LaCrosse / Wausau, WI - HDTV [Text View] - Page 4

mgburg

07-20-08, 09:01 AM

What is the statuts on the transmitter upgrade? Will it be done by football season? ... Thanks, Bill

Hey Kids! Here's where we're at...

WLAX - After a visit from the "tower fairy" - it was determined that "refurbishing" might be adding a few angels to heavens...

At this time, WLAX is BUILDING a brand new tower...when the structure is completed, the new DT-Antenna will be mounted on the top of the structure and the expected OTA Power will be approx. 700 kW ERP, and on the 17th of February 2009, the power will be bumped up to 852 kW ERP, unless the FCC says it's OK to go sooner...

During this construction time, there will be a "few" interuptions of programming as we move various antennas and line from the older tower over to the newer tower. We'll be making On-The-Air announcements just before those interuptions would be occuring.

As for the time? We're expecting the delivery of the antenna, from the manufacturer, around the 14th of September - give a week or two and depending on the weather and how it effects the construction of the new tower.

I'll come back on here and let you folks know when/if there is any progress...

As for WEUX-DT...

We completed the building buildout, the transmitter install, line change-out and the only thing we're waiting on is the new combo 48/49 antenna, which will be arriving during the same time period as WLAX's antenna...the same crew that is installing the WLAX antenna will be used to do the WEUX antenna...

HOWEVER...

Because this is a combo antenna and we don't have a 2nd stick to put it on...WEUX-TV (Analog - 48.0) will be turned off for approx. 2 days as we remove the old antenna from the tower and re-install the new antenna on the tower...some testing of both the Analog and Digital transmitters into the antenna will need to be completed, then we'll be back on the air...

WEUX-TV will come back on with 1,550 kW ERP of power...
WEUX-DT will come on with 780 kW ERP of power...
After the 17th of February 2009, WEUX-DT will then be able to boost its power up to 1,000 kW of power when WEUX-TV is shut down (Transmission line can handle only so much power...) on that day...-

As for HD on WEUX-DT? That equipment is in the "pipeline" and sometime (I really don't have any idea when) before the winter, we'll have it installed...I'm sorry I can't say anything more on that front. Equipment has been back-ordered and with the Digital transition occuring, the best we can do is hope that the stuff arrives without some fork-lift fork being jammed into the carton someplace or the box is crushed by some ape on a loading dock somewhere... :rolleyes:

Again, as something substantial occurs, I'll get on here and let you folks know...

As for individual e-mails...I'm sorry if any of you have written and I haven't gotten back to you yet...as you can see, I've been a bit busy...just be aware...our Corporate Office understands the importance that Packers/Vikings football is to this side of the state and we're FINALLY moving in that direction...hopefully it all "falls" into place this fall...definately before winter... :eek: :D

I'll keep you folks posted...

mgburg

07-20-08, 09:10 AM

I live in downtown Eau Claire and can get 13.1, 13.2, 18.1, 18.2, and the 28 multi cast for my OTA digital. No cable or satellite either. Channel 8 WKBT can be grabbed in a very very poor analog from my residence. Also, oddly enough I pick up an analog 45 :confused:that is nothing but a staticcy blue screen that says "Recieving Channel Information"(see pic below) How weird! Anyone know what this is or could be? No programming has ever came through that I have noticed.

Now my WEUX question is: Why can I not pick up the digital 48.1 signal? I can pull in the analog 48 signal in very good quality. From my interpretation of what I read on the FCC website Chippewa Falls is the location of the signal.

Thanks!

zenben01:

WEUX-TV/DT is located approx. 2.5 miles SE of Colfax...
or
Approx. 4.5 miles N. of Hwy 29 and 1 mile W. of the Chippewa/Dunn County line.

Point your antenna in that direction and see what you're able to get...but remember, the DT signal is only 1.94 kW and if your antenna is in the attic, you're losing over 1/2 the signal before it even gets to your antenna...asphalt shingles make a great attenuator...and the more layers you have on the roof, the less signal is available...

That's why I HIGHLY RECOMMEND an outdoor antenna, of any sort...

Good luck...

sammy4041

07-28-08, 03:27 PM

jakob330

07-30-08, 04:20 PM

Well according to a directv press release the Lacrosse/Eau Claire DMA will offer there locals in HD by years end.

I will be switching over to directv because of this, and between the possibitlity of WEUX going hd and this news, I may in fact be watching Aaron Rogers in HD by the start of the football season..

Keep in mind, that the OTA HD is superior to the quality you will get from DirecTV.
I have both, and the difference is quite apparent.
It looks, AND sounds better.

maybeway36

07-31-08, 01:33 PM

Remember that the fist regular-season Packers game is on Monday night and will be on ESPN HD :)

migbeil

07-31-08, 07:36 PM

Greetings... :)
I thought I would jump in and ask if anyone knows when Retro Television network will be added in the Wausau, La Crosse/Eau Claire, and Madison Markets?? It is suppose to be on WAOW 9.3, WYOW 34.3, WXOW (18.3?), WQOW (19.3?), and WKOW (27.3?) in the near future. If they are added on any of these stations please post it in here.. :)

So far I haven't found any these on.. But the website for Retro Television Network is listening them on the air.
I've also been looking for RTN to appear on WQOW. I finally emailed the station. Response was as follows:

"We are looking at a fourth quarter launch of the network. RTN has just been recently spun off as a separate company so that has delayed the launch a bit for our market. It should be on our .3 channel as far as our digital sub channels.

Hope this helps and thanks for watching!

T. Mark Golden
Station Manager
WQOW 18 / The CW"

Thought I would share that. I've been following this thread for some time, though never posted. My thanks go out to all the useful info many on here have shared.

sammy4041

07-31-08, 08:52 PM

Keep in mind, that the OTA HD is superior to the quality you will get from DirecTV.
I have both, and the difference is quite apparent.
It looks, AND sounds better.

I agree and after I thought about it, I will probably stay with dish. Hopefully they get there equiptment ready soon, since you live in colfax, you should be the first to know.

MikeR7

08-01-08, 11:03 AM

Keep in mind, that the OTA HD is superior to the quality you will get from DirecTV.
I have both, and the difference is quite apparent.
It looks, AND sounds better.
What locals are you getting in Colfax that you are comparing to Directv's. Directv does not have local HD yet. When they do this fall, it will be superior to OTA, as it will be MPEG-4.

jakob330

08-01-08, 11:46 AM

What locals are you getting in Colfax that you are comparing to Directv's. Directv does not have local HD yet. When they do this fall, it will be superior to OTA, as it will be MPEG-4.

Dunn County is in the Minn/StP television market.

I've had "local" TV from Directv, for years.
I upgraded recently to Directv HD(HDR).
OTA, I get 13, 18, 28, and 8, in Digital (all sub-channels and/or HD).
Occasionally, I can get 48. <shrug>, but, that's OK. I'll watch channel 9 :).

So, comparing ABC, NBC and CBS signal quality is very easy.
OTA is superior *because*, DirecTV uses MP4.
Directv has limited bandwidth, and they save it by dialing back the quality.
That's why they're moving from MP2 to MP4, requires less band width and
they can dial it back on the fly.

If I want to show off my Sony HD TV, It's OTA or BlueRay.

wi-cj5

08-12-08, 08:21 AM

Anyone with charter notice channels 698 and 699 - Olympic basketball and
soccer in HD...

Also on Monday night during the Olympics, the commericials for WEAU
news were in HD..

tsheley

08-12-08, 08:44 AM

Just wanted to give my experience living in Holmen. I bought a Terk HDTVA indoor antenna and hooked it up to my Dish Network receiver. I can get the following...

CBS - 90 to 100
ABC - 90 to 100
NBC - 65 to 70
PBS - 90 to 100
FOX - Low 50's and can't watch.

I was very surprised I could get NBC from Eau Claire in. It was great to watch the Olympics in HD last night. Hopefully the new tower for WLAX will allow me to pull in there signal soon.

gjvrieze

08-12-08, 09:19 AM

Anyone with charter notice channels 698 and 699 - Olympic basketball and
soccer in HD...

Also on Monday night during the Olympics, the commericials for WEAU
news were in HD..

We got the 2 Olympic channels in Rochester at the same time....

badgerfan

08-13-08, 12:33 AM

It doesn't seem that Direct TV is going to carry the Wausau locals in HD anytime soon. Does anyone have info as to when it might happen?. I live in Rhinelander and can get ABC and NBC over the air, but CBS HD won't go full power until Feb. I know Fox will not be up and running in HD until Feb.

grgeiger

08-17-08, 03:08 PM

In response to quarterback Brett Favre’s trade this week to the New York Jets, local CBS affiliate WSAW-TV Channel 7 is working to secure as many Jets games as it can for the upcoming NFL season.

The trade ended the three-time league MVP’s 16-year career with the Green Bay Packers and sent him to play in the AFC East Division. CBS has the rights to broadcast most AFC games, and though games are assigned by the network, affiliates may ask to carry games in which there is a local interest in a particular team.

WSAW already has a tentative agreement to carry five Jets games this season and would like to air as many as 10 games, pending network approval, said Dan Froelich, Channel 7 promotions director.

“We are currently working to get as many games as humanly possible from CBS,” Froelich said. “We believe there are people that have a vested interest in Favre. Those people are continuing to be Brett Favre fans, even though Brett has chosen to go in a different direction.

“It allows us to give Brett a second home here in Wausau and keep the fans who have been with Brett and think that he is going to make or break a team.”

The Jets open the 2008 campaign on the road against the Miami Dolphins at noon Sept. 7 and host the New England Patriots in their home opener at 4:15 p.m. Sept. 14. The Jets’ Week 3 matchup with the San Diego Chargers will be broadcast nationally on ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 22.

scott72

08-17-08, 04:27 PM

Dunn County is in the Minn/StP television market.

I've had "local" TV from Directv, for years.
I upgraded recently to Directv HD(HDR).
OTA, I get 13, 18, 28, and 8, in Digital (all sub-channels and/or HD).
Occasionally, I can get 48. <shrug>, but, that's OK. I'll watch channel 9 :).

So, comparing ABC, NBC and CBS signal quality is very easy.
OTA is superior *because*, DirecTV uses MP4.
Directv has limited bandwidth, and they save it by dialing back the quality.
That's why they're moving from MP2 to MP4, requires less band width and
they can dial it back on the fly.

If I want to show off my Sony HD TV, It's OTA or BlueRay.

Yes MP4 uses less bandwidth than MP2, but it's also superior in quality. There is no bandwidth issue at DirecTV since they launched the new satellite and it's up and running. Plus with channels moving to MP4 this creates even more bandwidth. This is how they're able to launch new national HD channels along with many new DMA locals including LAX in the near future.

jakob330

08-18-08, 11:05 AM

Yes MP4 uses less bandwidth than MP2, but it's also superior in quality..

1. All things being equal.. less bandwidth equals lower quality.

Could you come up with anecdotal evidence to the contrary, sure.
Could I compress a file using Mpeg2, to look worse than a Mpeg4, sure.
There are too many variables, to discuss this on this list... see my first sentence.

DirecTV has no interest in superior image quality. The vast majority of the population doesn't know what a quality signal/image is, ... so why bother??
All that matters to DirecTV is be able to say they have X number HD channels, and you that make your payments (and rope you into long term contracts).
Not much else.

There is no bandwidth issue at DirecTV since they launched the new satellite and it's up and running.
.

hmmm... If there were no bandwidth issues, why go to a lower bandwidth codec?

sregener

08-18-08, 01:34 PM

1. All things being equal.. less bandwidth equals lower quality.

I'm sure this has been covered better in many places than I'm about to, but my understanding is that MPEG4 artifacts are more subtle and less aggravating than the "blocky" appearance of MPEG2. And MPEG4 has better algorithms for compression/encoding that require much faster hardware, but that reduces the number of bits that have to be tossed to fit. Thus, most eyes agree that 11Mbps MPEG4 looks as good as 18Mbps MPEG2. There may be less detail on a pixel-by-pixel basis, but if the artifacting is subtle enough to be difficult to detect, who cares?

But it is impossible for any MPEG2-encoded stream to look better if it is decompressed and then recompressed using MPEG4 at any bit rate. The best that can be achieved is parity with MPEG2.

jakob330

08-18-08, 03:13 PM

I'm sure this has been covered better in many places than I'm about to, but my understanding is that MPEG4 artifacts are more subtle and less aggravating than the "blocky" appearance of MPEG2. And MPEG4 has better algorithms for compression/encoding that require much faster hardware, but that reduces the number of bits that have to be tossed to fit. Thus, most eyes agree that 11Mbps MPEG4 looks as good as 18Mbps MPEG2. There may be less detail on a pixel-by-pixel basis, but if the artifacting is subtle enough to be difficult to detect, who cares?

I'm not going to dispute *most* of what you have written.. :rolleyes:
But let me point out, there is more to compression than resolution.
This refers to your reference of "artifacts, ""blocky" appearance", "detail on a pixel-by-pixel", etc.
The color space on DirecTV is crushed.
Since most TVs are not adjusted properly, people can't see it, they'll never miss it, you're right, they don't care!

$100 says you can't tell the difference between mpeg4 and mpeg2, at Best Buy. :)

But it is impossible for any MPEG2-encoded stream to look better if it is decompressed and then recompressed using MPEG4 at any bit rate. The best that can be achieved is parity with MPEG2.

Compression is lossey. That is... information/data is thrown away.
Any compressed file, that is recompressed, can NEVER look as good as the original(compressed file).

scott72

08-18-08, 08:33 PM

1. All things being equal.. less bandwidth equals lower quality.

Could you come up with anecdotal evidence to the contrary, sure.
Could I compress a file using Mpeg2, to look worse than a Mpeg4, sure.
There are too many variables, to discuss this on this list... see my first sentence.

DirecTV has no interest in superior image quality. The vast majority of the population doesn't know what a quality signal/image is, ... so why bother??
All that matters to DirecTV is be able to say they have X number HD channels, and you that make your payments (and rope you into long term contracts).
Not much else.

hmmm... If there were no bandwidth issues, why go to a lower bandwidth codec?

They're going MP4 so they can get all the LiL DMA's up and running. They're also preparing to launch several new HD nationals in the near future. I see your argument that less bandwidth equals less quality, but doing a side by side test the MP4 channels are far and away superior in quality imo..

sregener

08-19-08, 06:28 AM

The color space on DirecTV is crushed.

$100 says you can't tell the difference between mpeg4 and mpeg2, at Best Buy. :)

Compression is lossey. That is... information/data is thrown away.
Any compressed file, that is recompressed, can NEVER look as good as the original(compressed file).

I never had DirecTV's HD service, so I can't comment on their color space for their MPEG4 streams. I know the color space on their SD channels was horrible. You don't need a properly calibrated TV to see it. All you need is a good comparison source or a good eye.

I'm not a betting man, but given my experience with checking video for minor errors (I could spot MPEG2 artifacts on DirecTV when they just started out and video quality was truly excellent) I wouldn't bet against me. :)

Not all compression is lossy. I could name a dozen compression formats that aren't. But most video compression, including all MPEG versions so far, is. But I'll take any video file you want, compress and decompress it using ZIP or LZW and challenge you to tell the difference after it's been decompressed.

tsheley

08-19-08, 10:44 AM

Just wondering if there is an update on the WLAX tower?

