Ever since the earlier news that the new WKYC/3 antenna tower was finally rising into the air, we've had one question.
We'll assume that the Gannett Cleveland NBC affiliate will wait until the national digital transition date of June 12th to light up the station's new digital facility on RF channel 17, even assuming the tower is completed well before then...and given that Trinity Broadcasting O&O WDLI/17 plans to shut off its analog signal later this week.
Assuming all continues as planned, WKYC will have a few weeks before June 12 to test the new RF 17 signal - with WDLI's analog signal out of the Canton suburb of Louisville gone after Thursday, its planned shutoff date.
But wither WVIZ/25, the other future occupant of this tower rising at Broadview Road?We have some news about that.
The ideastream PBS affiliate has filed its latest digital transition report, which takes into account the fact that the tower it will occupy is actually being constructed now. Quoting, complete with the capital letters found in FCC filings online:
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AS EXPLAINED IN IDEASTREAM'S REQUEST FOR ALTERNATIVE BUILDOUT, WVIZ'S FINAL AUTHORIZED DTV FACILITY IS TO BE LOCATED ON A NEW TOWER TO BE SHARED WITH STATION WKYC-DT. THE CONSTRUCTION OF THAT TOWER HAD BEEN UNEXPECTEDLY DELAYED (SEE, STA REQUEST OF WKYC-TV, INC., FCC FILE NO. BDSTA-20081201AWR AND MONTHLY FCC FORM 387 UPDATES FILED BY WKYC-TV, INC.). WHILE COMPLETION OF A FINAL FACILITY TO MEET A FEBRUARY 17, 2009 DEADLINE WAS NOT POSSIBLE, IDEASTREAM UNDERSTANDS FROM WKYC-TV, INC. THAT THE NEW TOWER WILL BE COMPLETED WELL IN ADVANCE OF THE NEW JUNE 12, 2009 DEADLINE.
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And the filing has specific information about when a new antenna will be added...assuming construction continues unabated:
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THE ANTENNA WAS ORDERED FROM DIELECTRIC COMMUNICATIONS ON JUNE 24TH, 2008. IT HAS BEEN MANUFACTURED, AND IDEASTREAM WILL REQUEST DELIVERY BASED ON RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE TOWER CREW. THE TOWER IS CURRENTLY BEING CONSTRUCTED, AND THE PREDICTION IS THAT THE ANTENNA WILL BE MOUNTED IN MID-MAY (WEATHER PERMITTING). ALL OTHER EQUIPMENT IS ON SITE.
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We don't know if WVIZ plans to light up the new digital facility shortly after the antenna is mounted, or if it'll wait until June 12.
The Cleveland PBS outlet has filed for an extension of the current 10kW STA facility from an antenna mounted on WKYC's auxiliary tower.
But the station notes in both filings that with the expected completion of the new WKYC/WVIZ digital tower, it's abandoning a third STA request that would have used 10kW from the side of the current WKYC analog 3 tower.
Thank you to one of our curious readers for the picture taken Sunday afternoon, showing guy wires now holding the under construction tower, and for the link to the WVIZ transition update filing.
(At this rate, the WKYC/WVIZ site will become the 2009 Radio/TV Tourist version of the WHOF/101.7 facility in Canton!)
Glad to see both WVIZ TV 25 and WKYC TV are progressing on the tower and getting their antennas ready to mount. I'm sure the tower crew is happy with the warmer weather to work in. Good Luck to both the stations - hopefully we'll get a more solid picture when they finish and 'light-em-up' for Northeast, Ohio!-)
ReplyDelete- Andrew, MALL727.net -
How do you look up these FCC filings? I'd like to look up filings for WBNX and WOIO (the two channels I can't get in HD).
ReplyDeleteIs WOIO on the post transition 10kw yet?
ReplyDeleteI seem to have lost the WVIZ-DT signal I had been receiving for several months. My antenna situation has not changed (I checked). Has there been some change at the transmitter this weekend (May 22, 2009)?
ReplyDeleteTommy, that wouldn't surprise us...though we can't get the temporary 10Kw WVIZ-DT signal at all here at OMW World Headquarters(tm).
ReplyDeleteWith the June 12th transition rapidly approaching, and the completion of WKYC/WVIZ's tower rapidly approaching (see our latest pictures on a newer blog item), they'll have to do a lot of work and moving of equipment and antennas.
So, expect outages like this between now and June 12th, for technical reasons - for one, if workers are up there on the new tower putting up antennas, WKYC may have to shut off even analog 3 at times between now and the 12th - for the protection of workers on the neighboring new tower.
When it's all said and done, between now and the 12th, WVIZ-DT will be up again with its permanent, much stronger signal.
We still don't know if WVIZ will activate the facility before the 12th. WKYC will likely wait until that day to make the RF 2/RF 17 switch, but WVIZ is on the same RF channel (26) before and after the transition date...and filed in that FCC report above that it expected to be up in "mid-May".
Re: looking up the filings:
http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/audio/tvq.html
(Yes, it's under the Mass Media Bureau's Audio Division, since that's where the AM/FM Queries live)
Re: WOIO-DT at post-transition power, as far as we know, it's still at 3.5Kw. The above FCC query comes back that the post-transition 10.3kW app hasn't been approved yet.
--The Management
Thanks for the reasuring comments. But if I run my address through the great apps at www.tvfool.com, they show no improvement in signal strenth post transistion for WVIZ...I'm hoping its a clerical error.... but tvfool seems to be all about getting the info right...I wish the stations themselves were more forthcoming with info...
ReplyDelete10Kw for the CBS affiliate, really? Why are some stations at half a megawatt and WOIO at 10kw.... I know of a few CBers with shoes that big...sigh
Keep the shiney side up and the greasy side down good buddy...
I watched the signal strenght meter for WVIZ, what had recently been at about 35, the boarder between weak and good, waver around 52 (middle of the good range) last evening....and then jump to 82 (middle of the excellent range) where it spent the rest of the night.
ReplyDeleteCan you confirm that they went to full power on the new antenna?