Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD - HDTV - Page 305

Could you list the new clear QAM channel numbers between 103 and 122?
My decrepit Samsung SIR-T451 can't scan past 103 without rebooting so I have to enter those manually. Thanks.

Digital Transition Summary for DC, Baltimore, Hagerstown Stations - June 9, 2009

Word of the day(s) for June 12 and June 13: RESCAN! This is my final update to the digital transition summary table I have posted several times before as the transition day is almost here. I hope that some of you find this helpful. For the cable/sat only members, don't worry, the OTA oriented postings will die down in a week or two.

The following is an updated summary of the pre and post transition digital channels, power levels, and status of filings for the full power stations in the DC, Baltimore, and Hagerstown markets. I hope some find this list useful to prepare for the June 12 analog shutdown and DT channel shuffle. The list is sorted by the post-transition physical broadcast channel, which I think is useful for highlighting the upper VHF stations and possible signal conflicts for those on the outer edges of these markets. The technical shorthand terms are ERP (Effective Radiated Power) in kW, HAAT (antenna Height Above Average Terrain) in meters, CP = Construction Permit granted by the FCC.

Some of the station comments show the post-transition maximization power applications submitted by the station last year, but the FCC has still not acted on some of them, so until then, people should use the officially allotted ERP as the basis for figuring out antenna needs. In the past several months, the FCC did grant increased post-transition ERPs for WVPY-DT PBS 42 and WWPB-DT MPT 31, but I don't know if those stations are ready to increase power on June 13.

At the bottom is a separate list for the digital low power (LD) stations in DC and the stronger digital low power CPs in the western edge of the DC area. Some of the LD CPs may not be built; some of them are likely placeholders for future filings for better channel allotments. The analog low power stations and translators do not have to shut down on June 12.

The columns are: Station, Location, Pre-transition physical digital channel and pre-transition DT ERP in kW, Post-transition physical digital channel and current ERP allotment in kW, post-transition HAAT in meters, filed analog shutdown time window, and Notes/Comments.

Station	Location	Pre-DT (ERP)	Post-DT (ERP)	Post HAAT	Analog Shutdown	Notes
WJLA-DT ABC 7	DC	39 (646 kW)	7 (30 kW)	235 m	Morning 6/12	Maximized app for 30 kW granted.
WUSA-DT CBS 9	DC	34 (1000)	9 (12.6)	235	Morning 6/12
WBAL-DT NBC 11	Baltimore	59 (513)	11 (5)	299	Afternoon 6/12	Only 5 kW VHF 11 post-transition! Some current OTA WBAL viewers will lose station!
WWPX-DT Ion 60	Martinsburg	12 (23)	12 (23)	314	Evening 6/12	Petition pending to move DTV operations to 51 in VA which conflicts with WETA's 51 petition.
WJZ-DT CBS 13	Baltimore	38 (1000)	13 (28.8)	295	Afternoon 6/12	Will at 9.8 kW STA on DT 13 for 1-2 months post-trans until new directional ant installed
WFDC-DT uni 14	DC	15 (325)	15 (1000)	227	Evening 6/12	Maximized app granted for 1000 kW post-transition
WVPY-DT PBS 42	Front Royal	21 (50)	21 (100)	400	Evening 6/12	Maximized app for 100 kW granted
WNVC-DT MHz 56	Fairfax	57 (7.3, dark)	24 (160)	221	Off since September	Off air until WUTB-TV 24 shuts down
WHAG-DT NBC 25	Hagerstown	55 (0.9)	26 (575)	376	4 AM 6/10	Will start on post DT 26 channel 12 Noon 6/12
WETA-DT PBS 26	DC	27 (90)	27 (90)	254	Morning 6/12	Petition still pending to move to 51 for DTV operations at 674 kW
WFPT-DT PBS 62	Frederick	28 (30)	28 (41.2)	158	Off on April 16	Increased ERP to 41.2 kW in February
WMPB-DT PBS 67	Baltimore	29 (14 )	29 (42.6)	309	Morning 6/12	Increased ERP to 42.6 kW in February
WNVT-DT MHz 30	Goldvein	30 (160)	30 (160)	229		Analog shut down in 2003
WHUT-DT PBS 32	DC	33 (100)	33 (100)	254	Afternoon 6/12	maximized app pending for 1000 kW
WPXW-DT Ion 66	Manassas->DC	43 (90)	34 (1000)	221	Evening 6/12	taking over WUSA-DT's pre-trans DT 34 transmitter
WDCA-DT MyN 20	DC	35 (500)	35 (500)	227	Afternoon 6/12	maximized app pending for 950 kW
WTTG-DT Fox 5	DC	36 (1000)	36 (1000)	227	July 12	Analog nightlight station until July 12
WMAR-DT ABC 2	Baltimore	52 (613)	38 (1000)	312	Afternoon 6/12	Taking over WJZ-DT's pre-trans DT 38 transmitter
WJAL-DT ind 68	Hagerstown	16 (6)	39 (105)	372	Off in January	Operating at STA 34 kW on UHF 39
WNUV-DT CW 54	Baltimore	40 (845)	40 (845)	373	Off on March 2
WUTB-DT MyN 24	Catonsville	41 (200)	41 (200)	308	Morning 6/12	maximized app pending for 290 kW
WMPT-DT PBS 22	Annapolis	42 (150)	42 (439)	289	Morning 6/12	STA for 439 kW granted, maximized app pending for 516 kW
WWPB-DT PBS 31	Hagerstown	44 (209)	44 (1000)	359	Morning 6/12	maximized app for 1000 kW granted
WBFF-DT Fox 45	Baltimore	46 (550)	46 (550)	373	Off on March 2
WRC-DT NBC 4	DC	48 (813)	48 (813)	242	June 26	Analog nightlight station until June 26
WDCW-DT CW 50	DC	51 (125)	50 (122)	253	Morning 6/12	maximized app pending for 1000 kW
Digital LDs			Lic/CPs
WMDO Telef 47	DC	8 (0.198)	8 (0.198)	150		on the air in late summer 08.
W08EE WV PBS	Martinsburg	8 (0.3)	8 (0.3)	281		on the air
WWTD ind 49	DC	-	14 (0.1)	179		CP granted Jan 08
WDDN Dayst 23	DC	-	21 (1)	213		CP granted Mar 07
WZDC Telem 25	DC	-	25 (4.6)	116		CP granted Oct 08 for digital flash cut post-transition
WIAV AsiaVis 58	DC	-	44 (0.1)	45		Applied for 10 kW ERP on UHF 43
WAZW rlg 48	Winchester	-	46 (12)	78		CP granted Jan 07
W51CY CW 51	Hagerstown	-	51 (15)	379		Satellite TX for WDCW located east of Hagerstown, not planning to start up in 2009