Thanks,

jimboeau

08-19-08, 07:22 PM

Just wondering if there is an update on the WLAX tower?

Thanks,

and WEUX tower? It's almost football season!

Schlar01

08-19-08, 09:31 PM

I have DirecTV and I have to say that HD picture is very, very good on the new MPEG4 channels. They have enough new satellites up to not make bandwidth an issue. ESPN was having some problems with a vertical line right on the middle of the MPEG4 picture last night so tuned in the MPEG2 version (ch 73) and there was definitely a noticeable difference in quality.

I couldn't be happier with DirecTV's HD.........they just need to add La Crosse's locals now.

eziemann

08-20-08, 02:56 PM

Has anyone actually seen the signal come in on FSNHD? I thought it was 8/18 or 8/20 for the activation date.

wi-cj5

08-21-08, 11:29 AM

Has anyone actually seen the signal come in on FSNHD? I thought it was 8/18 or 8/20 for the activation date.

The channel is there, it looks like they don't broadcast anything on it
unless it is in HD from looking at the charter tvguide..

jakob330

08-21-08, 01:24 PM

<snipped>
I see your argument that less bandwidth equals less quality, but doing a side by side test the MP4 channels are far and away superior in quality imo..
That was at your brother's (brother-in law?) in the cities, right?
My original response was lost in the forum "data hiccup".
Too bad..... it was brilliant.:rolleyes: (ha)
Like I said, there are *way* too many variables, to be definitive.
I'll take your word it looked better, at that time and place.
<snipped>
Not all compression is lossy. I could name a dozen compression formats that aren't. But most video compression, including all MPEG versions so far, is. But I'll take any video file you want, compress and decompress it using ZIP or LZW and challenge you to tell the difference after it's been decompressed.

You're right. Not all compression is lossy. I wasn't specific when I wrote that but, I *was* thinking mpeg... really:p
I admit, there are even several non-lossy video compression formats. In fact, Mpeg4 is capable of being non-lossy.
You just aren't going to see it on DirecTV.

MikeR7

08-21-08, 03:16 PM

Actually it was my brother's that I referenced. I guess it got lost like you said, but the picture is marvelous. FSN North 668 is pretty darn good here too.

awalla

08-22-08, 08:25 AM

At this time FSN WI HD is only broadcasting select Brewers games and a few other sporting events on the HD feed. FSN WI plans to go full-time broadcast in Jan/Feb 2009.

scott72

08-22-08, 09:21 AM

At this time FSN WI HD is only broadcasting select Brewers games and a few other sporting events on the HD feed. FSN WI plans to go full-time broadcast in Jan/Feb 2009.

That's good to hear. Are you with the station or do you have a link of some sort?

eziemann

08-22-08, 12:18 PM

Charter changed the channel on FSNHD from 663 to 761 in La Crosse.
I got color bars last night so hopefully the Brewer game comes in tonight.
The guide data show SIGN OFF for most of the day. I wish they could split it with a regional/national FSN HD feed when nothing is locally broadcast.

wi-cj5

08-29-08, 01:32 PM

Charter added The BIG10 channel yesterday, including an HD version

Channels 74 and 794........

Joewee

09-03-08, 12:31 PM

Does anyone have a Qam
tuner mapdown of
Eau Claire Charter channels?

eziemann

09-04-08, 09:40 AM

Joewee
Just replace the last part of this URL with your ZIP code:

http://www.silicondust.com/hdhomerun/lineupui?Cmd=LocationProgramsWeb&Country=US&Postcode=54650

sammy4041

09-07-08, 05:55 PM

I have read the past posts so I know what the situation is. I would just like to say that I am very disappointed with Fox that we still do not have FOX HD in the Eau Claire area. I think it is pathetic that all the other stations have been on board for so long.

I guess any hopes of seeing our packers in HD is fading away in the Eau Claire area.

jakob330

09-08-08, 09:48 AM

sammy4041

09-08-08, 10:16 AM

Well, at least you can watch Bret in HD.... :)

I just read(somewhere) that Charter is dropping all the Minn/StPaul stations in the CValley... too bad. That would mean, No FOX HD from 9.
I don't think they can drop the "cities" in Dunn County though...

I have not had charter for a long time, so I cant speak on that, I thought that when I did have it, the only cities channel we had was wcco. I remember as a kid we recieved them all. That changed about 20 years ago though.

As I remember you would lose wcco during certain parts of the day if it competed with wktb.

I'm probably talking out of my but, right now, just give me FOXHD and I will quit wasting everyones time on thes forums.

Come on MARK make it happen.

jakob330

09-08-08, 11:51 AM

I have not had charter for a long time, so I cant speak on that, I thought that when I did have it, the only cities channel we had was wcco. I remember as a kid we recieved them all. That changed about 20 years ago though.

As I remember you would lose wcco during certain parts of the day if it competed with wktb.

Ah.. you're right.
You're losing WCCO. So now you'll get nothing from the cities.
Sorry for the misinformation, I'm not totally familiar with Charter offerings.

sammy4041

09-08-08, 12:09 PM

Ah.. you're right.
You're losing WCCO. So now you'll get nothing from the cities.
Sorry for the misinformation, I'm not totally familiar with Charter offerings.

Your lucky enough to live in Colfax, so you get the cities if you have direct or dish.

lucky dog,

Not to mention you live next to one of the best steak joints in the country.

Albertville

wi-cj5

09-08-08, 01:13 PM

Ah.. you're right.
You're losing WCCO. So now you'll get nothing from the cities.
Sorry for the misinformation, I'm not totally familiar with Charter offerings.

WCCO has been blocked 95% off the time for a long time, about the only
thing you could watch was the local MSP news. WCCO would not even be
unblocked when the football games were different.

sammy4041

09-08-08, 01:52 PM

WCCO has been blocked 95% off the time for a long time, about the only
thing you could watch was the local MSP news. WCCO would not even be
unblocked when the football games were different.

So when do you think we are going to see foxhd

maybeway36

09-09-08, 06:33 PM

In Eau Claire, the only way to get FOX in HD is with Charter. WLAX-DT's signal is on channel 785 and will move to channel 605 effective Sep. 30, according to the mailing.

NoFoxHD

09-17-08, 10:15 AM

Alright,... for the last 2 weeks or so,... NO FOX HD (OTA WLAX) I know there is some construction going on,... is it down? At an even lower power?

LakeFlambeau

09-17-08, 09:13 PM

I sent a email to Mark Burg, who I believe is the engineer at WLAX. I requested he send me an email about the status and I would pass it on, or post out here on the status himself.

No response either way it looks like. I am sure he is busy, but it would
only take a few minutes to provide an update to the customers.

mgburg

09-19-08, 03:50 PM

Hey Kids! Here's where we're at...

WLAX - After a visit from the "tower fairy" - it was determined that "refurbishing" might be adding a few angels to heavens...

At this time, WLAX is BUILDING a brand new tower...when the structure is completed, the new DT-Antenna will be mounted on the top of the structure and the expected OTA Power will be approx. 700 kW ERP, and on the 17th of February 2009, the power will be bumped up to 852 kW ERP, unless the FCC says it's OK to go sooner...

During this construction time, there will be a "few" interuptions of programming as we move various antennas and line from the older tower over to the newer tower. We'll be making On-The-Air announcements just before those interuptions would be occuring.

As for the time? We're expecting the delivery of the antenna, from the manufacturer, around the 14th of September - give a week or two and depending on the weather and how it effects the construction of the new tower.

I'll come back on here and let you folks know when/if there is any progress...

As for WEUX-DT...

We completed the building buildout, the transmitter install, line change-out and the only thing we're waiting on is the new combo 48/49 antenna, which will be arriving during the same time period as WLAX's antenna...the same crew that is installing the WLAX antenna will be used to do the WEUX antenna...

HOWEVER...

Because this is a combo antenna and we don't have a 2nd stick to put it on...WEUX-TV (Analog - 48.0) will be turned off for approx. 2 days as we remove the old antenna from the tower and re-install the new antenna on the tower...some testing of both the Analog and Digital transmitters into the antenna will need to be completed, then we'll be back on the air...

WEUX-TV will come back on with 1,550 kW ERP of power...
WEUX-DT will come on with 780 kW ERP of power...
After the 17th of February 2009, WEUX-DT will then be able to boost its power up to 1,000 kW of power when WEUX-TV is shut down (Transmission line can handle only so much power...) on that day...-

As for HD on WEUX-DT? That equipment is in the "pipeline" and sometime (I really don't have any idea when) before the winter, we'll have it installed...I'm sorry I can't say anything more on that front. Equipment has been back-ordered and with the Digital transition occuring, the best we can do is hope that the stuff arrives without some fork-lift fork being jammed into the carton someplace or the box is crushed by some ape on a loading dock somewhere... :rolleyes:

Again, as something substantial occurs, I'll get on here and let you folks know...

As for individual e-mails...I'm sorry if any of you have written and I haven't gotten back to you yet...as you can see, I've been a bit busy...just be aware...our Corporate Office understands the importance that Packers/Vikings football is to this side of the state and we're FINALLY moving in that direction...hopefully it all "falls" into place this fall...definately before winter... :eek: :D

I'll keep you folks posted...

Hey folks!

Update time!!!

FIRST - WLAX-DT

Yep...the tower fairy finished installing the antenna last week...but in order to get power out to the tower (transmission line) the equipment used to install the antenna had to be removed and "mobilized" to the WEUX location in order to handle that particular project...

Then, the ice-bridge had to be built in order to hold that same line from the building out to the tower...it's being built as I type this. Once the IB (ice bridge) is completed, the line will be installed, connected to the transmitter and then the transmitter will be matched and tested into the antenna.

Then...TAH! DAH! 852kW of 25.1 and 25.2 to the masses in the La Crosse area!

Here's the fun part...I'm hoping that the weather holds off and we're ready to hit the air before Sunday, 05 October 2008.

NOW, the WEUX-DT part:

As I mentioned above, the gear used to get the tower/antenna built/installed in the La Crosse area, is being shipped to the WEUX site. The antenna has arrived and WEUX anticipates that the work should begin on the morning of the 29th of September, first removing the older analog (48.0) antenna, placing it carefully out of "harm's way" and then picking, placing and installing the new antenna that will handle both the analog signal (48.0) and the digital signal (48.1) at the same time.

As mentioned in the quoted text above, we're still waiting for the arrival of the "HD" microwave and related gear, so the digital signal from the site will still be SD/480i for the time being...

But, the power for the analog will be 1,550kW (an increase of 40kW over the old power) and the digital will go from a measley 1.94kW up to 780kW.. A definate kick in the pants.

Now, keep in mind, in order to do this, 48.0 will need to be off the air while the antenna swap is going on...48.1 (for those able to get it) might still be on if there's no problems with the tower crew. HOWEVER, if there's any RF Limits being approached, 48.1 is off as well. The tower crews' safety is more important than a few folks missing an hour or three of MAURY or DIVORCE COURT during the day. Hopefully (weather permitting), this will begin on the 29th and be completed by either Wednesday night or Thursday at the latest.

And again, I apologize for not getting back to any incoming e-mails on this subject. This is the best way for me to let you folks know what's happening and when to expect some/any changes.

Stay tuned...

btb79

09-19-08, 04:14 PM

Thanks for the update Mark.

mgburg

09-19-08, 04:20 PM

BTW, the last bit of information I saw on DirecTV-HD LIL coming into the La Crosse/Eau Claire market is during the week of 10 November 2008.

So maybe there might be FOX-HD through the dish before OTA from WEUX-DT in the Eau Claire area, but keep in mind the following...

DirecTV has to encode the signal to get it to the bird, then decode it or pass-it-through (IF level) to get it back to earth and to your dish...

THEN, your dish downconverts that signal to get it through the cable to your receiver, which then decodes it one more time to encode it so you can view it. And it will be the WLAX-DT signal...not WEUX's...

Not too complicated, in either the MPEG2/MPEG4 scheme of things...

OR...

You can wait a little bit and avoid a long-term contract commitment and view the OTA signal of WEUX-DT when we finally get the equipment...

I'm just sorry I can't give you a date as to when that's going to be...

Remember, we aren't the only station(s) that are getting the run-around from vendors about equipment delivery...

Even the company that supplied us our two antennas is having "vendor issues" at their plants and that is creating quite a backlog on orders that have been placed over a year ago...thankfully, our equipment (at least the antennas themselves) didn't suffer too much of a delay in that particular supply chain. The WLAX antenna was only 4 days delayed, not like some antennas where I heard the delay was over a month...imagine the rescheduling of tower crews and equipment for that job alone! :eek: :mad: :(

Anyway, here's to better viewing in the coming months! :cool:

Schlar01

09-19-08, 05:26 PM

Thanks for all the info. I know we all appreciate you taking time to keep us informed when you don't have to.

DustoMan

09-21-08, 12:06 AM

BTW, the last bit of information I saw on DirecTV-HD LIL coming into the La Crosse/Eau Claire market is during the week of 10 November 2008.

Do you know anything about Dish Network HD LIL?

sammy4041

09-21-08, 05:25 AM

Do you know anything about Dish Network HD LIL?

We are not in the short term plan I know that. They have some catching up to do with Direct on HD LIL

grgeiger

09-22-08, 03:43 AM

I thought I would mention some of the smaller towns in the Rhinelander/Wausau market might have HD available on cable soon. According to the Packerland Broadband website. PLBB will soon roll out Digital Cable and HD Channels for the following towns.

Elcho, WI
Summit Lake, WI
Upham, WI
Deerbrook, WI
Enterprise, WI
Pelican Lake, WI
Post Lake, WI
Laona-Blackwell
Wabeno
Goodman
Amberg
and Pembine-Beecher (I THINK Pembine-Beecher may be in the Marquette market if I am not mistaken)

Nice to see some of these smaller towns and smaller systems adding HD packages and HD Locals.

bnuttz

09-29-08, 05:18 PM

grgeiger

09-29-08, 08:01 PM

Dish Network could drop WFXS as of Midnight tomorrow night.

Update as of 3:50pm 9/29/08

WFXS Vice President and General Manager Robert Raff held a conference call with representatives of Dish Network at 3:00pm today. Unfortunately, the conversation was not very fruitful and there is no change to the status.

The current licensing agreement with Dish Network expires at midnight Tuesday, September 30th, and without a new agreement, Dish Network will remove the local FOX affiliate from the local station package.

Viewers should contact Dish Network and voice their concern or request a refund due to the loss of WFXS. Subscribers may try to contact Dish Network at 1-888-581-9813 or try the "Escalation Department" at Dish Network 1-888-241-2195 and tell them that WFXS FOX55 and the NFL & FOX programming are very important to this market. Viewers should also contact DirecTV or their Local Cable providers to see what options they may have. WFXS has made available some helpful antenna information under the "About Us" tab of the station's website at www.myfoxwausau.com

If Dish Network does remove our signal, they may not be able to restore it until May 1st, 2009 due to the upcoming digital TV transition process which may prohibit lineup changes for several months.. Dish Network Customers need to take action now!!!

We understand that when you call Dish Network, the customer service reps may deny the issue and refuse to give you any further information. We do not know why Dish is not being honest with the subscribers, but apparently this is the same tactic they have used in other markets where they are having the same fight. WFXS is sharing information to try and help the affected viewers.

