mount in the studio and have low and they are high
end devices for a moving image.
c) Electronic news gathering cameras (ENG):- it is different from others because of it can be
controlled remotely it have servo motor to adjust the lenses.it seems general purpose
camera.An analog device is something that uses a continuously variable physical
phenomenon to describe imitate or reproduce another dynamic phenomenon.
Teleprompter (Auto cue): It’s a display device that prompts the person speaking with an
electronic visual text of a speech or script Using a teleprompter is similar to using cue card the
screen is in front of, and usually below, the lens of a professional video camera, and the words on
the screen are reflected to the eyes of the presenter using a sheet of clear glass or a specially
prepared beam splitter. Light from the performer passes through the front side of the glass into
the lens, while a shroud surrounding the lens and the back side of the glass prevents unwanted
light from entering the lens. Because the speaker does not need to look down to consult written
notes, the teleprompter creates the illusion that the speaker has memorized the speech.
Wall box: Wall boxes are located at one side of the walls of the news room; their job is to
transmit the video and audio signal which they received from the camera and microphone
respectively through coaxial cable, triax cable or fiber optic cable. Most of the time studios use
triax cable due to its availability on the market and it can also carry signal vice versa.
Studio light: Lighting is a method that allows the camera to take the picture clearly and to make
the video looks good. There are four types of lights in the studio which are key light, fill light,
back light, background light.

a) Key light :-It’s the first light and the important light that helps the cameraman; the
purpose of this light is to highlights the form, dimension and surface detail of the
subject matter.

Fig 2. 9 key light

b) Fill light :-It’s used for filling the shadow created by the key light.
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 Fig 2. 10 Fill light

c) Back light :-This light helps to separate the subject from the back and this light helps
to this creates glowing effects on the edges of the subject, while other areas are
darker. It can be natural or artificial source of light a back light which lights
foreground elements from the rear is not to be confused with the background, which
lights background element.
d) Background light:- is used to illuminate the background area of a set. Background
light will also provide separation between the subject and the background.
2.4.2 Production control room (control room)
Inside this room all the process of the work done for the final program takes place and it is
facilitated with a lot of devices such that video monitor, VTR, vision mixer, audio mixer,
multiplexer, DE multiplexer, digital amplifier, frame synchronizer, patch bay, camera control
unit, character generator, router and also the lights inside the news room are controlled from this
room. Video monitor: The video monitor wall inside the control contains many monitors used to
monitor the program and preview from the camera, video tape recorder (VTR), graphics and
other video sources.

Vision mixer: This device is the largest control panel inside the room and used to select from
different cameras to be seen on air or recoded. The vision mixer only deals with video signal.
Which selects video sources performs basic transition between those sources and used to create
special effects.
Camera control unit (CCU): It is the main control for the camera inside the news room it helps to
control all the shades, brightness and focus. This helps the cameraman only to focus on the shot
he is taking.

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Character generators (CG): It is a device which generates the background looks graphics and
writings for program; they also generate logos, and some other text announcements which run
while the programs are also running.
Multiplexer: It is a device that combine several analog or digital input signal and forwards them into a
single output line.

DE multiplexer: It’s a device that takes single input line and routes it to one of several digital
output line, receive the output signal of the multiplexer and convert back to the original form of
the data.

2.4.3 Master control room (MCR)

It is the final place before a signal is transmitted to the transmitter (DSNG) section through a
fiber link or satellite provider for broadcast through the earth station .Television master control
rooms include banks of video monitors, audio monitor, video switch and routers, satellite
receivers, encoders, transmission equipment and computer broadcast automation equipment for
recording and playback of on air programming. If an error occurs at the time of transmitting a
program the first place we are going to check is the master control room.
Emergency change over (ECO): It’s a device which acts as a switch in case of emergency there
are a lot of problems can happen in a broadcasting station for example failure to the vision
mixer when this happen the ECO switches to the router.
Digital distributer amplifier (DDA): It is device will distribute a signal without any loss to many
different devices.
Patch bay (patch panel): It is used for to simplify the sophisticated installation process of a
studio system, because inside the studio there are a lot of equipment’s are found and their all
connected to one another in this case when some error happens it can be a lose connection it is
going to be difficult to identifies but patch bay makes all this simple it will connect every device
from end to end. It can also be called a test point. In a studio system audio and video travels
separately until they reach the point of transmission when the program is completed to be
transmitted that’s when both audio and video are embedded together and sends to the master
control room; both audio and video signals travel in a different cable in a different
circumstance. When audio signal leaves the news room it travels by XLR cable and video signal
by triax cable. Triax cable carries three different signals those are power, communication and
video; the power is sent from the camera control unit to the camera because some studio

