• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

Arizona TV Station Update - July 2010 (Part 2 of 2)

dhett

dhett

The last half of the post:

Applications requested

  • Gila River Telecommunications, Inc. (GRTI) has applied for construction permits for eight new digital LPTV stations to serve the Gila River Indian Community from four transmitter locations: Maricopa Village, located just outside Laveen near 77th Avenue and Baseline Road; Lone Butte, located just outside Chandler at the GRTI office near 56th Street and Loop 202; Stotonic, near the intersection of Gilbert Road and AZ-87; and Signal Peak, located off AZ-387, about four miles east of the junction with I-10. GRTI is requesting a waiver of the rule that requires applications for new digital LPTV stations to be rural, i.e., transmitter location at least 75 miles from the reference coordinates of Phoenix and Tucson. GRTI argues that, despite being within the 75-mile radius, the Indian Community meets all other definitions of a rural community and claims that their unique cultural and medical needs are not being addressed by any other local, cable or satellite television station. Furthermore, the community has nearly no cable television service. Strictly opinion: GRTI's arguments are valid and the community should be granted a waiver for at least the Stotonic and Signal Peak applications, although I question the need for the Maricopa Village and Lone Butte stations, as they can be adequately served by existing stations. Some of the stations serve parts of Ahwatukee, Chandler and Tempe. Technical specifications of proposed stations:
    • Ch 19; TL 33-17-13 N, 111-57-43 W (Lone Butte); ERP 15 kW directional; HAAT 30 m.
    • Ch 19; TL 33-22-37 N, 112-13-31 W (Maricopa Village); ERP 15 kW directional; HAAT -3 m (55 m AGL).
    • Ch 21; TL 33-9-38 N, 111-48-4 W (Stotonic); ERP 15 kW directional; HAAT 23 m.
    • Ch 21; TL 33-1-49 N, 111-34-29 W (Signal Peak); ERP 7 kW directional; HAAT 21 m.
    • Ch 28; TL 33-22-37 N, 112-13-31 W (Maricopa Village); ERP 15 kW directional; HAAT -3 m (55 m AGL).
    • Ch 29; TL 33-1-49 N, 111-34-29 W (Signal Peak); ERP 15 kW directional; HAAT 21 m.
    • Ch 29; TL 33-9-38 N, 111-48-4 W (Stotonic); ERP 15 kW directional; HAAT 23 m.
    • Ch 30; TL 33-17-13 N, 111-57-43 W (Lone Butte); ERP 15 kW directional; HAAT 30 m.
  • Fort Mojave Television Inc. has amended its application for a new television station to serve Fort Mojave Indian Reservation, changing antenna make and lowering ERP from 15 kW to 1.25 kW. The predicted contour of the old power level put a lot of the signal into uninhabited and terrain-blocked areas; the new power level is still predicted to cover the Mojave Valley from Needles CA to Bullhead City AZ and Laughlin NV. Technical specifications: Ch 23; TL 34-57-50 N, 114-34-13 W; ERP 1.25 kW directional; HAAT -50 m (55 m AGL).
  • KPDT-LD 12.x Prescott (Word of God Fellowship) is requesting a six-month extension of its construction permit, which expired 1/12/2010. The application is confusing in that the facility ID numbers of both the original analog and digital station in the application belong to KPDT Prescott, while the station identified in the application is KPTD Paris TX. Both stations held digital companion channel construction permits which expired 1/12/2010, but only KPTD's was renewed in January; KPDT's was allowed to expire and should not be eligible for extension. The FCC followed the facility ID number and has assigned the application to KPDT-LD.
  • K53IJ Prescott (Gerald Benevides) is once again seeking digital flash cut authorization with a change to an in-core channel, a transmitter location change to a mountain west of Lake Pleasant, and a community of license (COL) change to Sun City. The station still has an outstanding application to change COL to Sun City, move its transmitter to the same location, and flash cut to digital on channel 32. The new application is for the channel vacated by full-service analog station KPAZ-TV, therefore, it will not require Mexican coordination. Technical specifications: Ch 21; TL 33-57-21 N, 112-28-34 W; ERP 15 kW non-directional; HAAT 206 m.
  • K30BQ Needles CA (Needles Community TV Club Inc.) filed a correction to its DTV flash cut application, lowering the tower height from 1833 m (well over a mile high!) to 9 m, lowering the transmitter power output (TPO) from 0.1 kW to 0.008 kW, lowering the effective radiated power (ERP) from 0.631 kW to 0.1 kW and lowering the height above average terrain (HAAT) from 461 m to 455 m. Technical specifications: Ch 30; TL 35-2-9 N, 114-22-14 W; ERP 0.1 kW; HAAT 455 m.
  • K31HY Needles CA (Mohave County Board of Supervisors) filed a correction to its DTV flash cut construction permit, correcting the TPO and ERP from 0.1 kW and 0.006 kW, respectively, to 0.01 kW and 0.1 kW. Technical specifications: Ch 31; TL 35-2-9 N, 114-22-14 W; ERP 0.1 kW; HAAT 463 m.
  • KUTG-LP 58 St. George UT (Lamar Veasey) has filed a displacement application to flash cut to digital and to change to an in-core channel. Technical specifications: Ch 14; TL 37-3-49 N, 113-34-29 W; ERP 1 kW non-directional; HAAT 47 m.

