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Arizona TV Station Update - August 2008

dhett

dhett

As always, questions, additions, comments and corrections welcome.

Call sign changes

  • K55KC Quartzsite (Hispanic Christian Community Network - HCCN) has changed its call sign to KRPO-LP.

Special Temporary Authority granted

  • KSWT 13.1 (16) Yuma (Pappas Arizona License) has been granted an extension of its STA to broadcast at lower power. The extension was requested due to financial hardship and expires Feb. 17, 2009, at the end of the transition period.
  • KAZT-CA 7.1 (27) Phoenix (KAZT LLC [The Londen Group]) has requested and has been granted an extension of its STA to operate digital facilities on UHF channel 27. It has now submitted a formal application for digital facilities, but on UHF channel 36.
  • K25HD Bullhead City (Richard D. Tatham) has requested and has been granted an extension of its Silent STA. The station has been silent since February since a storm damaged the studio-transmitter link tower. The station anticipates commencing digital operations in July 2009.

Construction permits granted

  • KDPH-LP 48 Phoenix (Community Television Educators [Daystar]) has been granted a permit to build a digital companion channel. CH: 46; TL: 33-20-1 N, 112-3-45 W (South Mtn); ERP: 15 kW; HAAT: 487 m. The station was assigned call letters KDTP-LD instead of KDPH-LD.
  • KKAX-LP 36 Hilltop/Kingman (Tri-State Broadcasting) has been granted a permit to build a digital companion channel, KKAX-LD. CH:38; TL: 35-4-53 N, 113-54-14 W (Hualapai Pk); ERP: 2 kW; HAAT: 1078 m.
  • KTAZ 39.1 Phoenix (NBC Telemundo) has been granted a construction permit for its inital post-transition facilities, at 50 kW. The 550 kW maximized facilities have not yet been approved.
  • K53JA Flagstaff (EICB-TV East) has been granted a displacement application to move to Mt. Elden near Flagstaff, and to flash cut to digital on UHF channel 42. Its new callsign will be K42IQ-D. As a result, the station's application for a digital companion channel on UHF channel 29 has been dismissed. At it was to be part of an auction between them and TBN's K51HV in Cottonwood for channel 29, the station's displacement permit clears the way for K51HV to obtain their digital companion channel, as theirs is now a singleton application.
  • K27IJ Tacna (HCCN) has been granted permission to move its antenna location.
  • KYMA 11.1 Yuma (Yuma Broadcasting Company) has been approved for its post-transition facilities on VHF channel 11.
  • KBFG-LP 51 Flagstaff (KM Communications) has been granted a construction permit to move its facilities from Bill Williams Mtn. outside of Williams to Mormon Mtn. near Flagstaff.
  • KAJB 54.1 Calipatria CA (Calipatria Broadcasting Company) has again been granted a construction permit to build post-transition facilities after having reduced the power from 201 kW to 155 kW. After two weeks, the CP has not yet been rescinded, so I think it's safe to assume that Mexican approval has been secured. Ch: 36; TL: 33-3-2 N, 114-49-38 W (Black Mtn.); ERP: 155 kW; HAAT: 476 m
  • KECY-TV 9.1 El Centro CA (Gulf-California Broadcast Company) has been granted a construction permit to build post-transition facilities. Ch: 9; TL: 33-3-19 N, 114-49-44 W (Black Mtn.); ERP: 50 kW; HAAT: 484 m
  • K63HJ Laughlin NV (9th Island Broadcasting Company) has been granted a construction permit to move to the new transmitter location.

Modifications filed to existing construction permits

  • K25HD Bullhead City (Richard D. Tatham) has requested to raise the power of its proposed digital facilities from 6 watts to 30 watts. The old facilities were predicted to serve Laughlin NV and the northern areas of Bullhead City near the river. The new facilities are expected to cover the rest of Bullhead City all the way down to Mohave Valley.
  • K25AL Lake Havasu City (Lake Havasu Christian Television [Richard Tatham]) has applied to increase the power of its proposed digital facilities from 6 watts to 1 kW and to move its transmitter from the city center to Goat Hill about 5 miles north of the city, where the rest of the city's television transmitters reside. Whereas the old facilities were predicted to cover the central part of the city, the new facilities are predicted to cover the entire Lake Havasu City area.
  • K27EC Lake Havasu City (Lake Havasu Christian Television [Richard Tatham]) has applied to increase the power of its proposed digital facilities from 6 watts to 1 kW. Whereas the old facilities were predicted to cover the extreme northern part of the city, the new facilities are predicted to cover the entire Lake Havasu City area.
  • K36DU Lake Havasu City (Richard D. Tatham) has applied to increase the power of its proposed digital facilities from 7 watts to 1 kW. Whereas the old facilities were predicted to cover the extreme northern part of the city, the new facilities are predicted to cover the entire Lake Havasu City area.