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 cameras take power from the CCU they don’t have their own power input and the
communication is for the director from the control room to give orders to the cameraman. After
it leaves the camera control unit the video signal travels through a serial data interface (SDI)
cable and in to the digital distributer amplifier (DDA) after this, the DDA will distribute the
input signal to different devices it can be monitor, router, and vision mixer. After the video
signal reaches, the DDA it will go to the vision mixer where it’s going to be further processed
and when it leaves the vision mixer it will pass through the patch bay and enter the multiplexer
where it’s going to be embedded with the audio. After the both signals are embedded they will
pass through the patch bay to the emergency change over (ECO) before they reach the master
control room to be transmitted through the earth station satellite.
The overall work flow in the system section.

Fig 2. 11 Signal flow inside the studio

2.4.4 Video tape recorder (VTR) room
This room is used as a source to the control room .We can record the program we want or play a
recording .Since the programs or some part of it might be needed for rerun or for another
program.
It can be located inside the control room if we have a big studio or outside the control room.
2.4.5 Equipment room
It is the place where all the processor of the studio device placed because the processor release a
lot of heat and it will be impossible to put them together inside the control room they will
damage the device and can cause serious problems in order to prevent this from happening they
are placed outside the control room and have their own cooling system installed.

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Router:-It is the device which acts like a backup for the vision mixer it takes all the input that is
given to the vision mixer, this will give as an option in case of emergency if the vision mixer
fails. The studio system department not only controls the signal flow inside the studio but also
performs maintenance to all the devices inside the studio.

2.5 Maintenance
It means action performed to keep some machine or system function or in service.
There are two types of maintenance:
a) Preventive maintenance
b) Corrective maintenance
Preventive maintenance: - is performed to increase the longevity of the devices because the devices are
very sensitive to dust particle and can be damaged easily so in order to prevent that from happening we
have to clean them by schedule.

Corrective maintenance:- once will be performed when the device has an error (it can be changing of
board or replacing a component).In this department I was able to see the different types of cables and
device interfaces, there are different kind of video and audio cables those are XLR, banana junction, BNC
cable, SDI (serial data interface).

2.6 Archive/Digital library

This archive/digital library technology is new for EBC before this technology they use caste
technology to store any data this is not good for protection of data as we stay stored for long period of
time the data quality become poor as well as the data may be lost.by using this new technology they
can try to improve all this problem. This new technology is not affected by vires because SD/SanDisk

is free from other personal computer connection. As we have seen from the work flow of digital
archive EBC has four studio A, B, C, and studio D. Studio A and studio B is SD system but
studio C and studio D is HD. Studio C used to read only Amharic news, studio D used to read
regional and English news. Both HD and SD is a types of video signal and the difference
between them is on the resolution, HD resolution is 1080*1920 whereas SD is 720*1280 and
both technology SD and HD is uses for audio and video at the same time by using one cable
only.

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2.7 Injection room
It is the process of wright/ read to or from the server it reserved only for:-

 Reporter

 Editor

 camera mane

During the injection of data there is different description about the injected data most of the
time this is done by the person who bring data. The equipment that is use to inject data to the
server are:-
U-matic: It is an analogue recording videocassette forms. It used for synchronization to broadcast
or production editing house gunlock system and for time base corrector (TBC).
Betacam: is a family of half-inch professional videocassette products developed by Sony in
1982.it uses betacam camcorders.
Dvcam: is a digital videocassette recorder.
Xdcam: is series of products for digital recording using random access solid-state memory
Xdcam with model XDSPD1000 is hybrid media and tapeless with capacity of ones tetra byte

2.8 Recording room

It reserved only for reporter. There is different shout takes during video recording. The
recording video may be takes 1hr/30min or more than. In this room the reporter should be
responsible to minimalize up to 2-5 min that is suitable to transmit the overall recording
program
For doing all this they use octopus and Vegas software this software are mostly used by
broadcasting company. Main control room to control who & which data is now processing

