WSAZ will go early

[genlock]

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- WSAZ-TV will turn off its analog transmitter one day sooner than expected due to a mandate from the Federal Communications Commission.

The FCC notified WSAZ about the change Saturday afternoon. The station was expecting to make the transition at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, February 17, but will now make the transition at 11:59 p.m. on Monday, February 16, at 11:59 p.m.

[CoolBreeze]

So... what's the "mandate"... and why?

[genlock]

They didn't say but they mentioned 11:59pm three times.
It may have to do with xmtr problems.
Not uncommon with xmtrs that age.
They may even have tower work scheduled, to put up permanent, high-gain antenna.
Wsaz has a side mount antenna for UHF now.
Both WSAZ and WOWK use RCA G-line xmtrs of roughly the same age.
WCHS and WVAH both have newer (solid-state?) vhf boxes.

[genlock]

WSAZ has been so reliable and powerful over the years that I could not think of TV DX on low band VHF.
I may be able to pick up some stations for the single day they will be on. Or till June whatever.
WDTV may become a local station as they will transition to DTV on VHF-Low band.
WOAY will go back to channel 4 on DTV, I think.
Such choices await.

[whatchamacallit]

Wboy use to use a rca g-line, they turned if off years ago and have been robbing parts to help wowk with thiers..

most of those transmitters work fine till there is a power failure then something usually blows up, they run so hot
on the output tubes all you need is a volttage spike on the primary plate transformers and you can say goodby...

you can only keep a dinosaur running for so long...

[Hoosier Daddy]

WOAY will go back to channel 4 on DTV, I think.

I thought WOAY was going to Channel 50?

[genlock]

WOAY will go back to channel 4 on DTV, I think.

I thought WOAY was going to Channel 50?

I don't know.
I kinda thought they would go back to 4.
My Mistake.

[Hoosier Daddy]

The FCC says Digital 50.
But, then again, we're dealing with WOAY.

[Greg Goodfellow]

WTAP is planning to shut down its analog tomorrow evening at 11:35, beating its sister by almost a half hour. It's so much fun seeing their crawl that can be seen only by people that aren't ready, including podunk cable systems such as ours.

BTW, WTRF is showing its proposed coverage area...you guessed it. We're now not part of it. We're going to be powerless to harness "The Power of 3."

I'm going to look up your recommendations for antennas from previous posts, folks. In the meantime, if anyone can post other antennas for extreme DTV fringe areas, plus recommended boosters, coax type and so on, I'd be much appreciative.

[genlock]

Looks from the map that you are about 30 miles from Parkersburg.
I assume that you are in the open and have a good shot to the WTAP transmitter site across from Vienna.
If all you are wanting is WTAP then you do not need a rotor for your antenna.
For that range, a UHF yagi of abut ten elements would do.
If you do not have much of a coax run, use RG-6 cable of good quality.
Try to use compression fittings (F-type) on the cable as they are the weatherproof ones.
A balun will probably be needed for the uhf antenna. Tape it securely to the antenna boom.
Weather proof all connections even the compression fittings.
Especially the wingnut things the balun hooks to. Liquid tape will do here.
Get a can of Krylon Krystal Clear spray paint. Paint over the entire antenna with the coax
connected to the fitting. You can do this after it is mounted to the mast pipe.
The paint will keep the thing from looking like a mass of rust in a year or so.
You will not need a VHF antenna unless you have a VHF station near enough to view.
Pointing the antenna in the right direction is important. The more signal you get to the frot of the antenna
the more that will get thru bad connections, splitters and other lossy parts of your system.
If you have a tower or rooftop mount to put the antenna on, Maybe a rotor would
serve as a nice addition. you could then attempt to watch stations that are out of your market.

Whatr do you watch now (off-air)?

