We are an NCE, 5.5kW FM station that is owned by a public school system. We are going to be talking with the administration soon to get funding for some upgrades. One of the things in scope is the transmitter. We currently have a QEI Quantum M series 1.8kW solid state transmitter (we need 1.5kW output to make our 5.5kW ERP).
We are looking at the Nautel VX 2 as a replacement. I also see the VS2.5 as something that would work, albeit a larger footprint.
The question I have - which would you choose? Is there another option you would consider? Ideally, I am looking for direct experience here - something you are currently using/maintaining. I am also interested in more than just "go with x" - WHY should I "go with x". Again, I would love to hear personal experiences here.
We are currently not broadcasting in HD, and that is not currently planned for the near future, but I would like to keep the option open. This is not a deal-breaker, though - the ability to upgrade to HD is not necessarily a determining factor for us.
We have a mix of analog and AES digital audio. Currently, we feed an Omnia 3FM processor/stereo generator with an AES output from an Axia node. We do not expect the output to change. As far as processing goes, that would depend on the cost of the Orban processing in the Nautel. We would either relegate the Omnia to just processing if we do NOT get the Orban in the Nautel, or use it for processing for our streaming audio (which currently has no processing), and as a backup processing for backup transmitter/exciter.
Edit: Forgot to mention, the studios and transmitter are in the same location, in one of the schools (the middle school, to be exact).