Here's a fun one for you... WGXA, WMGT and WPGA are all turning off their analog transmitters today... but there's not a single peep about it on their websites.

WMAZ has a front-page story about it, even though they're the only ones staying on analog for a while.

You'd think the stations turning off the analogs today would have loads of info on their websites, to help keep the number of phone calls down.

Hey Y'all:
Well, it's done. Channel 24 analog is dark. Adam Hammond came out and shot video and did interviews. It will run on the news tonight. He shot a lot of video, but usually very little will actually make it on the air. I did a simple explanation of how our digital system works. It was very simple, but I doubt they will use much of it. Anyway, there should be shots of our transmitters, old and new. Look for it tonight at ten.

Ralph Carson
Assistant Chief Engineer
WGXA TV24/DT16

P.S. We do have an announcement on our webpage and it does have web addesses for websites about the transition, though there isn't that much info on the website itself. This forum has served as the primary public interface for matters technical.

Well, everybody is coming in loud and clear except WMGT. I've actually resorted to watching episodes of some of my favorite NBC shows online because the Dish Network WMGT SD feed is so atrocious. Since I only watch two shows on NBC anyway (The Office and Chuck) I guess it's no big deal.

I'm looking forward to WMAZ switching from 4 to 13 to help clean up the impulse noise problem. Glad this is almost over.

...how did the transition go? Did you have very many viewers calling about being left in the "dark?"

I have a couple of questions. I live about 4 mile south of Adrian, GA. I am a little outside WGXA's service contour. It is rare that I receive your signal since you have been operating at reduced power. Is your digital ERP still at 80%? If so, maybe signal propagation is really good tonight, but I am receiving a good lock on WGXA. Is it possibe that the old analog signal affected the digital? I assume the analog antenna and the digital antenna were in close proximity to one another. If you are at 80% now, then there is hope for me when you get the new transmitter repaired and back up to 100%!

Edit: Hey, Ralph, I caught Fox 24's 10pm newscast. It's nice to be able to put a face with the name! We appreciate all you've done for us in this forum!! :)

Hey, Ralph, I caught Fox 24's 10pm newscast. It's nice to be able to put a face with the name! We appreciate all you've done for us in this forum!! :)

I second this it is nice to finally put a face to the name and again Ralph thanks for all you do for all of us!

WMAZ announced, last night on their 11pm newscast, that they plan to make the dtv transition on March 17th.

Hey Y'all:
Rick, The DTV antenna for WGXA is on the same tower as the analog. However, frequency wise, they are far apart. There will be no interference into the digital from the analog with that amount of separation, (ch16 and ch24) especially on the fringe of reception. On the other hand, there might be a benefit with ch41, where the two channels are side by side. I believe their digital is ch40. However, when we get back to full power, that should help. If there are no strong stations near you, you may be able to use a higher gain preamp without fear of overloading the tuner. If you haven't already done this, try a high mast and high gain antenna. However, that will cost some money, and you are taking a gamble on it as to whether it will provide usable results. So you might want to talk to folks in your area who have already done this and see if their results are acceptable. Remember that your results could be quite different if you are in a low spot such as a river valley.

We didn't get that many calls yesterday, but we're getting hammered today!

Ralph Carson
Assistant Chief Engineers
WGXA TV24/DT16

Is the digital WGXA still on channel 16 or is it on channel 24? I thought I was going to have to rescan the digital channels in my tuner box yesterday.

WGXA actually transmits on RF channel 16. 24 was the old analog RF channel, which is now history.

And thanks, Ralph. I do plan to upgrade my installation. I think I have multi-path issues and may try a yagi. I am currently using an Antennas Direct DB-8 (an 8-bay bowtie with a screen reflector); but, I plan to try the Antennas Direct 91-XG yagi. Height will go from 35 to 50 feet.

Hey Y'all:
Rick, a yagi will definitely be better than a bowtie for DX reception. The multipath rejection is better, and the signal will be stronger. And you want lots of elements for high gain. Jedi, We're transmitting on RF channel 16, but when your receiver locks on, it will identify as channel 24-1. We are not changing either of these things.

Ralph Carson
Assistant Chief Engineer
WGXA TV24/DT16

Oh God! Please make it stop! All those converter box calls! We try to help but they're so confused! Aaugh! I think I need a drink.

Ralph,
i am wondering how many people have called with out reading the converter box manual. what's hard about unplugging the coax from the tv and into the converter box input. then adding a coax from the box out to the tv in.

Kind of reminds you of back in the 80s when VCRs became popular and a sizeable percentage of the population could not figure out how to use them after they bought one. If I had a dollar for every time I programed and demonstrated my father's VCR, I might not be broke now, but he never was able to use it. My father's gone now, but thank goodness my step-mother has cable!!! None of the elderly people I've set up for OTA digital have had any problems operating the equipment(and they've all been delighted with the improved reception and additional channels), though there are lots of complaints (which I can understand) concerning the size of the buttons on the remote.

The clock is still flashing "12:00" on my VCR! :D

Please tell me that WPGA is still operating at low power! Does anyone know for sure? The FCC TV Query database shows they have a Modification of Construction Permit for 1,000 kW. I assume that will eventually be their goal.

I am 59 miles from the Macon towers and can only receive WMAZ, reliably. WMUM booms in here, but, that is to be expected at only 39 miles. Surely, if WPGA was at 1,000 kW, I would be able to get a lock. I can receive some Augusta and Savannah stations at 75+ miles.

I think they are still operating at low power. My signal strength hasn't improved any since the conversion.

i don't think WPGA will go to 1000kW. Ralph may be better to answer, but from what i've read only the low vhf stations can go that high. the ones in the high UHF like WPGA will max out at less that 1000kW. Being a higher frequency they don't need as much power output to travel the same distance.

**edit**
just checked. according to the document stickied at the top of this forum, WPGA is at 1000kW. Only WMAZ and WMGT are not.

i don't think WPGA will go to 1000kW. Ralph may be better to answer, but from what i've read only the low vhf stations can go that high. the ones in the high UHF like WPGA will max out at less that 1000kW. Being a higher frequency they don't need as much power output to travel the same distance.

WPGA-DT has a construction permit from the FCC for 1000 kW.

The power limits in Zone II (Georgia is in Zone II) are as follows:

Low-VHF (2-6): 305m 45 kW
High-VHF (7-13): 305m 160 kW
All UHF (14-51): 365m 1000 kW

With heights higher than the ones specified following a sliding scale where the power is decreased as the height increases. You can calculate that maximum power level for the height using the Max Power vs HAAT calculator on my site here: http://www.rabbitears.info/calc.php

It's the lower frequency stations that cover better on less power, not the high ones.

- Trip

Hey Y'all:
I concur with that. The lower frequency stations can cover the same or greater distance with less power. It's because lower frequency signals tend to have a stronger ground wave that follows the curvature of the earth better. Any ham radio operator knows this from experience. The drawback (for TV) is that the lower bands also have a greater potential for skip, where a signal radiates into the sky, and is deflected by atmospheric layers to come down to earth many hundreds of miles away. Sometimes this accounts for some exciting DX ing, but more often it just causes interference to some local station in the locality where it comes down. UHF signals just keep traveling harmlessly into space. But UHF signals are line of sight signals. While there is a ground wave, it isn't as strong, and the best signal is line of sight. Of course, I speak of this as if it was three separate signals but it's really the characteristics of one. But "line of sight" means that signal level drops off over the horizon signifigantly.

I have not boned up on power allocation regulations so I couldn't comment on that.

Actually, most of the calls I've gotten about converter boxes, the viewer does have the box connected properly. A lot of them have rabbit ears, and they just aren't adequate. Some of them haven't scanned their sets but most have. They don't realize that to get a good signal they will need to work at it and possibly spend a little money or even a lot. I can understand that people don't want to gamble on a fancy antenna system if it won't work, but that's really the only way to find out. Of course, some can talk to others in their area that have already done it to find out what to expect.

Ralph Carson
Assistant Chief Engineer
WGXA TV24/DT16

hey im able to get WMAZ, WGXA and the long forgotten WGNM perfectly, but im still having trouble getting WMGT and WPGA to hold in place; are those 2 still running at a reduced power?

plus wheres WMUM at? i dont see that station at all

also as for the 2 low power stations WDMA-CA (channel 31/DT14) and W50CL (channel 50/DT50), according to their FCC databases they have digital records but they do not show up when i scan for them, i take it they havent turned on their digital signals yet (not saying i watch those stations, just a bit curious)

also speaking of curiosity, about the top mounted antennas at the tops of the Macon TV towers, since all of you (not counting WMAZ yet) have dropped your analog signal from them, do those come down or its going to be reused for the digital signals at full power? (since i see that the current DTV antennas are side mounted about a few feet down from each)

I'm receiving WMUM at nearly 95% and I'm 40 miles from their tower. As for WPGA, I wish someone could confirm whether or not they are at 1000 kW. I hope they are still at low power, otherwise, I can mark them off my list. At 59 miles, you'd think I'd be able to receive them if they were at full-power. I think WGXA is 1000 kW, but they are directional and only put 50% signal my way, according to TVFool.com.

I know this won't change, but the biggest problem with Macon is tower height. If they had towers that were comparable to Savannah & Augusta, then they would all be line-of-sight to me. WMUM is LOS and the signal BOOMS into Treutlen County and beyond!

As for WMGT, forget it! They are only 110 kW and that won't change, either.

Hey Shadow I have also wondered about the old analog antennas.
I think the existing analog antenna at the top of the tower could not be used unless the station is using the same frequency for digital, which is not the case.
I would say the analog antenna will come down and the digital will move closer to the top.
I live north east of Bolingbroke and am using DirecTV for HD locals (Yes Ralph the OTH signals are much better than the compressed D*TV picture.)
The news media and the government have all focused on the converter boxes as if that were the only problem. Far from it.
A much better antenna system is needed to pull in the lower power digital signals and also because most of the antennas are mounted lower on the tower.
With the old analog signal you could just look at the screen and adjust out the ghosting and snow, or live with it. With the digital signal that’s not possible. I use to be able to pickup the analog with no antenna on the TV.
I have been in amateur radio for 30 years, and I am still struggling to get these digital signals.
I had a VHF/UHF antenna mounted in the attic of my two story house, and have been struggling even to get Macon locals especially WMGT.
I decided to go to the chimney mount. I will be putting a Channel Master HD 9095p and a AP-4700 amp next week. This will be all UHF.
I plan on pointing it to Atlanta full time and I expect to get several of the Atlanta independent digital station including WSB 2-1 D31. I will use D*TV for locals.
But it will give me a backup for locals, should I need it. I will report on my reception quality..
Maybe if I am lucky I will be able to pull in the locals off the backside.

HDSeeker, are you sure the 9095 is Channel Master? I've seen that model number as being one from the Winegard line-up. If it is the Winegard model, please post your experience with it. The specs look good on it, but I've seen mixed reviews.

HDSeeker - please post your results with your new set-up.

If you guys are looking for a good UHF antenna that handles multipath, the Antenna's Direct 91XG is pretty hard to beat. I live in the city surrounded by trees and buildings and I pick up all the UHF channels except for WMGT pretty well.

I am currently using an Antennas Direct DB-8. I, too, have some trees, although they are 75 to 100 feet from my installation. They are mostly tall pines and a couple of oaks. I think I will stick with my original plan to replace the DB-8 with the 91-XG. I keep hearing, though, that the gain specs for the XG represent dBi and Winegard indicates dBd.

I have seen some posts, perhaps it was in another forum, when people have requested and received a fourth section for their 91-XG. I think I will try and email the company and see what the benefit would be. My guess is it would give a little boost to the gain.

My new installation is going to require a lot of work. I just haven't been motivated, yet. Still doing a little research. I know, for sure, I will have separate vhf and uhf masts. My VHF will be a Funke PSP 1922 hi-band at 40 feet and the UHF will be the 91-XG at 48 feet. I am looking at Research Commnications LTD for my UHF pre-amp. Also, for the UHF coax I will use either CommScope RG-11 or Times Microwave LMR-600-75. The downside with the Times Microwave... EXPENSIVE!! 100 feet will cost me about $200.00 WITHOUT the connectors. Unless I can find a company that will preassemble it for me, I will end up with the RG-11. Quite honestly, the added gain is not enough to justify the cost.

I have information overload... I think my head is going to EXPLODE!!

I am currently using an Antennas Direct DB-8. I, too, have some trees, although they are 75 to 100 feet from my installation. They are mostly tall pines and a couple of oaks. I think I will stick with my original plan to replace the DB-8 with the 91-XG. I keep hearing, though, that the gain specs for the XG represent dBi and Winegard indicates dBd.

I have seen some posts, perhaps it was in another forum, when people have requested and received a fourth section for their 91-XG. I think I will try and email the company and see what the benefit would be. My guess is it would give a little boost to the gain.

My new installation is going to require a lot of work. I just haven't been motivated, yet. Still doing a little research. I know, for sure, I will have separate vhf and uhf masts. My VHF will be a Funke PSP 1922 hi-band at 40 feet and the UHF will be the 91-XG at 48 feet. I am looking at Research Commnications LTD for my UHF pre-amp. Also, for the UHF coax I will use either CommScope RG-11 or Times Microwave LMR-600-75. The downside with the Times Microwave... EXPENSIVE!! 100 feet will cost me about $200.00 WITHOUT the connectors. Unless I can find a company that will preassemble it for me, I will end up with the RG-11. Quite honestly, the added gain is not enough to justify the cost.

I have information overload... I think my head is going to EXPLODE!!

That's going to be a sweet setup! I thought my 91XG/VIP306/7777 set up was expensive. You've got me beat.

If you find out anything else about the 4th 91XG section let me know. I might be interested in giving it a try. I'm thinking of raising my antenna some and seeing if I can pick up WMGT. Some extra UHF gain might just help.

