WLOS TV Tower

How Television comes to you!

March 30, 2000

Transcript

Background

Student
Activities

Internet
Links

Guest
Biography

Background

     Every day, television comes into our homes.  Most people are familiar with the operation of a studio – actors or news anchors sitting in front of cameras going about their jobs.  But, what happens to the television signal after it leaves the studio?  How does it arrive into our homes and become viewable on our television sets?

     The purpose of this town meeting will be to introduce students to the process of how the television signal comes into our homes through the airways.  Live from atop Mount Pisgah at the WLOS TV Tower outside of Asheville, North Carolina, Broadcast Engineer Norman Harrill will be available to answer students' questions about the operation of a television broadcasting tower.

     This television tower is the hub of the broadcast operations of WLOS TV.  Not only does the tower send out the signal that allows us to watch this station on our television, but it also acts as a relay tower for microwave signals from newspersons reporting from remote locations in the field and much more.

     The tower sits atop Mount Pisgah at an elevation of approximately 5,700 feet above see level.  Access to the tower is via a rugged road accessible only to 4-wheel drive vehicles and then a cable car ride of 3,200 feet up the side of the mountain.  Views from this spot are unparalleled!

     Of interest to students will be the plans for the construction of a new broadcasting tower to ready WLOS TV for sending out a signal for the new HDTV (High Definition Television) that will begin to show up in our homes in the coming years.

The cable car tracks providing access to the broadcast tower.

Asheville, NC from Mt. Pisgah.

Cold Mtn. (yes, the one in the book of similar title) from Mt. Pisgah.

Student Activities

     The world of television broadcasting is a fascinating world!  Many of us know are familiar with the typical setup of the television studio, but what happens next?  Broadcast towers cover our land sending out television signals that brings us the programs we love to watch.

     To learn more about broadcast television before participating in this town meeting:

• Review David MacCaully's book The Way Things Work.  Included in this text is an illustrated overview of how broadcast signals work (both radio and television).

• Explore the Internet links below to learn more about the world of broadcast television.

Internet Links

• WLOS TV web site
• Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
• Society of Broadcast Engineers
• SMPTE - Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers

Guest Biography

     Norman Harrill is the Chief Broadcasting Engineer for WLOS TV.  An graduate of NC State University's Electrical Engineering program.  Entering the Army working in the field of Communications and Security, his interest in Amateur Radio caused him to further educate himself in the field of  Communications at New York University.  Leaving the armed services, Mr. Harrill worked at Cape Canaveral as an Electrical Engineer during the beginning of the U.S. space program.

     Mr. Harrill has stayed active with his interest in Amateur Radio.  He holds an Extra Class license, the highest class license you can hold in the field of Amateur Radio.