Silent stations

  • K46GX Henderson NV (KLAS License) has announced that it went silent on 7/2/2008 and has requested a silent STA.

Transactions

  • Latin America Broadcasting, owners of KVPA-LP, have agreed to sell the station to KRCA License. The sale is pending FCC approval.

Applications filed but not yet approved

  • K51HV Cottonwood (TBN of Arizona) has requested a CP for a digital companion channel on channel UHF 29. It had been in a mutually exclusive group with a digital companion to Lawrence Mintz' K53JA, but once Mintz sold the station and the new owner, EICB=TV East, received permission instead to flash cut to digital on channel 42, the TBN application became a singleton.
  • K44BB Window Rock (Kee Long) has modified its application to relocate its transmitter, specifying a new location about 1-1/2 miles north of the previous one and about 6 meters lower.
  • The application of K30ES Globe (Globe LPTV) to move to UHF channel 50 broadcasting from South Mtn. has been accepted by the FCC and will likely be granted if there are no petitions to deny filed by mid-September.
  • K27IJ Tacna (HCCN) has applied for a license to cover construction. Having been to the area where the transmitter is supposedly located, not only did I not find any signal, I couldn't even see any evidence of a transmitter having been built. Applying for a license prevents the contruction permit from expiring, but it's a phantom station.
  • KRPO-LP 55 Quartzsite (HCCN) has applied for a license to cover construction. The station is not transmitting.
  • KFPH-TV 13 Flagstaff (Telefutura Partnership of Flagstaff) has notified the FCC that it is operating at 5% power due to damage to a tube. The station had been granted permission to terminate analog operations around September 1, but expects to actually terminate analog operations in mid-September.
  • K59BP Verde Valley (Camp Verde TV Club) has applied for a license to cover construction of new facilities broadcasting from Mingus Mtn. on UHF channel 46. The new station is broadcasting, but whereas the old station rebroadcast KNXV-TV 15 Phoenix, the new station rebroadcasts K21GE, the local 3ABN affiliate. The station's new call sign will be K46IL.
  • K63HJ Laughlin NV (9th Island Broadcasting Company) has applied for a license to cover its original construction permit.
  • KHDF-CA 19 Las Vegas NV (Una Vez Mas) has requested a minor change to its license, removing the beam tilt from the antenna pattern.
  • K11QQ Hildale UT (Bonneville Holding Company) has applied for flash cut authorization.

Applications dismissed

  • The FCC has dismissed an application by Lawrence H. Mintz to build a digital companion channel to K53JA on UHF channel 29. The station K53JA has been sold to EICB-TV East and has been granted a flash cut to digital on UHF channel 42, so the digital companion channel on 29 is no longer necessary.
  • The FCC has dismissed an application by Bonneville Holding Company to build a digital companion channel to K20GJ on UHF channel 29.

Expired construction permits

  • The construction permit for K55BW Madera Peak (KSAZ License [FOX]) to move to UHF channel 22 has expired. They have filed a replacement application.

Digital transition notes

  • K53GF Phoenix (Spanish Independent Broadcast Network) has begun to announce its intention to be broadcasting in digital from UHF channel 38 by the end of October.
  • KUVE-TV 46 Green Valley (Univision Tucson) was scheduled to terminate analog broadcasts around September 1. As of the evening of September 4, they were still broadcasting.
  • Speculation is confirmed that KCFG 9 Flagstaff (KM Communications) was trying to rimshot into Phoenix. The peanut-shaped signal pattern is predicted to encompass northern Phoenix, Scottsdale and Paradise Valley. See FCC filing.
 
dhett said:
  • KUVE-TV 46 Green Valley (Univision Tucson) was scheduled to terminate analog broadcasts around September 1. As of the evening of September 4, they were still broadcasting.
Click to expand...

...in fact, still broadcasting on both Channel 46 (KUVE-TV) and Channel 38 (KUVE-CA) as of 7:50 A.M. on 5 September...
 
Ultimajock said:
dhett said:
  • KUVE-TV 46 Green Valley (Univision Tucson) was scheduled to terminate analog broadcasts around September 1. As of the evening of September 4, they were still broadcasting.
Click to expand...

...in fact, still broadcasting on both Channel 46 (KUVE-TV) and Channel 38 (KUVE-CA) as of 7:50 A.M. on 5 September...
Click to expand...