I'm receiving WMUM at nearly 95% and I'm 40 miles from their tower. As for WPGA, I wish someone could confirm whether or not they are at 1000 kW. I hope they are still at low power, otherwise, I can mark them off my list. At 59 miles, you'd think I'd be able to receive them if they were at full-power. I think WGXA is 1000 kW, but they are directional and only put 50% signal my way, according to TVFool.com.

As for WMGT, forget it! They are only 110 kW and that won't change, either.

I get WMGT just fine (as well as WMAZ and WGXA) - Im only 11 miles from the tower farm (Im near Byron). But WPGA, after getting a usable signal for months, in the last few weeks has been mostly not receivable. I emailed them and got a reply from Hal Sutton. He said "The only thing I can think of is that the lack of leaves on the trees has maybe resulted in some ghosting."

I presume he is talking about multipath. Multipath was always very short term as i remember in the analog days.

TVfool says WPGA is 10dB over WMGT at my location.

When i tune to WPGA-DT, the meter just sits there at 49% , not moving much, and says im getting about +16 to 17dB S/N ratio. (locked signals usually have S/N +25dB or higher) I have a hard time believing multipath is the problem as i would expect the meter to move up and down rather rapidly, including going high enough to get a lock very frequently. (since i could lock on before the leaves were gone just fine)

On a rare night when i can get a lock (its been a week now since ive been able to do this), S/N will jump to +27 for a minute or three, then fall down and lose lock for another few minutes.

WMUM is watchable about 50% of the time but my antenna is not even pointed toward them. (Im going to add a single channel antenna for them soon).

Im curious. If i cant receive WPGA at 11 miles, who can? Should we do a poll on this forum asking people if they can receive WPGA-DT OTA and post a location?

I am currently using an Antennas Direct DB-8. I, too, have some trees, although they are 75 to 100 feet from my installation. They are mostly tall pines and a couple of oaks. I think I will stick with my original plan to replace the DB-8 with the 91-XG. I keep hearing, though, that the gain specs for the XG represent dBi and Winegard indicates dBd.

My new installation is going to require a lot of work. I just haven't been motivated, yet. Still doing a little research. I know, for sure, I will have separate vhf and uhf masts. My VHF will be a Funke PSP 1922 hi-band at 40 feet and the UHF will be the 91-XG at 48 feet. I am looking at Research Commnications LTD for my UHF pre-amp. Also, for the UHF coax I will use either CommScope RG-11 or Times Microwave LMR-600-75. The downside with the Times Microwave... EXPENSIVE!! 100 feet will cost me about $200.00 WITHOUT the connectors. Unless I can find a company that will preassemble it for me, I will end up with the RG-11. Quite honestly, the added gain is not enough to justify the cost.

I have information overload... I think my head is going to EXPLODE!!

According to this site, the 91XG will only help you (over the DB-8) below RF channel 21. (Thats WGXA for UHF only):
http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/comparing.html
(see chart: "Net Gain for some common UHF antennas")

The NOISE FIGURE is the most important preamp parameter. The Research Communications DTV preamps look good. Looks like you need to buy a weatherproof box for it. Im too stingy to pay that much as lightning will get it if it stick it up there.

As long as the amp gain overcomes the cable/connector loss for your expected length, any good quality RG-6 should work. I would not go to RG-11 due to expense and rigidity. I used Belden 1694A for my first install ($0.50/ft) because i was looking for low loss/good shielding to use without a preamp. 1694A has a 95% shield. You can get reasonably priced sealed connectors and installation tools for it also. More recently, I used Commscope 5765, which is cheaper than the Belden but they claim slightly better loss specs. The 1694A connectors also worked on the commscope 5765. (I just looked and the 5765 is on clearance at http://www.zackelectronics.com/product.php?id_product=7006 for $0.15/ft)

Ive read that small increases in height can make a significant difference. If you can easily raise your DB-8, that might be something to try first.

Ive read that small increases in height can make a significant difference. If you can easily raise your DB-8, that might be something to try first.

In addition, one defect my current installation has is the mast above the rotor has about a 3-5 degree tilt downward, due to high winds a little over a year and a half ago. So, I may decide to see what 10 more feet in height and a perfectly verticle mast will do for me. New and better coax will be a plus. The coax I am using was purchaced from Lowes... so you know it's not in the same league as Belden or CommScope!

I really don't look forward to fighting with guy wire. I wish I could get the curl out of it better. I always end up with a kink. Has anyone tried using wire rope? I know securing the ends is more involved.

Hey Y'all:
Be advised that WGXA is now at full licensed power.

Ralph Carson
Assistant Chief Engineer
WGXA TV24/DT16

Hey Y'all:
Be advised that WGXA is now at full licensed power.

Ralph Carson
Assistant Chief Engineer
WGXA TV24/DT16

Very good! Thanks, Ralph. I am receiving an "okay" signal this evening. Things look good for the future, because my installation needs to be "maximized." That will be a project for the spring. After that, WGXA should be fairly dependable.

I got an email from Hal, the CE at WPGA. He said that they are operating at 100 kW and will go to around 180 kW after the June 12th transition date. According to Hal, it will probably be at least a year before they will be operating at 1,000 kW, depending on "market conditions." (Does that mean "if they can afford it?") I guess I will have to keep swinging my antenna around to Augusta to receive WJBF in order to watch ABC.

Hey Y'all:
Be advised that WGXA is now at full licensed power.

Ralph Carson
Assistant Chief Engineer
WGXA TV24/DT16

I watched "Bones" last night via Directv HD to see whether Rodhe & Schwarz fixed the problem with your exciter. (I'm assuming you have re-installed it since you've returned to full power.) At about 8:30 p.m., there was about a five second audio brrrp and video stall, but that's the only problem I noticed. Only one problem in an hour is a major improvement. What do your instruments show, Ralph?

Hey Y'all:
We do have the Rodhe & Schwarz back on line, but it isn't fixed. We bought a new analog coder system and we found out that the Rodhe & Schwarz seems to like this piece of gear. The result is low PCR jitter. Apparently, there are some problems with standardation of ASI signals in the broadcast equipment industry. We'll work it out, but it might take some time. But in the mean time, we're back up at full power. Those who still can't pick us up, should rescan.

Also, we have been having brief interruptions in power in the evening. I suspect it's Georgia Power switching substations, but I don't really know. This appears to be the cause of reports of brief signal loss.

Ralph Carson
Assistant Chief Engineer
WGXA TV24/DT16

Just curious, who on this board is getting the Atlanta stations? I'm just outside Macon towards Gray and can reliably receive the DT offerings of WSB, WAGA, WPCH, WATL, WGCL, WHSG and WUPA. I've got an 8 ft. UHF yagi in the attic with a Winegard 8275 (incredible amp). A Channel Master 8 output DA feeds my two HD sets and Dish ATSC tuners. The kids love Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys, The Incredible Hulk and Knight Rider on RTN via WSB 2.2. I've got a spare DB-8 that didn't do as advertised so I might go for a couple of Blonder Tongues in the other end of my attic.

Just curious, who on this board is getting the Atlanta stations? I'm just outside Macon towards Gray and can reliably receive the DT offerings of WSB, WAGA, WPCH, WATL, WGCL, WHSG and WUPA. I've got an 8 ft. UHF yagi in the attic with a Winegard 8275 (incredible amp). A Channel Master 8 output DA feeds my two HD sets and Dish ATSC tuners. The kids love Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys, The Incredible Hulk and Knight Rider on RTN via WSB 2.2. I've got a spare DB-8 that didn't do as advertised so I might go for a couple of Blonder Tongues in the other end of my attic.

Thats very encouraging. Im waiting on time and good weather to get on the roof and finish my CM 4228 and CM0264 preamp setup. At 35ft above ground level, and elevation just east of Byron, im hoping ATL DTV is usable. You are a several more miles North than me however.

Do you know what model UHF Yagi you have?

Just curious, who on this board is getting the Atlanta stations? I'm just outside Macon towards Gray and can reliably receive the DT offerings of WSB, WAGA, WPCH, WATL, WGCL, WHSG and WUPA. I've got an 8 ft. UHF yagi in the attic with a Winegard 8275 (incredible amp). A Channel Master 8 output DA feeds my two HD sets and Dish ATSC tuners. The kids love Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys, The Incredible Hulk and Knight Rider on RTN via WSB 2.2. I've got a spare DB-8 that didn't do as advertised so I might go for a couple of Blonder Tongues in the other end of my attic.

I wish Macon would get RTN. That channel is awesome. I don't get it where I live. I live around Hartley Bridge road and I only have a Terk TV 5 indoor antenna. I get all the Macon channels and PBS. I have all 4 seasons on Knight Rider on DVD and the first 2 seasons of The Rockford Files on DVD. I think where I live I would be better off buying more Rockford Files and The Incredible Hulk on DVD than all the expensive antenna equipment. I also have 3 seasons of Airwolf, All 3 seasons of The Greatest American Hero, all 7 seasons on The Dukes of Hazzard, all of I Dream of Jeannie, Gilligan's Island, and the Honeymooners on DVD. Retro is the way to go.

It's the surviving UHF portion of a Radio Shack VU-190. It was slammed to the ground about ten years ago during a severe thunderstorm. Somehow, it was undamaged while the VHF end was your typical Radio Shack helix of junk. I hacksawed the UHF portion behind the corner reflector and terminals. For the last decade, it's been in the attic to receive 13WMAZ (yagi U's do get some V's).

Here's some screenshots of WSB DT 2.1 and 2.2.

They tested their new 13.1 DT transmitter on 210-216 Mhz (current analog frequency) this past Tuesday night at 1:30 or so. I got word of their test from a friend of mine who knows their chief engineer. Here's a screen shot of their signal via my Dish 211 ATSC tuner and my attic yagi still pointed toward Atlanta. Based on my signal strength, I'd say they clearly passed their test.

Here's a shot of DT 4.1 (66-72 Mhz) Tuesday night and DT 13.1 (210-216 Mhz) during the test.

Just curious, who on this board is getting the Atlanta stations? I'm just outside Macon towards Gray and can reliably receive the DT offerings of WSB, WAGA, WPCH, WATL, WGCL, WHSG and WUPA. I've got an 8 ft. UHF yagi in the attic with a Winegard 8275 (incredible amp). A Channel Master 8 output DA feeds my two HD sets and Dish ATSC tuners. The kids love Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys, The Incredible Hulk and Knight Rider on RTN via WSB 2.2. I've got a spare DB-8 that didn't do as advertised so I might go for a couple of Blonder Tongues in the other end of my attic.I regularly watch WUPA, but I get them all. I have trouble in daylight hours with most of them, but they do excellent when it's dark. Can you get Columbus? Channel 54 has ThisTv on 54.2, it's a movie channel, and really good. I sometimes have trouble with 54 in daylight, but dark is always good.

It's the surviving UHF portion of a Radio Shack VU-190. It was slammed to the ground about ten years ago during a severe thunderstorm. Somehow, it was undamaged while the VHF end was your typical Radio Shack helix of junk. I hacksawed the UHF portion behind the corner reflector and terminals. For the last decade, it's been in the attic to receive 13WMAZ (yagi U's do get some V's).

Here's some screenshots of WSB DT 2.1 and 2.2.

Those screenshots are awesome. Great stuff.

Do you watch The Misadventures of Sherriff Lobo Sunday at 6pm. I haven't seen that show since 1980 when I was 13 years old. I'm a big Dukes of Hazzard fan and Season 1 of The Misadventures of Sherriff Lobo was almost as good as the Dukes. I hope The Misadventures of Sherriff Lobo will be realeased on DVD one day.

If anyone can confirm that the following stations ended analog operations on 2/17, it will help me get the spreadsheet up to date.

WMGT/41
WPGA/58

Also, is WPGA operating a nightlight?

Thanks!

According to WPGA's Form 387 (from 2/9/09), they are operating their post-transition facility, but that appears to be the 100kW directional facility. Some parts to the North of the tower only receive 6% power.

They have a Construction Permit for 1000kW non-directional, which was granted in December.

http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1250888&Service=DT&Form_id=301&Facility_id=54728

I can't tell when it will be constructed, but if they are moving it to a top mount (which appears to be the case) the analog 58 antenna would probably have to be removed first. The CP shows that the maximized facility will be at 266m AGL vs. 207m for the 100kW facility.

I can no longer receive an analog nightlight signal from Macon. WMAZ is the only station transmitting an analog (RF 13) & digital (RF 4) signal... and they plan to cease analog after March 17. As for WPGA's dtv "maximization" plans, I received an email from their CE stating that they are currently 100 kW and plan to increase to around 180 kW after the June transition date. As for the 1,000 kW... he said it would be about a year and even then it would depend on... and I quote, "market conditions."

It's great to hear of others who are getting Atlanta DTV stations. I haven't tried to get the Columbus DTV stations. I've looked at the FCC maps on WRBL's contour for DT 15 and it is a real monster just like their analog coverage. Nice to know that 54 is programming their sub channel.

WUPA is using 43 for their DT channel and it's very strong at our house, too. It might be the strongest signal in Atlanta. BTW, the weakest is WPBA, the local PBS station operated by the Atlanta Board of Education. I'll snap some screen shots of analog 69 and DT on 43 and post them here. It shows why DTV is superior to "Never The Same Color".

Don't plan on 13WMAZ dropping the analog on March 17th. The new FCC guidelines "strongly" discourage existing analog stations from transitioning until at least April 14th. In fact, they are expecting a show cause for any pre-June 12th transition. Since Macon successfully transitioned some but not all of the market to DTV, there's no need to have a nightlight station since WMAZ is still an analog offering. I'm told June 12th is the more realistic transition date now.

For the last two weeks and I'm not sure why, "Hulk" has aired Sunday at 6pm on WSB DT. I always liked Claude Akins and he was so funny in Lobo.

If the 180kW facility will be non-directional, that would be a significant improvement, with some areas only getting 6kW off the 100.

If they are talking about 180kW on the current antenna, well... not so much.

