An automatic transmission system (ATS) is an automated

system A system is a group of interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its open system (systems theory), environment, is described by its boundaries, str ...

designed to keep a broadcast radio or television station's

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...

and antenna system running without direct human oversight or attention for long periods. Such systems are occasionally referred to as ''automated transmission systems'' to avoid confusion with the

automatic transmission An automatic transmission (AT) or automatic gearbox is a multi-speed transmission (mechanics), transmission used in motor vehicles that does not require any input from the driver to change forward gears under normal driving conditions. The 1904 ...

of an

automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

History

Traditionally, radio and television stations were required to have a licensed operator,

technician A technician is a worker in a field of technology who is proficient in the relevant skill and technique, with a relatively practical understanding of the theoretical principles. Specialisation The term technician covers many different special ...

electrical engineer Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

available to tend to a transmitter at all times it was operating or capable of operating. Any condition (such as distorted or off-frequency transmission) that could interfere with other broadcast services would require immediate manual intervention to correct the fault or take the transmitter off the air. Facilities also had to be monitored for any fault conditions which could impair the transmitted signal or cause damage to the transmitting equipment. Because broadcast transmitters were often at a different location from the broadcast studios, attended operation required an operator to be physically located at the transmitter site. In the 1950s and 1960s, remote control systems were introduced to allow an operator at the studio to power the transmitter on or off. At the same time, an early remote control system, the Automon, was developed by RCA engineers in Montréal that included a relay system that automatically detected if the transmitter was operating outside of its allowed parameters. The Automon could send the studio an alarm if the transmitter was out of tolerance and, if contact to the studio was lost, it could automatically power down the transmitter. A similar system was developed in 1953 by Paul Schafer in California, using a rotary telephone to raise or lower transmitter parameters remotely. As

technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

improved, transmitters became more reliable, and

electromechanical Electromechanics combine processes and procedures drawn from electrical engineering and mechanical engineering. Electromechanics focus on the interaction of electrical and mechanical systems as a whole and how the two systems interact with each ...

means of checking and later correcting problems became commonplace.

Regulation Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. Fo ...

s eventually caught up with these advances, to allow of unattended operation via an ATS. During the 1970s, the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

made widespread use of automated systems on its

UHF Ultra high frequency (UHF) is the ITU designation for radio frequencies in the range between 300 megahertz (MHz) and 3 gigahertz (GHz), also known as the decimetre band as the wavelengths range from one meter to one tenth of a meter ...

television network to switch from main to standby transmitters in the case of a fault, as well as to alert engineering staff to problems. In 1977, the

U.S. Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains ju ...

loosened operation rules to allow stations in the United States with ATSes to automatically monitor transmitter operation and allow the ATS to automatically adjust modulation or shutdown the transmitter if operation was out of tolerance, although the specific rules have continued to evolve with changes to the

Emergency Alert System The Emergency Alert System (EAS) is a Emergency population warning, national warning system in the United States designed to allow authorized officials to broadcast emergency alerts and warning messages to the public via Cable television, cable ...

and the introduction of

digital radio Digital radio is the use of digital technology to transmit or receive across the radio spectrum. Digital transmission by radio waves includes digital broadcasting, and especially digital audio radio services. This should not be confused with In ...

Theory of operation

An ATS monitors conditions such as

voltage Voltage, also known as (electrical) potential difference, electric pressure, or electric tension, is the difference in electric potential between two points. In a Electrostatics, static electric field, it corresponds to the Work (electrical), ...

