With manufacturing and testing facilities in Mason, Ohio and Quincy. Illinois (its original location), GatesAir was founded in 1922 and over the past century it has established a long and storied history in the Broadcast TV and Radio industries. Ownership has changed several times since then, with the veteran over-the-air transmission company now owned by Thomson Broadcast, (based in France).

GatesAir manufactures transmitters and associated broadcast gear for over-the-air television and radio broadcasting around the world. The company also manufactures audio systems for public safety and government communications, and studio-to-transmitter links for radio broadcasters.

The company also maintains the website GatesAir University (https://www.gatesairuniversity.com/), an online library of training webinars and other educational videos centered around broadcast RF engineering.

Its most recent products for radio and TV include: Maxiva UHF and VHF Transmitters (VHF models also support DAB Radio); Flexiva radio transmitters (FM and digital radio, including HD Radio and DRM); and Intraplex networking and transport products (studio-to-transmitter links, studio-to-studio links, remote broadcast links, etc.). The later includes IP Link hardware codecs, HD Link microwave systems and the Ascent cloud transport platform.

“Our latest Maxiva and Flexiva solutions help customers build out intelligent SFN networks, for example, that position low-power transmitters throughout a market to maximize coverage and reach larger populations,” said Ray Miklius, Vice President of European Sales and Channel Programs, GatesAir.

The company’s latest transmitter designs also include an outdoor weatherproof transmitter series that can be mounted on poles, building structures and towers; and a multi-transmitter system that can fit up to eight transmitter modules configured as low-power transmitters, translators or gap fillers. Multiple broadcast tenants can operate from the same chassis.

The PowerSmart Plus transmitter architecture for the Maxiva and Flexiva transmitter lines deliver power-efficiency and density within a compact chassis, reducing space requirements inside RF plants and lowering operational costs over time. A flexible design also simplifies maintenance procedures via hot-swappable PA and power supply modules that allow transmitters to continue to operate near full power during maintenance.

All these benefits and more equate to long-term total cost of ownership benefits.

“We are in the business of helping customers solve problems for over-the-air wireless content delivery, no matter what power level,” said Miklius. “This includes helping customers move and monitor signals studios and transmitter sites using our Intraplex solutions, and building out intelligent transmission networks to meet the needs of today’s digital standards.”

Among GatesAir’s many digital TV milestone accomplishments, on September 16, 1997 - nearly 60 years after the first televised baseball game - the then Harris Corp. hosted the first live digital high-definition television broadcast to the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. It also helped deliver the first digital transmitter to WRAL-TV, in Raleigh, NC. And WRC-TV, in Washington, D.C.