New Freedom Tower As Transmission Site

[MoldaMania182]

Those in here who believe the average person has all of the technological goodies to receive Netflix and Hulu etc (which also require a monthly fee) has their heads in the sand.

I guess that's 30 million heads in the sand.

Drive around parts of Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx, or areas of New Jersey around Newark and the Oranges and you'll find people who don't own Hi Def TV's but do use converters for their old sets. It's this group which needs OTA TV to remain so that their reception of programs will continue. I've just switched to Fios and my monthly bill is nearly $150 a month after taxes are added. Many lower middle class incomes can not afford a bill like this every month.

Put bluntly those below their means in the areas you described aren't exactly advertisers high priority anyway.

 

[badjef]

But I believe that under the current rules, if you drop OTA, then you may lose 'must carry' from the cable companies. Not likely with NBC but some of the LP stations probablt rleely on that.

That's interesting, too. Inasmuch as OTA gives a cradibility that a non-OTA "network" doesn't.

Case in point: Monday Night Football on ESPN does not have near the number of viewers as when it was on ABC OTA.

It appears just the perception of OTA gives a credibility to a channel it would not have. Look at the local cable news, "12", "NY1", our "SNN", or Brighthouse "Bay News 9". But if it is a OTA with Network Affiliation, it's golden.

I still contend OTA as a medium is dead. But the perception by the viewer OTA is very much alive and that is what these stations are banking on.

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

 

[HippieGuy]

I've gotta tell you, "knowing a lot of people" is not exactly accurate research. Chances are if you post on this board, you're technologically inclined. It's also likely that a lot of people you know are also well versed in technology.

Yeah exactly. I don't know a single person that uses OTA tv reception. So I could just as easily conclude that nobody is cutting the cord.

Maybe markets are different when it comes to OTA. I, like BarryAtl, am in Atlanta (North Atlanta). A long time cable/satellite subscriber, I now have OTA. I went to Radio Shack, purchased a HD antennae for less than $50. It weighs less than a pound, about 7" x 12", sits inside my window. I get better reception than any paid service, football games are unreal..get all the Atlanta stations, plus their sub channels..this equals to about 50 channels. Installed another antennae in my attic, at a cost of $140.00 (150 mile radius). I get all the locals, one or two from Chattanooga TN and Huntsville,Al.

In Atlanta, OTA is becoming a booming business. Many 'under employed' TV repairmen have now expanded to 'antennae installation'

 

[Steve Green NEPA]

The engineering dispute goes on, vis-a-vis power or height.

It's clear there soon will be another engineering stalemate, because the top of 1WTC's antenna mast will be higher than the former site.

IIrc, the protected contours of the Balt-DC FM and VHF stations crossed between the Empire State Building and the World Trade Center. Every FM or TV to move to the North Tower was effectively short-spaced to Balt-DC. So if memory serves, the powers of all those newly-relocated stations had to drop correspondingly.

An even taller site means less power again. The new site is north of the former site, but only by a couple hundred feet. I'm guessing that the distance will be a negligible factor in tests. Still, it stands to reason that the engineers who prefer height will urge the move south for some stations. Those who prefer the oomph will stay put.

(I don't know how VHF TV works in these days. I'm not an engineer ; only a DXer-DJ. But I have heard the ongoing dichotomy -- FM power v height -- among a group of four NYC broadcast-engineer pals for a few decades now).

 

[Ai4i]

The engineering dispute goes on, vis-a-vis power or height.

Someone please tell me how WQXR's signal (610w@1365') compares with WNYE's (2kw@922'), the only non-directional full B1 at 4TS.

 

[Walter Graff]

Don't kid yourself. The original towers when built were always considered by some really just a perch for most all of NYs transmitters and that brought in major income to the owner. One of the first things discussed in building it again was getting back that income. This time they basically made it look more like a TV antenna than a building with an antenna. Many if not all will move back due to both monetary and political reasons. Money talks and tax breaks and political favors will see the new antenna... ummmm, I mean the building sporting most of NYs transmitters again.

 

[luperm]

The engineering dispute goes on, vis-a-vis power or height.

Someone please tell me how WQXR's signal (610w@1365') compares with WNYE's (2kw@922'), the only non-directional full B1 at 4TS.

They are quite similar, actually.
Maybe 105.9 is a hair better, but not by much, IMHO.

 

[henry]

The younger generation actually loves free HD TV paired with Netflix and Hulu. I hear it a lot. OTA is going no where.

Sums me up. I'm under 30. Never getting cable.

