A studio transmitter link (STL) sends a

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...

's or

television station A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the earth's s ...

's audio and

video Video is an Electronics, electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving picture, moving image, visual Media (communication), media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, whi ...

from the

broadcast Broadcasting is the data distribution, distribution of sound, audio audiovisual content to dispersed audiences via a electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), ...

studio or origination facility to a radio transmitter, television transmitter or uplink facility in another location. This is accomplished through the use of terrestrial microwave links or by using fiber optic or other telecommunication connections to the transmitter site.

Link

This is often necessary because the best locations for an antenna are on top of a mountain, where a much shorter radio tower is required, but where locating a studio may be impractical. Even in flat regions, the center of the station's allowed coverage area may not be near the studio location or may lie within a populated area where a transmitter would be frowned upon by the community, so the antenna must be placed at a distance from the studio. Depending on the locations that must be connected, a station may choose either a point to point (PTP) link on another special

radio frequency Radio frequency (RF) is the oscillation rate of an alternating electric current or voltage or of a magnetic, electric or electromagnetic field or mechanical system in the frequency range from around to around . This is roughly between the u ...

, or a newer all- digital wired link via a dedicated data transmission circuit. Radio links can also be digital, or the older analog type, or a hybrid of the two. Even on older all-analog systems, multiple audio and data channels can be sent using subcarriers. Stations that employ an STL usually also have a ''transmitter/studio link'' (TSL) to return telemetry information. Both the STL and TSL are considered broadcast auxiliary services (BAS).

Transmitter/studio link

The transmitter/studio link (or TSL) of a

is a return link which sends telemetry data from the remotely located radio transmitter or television transmitter back to the studio for monitoring purposes. The TSL may return the same way as the STL, or it can be embedded in the station's regular

signal as a subcarrier (for analog stations) or a separate data channel (for digital stations). Analog or digital data such as transmitter power, temperature, VSWR, voltage, modulation level, and other status information are returned so that broadcast engineering staff can correct any problems as soon as possible. These data may be attended to by an automated transmission system.

References

* CFR Title 47:

Telecommunication Telecommunication, often used in its plural form or abbreviated as telecom, is the transmission of information over a distance using electronic means, typically through cables, radio waves, or other communication technologies. These means of ...

Part 74—Experimental Radio, Auxiliary, Special Broadcast and Other Program Distributional Services *CFR Title 47: Telecommunication Chapter I—Federal Communications Commission Subchapter C—Part 73—Broadcast Radio Services {{DEFAULTSORT:Studio transmitter link Broadcast transmitters Broadcast engineering Television terminology

Link

Transmitter/studio link

See also

References