, current, and

temperature Temperature is a physical quantity that quantitatively expresses the attribute of hotness or coldness. Temperature is measurement, measured with a thermometer. It reflects the average kinetic energy of the vibrating and colliding atoms making ...

within the transmitter cabinet or enclosure, and often has external

sensor A sensor is often defined as a device that receives and responds to a signal or stimulus. The stimulus is the quantity, property, or condition that is sensed and converted into electrical signal. In the broadest definition, a sensor is a devi ...

s as well, particularly on the antenna. Some systems have remote monitoring points which report back to the main unit through

telemetry Telemetry is the in situ collection of measurements or other data at remote points and their automatic transmission to receiving equipment (telecommunication) for monitoring. The word is derived from the Greek roots ''tele'', 'far off', an ...

links. Advanced systems can monitor and often correct other problems which are considered mission-critical, such as detecting ice on antenna elements or

radome A radome (a portmanteau of "radar" and "dome") is a structural, weatherproof enclosure that protects a radar antenna (radio), antenna. The radome is constructed of material transparent to radio waves. Radomes protect the antenna from weathe ...

s and turning on heaters to prevent the

VSWR In Radio-frequency engineering, radio engineering and telecommunications, standing wave ratio (SWR) is a measure of impedance matching of Electrical load, loads to the characteristic impedance of a transmission line or waveguide. Impedance misma ...

(power reflected from a mismatched antenna back into the transmitter) from going too high. High-power stations that use

desiccation Desiccation is the state of extreme dryness, or the process of extreme drying. A desiccant is a hygroscopic (attracts and holds water) substance that induces or sustains such a state in its local vicinity in a moderately sealed container. The ...

pump A pump is a device that moves fluids (liquids or gases), or sometimes Slurry, slurries, by mechanical action, typically converted from electrical energy into hydraulic or pneumatic energy. Mechanical pumps serve in a wide range of application ...

s to put dry

nitrogen Nitrogen is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a Nonmetal (chemistry), nonmetal and the lightest member of pnictogen, group 15 of the periodic table, often called the Pnictogen, pnictogens. ...

into their feedline (to displace moisture for increased

efficiency Efficiency is the often measurable ability to avoid making mistakes or wasting materials, energy, efforts, money, and time while performing a task. In a more general sense, it is the ability to do things well, successfully, and without waste. ...

) can also monitor the

pressure Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country and eve ...

. Generators, batteries, and incoming

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

can also be monitored. If anything goes wrong which the ATS cannot handle, it can send out calls for help, via

pager A pager, also known as a beeper or bleeper, is a Wireless communication, wireless telecommunications device that receives and displays Alphanumericals, alphanumeric or voice messages. One-way pagers can only receive messages, while response p ...

telephone A telephone, colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that enables two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most ...

voice message A voicemail system (also known as voice message or voice bank) is a computer-based system that allows callers to leave a recorded message when the recipient has been unable (or unwilling) to answer the phone. Calls may be directed to voicemail m ...

, or dedicated telemetry links back to a fixed point such as a broadcast

studio A studio is a space set aside for creative work of any kind, including art, dance, music and theater. The word ''studio'' is derived from the , from , from ''studere'', meaning to study or zeal. Types Art The studio of any artist, esp ...

. Other than possibly listening for

dead air Dead air, also known as unmodulated carrier, is an unintended period of silence that interrupts a broadcast during which no audio or video program material is transmitted. Radio and television Dead air occurs in radio broadcasting when no audio ...

from the

studio/transmitter link A studio transmitter link (STL) sends a radio station's or television station's audio and video from the broadcast studio or origination facility to a radio transmitter, television transmitter or uplink facility in another location. This is accom ...

, an ATS does ''not'' cover the programming or the studio equipment like

broadcast automation Broadcast automation incorporates the use of broadcast programming technology to automate broadcasting operations. Used either at a broadcast network, radio station or a television station, it can run a facility in the absence of a human oper ...

, but rather only the " transmitter plant". An ATS can also be used to automate scheduled tasks, such as lowering an

AM radio AM broadcasting is radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation (AM) transmissions. It was the first method developed for making audio radio transmissions, and is still used worldwide, primarily for medium wave (also known as "AM band") transmi ...

station's transmission power at sundown and raising it at sunrise to meeting license requirements for different propagation patterns at day and night.

History

Theory of operation

References

See also