2.9 Digital satellite news gathering (DSNG)

In this department their concerned with the satellite transmission of the final program or news
for direct transmission program outside Ethiopia or to the regional states; DSNG it requires a lot
of man power to install due to its heavy equipment’s. to transmit the program across the world
EBC uses different satellites; in the past EBC used AMOS,BELSTAR, and GALAXY during the
past five years they use HOTBIRD, EUTELSAT,NIELSAT and INTELSAT.In current situation
EBC uses EUTELSAT Ethiopian broadcasting corporation does not only transmit Television
program through DSNG it also transmits Radio programs around the world. DSNG section
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transmits signal received from the studios through the earth station. This section not only
transmits but also they will receive other signals from different station, because EBC it does not
only transmit from the studio but they will sell the air time to other regional states (southern
people TV, Somali TV) and transmit their program.

Fig 2. 12 Signal flow inside the DSNG

2.9.1 Responsibilities of the DSNG

Is to identify or address all equipment’s used in the digital satellite news gathering such as; dish
antenna, BUC, HPA, Waveguide etc. and also understanding what type of satellite they use for
the broadcasting, comparing and contrasting the major difference between the outside
broadcasting and digital satellite news gathering section, installation and configuration of the
earth station and accommodating applications for live transmission purpose. This is executed by
up linking the recording live into the allocated frequency on the respective satellite. There are
different kinds of components we use in a satellite transmission at a television broadcasting
station some of them are: low noise blocks (LNB), block up converter (BUC), high power
amplifier (HPA), decoder, encoder, RF cable wave guide.

2.9.2 Satellite dish

It is a parabolic antenna designed to receive electromagnetic signals from satellites, which
transmit data transmission or broadcast, such as satellite television. The parabolic shape of a dish
reflects the signal to the dishes focal point, mounted on a brackets at the dishes focal point is a
device called a feed horn, this feed horn is essentially the front end of a waveguide that gathers
the signals at or near the focal point and conducts them to the low noise block down converter
(LNB); the LNB converts the signal from electromagnetic or radio waves to electrical signals and
shifts the signals from the down linked C band or Ku band to the L band range.

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 Fig 2. 13 Satellite dish

2.9.3 Low noise block (LNB)

It is the device on the front of a satellite dish that receives the very low level of microwave signal
from the satellite, amplifies it, and changes the signal to a lower frequency band and them down
the cable to the receiver. LNB is a combination of low noise amplifier, frequency mixer, local
oscillator and intermediate frequency (IF) amplifier. It receives the microwave signal from the
satellite collected by the dish, amplifies it and down convert the block of frequencies to a lower
block of intermediate frequency.

Fig 2. 14 Low noise block

There are many types of LNB:

 C-band LNB
 Ku band LNB
 Ka band LNB
 Universal LNB
 Wide band LNB
But at EBC I have got the chance to see the C-band and Ku band LNB and they use C band LNB
for transmission and receiving purpose, in our country I have seen a lot of dish with Ku band
LNB because Ku is cheaper than C-band LNB and C-band LNB require a bigger dish and area
than Ku so it’s difficult to use it for regular people. LNBs can be affected by cold temperature if

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there is no program is being watched or transmitted to prevent this from happening they are
prepared to stay their power on even if the receiver is on standby.

C-band LNB Ku band LNB

Large in size Small in size
Not affected by rain and atmospheric Affected by rain and atmospheric condition
condition

Uplink frequency range 5.850-6.425 Uplink frequency range 1.400-1.450

Downlink frequency range 3.625-4.250 Downlink frequency range 1.095-1.275

Table 1: Difference between C-band and Ku band LNBs

Wave guide
It is a structure that guides the wave, such as electromagnetic wave or sound waves they enable a
signal to propagate with minimal loss of energy by restricting expansion to one dimension or two
and they are located toward the LNB this helps them to collect the reflected radio frequency from
the dish in one direction and provides as an input for the LNB.
Block up converter (BUC)
It is a device that converts a radio signal from a lower frequency to a higher frequency.
BUCs are used in satellite uplink transmission in order to transfer data from the ground based
unit to a satellite in orbit; then it will be redirected to another ground based unit in separate
location. BUCs are used in a long distance communication between two or more ground based
radio towers, they are often found in communication broadcast system for television and internet
access, weather systems, and government agencies.
Modulator:-Is a device that performs modulation; transmit an analog baseband signal. It
transfers an audio or TV signal over an analog band pass channel at different frequency.
Encoder:-is used to compress and convert the data into some bits only known to it. At Ethiopian
broadcasting corporation there are two types of encoder which that have a separate modulator
module and encoder and an encoder with a modulator embedded inside it.

