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KETK OTA Signal down?

S

stdjsb25

With the announcement of KETK's Full Power DT signal going up yesterday......anyone notice that KETK's full OTA Analog/DTV signal is off the air? And anyone know why? Their website hasn't said anything about it.
 
I hear they are having trouble with both the transmitter and transmission line, as well as with their old analog transmiter. Sometimes when it rains, it pours. I believe the digital channel transmitter and its antenna feed line were purchased used. Sometimes there is a reason why people get rid of things....
 
Could be some stations along the Gulf Coast had some barely-flooded equipment for sale--had been through only once hurricane.Used car lots are loaded with vehicles from the same area.
 
nuzguy said:
Could be some stations along the Gulf Coast had some barely-flooded equipment for sale--had been through only once hurricane.Used car lots are loaded with vehicles from the same area.
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I know that you intended to make a joke, but at least one usually relaible source has told me that you may be closer to the truth than you suspect.
 
Chuck said:
I hear they are having trouble with both the transmitter and transmission line, as well as with their old analog transmiter. Sometimes when it rains, it pours. I believe the digital channel transmitter and its antenna feed line were purchased used. Sometimes there is a reason why people get rid of things....
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That has got to be one of the most idiotic decisions ever made by KETK........anyone know if they've managed to fixed the problems?
 
Management and engineering should have known better, if the used equipment angle is true. Dicey enough trying to hold position in the Tyler (or any) market without providing on-and-off, hit-or-miss service with equipment that may or may not function reliably. Once viewers are driven away by sloppy broadcasting, getting them back is doubly a problem.Again, if the difficulty IS attributable to "pre-owned" equipment (read that "someone else's problems"), how much more than new gear would have cost will the station spend trying to scotch tape together what it's stuck with now?
 
nuzguy said:
Management and engineering should have known better, if the used equipment angle is true. Dicey enough trying to hold position in the Tyler (or any) market without providing on-and-off, hit-or-miss service with equipment that may or may not function reliably. Once viewers are driven away by sloppy broadcasting, getting them back is doubly a problem.Again, if the difficulty IS attributable to "pre-owned" equipment (read that "someone else's problems"), how much more than new gear would have cost will the station spend trying to scotch tape together what it's stuck with now?
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I spent over 35 years in the sound reinforcement business. One thing I learned (the hard way) is ALWAYS use new wires. The cost of troubleshooting bad wiring far exceeds the cost of starting out with new materials. If you are going to have problems with something, at least limit it to something you can easily get to without ladders or special equipment. That includes an avoidance of crawling through ceilings and walls, or worse yet climbing a tower. In this case, the "used wire" appears to be the rigid feed line that interconnects the transmiter to the antenna. That is not something that is easy (or cheap) to fix. Penny wise and pound foolish, as they say....My SWAG opinon (scientific wild assed guess) is they went as cheap as possible with the idea that the station is for sale, and it would soon be someone else's problem.
 
Chuck is right. ComCorp's financial problems didn't spring up in 24 hours after KETK fell into technical SNAFU mode. Corporate was well aware that it's likely time to dump the station, so why put new tires on a car that you're about to sell off anyway. (Somebody will buy it, bad rubber and all.)Phil Hurley may not be exactly loved by one and all, but have to admit the guy does run some kind of television operation. So whether this situation would have occurred had Hurley still been at Channel 56 is interesting, but moot.Let the speculation begin, although it won't change the fact that KETK is in dire straits and its problems won't be solved until it's acquired by a company willing to pour money into a station shakily situated among three stations in what is basically a two station market, as far as available ad revenue is concerned.
 
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