Don't plan on 13WMAZ dropping the analog on March 17th. The new FCC guidelines "strongly" discourage existing analog stations from transitioning until at least April 14th. In fact, they are expecting a show cause for any pre-June 12th transition. Since Macon successfully transitioned some but not all of the market to DTV, there's no need to have a nightlight station since WMAZ is still an analog offering. I'm told June 12th is the more realistic transition date now.

I don't believe that any station can end analog operations before April 16th if they haven't already, unless they have some catastrophic failure that forces analog off the air.

As for WMAZ, being a major network station, they would probably have to be a nightlight (covering 90% of analog viewers) until June 12th.

I think the FCC is being too strict with this. They want to make sure that at least one analog signal is available in each market until 6/12. However, are we to believe there are still analog viewers in the markets which are already down to 1 full power analog station? WMAZ may as well be a nightlight already and are at a disadvantage in the digital world on Low-VHF 4, until they can move to 13.

My remark about WMAZ was based on what they aired on a newscast post-February 17. Perhaps that announcement was premature.

This is the application, but it is listed as being "Accepted for Filing" and not "Granted": http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101295576&formid=911&fac_num=46991

With all of the dates flying around, I was incorrect on the April 14th listing. Thanks for catching that! 13WMAZ did announce Friday the 20th that they intend to transition on March 17th. They even did a late night test of their new DT transmitter on RF 13 this past Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. Pictures are on an earlier post. However, the FCC doesn't look favorably on any additional transitions until June 12th. I disagree with this heartily but then I don't like the June 12th extension either. The station's analog transmitter is an NEC, vintage 1985, and replacement parts are scarce, really scarce. I don't think the new transmitter will be tested again until the day they say goodbye to analog.

DTV on RF 4 has been less than spectacular but on RF 13 it should be really solid.

I live around Hartley Bridge Road and WMAZ only gets 6 out of 10 bars on my signal indicator. The rest of the Macon stations get 10 out of 10.

I have my first ever TV that I bought way back in 1986 in my bedroom. Its a 13 inch color TV that has no remote and it isn't cable ready. I have held on to it for the last 10 years just for nostalgia reasons. Once WMAZ turns off their analog signal I will put it in the closet. I have my digital HDTV tuner on my 50 inch plasma HDTV.

Just in time for the last few laps of the NASCAR race... it appears icing on the WGXA antenna's causing high VSWR and the transmitter's folding back.

Even Dish Network isn't receiving it.

This after the snow on the satellite TVRO dish caused most of the pre-race show to be pre-empted by infomercials.

Sure, it's a rare snow/ice day in middle Georgia... and just bad luck for NASCAR fans.

However, it leaves us with no choice but to turn off the TV (can't watch it anyway) and listen to the radio...

Might turn out to be better this way, and turn into a regular Sunday habit!

Hey Y'all:
Icing of the main antenna wasn't the problem with WGXA. The problem was due to power failure at the transmitter site. We have no backup power. Also, we had icing of our sattellite dishes, but we do have a snow shield on the Fox dish. Apparently, it isn't sufficient. Due to the wetness of the snow, Solid ice formed on the cover and it was rendered useless. Anyway, that's what happened. The sattellite dish icing occurred first.

Ralph Carson
Assistant Chief Engineer
WGXA TV24/DT16

Hey Y'all:
Icing of the main antenna wasn't the problem with WGXA. The problem was due to power failure at the transmitter site. We have no backup power. Also, we had icing of our sattellite dishes, but we do have a snow shield on the Fox dish. Apparently, it isn't sufficient. Due to the wetness of the snow, Solid ice formed on the cover and it was rendered useless. Anyway, that's what happened. The sattellite dish icing occurred first.

Ralph Carson
Assistant Chief Engineer
WGXA TV24/DT16
Oh, well, PRN will be on from Atlanta. That and Trackpass will get us through.

Oh, well, PRN will be on from Atlanta. That and Trackpass will get us through.

And a good thing, too. NASCAR on Fox... rather NASCAR on WGXA... is now at a point where the Sirius radio will be brought in from the car every week, rather than depend on the television broadcast.

Hey Y'all:
The WGXA outage on Cox cable was due to the fiber optic link to Cox failing. That is out of our control. It's still frustrating, I understand. I don't know why they don't have it set up to auto switch to the air receiver. We also had some problems with the equinox solar outages. Anyway, it wasn't a good day.

Ralph Carson
WGXA TV24/DT16

ok folks, i recently got this new antenna (a rather cheap $9 RCA antenna) and i tried it out.

WMAZ comes in loud n' clear along with WGXA, WPGA (finally) and just barely WMGT; analog WMAZ, WDMA, and W50CL comes in as well at a decent quality.

so by this, i take it that WPGA may have turned up the juice on their output on their transmitter because before 2-17-09 WPGA was almost a "no-show" in my area here in town along with WMGT.

also, WMUM-DT is still a no show.

Hey Y'all:
The WGXA outage on Cox cable was due to the fiber optic link to Cox failing. That is out of our control. It's still frustrating, I understand. I don't know why they don't have it set up to auto switch to the air receiver. We also had some problems with the equinox solar outages. Anyway, it wasn't a good day.

Ralph Carson
WGXA TV24/DT16

FYI, the outages (multiple) during the race were the broadcast signal.

Dish Network also went to the nice purple screen.

But it's ok... with Sirius (sorry, WDEN) and PitCommand, I made it through without missing a beat.

It's just that from a reliability standpoint, it begins to look like DTV ain't there, so I will do the radio and computer thing and if TV does work, that'll just be a bonus. Kinda like... y'know... the 50s :)

Hey Y'all:
Yes, there were over the air outages on the race. First there was a problem with the solar equinox outages, which knocked out the network feed, and then we made an error while troubleshooting the Cox problem. These things happen. The equinox problems happen to analog TV also, but we have alternative dishes for analog. We should have gone to the low def auxillary Fox feed, but that didn't happen. We would not have been able to maintain high def through the equinox outage, but we should have been able to maintain a low def picture and normal sound. It will get better when Fox upgrades to the new sattellite equipment, there will be a backup Fox feed in high def. Also, yesterday, (Mar 11) we had audio problems that were due to a failed audio DA. Lots of burned resistors and transistors. It occured while we were removing an Orban unit, and we thought it was related.

Ralph Carson
WGXA TV24/DT16

I was all calm and cool until Ralph mentioned Orban, maker of the industry standard audio processor, the Optimod. It's a required box in all great audio chains for AM, FM or TV. What I wouldn't give to have an original Optimod FM 8100-A or even an Optimod TV. Thanks for the flashback to the neat little box known for compression, total gain and high frequency limiting.

Looks like WMAZ has moved their transition date to June.

http://www.13wmaz.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=61518&catid=7

Yeah, I have an optimod TV sitting on the bench right now. I got it working. I love it's simple construction, it's well designed. It's not a mass of untraceable micro circuits inside, and I appreciate that. It has very few electrolytic capacitors and that makes it very reliable. This one is old enough to not be Rohs compliant (I hate Rohs with a passion). We have the split chassis configuration, and we're converting back to the single chassis setup to feed the A to D converter here at the studio. The split channel configuration put some of the compression cards before the STL microwave, so that the STL could benefit from it's Orban-ness. The small chassis went in the studio, and the big chassis went to the transmitter site. But since audio encoding to the transport stream will be done at the studio, the split configuration will not be needed. So we pulled the cards from the small chassis and put them in the large chassis.

Ralph Carson
WGXA TV24/DT16

Any one else having issues with WXGA today? The LSU-MSU game is pixelating bad. Curious if this wonderful weather today is affecting the signal.

ok folks, i recently got this new antenna (a rather cheap $9 RCA antenna) and i tried it out.

WMAZ comes in loud n' clear along with WGXA, WPGA (finally) and just barely WMGT; analog WMAZ, WDMA, and W50CL comes in as well at a decent quality.

so by this, i take it that WPGA may have turned up the juice on their output on their transmitter because before 2-17-09 WPGA was almost a "no-show" in my area here in town along with WMGT.

also, WMUM-DT is still a no show.


I live around Hartley Bridge Road and I get all the locals and WMUM-DT with the Terk Low-Profile Indoor Antenna (TV5).

http://www.amazon.com/Terk-Low-Profile-Indoor-Antenna-TV5/dp/B000069106/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1237104602&sr=8-1

I live around Hartley Bridge Road and I get all the locals and WMUM-DT with the Terk Low-Profile Indoor Antenna (TV5)i figured you'll have 'em all since i know for a fact that the Hartley Bridge area is on a terrain where it litterly sits above southwest Macon (where im located)
plus when i used to work in that area, i can see all 5 towers in plain view (well mainly on a clear sunny day and at night when they are lit up), so i know everyone there has no issues with reception of all 6 stations.

As of this morning, WMAZ has not ceased analog. I know they announced after the February transition that they would make the switch March 17. Either they have not completed construction of the final digital facility or the FCC put a stop to their plans. Anyone have any insight? I can't tolerate digital on channel 4... way too many glitches from impules noise.

Either they have not completed construction of the final digital facility or the FCC put a stop to their plans. Anyone have any insight?

It's the latter. June 12 it is.

- Trip

I do know that WMAZ has constructed a new transmitter building on their tower site. They got a late start, but they are busy working on it.

Ralph Carson
WGXA TV24/DT16

I've been picking up WMGT again thanks to favorable atmospheric conditions. Of course, DirecTV is coming tomorrow (I dumped Dish Network for their lack of Macon locals in HD as well as other HD channels that they don't offer) so it doesn't really matter. I'm going to continue using my antenna to receive my locals and use DirecTV as a backup when I can't pick them up (like WMGT).

Ralph is there something that can be done about the contest banners that WGXA has been running the past several night during primetime programming.

For it is causing the first minute or so of the show to be in SD with lower volume and it is very annoying when it switches back to HD and the volume goes up.

Hey Y'all:
In regard to the contest banners being aired in standard def, Unfortunately, that is the only way we currently have to air them. All of our keying equipment is NTSC. However, I might can do something about the audio level disparity. We have the same problem with EAS alerts. As for the decision to air them, that's not my department.

It is my understanding that the new Fox gear will have keying features. If it does, we will fully utilize it.

Ralph carson
A.C.E.
WGXA TV24/DT16

P.S. I understand that particular contest is over.

I'm having a weird problem with WMUM. On my DirecTV AM21 tuner, all I get is a black screen for 29.1 and 29.3 (29.2 doesn't show up in my guide for some bizarre reason). Signal strength is 100%. The funny thing is it was working just last week. I'm going to plug the antenna into my 52XBR4 and see if it does the same on that tuner. Anybody else having a problem?

Edit: Looks like it's doing it on my television's tuner as well. All my other OTA stations are working just fine.

Hey Y'all:
In regard to the contest banners being aired in standard def, Unfortunately, that is the only way we currently have to air them. All of our keying equipment is NTSC. However, I might can do something about the audio level disparity. We have the same problem with EAS alerts. As for the decision to air them, that's not my department.

It is my understanding that the new Fox gear will have keying features. If it does, we will fully utilize it.

Ralph carson
A.C.E.
WGXA TV24/DT16

P.S. I understand that particular contest is over.

Thanks Ralph that would be of great help for my main problem with this is the audio level changes it does not bother me that much switching from SD to HD and so on.

Yeah I have not seen them I think since the day after my original post but if the audio problem could be fixed on future promotions that would be great.

A quick call to PBS got the problem fixed. Apparently I was the only person to call them about the problem. :confused:

A quick call to PBS got the problem fixed. Apparently I was the only person to call them about the problem. :confused:

Did they say what the problem was?

Nope, the engineer never called me back.

Does anyone at WPGA know that Kimmel is in HD now?

By the way, Ralph Carson, I'll send you a "Thank you" for your participation with us.

You're Welcome!

Ralph Carson
WGXA

I see the blurs are back at WMAZ. It's especially obvious during the beginning of Jeopardy when they're meeting the contestants. Each person starts out extremely blurry and then clears up somewhat.

Would someone tell WPGA that General Hospital is now in HD also?

Are we EVER gonna get Macon locals in HD on Dish?

I know this is supposed to be a secret, but...
You can get the local stations in HDTV with an ANTENNA. And, not only are they FREE, but they look better, too.

I know this is supposed to be a secret, but...
You can get the local stations in HDTV with an ANTENNA. And, not only are they FREE, but they look better, too.

Between WMAZ-DT on channel 4 and the signal issues of some of the other Macon stations (WPGA at 18 kW), I can't say I blame people for wanting the locals on satellite.

- Trip

Macon is pathetic with coverage of its market. WMAZ will be the only commerical station that will at least cover a 60-mile radius. The move to channel 13 will be welcomed. I currently receive WRDW (RF12) from Augusta at 77 miles. The signal is moderate and very reliable (except when WFXL @ 110 miles interferes). WRDW is 20.2 kW. So, when WMAZ moves to RF13 with around 50 kW, signal problems shoud be greatly reduced.

As for Macon's UHF stations, they need to pool their resources and share a taller tower. Stations in Savannah & Augusta have towers that are around 1200+ feet. That much tower height would put Macon in LOS for me. Then, I may even be able to receive WPGA at 18 kW.

WPGA has a CP for 1,000 kW. Previous correspondence with their engineer, however, reveals that they may increase power to 180 kW at the June 12th transition and, perhaps in a year, up it to their max, depending on market conditions. This doesn't sound promising.

Well, it's back to the 60's for me. I may be able to receive a couple of commercial stations reliably. I've got public TV coming out the wazoo, here. WMUM, WCES & WVAN. What's wrong with that picture?!

I've got public TV coming out the wazoo, here. WMUM, WCES & WVAN. What's wrong with that picture?!

They're all the same. If they all were different PBS stations and had different subchannels, I'd say you had it made! :D

Of course, that's coming from someone who's about to have zero reliable PBS stations, so...