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 Fig 2. 15 Encoder
Decoder (receiver):- It’s a device which transforms those coded bits to generate the original
data. In the process of transmission the transmitted signal is often received and played back in
order to monitor and check the progress of the signal. The signal is first received by using an
LNB and sends the received Radio frequency signal to the decoder through RF cable and then it
will determine the appropriate signal parameters so that we find the one we are looking for. The
transmission and reception parameters of a signal are the same except in reception frequency and
polarization. Reception parameters are FEC rate, modulation standard, symbol rate and
polarization. The end component in the entire satellite TV system is the receiver. The receiver
has it de-scrambles the encrypted signal, it takes the digital MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 signal and
converts it into an analog format that a standard television can recognize, it extracts the
individual channel from the larger satellite signal and it will keep track of paper view programs
and periodically phones a computer at the providers headquarter to communicate billing
information.

Fig 2. 16 Decoder

2.9.4 Transmission and reception parameters

The transmission and reception parameters of a satellite are FEC rate, symbol rate, Modulation
standard and polarization.

Symbol rate
It the number of symbol changes, waveform change, or signaling events, across the
Transmission medium per time unit using a digitally modulates signal or a line code.
Symbol rate is measured in baud (BD) or symbol per second. In this case of line code, the symbol
rate is the pulse rate in pulse per second. Each symbol can represent or convey one or several bits
of data.
The symbol duration time Ts can be calculated as;

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 𝑇𝑠 =1/fs
Where fs is the symbol rate
Forward error correction (FEC):-it provides a powerful method to improve the performance of a
digital modulation schemes.
FEC is the method used to improve the reliability of data communication, when an error is found
in the unidirectional signal path, the receiver will not have the authority of asking for data
transmission again.
FEC rate uses the data itself to prevent this problem when great amount of data needs to be
transmitted, and it’s one of the significant parameter of the satellite receiver. Polarization
It is a way to give transmission signals to a specific direction. It makes the beam more
concentrated. There are two main types of polarization cross pol and co pol. Signals transmitted
by satellite can be polarized in one of four different ways; those are linear (horizontal or vertical)
circular (left hand or right hand).The most common polarization is cross pol which includes both
linear and circular polarization. Within the cross pol polarization there are two types of
polarization that we are familiar with those are linear polarization (vertical or horizontal). Linear
polarization is always used at Ku and Ka band. But circular pol (left hand circular or right hand
circular) is used at C-band, X-band frequencies it will be very hard to find circular polarization
on Ku and Ka band frequencies. In order to make communication link work effectively, both
transmitting and receiving antennas should be in the same polarization. Using polarization, it
allows frequency reuse and linear polarization is used on domestic and non Intelsat type of
satellite.
Horizontal polarization: - is the electric field vector of electro- magnetic wave is parallel to the
earth; thesis generated by having antennas horizontal to the earth.
Vertical polarization: - is the electric field vector of electro- magnetic wave is perpendicular to
the earth; the vertical polarization is generated by having antennas perpendicular to the earth.

Fig 2. 17 Polarization type

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 To use the channels that are available for satellite broadcast as efficiently as possible, both
horizontal and vertical polarization can be applied simultaneously per channel or frequency. In
such cases the frequency of one of the two is slightly altered, to prevent possible interference
Horizontal and vertical transmissions will therefore not interfere with each anther because they
are differently polarized. This means twice as many programs can be transmitted per satellite.
Consequently, via one and almost the same frequency the satellite can broadcast both a
horizontal and vertical polarized signal (H and V), or left-hand and right-hand circular polarized
signal (LH and RH).

RF cable
The most common RF coaxial cable consists of a conductor supported and accurately centered in
a tubular outer conductor by means of a dielectric physically and electrically separate the two
conductors. The outer conductor may be covered by a protective jacket for protection from the
element, heat cold etc. a lead sheath for underwater or underground application or wire armor for
maximum physical protection in dry location.RF cable it may be flexible, semi- rigid, or rigid.
RF cable has an outstanding electrical performance; low loss and high frequency characterize the
extensive range of radial cable assemblies.

