Quote:
Originally Posted by Penthode
Thanks all. I will hunt further through thge FCC site.
I am curious how many stations after the recent repack ended up on VHF, especially on the low band.
As for ATSC 3.0, the ability for broadcasters to adopt a more rugged modulation configuration means it may enhance DXing!
|
When TV stations go to VHF channels from UHF, their coverage area decreases. The CBS affiliate in Cleveland did this some years ago, moving from UHF channel 19 to VHF channel 4, due to the DTV switch; this move occurred long before the FCC repack. This was, IMHO, a very unwise move because, as soon as the station moved to channel 4, it lost much of its coverage of the Cleveland area, especially east of town. Case in point: I live about 35-40 miles southwest of the Cleveland TV transmiiters (30 miles east of the city of Cleveland itself), including channel 19, now on channel 4. When the station moved to that channel, I found myself unable to watch it using any kind of indoor TV antenna, but it comes in perfectly well on cable. Channel 8 (FOX) and channel 43 (MyTV) are also now on VHF channels (I don't recall offhand what channel the MyTV affiliate moved to), which means I cannot receive them, either, using rabbit ears. I live in an apartment building, so cannot use any kind of outdoor TV antenna; I must have cable to get all seven stations serving northeast Ohio. I have lived where I am now over twenty years, so I have no intention of moving again, and certainly not solely to be able to receive all seven Cleveland TV stations with an antenna.
BTW, I think when all TV went digital in 2008, it pretty much killed TV DXing, as the stations now operate with much, much lower power than they did when they were still analog. I don't see much sense in trying to get TV stations from other cities anyway (if such is actually possible in this age of DTV), since any stations you can receive in other areas (if you can receive the distant signals at all--remember, digital TV is all or nothing, meaning you will either see a picture or a blank screen) will carry the same network programs as do the stations in your own area.