 

[davideduardo]

Money talks and tax breaks and political favors will see the new antenna... ummmm, I mean the building sporting most of NYs transmitters again.

The location never was liked for FM... except for a few, like WPAT, which had to be there to meet separation requirements. It's really unlikely that FMs would spend major money... not to mention breaking lease requirements... to move to a location that produces less signal over the northern NJ and NY counties in the MSA, while putting more signal outside the market to the southern end.

The argument about TV already presented is convincing: OTA is basically the way to keep "must carry" with ease. It really does not matter where the site is, and major money and infrastructure have been committed to the ESB location.

The new location would have to offer better facilities, lower costs and subsidies for moving expenses as well as a rent holiday as long as the old contracts had to be paid. Remember, a stations does not call the moving van to take the transmitter to a new location some late night... they buy new transmitters, install them, and then close the old ones. Transmitters are not cheap, nor is the installation, the plumbing and the combiners.

 

[WNTIRadio]

The original FM master antenna on WTC was too low on the mast. With the large roof, it caused some oddball radiation patterns for the FM stations, especially close in to the towers. Lots of multipath from bouncing off the concrete cliffs in Midtown.

 

[Tony_Ramirez]

All I know is that radio stations on 1WTC WKCR, WPAT, WNYC & WKTU were so strong that they use to overpower stations on the ESB and I could not get some of them.  This was back with the older Sony cassette Walkman.

Of course I only live about 1 mile from the WTC site. I can even see the Freedom Tower (1WTC) from my kitchen window.

 

[Radaioman]

It will always be Freedom Tower to me!

Let "1WTC" name be retired as a symbol of our letting our guard down and as a memorial to those who needlessly lost their lives and the resilience and courage of those who stepped up to help get things back to normal and make sure it never happens again. And that job continues.

Back to the topic:

WNBC may be exploring the possibility but once they, and the other stations, realize the cost involved in the formal engineering, rent, and commitment, they will opt out as OTA will soon be dead.

I have stated it before, when we had analogue, I had ~30 portable channels. Now, I have none. I have to have an outdoor antenna.

The last time I was in New Jersey, I couldn't even scan for all of The "New York 7" from Sea Bright.

The frustration of freezing and blacking out will doom OTA.

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

1 World Trade is a nice tribute to World Trade center 1. "The Freedom Tower" Was a gimmick that would invite attack.

 

[badjef]

It will always be Freedom Tower to me!

Let "1WTC" name be retired as a symbol of our letting our guard down and as a memorial to those who needlessly lost their lives and the resilience and courage of those who stepped up to help get things back to normal and make sure it never happens again. And that job continues.

Back to the topic:

WNBC may be exploring the possibility but once they, and the other stations, realize the cost involved in the formal engineering, rent, and commitment, they will opt out as OTA will soon be dead.

I have stated it before, when we had analogue, I had ~30 portable channels. Now, I have none. I have to have an outdoor antenna.

The last time I was in New Jersey, I couldn't even scan for all of The "New York 7" from Sea Bright.

The frustration of freezing and blacking out will doom OTA.

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

1 World Trade is a nice tribute to World Trade center 1. "The Freedom Tower" Was a gimmick that would invite attack.

The other one wasn't Freedom Tower but it was still attacked with the World Trade Center name. So, using your logic, the name World Trade Center invited the attack, not Freedom Tower.

In any case, the direction we (as a nation) are taking is away from Freedom, anyway.

So, maybe changing it to something else would be more reflective.

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

 

[Ai4i]

So, maybe changing it to something else would be more reflective.

I would go for, "The Port Authority of New Jersey and New York One World Trade Center National Freedom Office Tower", which would be commonly known as, "The Port Authority Building".

 

[WNTIRadio]

In other words, where our $15 tolls to cross the damn bridges and tunnels go.

What a joke. The whole thing should have been privately funded. Why does the Port Authority need to manage an office building?

 

[badjef]

In other words, where our $15 tolls to cross the damn bridges and tunnels go.

What a joke. The whole thing should have been privately funded. Why does the Port Authority need to manage an office building?

The idea was originally conceived by David Rockefeller when he was on the Board of Directors for the 64/65 New York World's Fair.

It is lengthy but the idea was to have a complex where people could come from all over the world to display their goods and services. World Trade. It helped that transportation was improving with jets that could fly farther and faster, cutting the distance and time for travel. David was also on the Board for Chase Manhattan so there was an incentive to more easily grow the Bank's visibility.

His intention was to solidify New York City as the Trade Capital of the World in the new environment.

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!