[SBE] Sat Truck Operator Licensing

[Urban, Brian L]

When I operated a sat truck (C-Band) we were not allowed to go on or off the bird without being on the phone with the sat operator TOC.  That was universal with all sat operators.  Turning the transmitter on/off by camera remote would be problematic without coordinating with the TOC.  Can you imagine the interference chaos that would ensue if trucks were going on/off the bird at will?  How would you bill for the time?   If the transmitter is radiating, the operator should be in the vicinity of the truck.  In  the scenario below, if the operator/photographer had a cell phone the TOC could call, that should be sufficient.

--
Brian Urban
Chief Operator
KUT Radio
The University of Texas at Austin
TEL 512-471-1085


On 11/6/09 7:11 PM, "Gibson Prichard" <gibson at prichard.tv> wrote:

What is the consensus of the legality of a two-person crew (reporter &
satellite-trained photographer) being sent to operate a sat truck for
ENG News gathering? Once the shot is up and on the bird, the operator
might step away from the controls to operate the camera while the
reporter is on-air. It would be possible to tie the uplink's transmit
enable to a remote line that the photographer could toggle off if need
be in an emergency. It could be tied to H sync or valid SDI clock data
from the camera, so turning the camera off would turn the satellite
transmitter into standby, thus essentially meeting the "designated
remote control point" requirement.
I'm sure there are many times when the scenario above takes place, and
probably most ENG trucks are without a remote turn-off ability. Does
anyone know if a station has ever been cited for not having an operator
in front of the "radiate" switch at all times?

Gibson Prichard
Nashville


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