.

The people we have been trying to negotiate with at Dish Network are Michael McKenna and Erin McIlvain. They are apparently the President and the General Manager of Programming for Dish Network. Ask to speak directly with them if you don't get any information from the customer service representative. Tell them that you are already paying Dish Network for the local channels and you want them to negotiate a new deal with the station.

Check back to this website often for any further updates or for more information on special discount packages being offered by DirecTV or Cable providers for Dish Customers who choose to make a change.

WFXS regrets the inconvenience this situation causes Dish Network subscribers and will attempt to keep Dish Network customers informed in a truthful and accurate way.

wi-cj5

09-30-08, 10:31 AM

Has anyone heard anything about Charter picking up TBS HD? I thought I heard some rumors that this channel as well as some others were supposed to be added along with FSN. It looks like my hopes of seeing the Brewers playoffs in HD are not going to pan out.

Some of the channels are supposed to start switching today and some others become active in the next two weeks. They sent me a new channel guide which is currently at home but today is the start of the re-org..

LakeFlambeau

09-30-08, 02:43 PM

http://www.madison.com/tct/news/307104

This says the WI Charter market will be getting TBS in HD in time for Brewer Game

grgeiger

10-01-08, 01:16 PM

How ironic.. They reach a deal with Dish Network, but are off the air within 24hours anyway. The analog and HD feeds to Charter are still running. The on air signal and service to Dish and Directv are not on the air.

FOX 55 (WFXS Wittenberg-Wausau) is off the air after a transmission line failure on Tuesday night (9/30). The station continues to provide programming directly to Charter Cable, but is not available on either satellite provider. Ironically, the incident came hours after WFXS resolved a retransmission consent dispute with DISH Network that would have resulted in the station being pulled from DISH today.

lovebohn

10-01-08, 01:36 PM

Any more news from Fox 55 with their HD OTA? I haven't bugged them for a few months now.

Trip in VA

10-01-08, 01:40 PM

They were granted their request to build their digital signal on channel 31 instead of channel 50 in the last week, so they'll probably be busy acquiring equipment and filing paperwork to get a permit with the FCC in the very near future.

- Trip

lovebohn

10-01-08, 01:52 PM

Not sure if thats good or bad. The last they told me was Jan-Feb if things go well. I guess it could be later since they are just ordering the equipment now. I assume the lower channel number should help with reception of the digital signal. The analog 55 is crap right now.

grgeiger

10-01-08, 05:11 PM

It looks like Fox 55 may just barely make the February deadline. If not be a month or so behind.

wi-cj5

10-02-08, 09:04 AM

Some of the channels are supposed to start switching today and some others become active in the next two weeks. They sent me a new channel guide which is currently at home but today is the start of the re-org..

TBS-HD appeared last night in the EAU area. Looked at the guide again and all the channel re-orgs from Monday are shopping / government channels.

Oct 7th appears to be the big move day for channels most people care about.

jali

10-02-08, 09:18 AM

Any news on powering up the new transmitter for FOX 25 LaCrosse? My Directv HD DVR is waiting patiently.

LakeFlambeau

10-03-08, 05:47 PM

gjvrieze

10-03-08, 06:03 PM

The website says they are off the air and installing the new antenna.
If they started this, I would think they would be on the air soon.
I can not beleive they would risk not being done by Packer kickoff
on Sun at noon.

I am not at my TV. Are they still off the air?
FOX 48 Off Air

This is the info about the post that was there

Last Edited: Thursday, 02 Oct 2008, 3:46 PM CDT
Created: Thursday, 02 Oct 2008, 3:46 PM CDT

10/2/08 -- FOX 48 Off Air

http://www.myfoxwi.com/myfox/

I know, that it is VERY rare to put new equipment at the broadcast site and power it up full right from the start, they will often, test high power during primetime and sports events for a few hours at a time, to ensure that they do not burn out anything in the early testing... With any luck, you will have your game, as I am sure they do not want to loose the viewers for a big event like that...

LakeFlambeau

10-03-08, 07:36 PM

I checked and 25 is on the air. I did a rescan, and nothing new for the digital channel. I am pretty sure 25.1 is on channel 17, and nothing is showing up there yet. Hopeful they will have the digital side pumping out soon.
Like to be able to get the Packer games in HD when they are not on the Rochester FOX. With the Vikings on Monday night this week, I would think it will be on Rochester FOX this weekend.

If anyone has any info, please post.

LakeFlambeau

10-03-08, 11:36 PM

Boy am I screwed up. Looked at the website again and it is the Fox 48 out of EC that is off the air. Looking forward to 25 so much I did not look close at what it said.

From what I can get here, 48 still seems to be off the air.....

sebenste

10-04-08, 01:22 AM

The website says they are off the air and installing the new antenna.
If they started this, I would think they would be on the air soon.
I can not beleive they would risk not being done by Packer kickoff
on Sun at noon.

I am not at my TV. Are they still off the air?
FOX 48 Off Air

This is the info about the post that was there

Last Edited: Thursday, 02 Oct 2008, 3:46 PM CDT
Created: Thursday, 02 Oct 2008, 3:46 PM CDT

10/2/08 -- FOX 48 Off Air

http://www.myfoxwi.com/myfox/

I can believe that. Tower crews frequently have delays for lots of valid reasons. If they started Thursday, and said that they'd be back in a "few days"...well, then, that puts them into Saturday dusk. And since the weather will be great through that time, they should be able to work on the antenna without problems in regards to that. And I'm sure, once they blast at full power, Mark will be asking for signal reports across the area.

JohnA

10-04-08, 09:01 AM

As of Saturday morning I am still receiving 25 at a marginal signal strength as before. Apparently no new transmitter yet.:(

sebenste

10-04-08, 12:01 PM

As of Saturday morning I am still receiving 25 at a marginal signal strength as before. Apparently no new transmitter yet.:(

They have to plumb and test the new transmitter first. That takes days to a week, depending on various factors. Hang in there...

mgburg

10-04-08, 11:28 PM

Hey folks!

Here's what's happening...

On the 25.1/25.2 front...

The tower has been completed...
The line is on the tower...
The transmitter is ready for the line...
We are waiting a few more pieces of gear before we can go on the air...
Due to vendor issues, the equipment is expected during the week of October 20th...again, weather permitting...

On the 48.0/48.1 front...

The old antenna FINALLY made it to the ground yesterday...
The new antenna made it to the top of the tower this afternoon around 1800...then we ran out of sunlight...the antenna and line have to be connected yet...then the connection has be tested...
Tomorrow, the window of opportunity is fairly narrow...rain is NOT a good thing...

Let's hope we're able to get the testing finished before the kickoff...

Later!

mgburg

10-05-08, 06:03 PM

sammy4041

10-05-08, 08:12 PM

:DAt 4:10.35 P.M. this afternoon, WEUX TV returned to the air at full power...

THEN...

At 4:11.45 P.M., WEUX DT went on the air at its Pre-transition full-power authorized ERP of 780kW..

Go ahead and enjoy...but remember...48.1 is SD/480i until we get the rest of the gear we need to get the real HD/780p signal up to Colfax from La Crosse.

Bear with us...it's been a long haul...

Very good news Mark, this is the first time ever I have been able to get 48.1 over the air, and I live in Eau Claire.

Any chance that you can throw us a bone with an approximate date that we might be with 720P

Thanks again

chadg2

10-06-08, 01:13 PM

Thanks Mark, but last night I tuned in about 9:30 and the signal on 48.0 was very weak and had snow in the picture. I've never had this problem before with 48.0. I never got to try 48.1 last night, but I will tonight. I sure hope that something is wrong on your end, because as of last Monday night everything was fine for me with 48.0. I never had any signal from 48.1 and I live over by Plum City. Thanks again getting things moving. Chad

Trip in VA

10-06-08, 01:28 PM

Well, today the FCC approved a request by WXOW-DT to relocate their digital station from channel 14 to channel 48 next year. Channel 14 suffers a number of interference problems from land mobile and amateur operations immediately below channel 14 on the band.

From what I can gather, it looks like they don't plan to actually make that move to channel 48 until some time next summer, and will instead continue to operate channel 14 until the weather gets nice enough that they can replace the antenna at the top of the tower.

- Trip

JohnA

10-21-08, 08:27 AM

LakeFlambeau

10-22-08, 07:44 PM

Update???

sammy4041

10-23-08, 04:54 PM

It appears that 48.1 is offline.

Could that mean that some upgrading is going on?

Lets hope!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LakeFlambeau

10-24-08, 12:25 PM

Is 48.1 back online? I did a scan last night and nothing yet.

Update from Mark Burg possible????

mgburg

10-26-08, 11:10 AM

Folks:

First things first...

25.1/25.2 (WLAX DT) is now on the air w/852kW ERP of power...as of 1032.45 this morning...

Now, as for the 48.1 thing...

We had a bad I/P cavity on the tube ass'y that needed replacement...that's why we were off the air for the time you were noting it...

48.1 should be back on...

Now...all we need yet is the "transport gear" (4 sets of microwave radios and related material) and we'll be golden for HD/720p up in the Chippewa Falls/Eau Claire area...

I'll stay in touch...

jimintomah

10-26-08, 01:18 PM

Mark,
Fantastic!! The signal is great in Tomah. I am even getting a solid signal using a converter box and the little bat wing antenna out in my fifth wheel travel trailer.

LakeFlambeau

10-26-08, 02:47 PM

SW Rochester. Getting a great signal on 25.1.
Solid and maybe just slightly lower than Channel 8, which is rock Solid.
Very happy and looking forward to many years of Packer games in HD.
Also looking forward to FOX 48 going HD in the future also.
Getting a very solid 48.1 signal in Ladysmith.

Mark, Thanks alot and thanks for the updates.

Schlar01

10-26-08, 08:16 PM

Yep, getting a great signal in Holmen in Fox. Just tried it for the heck of it when I flipped to the world series and it worked! Nice.

chadg2

11-02-08, 06:52 PM

watched my first Packer game on 48.1 digital and had no picture breakups or signal drops the entire game. Looks like the new digital channel is going to work out good, now I just wish we could get fox 48 in HD! Thanks, Chad

LakeFlambeau

11-02-08, 08:45 PM

Better than what seemed to have happened on 25.1. Seemed to have went off the air
half way through the game and stilll seems to be off the air. No signal at all.
Anybody getting anything?

jimintomah

11-02-08, 10:25 PM

We lost the signal in Tomah about the same time. Still nothing at this time. Hopefully it will not turn out to be a major problem. The signal had been very good since last Sunday.

mgburg

11-03-08, 08:16 AM

Small problem occuring with some signal processing gear in the big box...hopefully it will get straightened out today...during a Packer game, it's not really a "small problem" but a PITA...

We were able to go to the small box and light up the cable systems and a few surrounding houses, but the rest of you folks ended up getting in the shorts...sorry about that...

"Infant mortality" issues with new equipment (or in this case, operating parameters contributing to IM) sucks...it's just a shame it had to occur during a Packer game and on a Sunday, no less...

I wonder what the "3rd" thing is going to be...

Hummmm? :rolleyes:

jimintomah

11-03-08, 08:47 AM

Patience is the word. The good news is at least I know I can get a good solid signal when it's working. Good luck. I suppose calling the Geek Squad is out of the question :)

jimintomah

11-03-08, 03:20 PM

DustoMan

11-03-08, 03:27 PM

Just checked and the signal is back and looking good. The signal strength is equal to WKBT here in Tomah. Now to get by the "3rd" thing, lets hope it's simple and it occurs early on a week day and not on Sunday.

I gotta go up and see if there's something wrong with my antenna. If you're in Tomah and getting a signal, then I should be able to in Sparta as well.

EDIT: I think there might be something wrong with my booster. Is there a way to test that without climbing my roof and removing it from the antenna? There's a box on the antenna and a power inserter in my basement. JimInTomah, do you use a booster?

jimintomah

11-03-08, 03:44 PM

DustoMan

11-03-08, 03:53 PM

I do have an above average set up, old Channel Master 1160A antenna, high gain pre-amp and a distribution amp, 40 foot Rohn 25 tower and all RG-6. Last Sunday I fired up the tv in my fifth wheel and hooked up a digital converter box. The Winegard batwing antenna and built in amp gave me a good picture. That would indicate to me you should do well in Sparta with almost anything. Plus, you don't need to contend with the "big hill" that's in my way.

Okay, so I have a Terrestrial Digital DB8 antenna on a 6ft-ish pole on the roof of my single story home with a Terrestrial Digital PA-16 UHF Antenna Pre-Amp Kit. I used a compass to point the antenna towards the Ch19/25/31 tower and I haven't received a solid usable signal since around May 1st. I have no idea what's wrong.

jimintomah

11-03-08, 04:20 PM

Okay, so I have a Terrestrial Digital DB8 antenna on a 6ft-ish pole on the roof of my single story home with a Terrestrial Digital PA-16 UHF Antenna Pre-Amp Kit. I used a compass to point the antenna towards the Ch19/25/31 tower and I haven't received a solid usable signal since around May 1st. I have no idea what's wrong.
I just went outside to try the tv in my trailer again. Good signal on antenna that's not much more that a yard wide. I guess I would start checking connections. Do you have the flat 300 ohm between the antenna and the preamp on the mast? That always seems to be the first thing to break. Otherwise I would think your set up should work great. I don't have any suggestions for checking your amp, do you notice any difference on 19 or 31 when you unplug it? I would think if you receive them that things should work. Good luck.

DustoMan

11-03-08, 04:25 PM

I just went outside to try the tv in my trailer again. Good signal on antenna that's not much more that a yard wide. I guess I would start checking connections. Do you have the flat 300 ohm between the antenna and the preamp on the mast? That always seems to be the first thing to break. Otherwise I would think your set up should work great. I don't have any suggestions for checking your amp, do you notice any difference on 19 or 31 when you unplug it? I would think if you receive them that things should work. Good luck.

I use 75-Ohm RG-6 cable top to bottom. I'm not getting any signal at all for any channels. That's why I think something might be wrong with my amp.

jimintomah

11-03-08, 04:39 PM

I use 75-Ohm RG-6 cable top to bottom. I'm not getting any signal at all for any channels. That's why I think something might be wrong with my amp.
I don't want to pretend that I am qualifed to make any recommendations but if you can't find any squirrel damage or other coax problems you are probably right about the amp. I temporarily wired a 7-13 antenna with a small amp at my sons house north of Tomah and he was able to get a signal just standing out side holding the antenna. Wish I could be of more assistance. I have to get back to washing windows. Good luck. Depending on how long your coax run is, you might want to by pass the amp and power supply and just try straight coax as a test.

DustoMan

11-03-08, 04:43 PM

I don't want to pretend that I am qualifed to make any recommendations but if you can't find any squirrel damage or other coax problems you are probably right about the amp. I temporarily wired a 7-13 antenna with a small amp at my sons house north of Tomah and he was able to get a signal just standing out side holding the antenna. Wish I could be of more assistance. I have to get back to washing windows. Good luck. Depending on how long your coax run is, you might want to by pass the amp and power supply and just try straight coax as a test.

Thanks for the insight. I guess I'll have to climb a ladder and try to figure things out. Have fun with the windows!