The analog channel 38 signal won't go away, nor will the digital channel 46.1 (KUVE-TV) or 46.2 (KFTU-CA) signals. Only analog 46, and that's because the facilities on Mt. Bigelow aren't large enough to handle the transmitters for both pre- and post-transition KUVE digital and KUVE analog, and being on Forest Service land, they can't expand the facilities. Now if you ask, Why are they moving back to channel 46 post-transition when they could have stayed on channel 47? - that's a good question.
 
My guess is that they won't kill the analog until the last possible minute, which is to say, when the transmitter/tower crew/whoever arrives. They just got authority to kill the analog as early as September 1.

- Trip
 
I took a second look at KAJB-DT's new CP and I'm wondering how permanent it's supposed to be. The directional pattern they've chosen limits power to the east severely--Yuma gets almost nothing. The bulk of that 155 kW is aimed right at Calipatria, everyone else gets a reduced number (which drops off pretty quickly).

I'm wondering if they might try and get themselves moved to a clearer channel some time in the near future, like a 16 or something.

- Trip
 
Don't let the field strengths fool you. Double the power doesn't translate to double the distance.

The FCC service map gives a better picture, but keep in mind that where the signal contour passes east of Yuma is a mountain range. Beyond that range lies the Mohawk Valley, which stretches on for another 35 miles, but has a population of about 10,000, and that might be generous.

KAJB's CP contour picks up nearly all of the Spanish-speaking audience in the area, including Mexicali, which has more people than the entire Nielsen market.
 
dhett said:
Don't let the field strengths fool you. Double the power doesn't translate to double the distance.

The FCC service map gives a better picture, but keep in mind that where the signal contour passes east of Yuma is a mountain range. Beyond that range lies the Mohawk Valley, which stretches on for another 35 miles, but has a population of about 10,000, and that might be generous.

KAJB's CP contour picks up nearly all of the Spanish-speaking audience in the area, including Mexicali, which has more people than the entire Nielsen market.
Click to expand...

I'm aware that doubling the power doesn't double the distance, but do you realize just how much the power drops off? Yuma will be getting about 6.97 kW (!) in its direction (assuming Yuma is at the 150 degree position on the antenna). That's it. Indoor antennas are out for the most part if you want to watch that. Compare to KVYE-DT at 1000 kW, all of which is going in that direction.

Mexicali (assuming 230 degrees) gets about 91.2 kW, which isn't so bad. El Centro (assuming 250 degrees) gets about 124.2 kW.

- Trip
 
I'm not sure how you're calculating your numbers, as 150 degrees is 21.2% power. Yuma, BTW, sits at 155 degrees, which interpolates to about 25% power.
 
No, that number is not percent, that number is "relative field value."

To find the ERP (power, for those less technically-inclined), you square the field value in that direction, then multiply by the maximum ERP. .212 * .212 * 155 = 6.97 kW.

- Trip
 
Not a lack of technical inclination; just a lack of training. I wondered if the relative field value needed to be squared, but didn't have time to check it out. Ah well.

Since Yuma is at 155 degrees, based on the azimuth value of KSWT, the field strength can be interpolated to 0.25, so that would be 0.25 * 0.25 = 0.625 * 155 kW = 9.7 kW avg power, which should easily cover the 28 miles to Yuma from the antenna located at a HAAT of 476 m, or 1561 ft. All of the cities are well within the 48 dBu contour.
 
I wasn't directing that "less technically-inclined" at you, but at others who are probably looking at this conversation and going "what are these two talking about?" =)

9.7 kW will make it with an outdoor antenna no sweat, if I was in the shoes of the people at KAJB, I'd be thinking more about indoor antennas. I imagine that more people in cities attempt indoor antennas than outdoor antennas (not living in a city, I couldn't tell you, but it would make logical sense).

The other factor, I suppose, would be signal quality. If the station is engineered really well, the signal will carry farther. First-hand experience, two digital stations come from the same mountaintop (this is several years ago). One is at 17.9 kW, the other is at 186.3 kW. The 17.9 kW one pegs the signal meter, the 186.3 kW one is barely in the usable range, drops out, and is generally miserable to receive.

I guess we'll find out next year. =)

By the way, if you're interested (both in the numbers and just what it is I'm doing awake at 4 in the morning), I spent a few hours researching JavaScript and threw together some calculators based on some Java code I wrote last semester to calculate a few DTV-related numbers, including the directional pattern number. Here it is: http://www.rabbitears.info/calc.php

- Trip
 
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