Dielectric has spent the past several years strategically building out its radio and TV product line to prepare for what the company forecast as its strongest business opportunities following the TV repack. At NAB Show 2025, where it will be at West Hall Booth 3000, the Sinclair Inc. subsidiary plans to highlight how its recent technology innovations have prepared it for business growth in FM radio — and for the future of NEXTGEN TV as broadcasters inch closer to planning ATSC 3.0 single-frequency networks (SFNs).
Dielectric will be showcasing FM and TV products developed for modern RF systems, which is similar to their recent work in the scientific community using RF technology to address global energy needs. The scientific applications use passive RF components similar to a broadcast transmission infrastructure, including amplifiers, transmission line, components and antennas — with some key differences. Dielectric engineers utilized many decades of broadcast design excellence to advance the company’s RF innovations for the scientific community. The broadcast depth drove efficiency and performance improvements in the scientific space, and in the future these scientific opportunities may similarly yield efficiency and new designs for the broadcaster.
“Our RF design innovations are adaptable to the broadcast and scientific markets. We’ve been able to capitalize on those fundamental design affinities by offering similar yet unique design solutions for both markets.,” said Keith Pelletier, President of Dielectric. “For example, high-power UHF television systems typically require coaxial transmission lines between four and eight inches in diameter,” said Keith Pelletier, President, Dielectric. “In comparison, we are producing 12-inch coax for energy plants, using similar techniques to efficiently manage and dissipate the heat that is produced as signals move through the transmission lines. The similarities between the broadcast and scientific designs are beneficial to both markets.”
On the FM side, Dielectric will accentuate how its recent product development strategy and business partnerships has led to brisk business. The company recently started shipping its DCR-E antenna, adding a seventh model to its DCR family of ring-style antennas. Dielectric’s DCR antennas offer broadcasters a lightweight yet robust structure with low windload, increasing long term reliability, simplifying maintenance, and reducing stress on tower structures. Dielectric will also preview a new ring-style antenna to be formally introduced in June that will be the first in a new series of products.
“Worldwide in radio, we are seeing strong activity in the replacement market due to aging FM infrastructure,” said Pelletier. “Many of these projects have specified ring-style antennas across all power levels for both budget and optimization purposes over the long term. We have seen especially strong interest in North America, South America and southeast Asia, including Australia where we recently won a project with BAI Communications in Perth.”
In addition to FM system replacement, Dielectric’s reconfigurable manifold combiners have opened more doors to the master antenna market. Dielectric’s expandable manifold architecture has generated interest from master antenna owners in large markets and metropolitan centers that expect to add new tenants over time. New tenants are added quickly and easily by plugging a filter into an open port and adding transmission line. The design accelerates new station launches without increasing the RF footprint. Dielectric recently won a new FM master antenna project through its partnership with SCMS.
Dielectric will also demonstrate its reconfigurable manifold combiners for TV master antenna systems, along with its complete range of broadband antennas for ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 systems. The latter includes low to medium power antenna built to serve SFN market configurations. Dielectric will also add two models to its award-winning OptiLoad series, expanding its modernized solution for RF protection system to a broader set of broadcast customers.
— Reporting by Brian Galante