First
impressions are crucial.
 That's why strategic
placement of the signs announcing your Traveler Information System
(TIS) is key to its success. Signs
in the wrong place perpetuate the frustration many listeners have
with AM radio. If your signs are positioned poorly in
relation to your "sines," radio waves, motorists are
likely to think your station is not working and might be tempted
to tune out. In these situations, would-be listeners often will
not try retuning, even when they reach a stronger signal.
Action plan for positioning
signs:
-
Before settling on where
to place signs, install your TIS station and have it operating at
legal field strength, so you can test locations under real-life
working conditions.
-
Drive
through your TIS coverage zone with different vehicles;
range is determined partly by the types of receivers in different
cars.
-
 Note where your TIS
begins to fade.
-
Use
the average taken from these tests to select sign sites.
Remember to consider your
particular environ. Check for interference in reception
quality (of your "sines") at least once a year, especially
in the vicinity of large cities. |
 Commercial
stations can change frequency, or a new station might develop in
your city that causes interference to your TIS. Commercial stations are generally 1,000 to 50,000 watts. Yours TIS
has a 10-watt maximum. The bigger "sine" will always be
in the foreground on passing receivers.
On the other hand, rural sites tend to have broader ranges simply
because the AM band there tends to be less crowded with fewer
interfering physical structures. It’s a good idea to run
separate listening tests for separate transmitter sites, when you
have more than one. For instance, one site may be easily heard at
3 miles to the
east and 4 miles to the west. Another may be heard at 5 miles to
the north but only 3 miles to the south. Signs are usually
positioned 3 to 5 miles from the TIS site(s), so travelers
cruising along at 60 miles per hour can hear low-power
messages clearly for about 6 minutes. On the whole, one of the
best ways to ensure that the public actually hears the
useful highway, weather, emergency and/or visitor information your
TIS provides is proper placement of the signs announcing the
station.
Questions? Comments? Contact
Tom,
ISS technical consultant. |
®