[PVRCNC] WUNC TV tower

Thu Mar 6 08:24:43 EST 2008

First of all in regards to WUNC, here is a map of coverage for the
digital signal.
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=80&q=call%3dwunc%26type%3dD

Analog:
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=80&q=call%3dwunc%26type%3dA

WUNC Analog is 100kW, Digital (on channel 59) is 893kW, though after
the analog sunset they will be going to channel 25.  Got that?
Basically you dont need to do anything (other than a quick re-scan of
channels) when they switch over.  DTV is MUCH more efficient than
analog with the power.  On Digital radio (known as HD Radio) we use
ONE PRECENT of the analog power.  So a 100,000 watt FM station would
broadcast a 1,000 watt digital signal.

WUNC tech info:
http://www.recnet.com/cdbs/fmq.php?facid=69080&jaws=0

Personally I have had issues getting the analog signal but fine with
the DTV signal.  IMHO the location of the tower could not be much
worse in comparison to the other broadcast towers.

Analog and DTV are located on the same tower at WUNC so it is not going away.

Now for the DTV change over.... there will be a collective SIGH from
TV engineers when they can finally shut down the analog.  In many
instances, they have been keeping some of these transmitters just
barely on the air.  Why invest a ton of money into it when it will be
just shut down?  Some stations have already given up and just shut
down the analog because they cant keep the "POS" transmitter they have
on the air. There are very few doing that yet.  I was out at the
Clayton TV (Channel 4, 22D, 50, 11, etc) tower farm a couple of weeks
ago getting a run through of every station out there.  Some of the
analog transmitters were kind of vintage.

And more... NOW the FCC is saying that the February 19 2009 analog
shut down may just be a "TEST".  And may not force the changeover to
digital on that date. (!!??!?!?!??!)  This should confuse anyone else
that THOUGHT they had an understanding of what was going on.  Leave it
to the gummit to mess ANYTHING up (I work with the gummit.....TRUST
ME).  And they want to try and handle health care??!???!!!  But I
digress..........

Now here is in interesting situation....

Dateline Chicago.... WBBM CBS owned and operated TV station on Analog
channel 2..... they tried digital channel 3, but found out about E
skip and tropo (since they are right next it Lake Michigan.... having
been from the area it is killer).  Their digital signal was getting
killed by propagation.  Anyone with have a cell in their head would
have seen this coming... but AGAIN I digress......  So they went to a
UHF channel.  Well they decided they want to be on VHF for digital so
they requested channel 11..... which happens to be the analog channel
for the local PBS station WTTW.  So what will happen to WBBMs digital
channel on February of next year.... only the shadow knows.....

Want to be more confused???   LPTV and translators will not be
"required" to transition to DTV, and there are no real plans to force
them to change.  That includes the LPTV stations in the Raleigh area.

Confused enough?  Heck soem of us are TRYING to consult with
organizations on what to do......

On a side note.... I apologize that I have not been a part of the
meetings or contests.  I had a family member die in a car accident and
then I ended up in the hospital myself for a little while.  Just
trying to get back on my feet again.

Kent Winrich
K9EZ/4/LID/b0zo
Fuquay-Varina, NC
BroadcastPro.Biz

On Thu, Mar 6, 2008 at 7:37 AM, Steve Jackson <kz1x at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Brian K3KO mentions a challenge picking HDTV signals up from the NCPTV "Chatham" TV tower.  Map-wise, the tower is located just south of the Orange-Chatham county line, slightly to the west of Jones Ferry Road and generally southwest of Carrboro.
>
> I guess it's already been figured out that the VHF-4 output (60 kW visual) at this site is only NTSC.  I will miss that mode when it's relegated to history, coming up soon.  I also wonder who will get to use the parts from thousands of obsolete multi-kW NTSC VHF transmitters?  There are two at the Ch. 4 site alone, and one of them is solid-state.
>
> There are several amateur services also located on this tower, which is only a few miles from my house.  (It's even closer to Rob KA1ARB.)  OCRA operates a UHF and a 6 meter repeater there, and PCRN operates a 2 meter repeater.  All the antennas for these are on the comms platform at 1000' and that puts them at 1760' above ground.  How do I know?  I was one of the guys who planned and executed the installation.  Quite a view from up there.
>
> Also on this tower, but a little lower, is the 162.55 MHz NOAA weather channel.
>
> Try picking one of these signals on the ham bands, to see about path to this tower from where you are.  It can be handy to correct for azimuth errors, and overall is a good way to really experience differences of propagation, based on wavelength, above 30 MHz.
>
>
>
>
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