JohnA

11-04-08, 07:05 AM

No need for all this OTA shenanigans for me after Nov. 19th. Directv has announced they will go live with local HD on that day! At last, reliable network HD!!

jimintomah

11-04-08, 08:29 AM

No need for all this OTA shenanigans for me after Nov. 19th. Directv has announced they will go live with local HD on that day! At last, reliable network HD!!
Maybe if I didn't already have a good set up for OTA signals I would go that route. However, I like FREE OTA and not being limited to one HDTV or having to have multiple HD receivers. Plus it's nice to have a back up for when the rain or snow knocks the satellite signal off.

mgburg

11-04-08, 08:29 AM

I gotta go up and see if there's something wrong with my antenna. If you're in Tomah and getting a signal, then I should be able to in Sparta as well.

EDIT: I think there might be something wrong with my booster. Is there a way to test that without climbing my roof and removing it from the antenna? There's a box on the antenna and a power inserter in my basement. JimInTomah, do you use a booster?
DustoMan:

If you have a Volt/Ohm meter, disconnect the power injector from the antenna side, carefully measure the voltage on the center conductor while using the shield as ground...you should have about 18 to 26 volts while the unit is "unloaded" - if not, then that could be the problem, or the start of a few problems...

If it's the injector, save yourself some time and just go out a buy a new unit...and be sure you HERMETICALLY SEAL the connections all the way from the antenna's terminal all the way back down and into the house. My recommendation for sealant? Clear GE Silicone Sealant...it's not black (which will heat up and contract from being hit with the sunlight and eventually break the bond...) and it doesn't contain materials that will absorb moisture which will contribute to corosion.

Now, while you're up there, continue to check the integrity of EVERY PIECE/COMPONENT from the antenna's terminals all the way back to where the injector was...take EVERY CONNECTION apart and see if there's either an "open" in the center conductor or shield (yes, the shield...if that's broken, you'd be lucky to get anything...) or look for a "short"...the "short" could have been what may have taken the injector out in the first place...even check the lightning arrestor...once you've check everything...connect it back together, then seal every connector with sealant to keep the moisture out...another recommendation...

Clean every connection point you touch with your hands with Denatured Alcohol (DA)...don't use rubbing alcohol...rubbing alcohol contains a small amount of oil and that defeats the purpose of using the alcohol in the first place...you're trying to remove any oils, from your hands (mainly), that will interfere with the bonding action of the sealant when you apply that material...remember, clean the connection, then apply the sealant...one connector at a time...even the antenna's terminals..."ScotchBright" those babies, apply the balun transformer, tighten the terminal lugs down, wipe down the connections with the DA, then seal those babies up...no corosion keeps the signal heading down the "pipe" and into your set...

Hey, it sounds like you have a fun-filled afternoon of roof-aerobics...now, if you're not too keen on dancing up there with the cats, do yourself (and the rest of us on this forum) a big favor and hire an antenna pro that does this kind of stuff for a living...make sure he's bonded and insured...you don't want him getting hurt on your property or your dime! :eek: :rolleyes:

This way, if there's a problem in December/January/February, he's the one that can climb up there and make it all better...and you won't be the one having folks at work signing your cast on whatever appendage that got bent past nature's design... :eek:

GE Cafe

11-13-08, 12:02 AM

I'm in Chippewa Falls, which is about 10 miles northeast of Eau Claire. The cable company in the area, Charter, is no longer acceptable, and I'd like to know if DirecTV or Dish were going to start carrying locals in HD anytime soon. Both of their sites say they have locals in SD but not HD.

Charter is also dropping Mojo HD, which is a channel I like, and is not available on either Dish nor DirecTV. While I will NOT be continuing my Charter subscription under any circumstances after this month, I will miss Mojo. Is there any chance of DirecTV or Dish carrying Mojo?

Finally, is Verizon FiOS ever going to be available here? I've been checking their site the last year + and it's becoming disheartening.

DustoMan

11-13-08, 12:18 AM

Trip in VA

11-13-08, 12:21 AM

Charter is also dropping Mojo HD, which is a channel I like, and is not available on either Dish nor DirecTV. While I will NOT be continuing my Charter subscription under any circumstances after this month, I will miss Mojo. Is there any chance of DirecTV or Dish carrying Mojo?

Charter is not dropping Mojo. Rather, that network is shutting down entirely. See here: http://www.tvpredictions.com/mojo111008.htm

- Trip

sregener

11-13-08, 05:00 AM

Word on the street is that DirecTV will be starting HD locals for the La Crosse/Eau Clare, WI market on November 19th. No word yet on when DISH will start them, but it was supposed to be by the end of the year.

Are you sure about this? Last I heard, Dish lacked the bandwidth to provide HD LiL into all areas and was only going to offer them in the top 50 markets. Eau Claire/La Crosse is not even in the top 100.

wi-cj5

11-13-08, 08:29 AM

Charter is not dropping Mojo. Rather, that network is shutting down entirely. See here: http://www.tvpredictions.com/mojo111008.htm

- Trip

Charter did tell us that they are dropping MOJO because it was shutting down. They are planning on splitting the GOLF and VS combo channel into two separate HD channels.

DustoMan

11-13-08, 09:11 AM

Are you sure about this? Last I heard, Dish lacked the bandwidth to provide HD LiL into all areas and was only going to offer them in the top 50 markets. Eau Claire/La Crosse is not even in the top 100.

Back during one of the Dealer Chats, a map was put up showing locations where they would like to get HD locals going by the end of the year. There was a star on La Crosse on that map. I'll give you that it's not very solid evidence so I'm not getting my hopes up too high.

sammy4041

11-13-08, 11:59 AM

Back during one of the Dealer Chats, a map was put up showing locations where they would like to get HD locals going by the end of the year. There was a star on La Crosse on that map. I'll give you that it's not very solid evidence so I'm not getting my hopes up too high.

Actually another unmentioned forum said the same thing a couple of days ago. They are still slotted for the week of the 19th according to them.

scott72

11-18-08, 06:42 PM

DirecTV will launch HD locals in the LaCrosse market tomorrow or Thursday. It's been a long wait, but it will be worth it. Enjoy everybody.

JohnA

11-19-08, 09:12 AM

DirecTV will launch HD locals in the LaCrosse market tomorrow or Thursday. It's been a long wait, but it will be worth it. Enjoy everybody.

Locals are now live and look spectacular (13 and 19). Nothing showing in HD on 8, 25 and 31 yet.

scott72

11-19-08, 09:29 AM

sammy4041

11-19-08, 06:55 PM

Congrats LAX market..I'll be joining you guys very soon. Can someone report how all the channels look? I'm switching locals here in a couple weeks and would like to know how they look before I pull the trigger..

Yeah, I might have to bite the bullet and switch from dish to direct so I can get the HD Locals. I cant see WEUX turning HD anytime soon, I hope I am wrong. Not to mention, the video drops I get time to time with WKBT being so far away. I am glad to hear the quality looks good.

scott72

11-20-08, 04:03 PM

I just switched my locals DMA to the LaCrosse market this morning and they look great! Also can't believe PBS is in HD! What an awesome surprise..No more problems getting Packer and Brewer games..:D

DustoMan

11-24-08, 11:19 AM

So I went up and installed a new booster to the antenna on Sunday and crossed my fingers. After screwing the coax into the right port of the ViP722, a channel scan picked up 7 channels - 19.1/2, 25.1/2, and 31.1/2/3. Pointed directly at the tower, channel 19&31 were a solid 100% signal strength. Channel 25 was about 91-92%. For the fun of it, I turned the antenna a little to towards the north to see if I can pick up channel 8. After a few minutes of slowly moving it, I honed in on channel 8, but the strongest signal I could get was 60%. I locked the antenna down, then rest of the stations now sit at about 70-75%. Picture looks fantastic, and I'm thrilled to be able to now record three programs at once (2 Satellite, 1 OTA). Thanks for helping me troubleshoot guys!

gjvrieze

11-24-08, 12:30 PM

LakeFlambeau

11-25-08, 02:15 PM

gjvrieze

11-25-08, 09:49 PM

So for the La Crosse/EC locals in HD, which CBS are you getting on Directv? I had heard that it is WCCO out of the cites. If true, I assume that is not long term, that maybe channel 8 is not up on the dish yet.
Input appreciated....

I would bet that they will not pick it up on the Dish/DirectTV side under WKBT switches back to VHF 8 in Feb 2009.. In Rochester, Charter always used the TC stations to fill in until the Rochester/Mason City/Austin stations were online... I had WCCO-DT on Charter up until July...

I was reading today that WXOW wants to use channel 48 instead of channel 14 as their permanent DTV channel. I hope the FCC goes for this and lets them top mount the antenna and turn the power way up, as I am barely able to see them now, (at what I believe is 49kW, it may have changed sense the documents were published) It would be nice to get them as easily as say WLAX...

Trip in VA

11-25-08, 10:05 PM

The FCC has already approved WXOW-DT's move to channel 48, however this move will not take place until next summer.

- Trip

gjvrieze

11-25-08, 10:27 PM

The FCC has already approved WXOW-DT's move to channel 48, however this move will not take place until next summer.

- Trip

Sweet deal, thanks Trip, you are staying on top of this!

DustoMan

11-26-08, 10:13 AM

gjvrieze

11-26-08, 01:08 PM

I asked in another forum and yes. DirecTV is using WKBT for the CBS affiliate.

I think that looking back in the thread, that Dish Network has a fiber feed into each of the stations or pick it up over the air and then it gets resold to DirectTV, I also would think that they have fiber to WKBT, so it does not matter what channel WKBT-DT is on OTA, as they get it the feed before it in the line on the way to the link to the transmitter site...

LakeFlambeau

11-26-08, 03:11 PM

I asked in another forum and yes. DirecTV is using WKBT for the CBS affiliate.

Let me ask it another way, I think they are going to eventually use WKBT.
Are they actually receiving WKBT now?
My brother in law just added Directv HD locals and
he mentioned he was getting WCCO as the CBS affliate along with the other
EC/LAX stations. Wondering if something weird is going on.

Sorry to ask again, just trying to make sure. I am going there
this weekend, so I was looking for clarification.
Thanks

JohnA

11-27-08, 07:55 AM

Let me ask it another way, I think they are going to eventually use WKBT.
Are they actually receiving WKBT now?
My brother in law just added Directv HD locals and
he mentioned he was getting WCCO as the CBS affliate along with the other
EC/LAX stations. Wondering if something weird is going on.

Sorry to ask again, just trying to make sure. I am going there
this weekend, so I was looking for clarification.
Thanks

I have Directv and am getting WKBT in HD here in Onalaska. I do not get WCCO and no one in the LAX/EC DMA should be able to get WCCO legally. Perhaps D* set it up wrong by mistake. But he certainly can change it to WKBT.

LakeFlambeau

11-27-08, 01:05 PM

I asked in another forum and yes. DirecTV is using WKBT for the CBS affiliate.

I have Directv and am getting WKBT in HD here in Onalaska. I do not get WCCO and no one in the LAX/EC DMA should be able to get WCCO legally. Perhaps D* set it up wrong by mistake. But he certainly can change it to WKBT.

I am sorry for even bringing this up, finally talked to my nephew who
is living at the relatives place. I ask him this morning so which CBS
are you getting and he says WKBT out of the cites. He is clueless.
Did not know WKBT was out of La Crosse.

Sorry for the stupid question in the first place.

Happy Thanksgiving.......

grgeiger

11-29-08, 12:16 AM

It appears WFXS was just assigned channel 31. According to the website of WFXS they will be testing in HD sometime in January with full sign on in February..

FCC CDBS DATA (November 25, 2008 at 4:08 PM):

File Number: BMPCDT-20081117ACB
Call Sign: WFXS
Facility Id: 86204
FRN: 0003797552
Applicant Name: DAVIS TELEVISION WAUSAU, LLC
Frequency:
Channel: 31
Community of License: WITTENBERG, WI
Application Type: MINOR MODIFICATION TO A CONSTRUCTION PERMIT
Status: GRANTED
Status Date: 11/25/2008
Expiration Date: 02/17/2009
Tolling Code:
Application Service: DT
DTV Type: POST-TRANSITION
Disposed Date: 11/25/2008
Accepted Date: 11/18/2008
Last Public Notice: 12/01/2008

gjvrieze

12-01-08, 09:35 PM

Hey, been watching WKBT-DT and have not seen the "WKBT" watermark lately, can anyone tell what happened and if it is coming back?

DustoMan

12-02-08, 01:58 PM

Hey, been watching WKBT-DT and have not seen the "WKBT" watermark lately, can anyone tell what happened and if it is coming back?

On a related topic, how about that WLAX bug? I LOVE how small it is on the screen. :D

gjvrieze

12-02-08, 02:21 PM

On a related topic, how about that WLAX bug? I LOVE how small it is on the screen. :D

It is nice; what I think is happening, at WKBT, is that their bug was in the cut off zone for digital tuners cutting the sides off for 4:3 ratio display/s.....

gjk747

12-07-08, 01:52 PM

wi-cj5

12-08-08, 03:08 PM

Any idea if the Eau Claire/La Crosse Fox (WEUX) ABC (WQOW) or CBS (WKBT) will ever return to Charter's QAM HD lineup in Menomonie? I believe they are all still on the QAM lineup in Eau Claire, just 20 miles east of us. Your replies are appreciated.

I was under the impression that the Menominee area home market is tied to the Twin Cities and that is what dictates your channel lineup.

maybeway36

12-09-08, 04:54 PM

Although Dunn County is in the Minneapolis/St. Paul market and not the La Crosse/Eau Claire market, you should be getting those stations if they are stations you can also recieve OTA. In the case of WQOW-DT, I know you can get it from Menomonie, but I'm not sure WLAX-DT falls under this rule (it can be kind of murky.) Still, seeing as you live in Wisconsin, the cable company really has to carry the Packers, don't they?
P.S. I have the Charter HD box in Eau Claire and we get all EC/LAX stations; nothing from the Cities.

aholland

12-15-08, 08:01 PM

Does anyone else have Charter in Menomonie, WI? A couple of months ago, they switched their Fox, CBS and ABC QAM HD channels to Minneapolis affiliates instead of using stations from the Eau Claire/La Crosse Market. The only network they kept an Eau Claire and Minneapolis version of was NBC. This was actually a pleasant surprise, since KARE 11 (NBC Minneapolis) does their local news in HD.

The problem is that when the Packers play on ABC, CBS, or FOX, Menomonie does not get the games in HD. The Packer games are typically never carried on the Minneapolis networks unless they are playing the Vikings.

Any idea if the Eau Claire/La Crosse Fox (WEUX) ABC (WQOW) or CBS (WKBT) will ever return to Charter's QAM HD lineup in Menomonie? I believe they are all still on the QAM lineup in Eau Claire, just 20 miles east of us. Your replies are appreciated.

Yeah, I'm in the Menomonie area. I was pretty mad that the only channel from the local area they have in HD/Digital was WEAU and PBS while everything else came out of Minneapolis. I also found out even with Dish/DirectTV carrying Eau-Claire local channels but if you live in the Menomonie area you still get the Minneapolis channels. So the only two local channels in HD/Digital we can get without putting up an antenna are WEAU and PBS from Charter and no local channels from Dish/DirectTV.

gjvrieze

12-17-08, 02:26 PM

Does anyone know the operating power of WKBT-DT (channel 41) According to what I see in the FCC database it is only like 9.130kW, but I find that hard to believe when I am getting a reliable signal in Rochester.....

