Over-the air TV in Hernando and Citrus Co

[gamefreak]

With WTSP planning to move their transmitter to Riverview there is one thing I will comment on. What are people in the northern areas of the Bay Area to do. Speically Hernando, Citrus and NW Portions of Pasco. WTSP is the only station most people in Citrus County can pick up. Oh and the Gainesville stations don't go that far south as well.

So over the air Hernando and Citrus will have NO over the air tv stations availible after this. (Besides WYKE, Which skimply covers Citrus.) I know most people now have Cable but still. Now most people to the north won't have TV if cable goes out in stuff.

 

[cd637299]

I cannot answer ya, because I do not live there.....but the DXer in me says, "yesssss!!" Maybe I'll try DXn there soon.

Is WTSP changing their RF channel as well? w9wi had a report about WTSP on (RF) ch 4, which IMO would be a surprise....I didn't think anyone *wanted* to move to 2-6 anymore!

cd

 

[rfrus]

WTSP will still be on RF channel 10 when they move to Riverview. They are building a channel 4 translator in Hernando county to help fill in some of the area they will be loosing when they move to Riverview.

DirecTV or Dish might be an option for areas witg no wired cable,

 

[drt]

http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?stat...t2=&mlat2=&slat2=&dlon2=&mlon2=&slon2=&size=9

The above FCC link (if I'm reading it correctly) looks as though WTSP will have a 300 watt translator/repeater in Citrus county, in addition to their primary tower in Riverview; it looks as though the repeater will be RF channel 4, while the primary will be RF channel 10.

I'm familiar with an area in eastern Hernando county near the Sumter county line, where there are three houses that used to have 25 foot tower antennas and sometimes they would be aimed toward Orlando and other times toward Riverview; since the digital switch over, I notice all three of these houses now have what must be 65 or 75 foot tower antennas for their TV reception and I would guess that is pretty much what people in Citrus county would need for OTA TV reception, if for whatever reasons, they don't want/ cable or satellite.

drt,
st. petersburg,fl

 

[drt]

This can be confusing; when I look at the contour map of the RF channel 4/WTSP translator, it looks as though their tower is in or near the town of Hernando. The town of Hernando is in Citrus county! Are you confused yet?

It also looks as though the primary in Riverview will have considerable less ERP than the site in Holiday. I am one of the dozen people in the bay area that doesn't have cable or satellite TV, I'm not a big TV watcher and even with analogue TV; I seldom watched channel 10; will be intresting to see if I will be able to pick up channel 10 WTSP once they move to Riverview.

I can clearly receive 2 ABC affiliates (WWSB and WFST), but not WTSP.

drt,
st. petersburg,fl

 

[badjef]

Don't feel so bad. We've been without a city grade CBS since December 1994.

But filthy rich in ABC.

I would have liked that #4 translator/repeater here during that time.

mussa been a welfare/charity thing for those up north. People here are too wealthy to settle for OTA. ;D

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

 

[drt]

I apologize in advance, as if the Hernando being in Citrus county (which the town of Hernando is!)isn't confusing enough; I may have contributed to even more confusion; the ABC affiliate in Tampa is WFTS (not the call letters mentioned in my previous post).

I wonder if WWSB would have had a chance to become a CBS affiliate in the channel/network shuffle in 1994? I know they almost lost their ABC affiliation several years ago; I know they are a shoe-string operation. (i.e. local newscast still in standard definition etc).....but for people in Manatee and Sarasota counties that want local news and not Tampa news, they (WWSB) are a godsend.

drt,
st. petersburg,fl

 

[jeff560]

How is it that the FCC is allowing Ch. 10 to move to Riverview when they were denied that in the past because of the spacing to Ch. 10 in Miami? Has there been a change in the rules or is that why WTSP will have a lower ERP? I think WPLG is still on Ch. 10.

P. S. The town of Hernando used to be in Hernando County long ago before there was a Citrus or Pasco county and Hernando was a much larger county.

 

[drt]

How is it that the FCC is allowing Ch. 10 to move to Riverview when they were denied that in the past because of the spacing to Ch. 10 in Miami? Has there been a change in the rules or is that why WTSP will have a lower ERP? I think WPLG is still on Ch. 10.

IF (and that's a big IF!), I'm reading the FCC site info on WPLG correctly, they have been RF channel 9, but have a modified CP to go to RF channel 10 with a very slight directional pattern; the modified CP was granted 10 March 2011.

http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?stat...t2=&mlat2=&slat2=&dlon2=&mlon2=&slon2=&size=9

drt

 

[rfrus]

When the big network switch happened in 1994, channel 62 in Sarasota tried VERY hard to get a CBS affiliation. WINK channel 11 in Ft. Myers made it very clear to CBS that if CBS gave anyone in Sarasota a CBS affiliation, channel 11 would change affiliation to ABC. That ended that. CBS basically gave up on Sarasota when they moved to channel 10. It will be nice to be able to receive CBS OTA in Sarasota.

