[NLRS] OT DTV answer?

[John (JK) Kalenowsky, K9JK]

"James French" <w8iss at wideopenwest.com> wrote:
>
>
> Wondering if anyone has had any luck in finding a list of
> frequencies
> for each of these 'new' channels on the internet or somewhere?
>
> I haven't had any luck and am wondering.
>
> James W8ISS
> =====

James (and rest of list, even though "OT", thinking there *might* be
interest),

Basically EVERY "regular (analog) TV Station" was assigned a second
channel for the Digital Transition. SOME stations will be going back
to their "original" analog channel (Such as Channel 7, 174-180 MHz,
here in Chicago, which is presently on "52" , 698-704 MHz, but will go
back to the "real" Channel 7, 174-180 MHz, after 2/17/09) and others
may go to a DIFFERENT channel than the "transition channel" (Such as
Channel 2, 54-60 MHz, here in Chicago, presently on "3", 60-66 MHz,
but will be on "12", 204-210 MHz, after 2/17/09).

AnOTHER interesting piece of this is that, even though many stations
won't be actually ON their original, long-standing analog channel
'number'/frequency, they will continue to be "known" by THAT channel
number, enabled by some "magic" as required for ATSC compliant tuners,
which have to have some sort of microprocessor and memory in them, to
scan the channels in an area, decode some information from the various
signals received and create/store an internal "translation" table in
the smarts of the tuner (and which sounds like was done POORLY in one
of the converter boxes as Jeff, K0JSP, described).

Using Chicago as an example again, in the case of "Channel 2", the
"DTV Signals" that a viewer will actually be receiving will be in/from
the 204-210 MHz range/Channel 12 (60-66 MHz/Channel 3 "presently"),
though the TV will "tell them" they are watching "Channel 2".

THAT (keeping the "long-standing" channel number from "analog" days) 
may be why James is not readily finding any internet references to 
"new" and "old" channel numbers, to "Joe/Mary Average TV Viewer", they 
are PURPOSEFULLY trying to keep that masked. (And maybe it makes it 
easier for "TV Guide" and other publishers of TV program 
listings/schedules?)

"FCC to the Rescue"

Here is a link to a list at the FCC's web site, showing the "NTSC"
(Analog) Channel Number and the "DTV" Channel Number (presently JUST
the POST-transition, channel number, you'd have to go back and
research to see transition channel numbering, possibly in an earlier
version of this document, usually an appendix to one of the FCC
Releases/Report and Orders/etc. regarding the transition to "Digital"
TV or dig through the TV Query that I mention in the next paragraph)
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-08-72A2.pdf
This borders on "TMI" (Too Much Information) but at least it is
ordered by State and City (though, using Chicago as an example again,
it is necessary to keep in mind that Aurora and Joliet, Illinois and 
Gary and Hammond, Indiana are part of the "Chicago" television 
"market").

Yet another FCC Resource (and with a LOT of TMI potential) is the "TV
Query" at http://www.fcc.gov/mb/video/tvq.html
Info can be found there about the "Low Power TV" and "Class A"
stations which can continue to broadcast in Analog after 2/17/09, as
well as channels being used in "transition" by the stations (best way
to do that is to search a specific callsign for a station, such as
WBBM for Chicago, which shows the assignments of 2, 3 and 12).
Criteria can be added to limit the search to a radius around a
lat/lon.

If this was not of interest, kindly excuse my exploitation of the 
bandwidth.

73, JK