Trip in VA

12-17-08, 02:35 PM

494 kW. The FCC database has marked the license as "Archived" for some reason so it doesn't show up properly. If you go to my site and click the CDBS link under Technical Data for WKBT, find the one that says "BLCDT" and that's their license app.

- Trip

N9IWP

12-17-08, 03:43 PM

As mentioned before WKBT will be using thier good antenna / xmitter and go back to channel 8 on Feb 17. Hopefully that will work for me (I get analog channel 8, but not 8.1/8.2 (41))

Brian

DA1745

12-18-08, 05:42 PM

[Truncated]...Finally, is Verizon FiOS ever going to be available here? I've been checking their site the last year + and it's becoming disheartening.
Hello, great thread, but took forever for me to read; i'd like to add to that now :). I would like to hear if anyone knows about what GE Cafe asked earlier about any possible time lines for (Verizon FiOS) as well as AT&T's Uverse coming to our area.

Is there any information about when if ever they may come to the EC/LAX area. I get a kick out of them doing to cable what cable did to them with the phones, but mostly it would be direct type competition. The Yahoo SBC (now AT&T again) DSL lines cut high speed prices in half (compared to Charter cable) and the bandwidth was lower yes, but unless constantly downloading movie files its GREAT, never notice it for 95% of users. So if they can bring that kind of price/performance competition to the TV cable end ding ding, i'm salivating.

I get localized reports on Engadget about Uverse being well liked but they seem to be rolling out in big markets. Sounds like things are going well with that service but i may be dead before they ever get to Eau Claire, or out to my area... I'm as far out as cable goes. (Tried to sign up for alerts if they come into the area but the sign up process is down right now-for me).
https (COLON) //uverse1 (DOT) att (DOT) com/un/launchAMSS (DOT) do?target_action=serviceabilityCheck
https (COLON) //www22 (DOT)verizon.com/residential/fiostv/check_availability/check_availability (DOT) htm

Maybe if we get enough people to sign up they'll put us high on the que for cities to wire up. (Wait actual consumer input, worth a shot SHRUG).

I live on the South side of a small hill but am otherwise pretty high up in elevation. When i was a kid we used a 25' (or higher not sure to be honest) free standing Channel master powered rotating setup/antenna to pull in 2,4,5,8,9,11,13,18,28 (48 didn't exist). Some times we'd even pull in randomly from some Ch6 & Ch7 but no idea where they came from?

So years later I've taken over my childhood home, but the oak trees have taken over the TV antenna; they have all grown up to dwarf the antenna and even wrecked the elements on the way up do to lack of maintenance :mad:. Charter cable finally came out to our area in the early 90's Who knows why (b/c there aren't many of us to offset the cost of the line and they came back and updated the lines a few years later) i live SSW of Eau Claire as far out as they go.
Well we jumped on board with the new devil rather than rebuild the antenna and b/c i was tired of static....but more than a decade later we have them bundled for phone, internet, and TV and there FAR TOO EXPENSIVE (the deregulation & the so called competition from Satellite have only caused prices to increase while delivering (except for the internet) fewer returns on QUALITY TV. Girls Gone Wild comericals, even if they are in HD, is not my idea of good TV.
I don't think i will be able to build the antenna height up enough to be able to pull in WKBT from behind this hill, talking another 50 feet or so lol. And some of my favorite programs are on CBS; So i'm stuck with cable, at some level for TV. I recently priced Dish & Direct but the deals don't change the cost matrix in the least, they add some channels but i'd loose the good QAM that i'm getting for my PC's TV Tuners & HDTV.

I've been running HTPC's since before there was a term for it. I've got many new & older PCs set up with analog All-In-Wonder Cards/TV Tuner cards as well as some newer HDTV Tuners & TV Wonder 650 Combo(ATSC/QAM\NTSC) so switching to OTA would also require more converter boxes than i can swollow to keep those older analog media centers running with TV.

gjvrieze

12-18-08, 06:47 PM

As mentioned before WKBT will be using thier good antenna / xmitter and go back to channel 8 on Feb 17. Hopefully that will work for me (I get analog channel 8, but not 8.1/8.2 (41))

Brian

Where do you live, here in the depths of Rochester, I get easy locks on WLAX-DT, pretty good on WHLA-DT, and WKBT-DT, while being the hardest, still locks with good/great signal (good during the day, great at night)

mattdp

12-18-08, 08:27 PM

DA1745,
You might want to check TVFool.com. Enter in you address and the height of the antenna and post the post-transition results. A re-build of the antenna system might be worth it.

Here in Rochester, I get WKBT-DT 24/7, even when aimed away from it. Then again, I have a DIY 30" x 75" Screened Dual Bay Gray Hooverman UHF antenna 20 feet up above the valley. Heck, I could get a reasonable lock on WKBT with rabbit ears and preamp in a valley in the basement.

I use Digital OTA for TV, have Charter for Internet and Qwest for phone. I would absolutely love another viable Internet option! Charter always seems to have routing issues or whatnot. I'd love to have FIOS internet, but alas Verizon isn't even in our area. I bet we'll won't have more options for another five years :(

N9IWP

12-22-08, 10:20 AM

I live in LaCrescent - I can almost see the TV19 tower from my house. My UHF antenna is pointing westish (towards 19/25/31), my VHF antenna is pointing northish (towards 8/13). I can get analog channel 8 poorly on rabbit ears (13 even more poorly)

Brian

wi-cj5

12-22-08, 12:28 PM

Charter in the Eau Claire: Is anyone getting NGC-HD or TBS-HD??

The channels are there are my cable box and my TIVO-HD with cable card
but no signal on either system.....

DA1745

01-02-09, 05:21 PM

Charter in the Eau Claire: Is anyone getting NGC-HD or TBS-HD??
The channels are there are my cable box and my TIVO-HD with cable card
but no signal on either system.....Hey, I just checked on 1-2-08 Both were A.O.K. Imagine the problem fixed itself by now but just thought i'd reply that i ran up & checked it and got both.

DA1745,
You might want to check TVFool.com. Enter in you address and the height of the antenna and post the post-transition results. A re-build of the antenna system might be worth it. ...I would absolutely love another viable Internet option! Charter always seems to have routing issues or whatnot. I'd love to have FIOS internet, but alas Verizon isn't even in our area. I bet we'll won't have more options for another five years :(Thanks Matt, in all my googling and what not i never came across that site. It's like Antenna web on steriods. To be honest I don't exactly know how to use the Color rectangle graph (the topography one), but the site actually shows me that i'd have a better chance of getting the twin cities channels 80-90 miles away vs WKBT ~46-49miles. (the ranges are b/c i can't rember exactly but it was one of those).
See, I hear a lot of people not happy with Charter Internet & as you can see from my previous post I'm not a fanman, but that said I've had very few problems outages with their internet service in many many years and have had Zero (knock on wood) problems with the VOIP phone. I tried Vonage and it was OK (i piggy backed while using Charter VOIP so it wasn't exactly a fair comparrison, b/c charter grabs hold of its own share of the bandwidth it doesn't run through a modem or router and therefore doesn't have any competition for as much bandwidth as it needs). Vonage can more or less do the same thing through its router (allocate a certain amount of bandwidth to itself, anyway with No Local prefixes for Eau Claire (for the two years I was with them-though they continued to promise) I finally fought the battle of trying to cancel. Sorry bit off topic but EXCEPT for the enormous price, I've liked Charter's services. I would sign up with them again if they got local prefixes and were still at ~$29.99

grgeiger

01-02-09, 05:29 PM

gjvrieze

01-02-09, 05:31 PM

Hey, I just checked on 1-2-08 Both were A.O.K. Imagine the problem fixed itself by now but just thought i'd reply that i ran up & checked it and got both.

Thanks Matt, in all my googling and what not i never came across that site. It's like Antenna web on steriods. To be honest I don't exactly know how to use the Color rectangle graph (the topography one), but the site actually shows me that i'd have a better chance of getting the twin cities channels 80-90 miles away vs WKBT ~46-49miles. (the ranges are b/c i can't rember exactly but it was one of those).
See, I hear a lot of people not happy with Charter Internet & as you can see from my previous post I'm not a fanman, but that said I've had very few problems outages with their internet service in many many years and have had Zero (knock on wood) problems with the VOIP phone. I tried Vonage and it was OK (i piggy backed while using Charter VOIP so it wasn't exactly a fair comparrison, b/c charter grabs hold of its own share of the bandwidth it doesn't run through a modem or router and therefore doesn't have any competition for as much bandwidth as it needs). Vonage can more or less do the same thing through its router (allocate a certain amount of bandwidth to itself, anyway with No Local prefixes for Eau Claire (for the two years I was with them-though they continued to promise) I finally fought the battle of trying to cancel. Sorry bit off topic but EXCEPT for the enormous price, I've liked Charter's services. I would sign up with them again if they got local prefixes and were still at ~$29.99

I would be curious to see your tvfool results, I know someone else in WI, had a very hard time with WKBT, it is not always doable far East of La Crosse...

gjvrieze

01-02-09, 05:32 PM

DA1745

01-02-09, 05:42 PM

Here's what i got with a Philips TV up in the opposite end of the house and with the cable split several times prior. I checked what HDHomerun site lists and the list is pretty comparable.

2-74 Basic & Extended Basic Tier lineup (don't get the digital 80's chs like G4 etc. with the QAM tuner).
------- -------- -------- ------- -------- ------- ------- --------
19.5 Fox--KMSP--(Ch 9 in MN)
80.4 through 80.51 - Digital Music Channels
81.1 Chippewa Valley CH96 - Actual CH96 is there but it's qlty is poor & fuzzy so i use 81.1 or --> Also on 993.1 Haven't seen any HD content on it
81.5 Chippewa Valley CH97 - Actual CH97 is there but it's qlty is poor & fuzzy so i use 81.5 or --> Also on 994.1 Haven't seen any HD content on it
82.8 Charter CH7(Charter's "for sale" network)
81.4 My Network--WFTC--(My 29) - HD somewhere in MN
81.7 CBS--WCCO--(Ch4 In MN)
83.1 PBS--WHWC--(Ch28 in Menomonie, WI) LOCAL Content same as 2 Charter, 28OTA, ??, 107.2 for HD PBS QAM
83.3 CBS--WCCO--(Ch4 In MN) Not sure yet what difference is between it & 81.7 (possible one is HD) can't tell yet....If one is HD it's 83.3
83.4 ABC--WQOW--(TV18.1 in Eau Claire) LOCAL Same content as 5 Charter, 18OTA, ??,108.2 for HD QAM
83.5 ABC--KTSP--(Ch5 in MN) ? Not sure if HD at all
83.6 NBC--WEAU--(TV13.1 in Eau Claire) LOCAL Same content as 6 Charter, 13OTA, ??,107.1 for HD QAM
83.7 CBS--WKBT--(TV8.1 in La Crosse) ~LOCAL Same content as 8 Charter, 8OTA, ??, 108.1 for HD QAM
83.8 PBS--TPT--(CH2 in MN TC)
83.9 My Network--WKBT (TV8.2 in La Crosse)
83.10 NBC--KARE--(TV11 in MN)
84.4, 84.7, & 87.12 - Infomercial channels GRRR!
85.2 C-SPAN 2
89.1 WISCONSIN EYE ? State/Govt/Educational Channel
91.1 - 91.10, 92.4-92.5, & 92.10 -- On Demand (boy that's fun wish you could see whose renting what LOL) or how many people are in the node or ? Saw some good movies & some raunchy stuff too!
100.3 C-SPAN3 IDK if this has been remapped. It was working the other day; today it's not, but 110.12 also has C-SPAN3 so no worries.
102.5 FOX--WEUX--(CH48.1 in Eau Claire) LOCAL HD - same shows as 3 Charter, 48OTA, ??, but in HD
107.1 NBC--WEAU--(CH13.1 in Eau Claire) LOCAL HD - same shows as 6 Charter, 13OTA, ??, 83.6QAM, but in HD
107.2 PBS--WHWC--(CH28.1 in Menomonie) LOCAL HD - same shows as 2 Charter, 28OTA, ??, 83.1 QAM, but in HD
107.3 PBS--WHWC--(CH28.2? in Menomonie) LOCAL -
107.4 WEATHER--WEAUTV(CH13.2 in Eau Claire) LOCAL WEATHER
107.6 PBS--WHWC--(CH28.3? in Menomonie) LOCAL -
108.1 CBS--WKBT--(CH8.1 in La Crosse) ~LOCAL HD - same shows as 8 Charter, 8OTA, ??, 83.7 QAM, but in HD
108.2 ABC--WQOW--(CH18.1 in Eau Claire) LOCAL HD - Same shows as 5 Charter, 18OTA, ??, 83.4 QAM, but in HD.
Governmental/Local City Channels:
987.1 & 988.1 - Winona; 989.1 UW-La Crosse; 990.1 & 991.1 - Stoughton;
992.1 Rice Lake?; 993.1 & 994.1 Chippevally stations Same content as 81.1 & 81.5 (CH 96 & CH97) no issues with fuzz or static like on Ch96 or 97.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm getting far less with my TV Wonder 650 Combo (QAM) card. Although I'm using a 30 year old RG-59 cable; b/c I ran out of better cable which i will soon rectify. I'm currently looking for the cheapest place to buy GOOD cable whether locally or Online? Radio shack RG-6 25 feet for $14.99 "budget" brand or $19.99 Gold series seems a bit too rich for me! I have some ends left & a crimper so just the cable would be ok in cut to length forms.
============================================================ =============
I Live pretty close to the Dunn County line. So i'm not sure if that's why i'm getting the Minnesota QAM channels. (((If you live in E.C. and are not getting them PLEASE don't Charter saying someone is etcetera and complain that you are not... I guarantee it will not get you them and MAY change what i get--Don't spoil mine & others fun Please))). I debated whether to post the information or not b/c...but then again i live so close to Dunn Co that ??? It's great to have REAL NEWS BACK!!! Missed KTSP, KARE, KMSP, & WCCO for soooooo long.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Don't know if 18.2 is in there and if so which one it is.... i thought it was CW...and I don't see that network.???

EDIT: At the end of February 2009 Charter deleted many of the Minnesota channels from QAM WCCO 4, KSTP 5, KARE 11 are all gone, so is My Network My29. And that Sucks. It takes a LONG time to re-map all the channels esp the digital ones in Windows VMC w/ TV Media Pack 2008 (QAM).

