There are monitors all over the control room. Monitors to watch decks monitors to watch sattellite feeds, monitors to watch the off air signal. There are 4 specifically to watch the return signal.

Left to Right

Analog Off Air
High Def Off Air
Direct TV
Dish Network

These are all slightly delayed from each other. The total delay from Analogue to Dish Network is about 15 deconds. it can be disorienting but it can be useful. For example, if you thought you saw a glitch in the signal, you can glance up at the Dish and Direct TV feeds and see it again. During the recent ice storm, our antenna froze over and we lost our regular signal monitoring, but Direct TV takes the Analog for thier signal and Dish takes the Digital. We could keep track of whether or not we were still transmitting using these two feeds.

What gets more irritating is the audio echo from the Analog and Digital signals.

You might wonder just how we can have a master control department in the middle of Decatur while we have a transmitter 10 miles away in Oreana. The answer is simple, Miscrowaves. Not your Microwave ovens mind you but a direct path signal.

After the signal is processed in master control and turned into Analog, SD, and HD it is sent out through a microwave dish (shown upper right). This dish has a direct line of sight vie to the tower and a second identical dish on the other end. We actually recieve a return signal from the Gentener monitoring system through these dishes as well.

Like I said, line of sight, if someone decides to build a skyscraper or even a small building in the path we’d have to relocate something. More likely we’d rent space from someone else’s tower and bounce the signal around the obstruction. Still we’re pretty close. Not a quarter mile from our tower is the tower for one of our competitors. Thier studio is located on the other side of Decatur. I have no idea how many times they redirect thier microwave but it’s probably more than one.