Broadcast relay station

A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater (two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or transponds) the signal of a radio or television station to an area not covered by the originating station. It expands the broadcast range of a television or radio station beyond the primary signal's original coverage or improves service in the original coverage area. The stations may be (but are not usually) used to create a single-frequency network. They may also be used by an AM or FM radio station to establish a presence on the other band. Relay stations are most commonly established and operated by the same organisations responsible for the originating stations they repeat. However, depending on technical and regulatory restrictions, relays may also be set up by unrelated organisations. In its simplest form, a broadcast translator is a facility created to receive a terrestrial broadcast over the air on one frequency and rebroadcast the same (or substantially identical) signal on another frequency. These stations are used in television and radio to cover areas (such as valleys or rural villages) which are not adequately covered by a station's main signal. They can also be used to expand market coverage by duplicating programming on another band. Relays which broadcast within (or near) the parent station's coverage area on the same channel (or frequency) are known in the U.S. as booster stations. Signals from the stations may interfere with each other without careful antenna design. Radio interference can be avoided by using atomic time, obtained from GPS satellites, to synchronize co-channel stations in a single-frequency network. Analog television stations cannot have same-channel boosters unless opposite (perpendicular) polarization is used, due to video synchronization issues such as ghosting. In the U.S., no new on-channel UHF signal boosters have been authorized since July 11, 1975.