DA1745

01-02-09, 06:33 PM

I am not a fan of Charter. From what I hear they may need to file bankruptcy in the coming months. They also face becoming pulled from the NASDAQ exchange unless the stock improves. Yesterday they were 8 cents a share.. They went up to 11 cents today.
Ya, I foresee one of two things happening, they file for bankruptcy or get a buy out offer.... Wow & Wow. I never heard or saw anything about it on the news or local paper???? and its not one of the many things i try to monitor. I'm going to look at what there stock used to trade at. IDK enough about finances to know or speculate what would happen if they were bought out. but you could buy a lot of stock at 8-11 Cents a share. Heck for one months bill i could buy over 1250 Shares LOL:eek: Wonder what a take over would do to 1250 shares at 11 cents each? Hmm?:confused:
Wonder if Comcast, Timewarner, ? are also suffering?
Wow, looks like there IPO was about $24 but within a short year or two they were down to the $1.00 range. They seem to have a very up & down eb & flow cycle but this is the first time they have ever gone so low. It would seem that charter probably should have remained private. But i didn't see any indication that they needed to declare bankruptsy. Stock prices reflect share holders stock value, not necessarily the financial coffers of the company and there revenue stream.

gjvrieze

01-02-09, 09:00 PM

Wow & Wow. I never heard or saw anything about it on the news or local paper???? and its not one of the many things i try to monitor. I'm going to look at what there stock used to trade at. IDK enough about finances to know or speculate what would happen if they were bought out. but you could buy a lot of stock at 8-11 Cents a share. Heck for one months bill i could buy over 1250 Shares LOL:eek: Wonder what a take over would do to 1250 shares at 11 cents each? Hmm?:confused:
Wonder if Comcast, Timewarner, ? are also suffering?
Wow, looks like there IPO was about $24 but within a short year or two they were down to the $1.00 range. They seem to have a very up & down eb & flow cycle but this is the first time they have ever gone so low. It would seem that charter probably should have remained private. But i didn't see any indication that they needed to declare bankruptsy. Stock prices reflect share holders stock value, not necessarily the financial coffers of the company and there revenue stream.

Their quarterlies have been very bad coming out of 2008. Jim Cramer lost a boat load of money on Charter back a ways and still talks about it on his show (last I seen, anyways)
I personally think that we may see a buyout from a larger Cableco.....

Desert Fuzz

01-02-09, 11:31 PM

Here's what i got with a Philips TV up in the opposite end of the house and with the cable split several times prior. I checked what HDHomerun site lists and the list is pretty comparable.

2-74 Basic & Extended Basic Tier lineup (don't get the digital 80's chs like G4 etc. with the QAM tuner).
------- -------- -------- ------- -------- ------- ------- --------
19.5 Fox--KMSP--(Ch 9 in MN)
80.4 through 80.51 - Digital Music Channels
81.1 Chippewa Valley CH96 - Actual CH96 is there but it's qlty is poor & fuzzy so i use 81.1 or --> Also on 993.1 Haven't seen any HD content on it
81.5 Chippewa Valley CH97 - Actual CH97 is there but it's qlty is poor & fuzzy so i use 81.5 or --> Also on 994.1 Haven't seen any HD content on it
82.8 Charter CH7(Charter's "for sale" network)
81.4 My Network--WFTC--(My 29) - HD somewhere in MN
81.7 CBS--WCCO--(Ch4 In MN)
83.1 PBS--WHWC--(Ch28 in Menomonie, WI) LOCAL Content same as 2 Charter, 28OTA, ??, 107.2 for HD PBS QAM
83.3 CBS--WCCO--(Ch4 In MN) Not sure yet what difference is between it & 81.7 (possible one is HD) can't tell yet....If one is HD it's 83.3
83.4 ABC--WQOW--(TV18.1 in Eau Claire) LOCAL Same content as 5 Charter, 18OTA, ??,108.2 for HD QAM
83.5 ABC--KTSP--(Ch5 in MN) ? Not sure if HD at all
83.6 NBC--WEAU--(TV13.1 in Eau Claire) LOCAL Same content as 6 Charter, 13OTA, ??,107.1 for HD QAM
83.7 CBS--WKBT--(TV8.1 in La Crosse) ~LOCAL Same content as 8 Charter, 8OTA, ??, 108.1 for HD QAM
83.8 PBS--TPT--(CH2 in MN TC)
83.9 My Network--WKBT (TV8.2 in La Crosse)
83.10 NBC--KARE--(TV11 in MN)
84.4, 84.7, & 87.12 - Infomercial channels GRRR!
85.2 C-SPAN 2
89.1 WISCONSIN EYE ? State/Govt/Educational Channel
91.1 - 91.10, 92.4-92.5, & 92.10 -- On Demand (boy that's fun wish you could see whose renting what LOL) or how many people are in the node or ? Saw some good movies & some raunchy stuff too!
100.3 C-SPAN3 IDK if this has been remapped. It was working the other day; today it's not, but 110.12 also has C-SPAN3 so no worries.
102.5 FOX--WEUX--(CH48.1 in Eau Claire) LOCAL HD - same shows as 3 Charter, 48OTA, ??, but in HD
107.1 NBC--WEAU--(CH13.1 in Eau Claire) LOCAL HD - same shows as 6 Charter, 13OTA, ??, 83.6QAM, but in HD
107.2 PBS--WHWC--(CH28.1 in Menomonie) LOCAL HD - same shows as 2 Charter, 28OTA, ??, 83.1 QAM, but in HD
107.3 PBS--WHWC--(CH28.2? in Menomonie) LOCAL -
107.4 WEATHER--WEAUTV(CH13.2 in Eau Claire) LOCAL WEATHER
107.6 PBS--WHWC--(CH28.3? in Menomonie) LOCAL -
108.1 CBS--WKBT--(CH8.1 in La Crosse) ~LOCAL HD - same shows as 8 Charter, 8OTA, ??, 83.7 QAM, but in HD
108.2 ABC--WQOW--(CH18.1 in Eau Claire) LOCAL HD - Same shows as 5 Charter, 18OTA, ??, 83.4 QAM, but in HD.
Governmental/Local City Channels:
987.1 & 988.1 - Winona; 989.1 UW-La Crosse; 990.1 & 991.1 - Stoughton;
992.1 Rice Lake?; 993.1 & 994.1 Chippevally stations Same content as 81.1 & 81.5 (CH 96 & CH97) no issues with fuzz or static like on Ch96 or 97.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm getting far less with my TV Wonder 650 Combo (QAM) card. Although I'm using a 30 year old RG-59 cable; b/c I ran out of better cable which i will soon rectify. I'm currently looking for the cheapest place to buy GOOD cable whether locally or Online? Radio shack RG-6 25 feet for $14.99 "budget" brand or $19.99 Gold series seems a bit too rich for me! I have some ends left & a crimper so just the cable would be ok in cut to length forms.
============================================================ =============
I Live pretty close to the Dunn County line. So i'm not sure if that's why i'm getting the Minnesota QAM channels. (((If you live in E.C. and are not getting them PLEASE don't Charter saying someone is etcetera and complain that you are not... I guarantee it will not get you them and MAY change what i get--Don't spoil mine & others fun Please))). I debated whether to post the information or not b/c...but then again i live so close to Dunn Co that ??? It's great to have REAL NEWS BACK!!! Missed KTSP, KARE, KMSP, & WCCO for soooooo long.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Don't know if 18.2 is in there and if so which one it is.... i thought it was CW...and I don't see that network.???

I was in my hometown of Eau Claire over Christmas and set up a new 26" HDTV for my sister and her husband. They resisted my suggestion to go with HD and instead picked up a standard digital cable box, which I installed. They hate Charter after years of bad experiences with them, but they're the only game in town since they don't want a satellite dish. They also don't want to give Charter one penny more than they have to. After looking at Charter's local HD channel line-up I was shocked at how few HD channels they would actually get. I now have D* after years of Comcast and Cox cable, and their HD offerings are much greater than Charter's.

When they picked up the STB before I got to town, from what they relayed the CSR clearly had no idea what she was talking about and confused them greatly. They were very frustrated and I almost had to return the TV unopened because they didn't want anything to do with Charter. Cooler heads prevailed, but during setup I couldn't receive any digital channels so I called Charter for tech support. It turned out that the CSR hadn't set them up for digital cable, despite their picking up a digital STB. Amazing.

As for a great place to get cables at a reasonable price, check out monoprice.com. I have bought from them and you will find many positive recommendations for them from forum members.

chadg2

01-04-09, 09:52 PM

Any new info on 48.1 going HD 720p anytime soon? We missed the entire packer season, now the playoff's are crap with 480i digital from Fox. Thanks, Chad

mattdp

01-04-09, 11:32 PM

Their quarterlies have been very bad coming out of 2008. Jim Cramer lost a boat load of money on Charter back a ways and still talks about it on his show (last I seen, anyways)
I personally think that we may see a buyout from a larger Cableco.....

I'm no fan of Charter, but I really think their better than a big boy telco like Comcast. Their local QAM channels are reportedly all the same exact bandwidth of the OTA channels and their Internet is not filtered or packet-shaped much, making the use of b i t t o r r e n t and VoIP phones possible. They've also been somewhat proactive in getting Minnesota Wild games on the system for their customers and a few other little perks like (finally) passing PISP data on the clear QAM channels are pretty nice. On one (and only one) ocasion, we had a tech that REALLY knew his stuff and diagnosed our bad modem within like five minutes.

DA1745

01-05-09, 02:05 AM

Any new info on 48.1 going HD 720p anytime soon? We missed the entire packer season, now the playoff's are crap with 480i digital from Fox. Thanks, ChadI'm confused, I'm not watching them OTA, but through charter (I thought) i was seeing it in HD, it just depends on the type of programming (lots of their content wasn't filmed in HD or is old). When i see the most HD usually relates to the time of day. In primetime you'll see the most HD content.

EDIT: maybe i'm off base but my TV (via Cable is saying it's 1080i) i thought i read earlier in the thread that it was going to be 720P. so i'm confused further. Or was it more related to 720P being better for sports...vs 1080i kind of question?

They resisted my suggestion to go with HD and instead picked up a standard digital cable box, which I installed. ...After looking at Charter's local HD channel line-up I was shocked at how few HD channels they would actually get. I now have D* after years of Comcast and Cox cable, and their HD offerings are much greater than Charter's.
...but during setup I couldn't receive any digital channels so I called Charter for tech support. It turned out that the CSR hadn't set them up for digital cable, despite their picking up a digital STB. Amazing... Hey, so what package did they go with? Because, unless they got a DVR/STB there really is no reason to pay for one unless they bought premium channels like HBO etc or the Family, or Sports tier that require a box. But i got the impression from what you wrote that they went with either the Basic, or the Extended Basic plan, if that's the case they can save money by taking back the Standard STB. For $10 more the addition of the HD content & box is worth while....Hey, are you sure you looked at the channel line up carefully? Because they really made a mess out of their channel line up so its hard to see on quick glance all the HD channels they have. ??

EDIT: i counted them 26 including locals + 4 for premium chs.

sammy4041

01-05-09, 06:58 PM

wi-cj5

01-06-09, 10:36 AM

I'm confused, I'm not watching them OTA, but through charter i'm seeing it in HD, it just depends on the type of programming (lots of their content wasn't filmed in HD or is old). When i see the most HD usually relates to the time of day. In primetime you'll see the most HD content.

Hey, so what package did they go with? Because, unless they got a DVR/STB there really is no reason to pay for one unless they bought premium channels like HBO etc or the Family, or Sports tier that require a box. But i got the impression from what you wrote that they went with either the Basic, or the Extended Basic plan, if that's the case they can save money by taking back the Standard STB. For $10 more the addition of the HD content & box is worth while....Hey, are you sure you looked at the channel line up carefully? Because they really made a mess out of their channel line up so its hard to see on quick glance all the HD channels they have. ??

From my channel list, here is what Charter EAU has for HD:
PBS, FOX, NBC, CBS, ABC ( no charter cable box needed)

channels that require the charter box for HD:
A&E, History, Discovery, TLC, TNT, AP, TBS, ESPN, ESPN2, Golf, VS, FSN, Big Ten
Smithsonian, Palladia, HDNet, HDNet movie, HD Theater

There are also 5 premium HD channels available.

Innova

01-06-09, 11:11 AM

Anyone in the know have an update on WFXS-DT? Their website's last update is 11/25, saying they will be testing in early Feb with full power by the 17th...anyone know how they are progressing?

Desert Fuzz

01-07-09, 01:16 AM

Hey, so what package did they go with? Because, unless they got a DVR/STB there really is no reason to pay for one unless they bought premium channels like HBO etc or the Family, or Sports tier that require a box. But i got the impression from what you wrote that they went with either the Basic, or the Extended Basic plan, if that's the case they can save money by taking back the Standard STB. For $10 more the addition of the HD content & box is worth while....Hey, are you sure you looked at the channel line up carefully? Because they really made a mess out of their channel line up so its hard to see on quick glance all the HD channels they have. ??

I'm not sure exactly what digital package they ended up with, but they did want HBO. I agree that $10 more for HD and the box are worth it, but it's their home, not mine. I strongly encouraged them to go with HD but they decided not to, at least for now.

I looked at, but can't say I studied, the local Charter HD lineup. Having HD service now from D* and previously from Cox, I know that Charter in Eau Claire has a lot fewer HD channels than I am used to having. More HD channels will be added in the future, of course. But the number of channels was not a factor in their decision.

DA1745

01-10-09, 02:52 AM

I'm not sure exactly what digital package they ended up with, but they did want HBO. I agree that $10 more for HD and the box are worth it, but it's their home, not mine. I strongly encouraged them to go with HD but they decided not to, at least for now.

I looked at, but can't say I studied, the local Charter HD lineup. Having HD service now from D* and previously from Cox, I know that Charter in Eau Claire has a lot fewer HD channels than I am used to having. More HD channels will be added in the future, of course. But the number of channels was not a factor in their decision. I guess I was looking at 30 (considering that we just got several of them recently) as not too bad. Ignorance of what others have is sometimes a good thing, oh well i know too much now. They added a few more HD channels but when i looked online those also cost $5.00, and that's not OK ~$15 for 30 22 HD's + (4 premiums that go away if you stop getting those extra tiers and 4 locals)...ouch! I've seen more posts about there debt load and the likelyhood of going bankrupt so it looks like we probably won't be getting more HD Channels...unless they get sold. (4th Largest cable co in US).

I did plan (still do) to call & haggle with Charter over what we currently have & what i'm going to pay $155 even split between two people is far too much for me and TV/phone\internet. But i did price out the similar packages from Dish & direct and it was ~$99+for the HD box(s) ...with one of them I got a few more ch.'s I would like but it was just a handful (SD), not sure about HD. If nothing else and my protests don't result in a decent price reduction at the current level then i'll just have to trim the fat movies etc. BTW is (D*) Dish? or which service?

sammy4041

01-10-09, 07:02 AM

I've seen more posts about there debt load and the likelyhood of going bankrupt so it looks like we probably won't be getting more HD Channels...unless they get sold. (4th Largest cable co in US).

I have seen something this also. I think they have brought on all the troubles for themselves. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that the great promotion that they start you with isnt going to last. They can only fool people so many times. Now it is a common fact that when your 6 months or a year are up, you are going to end up paying a lot more these services. I think if they put a permenent price on these services that was fair for everybody and not promotion driven, a lot more people including myself would have stuck around.

Oh, and I almost forgot, they should fix there stinking billing department also.

willscary

01-10-09, 10:20 AM

I live in New London and had been a Charter customer for 22 years before dropping everything except for high speed internet. Charter used to be a great company. Carl Vogel, its ex-CEO, was born and grew up right here in New London and was a good friend of my brother.