- Trip

I have an antenna and a booster, but no luck getting the channels in Dublin

well well now...

Macon is "FINALLY" getting MyNetworkTV (http://my41tv.com).
Who would have known WMGT-TV will take this network, i thought the whole time that WGXA will carry it full time on it's subchannels in the near future (since they air WWE Smackdown every friday night)

all we need now is to get The CW over the air and then we'll have all of the networks over the air here in this city.

by the way, has WMAZ-TV dropped their digital ERP lately?? i cant even tune them in, their analog signal is still coming in strong; unless they are doing some more work at their tower site.

I guess WRDW, in Augusta will be my source for MyNetworkTV. I can only receive WMGT when the wind is blowing in the right direction. It would be nice if WMAZ would get the CW on a sub-channel. After the post-transition move to RF13, they should boom into the Adrian area... provided they will be transmitting @ 52.6 kW ERP as indicated by FCC data. Currently, though, I am receiving a moderate digital signal from WMAZ on RF4 @ 59.5 miles. I admit, though, there have been some brief periods where their signal has disappeared.

It would be nice if WMAZ would get the CW on a sub-channel. After the post-transition move to RF13, they should boom into the Adrian area... provided they will be transmitting @ 52.6 kW ERP as indicated by FCC data. Currently, though, I am receiving a moderate digital signal from WMAZ on RF4 @ 59.5 miles. I admit, though, there have been some brief periods where their signal has disappeared.ya know, that sounds like a hell of an idea for WMAZ-TV to do...besides, they do have that blank/vacant spot on 13.2; why not put it into some good use.

someone needs to ask the guys over at WMAZ about negotiating with Cox to put "WBMN" (the CW on cable channel 3) on their subchannel 13.2; by doing that people who dont have cable can finally see The CW throughout the Middle GA region (not to mention, by doing this Macon will have all of the major TV networks over the air like everyone else)

i wonder if WGXA and WPGA (if possible for them) will have other networks on their own subchannels in the future?

Ugh. With 41 adding MyNetworkTV look for their bitrate to drop even lower. Their picture already looks terrible. I can't imagine what having an HD subchannel will do. :(

well well now...

Macon is "FINALLY" getting MyNetworkTV

Is this channel live yet? My receiver won't let me scan for new channels.

I just did a scan and didn't see it. Maybe tomorrow?

Is this channel live yet? My receiver won't let me scan for new channels.right now it seems like WMGT-TV havent opened a new subchannel yet, 41.1 is still the only channel from those guys....

i'll give em some time, its likely they might add 41.2 twards the end of the month.

and as for picture quality, its gonna suck...with pixelation and frame rate issues...speaking of which, has anyone noticed that WMGT goes into a 30 fps mode at times then 60fps? (i dont know if its from Cox of the station themselves.

UPDATE!!!

WMAZ-TV analog channel 13 has dropped!!!

at 1:02am

i've watched the final moments of the analog signal to the end, all i have to say is...
FAREWELL ANALOG SIGNALS!!!

all that remains is WDMA-CA channel 31 and W50DA channel 50 (both low powered)

*edited at 1:23am*
WMAZ-DT channel 13.1 launched at 1:20am

I watched the final moments of the analog signal on channel 13 go as well. I scan my digital tuner box and picked up the new channel 13. I checked the signal strength and its 10 out 10 bars! It has been 5 out of 10 bars since I've been checking it back in December. There will be no more breakups in channel 13. Which is great news since the NFL preseason starts in 2 months.

Getting MyNetworkTV is good. I can then watch WWE Smackdown at 8pm instead of 11pm. I don't care about the CW. I want the Retro Television Network! That station has tons of great shows to watch. Four cities in GA has one but Macon doesn't.

Starting on July 6 WMGT will broadcast MyNetworkTV on channel 41.2 in Macon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WMGT-TV

Finally I won't have to worry about all the pulse noise interference on 13. :)

I'm getting 13.1 and 13.3 at 100% down here in Eastman. The only problem is even though 13.3 doppler strength is 100% my DirecTV tuner won't lock and gives me a Searching for Signal. I'll try my television's tuner when I get home and see if it does it there as well. Anybody else having this problem?

I just found out some info that has me doing some wishing. MyNetworkTV only broadcasts from 8-10pm every night. I just found out the NBC station in Savannah channel 3 not only has MyNetworkTV on channel 3-2 but it has the Retro Television network on the same 3-2 channel on hours other than 8-10pm. Will My41TV channel 41-2 do the same thing? Gosh I hope so. I have been wanting this channel for so long. Here is what is on channel 3-2.

http://www.wsav.com/sav/entertainment/mytv/

Finally I won't have to worry about all the pulse noise interference on 13. :)

I'm getting 13.1 and 13.3 at 100% down here in Eastman. The only problem is even though 13.3 doppler strength is 100% my DirecTV tuner won't lock and gives me a Searching for Signal. I'll try my television's tuner when I get home and see if it does it there as well. Anybody else having this problem?

No troubles here with 13.1 or 13.3... but then, I'm about 18 miles from the transmitter here north of Perry.

No troubles here with 13.1 or 13.3... but then, I'm about 18 miles from the transmitter here north of Perry.

Hmmm. May be a problem with my DirecTV AM21 tuner. I had this same problem with WMUM a while back where I was getting full signal but no lock. A quick call got that fixed. I'll check it out again when I get home. At least 13.1 is working fine.

Edit: Just called the wife and had her check. Looks like doppler is working now. Must have been a glitch this morning. Congrats WMAZ! Now if you would just change the setting on your encoder that causes the transition blur we'd be all set.

Does anyone know if WMAZ is trasmitting with their full ERP of 52.6 kW? The move from 4 to 13 resulted in a more glitch-free picture (as expected), but my signal strength here, just south of Adrian, has dropped by an average of 25-30%.

Atmospheric conditions must be favorable, because I can receive WGXA & WPGA, which normally don't show up with my current installation. That worries me. If WMAZ's signal on 13 is weaker than before in my area, what's going to happen when the atmosphere "settles down?" But, then, my experience with other hi-band VHF stations has shown them to be more stable than the UHF's.

I plan to replace my Winegard 7084, which I use for VHF, with a larger hi-band Funke PSP1922. It will be interesting to see how that works.

Channel 13 has a very strong signal. I checked the signal strength and its now 10 out 10 bars! It has been 5 out of 10 bars since I've been checking it back in December.

I'm in the Ingleside area of Macon and WMAZ's OTA signal varied from 93 to 98 when I checked it yesterday morning. No problems with picture quality via Directv, but the sound continues to drop out occasionally, as it did before the conversion.

Well, I'm 59.6 miles from their tower. According to documentation in their application, the maximized signal on RF13 (52.6 kW) should encompass my area (with a little buffer) and be comparable to the RF4 signal. So far, I have been very disappointed. Originally, WMAZ was granted 30 kW on channel 13. That would have put me on the edge of their service contour. So, that is why I am wondering what their ERP actually is at this time. I will be upgrading my antenna system. Maybe that's the weak link. Low-band VHF goes farther with less power. In addition, my antenna may be deficient with respect to receiving channel 13. I'm just trying to go through the process of elimination... starting with the easy stuff before tackling a new antenna installation.

I wish WMAZ's engineer would monitor this thread and contribute like Ralph from WGXA.

I'm in the Ingleside area of Macon and WMAZ's OTA signal varied from 93 to 98 when I checked it yesterday morning. No problems with picture quality via Directv, but the sound continues to drop out occasionally, as it did before the conversion.

I live around Hartley Bridge road and have no problems with the sound on an ATSC digital tuner. So its not the station.

P.S. You live close to the best pizza place in town. Ingleside Villiage Pizza. They have some of the best pizza I've ate.

so far WMAZ is coming in pretty strong here in the south-west part of the Bloomfield area (Macon)

compared to the VHF4 this is a whole lot better

now is that little issue with WMUM-TV, i'd have to point my antenna in an awkward way to get it...the signal on my box has it around 40 to 56% but its still glitchy.

I live around Hartley Bridge road and have no problems with the sound on an ATSC digital tuner. So its not the station.

P.S. You live close to the best pizza place in town. Ingleside Villiage Pizza. They have some of the best pizza I've ate.
The sound drops out when I'm watching via Directv; could be a problem similar to the one Ralph had with his transmitter, but maybe not. By the way, I walk to Ingleside Village Pizza frequently.

(Note to Ralph Carson: Last week, I noticed several braps while watching your channel during primetime via Directv. Just thought I'd let you know in case you had changed some equipment and needed feedback.)

so far WMAZ is coming in pretty strong here in the south-west part of the Bloomfield area (Macon)

compared to the VHF4 this is a whole lot better

now is that little issue with WMUM-TV, i'd have to point my antenna in an awkward way to get it...the signal on my box has it around 40 to 56% but its still glitchy.

With my Terk TV5 antenna I get WMUM-TV at 6 out of 10 bars but the picture is still good and it doesn't break up.

Testing 123....

I just rescanned after coming back from Vacation. WMAZ is below detection threshold for me now. Worked fine on digital 4. I'm only 11 miles from the transmitter near Byron. However, i have the antenna direction splitting the difference to receive PBS most of the time (no amp). I would have thought WMAZ DT13 would now be booming in on my SR-15 UHF antenna since i was receiving WMAZ DT4 just fine and WMUM DT7 most of the time......on a UHF antenna. I suppose I'll have to rotate the antenna back toward WMAZ and figure out something to add PBS.

I just rescanned after coming back from Vacation. WMAZ is below detection threshold for me now. Worked fine on digital 4. I'm only 11 miles from the transmitter near Byron. However, i have the antenna direction splitting the difference to receive PBS most of the time (no amp). I would have thought WMAZ DT13 would now be booming in on my SR-15 UHF antenna since i was receiving WMAZ DT4 just fine and WMUM DT7 most of the time......on a UHF antenna. I suppose I'll have to rotate the antenna back toward WMAZ and figure out something to add PBS.

WMAZ is VHF station so a UHF antenna should not really pick them up for you I am really surprised you ever got them when they were on DT4 if you really only have an UHF antenna.

At the moment, WMAZ is useless to me. Whereas, I was getting a digital signal that was in the upper 80's to low 90's on channel 4, I now get a level that consistently falls off the digital cliff (below 75% on my Panasonic DVD recorder with ATSC tuner). It's time to upgrade my antenna. My Winegard 7094 (which I am using only for VHF) is over 6 years old and the coax has had some water damage. Hi-band 13 is more unforgiving than the low-band channel 4.

Since I am not using the largest available VHF antenna, I have room for improving my signal by 2 or 3 dB's. I am enjoying planning the new installation... just waiting for the motivation to get my hands "dirty!"

WMAZ is VHF station so a UHF antenna should not really pick them up for you I am really surprised you ever got them when they were on DT4 if you really only have an UHF antenna.

Oops: halfhiemers is setting in. I forgot i had a V15 UHF/VHF antenna on the roof, not a SR15. Thanks for reminding me.

However, antennas dont suddenly "cut off" at a specified frequency. Rather they exhibit less gain and unspecified patterns for near, but out of band signals. Some fall off more quickly than others, depending on construction. An example is the old version of the Channel Master 4228, which still has good gain at VHF hi channels (see near bottom of this page):
http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/comparing.html

I spoke with WMAZ's GM, this afternoon. They are at full power, 52.6 kW. Bummer. I was expecting better performance. Guess it's time to get my butt in gear and upgrade my antenna installation!

WMAZ 13 is getting a full 100% signal strength at both mine and my mom's house.

I am getting a full 100% for WMAZ in warner robins also.

As mentioned, earlier, I am almsot 60 miles away. Communities within 35-40 or so miles of the tower should be getting fantastic reception. I live on the fringe. So I would be interested in hearing form other members at 50+ miles from the tower. Finally, I will point out that WMAZ's signal STRENGTH on channel 13 is half that of what is was for channel 4 at my location. Granted, channel 4 suffered from impulse noise interference, but with half the signal strength on 13 (for my area), the signal keeps falling off the digital cliff and the audio/video breaks up.

Picking up WMAZ in Dublin at 88%. I have an old antenna in the attic. Can't pick up the other stations, can't turn my antenna. Before transition I could not get WMAZ.

I have read that adding about 3 dB's is like doubling the receiving power of an antenna. Is this true in the real world? If so, I believe my planned upgrade will add at least 2 dB's, maybe 3+, to the sensitiivity of my reception. My coax shows evidence of water damage and will be replaced... that's got help! So, I haven't ruled WMAZ out, yet. I am using an AntennasDirect DB8 for UHF. I've seen performance charts at HDTVPrimer (I think) indicating a sharp drop in gain around channels 15-16 on the DB8. That may explain why I have such trouble with WGXA, since they are on RF16. Compared to the 91XG, the drop in gain at channel 16 is roughly 4 dB's!! I plan to change my UHF antenna, too.

Rick, if you can swing it grab a Wade/Delhi VIP306 VHF antenna. It's the best VHF antenna out there. They're a bit hard to find. I had to have mine drop shipped to me.

Also, what pre-amp are you using?

ya know, im probably going to be the first one to say this here...but, WMAZ does not hold up during a thunderstorm very well.

constant pixelation compared to the other station (that are on the UHF bandwidth)

WGXA held up a bit better than channel 13, WMGT just dropped out (no signal out of them at all), the same for WGNM too; WPGA, like WGXA held up quite well during the storm.

just one thing im'a miss about the analog signals; its durability during a thunderstorm (especially a severe thunderstorm at that since one just now passed through here while i was typing this)

Rick, if you can swing it grab a Wade/Delhi VIP306 VHF antenna. It's the best VHF antenna out there. They're a bit hard to find. I had to have mine drop shipped to me.

Also, what pre-amp are you using?

Thanks, Todd. I have a Funke PSP1922 hi-band VHF that I plan to install, soon. It has 22 elements and is about 14 feet long. It should provide about 2 or 3 dB more gain than the VHF portion of my Winegard 7084. The VHF portion of the Winegard is being fed into a CM 7777 preamp.

