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Bye-bye KXII?

JHBrandt

JHBrandt

Waaay back in '06, KNAV-LP applied for a digital companion station on RF channel 12. They never acted on it.

But with the analog KNAV/22 off the air and that construction permit about to expire, Mako applied for, and received, a 6-month extension. So it looks like KNAV will be back, probably as soon as KTVT abandons RF 11.

KNAV's FCC coverage maps aren't working at the moment, so the precise impact is unclear, but that's obviously bad news for DFW-area fans of KXII. KXII is rarely easy to receive in the metroplex, and having a new LP station on the same frequency certainly won't make it any easier.

Oh well, I can still shoot for KLTV/7 in Tyler, although I'll have to get the signal through my neighbor's trees somehow....
 
JHBrandt said:
So it looks like KNAV will be back, probably as soon as KTVT abandons RF 11.

KNAV's FCC coverage maps aren't working at the moment, so the precise impact is unclear, but that's obviously bad news for DFW-area fans of KXII. KXII is rarely easy to receive in the metroplex, and having a new LP station on the same frequency certainly won't make it any easier.
Click to expand...

I have an archived map of the channel 12 facility here:

http://www.onairusa.com/knav/knav_ld12.BDCCDVL-20061010AKY.gif

If indeed that map is accurate, it appears the LD facility will be on Chalk Hlll and so highly directional that it won't interfere with KXII.
 
Thanks for the map. I expected the FCC made sure that KNAV won't interfere with KXII within the latter's coverage area. But folks like me, who are outside of KXII's coverage area but often get it anyway, are far more likely to suffer interference even with a very directional antenna.

FWIW, from the map it looks like I'll be just within KNAV's coverage area. I'm about 10 miles south of KXII's and about 15 miles west of KLTV's, although TVFool.com predicts a stronger signal from KLTV. TVFool doesn't know about my neighbor's trees, though ;)
 
LibertyNT said:
You'd Have a Better Chance Getting KETK 56. They Seem TO Have The Strongest Signal Of The East TX TV's.
Click to expand...

Ironically, KETK is possible now that KNAV's analog signal is off the air, since they shared RF channel 22. I've gotten KETK when conditions are good for tropo, even though my UHF antenna faces the wrong way!

TVFool says KLTV's my best bet, as VHF diffracts over hills better. Besides, VHF is less effectively blocked by those neighboring trees. But I won't neglect KETK.
 
JHBrandt said:
Waaay back in '06, KNAV-LP applied for a digital companion station on RF channel 12. They never acted on it.

But with the analog KNAV/22 off the air and that construction permit about to expire, Mako applied for, and received, a 6-month extension. So it looks like KNAV will be back, probably as soon as KTVT abandons RF 11.

KNAV's FCC coverage maps aren't working at the moment, so the precise impact is unclear, but that's obviously bad news for DFW-area fans of KXII. KXII is rarely easy to receive in the metroplex, and having a new LP station on the same frequency certainly won't make it any easier.

Oh well, I can still shoot for KLTV/7 in Tyler, although I'll have to get the signal through my neighbor's trees somehow....
Click to expand...
Let me put it in perspective with a ham radio example. Take a regular ham radio broadcast (KXII) and then someone starts calling out "CQ CQ" over that broadcast (KNAV) but is interfered with the main broadcast. (KETK) being the move to thanks to the CQ caller. Right?
 
That's basically right but digital makes things even worse. Back in the analog days I'd expect to see co-channel interference, so a snowy, fading KXII picture would get even worse as a ghost of KNAV's picture drifted over it - but I could still watch it if I were willing to put up with the QRM. But with digital you need 15db S/N to get anything at all, and in my case KXII is just barely above that at best. So any increase in the noise level and KXII is gone.

OTOH, the S/N for KETK probably improved when KNAV shut down its analog signal. The main thing that makes KETK challenging is the distance: 90+ miles is pretty tough for a UHF signal. But sometimes conditions are just right and it refracts right around the curvature of the Earth.
 
I just checked with TVFool, and here, KFDX would be the best bet with it being at 4.2 dB above TVFool's noise margin level. KXII, and KETK have no chance here.
 
You can "cheat" the noise margin a bit if you use a high-gain antenna. TVFool puts KXII at -9.9 dB at my home which sounds pretty hopeless, but with an antenna with 10 dB gain, I'm just barely able to get it. Usually only at night.

Of course, that assumes there are no other impairments, such as trees, that TVFool doesn't account for. And installing a new antenna (and possibly other equipment such as a rotator) just to get one or two stations is rarely worth the effort.
 
JHBrandt said:
You can "cheat" the noise margin a bit if you use a high-gain antenna. TVFool puts KXII at -9.9 dB at my home which sounds pretty hopeless, but with an antenna with 10 dB gain, I'm just barely able to get it. Usually only at night.

Of course, that assumes there are no other impairments, such as trees, that TVFool doesn't account for. And installing a new antenna (and possibly other equipment such as a rotator) just to get one or two stations is rarely worth the effort.
Click to expand...
Yes, but spending the money isn't worth getting KXII, or any other station.
 
One last footnote on this topic: KXII is safe for DXers. (Whew!)

KNAV's construction permit for channel 12 was not extended a second time and has expired. Looks like KNAV is going all in for RF 22, their former analog assignment.
 
JHBrandt said:
One last footnote on this topic: KXII is safe for DXers. (Whew!)

KNAV's construction permit for channel 12 was not extended a second time and has expired. Looks like KNAV is going all in for RF 22, their former analog assignment.
Click to expand...

DXers?!?! Heh, heh, heh. By virtue of my plain dumb luck of a good location, KXII is virtually a local up in 75035! :)

On the other hand, the anemic KFWD with all of 13 kW is more like a DX catch. Not really, but when there's tropo from Waco/Temple, KFWD does take a beating there.
 
Bob E. Nelson said:
JHBrandt said:
One last footnote on this topic: KXII is safe for DXers. (Whew!)

KNAV's construction permit for channel 12 was not extended a second time and has expired. Looks like KNAV is going all in for RF 22, their former analog assignment.
Click to expand...

DXers?!?! Heh, heh, heh. By virtue of my plain dumb luck of a good location, KXII is virtually a local up in 75035! :)

On the other hand, the anemic KFWD with all of 13 kW is more like a DX catch. Not really, but when there's tropo from Waco/Temple, KFWD does take a beating there.

Well, it's location, location, location. You're pretty close to their service contour, I think (and you've mentioned your site has good height).

Further south, KFWD is far enough off-axis from the Waco stations that KFWD is fine even with tropo. But with poor height and way too many trees, KXII is the challenge here. (But it's been better since a neighbor's tree lost its leaves!) :D
Click to expand...
 
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