Nova Scotia's Nautel to upgrade one of Europe's most powerful radio transmitters

Nautel Limited, of Hackett’s Cove, Nova Scotia, has received an order for a 2 Megawatt NX2000 Medium Wave system, the largest transmitter system the company makes, to replace a custom-built tube transmitter dating back to 1977 at the Antenna Hungaria transmission facility near Solt, Hungary.
Despite its age and deteriorating condition, the Solt operation is the most powerful medium wave radio transmitter in Europe and one of the most powerful transmitters in the world.
The transmitter upgrade is expected to be completed in fall 2017.
“We are honored to have been chosen for a project of this significance,” said Nautel Head of Broadcast Sales Wendell Lonergan. “This transmitter site covers a large part of the world and reaches millions of people. Although we have participated in high-power installations all over the world, projects encompassing this power level are extremely rare. We thank Antenna Hungaria and Porion Digital KFT for this opportunity.”
Radio, far from being a dead or disrupted medium, is experiencing worldwide growth, with Nautel’s revenue growing from $15 million in 2006 to slightly more than $40 million in 2014.
One of the world’s largest manufacturers of AM and FM radio broadcast transmitters, Nautel has deployed more than 14,000 transmitters deployed in 177 countries since 1970.
Two years ago, Nautel won a $20 million contract to upgrade All India Radio’s transmitters for digital broadcast.
In January 2015, Nautel signed a master purchase agreement with Broadcast Australia, bringing in over $1 million for 13 transmitters.
Commissioning of Nautel’s solid state system at the Solt facility will involve large infrastructure changes at the site in order to incorporate five Nautel NX400 transmitters with a combiner, the installation of which will be managed by Porion Digital KFT.
“We are proud and excited to be part of this project,” said Balazs Kovacs of Porion Digital KFT. “A great deal of research went into Antenna Hungaria’s decision to purchase the Nautel system. With a facility this large, power savings are always an important consideration as well as the reliability of the system and the vendor’s reputation for customer support. Nautel was able to meet all of these criteria.”
Nautel will work closely with Porion throughout the commissioning phase of the project, which involves interfacing with the existing voltage supply, coordinating building modifications to accommodate the new transmitter and the required air handling equipment.
Antenna Hungaria, wholly owned by the government of Hungary, provides broadcast, telecommunication and multimedia services throughout the country, and its signal on 540 kHz can also be heard across Europe, and in parts of Africa, Russia and Asia.
“Replacing our 40 year old transmitter was a huge decision, and was not undertaken lightly,” said Attila Nagy, Adviser to the CEO of Antenna Hungaria. “We felt that the Nautel system was our best choice for overall reliability and cost of operation. We look forward to working with Nautel and Porion to bring the latest technologies to this important transmission facility.”
Nautel’s high-power and high-efficiency NX Medium Wave transmitters provide digital pre-correction, RF and audio spectrum analyzers, 1.8 MHz direct digital modulation and Nautel’s Advanced User Interface, which can be used to manage and control the system from nearly any location.