WTOC (RF11 in Savannah) & WRDW (RF12 in Augusta) are more reliable than WMAZ. I am approximately 79 miles from each of those stations' towers. I am only 59 miles from WMAZ's. Of course, WMAZ's tower is around 760+/- feet while the other stations are 1400+/-. That, apparently makes a difference. WTOC is 24 kW, WRDW is 20 kW... WMAZ is 52 kW. Those extra kW's don't make up for the skimpy tower. Size does matter, LOL!

It's ashame WPGA doesn't have the desire (or, perphaps the resources) to transmit at their maximized ERP of 1,000 kW. Back in February, I received an e-mail from WPGA's engineer that stated they would only up their ERP to 180 kW at the June 12 transition date. Based on my reception experience, that must be what they did. Macon really is a pathetic market... hate to say it.

ya know, im probably going to be the first one to say this here...but, WMAZ does not hold up during a thunderstorm very well.

I had about a 20-minute conversation with WMAZ's General Manager, last Friday. I was curious to know if they were at their maximized ERP. He said they were. I told him about my reception issues, especially during the day. I told him how unreliable the signal was and my comparisons with the other hi-band VHF's I can receive. He commented that maybe they should put some engineers out in the field to evaluate the situation. I'm not sure if that will happen.

We also discussed the threat that may be posed by the coming whitespace devices, if approved by the FCC. Natually, he and most in the broadcast industry are opposed. The FCC, I think, has misjudged power requirements for DTV... what makes anyone think they can pull off this WSD crap!

Macon really is a pathetic market... hate to say it.

I agree because we have no Retro Television Network like everybody else has.

For those that may be interested, WMGT-DT2 My41tv came on live yesterday morning. So far only color bars and a scroll running across it about My41tv.com
The PSIP isn't right yet, it's set for 40.1 and 40.3, my Mits won't log it, but it will allow me to see it using the Guide button and scrolling down and clicking on 40.3. Then Booom, it comes in, but still don't save it. However, the VIP722 was able to capture and save it.
I guess we will have to wait for July 6 to see any programming.

Hey Y'all:
A quick note:
It is true that antennas do not have sharp cutoffs of frequencies they will receive. However, the VHF and UHF bands are separated enough to make a signifigant difference. Also, the FCC allocated power levels at about half of what NTSC was allocated. On the other hand, most of that extra power in NTSC was used for the sync pulse. That is why NTSC would stay locked as long as you could still see the snowy picture. The sync pulses were a lot stronger than the rest of the signal. Of course you could still watch it as it faded into snow. With ATSC, you hit a brick wall where more loss of signal nets a black screen (full mute). There is an area in between where major pixellation was what you get. Get above that level and it's smooth sailing. The problem is that the FCC set the quality standard too high for selecting the NTSC contour, so the DTV contour reflects that. They didn't take into account all the folks who watched the weaker NTSC signals. So, if you can pick up a signal, and you can get the gain up, either by a higher gain antenna, or with an amplifier, or extra antenna heigth, or both, you can watch TV. Good luck!

Ralph Carson
WGXA DT24 (ch16)

Is My41 going to start broadcasting in HD? They are broadcasting in full screen and the picture quality is horrible. Its bad VHS quality. If they don't change this I'm going to have to watch Friday Night Smackdown like this after 6 months of watching Smackdown on WGXA 24 in HD. Also their daytime lineup is scraping the bottom of the barrel. What a disappointment!

Does anyone have a contact at 41 for it seems that Tribune media services is still not aware of 41.2 existence and until they are and add the guide info I am unable to watch this channel on my Directv Receiver's OTA tuner.

Hey Y'all:
Adding a channel to the channel guide is usually a matter of a contract issue if they don't prepare the guide themselves. Until technology improves. more than likely secondary channels will be aired in standard def. There are a few stations doing a high def paired with another high def, but it's hard to do without it telling. Note, I did not say impossible. There is at least one station doing two high defs and a standard def, but the report says that it does break down sometimes when you get a lot of action against action on the high def channels. Of course, as the encoding technology improves, that may cease to be a problem. It remains to be seen how well quality can be maintained with multiple channels.

Ralph Carson
WGXA TV24

That totally stinks. After watching Smackdown in beautiful HD on WGXA 24 for the last 6 months I'm now going to have to watch it in poor quality SD. I want to thank you Ralph Carson and WGXA for showing Smackdown in HD for the last 6 months. I enjoyed it while it lasted and for some reason I didn't think it would last forever. By the way WGXA's HD signal is awesome. I'll be back to watching sports on it next month when the NFL Preseason starts up. I'm also looking forward to watching Raycom's SEC football games on it at 12:30pm Saturdays this fall.

It would be nice if 24-1 or 41-1 would replay WWE Smackdown late one night or on weekends in HD instead of showing all that paid programming. But I don't think they have the rights or the technology to do it.

P.S. 41-2 is showing Star Trek Remastered every night at midnight. Yahoo!

Hey Y'all:
If that is to be done, it will have to be channel 41. As far as I know, we no longer have the rights to Smackdown. Syndicated programs are usually sold to TV stations on an exclusive basis. They have it now. Also, we have no way to time shift HD programming. Jedi, you're welcome, though I had nothing to do with the buy for Smackdown, However, I did push for the engineering to get it on in HD. Of course, the same system was used for SEC football and basketball. I see the cat's out of the bag for SEC football in the fall, so I reckon I'll confirm it. We're airing it. It won't be from Raycom, however, this time it's from ESPN.

Ralph Carson
WGXA TV24

I just guessed WGXA 24 would be showing SEC football this fall because they have showed it the last several years. But its nice to know it will be shown again this fall.

Darn it, I've been had.

Ralph Carson
WGXA TV24

I've been complaining about not getting to see Smackdown in HD but the people who suscribe to Cox basic cable won't get to see it at all. My41 is on Cox channel 111 and you need digital cable and a cable box to watch it. That will cost suscribers an extra $20 a month in cable fees. If they have and old TV with an NTSC tuner in it they won't be able to watch it over the air either. These people won't be good to go.

Hey Y'all:
Now don't tell me y'all haven't gotten your government converter boxes yet? NTSC set + converter box = reception. If the set is in good condition, the quality of the picture should exceed the previous quality of NTSC reception, especially if the AV connections are used. But it still won't be high def. If you didn't get a gov't coupon, the converter can still be bought for a modest price. Enjoy!

Ralph Carson
WGXA TV24

I see the cat's out of the bag for SEC football in the fall, so I reckon I'll confirm it. We're airing it. It won't be from Raycom, however, this time it's from ESPN.

Ralph Carson
WGXA TV24

Going to be in HD again this year?

Hey Y'all:
As far as I know, SEC football will be in HD. In other words, if we don't have to time shift it, an uncommon practice with football games, and they send it in HD, so shall you receive it. Incidently, if you have a HDTV with a QAM capable tuner, you can receive HD programs on Cox cable. The cable companies decided to use a different modulation standard than the 8VSB that the ATSC system uses. QAM is their standard. However, for broadcast channels, it is not scrambled and you need no box. Also, the TV also has to be able to reach that frequency band that they use. It's different from the air bands.

There is an issue with an FCC rule called "must carry". Must carry says that the primary channel must be carried by the cable company. This is historic, and recognizes the fact that cable got it's start by carrying nothing but broadcast channels. However, secondary channels are not covered by must carry. We'll see what happens.

Ralph Carson
WGXA TV24

ok....is this really normal here...

i heard that you need a antenna thats UHF & VHF capable after the Feb 17/June 12 transition....

and if some of you remember me posting that i was not able to receive certain stations, and by this i was using a standard RCA UHF/VHF antenna (which was manufactured this year)

the main problems i had was getting WMGT and WMUM....well i managed to get WMGT in come in but WMUM was virtually impossible to get in (except for at night)

so today after i handed off my last UHF/VHF antenna to a friend of mines (since he does not have cable yet)...this antenna i used for checking out the DTV airwaves for observation (even though i have cable)

so since i handed that antenna off...i have my old 7 year old RCA rabbit ear antenna...and when i hook this one up, all of the channels came in and its still DAYLIGHT!!!...even WMUM came in stable and held in place

in other words, i have all of Macon's TV stations with no difficulty at all (even the 2 remaining low power stations WDMA and W50DA) all with the old rabbit ear antenna (which its primarily a VHF antenna)

so is all the hype about getting an antenna that has both UHF and VHF elements really worth it??

so is all the hype about getting an antenna that has both UHF and VHF elements really worth it??

If the antenna you have picks up all the locals fine then you don't need to buy another one. My mom has a 10 year old rabbit ears with UHF loop and it picks up all the Macon stations and WMUM very strong day and night.

With an outdoor antenna, you may have been getting too much signal. This is especially likely if you were pointed toward the local Macon towers, which also have high-powered FM signals.

The fact that you got WMUM at night might be due to the "Ol' Commode-y River" adding a bit of moisture to the atmosphere, attenuating the local signals at night, letting the WMUM signal thru.

the owner of WPGA-TV buys out W50DA channel 50 from TBN for....get this...

$6000!!!!
......wow :confused:

this old man cant be serious, he doesn't have the cash to house its own local news department, but yet he can buy a little tiny-tiny TV station (which has yet to go digital)

so...i wonder what are his plans are for his newly acquired estate...hmmmm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W50DA
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/326115-Deals.php?rssid=20065

I have a friend who has only Cox limited basic. She recently purchased a Samsung 540 series LCD, and can only receive the local Fox channel (71-1) in HD. ABC, CBS, NBC, and GPB don't appear to be detected. All of the other encrypted digital channels are detected, but of course, not viewable. The two Cox info channels, 74-1 and 2, plus the test channel at 124-1 are detected and viewable.

When I contacted Cox on her behalf, I was told that you must have a set top box, and pay for HD in order to receive any HD channel. (Obviously not true, since she receives Fox). I was under the impression that FCC rules mandated carrying all local HD signals in the clear, and that if a TV had an internal QAM tuner no set top box would be required.

Anyone have any info on this, and perhaps some idea of how to approach the Cox sales people?

Thanks
Walt

frustrated, Does your friend have Dish or Direct also? I have the same problem. I contacted COX and they came out to look and said it's because the splitter that Dish placed in between my cable input and the wires in my house was blocking the channels. I call BS on that because everything worked until about a month ago when COX reorganized their channels, AGAIN. Also, COX had no problems charging me $80 for their techs to step into my house to verify that I had no signal for those channels inside.

the owner of WPGA-TV buys out W50DA channel 50 from TBN for....get this...

$6000!!!!
......wow :confused:

this old man cant be serious, he doesn't have the cash to house its own local news department, but yet he can buy a little tiny-tiny TV station (which has yet to go digital)

so...i wonder what are his plans are for his newly acquired estate...hmmmm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W50DA
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/326115-Deals.php?rssid=20065

I hope they go digital with the channel and make it a Retro Television Network.

I have a friend who has only Cox limited basic. She recently purchased a Samsung 540 series LCD, and can only receive the local Fox channel (71-1) in HD. ABC, CBS, NBC, and GPB don't appear to be detected. All of the other encrypted digital channels are detected, but of course, not viewable. The two Cox info channels, 74-1 and 2, plus the test channel at 124-1 are detected and viewable.

When I contacted Cox on her behalf, I was told that you must have a set top box, and pay for HD in order to receive any HD channel. (Obviously not true, since she receives Fox). I was under the impression that FCC rules mandated carrying all local HD signals in the clear, and that if a TV had an internal QAM tuner no set top box would be required.

Anyone have any info on this, and perhaps some idea of how to approach the Cox sales people?

Thanks
Walt

Buy an antenna and get your locals in HD OTA. Cox is a bunch of thieves.

the owner of WPGA-TV buys out W50DA channel 50 from TBN for....get this...

$6000!!!!
......wow :confused:

this old man cant be serious, he doesn't have the cash to house its own local news department, but yet he can buy a little tiny-tiny TV station (which has yet to go digital)

so...i wonder what are his plans are for his newly acquired estate...hmmmm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W50DA
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/326115-Deals.php?rssid=20065
Oh, c'mon, for $6K? I'd have bought that if I'd cared to play TV.

frustrated, Does your friend have Dish or Direct also? I have the same problem. I contacted COX and they came out to look and said it's because the splitter that Dish placed in between my cable input and the wires in my house was blocking the channels. I call BS on that because everything worked until about a month ago when COX reorganized their channels, AGAIN. Also, COX had no problems charging me $80 for their techs to step into my house to verify that I had no signal for those channels inside.

No, she doesn't have satellite. Caught a Cox technician in my area the other day, and he said that the filter on her line is the culprit. They have another type of filter which will allow her to receive the HD locals. He actually offered to install it if she was close by, but she doesn't so off to Cox support. After 10 min on hold, I was told that they do indeed have another type of filter, but they are out of stock, and she would have to wait until they come in. I guess the tech I talked to had the last one; yeah, right. So i will continue to bug them on her behalf every week until they change it out.

could you keep me updated on if the filter works, whenever you manage to get one. i may try to get my money back (as if), but i'll try. i would love to pin this problem on them.

Oh, c'mon, for $6K? I'd have bought that if I'd cared to play TV.i know right...

thats less than my first car (which was $9000)
who would have known a TV station would be this cheap to buy, i'd thought it would be more.

If you have a TV with a QAM tuner, you can get the broadcast channels in the clear. They're trying to get extra money for their cable HD channels. They are scrambled and you need their box. I turned my boxes in after they hiked their prices to offset the increase. I can live without HD just fine. If I want to see HD, then Blu Ray is the way.

Ralph Carson
WGXA TV24

My sister has Direct TV and she called me a few days ago and complained that they didn't give her locals to her in HD. I told her about the indoor antenna I had and she bought one. She will now get her locals OTA in HD for free.