I think I asked this before, but why is the power so much lower on DC ABC and CBS post transition?

Hi all, On DirecTV I see tonight that the Orioles are on MASN (640) in HD, the Nats are on MASN2 in SD (641).

The guide shows 641-1 (MASN2-HD) but it says "To be announced" and there is nothing on it right now. Does anyone know if there are any plans to to show Nats games in HD on 641-1 when the O's are on MASN?

Thanks!

From what I have read on VHF-Hi stations, the power for WJLA and WUSA, and for any other VHF station is lower because VHF is on a lower frequency than UHF, requiring less power to penetrate.

WJLA-DT & WUSA-DT should be receivable around 50-70 miles away with the right antenna & average terrain conditions. (YMMV)

Low VHF (2-6, 54 to 88 MHz) and upper VHF (7-13, 174 to 216 MHz) require less power than UHF (14-69, 470 to 806 MHz, soon to be limited to 14-51) to provide the same coverage. For analog broadcasts, the maximum allowed power is 100 kW for low VHF, 316 kW for upper VHF, 5000 kW for UHF. For example, WJLA-TV 7 and WUSA-TV 9 are at 316 kW, WHUT-TV 32 is 5000 kW.

For digital ATSC broadcasts, the maximum allowed power (ERP) for Zone 1 (which includes our area) is 10 kW low VHF, 30 kW upper VHF, and 1000 kW UHF. WJLA-DT ABC 7 will be at the maximum ERP allowed for upper VHF.

104-1 = SD version of ch 71 (PIN) no audio
106-6 = Shop NBC
109-1 through 109-14 = local government/public access channels and TV Guide
110-3 = Gospel Music Channel
110-9 = Oxygen
110-10 = INSP
110-12 = G4

My SIR-T451 does the same thing. I haven't rescanned that one yet. The sad part is that doesn't go past 125 so you don't get any of the music choice channels at 130-1 through 130-50, Fox5 HD at 132-1, CW50 HD at 132-2, My20 HD at 133-1, MPT HD at 133-2, or A&E HD at 134-2.

W08EE WV PBS Martinsburg 8 - I read somewhere that this station will increase power in August. Not that I really need another PBS station.

