It's Official: KFWD gets license for RF 9

[JHBrandt]

A mere two years after receiving their application, the FCC has granted KFWD a license to operate on RF 9 at 13 kW.

They still have the CP to go up to 55 kW until next May. Any chance they'll follow through on it? 13 kW has been enough for me but folks who are in the path of tropo from KCEN, like Bob, could really benefit from 6 extra dB.

 

[Bob E. Nelson]

They still have the CP to go up to 55 kW until next May. Any chance they'll follow through on it? 13 kW has been enough for me but folks who are in the path of tropo from KCEN, like Bob, could really benefit from 6 extra dB.

Without revealing my source (about as good as it gets), it is what it is. Don't expect to see 55 kW on RF-9.

 

[jd]

I'm sure somebody else has wondered the same thing, but seriously, why couldn't KCEN have found a better place than RF-9?

 

[Bob E. Nelson]

I'm sure somebody else has wondered the same thing, but seriously, why couldn't KCEN have found a better place than RF-9?

KCEN was originally allocated RF-50. Per a NRPM released February 20, 2001, on behalf of "Channel 6, Inc.":

By the Chief, Video Services Division:

1. The Commission has before it a petition for rule making filed by
Channel 6, Inc. ("Channel 6"), licensee of station KCEN-TV, NTSC
channel 6, Temple, Texas. Channel 6 requests the substitution of
DTV channel 9 for station KCEN-TV's assigned DTV channel 50.

2. In support of its proposal, Channel 6 states that the adoption of
its proposal will permit comparable coverage of station KCEN-DT's
service area at a far lower cost. Channel 6 claims that utilizing
VHF facilities will result in the station saving hundreds of
thousands of dollars in construction costs and will reduce
electricity costs by at least $14,000 per month. Moreover, Channel
6 states that viewer identification of a VHF channel 9 operation
will be augmented by the fact that KCEN's analog and digital
operations would be in the same frequency band.

3. We believe petitioner's proposal warrants consideration. DTV
Channel 9 can be substituted for DTV Channel 50 at Temple, Texas,
as proposed, in compliance with the principle community coverage
requirements of Section 73.625(a) at coordinates (31-16-24 N. and
97-13-14 W.). In addition, we find that this channel change is
acceptable under the 2 percent criterion for de minimis impact that
is applied in evaluating requests for modification of initial DTV
allotments under Section 73.623(c)(2). We propose to substitute
DTV Channel 9 for DTV Channel 50 for station KCEN-TV at Temple with
the following specifications:


State & City: TX Temple
DTV Channel: 9
DTV power (kW): 7.5
Antenna HAAT (m): 573

 

[jd]

Okay, I understand, and thanks for passing that along. There was a discussion here once about why KFWD decided to go with RF-9, and given the problems WFAA has had next door, they must regret their decision. Or do they?

 

[JHBrandt]

Interesting:

      State & City:  TX Temple
      DTV Channel:   9
      DTV power (kW): 7.5
      Antenna HAAT (m): 573

They actually ended up asking for (and getting) 25 kW rather than a measly 7.5 kW.

Before the transition, many stations believed the VHF-Hi band was preferable, due primarily to lower power requirements. If their analog operation was VHF, the savings from continuing to use VHF equipment added to the preference. But a VHF-Lo analog station like KCEN would not have wanted to exercise their option to return to their analog channel post-transition. So asking for RF 9 probably seemed logical at the time, even if it didn't work out in the end.

I don't believe a word of the "viewer identification" balderdash, though. Most viewers have no clue what RF channel KCEN is operating on. At best, RF 9 would have allowed KCEN's viewers to continue using VHF-only antennas (if that's what they'd been using in the analog era) but that's about the only conceivable viewer advantage for RF 9 over RF 50.

 

[LibertyNT]

I can't get over how stupid the folks at Belo are acting with KFWD,
did they not learn with WFAA that Chan 9 is absolute garbage in the Digital world?

KFWD came in So excellently before the transition, now its gone for me forever.

if Fox, NBC, AND CBS figured out VHF wasn't worth it, why does Belo insist?
CBS 11 learned the hard way VHF does NOT work well with Digital.

 

[JHBrandt]

I think VHF-Hi can work, but you've got to have power. And the power vs. antenna height derating rules are just too strict.

At 55 kW, WFAA just barely works (though they had to get a waiver to go to even that power level). I was hoping KFWD would follow in WFAA's footsteps, but apparently it's not gonna happen.

 

[JHBrandt]

I can't get over how stupid the folks at Belo are acting with KFWD, did they not learn with WFAA that Chan 9 is absolute garbage in the Digital world?

KFWD came in So excellently before the transition, now its gone for me forever.

Sometime last week KFWD/52's signal strength improved noticeably at my home. It had read consistently in the mid 70's through 7/14, but by 7/19 it had jumped to the upper 80's, on par with WFAA/8. It's been up there through today.

So if you're getting WFAA, KFWD might be worth another try.

 

[Megapsycle]

I'm getting a solid unwavering 100% on KFWD's signal where WFAA's is 96-98, in NW Dallas

 

[JHBrandt]

Late last week KFWD's signal strength dropped back to where it was before 7/19. Still OK, but not nearly as strong as it's been for the last few weeks.

 

[JHBrandt]

From about 8/15 through 8/29 KFWD's signal quality was way up again (reading in the low 90's on my Philco converter box). But it's back to the 70's again.