Hey Y'all:
It is my understanding that the satellite services further compress the signal. To avoid that, you can receive over the air if you are in range of the transmitter. But we will also further compress the signals as services are added, but with new and more efficient algorithms, the hope is that it can be done without quality loss. The FCC doubled our bandwidth from NTSC standards, but it's still cramped for multiple program streams. This is true for all OTA stations.

Ralph Carson
WGXA TV24

Ralph,
Are you able to get ALL the broadcast stations in HD through your QAM tuner? I can only get FOX and COX's pay-per-view preview channel. The tech who came by my house said it was my splitter that Dish installed. I doubt that's the problem since I had been receiving all the stations until recently.

This may not be the best place to ask this but what they hey?
I get my locals via Direct TV and have noticed that in the mornings Channel 13 WMAZ doesn't broadcast in HD, the picture is horrible, the screen is 4:3 ratio and even on my regular receivers and tv's the picture is compressed. Also the volume level between program and commericals is ridiculous. I leave every morning about 7:45 so I'm not sure when the broadcast start coming in correctly but do know that my wife records YnR at 12:30 and it is fine.
Is this something anyone else notices? Does the "switch flipper" not come in to work till noon? Jk..
Thanks for your input.

Mark

Sony KDL52V100
Direct HDDVR HR20-700

The Early Show is not available in HD.

- Trip

well I be dadgum.... that is simple.
I just assumed that a major network would broadcast their morning show in HD.

Thanks.

Yeah, I worked an internship at a CBS station for two months over the summer, and the network sends it in SD. Apparently, HD is supposed to come to the Early Show and Face the Nation either later this year or some time next year.

- Trip

Is it just me, or is WMGT having trouble balancing the bandwidth between NBC and their new My network?

I see a LOT of MPEG artifacts on the NBC signal.

Hey Mchias1:
Yep, I get 'em all. Try a rescan. Anytime you can't get all of the stations but can get some of them, it might be that some of them weren't scanned in during the last scan for some reason. The other possibility is that the TV may have dropped them. There is also the possibility of tuner or signal problems. A coax cable with a broken ground can create standing waves that selectively notches out some frequencies. But the most likely cause is a need to scan. Good luck!

Ralph Carson
WGXA TV24

I've scanned multiple times. It must be from the splitter/combiner Dish Network installed for me then. Really sucks if that's the case. Luckily I have an antenna, I just haven't dropped the lowest COX tv package because I haven't checked if COX would charge me extra for internet.

Hey Mchias1:
If you want to verify that, disconnect the device and connect the COX cable to the TV RF (antenna in) input only. Rescan. If you are now receiving all the OTA channels, then suspect everything in between the COX cable and the TV set in the normal configuration. But I'm a little confused. You have COX cable and Direct TV? So, how does that work? Do you have all the cox channels, and the Direct TV signal on one of them? If so, why not connect the Direct TV box with an HDMI cable and COX through the cable/antenna input without the splitter/combiner? Oh, and be sure to check to see if your TV tuner is set for cable mode. If not, it will not receive anything but the VHF channels such as 13.
Hope that helps. Good luck!

Ralph Carson
A.C.E.
WGXA TV24

I have Dish Network and COX's basic basic cable channels (2-13). They both come into a 2-4 combiner/splitter outside my house. I have run separate COAX lines for my OTA antenna. According to Dish there should be no issues with running Dish and COX over the same coax cable. COX tops out at 1Ghz and Dish is around 1.5Ghz up (not sure of the upper limit). So I don't see the frequencies interfering. I haven't had any problems until recently when COX moved their digital channel frequencies around again. I have a female-female adapter that I could use to bypass the splitter. I'm going to try that when I get the chance. Really to hot right now to mess outside and in the attic to troubleshoot the problem.

I wonder what is going wrong at WPGA channel 58. For the last week they have had thier power turned down and I only get 4 out 10 bars of signal strength with them. I used to get 10 out of 10 bars.

My41 channel 41-2 has the worst picture quality I've ever seen on a station. It looks like the picture TVs had back in the 80s and all their sound is mono. No stereo, no surround or anything that sounds decent. And what they did to WWE Smackdown last night was unexcusable. They kept going to commercial every 3 minutes. They would go during the matches and one time they came back right after a match ended. To make things worse it was the same stupid commercials they have already ran into the ground.

I wonder what is going wrong at WPGA channel 58. For the last week they have had thier power turned down and I only get 4 out 10 bars of signal strength with them. I used to get 10 out of 10 bars.

My41 channel 41-2 has the worst picture quality I've ever seen on a station. It looks like the picture TVs had back in the 80s and all their sound is mono. No stereo, no surround or anything that sounds decent. And what they did to WWE Smackdown last night was unexcusable. They kept going to commercial every 3 minutes. They would go during the matches and one time they came back right after a match ended. To make things worse it was the same stupid commercials they have already ran into the ground.ya know, i was driving back from Statesboro and just before re-entering Macon, i took a look at the towers and i noticed some changes from the last time i seen them...like on the WPGA tower (im assuming) theres a new side mount antenna about half-way up and the DTV antenna on the WGXA tower which Ralf was right, it is almost at the top of the tower. WMAZ and WMGT are still the same (as far as i can see from teh interstate)

so that might be an explanation as to why WPGA has been at half power because i seen a change here in the signal strength as they might be working on their tower and transmitter room.

as for WMGT im not sure they have all whats needed for DTV, they dont even show any type of info on the DTV receivers on either channel.

Ralph,

Everything looking good for football next week? The DirecTV guide doesn't show the game as an HD program, but that is not unusual.

Looking forward to seeing my Vols in HD real soon.

Bob

Hey Y'all:
If all goes well, SEC football will be in 720P, our native format.

We now have a backup encoder in case of encoder failure. We have done much to improve reliability or recoverability, including a master UPS, redundant systems, and a redundant microwave system. In the event of transmitter failure or power loss, we feed COX cable by fiber optic. The UPS will maintain power at the studio for about 45 minutes, enough to get through most power outages. The master UPS was one we repurposed from the old analog transmitter.

Ralph Carson
A.C.E.
WGXA TV24

Thanks for the good news about SEC Football. I can't wait.

You guys have been busy.

I don't think most people understand that, in the "Wonderful World of Modern (Digital) Broadcasting", the infrastructure is just about as extensive/expensive/important as the broadcasting equipment itself.

Clean, reliable power, air conditioning, good solid building, proper electrical and technical grounding, fire prevention, test and support equipment, low-dust environment, etc is a must.
And, back-up for everything.:D

Just noticed on channel 50 LP analog while surfing
Coming Soon To Middle Georgia
RTV (Retro Television)
WPGA - LP

Just noticed on channel 50 LP analog while surfing
Coming Soon To Middle Georgia
RTV (Retro Television)
WPGA - LP

Thats great news. I've been wanting this channel for so long. Finally we will have a decent channel to watch with lots of great programming on it. I can't wait.

I wonder what date it will be.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W50DA

When is Cox Cable going to get the Weather Channel in HD? It is long overdue.

You're welcome... I had to call WPGA's master control to get HD back on the post-race show.

If DISH doesnt hurry up and put locals in HD I am going to dump them. Can't pick up anything but WMAZ OTA in Dublin. Have tried 2 antennas with boosters. What a crock, Directv has had locals for awhile. Can't hardly stand to watch football in SD anymore. :mad::mad::mad:

If DISH doesnt hurry up and put locals in HD I am going to dump them. Can't pick up anything but WMAZ OTA in Dublin. Have tried 2 antennas with boosters. What a crock, Directv has had locals for awhile. Can't hardly stand to watch football in SD anymore. :mad::mad::mad:

Tennesee vs Florida comes on WMAZ Saturday at 3:30pm. So you will get to watch some football in HD. There is a NFL double header on WMAZ Sunday. I don't know why you can't get WGXA. They have a strong signal. But WPGA has been running at half power for the last month.

If DISH doesnt hurry up and put locals in HD I am going to dump them. Can't pick up anything but WMAZ OTA in Dublin. Have tried 2 antennas with boosters. What a crock, Directv has had locals for awhile. Can't hardly stand to watch football in SD anymore. :mad::mad::mad:

Might as well go ahead and switch. Macon locals in HD won't be happening in the foreseeablefuture on Dish Network. It's not even on the long range radar.

There was a stinking infomercial on from 12 to 12:30 on WGXA Saturday and it made everybody miss several minutes of the SEC game. :mad:

I have to give props to WMAZ...

Currently, they are running a weather warning crawl in SD... but still transmitting CBS in HD.

With the added screen real estate, the crawl is trivial, and, frankly, they do need to run it.

Most excellent job, WMAZ!

Please don't blame the infomercial. The infomercial was used to fill the empty time slot caused by failure of the satellite equipment. That SEC feed was on a movable dish, and the positioning equipment was inaccurate causing failure of the signal. We have since moved that feed to a fixed dish to correct the problem. The movable dish will be used as a backup. We apologize for the inconvenience. If it's any consolation, it is my understanding that nothing exciting happened during the outage time.

Ralph Carson
A.C.E.
WGXA TV24

I saw a commercial on WPGA 58 tonight that said RTV is coming in October.

I wanted to take a moment to thank WPGA-DT for bringing us the last few laps of the NASCAR race in glorious compressed SD. The kaleidoscope effect was great!

I noticed four or five audio burps and one video/audio stall on last week's installment of "Fringe" and several audio burps on "Bones" via Directv on FOX. The problem seems to have increased a little since Ralph settled it down earlier this year. Anyone else watch these shows via Directv? If so, have you noticed the problem?

Hey Y'all:
On Sunday October 4th the Autumnal Equinox causes loss of satellite signal for about five minutes. During this time, we will be required to switch to a receiver that is fixed on a different satellite. Since this backup receiver is standard def, the program will not be high definition for the duration of the outage. Once the outage is over, we will return to high def programming. This will affect one of the NFL games. Thank you,

Ralph Carson
A.C.E.
WGXA TV24

Hey Y'all:
On Sunday October 4th the Autumnal Equinox causes loss of satellite signal for about five minutes. During this time, we will be required to switch to a receiver that is fixed on a different satellite. Since this backup receiver is standard def, the program will not be high definition for the duration of the outage. Once the outage is over, we will return to high def programming. This will affect one of the NFL games. Thank you,

Ralph Carson
A.C.E.
WGXA TV24
Thanks for the heads up, Ralph... we trust you won't be doing any compression on the video (ala WPGA and/or ABC) and giving us all a nice kaleidoscope effect. :)

Thanks for the heads up, Ralph... we trust you won't be doing any compression on the video (ala WPGA and/or ABC) and giving us all a nice kaleidoscope effect. :)

Yeah, we'll try not to do that.

Ralph Carson
A.C.E.
WGXA TV24

I have a friend who has only Cox limited basic. She recently purchased a Samsung 540 series LCD, and can only receive the local Fox channel (71-1) in HD. ABC, CBS, NBC, and GPB don't appear to be detected. All of the other encrypted digital channels are detected, but of course, not viewable. The two Cox info channels, 74-1 and 2, plus the test channel at 124-1 are detected and viewable.

When I contacted Cox on her behalf, I was told that you must have a set top box, and pay for HD in order to receive any HD channel. (Obviously not true, since she receives Fox). I was under the impression that FCC rules mandated carrying all local HD signals in the clear, and that if a TV had an internal QAM tuner no set top box would be required.

Anyone have any info on this, and perhaps some idea of how to approach the Cox sales people?

Thanks

Walt

Update on this issue. Today a Cox technician changed the filter at her curbside box, and lo and behold, she now gets all the local channels in high definition. It was a long and frustrating fight (and it really was a fight), but persistence pays off.

For those of you who only get basic cable, all the Cox support people have now been informed that you can indeed get the local high def channels without a set top box. (Your TV must have a QAM tuner; nearly all sold today or in the past three years have one.) If you have any problem with Cox, PM me and I will provide you with contact info for a Cox engineer who will take care of it.

Regards
Walt

Anybody else notice WPGA playing with their channel number?

We don't watch much OTA TV anymore, but today when I went to tune in WPGA, my Dish Network 722k (with OTA module) insisted there was no signal. However, it was there on the satellite delivered channel, so obviously the transmitter's working. This concerned me, but I thought I'd go ahead and rescan local channels, and it found 32-01.

The TV still saw 58-01... but on rescan, it now only sees 32-03.

Great... now we don't even know where the channels are going to be from one day to the next?

Edit: As of 8:11pm, we don't know what the PSIP data is going to be from one minute to the next. It changed, and now is back to 58-01.

It makes watching a football game fun. Whack-a-mole channel numbers! A whole new dimension to college football!

Anybody else notice WPGA playing with their channel number?

Your description sounds like their PSIP computer froze (thus showing you 32-3) and then was rebooted (showing you 58-1 once it came back up).

Most of these things do run on Windows...

- Trip

Your description sounds like their PSIP computer froze (thus showing you 32-3) and then was rebooted (showing you 58-1 once it came back up).

Most of these things do run on Windows...

- Trip

Possibly... you'd think they'd have monitoring on things like that, though to be fair, only the 722k had trouble with it... the Insignia TV continued receiving until a rescan.

I may have to call Hal and suggest Nagios... heh.

73 de KN4DS

Well, they probably do monitor it at least sporadically and you caught it between the time it happened and the time they caught it and it was rebooted.

Many tuners do seem to handle PSIP losses smoothly like the Insignia, at least the ones I've seen personally. I've seen very few that completely lose signal when that happens.

- Trip

Well, they probably do monitor it at least sporadically and you caught it between the time it happened and the time they caught it and it was rebooted.
Except this supposed reboot happened shortly after I posted here. It'd been that way since early this morning.

Many tuners do seem to handle PSIP losses smoothly like the Insignia, at least the ones I've seen personally. I've seen very few that completely lose signal when that happens.
Looks like the Dish Network receivers don't handle it gracefully.

Except this supposed reboot happened shortly after I posted here. It'd been that way since early this morning.