[genlock]

If you have a loft area under your roof that is unused,
you could put the antenna there and hold it up with string or fishing line.
This won't work if you have a metal roof.
Then the antenna will not have to be weatherproofed and the wind will
not turn it around to the wrong direction.
My antenna is like this and I am 22 miles from the local (HTS) antenna farm and it works fine.
Charleston too. I am on the top of a hill.
This is an easy thing to try and may work just fine.
If it doesn't work, go to the roof or tower to try.

[genlock]

WTAP coverage map

http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service ... 74018.html

[genlock]

wtrf-dt coverage map

http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service ... 51287.html

[Greg Goodfellow]

Thanks, Gen! Wow-I SHOULD get WTRF. The way they showed their map, I seemed to be in some kind of color band, which I read as extreme fringe. I'm on top of Friendly Hill. The folks down below are not going to be as fortunate as I. Anyway, our biggest loss is going to be WTOV. Sorry, WTAP, but we usually watch 9's news. I don't have any hope to access WTOV, and they do a lot of great programming, most notably "Jamboree in the Hills." Anyway, other than WTOV, WTRF, WTAP and WDTV, we usually watch WBOY, WVFX and WNPB.
I'm really going to hate losing WTAE. Will I be able to access the other channels provided by WTRF ('Power of 3')? What about WTAP's offerings? Questions, questions.

Should I get someone to check signal strength, and if so, whom? Once we do that, and get less than desired, I should then complain to stations I can't receive for a waiver for a net?
A gentleman told me Friday that he couldn't get WTRF, so he called them. Allegedly, after about ten minutes, he got CBS via satellite. I'm not sure I'm believing that one, but ya never know.

With those stations noted, should I get a VHF/UHF hybrid antenna? I'll probably go for broke and eventually set up the tower to get as much height as possible. Between us and desired northern stations are some pretty tall and densely-packed trees on our neighbor's property.

[genlock]

If someone from Friendly already had their reception tested by WTRF,
chances are that they will not send a technician back there.
Try for a waiver. If you are on a hill (elevation?) you maybe could get WDTV
on channel 5 or 6, and maybe some others.
Go to wikipedia, type in the station call letters, down at the bottom of the page is
a list of url's for the non-wiki sites.
Go to the FCC urls and look for the digital tv applications (may be several).
there is a hypertext saying station contours 41db or something like that.
That is your map. Print it for all the stations in your area.

[genlock]

I found a Goodfellow on Oscar st but cant find Oscar st on google earth.
Yes, If on a hill and you have a tower, get a UHF/VHF antenna.
You might just be able to get CBG/weston, wheeling, Parkersburg stations.
Maybe even someone to your west. The hill seems to be 200 or so feet above the river, that is good.
Get a rotor and do the thing right and you will have an installation that will last years.

[Hoosier Daddy]

Greg, listen to Genlock.
Outdoor antenna, tower, heavy duty rotor.
Professional (long-term) installation.
You could actually be better off than someone with cable.
More OTA choices.

[Greg Goodfellow]

Thanks, Gen and Hoosier! The professionally-installed route would be our preference. Any recommendations out there (or any takers)?

[Hoosier Daddy]

TV antenna installers are a dying breed.
Check the Yellow Pages under "Television - Service & Repair"
Look in Parkersburg, Marietta, Wheeling, and Steubenville phone books, too.
If no luck, call around. Check with local amateur radio guys.
The County EMA Director and the local Red Cross folks should have phone numbers.
If all else fails, call a 2 way radio shop.
They usually have access to tower people.
Get your antenna above the trees if at all possible.
Go at least 10' above your roof line.
Metal towers (Rohn 25G or similar) are best.
If you have a big brick chimney in good shape, a chimney mount antenna may work well.
Roof mounted tripods are OK if you just need a little height but they are ugly.
Try to avoid telescoping poles and guy wires if at all possible.
Make sure everything is well grounded and you have lightning protection on all the wires that enter your home.
My $0.02.

[Mr. Jones]

This might be the geek in me, but will anyone be rolling tape when channel 3 goes dark?