Cable Channels via OTA Translators?

[Stanislav]

I seem to recall a reference to there having once been a few rural areas unserved by cable (and before direct satellite services) where certain cable channels were made available via translators. Is this true, what is the legality of doing so regarding FCC licensing, and are there still any around?

 

[Ultimajock]

...Trinity Broadcasting Network has hundreds of LPTVs operating across the country; they officially began as translators of TBN's Orange County station, KTBN/40. I've lived within signal range of four of them (in Madison, Oshkosh, Janesville and La Crosse, Wisconsin) and have never seen a legal ID, for KTBN or the translators themselves, on any of these stations...

 

[Stanislav]

...Trinity Broadcasting Network has hundreds of LPTVs operating across the country; they officially began as translators of TBN's Orange County station, KTBN/40. I've lived within signal range of four of them (in Madison, Oshkosh, Janesville and La Crosse, Wisconsin) and have never seen a legal ID, for KTBN or the translators themselves, on any of these stations...

Well, TBN is in a class by themselves (even though they have no class). : I was referring more to communities that had several translators repeating things like MTV, USA, Nickelodeon, etc.

 

[Markxxx]

There used to be quite a few communities that couldn't get cable and when dishes weren't available, they put up small "Cable" via over the air networks.

This is generally paid for via the property tax or other assesment.

Go to this page http://www.northpine.com/broadcast/mn/tv.html

And they will give you the stations affiliation and the owner of these "over the air" cable systems

 

[dhett]

I was just in one such community tonight - Duncan, Arizona. In addition to the broadcast networks - half from Tucson, half from Phoenix - they also offer Showtime, CNN, ESPN, TNT, TBS and WGN. It's operated by Southern Greenlee County TV Association.

http://www.dvec.org/sgctva/sgctva.html

 

[w9wi]

...Trinity Broadcasting Network has hundreds of LPTVs operating across the country; they officially began as translators of TBN's Orange County station, KTBN/40. I've lived within signal range of four of them (in Madison, Oshkosh, Janesville and La Crosse, Wisconsin) and have never seen a legal ID, for KTBN or the translators themselves, on any of these stations...

Translators and LPTVs that aren't originating programming are allowed to ID in a way that's not visible on an ordinary TV. See FCC regulation 74.783(a).

The ID is in Morse Code, accomplished either by shifting the station's frequency by between 5 and 25KHz, or by 30% *amplitude* modulation of the aural carrier.

 

[dhett]

Per that FCC reg, there's a second option: the primary station can broadcast the calls and COL of the translators. They have to do so twice between 7AM and 9AM and between 3PM and 5PM.

Now that's not even remotely practical in the case of the TBN translators, due to the sheer volume of stations, but smaller networks, such as Almavision, do broadcast the calls and COL of their translators.

 

[azumanga]

smaller networks, such as Almavision, do broadcast the calls and COL of their translators.

I recall Value Vision, in the days before ShopNBC, doing the same thing:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:K29cf.jpg

The old Channel America did this as well.

 

[Joe_Capitano]

Translators and LPTVs that aren't originating programming are allowed to ID in a way that's not visible on an ordinary TV. See FCC regulation 74.783(a).

This isn't quite the same thing, but CKVU Vancouver has an alphanumeric legal ID imbedded in its vertical blanking interval (for the novices: it's that black stuff that surrounds a TV picture. You need a vertical hold control to even see it, and that's an 'endangered species' these days).

I would imagine there are others who do that as well.

 

[dhett]

Translators and LPTVs that aren't originating programming are allowed to ID in a way that's not visible on an ordinary TV. See FCC regulation 74.783(a).

This isn't quite the same thing, but CKVU Vancouver has an alphanumeric legal ID imbedded in its vertical blanking interval (for the novices: it's that black stuff that surrounds a TV picture. You need a vertical hold control to even see it, and that's an 'endangered species' these days).

I would imagine there are others who do that as well.

KASW in Phoenix uses it, but co-owned KTVK does not.