Heritage22 CAMERA CHANNELS
National Camel & Desert Racing Championships
Extreme Desert Environment RF Wireless & High-Speed Mobile OB
Al Dhafra Festival, Al Wathbah, Muzayna, Al Labsah
YAS TV / Abu Dhabi Media
2019 – 2026 Annual Seasons
SAMIR'S ROLE & MISSION
Senior OB Engineer & RF Wireless Signal Specialist
Pioneered specialized mobile OB operations in extreme desert conditions (45°C heat, fine sandstorms) with high-speed tracking vehicles, long-range Vislink RF camera links, and dynamic desert sun shading.
10 km
Track Length Covered
12 km
RF Range Maintained
48°C
Ambient Temp Max
240+
Live Race Transmissions
Master Hardware & Signal Architecture
VIDEO FORMAT & ENCODING1080i50 / 1080p50 Broadcast Standard
VISION MIXERFOR-A HVS-2000 & Sony MVS-6530
REPLAY & SLOW-MOTIONEVS XT3 Max (8 Channel) with Multicam LSM
MASTER SYNC & ROUTINGVislink Wireless RF Receivers + Nevion 64x64 SDI
Technical Approach
Engineered multi-node RF diversity antenna arrays across 8km–10km desert tracks with automated antenna switching.
Customized positive-pressure dust filtration and secondary cooling for OB truck server racks during desert sand conditions.
Maintained extreme dynamic range CCU shading between golden desert sand dunes and high-intensity Arabian midday sun.
Signal Flow Chain
01.
Mobile Tracking CamsGyro-stabilized cameras on 4x4 chase vehicles transmitting over Vislink RF
02.
RF Diversity TowersTriple antenna receiver masts along 10km race perimeter
03.
Baseband DemodulationCOFDM receivers demodulating RF signals directly into OB router
04.
Fast-Paced EVS ClippingLSM operators logging lead camel split times and photo-finish angles
05.
Master TransmissionMicrowave link direct to YAS TV teleport station
High-Pressure Live Faults & Engineering Solutions
CHALLENGE ENCOUNTERED:Extreme desert heat causing RF transmitter thermal throttling on lead tracking vehicle during 10km race.
REAL-TIME ENGINEERING FIX:Installed custom aluminum heatsink ducted fans with quick-swap cold gel packs between race heats.
Impact on Broadcast: Maintained 100% RF signal power output with zero frame drops throughout all heats.
CHALLENGE ENCOUNTERED:Intense sand glare blowing out camera dynamic range on standard gamma curves.
REAL-TIME ENGINEERING FIX:Engineered a custom S-Log/HyperGamma knee curve preset on Sony RCP-1500 paint boxes, protecting sky and sand highlights.
Impact on Broadcast: Rich, broadcast-award-winning visual color fidelity praised by YAS TV production team.
HONEST ENGINEERING RETROSPECTIVE — “WHAT I'D IMPROVE NEXT TIME”
“Implementing automated GPS-steered tracking antennas on receiver towers would further enhance signal margin on extreme 12km marathons.”
PREVIOUS CASE STUDY
UAE Pro League (ADNOC Football)
Sports • 16 Cams
NEXT CASE STUDY
World Snooker Masters & Riyadh Season
Sports • 14 Cams
Planning a Similar Live Broadcast Production?
Samir Elgammal is available for OB Truck, CCU, and EVS operations across UAE and GCC.