After Paul Allen bought a controlling stake in Charter, Vogel resigned in January 2005 and Charter has been going down hill ever since. I dropped cable just over a year later when my rates skyrocketed,while others were getting very good "promotional" rates. I would have dropped the internet also except that they really tried to screw me and in order to not be sued, I got a great rate ($14.95/mo) on their fastest service for about 2 years and now have been locked in to $34/mo for the next 2 years at 10MB service. This is a fair price, in my opinion.

chadg2

01-11-09, 10:09 AM

sregener

01-11-09, 01:48 PM

gjvrieze

01-11-09, 02:00 PM

Last night I seen a ad on WQOW-DT that on Monday Jan. 12 2009 all Eau Claire/La Cross analog's will be turned off at like 6:00 for a full digital test. Will this mean channel 8 and 13 digitals will temp move over to channel 8 and 13 for testing, or will they just drop the analog signal on 8 and 13 to get people to get going on the switch? Thanks, Chad

sregener brought up the legal issues with switching to VHF for a few minutes, but not the physical issues involved... Engineers/techs would have to go out to the transmitter sites and physically move the transmitter line from one transmitter to another or have a switch installed on the feed line much like a water shutoff valve.... Or switch the entire transmitter over to the digital (which is prolly more appropriate to WKBT/WEAU's situation) I highly doubt that they are doing this for a test, more then likely, it will be the digital pre-transition channels that are left on and the VHF channel will be black or have info on DTV....

Trip in VA

01-11-09, 02:12 PM

If this test is anything like any of the other tests I've seen, it's just showing a test slide on the analog side saying "you are not ready!"

- Trip

mattdp

01-11-09, 02:36 PM

I think that's the case. The physical implications of switching to digital 8 and 13 are huge. Re-plumbing transmission line, reconfiguring transmitters and such all for a short test is not all all practical.

I would think that a transmitter of such high ERP would take a few minutes to warm up and such, so it's most practical for stations switch their analog feed to a "your not ready" message.

maybeway36

01-11-09, 06:35 PM

Charter in EC carries WLAX-DT, so it is 720p.

N9IWP

01-12-09, 01:26 PM

gjvrieze

01-12-09, 01:29 PM

I recieved this info on Ham Radio mailing list:

> KTTC Engineering reports that sometime in the summer, they will be moving the
> Ch. 67 Translator from Hokah to the WXOW/Z93/.97 Tower. It will still be on
> 67, but will be digital at that time.

Which will probably be a better way for me to get NBC than ch 13 (since I can almost see the WXOW tower from my house)

Brian

I would assume that they will have the antenna and transmitter installed during the antenna swap that WXOW will be having done on the tower in a few months... I wonder what power they can run on channel 67 after the shutdown, since that is clearly in the 700mhz band....

EDIT: Weird, the FCC database shows the translator as moving to channel 50 digital at the WXOW site...

N9IWP

01-14-09, 01:26 PM

May have meant virtual channel 67.1. TVFool has it at real channel 50 (prob because its getting the info from the FCC db)

In any case it looks to be an option for receiving NBC as I stated earlier.

Brian

lovebohn

01-14-09, 03:16 PM

jimboeau

01-15-09, 01:21 PM

Mark, how are things looking for WEUX.

Any possiblity that we will be 720P for the February Transisition

I was wondering the same thing! Hopefully the equipment will be delivered shortly. Any update, Mark?:)

sammy4041

01-15-09, 02:01 PM

I was wondering the same thing! Hopefully the equipment will be delivered shortly. Any update, Mark?:)

I made a deal with my wife, that if the drop outs from WKTB and PBS dont stop when the power increases in Feb, that we are going with Directv so we can get the HD locals. We watch 80 percent of TV on CBS.

She just doesnt want to give up the great DVR that dish has, I have heard that Directs is sub par.

DustoMan

01-16-09, 10:29 AM

I made a deal with my wife, that if the drop outs from WKTB and PBS dont stop when the power increases in Feb, that we are going with Directv so we can get the HD locals. We watch 80 percent of TV on CBS.

She just doesnt want to give up the great DVR that dish has, I have heard that Directs is sub par.

DISH will have the locals soon enough. The new satellite comes online at the end of January and I'm betting DISH will make a major push again adding channels in February.

bigcarp22

01-17-09, 03:53 PM

Just wanted to give an update about Fox 55 out of Wausau. It sounds like they might have the new signal installed up by the end of January....weather permitting and should have a test signal going shortly there after. The new channel will be 31 from what he said. I would guess we might just sneak out a new HD network by the analog shut off in February for the central WI area.
Hey lovebohn

I heard the same thing, but we would only be receiving a digital signal, not HD. And given WFXS track record of dragging their feet (they'll blame it on the FCC - hey, why not?) I wouldn't expect to see Fox HD in Wausau for quite awhile. Kind of a bummer considering the lineup they could be providing.

Has anyone heard if D* will be carrying Wausau locals in HD anytime soon? Most of the chatter here in this thread is for LaCrosse (and rightly so - congrats on being live and in HD on D*), but haven't heard much about Wausau yet.

Living in the shadow of Rib Mountain and in a valley besides, I don't really have an option for Fox or NBC in HD. I get zero OTA signal for NBC from Rhinelander or Eau Claire, but at least CBS, ABC and PBS are strong.

*sigh*

Trip in VA

01-17-09, 04:21 PM

Hey lovebohn

I heard the same thing, but we would only be receiving a digital signal, not HD. And given WFXS track record of dragging their feet (they'll blame it on the FCC - hey, why not?) I wouldn't expect to see Fox HD in Wausau for quite awhile. Kind of a bummer considering the lineup they could be providing.

In fairness to WFXS, the FCC didn't give them a paired digital channel, and there were several stations in that situation which requested them from the FCC. All were denied. Then the FCC finally gave them a post-transition channel, but it was a lousy channel (I have no idea why WFXS asked for it or why the FCC gave it to them) and they had to ask to be moved somewhere else before they could build it.

They've been providing HD to the cable company, and their filings with the FCC imply they hope to do HD whenever they get their new DT-31 signal on the air. Legally speaking, the way it was given to them, they are supposed to sign off TV-55 to turn on DT-31, but they'll likely ask for an STA to operate the two at the same time until the transition date.

- Trip

lovebohn

01-17-09, 05:10 PM

I went back through my emails with Robert and here are a few of his exact quotes.

"The FCC finally gave us a construction permit on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.. We did get channel 31 as we suspected, but we are not authorized to use it prior to the DTV transition. It was granted as a post-transition channel."

When asked if they would do HD along with the DTV signal he said

"Yes, it will be full HD whenever the programs are produced that way.. I believe almost everything in FOX Prime and Sports is now being produced in HDTV."

Desert Fuzz

01-17-09, 06:23 PM

... BTW is (D*) Dish? or which service?

Sorry for the delay in responding, but I have been traveling and haven't logged on for more than a week.

In case you haven't yet gotten your answer elsewhere, D* is DirecTV in this forum. Dish is sometimes abbreviated as E* (for Echostar). And DTV is the standard abbreviation for digital television.

DA1745

01-19-09, 08:01 PM

...After Paul Allen bought a controlling stake in Charter, Vogel resigned in January 2005 and Charter has been going down hill ever since. . GEEZ, wasn't he one of the ones that bought TECHTV and then after doing poorly with what was a great network....sold if off to G4 which utterly destroyed it! RIP TECHTV... I have a dream... (get it? It's MLKing Jr observance day ;)). TechTV in every neighborhood, every TV.

----------------
Above, yes thank you; I have most of the DTV related definitions done, but the satellites were not really on my radar much.

willscary

01-19-09, 10:58 PM

Carl Vogel was, if I recall correctly, at the forefront of ATT's original DSL division in the early 1990's. He then worked his way up to head of Echostar in the mid-90's when they first launched the Dish Network. He then went to Charter.

A few months after leaving Charter, Dish Network hired him as a consultant. Within about 6 months he was CEO of Dish Network.

Unfortunately, I had heard that his son had a terrible skiing accident in late 2007 and Mr. Vogel resigned in January 2008 in order to care for his son, who is permanently disabled.

My brother was a friend of his in school. They worked at a Christmas tree farm right behind where I live now. He was a really decent guy...a kind of goofball (but an intelligent one!)

Paul Allen is a Seattle mogul who owns, among other things, the Seattle Supersonics. He has tried to make a name for himself in cable tv, and yes, he did own TechTV. He sold it to Comcast 5 or 6 years ago. Is that who you were speaking of?

jimupnord

01-22-09, 09:26 PM

The DirecTV website has Wausau/Rhinelander HD locals scheduled for Jan 09!
Hooray!

Jim

MikeR7

01-24-09, 09:57 AM

The DirecTV website has Wausau/Rhinelander HD locals scheduled for Jan 09!
Hooray!

Jim

This should mean they will be turned on next Wednesday. I e-mailed the GM of Fox 55. He didn't know anything about it, but he checked with a Directv tech and the tech was coming out on Monday the 26th to do some final testing. So I suppose if everything checks out OK Directv will turn them on Wednesday morning.:)

doughboy1013

01-25-09, 11:22 AM

Trip in VA

01-25-09, 11:29 AM

Also, has anyone heard anything on a conversion of W27AU to digital at all? I cannot find any information on WJFW's website. Living in the first floor of an apartment complex in Wausau, I have no shot of getting the signal from Rhinelander at all.

They have a permit from the FCC to convert it to digital, but there's no way to tell when it will actually be converted. You might try calling and asking someone in the engineering department.

- Trip

dline

01-25-09, 01:02 PM

So I can't seem to find one bit of info here. WIth this new DTV delay act that looks like it will pass, how will that affect WFXS' flashcut that was supposed to happen in February? Is it mandated to be delayed until the new deadline? I really hope not.

Also, has anyone heard anything on a conversion of W27AU to digital at all? I cannot find any information on WJFW's website. Living in the first floor of an apartment complex in Wausau, I have no shot of getting the signal from Rhinelander at all.

Any information is greatly appreciated!At this point, the bill being discussed doesn't require stations to delay, and many have already filed precautionary "silent" notices with the FCC saying they will shut off on or before deadline.

In Wisconsin, the five Quincy stations (WAOW, WYOW, WXOW, WQOW and WKOW) all plan to shut off analog at noon Feb. 17, 12 hours earlier than required under the current deadline. Gray tells the FCC it will shut off analog WEAU, WSAW and WMTV "on or after" Feb. 16, and WJFW says it will shut off analog "on or after" Feb. 13.

Any over-the-air viewer who thinks the delay will help them procrastinate is living on borrowed time.

The FCC approved W27AU's application (http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1236319&Service=LD&Form_id=346&Facility_id=49696) for a digital flash-cut, but I can't find anything saying exactly when this will happen.

lovebohn

01-25-09, 08:24 PM

WJFW is doing digital right now, channel 16. Is there even a channel 27 right now? I have never received it with a scan.

I would hope Fox just goes through with the transition if this delay happens.

grgeiger

01-28-09, 03:07 AM

I THINK Fox-55 is testing HD right now but I don't have a receiver hooked up to tell. They are running a test pattern on the Analog signal. Last report I got from them.. They were suppose to fire up the HD transmitter sometime this week during the overnight.

I can't pick up any HD signals. I have some antenna problems. I am not sure if my amp is burned out in the crawl space. I can't get into my crawl space because its sealed up for winter. I have 14 inches of ice and snow on my roof. I am not into climbing on my roof, going up on my tower to mess with it my antenna. LOL

can anyone confirm or not confirm they are on the air? They could be running the test pattern just to set the audio and video levels before they turn the transmitter on, the HD transmitter could be running at low power, or the test pattern could be because they have nothing to run right now.. LOL

grgeiger

01-28-09, 05:23 AM

I think most of the Wausau market stations will drop Analog in a few weeks anyway. Probably Channel 20 and 55 will stay on. But 7, 9, and 12 are doubtful.

I also think arrangements have been made with tower climbers and antenna construction companies to change antennas, redirect antennas, and climb towers. These workers have other obligations and appointments. You can't just cancel an appointment and expect to not be charged for it.

WJFW Channel 12 has a unique situation. WBIJ-TV 4 in Crandon (which is classified as a full powered TV station) was assigned digital Channel 12. WBIJ can't sign on in digital until Channel 12 drops its analog signal. My assumption will be that Channel 12 will shut down analog sometime soon anyway to accommodate Channel 4 Crandon. Channel 4 Crandon is expected to Flash Cut

Its also an added expense for these TV stations to be running both full powered Analog and Digital transmitters. Its not profitable in a small market like Wausau. Many people who bought digital TV's complain because they can't receive 7 and 9... Once digital 7 and 9 move to VHF, the coverage should improve dramatically. Many people are anxiously waiting to see 7 and 9 again. Also 7, 9, and 55 have been running at half power on the analog signal as of several months ago.

It is silly that Congress passed this extension this late in the game. I think most stations will change over in a few weeks no matter what.

Trip in VA

01-28-09, 09:06 AM

I think most of the Wausau market stations will drop Analog in a few weeks anyway. Probably Channel 20 and 55 will stay on. But 7, 9, and 12 are doubtful.

WAOW and WYOW have told the FCC they'll be signing off analog on February 17. WJFW has told the FCC they'll be signing off analog on February 13.

WJFW Channel 12 has a unique situation. WBIJ-TV 4 in Crandon (which is classified as a full powered TV station) was assigned digital Channel 12. WBIJ can't sign on in digital until Channel 12 drops its analog signal. My assumption will be that Channel 12 will shut down analog sometime soon anyway to accommodate Channel 4 Crandon. Channel 4 Crandon is expected to Flash Cut

WBIJ has asked for an extension because the owner died and now they're trying to sell the station. No digital signal will be signing on for WBIJ any time soon, most likely.

- Trip

willscary

01-28-09, 10:00 AM

From the WFXS website:

"WFXS is experiencing a technical difficulty and is not broadcasting properly at this time.. The outage affects smaller cable system homes, off-air viewers and both satellite dish subscribers.

Engineers are on the tower trying to find the cause of this problem and it will be corrected as soon as possible.

We apologize for the inconvenience."

willscary

01-28-09, 10:09 AM

grgeiger,

I hope you are correct. This is rediculous. Our government has said for many years "This is it...at this date analog TV will be shut off."

Now, weeks away, they say "OOOOPS! Not enough people have reacted to the 13 year campaign to end digital TV and even more people have failed to heed the year long warnings that scroll across every TV program. We issued nearly double the converter coupons that were needed to allow every analog TV in every household in America to work with the new digital signal, but for some reason, nearly half of the people that we gave them to are not yet ready. We need to wait until June 12th to make the switch. If these same people still are not ready, we will postpone it again and again until hell freezes over, so don't worry. We are your government. We know the best way to NOT react."

They act swiftly on something that should not be acted upon, yet, alternative fuels, foreign wars and our economy are all talk and no action.

