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Old 02-09-2017, 07:37 AM
kf4rca kf4rca is offline
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FCC To Repack Channels

All channels above 36 will be required to shift down. While the transmitters are frequency agile to some extent, the antennas are not. Many stations may simply not be able to afford the shift. Is this part of the government's conspiracy to drive OTA broadcasters out of business?
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Old 02-09-2017, 11:37 AM
user181 user181 is offline
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What is the article or reference regarding this?
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Old 02-09-2017, 12:05 PM
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Old thread here with some info:

http://www.videokarma.org/showthread.php?t=266888

jr
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Old 02-09-2017, 01:49 PM
kf4rca kf4rca is offline
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Heard it on the Glenn Hauser World of Radio broadcast on WBCQ (shortwave) yesterday afternoon.
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Old 02-09-2017, 03:08 PM
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FCC Commish speaks after the reverse auctions that started the spectrum repack:

STATEMENT OF FCC CHAIRMAN AJIT PAI ON FOSTERING AN ORDERLY POST-AUCTION TRANSITION
WASHINGTON, February 6, 2017 – Today, we are taking an important step to facilitate a rapid and orderly repack of television broadcast stations following the close of the incentive
auction. Specifically, the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau is waiving the rules prohibiting communication between parties of any incentive auction applicant’s reverse auction bids or bidding strategies. Broadcasters have asked for this waiver in order to make it easier for television stations to engage in planning and coordination for the post-auction transition. I look forward to working with broadcasters and wireless carriers going forward on further steps to ensure a smooth post-auction transition.

The folks above channel 37 sold their spectrum, and now will find their home at/below channel 36.

Repacking
What is repacking and why is it so important to the outcome of the auction?

Repacking is one of three major components of the incentive auction, along with the reverse and forward auctions. It refers to the process of reassigning broadcast TV channels in order to free up spectrum for other uses. Repacking plays a role in the reverse auction. It will help us identify which bids we should accept in order to free up the most spectrum, consistent with interference and other constraints.

Only winners are the Telecoms. Here comes gigabit cell service....
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Old 02-09-2017, 03:15 PM
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WARNING: Prolonged use of this device will cause rapid loss of brain cells.

Surely this is a cash grab for the bureau as well. Can't imagine why they would have done it otherwise.
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Old 02-09-2017, 03:47 PM
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Given that TV resolution has been consistently doubling since NTSC became depreciated, I find this spectrum reduction and repack to be a dangerous and short sighted move. the TV bands may end up becoming jammed, full of same channel interference between markets, etc, plus aren't they trying to implement ATSC 3.0?...They don't want 1 and 3 sharing channels so new/empty channels are needed to keep a station from being stuck on one or the other, or the networks crowding sub-channels off the air on remaining 1.0 transmitters. smashing a already densely packed TV band into having perhaps 0 empty channels in some areas seems EXTREMELY foolish presently....Maybe after the 1 to 3 transition it would be called for, but why now?...Greed/buying market share through paying the fed to legislate away your competition sure seems like the answer (that or blatant relative devaluing of TV relative to cellular as a public service in the eyes of the fed).
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Old 02-09-2017, 04:17 PM
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I just saw an AP article in the paper saying in effect: More homes getting TV reception OTA, increased from 9 to 15 percent in a year or two. The cord-cutting trends have helped this along with availability of antennas from such ubiquitous outlets as Wal-Mart.
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Old 02-09-2017, 05:55 PM
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Just wait for the next ATSC standard (after 3.0) a few years later - gigabit downstream internet OTA (upstream will be via cell or cable) and TV (not streaming video...) that is tuneable/viewable on a cell phone, independent of a cell tower. There would be one channel (actual) per metro area, and 36-72 subchannels in the metro area. This is probably a dozen years off, but the testing is starting....

The E-waste that ATSC 3.0 is gonna create may get some pushback....
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Old 02-09-2017, 08:42 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kf4rca View Post
All channels above 36 will be required to shift down. While the transmitters are frequency agile to some extent, the antennas are not.
There are broadband UHF antennas out there.

WBGU in Bowling Green, OH, has one.

They used it to transmit channel 27 analog and RF channel 56 digital at the same time.

For analog shutoff, they disconnected the analog 27 transmitter from the antenna and retuned the digital transmitter to channel 27.

Last edited by Robert Grant; 02-09-2017 at 08:53 PM.
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Old 02-09-2017, 10:12 PM
Titan1a Titan1a is offline
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I question why FM is still using the same technology developed in the '50's. Why not go full digital with 5.1 using frequencies in the 900 Mhz to 1 Ghz range? Why not convert standard AM to DRM (digital radio mondial) reducing channel allocations and providing high fidelity stereo sound? Once you've heard DRM you'd wonder why it isn't in wide use. I'd also increase transmitter power.
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Old 02-10-2017, 12:31 AM
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Quote:
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I question why FM is still using the same technology developed in the '50's.
Perhaps it has something to do with what David Sarnoff's infamous greed did to Edwin Armstrong.
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Old 02-10-2017, 01:28 AM
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Quote:
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I question why FM is still using the same technology developed in the '50's. Why not go full digital with 5.1
Have you heard IBOC digital on the FM band? I think that it is capable of 5.1, but most stations use the digital signal to broadcast multiple programs, just like the TV sub-channels.

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Old 02-10-2017, 09:15 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Titan1a View Post
I question why FM is still using the same technology developed in the '50's. Why not go full digital with 5.1 using frequencies in the 900 Mhz to 1 Ghz range? Why not convert standard AM to DRM (digital radio mondial) reducing channel allocations and providing high fidelity stereo sound? Once you've heard DRM you'd wonder why it isn't in wide use. I'd also increase transmitter power.
I hope this never happens, my collection of working antique radios will become doorstops if it does. I prefer analog audio wherever possible...My ear can average away analog noise, but digital breakup/dropout can not be averaged away so easily...
Audio quality has a lot to do with RX design. There is analog AM HiFi stereo, and it's audio quality can approach that of a decent FM RX. Most newer AM radios don't bother to design for good audio quality since they assume AM is talk only and need only sound as good as an 80's POTs phone line... Many modern FM tuners are rather halfassed too...If you listen to a high end tube or early SS rig from the years when top 40 AM was king, and classic music audiophiles were the FM market, and demanded that FM sound perfect you will never want digital.
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Old 02-10-2017, 12:28 PM
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Couple of repacking updates:

"UHF Channels 38 thru 50 will soon belong to Cell Carriers. The FCC will be putting out a list soon of the upcoming changes."

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/new...stage-4/162589

http://repackready.com/spectrum-repack-news/

jr

Last edited by jr_tech; 02-10-2017 at 12:36 PM.
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