Wheeling, WV - HDTV - Page 3

I don't believe WHIZ DT 40 is on-air right now. I work at a rental chain and turned one of the HDTV's we have on channel 40 at the Zanesville store a few weeks ago, and zilch. This may be related to some tower maintenance issues they've been having. Also, WHIZ's FM station is rumored to be relocating closer to Columbus. So, definately some issues here.

On a sort-of related note: can anyone verify if WOUC DT 35 out of Cambridge is on-air? Its the only digital signal I can receive regularly and its been totally gone for three days now.

I just called WHIZ at 740-452-5431 and asked for the television control room. The operator there said that they were waiting on an antenna for channel 40 before they went live. They couldn't tell me what the ERP would be. They didn't seem to know when it would come back. But, they seemed to care that I wanted it on the air.

I just called Ohio University's Media Office at 800-456-2044 and the receptionist tried to connect me to the master control room. Apparently no one was picking up the phone there, but she did give me the direct number to the room (740-593-4985). She also said that 35 was down due to a part failure and that the part had been ordered incorrectly which added to the downtime. She said their expectations were that it would be back on-air tonight.

Good to know it wasn't my setup that was the problem. It seems like WOUC 35 had issues with the electronic program guide not working, subchannel feeds horribly pixelated, audio-only subchannels, etc when it WAS on the air. Hopefully they'll get these issues resolved while they're working on the transmitter problem.

WOUC-DT was still off the air when I checked tonight. I hope they get back on soon as they are the only PBS-HD source I have.....local PBS 45/49 has had no HD for almost a year due to equipment problems and WVIZ-DT in Cleveland is operating with "flea" power that doesn't get them out beyond their immediate area. ....Thanks for the info on WHIZ-DT, ab8jh. I thought they had to be off the air as I used to see them quite often. Also appreciate your checking into the WOUC-DT situation and passing the word along!

WOUC-DT is back on the air with the simulcast of analog ch. 44 but no HD channel, so I guess some things are still not working right. Their ID card with test tones are all that's on the other sub-channels. I'm hoping they get the HD back up and running soon.

Yes, WOUC is back. Tonight there was HD on 35.1 during primetime only. They have fixed the programming guide and the PSIP data now maps to 44 instead of 35. Other programming is mentioned in the EPG, but its only a HD channel, SD feed of analog 44 and test tones on the other subchannels. No subchannel programs yet. Looks like BBC Worldservice will be on one of the subchannels. Sweet!

Where did you hear about the BBC being on one of the subchannels? Is it to be the BBC World Service audio or their 24/7 TV news channel "BBC World"? I hope it's the latter but, as you said, either one would be "sweet"! I have been a constant listener and viewer of BBC news for about 50 years now and believe they have no equal when it come to comprehensive world news coverage!

If that's the case, I hope they're not yet up to full power as I still can't get a lockable signal. It may turn out that I just won't be able to see them here on a regular basis as I do WTOV-DT from Steubenville. The FCC database says they're supposed to be at 730.9 kw when on full power and I thought they would probably be received here but maybe not. I'm hoping that this possible increase is still something less that their eventual maximum. WOUC-DT in Cambridge is only at 310 kw per the database and I get a strong signal from them.

I saw in on the channel's EPG listing. It appears to be the same half-hour news show that BBC America broadcasts from time to time. WOUC and WOUB are each transmitting different subchannel content. Or at least they were planning to. I saw a press release on it at www.woub.org around the end of August, but it has since been removed from the site. DT 35 will have a subchannel for news, which will include BBC apparently. And yes, I agree that the Beeb is second to none when it comes to world news coverage.

Ok, you are considerably closer to them than I am but their power level seems definitely higher. I guess the question remains as to whether that level is still below the maximum power level licensed to them. They might still be holding off going to full power during this transitional period when they have to operate both analog ch 7 and digital ch 32 in order to keep costs down? Time will tell, I guess. I wish they would at least answer emails when questions are asked them about their plans.

Thanks! Since my last post, I saw the same thing on the WOUB website. I was hoping for more than that since I already have access to BBC America but it's better than nothing, I guess. I keep hoping for 24/7 access to BBC World which Discovery is now marketing in the US but so far no one that I can subscribe to has picked it up. When I tuned in to WOUC-DT earlier today there was still nothing but some audio and test-tones on most of the sub-channels, so guess they are still working on things. I noticed the HD channel was on last night during "primetime".

I still can't get so much as a flicker of signal from WTRF 32 or WTOV 57 here in Cambridge. I have better luck with Columbus when the conditions are right.

I'm surprised that you can't get a usable signal from WTOV-DT 57. What's your antenna setup?

I currently use a Channelmaster 4228 w/o a preamp (waiting for a CM 7777) up about 15ft off the front porch facing Steubenville. Seriously, my receiver has no idea WTOV is even there. Contrast this to occasional blips of signal from WSFJ DT 24 in Newark.

Until a few days ago I was using a corner reflector yagi similar to a Winegard 9022 WITH a Delhi preamp and could get 24, 14, and 21 out of Columbus with about 25% reliability. I'd use the 4228 with the Delhi preamp, but the 4228 doesn't have the 300ohm output the amp needs. I didn't get a hint of 57 with it either.

Couldn't cross market lines? Signal penetration is based on terrain, height, and power. Market lines are artificial entities created by Neilsen and/or the FCC. They can't stop a signal from penetrating the landscape.

I never understood how Tusc county ended up in the Cleveland DMA. Unless that has only happened since the dawn of the CATV era. In the low-lying areas, it's damn-near impossible to pick up the analog Cleveland stations OTA from Dover/New Philly unless you have an antenna the size of the Hubble Telescope mounted on a tower 1000 feet high...LOL...

I just took my receiver to a friend's place with a superior antenna setup (a 75 foot tower with a preamped UHF/VHF combo, not to mention a 200 foot rise in elevation) and got NOTHING from 57 or 32. I would've expected to receive something, but I didn't get diddly. Is anyone else receiving these stations in or around Guernsey county?

Yes, WTOV 9 comes in fairly strong, even on the 4228, and WTRF 7 is too weak to watch but the audio is listenable. Both 9 and 7 are quite good when preamped. I'm not sure what the issue is here. I know WTRF is still underpowered, but I would think WTOV would be strong enough to receive.

OK. Do you get any signal on WTOV 9 with that setup? I know the 7775 is UHF only, but does it pass VHF signals?

ab8jh, did you ever have any success in receiving WTOV, ch 57?

I've been monitoring WOUC-DT and it appears they're still a work in progress...sometimes one or more of their subchannels are not available or have no audio and/or the HD channel is not on when it's supposed to be. I guess they will get all the bugs worked out eventually. I continue to be surprised how strong their signal is here in Canton.

I also check daily on WTRF-DT but the situation remains the same with no lockable signal.