Much closer here in Somerville, WHDH, WLVI and WSBK are coming in fine with full "bars" after the rescan.
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Latest Area Repack Developments
- Thread starter Channel 83
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Much closer here in Somerville, WHDH, WLVI and WSBK are coming in fine with full "bars" after the rescan.
WHDH changed RF channels, but they were approved about a week ago to temporarily use their auxiliary antenna, 200 feet below the top of the tower, with somewhat reduced power, until work on the new primary antenna at the top is completed.
WSBK is presumably still broadcasting from Cabot St, but from their new RF21 auxiliary antenna, since their eventual permanent home on the CBS tower is still under construction. WSBK has always used less power than many of the other Boston stations and will be using under 200 KW permanently, while WBZ, WCVB, WFXT, WHDH, and WUTF are or will be at 900 - 1000 KW.
alg2468:
Since our reception locations are fairly close together, I thought I'd check in to compare notes.
Did a re-scan just after 9PM this evening.
I'm able to pick up the re-packed WSBK, WLVI, and WHDH...all with signals strong enough to be pixel-free.
TV's unable to find WSBE. I think they may have ceased OTA broadcasting until they move to RF-2
WGBH 2.1, WGBX 44.1, and WFXZ are all too weak for my TV to decode.
And last, but not least....TV is unable to find any trace of WUTF and WNEU.
Hello Channel 83:
As of this morning I can pickup WSBK, WLVI and WHDH, with somewhat less signal strength than before the changeover.
WSBE stopped broadcasting over the air September 20th according to their website. Their website said as of Friday that they will begin transmitting from RF2 on October 31st, and also mention that WLNE and WJAR will changeover to their new RF channels on that date too. However, both WLNE and WJAR announced that they will changeover on Tuesday, October 22nd on their websites as well as their over the air onscreen announcements.
And like you, WGBH 2.1. WGBX 44.1, and WFXZ 24.1 are all too weak - it was announced on this board that WGBH was approved of a power increase but according to WGBH that may not occur until January 2020.
And yes, since sometime last month, WUTF and WNEU are too weak to produce any type of signal. I think that its due to the transmitter work at the CBS facility and the Cabot St towers in Needham for all the Boston stations on the transmitter sites. We'll have to see how good - or bad - the transition will be when WLNE, WJAR and WSBE changeover.
WNEU and WUTF are both broadcasting from the CBS tower but not currently from the top. WUTF is using very low power - 50KW, though they are licensed for about 950 KW.
WLNE and WJAR may go ahead with the transition on Tuesday if they are ready, to avoid remaining at the temporary reduced power they are running now. WSBE does not appear to be too confident on when they will be ready. Also, they maybe saving some money by not rushing this, since per Trip from RabbitEars, they don't get paid additional for this work beyond what they got for agreeing to move to the low band.
On the websites of WLNE and WJAR today, it is stated that the date of the changeover is now on Friday, October 25th due to the chance of rain today.
That explains why WUTF is somewhat weak here in Somerville, not much stronger than they were from out in W. Boylston. WNEU comes in better.
When the CBS tower work is finished, WUTF, WBZ, WCVB, and WGBX will all use about 950 KW at 1250 ft making them the 4 best signals, theoretically covering all of RI, and NH to somewhere north of Concord. WNEU will be limited to 540 KW with a reduced signal to the southwest, which is why they have NBCBoston/WBTS and Cozi on the WGBX signal. One has to imagine what the ever-scheming NBC might have in mind for their next move...
Perhaps the view from 1000 ft over Rehoboth in the wind and rain has been making the tower workers a bit too enthusiastic about how quickly they can finish.
This may seem like an odd question, but why does WNEU have a reduced signal to the southwest - are they trying to protect another station's signal?
I noticed on the rabbitears site that WLNE and WJAR will have their transmitting antennas on the top of the tower with an elliptical and non-directional pattern. Their current (until tomorrow) antennas were directional with a null to the north, and WLNE was side mounted lower on he tower. How much of a signal improvement will the new antennas be for WJAR and even more for WLNE? Seems like a much better signal for areas to the north, like to the Boston area.
Originally, the limiting factor was WHPX. WHPX moved away and now the limiting factor is WLNY.
If you receive WJAR and WLNE now, you should continue to receive it. I expect that the fringes will see improvement for both stations.
- Trip
The new signals are excellent at my location about 35 miles north of Rehoboth - quality for WLNE at 98 and WJAR at 100 in the the scan report. By contrast, the existing signals, operating at reduced power for the last couple of weeks, are around 75.
The new WLNE and WJAR signals are coming in up here in Somerville, just north of Boston. WJAR is stronger with three of four "bars" on my set. WLNE is weaker with only one "bar" but it's steady.
On their old RF channels, I got WJAR most of the time but WLNE only occasionally, until the power reduction when they both disappeared up here.
On their old RF channels, I got WJAR most of the time but WLNE only occasionally, until the power reduction when they both disappeared up here.
Here in the South End of Boston, the new WJAR signal is not coming in as well as the old. Peak signal strength is about the same, but the signal drops out regularly causing the picture to pixelate, whereas the old signal was generally steady except when very windy outside. The new WLNE-TV signal doesn't seem to be any better than the old as the signal is still too weak to generate picture. I'm hoping the signals improve...
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