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What's up with KVFW 38?

JHBrandt

JHBrandt

It's a low-power Spanish religious station. (There seem to be dozens of these in north Texas, all sporting call letters with the pattern K?FW. KDFW is an exception, of course.) They're analog but they have a permit to switch to digital.

Anyhow, it's been off the air most of this week - neither an analog nor a digital signal. Today they seem to be back, still in analog but at very low power. I can barely make out the video, and the audio is completely buried in static.

It's almost as if they dropped to their digital power level but, uh, forgot to start broadcasting in digital! WTF?
 
KVFW is off the air again today. I've discovered part of the reason why, though: it appears their programming, Reino Unido Network, will be moving to channel 50-2 soon.

They haven't moved yet, but 50-2 switched from color bars to a Reino Unido logo today.

Still would like to know what will become of this station.
 
JHBrandt said:
KVFW is off the air again today. I've discovered part of the reason why, though: it appears their programming, Reino Unido Network, will be moving to channel 50-2 soon.

They haven't moved yet, but 50-2 switched from color bars to a Reino Unido logo today.

Still would like to know what will become of this station.
Click to expand...

They've got a CP (not just an application, the grant was made on 29 DEC 2009) to become an LD from Cedar Hill with 15.0 kw. You alluded to this in the initial message.

The ``K?FW'' family of stations -- I counted a total of 7 -- all have either pending CPs or apps to go digital. That seems like a lot of DTV facilities devoted to Spanish language religious programming, especially in light of KDTX-4 and all of the subchannels that MAKO is leasing on thier numerous LDs.
 
Bob E. Nelson said:
JHBrandt said:
KVFW is off the air again today. I've discovered part of the reason why, though: it appears their programming, Reino Unido Network, will be moving to channel 50-2 soon.

They haven't moved yet, but 50-2 switched from color bars to a Reino Unido logo today.

Still would like to know what will become of this station.
Click to expand...

They've got a CP (not just an application, the grant was made on 29 DEC 2009) to become an LD from Cedar Hill with 15.0 kw. You alluded to this in the initial message.

The ``K?FW'' family of stations -- I counted a total of 7 -- all have either pending CPs or apps to go digital. That seems like a lot of DTV facilities devoted to Spanish language religious programming, especially in light of KDTX-4 and all of the subchannels that MAKO is leasing on thier numerous LDs.
Click to expand...

I know of seven: KBFW, KHFW, KPFW, KQFW, KSFW, KVFW, and KZFW, whose licenses are owned by three different individuals or churches. (Each owner holds two or three licenses.) Three of these already serve the DFW area as analog stations, KPFW moved to the DFW area with their switch to digital, and except for KHFW, the others will reach at least the northern part of the metroplex. I was exaggerating when I said "dozens," but when you count the number of subchannels made available by the switch to digital, then add in REDAdvenir on (analog) 28, Genesis on 31.2, and of course Enlace USA on 58.4, there theoretically could be dozens of Christian stations serving the north Texas/southern Oklahoma Hispanic community!

Maybe the churches are just hedging their bets and will move forward with only the best construction permits the FCC gives them and drop the others. I've already speculated on another thread that jemir.org will drop their plans to convert KZFW, since running an analog station on channel 6 gives them a sort of "free" simulcast on FM radio (most FM radios can be tuned to the channel 6 audio carrier at 87.75 MHz). OTOH, their KPFW-LD station is still broadcasting only color bars, so who knows?
 
Sure enough, KPFW has multiplexed their signal. I have no idea what Jemir.org wants with four subchannels. Perhaps they'll lease most of them out.

We're getting an abundance of new low-power bandwidth. Reino Unido, formerly on KVFW 38 analog, is airing on 50-2 now. 50-3 and 50-4 are still available, though, as are KJJM's 34-3 and 34-4.

It's possible that KVFW has switched to digital also but is simply too weak for me to receive. I played around with tvfool.com today and the predicted signal strength at my address is very weak unless I tell it my antenna is 19 feet above ground. (Apparently their transmitting antenna isn't very high compared to other stations.) Has anyone gotten anything tuning their digital TV or converter box to channel 38?
 
I tried tuning it when I raised it to 150 feet. And here's the best part, it was only at 10%!
 
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