I believe the changes were due to varying interference from WFAA/8 as they've been testing mobile DTV.

 

[mikl73]

During a recent trip home to my parents in Midlothian I set up rabbit ears on the TV since they get TV via dish. During the winter they lost TV several times and many other times during severe weather.

Nothing I did would work for WFAA. Being slow close to the TX sites I was rather shocked. In Memphis I have RF 5 and 13 locally to deal with and therefor have experience with digital via VHF.

Choosing 9 is a terrible choice unless they just could not get a UHF channel.

Does anyone know what the cable penetration rate is for DFW? I know in My hometown of Memphis it is actually very high.

 

[fredcantu]

We had a discussion earlier that overload from strong nearby FM stations can wreak havoc with VHF digital TV reception.

 

[JHBrandt]

Choosing 9 is a terrible choice unless they just could not get a UHF channel.

To be fair, they made that choice well before the DTV transition, when few knew how bad VHF-Hi would be for digital TV. The irony is their pre-transition digital channel was RF 51, which probably would have worked out a lot better.

KFWD may be difficult to receive with rabbit ears in Midlothian. Their 13 kW signal is even weaker to their south (only 1.4 kW ERP!) to avoid interfering with KCEN in Waco. You're close enough that it shouldn't matter, but even though KCEN's signal is quite weak in Midlothian, without a directional antenna it may still cause problems for KFWD.

For WFAA, you could try putting an FM trap between the rabbit ears and the TV. FM stations are quite strong in Midlothian. You might also try Ken Nist's suggestion for rabbit ears:

Additional gain is achieved by making the elements horizontal, making the antenna a straight dipole. Assuming your living room has space for this and that you can keep the antenna far away from anything metal, the following lengths (subtract an inch or two for metal eye protectors) should be used.


2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

109” 99” 91” 80” 74.5” 84” 81” 78” 75” 72” 69.5” 67”


The straight dipole has nulls to the sides that can eliminate interference.

These lengths are about 5/4 wavelength for VHF-Hi, so this trick turns your rabbit ears into two 5/8-wavelength antennas. The idea is to optimize sensitivity at RF 8, so WFAA becomes stronger relative to other signals it's picking up. Unfortunately that makes your rabbit ears almost 7 feet long, so it may be rather impractical. If so, you might try 32" instead (16" per ear), which is 1/2 wavelength for RF 8 (about 1/4 wavelength per ear).

Try lining the rabbit ears up with a compass needle (i.e., almost exactly N-S). That sounds counterintuitive but will weaken most VHF and FM signals, especially KERA (FM 90.1), which is probably your strongest FM signal. Hopefully it'll still let in enough of WFAA's signal to receive. (You should, of course, adjust the UHF loop independently of the rabbit ears.)

 

[TexasTom]

Does anyone know what the cable penetration rate is for DFW? I know in My hometown of Memphis it is actually very high.

Cable penetration in DFW is a bit under 50% per statistics on the TVB website. A bit over a third of DFW households are on satellite, with the remaining sixth watching TV OTA-only.

 

[fredcantu]

Many may be watching a mix. I have satellite but usually watch the locals OTA. Maybe it's just me, but I think OTA looks better.

 

[jd]

To be fair, they made that choice well before the DTV transition, when few knew how bad VHF-Hi would be for digital TV. The irony is their pre-transition digital channel was RF 51, which probably would have worked out a lot better.

There's something else that has gone down, something that nobody could have forecast--channel 51 may be eliminated:

http://boards.radio-info.com/smf/index.php?topic=196500.msg1743599#msg1743599

Of course this doesn't mean KFWD made the right decision by going to 9, but they might have wound up with trouble of a different sort had they stuck with 51. (Then again, as the article implies, the FCC might not stop there.)

 

[mikl73]

Thanks guys for the suggestions. This unfortunately had to meet the PAF (parental acceptance factor) which is much like the wife acceptance factor.

I didn't want them sitting there with no news or weather through another storm. The get all the channels well except for WFAA and I would bet its overload from FM also. I my try an FM trap next trip to Texas. I don't expect it to get much use. I'm sure I will probably have to remind them that the have the option (and remind them how) to flip the TV over.

 

[JHBrandt]

To be fair, they made that choice well before the DTV transition, when few knew how bad VHF-Hi would be for digital TV. The irony is their pre-transition digital channel was RF 51, which probably would have worked out a lot better.

There's something else that has gone down, something that nobody could have forecast--channel 51 may be eliminated:

http://boards.radio-info.com/smf/index.php?topic=196500.msg1743599#msg1743599

Of course this doesn't mean KFWD made the right decision by going to 9, but they might have wound up with trouble of a different sort had they stuck with 51. (Then again, as the article implies, the FCC might not stop there.)

Oh, for crying out loud! Do they expect us to believe the geniuses who bought the spectrum formerly used by channel 52 didn't realize they needed to reserve a 1-2 MHz guard band against interference from broadcasters on channel 51, so broadcast TV has to lose a full 6 MHz to fix their mistake? Not buying it.

I guess this means KHFD won't be getting the 15 kW upgrade they just applied for. Probably should start checking them on the FCC's (or RabbitEars's) TV query to see if they decide to take advantage of the FCC's generous 60-day offer :

As for KFWD, I suppose they could've stayed on 51 for a few years longer - even if they eventually ended up getting bumped down to 9 anyhow.