On Jan 24, 2009, at 1:33 AM, Roger (K8RI) wrote:
> That is more likely due to several other items. One is the channels
> are not the same. IF you have a digital TV set it will show the
> digital version of channel 7 as 7-1, or 7-2. where 7 is high VHF
> and the dash something is likely to be UHF.
Oh, I absolutely agree, Roger. My analog Channel 2 in Utica is moving
to Digital on Channel 29, I think it is. So we immediately have a
path loss difference, even if ERP and antenna location are the same
and background impulse noise is less.
>
> Second, many if not most of the interim stations are not running
> full power so you are trying to find a version of the station that
> was already weak when running full power.
Channel 2 in Utica, as well as some of the Syracuse stations, claim
they are already at full Digital power and have been for many months.
>
> Third, the interim digital station my not be at the same location as
> the analog. It may even be considerably farther than the analog.
Yes but, again, not true for our Channel 2.
But my point was: Joe Viewer doesn't care about any of that; Joe
Viewer up here will notice that he can no longer receive Channel 2 (or
whatever) in ANY fashion. In short, while the various coverage charts
may or may not be accurate for any given station's Analog or Digital
pattern, there is a tremendous loss of OTA TV coverage in many parts
of the country, such as where I live. But, of course, we Joe Viewers
on the outskirts are a small percentage of the total population.
> Also, *Unfortunately* I've not found an up-to-date site listing all
> current, and final digital assignments and that includes the table
> put out by the FCC.
Yes, and there are sites that purport to tell you what you'll be able
to pick up, based on your zip code (much too coarse-grained) or your
topo coordinates (better). Yet they are not in agreement at all.
A good source for lots of tables, charts, and links to even more
tables & charts, is www.w9wi.com. But, as you say, even the FCC
lists are not up-to-date or fully consistent.
The crawler on one of the local Saturday morning news programs out of
Syracuse this morning says Congress has reached agreement on extending
the switchover date from February 17th to June 12th. So the delay is
one step closer to becoming law. However, many stations will not be
able to delay their switchover (existing facilities leases may be
terminating) or they may not wish to (many will see substantial
reduction in utility bills after they switch to Digital). As I
understand the rationale for the implementation delay, however, it was
because the government coupons had expired and/or all the money
Congress allocated to subsidizing the converters had been used up
before everyone who wanted one got a converter or two. That is, the
delay has nothing to do with technical or digital coverage issues.
Bud, W2RU
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