... Okay, so it might be more sporadic than one might hope. ;)

- Trip

... Okay, so it might be more sporadic than one might hope. ;)

Hence my thought about introducing Hal to Nagios.

Hey Y'all:
Whack-a-Mole channel numbers? I like that. That's funny. But we'll try not to do that to y'all. Although, while we were setting up our new MPEG encoder, I probably was guilty of that.

Ralph Carson
A.C.E.
WGXA TV24 er 16 er 24

Hey Y'all:
Whack-a-Mole channel numbers? I like that. That's funny. But we'll try not to do that to y'all. Although, while we were setting up our new MPEG encoder, I probably was guilty of that.

Ralph Carson
A.C.E.
WGXA TV24 er 16 er 24

Heh... it makes watching a race... umm... interesting... and it's at least partly the fault of the receiver. It shouldn't be checking the PSIP data and only decoding if it matches the displayed channel.

Much like watching Hell's Kitchen in standard def tonight... which turned out to be my bad... 722k switched to the satellite delivered channel rather than OTA.

I just saw a commercial on Channel 58 and they said RTV is starting up Oct. 12th.

I just saw a commercial on Channel 58 and they said RTV is starting up Oct. 12th.
Good, that's just a couple more days

The game on channel 58, Wisconsin @ Ohio State is in HD on WSB (Atlanta) and WTVM (Columbus), wonder why they are showing it in SD?
I have only OTA, no cable or satellite provider

Edit:
of course it doesn't really matter to me, as I'm watching the Alabama @ Ole Miss game

The game on channel 58, Wisconsin @ Ohio State is in HD on WSB (Atlanta) and WTVM (Columbus), wonder why they are showing it in SD?
I have only OTA, no cable or satellite provider

Edit:
of course it doesn't really matter to me, as I'm watching the Alabama @ Ole Miss game

Something is wrong with WPGA. They have been showing everything in SD for a few days now.

What I hope WPGA is doing is working on their system so they can add RTV on subchannel 58-2. I've been looking for info on this but I can't find any. We'll just have to wait until Monday. But RTV on channel 50 is on the old analog tuner and has static in the picture. We need RTV on a digital subchannel. Also WPGA has been at half power since August. Lets hope they show up on Monday at full power with RTV on 58-2.

Something is wrong with WPGA. They have been showing everything in SD for a few days now.

Lightning strike, no spares on hand. So they say they're waiting for gear to arrive.

Hello WSB-DT. Strange that I can't see WTVM here.

We had a huge lightning strike a few years back. It tore us up bad. It happened in the afternoon, and it was all we could do to get the Fox receivers working in time for network programming. Though it didn't take us off the air, It did so much damage to our plant that it made operations very difficult. It took months to deal with all the problems. But the viewers never knew there was a problem. So when we shut down the analog transmitter, we tore out all the power feed lines and used them to make a ground system for the studio. We believe this will help prevent that kind of damage in the future. It has worked pretty good at the transmitter where damage is pretty much limited to an occasional modem. It works.

Ralph Carson
A.C.E.
WGXA TV24

WPGA LP is on the air this morning
Analog lives on channel 50

WPGA LP is on the air this morning
Analog lives on channel 50

With the attendant snow and hiss... at least down here near Perry.

I noted that WPGA-DT is back to high def this evening, as well.

I've got to do some antenna work to receive WTVM and WSB reliably, but it'll be worth it. The nice side effect should be the ability to receive WLTZ and possibly WXIA, WAGA and WXTX... as well as WGCL. We already get WRBL (including RTV on channel 3-2) very reliably.

WPGA LP is on the air this morning
Analog lives on channel 50

Does anybody get this channel clear with an indoor antenna? If so what antenna are you using? After all the waiting for RTV the static is so bad I can't even watch it. It makes the station worthless. More of a dissapointment is WPGA did not add it to a subchannel. I can do better watching The A Team and The Incredible Hulk on Hulu.com. :mad:

Does anybody get this channel clear with an indoor antenna? If so what antenna are you using? After all the waiting for RTV the static is so bad I can't even watch it. It makes the station worthless. More of a dissapointment is WPGA did not add it to a subchannel. I can do better watching The A Team and The Incredible Hulk on Hulu.com. :mad:i can get this station at a decent reception here in the Bloomfield area, and just a few minutes ago prior to typing this i ran a "nighttime" test of the reception of channel 50 and its a bit clearer than my daytime testing (even clearer when i put my hand on the antenna elements).

cant wait till this station goes all digital.

i can get this station at a decent reception here in the Bloomfield area, and just a few minutes ago prior to typing this i ran a "nighttime" test of the reception of channel 50 and its a bit clearer than my daytime testing (even clearer when i put my hand on the antenna elements).

cant wait till this station goes all digital.

Thanks for the reply. I live around Hartley Bridge road. I really hope they put RTV on a digital subchannel. Analog is obsolete and out of date. I've been moving antennas around all day. There is so much good stuff on RTV. Its the best station out there. But there is a lot of the stuff on Hulu and Hulu looks a lot better than channel 50.

There have been a lot of commercials advertising the existence of RTV in middle Georgia. It doesn't identify who is running the ad, but it asks the listener to demand that cable companies put it on their systems. They have been running on WMAC AM940. I don't know if they are running them any where else.

Does anybody get this channel clear with an indoor antenna? If so what antenna are you using? After all the waiting for RTV the static is so bad I can't even watch it. It makes the station worthless. More of a dissapointment is WPGA did not add it to a subchannel. I can do better watching The A Team and The Incredible Hulk on Hulu.com. :mad:

Have you tried a Silver Sensor? It's a directional UHF antenna, unlike most "Rabbit Ears", which have a "Figure-8" pattern.

well folks, W50DA is now "officially" WPGA-LP

http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?list=0&facid=67972

wellp, looks like im off to edit its entry on wikipedia.

Is the sound fading in and out on channel 50 for anybody? It is for me. Not only the picture has so much static in it I can barely see it but the sound fades out to. There is no static in the sound when it fades out either. Its like somebody keeps pressing the mute button. This just puts more salt in the wound. After waiting a year for RTV we finally get it and they put it on an old prehistoric low power analog channel. I've been fighting with antennas off and on for four days and I've had enough. I'm going to forget about this station until they boost their power or go digital.

Is the sound fading in and out on channel 50 for anybody? It is for me. Not only the picture has so much static in it I can barely see it but the sound fades out to. There is no static in the sound when it fades out either. Its like somebody keeps pressing the mute button. This just puts more salt in the wound. After waiting a year for RTV we finally get it and they put it on an old prehistoric low power analog channel. I've been fighting with antennas off and on for four days and I've had enough. I'm going to forget about this station until they boost their power or go digital.i've noticed the sound issues while i was watching Nightrider just the other day, at first i thought it was a TV edit until i realized this was carrying on through the whole show on other sound effects like cars going down the road with no dialog from the actors.

so odds are, things there on channel 50 are a little...how should we say "shaky?". sure hope they get a CP passed for its digital conversion soon because no one would go back to the days of fussy analog now.

i've noticed the sound issues while i was watching Nightrider just the other day, at first i thought it was a TV edit until i realized this was carrying on through the whole show on other sound effects like cars going down the road with no dialog from the actors.

so odds are, things there on channel 50 are a little...how should we say "shaky?". sure hope they get a CP passed for its digital conversion soon because no one would go back to the days of fussy analog now.

I agree. Analog just doesn't cut the mustard any more. I canceled my cable subscription last year when I found out how clear the digital channels come in here in Macon. If this station was on a digital channel it would be great. Knight Rider is an awesome show. I have all 4 seasons on DVD. I have the first 3 seasons of Airwolf on DVD. If I had the money I would buy the A-Team and The Incredible Hulk sets on DVD. But at least I can watch them at Hulu except for seasons 4 & 5 of The Incredible Hulk and that is what RTV is showing. They showed the first episode of the fifth season of the Hulk Friday and I suffered through it bad picture, sound and all. But that is all I'm going to watch on it.

You need plenty of power for analog TV to overcome all the noise and static. But low power digital TV works real well for modest distances. When we started broadcasting digital TV, we were putting out a grand total of 250 watts. I could pick us up in Byron and it looked great. Although it was just 480P standard def, it looked as good as it did in the studio. Prior to the advent of DVD, few people knew how good analog signals look starting out. A lot is lost in the trip through the air. Mostly because of multipath. But I have seen analog TVs in the field that looked very good off the air. They just happened to be in a place where the multipath was minimal. They also had good antenna systems, usually a yagi or a log periodic antenna pointed at the transmitter. Analog was technically simple, easy to work on, and I will miss it.

You need plenty of power for analog TV to overcome all the noise and static. But low power digital TV works real well for modest distances. When we started broadcasting digital TV, we were putting out a grand total of 250 watts. I could pick us up in Byron and it looked great. Although it was just 480P standard def, it looked as good as it did in the studio. Prior to the advent of DVD, few people knew how good analog signals look starting out. A lot is lost in the trip through the air. Mostly because of multipath. But I have seen analog TVs in the field that looked very good off the air. They just happened to be in a place where the multipath was minimal. They also had good antenna systems, usually a yagi or a log periodic antenna pointed at the transmitter. Analog was technically simple, easy to work on, and I will miss it.

Is there any way that one could find out if channel 50 is going to go to a digital channel or at least boost their power of their low power analog signal? When I had all the high power local analog channels before they were shut down I got all of them crystal clear. Channel 50 has so much static it isn't worth watching. And I live in the same city as the station, Macon. I wonder if anybody is watching this station. I don't know anybody that watches analog OTA these days. They have all gone to ATSC so they can enjoy a crystal clear picture.

Just when you thought it was safe to enjoy OTA here it comes again. Static filled analog.

You would have to ask them if they intend to go digital or up their power. They can't up it too far, or they lose their low power status, and they have to convert to digital. High power stations, by law, are all digital now. As far as I know most ATSC TV sets will also receive NTSC (analog) as well. It might not be possible to get a high power license on an LP frequency, because it is not protected for high power. Up the power and you are transmitting into someone else's signal. But he might be allowed to go digital. But you're really asking the wrong fellow.

Ralph Carson
A.C.E.
WGXA TV24

The channel 50 signal had a permit to flash-cut to digital at 15 kW that expired in March. I would imagine they could get it back by re-applying for it.

- Trip

Thanks for the answers. But as it stands channel 50 isn't much good. The picture has so much static in it you can't hardly see it and the sound has been messed up since RTV has started. On The Incredible Hulk tonight the sound kept fading in and out. After watching 2 minutes of it I just turned the TV off.

Since switching to DirecTV and being able to get locals in HD, I'm finding less and less of a need for an OTA antenna. About the only thing I use it for now is WMAZ's radar on 13.3. It's too bad because, between the VIP306 and 91XG plus CM7777, I've got a good $400-500 invested in this thing. I guess maybe I should just sell it to someone that needs it more.

According to 13wmaz.com WPGA is to drop ABC programming Jan. 1 and become indepenent and that WGXA Fox 24 will pick up the ABC programming and broadcast it on one of their subchannels.

Hopefully Ralph will be along soon and comment on WGXA doing this.

Article from 13wmaz.com

http://www.13wmaz.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=70818&catid=7

According to 13wmaz.com WPGA is to drop ABC programming Jan. 1 and become indepenent and that WGXA Fox 24 will pick up the ABC programming and broadcast it on one of their subchannels.

Hopefully Ralph will be along soon and comment on WGXA doing this.

Article from 13wmaz.com

http://www.13wmaz.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=70818&catid=7

Must be true for now Macon.com is reporting the story also.

http://www.macon.com/149/story/897611.html

Must be true for now Macon.com is reporting the story also.

http://www.macon.com/149/story/897611.html
Yeah, it's true.

Lovely. ABC in standard def.

Definitely time to get that antenna a bit higher and pull WTVM and/or WSB in.

Hey Y'all:
It's true, we will pick up ABC. But it will be in 720P. Fox will also be in 720P. Thomson/Grass Valley has developed new Mpeg encoders that will allow us to do this. I have not seen it yet, but they say they can do this without a reduction in visual quality. Thomson/Grass Valley is well known as a leader in the broadcast equipment business, and we trust them. I doubt they would stake their reputation on an inferior product. We have been working feverishly in the past month to design a system and we just ordered the equipment. If all goes as planned, we will maintain surround sound on FOX and include it on ABC. I do not know if WPGA was in surround or not. Our new encoders will feature a new high speed coder that can do this job. I hear it can do two 1080I channels, so it should be able to handle two 720P channels with no sweat. That's all for now.

Ralph Carson
A.C.E.
WGXA TV24

How are you going to work the splicer into that setup? I was under the impression that the splicer controlled the Fox bitrate.

- Trip

Hey Y'all:
It's true, we will pick up ABC. But it will be in 720P. Fox will also be in 720P. Thomson/Grass Valley has developed new Mpeg encoders that will allow us to do this. I have not seen it yet, but they say they can do this without a reduction in visual quality. Thomson/Grass Valley is well known as a leader in the broadcast equipment business, and we trust them. I doubt they would stake their reputation on an inferior product. We have been working feverishly in the past month to design a system and we just ordered the equipment. If all goes as planned, we will maintain surround sound on FOX and include it on ABC. I do not know if WPGA was in surround or not. Our new encoders will feature a new high speed coder that can do this job. I hear it can do two 1080I channels, so it should be able to handle two 720P channels with no sweat. That's all for now.

Ralph Carson
A.C.E.
WGXA TV24

Thanks for the update. Smart muxes have been around for years, and I know, and also trust, the Thomson/Grass Valley products. It'll be interesting to see if this equipment can keep the pixelization away! Especially next fall with football on Fox and NASCAR on ABC.

A couple of thoughts... will you be doing automated switching, so that the ABC HD feed goes to air without an operator, or are we going to have to hope the operator remembers?