2.10 Earth station

The earth station is where the satellite transmission of the program takes place, unlike the DSNG
it can deal with multiple sources at a time and even though the devices are almost the same and
can be configured manually like in the DSNG. The modules in the earth station is networked
together through LAN (local area network) with a CISCO switch and a centralized server so that
the parameters can be configured remotely. It also provides the signal flow of the interconnected
modules and since each of the modules have their own address it’s possible to and adjust their
current status. Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation transmits their program worldwide by renting
satellite from different countries. There are two types

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 Fig 2. 18 Signal direction during down link

Up-link its definition is that the link from a ground station up to a satellite by parabolic
Satellite dish.

Fig 2. 19 up link

Down-link it is also the line from satellite down to one or more ground station or Receiver

by satellite dish.

Fig 2. 20 down link

Uplink frequency= downlink frequency + local oscillator of the satellite frequency. The
maximum frequencies for the uplink and downlink are 6GHz and 4GHz respectively in C-band.
For the following reasons, uplink frequency is greater than down link frequency. On the earth
station we have to penetrate the atmosphere to reach the satellite station. So we need a lot of
power to generate. Hence uplink is at higher frequency with higher power.as the frequency is
increased the amount of interference caused by the atmosphere reduces, as higher frequency
signal has more signal energy in it. So it can penetrate the atmosphere more easily, unwanted
distortion like rain, fog, other frequency in neighborhood, causes distortion.

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2.11 Outside broadcasting (OB) Van
Outside broadcasting vans are vehicles (portable mini studio), equipped with every
Equipment’s needed for program transmission outside the studio .OB vans are fully equipped
with all the necessary equipment’s that is used for the transmission inside the studio. But the
difference between the equipment’s inside the studio and the OB vans are the OB vans
equipment’s are smaller. OB vans use a microwave link to transmit live programs and the
satellite needs to be in a line of sight path. This limits them not to move far away from the main
office due to the geographical structure of the country.

Equipment inside the Van

 Camera
 Video mixer
 Dazzle generator
 Router
 Video cable
 RCP
 Wallbox
 Audio mixer
 VTR
 Triax cable
 Camera control unit .

How to Use the Above Equipment?

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 Fig 2. 21 Internal structure of OB van

The camera and the mic considers as transducers, after the camera having a video it sends the
signal to the vision mixer through camera control unit (CCU), CCU is a device that controls the
camera remotely then the camera and CCU coupled by using cable, there are two types of cables
used for connect the camera and camera controlling unit. triax and multicore cables depending on
the camera type we can chose one of thus cables, Thus cables hold data from the camera, power
for the camera and cable used for communicate with the camera man. Each cable have its own
specific function. After the data reaches to the vision mixer the operator and video engineer
controls the quality of the video for the transmission and the quality of the signal is determined
by using oscilloscope for studio production the quality of a signal must be more than 3.5 the
maximum quality is 5.as the same procedure the audio part starts from the mic and directly feeds
to the audio mixer then the signal amplifies purified and mix with other sounds and such kind of
additional effects adds to it then sends to the embedded. There are two types of mic’s respect to

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amplification some mic’s hold pre amplifier circuitry with the mic and the others hold post
amplifiers that sequentially coupled with the mixer.

As I seen before the system is only for one camera but the vans hold minimum of three cameras
depending on the vision mixer capacity we can add cameras.
When the components become more in number there must be sync pulse generator (SPG) it
makes easy the interconnection of the system. SPG generally generates a pulse that can use for
synchronization and it considered for the equipment’s as reference, if it is so there is no
mismatch between audio and video, there is no corruption of time and there is no delay .After
earning processed composite signal the next step is sending the signal to transmission station this
process is accomplished by using micro wave transmitter there is micro wave transmitter in the
top of the van (movable) and there is receiver end at the EBC hade quarter building top side.
Micro wave link needs line of sight communication so between the receiving end and the
transmission site there must not be a barrier, so before deciding to have live transmission there is
a look by using binocular telescope from the building top side, if there is a barrier, there are two
methods first install one transceivers on the barrier location then it shifts the signal to the
destination or the other means is using satellite uplink and accept like others external inputs.
After the signal is received by the link it sends to equipment room then taken as an input for
convertor cards it convert the data from SDI to HD because most of the equipment’s found
process in HD data format then it will sends to logo generator to have a logo, lastly the data
sends to master control room (MCR) to decide by witch TV channel dose the program
transmitted.
Camera.
CCU:-

