Rattlesnake Mountain Question

[KML0224]

Here's a strange question for the board: We all know that Rattlesnake Mountain in Farmington is home to many TV transmitters and (WRCH-FM 100.5). Can I ask why it was never chosen as the site for WFSB-TV/DT or WUVN-TV/DT? Did WVIT-TV/DT choose the site because of New Britain being their city of license?

 

[kms575]

Is there a requirement that that DTV signal had to be placed in close proximity to the analog? That may explain it. Could it also be a spacing issue? Just throwing out a few thoughts/ideas.

 

[Whale]

My guess is that Avon Mountain is closer to Hartford and is actually a taller mountain. In some cities, the transmitters are all in the same place. In Connecticut they are scattered for whatever reason.

 

[DJKraze]

If you think about when channel 30 was setting up shop in the early days, they had a different line of sight than they do today from the studios to transmitter site. I think WKNB was actually IN New Britain and the line of sight to Avon is not as good as it was to Farmington, and the original service area for the station was much closer especially for the harder to pick up UHF stations in those days and they might have felt it easier to reach the target market from Farmington. Plus they weren't trying to overlap the areas served by WATR. WTIC AM was already located in Avon and by the time ch 3 came to be the most logical choice for them would be on property they already owned in addition to being line of sight. Of course I'm not entirely sure how they did studio to transmitter links in those days, I'm assuming it isn't much different than some of the systems I had to use back in the mid-80's (though the stuff at the station I was at was not a over-the-air STL, I am somewhat familiar with the equipment of that time). As for the other stations, just like most of radio chose Meriden Mountain, the remaining TV stations seem to choose the Avon site.

 

[radiolives]

Why didn't any tv stations pick West Peak Mt.? I would think because it is closer to New York City.

 

[kms575]

Would I be right in assuming that WFSB Channel 3 could not have been located any further south because of KYW in Philadelphia?

 

[ansky212]

Would I be right in assuming that WFSB Channel 3 could not have been located any further south because of KYW in Philadelphia?

Not sure, but I wouldn't think so. Hartford -> Philly is about 200 miles. I don't see how the few-mile difference between Avon Mt. and Rattlesnake Mt would make any difference.

 

[kms575]

Would I be right in assuming that WFSB Channel 3 could not have been located any further south because of KYW in Philadelphia?

Not sure, but I wouldn't think so. Hartford -> Philly is about 200 miles. I don't see how the few-mile difference between Avon Mt. and Rattlesnake Mt would make any difference.

True. I was also partially responding to the West Peak question though. Once you get to Meriden, you've reduced that distance by a good 20 miles.

 

[BRNout]

If you think about when channel 30 was setting up shop in the early days, they had a different line of sight than they do today from the studios to transmitter site. I think WKNB was actually IN New Britain and the line of sight to Avon is not as good as it was to Farmington, and the original service area for the station was much closer especially for the harder to pick up UHF stations in those days and they might have felt it easier to reach the target market from Farmington. Plus they weren't trying to overlap the areas served by WATR. WTIC AM was already located in Avon and by the time ch 3 came to be the most logical choice for them would be on property they already owned in addition to being line of sight. Of course I'm not entirely sure how they did studio to transmitter links in those days, I'm assuming it isn't much different than some of the systems I had to use back in the mid-80's (though the stuff at the station I was at was not a over-the-air STL, I am somewhat familiar with the equipment of that time). As for the other stations, just like most of radio chose Meriden Mountain, the remaining TV stations seem to choose the Avon site.

Rattlesnake Mountain is a very good spot for a tx tower and worked quite well for channel 30 and, later, channel 61. With regard to channel 3 (WTIC/WFSB), remember that they used to serve as Springfield's de facto CBS affiliate as well as Hartford's. They could do that quite well from Avon Mountain and would not do so as well from Rattlesnake. The West Peak question is intriguing and I would love to see some conjecture on this from one of the board's resident scholars. That would seem to be the best spot from which to serve New Haven, Waterbury and Hartford with a solid signal. Any other spot sacrifices a local-grade signal for one of those areas. One wonders how that would have changed the evolution of stations in the Hartford/New Haven market.....

It's worth nothing that parts of New Britain and Bristol (on certain north-facing hills) get a far better signal from Rattlesnake than they would from West Peak - which again emphasizes why channel 30 ended up there. Those were prime service areas for the original channel 30. They also had the translator in New Haven (59) covering that signal hole, and a later one in Torrington (79).

One last thing: WATR had a horrible signal outside of the immediate Naugatuck Valley. I remember visiting my grandparents house in Plymouth back in the 1970s and they got excellent reception of 3 and 30, a good signal from channel 8 and watchable (but snowy) signals from 18, 22, 24 and 40. Even the occasional summer skip bringing 6, 10 and 12 from Providence. But, not a thing on 20. Mind you, Plymouth is the town that borders Waterbury to the north. We never, ever, saw that station until they were offered on cable in the late 1970s. Their transmitter unit must have been powered by a gerbil!!

 

[KML0224]

I'm in the south end of New Britain. The upward slope of Walnut Hill begins near my home and rises as you head north and northwest. Sure, you might not have problems with reception at the top with New Britain General Hospital or at the WW1 monument (the highest point in New Britain), but it's a different story with me. With a so-called "sweet spot", my strongest digital reception is with WTXX (CW), WEDH (PBS), WVIT (NBC) and WTIC (FOX). Walnut Hill screws up my Avon Mountain reception of WFSB (CBS) and WUVN (UNI), to a signal of no more than 2/3, no matter how I place my antenna. If I turn the antenna more to increase reception of WTNH (ABC) and WCTX (MY), the previous stations all suffer a bit. I don't even bother with WHPX (ION).

 

[necrat123]

Don't forget that there once was TV on top of West Peak in Meriden. WATR was on the mountain top while on channel 53. In fact the old antenna and tower are still laying down on the ground next to the WZMX transmitter building up there.

I believe WFSB (Then WTIC-TV) set up shop on Avon because Travellers owned the property when they had WTIC-FM/AM up there. Co-locating their TV outlet made sense up there.

 

[BRNout]

Mike,
Any idea about what kind of range WATR had when they were up on West Peak? Who were they affiliated with back then? By the time I was old enough to remember, WATR was on that flea-powered stick that barely dribbled a signal into Wolcott.

That is a fantastic spot to site an FM transmitter and I wouldn't be surprised if it was excellent for UHF as well. With a decent amount of juice, I'd imagine that a watchable OTA signal could have easily been seen from Long Island to Springfield/Chicopee, west to Danbury and east to Danielson.

 

[Bill-in-CT]

I recently saw a Hartford Courant article (6/6/62, pg2) about Channel 8 seeking FCC approval to move the transmitter from Hamden to Middletown. Channels 30 and 22 petitioned the FCC to deny the approval.

 

[DJKraze]

I'm not sure why they would move to Middletown, and where in Middletown would this proposed location be. Not to mention it seems strange that 22 would oject being the same company and all.

 

[KML0224]

They weren't under the same ownership back in those days. Besides, wouldn't it had been ABC channel 40 that would've objected to that move and not NBC channel 22?

 

[DJKraze]

Whoops! Sorry about that, I missed the article date the first time around, I thought this was something new.

 

[fybush]

They weren't under the same ownership back in those days. Besides, wouldn't it had been ABC channel 40 that would've objected to that move and not NBC channel 22?

That would have been CBS channel 40 back then...