Speaking of PBS stations WVPY-DT PBS 42 Front Royal 21 (50) 21 (100) this power increase should help as this station comes and goes for me (usually can get it in the evening and at night, but not in the morning or day). Does anyone else notice that signal strength is better on broadcasts at night? If so, what is the reason for this? Also, Tonight I have noticed a marginal signal boost and they may have possibly already increased power.

WWPB-DT PBS 31 Hagerstown 44 (209) 44 (1000) don't really see the need for such an increase on this station as it is the strongest signal I get here in Southern Franklin County PA. The increase may drive my signal meter out of the TV. I hope this does not interfere with anything. Perhaps the PBS stations have the public funds available to pay for the increase in juice that some of the other stations do not. A good example would be W51CY CW 51 east of Hagerstown not firing up their tower on the mountain.

WJAL-DT ind 68 Hagerstown 16 (6) 39 (105) this increase should also be good as I get a weak signal, but it will not come in and I am 20 miles away.

I can only imagine how strong WWPB-DT will be where you are.(Ouch!!) It comes in quite well in Arlington now with a rooftop antenna, and no amp. On the other hand, we don't get any Virginia Public Television digital stations here. Hopefully the Front Royal station will come in after June 12.

Actually WVPY was a little worse for me tonight lot of break-ups, usually it is solid day and night and TVfool list it as -21 for me. I have noticed that since Yesterday when I had the Winegard 7084 installed with CM 7777 (to replace an VU-160) WRC, WDCA and WUSA come in better and I no longer get WJAL RF39 5 miles away(At +67) when pointed to DC and WJLA 7 RF39 trys to decode

Lots of tropo activity last night, and some this morning, but not as much. This can cause reception issues with normally stable stations.

Did I read that some of the DC locals are testing their new locations and broadcasting digital signals on them? Anyone know if this is still going on?

I'd like to do a rescan to see if my current bowtie will pick up JLA and USA here at ~20 miles from DC (and very high up).

W08EE-D is at 300 Watts, the maximum power allowed for VHF low power stations and translator. They can't increase their power and stay as a translator on VHF 8.


TV broadcast signals propagate better at night, same as AM and FM radio.


There may be gaps in reliable WWPB-DT coverage at 209 kW in western MDor along the northern MD border. PBS stations and PBS state organizations have been, in general, strapped for money for years and their situation got much worse last fall with many corporate sponsors drying up. PBS stations made up a large chunk of the stations that shut down their analog broadcast in February and in the 2nd smaller wave on April 16 because they did not have the money to maintain both analog and digital broadcasts.

MPT may be in better financial shape than most state wide PBS organizations. But of their 6 stations, WCPB and WGPT went digital only last December, WFPT 62 in Frederick in April. I suspect the reason to increase WWPB-DT 31 to 1000 kW is because a) they can, b) the electric bills are lower for a 1000 kW digital broadcast are still lower than for the 4070 kW analog, and c) to protect themselves against white space broadband devices while they can.

Some of the stations have reportedly done some early flash cut testing, but at 3 or 4 AM in the morning. Would have been nice to learn about these tests in advance so people could check out their reception - well, those who are willing to get up at 3 or 4 AM. But in 2+ days, we are going to find out how well our antenna setups work, one way or the other.

WHAG-TV NBC 25 in Hagerstown is now off the air. Another analog station bites the dust. If anyone lives in view of WHAG's broadcast tower, keep an eye out for a helicopter removing and lifting a new antenna on the tower. Also, this means the interference for low power WZDC-CA Telemundo 25 has gone away. Some people north of DC may now get a noisy WZDC where before they got a noisy WHAG-TV. I don't see any signals for WZDC-CA here in Sterling, but I am outside of their very directional analog coverage area.

"Both WNPB and WSWP are constructing alternate digital antenna locations which will provide the same digital coverage as the current analog coverage.
These changes should be completed on or before August 18, 2009. Viewers should perform a channel scan after these changes are made."

This is the quote I was referencing. I thought this would apply to W08EE-D. Thanks for the correction.

Thanks for the quick reply. I'm looking forward to getting G4 on my downstairs TV now.


I know. If I could find a suitable replacement with both VGA output and optical sound (and I weren't such a cheapskate), I'd have replaced it by now with something better.

Yes, I observed the same thing on Mon and Tues evenings, but now it's gone. It could be tropo, but I doubt it, since I've *never* been able to pick up DT42 before where I am in west Alexandria. I suspect they are experimenting with the higher power Tx, which will hopefully become the default operation on Friday.

