Nautel
Encyclopedia
Nautel Ltd. is a Canadian manufacturer of AM and FM radio broadcast transmitters, navigational radio beacons, Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) transmitters, medium frequency
(MF) telegraph and NAVTEX
transmitters, and high frequency
(HF) amplifiers for dielectric
heating applications. Nautel is best known as the first company to develop a commercially available fully solid state
broadcast transmitter.
. Its primary operation was building and supplying solid state navigation beacons for the Canadian government. To better serve the US market, Nautel Maine Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary located in Bangor
, Maine
, was founded in 1974.
Nautel delivered its first transmitter, a radio beacon for the Canadian government, in 1970. This was a fully solid state unit operating in the 190-535 kHz Aeronautical/Marine navigation band. These transmitters were the first ever commercially available solid state transmission devices, all transmitters up to this point having been of the tube variety. Because of the greater reliability and longevity of solid state transmitters many of these early models are still in use today.
The introduction of 10 kW and 50 kW solid state AM transmitters from Nautel in 1982 and 1985 was another first for the broadcast industry. The first 50 kW AM transmitter from Nautel was purchased by CBA (AM)
in Moncton where it remained operational until April 8, 2008, when the station's AM signal was taken off the air. Although commonplace today, solid state transmitter technology was non-existent before Nautel entered the market. More than 20 years after being introduced, many of Nautel's first generation of AM transmitters can still be found operational and on the air at transmitter sites around the world.
Nautel's introduction of solid state transmitter technology has had a large impact on the radio broadcast industry. As the benefits of solid state technology became clear, the industry began to shift away from the use of tube transmitters and began to adopt the more reliable and efficient solid state designs. By the early 1990s solid state transmitters were being widely used in radio broadcasting, while sales of vacuum tube transmitters began to decline. Since its inception in 1969 Nautel has focused solely on solid state broadcast technology with a lineup of 100% solid state radio transmitters at power levels ranging from 1 kW to over 1000 kW.
Medium frequency
Medium frequency refers to radio frequencies in the range of 300 kHz to 3 MHz. Part of this band is the medium wave AM broadcast band. The MF band is also known as the hectometer band or hectometer wave as the wavelengths range from ten down to one hectometers...
(MF) telegraph and NAVTEX
Navtex
NAVTEX is an international automated medium frequency direct-printing service for delivery of navigational and meteorological warnings and forecasts, as well as urgent marine safety information to ships...
transmitters, and high frequency
High frequency
High frequency radio frequencies are between 3 and 30 MHz. Also known as the decameter band or decameter wave as the wavelengths range from one to ten decameters . Frequencies immediately below HF are denoted Medium-frequency , and the next higher frequencies are known as Very high frequency...
(HF) amplifiers for dielectric
Dielectric
A dielectric is an electrical insulator that can be polarized by an applied electric field. When a dielectric is placed in an electric field, electric charges do not flow through the material, as in a conductor, but only slightly shift from their average equilibrium positions causing dielectric...
heating applications. Nautel is best known as the first company to develop a commercially available fully solid state
Solid state (electronics)
Solid-state electronics are those circuits or devices built entirely from solid materials and in which the electrons, or other charge carriers, are confined entirely within the solid material...
broadcast transmitter.
History
Nautel was founded in 1969 in the rural community of Hackett's Cove, Nova ScotiaHackett's Cove, Nova Scotia
Hackett's Cove is a community of the Halifax Regional Municipality in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia on the Chebucto Peninsula.The community is home to radio transmitter maker Nautel Ltd.-References:**...
. Its primary operation was building and supplying solid state navigation beacons for the Canadian government. To better serve the US market, Nautel Maine Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary located in Bangor
Bangor, Maine
Bangor is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States, and the major commercial and cultural center for eastern and northern Maine...
, Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, was founded in 1974.
Nautel delivered its first transmitter, a radio beacon for the Canadian government, in 1970. This was a fully solid state unit operating in the 190-535 kHz Aeronautical/Marine navigation band. These transmitters were the first ever commercially available solid state transmission devices, all transmitters up to this point having been of the tube variety. Because of the greater reliability and longevity of solid state transmitters many of these early models are still in use today.
The introduction of 10 kW and 50 kW solid state AM transmitters from Nautel in 1982 and 1985 was another first for the broadcast industry. The first 50 kW AM transmitter from Nautel was purchased by CBA (AM)
CBA (AM)
-External links:** at Canadian Communications Foundation...
in Moncton where it remained operational until April 8, 2008, when the station's AM signal was taken off the air. Although commonplace today, solid state transmitter technology was non-existent before Nautel entered the market. More than 20 years after being introduced, many of Nautel's first generation of AM transmitters can still be found operational and on the air at transmitter sites around the world.
Nautel's introduction of solid state transmitter technology has had a large impact on the radio broadcast industry. As the benefits of solid state technology became clear, the industry began to shift away from the use of tube transmitters and began to adopt the more reliable and efficient solid state designs. By the early 1990s solid state transmitters were being widely used in radio broadcasting, while sales of vacuum tube transmitters began to decline. Since its inception in 1969 Nautel has focused solely on solid state broadcast technology with a lineup of 100% solid state radio transmitters at power levels ranging from 1 kW to over 1000 kW.