Expired/Expiring construction permits

  • The displacement construction permit to move analog KDTP-LP from channel 58 to channel 11 expired on July 16.
  • The digital companion channel construction permit for K33JY-D, companion to K23HB Flagstaff (Prism Broadcasting Network, Inc.) expired on July 31.

DTV status updates

  • K61FB Globe-Miami (Multimedia Holdings Corporation [Gannett]) has begun digital operations per STA. Technical specifications: Ch 48; TL 33-20-31 N, 110-52-14 W; ERP 3 kW directional; HAAT 685 m.

Mea culpa

  • For quite some time, I have been incorrectly identifying an out-of-core signal in the Verde Valley. According to Roger Doering, operator of The Camp Verde TV Club, the signal on channel 62 is not an unlicensed signal or an STA, but rather, the K18DD studio-to-transmitter link (STL) to Mingus Mountain, which broadcasts at 758-764 MHz (frequencies for channel 62) with the blessings of the FCC. See FCC ULS database entry. STL transmissions must have minimal variance from the direct line to the transmitter, no more than ten degrees total, if I'm recalling the conversation correctly. On the other side of the TV Club's Roadrunner Lane facilities, one can find the K19FD STL to Squaw Peak on channel 39, although due to the much steeper angle of elevation, it is unlikely that one would be able to receive it OTA. I have expressed my sincerest apologies to Roger; apparently a reader notified the FCC, who contacted Roger asking for an explanation, but once he told them it was the STL, they were able to verify it in their database and were satisfied. Roger was very gracious about the incident, but I need to think twice before identifying anything as unlicensed. At least now I know where to look. Welcome to Journalism 101, Dave.
 
What types of programs would be airing on the GRIC's proposed station system? Two per site = maybe 2 subchannels on each to carry the Big Four networks? Is it a service unique to the Gila River community that is being proposed? Wouldn't they still receive OTA signals from South Mountain?
 
Raymie said:
Wouldn't they still receive OTA signals from South Mountain?
Click to expand...

The GRIC is directly south of South Mountain (with a tiny tip on the SW side). You couldn't find a more direct line-of-sight if you were sitting in geometry class.
 
I'll be very surprised if those GRIC applications are approved without channel adjustments. Channels 19 and 30 are occupied by KTTU and KUAT Tucson, respectively - both of whom put good signals into the SE valley and the Gila River community. And IIRC your first part of the update says that Channel 50 got approval to move to 29.
 
I'd have to actually agree with GRTI on the rural community thing. Drive down the Santan Freeway or simply look at a map: Phoenix is one of the few cities whose metro has to cut off abruptly like that.
 
KeithE4 said:
I'll be very surprised if those GRIC applications are approved without channel adjustments. Channels 19 and 30 are occupied by KTTU and KUAT Tucson, respectively - both of whom put good signals into the SE valley and the Gila River community. And IIRC your first part of the update says that Channel 50 got approval to move to 29.
Click to expand...

KDOS-LP 50 Globe, which actually broadcasts from Globe, got approval to move to ch 29; KFPB-LD 50 Globe, which actually broadcasts from Phoenix, will not be changing channels.
 
GRIC won't be carrying any major network programming; nearly all parts of the reservation have a clean line-of-sight to the Phoenix towers. Look for something more like instructional or public broadcasting-type programming, but without the Brit-coms. Why they feel they need eight channels to do this is beyond my comprehension, although money more than likely figures into the equation somewhere. The channel 30 station proposed from the Lone Butte site directs most of its signal to the north and the west. Since the site is on the northern edge of the reservation, about 1/4 from the border with Chandler, and the area immediately around the site is exclusively industrial or resort, the station won't really serve the reservation, but would instead serve Ahwatukee, Chandler, Tempe, southwest Mesa, and the community that may be the purpose for the station: Guadalupe, which is a Yaqui Indian community.
 
KeithE4 said:
I'll be very surprised if those GRIC applications are approved without channel adjustments. Channels 19 and 30 are occupied by KTTU and KUAT Tucson, respectively - both of whom put good signals into the SE valley and the Gila River community. And IIRC your first part of the update says that Channel 50 got approval to move to 29.
Click to expand...

Co-channel interference shouldn't be an issue for the northern stations. What will be considered in the applications is how much does the new station interfere with an existing station's coverage. In the case of KTTU and KUAT, not much, as the populations living within the proposed signal contour are only a drop in the bucket when compared with metro Tucson. The stations should be grantable. Phoenix has other stations that are co-channel with Tucson full-service stations. KUVE used to put a good signal into the Valley on ch 46 until co-channel KDPH-LD started broadcasting. KEJR-LD is co-channel to Tucson's KHRR, although that station didn't put a strong signal into the Valley due to its Tucson Mountains transmission site. Once K23BY-D gets built, KVOA will likely go away too.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom