NET Goes On-Air with New Beatrice, NE Transmitter

Nebraska Educational Telecommunications (NET) recently installed a new 1200 watt translator in Beatrice, Nebraska. Beatrice is located in southeast Nebraska 40 miles south of Lincoln, NE at the intersection of Highway 4 and U.S. Highways 77. A charming community and home of The Homestead National Monument which tells the story of Daniel Freeman who arrived in the area in 1863 after then President Lincoln signed the Homestead Act of 1862. 

The transmitter facility and 475’ tower actually reside in the community of Ellis, NE about 11 miles west of Beatrice off Hwy 136. In order to reduce on-air down-time we split up into two groups. NET engineers arrive early along with the local electrician to disconnect the existing system. I arrive at the studio in Lincoln early to meet up with the movers. After loading up the new equipment and transmitter we make the trip down south to the Ellis site. The site, like many, is located adjacent to a corn field.

The crew prepares to unload the two racks required for the new install. I notice remnants of last year’s corn harvest scattered about. The weather is cool with some light rain on and off but not enough to cause any concern. The old transmitter and rack are removed and placed in my Ford F150 for return to Lincoln for surplus. Then the new transmitter and equipment are delivered into the shelter. The movers are used to working in all kinds of conditions and facilities so getting through the tight door is not a problem as they build a makeshift ramp for the 900 lb. load of the new transmitter.

After loading in the electrician provides the required 208 VAC 30 Amp power for the new transmitter and ties the racks and line into the grounding system provided. After lunch the final pieces are put into place including decoder, PSIP generator, UPS, mask filter and new transmission line jumper to the demarcation point at the egress. Its finally time to power up the new system and see if everything works. Not taking anything to chance it was recently tested at the studio and burned in for a week before deployment so there is pretty good confidence there would not be any issues.

After powering up the transmitter alignment and testing occur throughout the afternoon as NET engineers work to finalize the installation. As the shelter is a bit small I take my leave to return the old equipment to the studio. I pass through downtown Beatrice seeing the bustle of the community and stop to take a couple photos. I drive by my favorite Mexican restaurant, Playa Azul, on the way out of town. I vow to dine there on my next visit as we did not have the time this visit. By the end of the day word arrives we are on air and the folks of Beatrice have a good signal from our new system.

This project is part of an overall initiative to replace nearly a dozen translators around Nebraska for equipment refresh and those displaced by the FCC repack. The vendors include Gates Air, Rohde and Schwartz, ERI, Katherine and K-Tech. 

Nebraska Educational Telecommunications (NET), including Nebraska’s PBS & NPR Stations, is the statewide public media service dedicated to creating opportunities for Nebraskans to engage with critical issues, compelling stories and quality entertainment. NET serves each of Nebraska’s 93 counties with 52,560 hours of programming each year on four television and two radio channels, plus online and mobile content. In addition to providing free, high-quality educational programming for children, NET provides programming in the arts, award-winning news and current affairs information and emergency alert services. 

NET Technology is hiring; check us out at https://netnebraska.org/basic-page/about-net/career-information.