WMPT-DT should be relatively easy to get already in most of northern VA with the proper outdoor antenna. I installed a small outdoor antenna 50 miles west of Annapolis 2 weeks ago, & was surprised how well it came in.(No pre-amp) The location is in a terrain challenged area just west of Dulles airport.

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...c5347d02d523de

HURRAY! WUTB-TV and WETA-TV are back.

WETA's web site says it will end analog at noon.

WUSA's web site says it will end analog and move digital from 34 to 9 at noon.

WTTG's web site says channel 5 will switch to nightlight service at 12:01 PM.

I expect all the other DC stations that selected morning or afternoon on their FCC forms will also switch at noon or 12:01 PM. This includes 4, 5, 7, 9, 20, 26, 32, and 50.

WJZ's web site reports it will switch at 12:30 pm. Expect WMAR and WBAL will switch at the same time.

WVPT's web site reports WVPT and WVPY will cease analog at 11:59:59, but it doesn't specify AM or PM. Based on the FCC filings previously listed by afiggatt, I assume they mean PM.

Haven't found any info beyond aforementioned FCC filings for WFDC, WUTB, MPT, or ION stations.

Yes the noon/12:01PM switch is a pain. Since you won't get your scheduled programs on WUSA and WJLA until you have your receiver do a rescan. My girlfriend records all afternoon shows from them and is going to miss her programming unless she is home to do the rescan.

I'm going to miss having WMAR-DT on RF52. It's been much more stable than RF38.

I left VM's for WDCW ((202) 965-5050) and WITF ((717) 704-3000) about W51CY and W38AN. Hopefully, I'll hear back from them soon.

The wife was very upset about WBAL-DT last night. She listened to me and setup the VCR to record from 20:00-22:00. Everything looked great before we left the house and even looked fine when we returned at 23:00.

Then she looked at the tape. She found that all she recorded was about three to five minutes of the show and then for the next two hours the tape showed was "Weak Signal." She's still blaming me and not happy about how this bodes for viewing television after Noon tomorrow.

Bad news for those near Martinsburg who wish to get WDCW-DT after it transitions to 50: "Yes both channel 50 analog and channel 8 digital will continue for the
foreseeable future." That's from the Director of Engineering at WV Public Broadcasting, in reference to W50DE and W08EE-D.

Despite being weaker, W50DE is LOS to many locations in that area. At least in Hagerstown the weaker but closer-in analog signal obliterated that of WDCW. Since its analog operation was 5MW and this was still a problem, I doubt that WDCW boosting its power on DT-50 would help.

Why would you want those two digital stations to shut-down their transmitters?

Turning W51CY back "ON" would solve WDCW's problem. I don't care if they even bring it back up as analog.

60' of good quality RG6 coax should be fine. Not to bash Radio Shack too much (they do sell excellent antennas), but their RG6 is horrible. Whomever makes it skimps on the braided shield, thus allowing leakage and multipath issues.

It's usually best to avoid amplification directly out of the antenna for reception of DTV signals. All but a couple of amps on the market today generate noise which can be destructive to reception, along with not being linear across the VHF and UHF bands. A good quality amp can be best used for only making up for splitter losses when feeding multiple locations, again not as a way of "pulling in" DTV signals. Radio Shack amps whereas claiming bandwidth out to 900Mhz., actually fall far short of those specs. RS amps also generate quite a bit of noise. When used for distribution, a commercial quality CATV amp is best.

Speaking of splitters; make sure you use only the number of spigots that you need with any open spigots are terminated with 75 ohm resistors. I recommend using only high quality 2Ghz splitters.

Unfortunately, that's not been my experience. I suspect it is very dependent on your location HAAT. And hopefully, after Fri, all will be improved

W50DE is an analog transmitter. Its replacement is W08EE-D. I only asked the engineer about the analog station.

I hear that, and ... I'm only 10 miles from the tower. WJZ on 38 has been a nightmare for us. I don't think we've even bothered trying to tune it in for 6-8 months. With WJLA moving to 7 and WMAR moving to 38 I think we'll be ABC-less for a while at my house until I sort out how to clean 38 up and get VHF set up again.


What was wrong with WBAL for you last night? Granted, I'm basically right on top of them here, but we watched WBAL quite a bit last night and this morning and it was fine. Did they reduce power on 59 in prep for tomorrow or something?

WETA appears to be in quasi-nightlight mode -- they're showing "Get Ready for Digital TV" in a loop, on their analog channel only.