 Monitor

 Video rider

 Audio mixer

 VTR

 Video mixer

Other equipment Are:-

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  Polarization

 Microwave link header

 Dish antenna

Traix cable
Traix cable is a types of electrical cable similar to coaxial cable, but with the addition of an extra
layer of insulation and a second conducting sheath. It provides greater bandwidth and rejection of
interference than coaxial but it more expensive. The most common use of Traix cable is in
television industry as a connecting cable between a camera and its CCU. The outer sheath is
commonly used as protective earth conductor. Traix cables are effective for abroad range of
applications, including high frequency transducer data systems and precision low current
measurements.

Fig 2. 22 Traix cable

All the above OB VAN system is usually use near to receiver not greater than 50mil without any
obstacle to transmit good quality of video. If the distance is greater than 50mil off course we can
use repeater (gap filer) antenna between TX and RX to fulfill good quality during transmission in
other method there is uplink and downlink system that is related to satellite communication. Also
we can try to explain using diagram making a little bet modification from the above diagram.

Microwave links
In much the same way that a flashlight projects a beam of light from one point to another,
microwave can be transmitted along a straight, unobstructed line from a transmitter to a receiver
in the process the microwave beam can carry audio and video information. Microwaves were
originally only used for coast- to-coast network television and for studio-to transmitter links.
However, as remote broadcaster became more popular, TV stations saw an advantage in having
filed production trucks equipped with microwave dishes so that news stories, athletic events

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parades, civic meeting etc…could be covered.to digital. Dish antenna is a radiating element plus
a surface that reflects the waves much as mirror does for light. Channel selection to adjust
frequency and channel number. Tripod is a leg that expands by 120 degree to hold the dish
antenna.

Fig 2. 23 Microwave link

2.12 The transmitting Station

The transmitting station is where the audio signal from the radio link gets amplified so that it can
travel through the whole range and retransmitted using the appropriate frequency. The
main transmitting stations are located in furi and dawi and they are joined with the control
stations inside the EBC by a radio link.

2.12.1 Transmitter
Transmitter is an electronic device which, usually with the aid of an antenna, propagates an
electromagnetic signal such as radio, television, or other telecommunications.TV transmitter
converts the audio and video signals of a television program into modulated radio frequency (RF)
energy that can be radiated from an antenna and received on a television receiver. The term can
also refer to the entire television transmitting plant, consisting of the transmitter proper,
associated visual and aural input and monitoring equipment, transmission line, the antenna with
its tower or other support structure, and the building in which the equipment

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This Transmitter is for UHF solid-state air-cooling dual-mode TV transmitter. The output power
is 3000W for analog and 1000W for digital. The product is up to the follow standards:
Exciters
The exciter is the device that takes the baseband audio, video or digital bit stream
baseband signal and converts it to a radio frequency signal with the appropriate method of
modulation. The output of the exciter is at a low level and has to be amplified further to
produce the high power needed to feed the antenna. Sometimes the exciter is installed
inside the transmitter housing but otherwise it is a separate unit installed in an equipment
rack next to the transmitter.
Exciter performance is the key to excellence in TV transmission. The exciter performs baseband
video and audio processing, modulation, pre correction, equalization and up conversion
functions.
Uninterrupted power supply (UPS) room
It’s consists of automatic voltage regulator (AVR), which AVR is an electronic device which is
used to regulate the value of the voltage forwarded by the main power supplier. It regulates by
taking nominal value: therefore, it regulated power. UPS is an electronic device which is used
when there is an unexpected power cut off for a short period of time that means until the power
line is connected or the generator is turned on. UPS has three parts, which are: converter (Analog
to Digital), inverter (Digital to Analog) and a battery. When the power is off automatically the
power within the battery converted to AC power again by the inverter and the transmission is
continued without interaction of power loss.

2.13 Towers
Towers are of two main types: self-supporting towers and guyed towers (also known as
masts), which are held up with guy wires (sometimes a special type of nonmetallic rope)
attached to anchors in the ground. Self-supporting towers are usually in the range up to
about 1000 feet high, and guyed towers go up as high as about 2000 feet. It is also
common for broadcast antennas to be mounted on short structures on top of existing tall

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buildings, particularly in city locations with skyscrapers. House the transmitter equipment
in a suitable space within the buildi

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