The other is just an interesting (to me) point... when the ball drops in Times Square, as it hits bottom, presumably WPGA will flip. Will we all be able to hit 24-2 and continue on, or will WGXA be able to carry the show in its entirety.

I ask 'cause it's one of our New Year traditions here at our house to watch the ball drop on ABC.

Ralph do you know if anyone at WGXA has had a conversation with Directv about how they are going to handle this situation with ABC and if they will still provide it as a local station via satellite or are we going to have to just get abc via ota antenna?

This news has got me to thinking and I wonder now if this is the reason WPGA has RTV on low power analog station 50 is because they had plans from the start of RTV to move it to digital 58 come January 1, 2010?

This news has got me to thinking and I wonder now if this is the reason WPGA has RTV on low power analog station 50 is because they had plans from the start of RTV to move it to digital 58 come January 1, 2010?
Lowell is *claiming* the station will be an indy. Right... an indy in Macon. He thought ABC wanted $$$, wait'll he starts shopping syndication. Or maybe he has and got what he thinks is a deal.

RTV doesn't seem like a great deal. I know some of you guys would love to see it, but, really, it could've gone on a sub channel... geez, 480i doesn't need much bandwidth at all (though WRBL *could* give it a *tiny bit* more).

It's hard to imagine RTV drawing the numbers that would make it worthwhile. I guess we could be lookin' at dollar a holler TV spots, though.

No, I think something else is up. Due to the massive consolidation in the radio industry, RDS has to be hurting. I believe that ABC asked to be paid, and Lowell didn't have the money to pay 'em. And I begin to suspect that WPGA-DT will shortly be sold.

Then again, maybe he'll pick up CW and My. One never knows with Lowell Register.

Ralph do you know if anyone at WGXA has had a conversation with Directv about how they are going to handle this situation with ABC and if they will still provide it as a local station via satellite or are we going to have to just get abc via ota antenna?

It *seems* simple enough for DirecTV and Dish Network to simply retune their digital receivers to 24-2. Or put a spare online on 24-2 and cut at midnight 1/1/10.

It'll be interesting to see if WGXA has the news crew hang out for an extra hour and do ABC 24 News at 11. Seems like they'll need to do a bit of work on the set so they can change logos out between shows :)

With that news I think I'll hold on to my antenna a little longer. :)

With that news I think I'll hold on to my antenna a little longer. :)

I'm hoping Ralph won't take offense as I add yagis to my system and get 'em up a bit higher in the air.

I fairly regularly receive Atlanta stations with the antenna 15 feet up. With this news (and prior to Ralph's revelation that they'll be trying hard to have HD on both signals), I decided it's time to order a Rohn H40, a high gain UHF antenna to add to the existing VHF/UHF antenna, a rotor and possibly a quieter Channel Master amplifier.

Sure, it'll cost a bit, but when I initially told SWMBO that there'd be no more Chase races in HD (again, before Ralph let us in on the plans), and I said there was an alternative... she said "then that's what you're going to do." With not only permission, but an edict, I feel I must follow through, if for no other reason than to add an alternative should WGXA have issues beyond their control (let's be honest... WSB has resources that the stations in middle GA only dream of... and that's just a fact of life based on the size of the markets, no slam on GXA).

ah so WGXA is taking back the ABC network, and whats to become of WPGA just a 2 rate station, Lowell had room to improve the station...he just didnt try hard enough i suppose (or even cared)

then again why couldnt he just say he didnt have the money to keep ABC and utilize the resources to make a high rated station like the rest.

as for WGXA with ABC, i heard from the news (on Fox 24 News) that they will air a newscast on the other digital channel for ABC, if this holds true would they would have to convert the set they use for the Fox Files on for the newscast and also hire more personnel for the airing?

The only thing I watch on ABC is college football. Maybe WPGA will move Retro TV off that cheap low power analog channel 50 and put it on channel 58's digital channel. Then it will be the best station in town.

Hopefully WMGT will buy one of those Thomson/Grass Valley new Mpeg encoders so we can start watching Friday Night Smackdown in HD again. Still miss those six months when it was on WGXA 24 in HD.

Hey Y'all:
The splicer will still be in the setup, but we're getting a new switching system, which will advance our local buildout. Since the FOX network puts several programs on their data stream, and uses the splicer to select which one will be aired in a particular locale, it must stay in the system. I am not at liberty to give too many details, but you can be assured that we will try to make it as seamless to the operator as possible so that he doesn't have to remember to turn on the "HD" switch. We try to anticipate potential problems, and this is fraught with them. Oldave, what you watch is your business, and being a ham radio operator, I can appreciate a little DXing every now and then, but I hope we can keep you. As far as how the cutover is handled, I don't know yet. In the coming months, I expect we will have conversations with COX and the satellite providers in order to advance a smooth transition. As far as channel positioning goes, your guess as good as mine. As far as Lowell Register is concerned, being conservative, I like the moralistic spin he put on it, but it makes me wonder why he's keeping "Ellen". I think Retro TV will be a good addition for the Macon O.T.A. TV lineup. That's all for now.

Ralph Carson
A.C.E.
WGXA TV24 FOX/ABC

Hey Y'all:
The splicer will still be in the setup, but we're getting a new switching system, which will advance our local buildout. Since the FOX network puts several programs on their data stream, and uses the splicer to select which one will be aired in a particular locale, it must stay in the system.

I understand that; however, I was under the impression that the splicer was basically "it." That is to say, I thought the network controlled the amount of bandwidth the Fox-HD receives even as it goes out over the air. I've seen the manual for the splicer and somewhere in it I remember reading that it says that 3.5 Mbps is available for one or more SD subs or other services.

- Trip

Hey Y'all:
Trip, like I said, I am not at liberty to discuss how we will handle that matter. However, we sincerely believe that the end result will be all it should be.

Ralph Carson
A.C.E.
WGXA TV24

Alright, no worries. You wouldn't be the first station to do it with the Fox splicer (KXII, WGGB, WKBN), and that's why I'm curious about the setup. Maybe you'll be able to tell us about it once it's on the air? :D

- Trip

Since switching to DirecTV and being able to get locals in HD, I'm finding less and less of a need for an OTA antenna. About the only thing I use it for now is WMAZ's radar on 13.3. It's too bad because, between the VIP306 and 91XG plus CM7777, I've got a good $400-500 invested in this thing. I guess maybe I should just sell it to someone that needs it more.

Keep your OTA antenna. Fox still hasn't cleared up the audio brap problem.

Since switching to DirecTV and being able to get locals in HD, I'm finding less and less of a need for an OTA antenna. About the only thing I use it for now is WMAZ's radar on 13.3. It's too bad because, between the VIP306 and 91XG plus CM7777, I've got a good $400-500 invested in this thing. I guess maybe I should just sell it to someone that needs it more.

Having the antenna as a backup is always a good idea. Fiber links can fail, uplinks have been known to go out when a particularly interesting thunderstorm passes near the uplink site.

One thing I'd caution... WMAZ keeps their radar in composite mode. That's good for getting an idea when/if rain might be coming, and even if big storms might be expected. But please don't use it thinking that it'll tell you if a severe storm's coming to your neighborhood!

Thanks wpga for not carrying the Nascar prerace show this week I guess it was not a required carry by ABC and since your on your way out you with them you decided not to carry it. :(

Thanks again Lowell....

Now we get to "enjoy" Fox and ABC in 720p@9Mbit per stream. Excellent....We already have to deal with the spatial resolution issues of 720p, and now we get the added fun of the temporal resolution issues that will be created at the below acceptable bit rate.

Thanks wpga for not carrying the Nascar prerace show this week I guess it was not a required carry by ABC and since your on your way out you with them you decided not to carry it. :(

To be fair, this wasn't decided in the last few days... the guide data on the satellite receiver showed NASCAR racing starting at 1:00pm, as did zap2it. WPGA decided some time back not to clear the pre-race countdown today. Would be nice if GXA got things installed and working soon and cleared any ABC programming that PGA didn't.

More annoying was when I called and asked the operator to switch to HD... he said he couldn't, and when I pressed, he said no more ABC programming would be in HD.

Then a few minutes later... hmm... ABC in HD.

It's not likely to be a pleasant 2 months.

Having the antenna as a backup is always a good idea. Fiber links can fail, uplinks have been known to go out when a particularly interesting thunderstorm passes near the uplink site.

One thing I'd caution... WMAZ keeps their radar in composite mode. That's good for getting an idea when/if rain might be coming, and even if big storms might be expected. But please don't use it thinking that it'll tell you if a severe storm's coming to your neighborhood!

I just use it to see if there's any rain in the area when I get up in the morning, not for severe weather. For severe weather I use GRLevel2 and WeatherTAP.

Thanks again Lowell....

Now we get to "enjoy" Fox and ABC in 720p@9Mbit per stream. Excellent....We already have to deal with the spatial resolution issues of 720p, and now we get the added fun of the temporal resolution issues that will be created at the below acceptable bit rate.

Agreed. :(

Hey Y'all:
I hope that is not the case. We have changed our plans to add statistical multiplexing to reduce the possibility of that happening. There is a lot of money being invested in this, so we want to make sure that it is right.

Ralph Carson
A.C.E.
WGXA TV24

I've heard a lot of good things about KBMT in Beaumont, which is doing NBC and ABC in HD on one signal. I'm not sure what gear they have, but it's one of the success stories I've heard about, versus some of the other dual HD stations I've heard less than happy things about.

- Trip

I turned on channel 50 this morning and through all the static in the picture I saw they were talking about RTV on the Charles E. and Kenny B. show. Somebody called in and had the same complaints that I had. They asked when was RTV going to digital OTA and they said they didn't know. They were hoping Cox will pick it up. I think the reason Cox hasn't picked them up is because they don't mess with low powered analog. Also there aren't many people watching low powered analog OTA these days of digital TV. Those that try to are complaning about it just like I am. Lowell Register being a cheap old geezer is going to cost him in the long run because nobody will be watching this station.

P.S. Its been over 3 weeks since this station has started up and the sound is still screwed up. Do they know this or are they to cheap to fix it.

I turned on channel 50 this morning and through all the static in the picture I saw they were talking about RTV on the Charles E. and Kenny B. show. Somebody called in and had the same complaints that I had. They asked when was RTV going to digital OTA and they said they didn't know. They were hoping Cox will pick it up. I think the reason Cox hasn't picked them up is because they don't mess with low powered analog. Also there aren't many people watching low powered analog OTA these days of digital TV. Those that try to are complaning about it just like I am. Lowell Register being a cheap old geezer is going to cost him in the long run because nobody will be watching this station.

P.S. Its been over 3 weeks since this station has started up and the sound is still screwed up. Do they know this or are they to cheap to fix it.
There's not a lot of point in doing much to channel 50, since most, if not all, the RTV programming is moving to full-power digital 58 on 1/1/10.

I noticed that WPGA has dropped the ABC Macon moniker... now it's just Macon.tv

There's not a lot of point in doing much to channel 50, since most, if not all, the RTV programming is moving to full-power digital 58 on 1/1/10.

I noticed that WPGA has dropped the ABC Macon moniker... now it's just Macon.tv

Thanks for the info. I didn't know that. This is what I'm wanting. RTV on a digital channel. I hope he shows Magnum PI, The Rockford Files, The Incredible Hulk, and The A-Team on 58. I just found this link.

http://www.macon.com/local/story/898170.html

I seriously doubt that 58.1 will carry RTV on January 1st, or anytime for that matter. I expect it to be mostly syndicated programming, including 14-16 hours of Infomercials........... and the 8-10 hours of actual progrmming will be filled with Judge Whomever and/or Entertainment News (type) shows, and hopefully a Movie in the 8pm slot????? More movies would be better! but not likely..
RTV will stay on 50 and eventually will be put on Cox Cable and Mr. Register will be happy and content, he could care less if you can see it OTA or not.

Edit: after following your link (Jedi), I see where Mr. Register (himself) says he's thinking of using RTV programming to build his programming. I stand corrected, but I still will have to see it before I believe it....???

Hey Y'all:
I hope that is not the case. We have changed our plans to add statistical multiplexing to reduce the possibility of that happening. There is a lot of money being invested in this, so we want to make sure that it is right.

Ralph Carson
A.C.E.
WGXA TV24

Stat muxing is definitely a necessity, I think that goes without saying. During dramas, comedies and slow moving stuff the signals should be acceptable. Unfortunately, the problem becomes Sunday afternoons. Nascar on ABC and NFL on Fox should make both signals pretty poor. The stat mux can't create bandwidth, only delegate it.

Hey Y'all:
It is true that stat muxing can only delegate the bandwidth that's already available. The main deal with this is that the new encoders should be able to do the job with less bandwidth by superior encoding methods and faster chip speeds enabling these methods. Thomson has run extensive tests, and in most cases there was no detectable artifacts. in the rare cases where there was a problem, and it was minor, they recommended stat muxing. But from what I understand, the problems were not actually visual, or audible, just measurable with instrumentation. The tests were run without stat muxing. I do not know how it will actually perform in the real world with stat mux. We will see. I have faith.

Hey, Ralph. Is any of the new equipment that WGXA is adding likely to help the problems with audio that I continue to have with FOX programming via DTV? Back in February, I recall that you related the problem to the Rodhe & Schwartz exciter, and that it (the problem) cleared up while the Harris exciter was being used.

I have recently watched our programming on cable and did not notice a problem. But I am not quick to dismiss a viewer complaint. However, we thought we had addressed all issues. Please refresh my memory. The only difference between air and cable as far as our operation is concerned is the microwave and transmitter. Our signal is delivered to the COX cable company by fiber optic cable. Please tell me what show(s) you are noticing a problem, and the time and day. We are getting new microwave gear and that will rectify a weak link in our air chain, our current equipment was installed in 1982. we have had problems when it drifted off frequency which it is inclined to do every now and then. The Rodhe and Schwartz exciter has not been modified, but it works OK when fed a signal it likes, and we have done so.