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Old 08-30-2012, 03:24 PM
Norbert Norbert is offline
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Analog broadcasting in the VHF low band?

Just curious if there are any analog transmitters still operating in the VHF low band (channels 2-6) to date? Has this become a "dead band" and has any of those frequencies been allocated to other uses? The reason I ask is that DTV (More appropriately called SDTV and/or HDTV) signals are suseptible to noise and interference problems in the VHF low band, thus they are avoided. Most if not all of DTV broadcasting is between channels 7-51 now (VHF hi and UHF). I know there's a few LPTV stations broadcasting analog, but don't know of any that are on channel 5 or below.
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Old 08-30-2012, 06:30 PM
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cbenham cbenham is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Norbert View Post
Just curious if there are any analog transmitters still operating in the VHF low band (channels 2-6) to date? Has this become a "dead band" and has any of those frequencies been allocated to other uses? The reason I ask is that DTV (More appropriately called SDTV and/or HDTV) signals are suseptible to noise and interference problems in the VHF low band, thus they are avoided. Most if not all of DTV broadcasting is between channels 7-51 now (VHF hi and UHF). I know there's a few LPTV stations broadcasting analog, but don't know of any that are on channel 5 or below.
Channels 2 through 6 are in FULL use by analog and digital broadcasters. Even though these lower frequencies are subject to noise and interference, they are still used across the country and in Canada.

Here is the current FCC list of stations on the air and with applications for licenses:
http://transition.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tv...&slon2=&size=9

Cliff

Last edited by cbenham; 08-30-2012 at 06:33 PM. Reason: Clarity
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Old 08-31-2012, 08:11 AM
Norbert Norbert is offline
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Thank you Cliff. This is exactly the information I was looking to find.
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Old 08-31-2012, 09:11 AM
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At least a few months ago, there was an analog channel 6 in New York City, which may really been an excuse to establish an FM radio station just below the FM radio broadcast band in that solidly packed FM dial. Most FM sets will tune 87.75MHz, which is where you could find the analog TV channel 6 sound carrier. One could put a TV camera looking at the DJ in the studio, as an excuse for video programming, and have the sound carrier play the music the DJ was spinning. "Oh, you mean that FM radios can listen to us without seeing the DJ?"

In smaller markets, you could find an empty FM frequency, or just buy an existing FM station, to get on the air. NYC stations go for a lot of money. Oddly enough, NYC FM stations are mostly lower power, but they probably have more listeners per watt of RF power than anywhere else in the USA. Like 100mW per listener.
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Old 08-31-2012, 08:04 PM
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Wow did not know there were still that many. I know if i hold my antenna up to my celing and out my window I can tune in to the CW on channel 15 dont know how I am getting that but i am not complaining.
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Old 08-31-2012, 09:46 PM
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I'm amazed too. Analog was supposed to have been outlawed, for the most part, after the DTV transition. Surprised to see a few (very few) analog stations still on the air. My cable system is Time Warner, and is said to be 100 percent digital. However, my flat screen Insignia TV still shows "NTSC" in the blue info box at the upper right corner of the screen beneath the channel number, and "ATV" in the upper left corner of the same info box, except for broadcast stations; for the latter, "ATV" is properly replaced with "DTV". Makes me wonder if Time Warner's statement that their cable systems are "100 percent digital" is one hundred percent true.

My best guess is it probably is in fact true, but to get every digital TV station the cable carries, a cable box must be used between the cable from the wall and your TV's antenna/cable connector. (I know Time Warner's systems, including the one serving my small town, are set up this way; in fact, some channels, including the TV Guide Channel, have already been moved to digital tiers.) If you connect the cable from the wall directly to the TV, all you may (probably will) get are your area's broadcast stations and maybe a few cable channels, but again, to realize the full potential of your area's cable system, a box is absolutely necessary.

Some cable systems (such as in Meridian, Mississippi, where VK member radiotvnut is located; there may be other systems in the US doing the same thing or something like it) are now requiring the use of a cable box to receive anything carried on the cable -- including broadcast stations, which are under no circumstances supposed to be scrambled or otherwise made unavailable to viewers with older, analog TVs. How Meridian's system gets away with scrambling everything, including broadcast channels, is far beyond me, unless it is trying its darnedest to get their subscribers to ditch their old CRT analog sets ASAP and replace them with modern, digital flat screens.

Bear in mind that the VHF low-band analog stations on channel 6 and 87.7 MHz (there is such a station in the Cleveland area, WLFM-FM, currently broadcasting endless loops of local pro sports teams fight songs) will eventually disappear when the FCC requires even LPTV (low-power TV) stations and translators to switch to full digital. Even the sound carriers of these stations will disappear, due to the nature of DTV signals, and reception of the station's audio on on FM radios at 87.7 MHz will no longer be possible for the same reasons.
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Last edited by Jeffhs; 08-31-2012 at 09:56 PM.
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Old 09-01-2012, 12:19 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by josephdaniel View Post
Wow did not know there were still that many. I know if i hold my antenna up to my celing and out my window I can tune in to the CW on channel 15 dont know how I am getting that but i am not complaining.
KHPZ-CA, channel 15 in Round Rock rebroadcasts KNVA, the CW station in Austin.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KNVA

Class A stations, I believe must convert to digital by 9/01/2015. They appear to have a construction permit to do so:

http://transition.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tv...=0&facid=35910

jr
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