By Brian Galante
Special to Radio + Television Business Report
It is among the most historically significant broadcast sites in the western United States. And, it is home to the broadcast towers for three FM radio stations owned and operated by Bonneville International. That FM infrastructure just saw a major upgrade, and it involved the installation of a new master antenna system from the Sinclair Inc. subsidiary headquartered in Raymond, Me.: Dielectric.
As of today, the Dielectric RingMaster broadband FM and custom manifold combiner system is operational, supporting a total of 13 FM radio stations broadcasting from Farnsworth Peak.
Bonneville operates three of the stations on the system — KSL-FM, KSFI-FM, and KRSP-FM. However, Bonneville led the project to modernize the site’s master antenna infrastructure and strengthen RF performance. This saw Bonneville’s engineering team decide how to proceed after identifying that an aging master antenna system on the tower was reaching its end-of-life period. Further, it was not originally designed to modern HD Radio requirements.
“We were looking at a master antenna that was 40 years old,” said Aaron Farnham, Bonneville International’s Regional Director of Engineering. “It was never designed for digital and we knew we were pushing the edge of what it could reliably handle. We decided it was time to replace it with something that could support every station on the system and improve overall efficiency.”
Bonneville evaluated multiple antenna manufacturers with goals that included enabling all stations to achieve improved coverage using smaller, more efficient transmitters, while also supporting HD Radio insertion levels that better match modern broadcast standards. Dielectric presented a consultative engineering approach that addressed both RF performance and the unique physical constraints of the site. Additional sales support through Dielectric’s partners at SCMS also let Bonneville to select the company.
Dielectric’s RingMaster technology builds on its DCR side-mounted ring antenna designs and introduces a new broadband concept that blends half-wave and full-wave spaced arrays. That diverse wavelength spacing helps FM broadcasters maintain full FM bandwidth performance with fewer radiating elements while offering broadcasters greater control over directional elevation patterns.
The Farnsworth Peak RingMaster antenna is side-mounted on the tower and the existing combined antenna system will remain in place as a backup. Dielectric also performed detailed tower surveys and modeling to account for surrounding antennas and tower structures that could influence final coverage patterns.
The project also included installation of a new Dielectric manifold combiner inside the RF building. The design merges 13 FM signals in a compact footprint, enabling Bonneville and the other tenant broadcasters to support a large master system without requiring facility expansion. “The combiner style allowed us to fit 13 stations in a relatively small space,” Farnham said. “They stacked the combiners and designed everything to minimize how much space it took inside the building.”
Farnham adds that the performance improvements are already evident in both analog FM and HD Radio reception across the Salt Lake City market. “The HD Radio signals are exceptional,” he said. “In areas where analog traditionally drops out due to terrain, HD Radio now remains solid. Even operating at –14 dB, the digital signal holds reliably. Overall, broadcast audio quality has improved across the board.”
Dielectric President Keith Pelletier added, “RingMaster and our manifold combiner technology reflect the direction of today’s FM master antenna system design, helping broadcasters reduce complexity and tower loading while improving broadband performance, pattern control, and long-term operational efficiency. Bonneville International’s Farnsworth Peak installation is a cutting-edge example of how broadcasters can optimize multi-station FM and HD Radio delivery through a single master system, made possible through close collaboration between Dielectric and our trusted partners at SCMS.”
SCMS also worked with subcontractors Intelligent Design and Turris Services to help execute the project.