 

[rfrus]

Channel spacings changed with DTV. WPLG is no longer short spaced to WTSP with the spacing. The change in power from Holiday to Riverview is insignificant.

 

[drt]

When the big network switch happened in 1994, channel 62 in Sarasota tried VERY hard to get a CBS affiliation. WINK channel 11 in Ft. Myers made it very clear to CBS that if CBS gave anyone in Sarasota a CBS affiliation, channel 11 would change affiliation to ABC. That ended that. CBS basically gave up on Sarasota when they moved to channel 10. It will be nice to be able to receive CBS OTA in Sarasota.

That explains a lot, thanks for the info; I suspected there had to be a reason; I had forgotten about channel 62 being in the Sarasota/Bradenton area at the time; of course, now their antenna is in Riverview!

drt

 

[gamefreak]

Don't feel so bad. We've been without a city grade CBS since December 1994.

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

Doesn't WINK out of Ft. Myers cover portions of Sarasota County. Or just the southern part. I lived in Bartow for some time and I could pick up a better signal out of Ft. Myers than from WTSP at times. However I was lucky for the most part I could just barely pick up WTSP. Unlike what you said the many of people in Sarasota County as well as the Heartland Counties.

 

[flwfg]

I'd be happy with a 30-40 foot tower in Manatee County myself....

 

[JayR]

Don't feel so bad. We've been without a city grade CBS since December 1994.

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

Doesn't WINK out of Ft. Myers cover portions of Sarasota County? Or just the southern part?

WINK has been the de facto CBS affiliate for Sarasota County for years. Comcast in southern Sarasota County carries WINK.

I'm surprised WTSP and WWSB haven't made a deal to carry each other's signals on their respective subchannels...or are they not allowed to do so?

 

[rfrus]

WINK may be the CBS station for southern Sarasota county, but in northern Sarasota county and the city of Sarasota WINK has no better a signal than WTSP.

WINK has a Construction Permit to change from channel 9 to channel 50.

 

[drt]

I'm surprised WTSP and WWSB haven't made a deal to carry each other's signals on their respective subchannels...or are they not allowed to do so?

My guess is that WINK TV would oppose such a move, if WWSB had a subchannel, but since they don't that's a mute point. WTVT and WWSB do not have subchannels. I believe every other full power station in the area has a least one subchannel and some have as many as three subchannels.

drt,
st. petersburg

 

[rfrus]

There is nothing left for channel 11 to oppose. The construction permit has already been granted. The time to oppose would have been during the comment period before the CP was granted. Channel 10 IS moving to Riverview.

 

[azumanga]

When the big network switch happened in 1994, channel 62 in Sarasota tried VERY hard to get a CBS affiliation. WINK channel 11 in Ft. Myers made it very clear to CBS that if CBS gave anyone in Sarasota a CBS affiliation, channel 11 would change affiliation to ABC. That ended that. CBS basically gave up on Sarasota when they moved to channel 10. It will be nice to be able to receive CBS OTA in Sarasota.

There's more to the story -- ABC originally planned on disafilliating WWSB, as WFTS had a good signal going into Sarasota. When WWSB threatened to take ABC to court, the network decided to keep ABC on WWSB, despite its Rye transmitter being only 20 miles south of WFTS's in Riverview.

 

[badjef]

I still, and will remain so, contend with the advancements we make with regard to efficient use of spectrum, that the ellimination of analogue TV will have been unnecesary. That the "vital interests" of the public have not been served by the transition to digital. In fact, have been ignored by the transition.

I receive WINK, I don't receive WINK. Scan again, 10-15 minutes later, other channels there, others not. Tampa TV there, then not, then there again with another scan.

I want my SNOW back! I had everything and then some.

OTA is dead! Most people don't know it still exists.

Have a power outage and your handheld analogue TV shows you the "Brian Norcross" of your area.

FCC says, "NAY, NAY". and "Spectrum is at a premium" "We need bandwidth!"

Eventually, "bandwidth is (or will be) at a premium" will go by the wayside, just as the statement, "Like death and taxes, static will always be with us" has been disproven. (Who knows, maybe "nobody will ever need more than 640kb" will come back?)

I say, they are pushing technologies before we are ready for it. But ignoring the current needs and eliminating them. - that is a very hazardous, and, might I add, dangerous combination?

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!