Bill

lovebohn

01-28-09, 12:00 PM

This whole delay thing is BS. Like you said if people are to stupid to do anything about this for the last year, tough #$%@#! I really don't care what happens as long as Fox goes digital and NBC in Eau Claire drops back down from 39 to 13 and i can pull in the station better. It would suck having signal problems for the super bowl

MikeR7

01-28-09, 02:43 PM

DirecTV™ fired up our locals this morning. Channels 7,9,12,20,55 in MPEG4. While I was home for lunch I checked them out. Digital picture looks great, but no HD was on while I was home. 55 seems to be working just fine, and I still have the test pattern on the analog station over the air. If their analog blew up, I don't think they would bother fixing it. If they just took it off the air so that they can do digital testing, and are using technical difficulties as an excuse well I guess that's OK with me. :)

I can't believe we've finally reached the 21st Century!!:)

Innova

01-28-09, 03:48 PM

Yeah! The delay bill failed to pass (http://techfragments.com/news/331/Tech/Digital_TV_Transition_Delay_Bill_Failed_to_Pass.html).

Edit: Ok, maybe I spoke too soon. Someone who knows a lot more about politics than I do, said that it still can pass (http://news.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1107595&cid=26643329).

lovebohn

01-28-09, 04:35 PM

Now Buck I was happy to read this might get squashed and you had to crap on my day! LOL

Innova

01-28-09, 04:37 PM

Yeah, I had the exact same reaction. I crapped on myself or something :confused:

;)

bigcarp22

01-29-09, 10:10 AM

The DirecTV website has Wausau/Rhinelander HD locals scheduled for Jan 09!
Hooray!

Jim

Confirmed! DirecTV is now broadcasting (at least as of last night) CBS, ABC, NBC and PBS locals in HD. Yes! Just in time for Super Bowl, baby.

Hopefully this isn't some sort of test and they turn it off before Sunday!

Come on Fox, jump in to complete the Wausau spectra!

MikeR7

01-29-09, 04:38 PM

Lie to Me on Fox 55 was in HD last night on DirecTV™

DA1745

02-02-09, 08:37 PM

Has anyone else seen a drop in signal strength or power?? on Weau TV 13?

I tried to pull in a signal on an OTA HTPC the other day. Didn't pull in a signal at all. I didn't think much of it until today; I got a call from a client today needing some work and he asked me some questions about TV 13 he is unable to get a signal. IDK how long this has been going on. I ass u med it is part of the transition before the switch over and going full power. Is that right?

gjvrieze

02-02-09, 11:35 PM

willscary

02-02-09, 11:47 PM

willscary

02-02-09, 11:49 PM

How about Fox 55 (WFXS) out of Wittenberg / Wausau? Are they doing any digital testing on channel 31 yet?

Bill

lovebohn

02-03-09, 10:20 AM

I had great luck with digital 13 for the super bowl. I keep looking for Fox HD testing every night but have had no luck with a signal.

gjvrieze

02-03-09, 10:50 AM

I can barely get a signal now. It had been perfect up until a few days ago.

Of course, I am 112 miles away.

I am glad to know it is the station. i thought my antenna may have moved in the wind the last few days.

Bill

I am "glad" to hear that you can barely see it, I hardly even get traces of the analog audio even at night, currently... (with the YA-1713...)
The power decrease is VERY noticeable on this system, half power is not as bad, but 25% is HUGE difference in the analog world!

willscary

02-03-09, 06:02 PM

sammy4041

02-04-09, 04:11 PM

yeah, it was snowy last night, but still in color and the audio was not hissing with static.

"I had great luck with digital 13 for the super bowl."

On channel 39? Or did WEAU actually roll out digital channel 13 VHF for the Super Bowl?

Bill

Well if this is a better barometer for you guys. I live right in Eau Claire and have always been 95 to 100. During the super bowl till now I range from 76 to 88. I even had some dropouts during the superbowl. Very Frustrating.

This is Digital I am referring to.

sammy4041

02-04-09, 04:14 PM

Another source indicates that Lacrosse and Wausau are in the plans for HD Locals on dishnetwork. There are waves of HD locals supposebly happening during Feb and March, and Lacrosse and Eau Claire among others are listed as next in line after that.

So maybe the antenna problems will be a thing of the past.

N9IWP

02-05-09, 09:51 AM

All (full power) stations in the La Crosse / Eau Clair market plan to switch on Feb 17, since surveys indicate a 99% readiness level.
http://www.lacrossetribune.com/articles/2009/02/05/news/00lead.txt

Brian

lovebohn

02-05-09, 10:24 AM

Looks like due to the DTV delay Fox 55 in Wausau may not have a digital signal in a week. They are moving to channel 31 which is currently being used by PBS out of LaCrosse. Since PBS does not have to kill the analog signal the FCC has said FOX needs to wait for PBS before they can throw a digital signal on channel 31. I would hope PBS does not drag their feet, but who know with them. I send a question over to PBS to see what their plans are. Fox was actually going to drop their analog power down to about 25% of the current output to help with their new construction. If that happens anyone using an antenna might be SOL. That could change if PBS is going to hold out until June to.

gjvrieze

02-05-09, 10:52 AM

lovebohn

02-05-09, 10:54 AM

Well contact them like i did.

http://www.wpt.org/contact/

gjvrieze

02-05-09, 02:43 PM

Does anyone know what WXOW's plan is, concerning power levels on DTV RF 14, before they can switch out antennas and move to RF channel 48? They are currently at 49kW on channel 14....

N9IWP

02-06-09, 09:34 AM

Accrding to tvfool.com, they are staying on RF channel 14, and going to 200kW

Brian

Trip in VA

02-06-09, 09:36 AM

Does anyone know what WXOW's plan is, concerning power levels on DTV RF 14, before they can switch out antennas and move to RF channel 48? They are currently at 49kW on channel 14....

They will remain at their current power and channel until summer, when they can get a tower crew in to replace it with new channel 48 gear.

TV Fool doesn't reflect the change yet because the FCC has approved their channel change but hasn't approved their permit for that change... it's confusing, but I promise it makes sense.

- Trip

gjvrieze

02-06-09, 09:37 AM

Accrding to tvfool.com, they are staying on RF channel 14, and going to 200kW

Brian

It will be interesting, as they need 200kW to cover their DMA well (IMO) and they have filed the paperwork to move to channel 48 sometime over the spring.. I assume they have a tower crew scheduled for that time frame as well....

gjvrieze

02-06-09, 09:55 AM

They will remain at their current power and channel until summer, when they can get a tower crew in to replace it with new channel 48 gear.

TV Fool doesn't reflect the change yet because the FCC has approved their channel change but hasn't approved their permit for that change... it's confusing, but I promise it makes sense.

- Trip

I suppose to boost power on RF 14 (if it is technically possible) they would have to file paperwork with the FCC, since until June 12th, it is pre-transition channel....

lovebohn

02-06-09, 10:00 AM

Just an FYI after chatting with WPT about channel 31 and the delay with FOX 55 they still said as of right now they are thinking it will be March or April before they pull the plug on analog. If equipment fails and such they will do it sooner. Tomorrow could be different but don't expect to see FOX HD in the Wausau market on the 17th.

Innova

02-06-09, 10:40 AM

willscary

02-07-09, 07:26 PM

I just saw a scroll on Fox 55 saying that they planned to switch to digital at the same time as the other Wausau locals - noon on February 17th.

This is very good news if it holds up!

Bill

gjvrieze

02-07-09, 07:45 PM

I just saw a scroll on Fox 55 saying that they planned to switch to digital at the same time as the other Wausau locals - noon on February 17th.

This is very good news if it holds up!

Bill

Cool, good for your market!

BTW, got my Funke psp.1922 installed today.. Can we say watchable picture on WEAU-13! It is a little worse then your screen shot, but not as bad as I am getting (or none) from the YA-1713.... How good is your WKBT-8 analog? I get real close to being perfect... I would assume they are worse for you, lower tower (25% shorter) and farther from you..

willscary

02-07-09, 09:34 PM

willscary

02-07-09, 09:35 PM

Oh yeah...and my market is actually Green Bay. Wausau is 60 miles, Eau claire is 112 miles and LaCrosse (channel 8) is 129 miles away!!!

Bill

gjvrieze

02-07-09, 09:58 PM

My channel 8 is about the same as chaqnnel 13 analog right now. However, the Funke is not pointed at channel 8. It is pointed 19 degrees to the north at chanel 13. This is a compromise as I can point at Eau Claire and still get 7 and 9 out of Wausau perfectly, which are another 29 degrees to the north.

The Funke is really a great antenna. By the way, I also use a CM7777 to pull these stations in.

Bill

I of course, being closer get 8 almost perfect (at 56 miles).... I am also getting signal out of KEYC in Mankato, MN at nearly 100miles.... Using a Winegard AP8275 amp mounted at the back of the boom(right under the corner reflector...)

willscary

02-07-09, 11:15 PM

I have an AP8275 also. When I switched to the 7777, it did make a fair difference for the better.

Bill

gjvrieze

02-07-09, 11:20 PM

I have an AP8275 also. When I switched to the 7777, it did make a fair difference for the better.

Bill

Interesting... I too have a 7777, but I have that on the antennas on my tower, so it is not easy to switch out... I think (or hope) that with what I am seeing for a "low power" analog, that the digital will lock with ease, prolly not my strongest station, but should be "doable"
My tvfool results are much worse for WEAU then yours, that scared me, but what I am seeing is not THAT much worse then your picture quality...

(side note) With the great antenna, have you ever done any DXing or gotten a DX by "accident"?

willscary

02-07-09, 11:37 PM

I'm not a DXer, but I have received a lot of digital stations during the mid-morning hours that are in the -130 dbm range.

When the change occurs in 10 days, I may need to climb the tower and re-aim everything a bit. If I can not get all of the stations with the Funke and the 91XG, I am prepared to add another pair of antennas with a couple of jointennas. This will cost me a few channels, but if it works, I will be happy to get 2+ markets without using a rotor.

Bill

Bill

lovebohn

02-08-09, 09:53 AM

I just saw a scroll on Fox 55 saying that they planned to switch to digital at the same time as the other Wausau locals - noon on February 17th.

This is very good news if it holds up!

Bill

I sent another email over to the GM at Fox. He has been my source from day one, I hope your right.

lovebohn

02-08-09, 07:41 PM

Sounds like the FCC has a new rule in place that Fox 55 has to put out several hundred notices prior to a switch over. The problem with PBS/WPT is still looming, I'm guessing they (FOX) are being proactive so when the time comes to pull the plug on analog they can do it.

willscary

02-08-09, 10:07 PM

What is the problem with PBS? Also, what kind of notices? If they simply put a scroll on the screen every 1/2 hour for the next 9 days, that should suffice?

Bill

lovebohn

02-09-09, 10:38 AM

What is the problem with PBS? Also, what kind of notices? If they simply put a scroll on the screen every 1/2 hour for the next 9 days, that should suffice?

Bill

Sorry if I needed to put PBS/WPT, but like i said above WPT/PBS in LaCrosse is using channel 31 right now for their station. The FCC said FOX in Wausau can not use channel 31 until LaCrosse kills their analog signal.

DustoMan

02-09-09, 05:21 PM

Don't see this mentioned yet, but at the DISH Retailer Forum last week, DISH won't be broadcasting HD locals to sub until after March. We are at least mentioned on the post-March slide which is a first. I can't wait.

willscary

02-09-09, 07:45 PM

OK,

I have seen the scroll 3 times since yesterday on Fox 55. The scroll says they are changing to all digital at noon on February 17th.

Bill

Trevord

02-09-09, 11:35 PM

I sent an email to WAOW TV-9 Wausau today about the Retro Television Network and they said they won't be getting that but they will be getting a channel called This TV on 9-3. They have it in Milwaukee already. They didn't say when they would get it but they said sometime after the switch to digital.

willscary

02-10-09, 12:25 AM

This TV is outstanding! I had thought this might be the case just a few weeks ago when I read that This TV had been signed with several new owners, and Quincy Newspapers was one of them. This is great for me because I receive both the Wausau and Green Bay markets and Green Bay already has the very good RTN.

Thanks for the confirmation! I had been optomistically hoping!

Bill

willscary

02-10-09, 11:38 PM

Fox 55 (WFXS) went dark tonight at 10 PM. Is something brewing???

Bill

willscary

02-11-09, 06:59 AM

Well, it is back on this morning.

Bill

Trevord

02-11-09, 08:42 AM

Trevord

02-11-09, 08:45 AM

I e-mailed WJFW 12 and asked them if W27AU wausau would also be coming in digital on February 17 and it will be. It will be on channel 27.1. This is good news for me as i only have an indoor antenna and cannot receive WJFW 12 but I can receive W27AU wausau.

lovebohn

02-11-09, 09:17 AM

The reason FOX 55 WFXS went off the air last night for awhile was because the message that airs at the top of the screen on the channel said that sometimes they might have to take it off the air for awhile as they are working on the digital construction for the tower. So sometimes it might be on low power or go off the air completely.

Correct, they may also drop the power down 75% during the work time to. Things are still up in the air as to where and when they will be 100% digital.

grgeiger

02-11-09, 12:35 PM

It appears WJFW, WAOW, WYOW, WFXS, and WSAW have got together to set a time and date of analog shut off. It will be around noon on the 17th.

No word yet on WHRM. But WLEF Park Falls already shut analog off.

WBIJ Crandon will probably stay on in Analog a little bit longer.. But will likely go dark soon. Station as no plans for digital. Owner died and station is for sale.

WTPX Antigo? Ion Insists this station is on the air, but nobody I know can pick up the signal.

lovebohn

02-11-09, 01:38 PM

If you want to stay updated on the FOX55 transition check out this web page.
http://www.myfoxwausau.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail?contentId=8352282&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=1.1.1

I have chatted with WFXS again and the stars are not aligned 100% yet, but things still look good for the 17th digital signal. They basically need the WI weather to hold out, get FCC FINAL approval on Friday and then have their digital signal up and running by midnight on the 17th. If one thing goes bad, it could be spring before we have HD.

gjvrieze

02-12-09, 11:21 AM

Was checking on WEAU-TV (analog) and noticed a crawler saying they are having transmitter difficulties, does anyone know what is up with that?

kucharsk

02-12-09, 11:26 AM

You guys are affected, too:

The Federal Communications Commission late Wednesday rejected, at least temporarily, a quarter of the requests from the 491 TV stations that had asked to switch to digital-only signals on Feb. 17.

President Barack Obama earlier Wednesday signed legislation pushing back the national switch to June 12 from the original Feb. 17 date. Stations were given the option of applying to stick with the February date.

The FCC had warned it might reject switches that weren’t in the public interest. In Wednesday night’s action the commission expressed concern about markets where all the major network affiliates were switching early. That would potentially leave viewers who were unprepared for the digital switchover without any source for local TV news or emergency messages.

The action blocked switches of major stations in Dayton, Ohio; Eugene, Ore.; Billings, Mont.; Lincoln, Neb.; Madison, Wis.; Providence, R.I.; Rockford, Ill.; LaCrosse, Wis.; Charleston, W.Va.; Santa Barbara, Calif.; Sioux City, Iowa; Topeka, Kan.; Wausau, Wis. and Wichita, Kan., among other locations.

The agency, however, suggested it could let many of the same stations go ahead with switch if at least one major local station would continue to broadcast an analog signal. Other factors considered would be as assessment of whether the analog station had news and public affairs programming and if stations would set up “walk in” centers to help local residents apply for coupons and set up converter boxes that would let analog TVs receive digital signals. The stations were asked to agree to the conditions by Friday if they wanted to go ahead.

http://www.tvweek.com/news/2009/02/fcc_rejects_25_of_early_dtvswi.php