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WLEX-TV Tower
- Thread starter ADAMKY
- Start date
It is definitely WJMM 99.1 on the WLEX tower. The added height is allowing them to cover a similar area with less power, not to mention an improved signal throughout Lexington. By the way, WLEX abandoned their own tower with the switch to DTV last year. WLEX-DT is now transmitted from the WTVQ Ch 36 tower east of town.
KR4BD said:
Now that WLEX has moved to WTVQ's tower you need just two outdoor TV antennas as oppose to the four antennas you needed twenty years ago.
Does WLEX still maintain the Russell Cave Road tower for a back up?
I don't know for sure, but I doubt WLEX has a backup for their digital transmissions on their tower on Russell Cave Rd. Their old defunct Analog signal on channel 18 was there until the June, 2009 Switch to DTV. Their DTV signal is on Channel 39 and has been on the Channel 36 tower all along. Right now, the old Channel 18 tower is sporting two local FMs---WJMM-99.1 and WXZZ-103.3 and I've heard another FM signal may be moving there soon.
The Chief Engineer at WJMM is a friend and I will ask him if WLEX has backup facillities at their Russell Cave location. I'm sure he would know as he just supervised the move of WJMM to that tower.
The Chief Engineer at WJMM is a friend and I will ask him if WLEX has backup facillities at their Russell Cave location. I'm sure he would know as he just supervised the move of WJMM to that tower.
dfwrunner said:
Very few used a rotor in Lexington for local TV except for the high gain antenna to pick up Louisville and Cincinnati. Mostly it was one antenna aimed at WLEX and the other aimed towards WKYT and WTVQ. It was rare to see an antenna pointed towards Clays Ferry where KET is located and even rarer to see one pointed towards Garrard County after WDKY signed on the air.
Speaking of Clays Ferry and towers, who built the other tower?
KR4BD said:
The old DKY tower and no longer used WAVE tower in Oldham County have the same problem, an amazing coverage area but too far away to serve the primary market well.
Here on the SW side of Lexington, from my location using a relatively small Radio Shack combination UHF/VHF TV antenna up 55 feet with a rotor and no pre-amp... I can RELIABLY receive OTA ALL of Lexington's DTV and the following:
WBKI-34 from Louisville
WBNA-21 from Louisville
WHAS-11 from Louisville
WLKY-32 from Louisville (about 50% of the time)
KET-29 from Somerset
WAGV-44 from Harlan (90% of the time)
KET-52 from Owenton
WUPX-67 from Morehead
WLJC-65 from Beattyville
Less reliable:
WAVE-3 from Louisville (very infrequent)
Fox-41 from Louisville
Channel-58 from Louisville
The most frequently seen Cinci station is WLWT-5 (about 25% of the time)
WAVE-3, when analog, was like a local signal to me. WHAS was snowy and the other Louisville stations were very rough, except 34. Cinci's analog signals were very rough to me.
WBKI-34 from Louisville
WBNA-21 from Louisville
WHAS-11 from Louisville
WLKY-32 from Louisville (about 50% of the time)
KET-29 from Somerset
WAGV-44 from Harlan (90% of the time)
KET-52 from Owenton
WUPX-67 from Morehead
WLJC-65 from Beattyville
Less reliable:
WAVE-3 from Louisville (very infrequent)
Fox-41 from Louisville
Channel-58 from Louisville
The most frequently seen Cinci station is WLWT-5 (about 25% of the time)
WAVE-3, when analog, was like a local signal to me. WHAS was snowy and the other Louisville stations were very rough, except 34. Cinci's analog signals were very rough to me.
KyDXIn said:
Back in the days before cable, many homes and businesses (using an MATV) in Lexington had high gain antennas for Louisville and Cincinnati. Just prior to cable coming to Lexington there was a resurgence of these systems for homes. It involved a tower with a long log periodic antenna for VHF and a high gain UHF antenna adjustable by a rotor. The package included an amplified splitter for multiple sets. The only challenge back in the day was WXIX Channel 19 due Channel 18 being in the same direction. Beyond that you could view Louisville and Cincinnati with fairly clean picture. You have to remember, both cities are about 75 or so miles away and Lexington sits on a plateau giving a height advantage. Even with rabbit ears you could view a snowy picture of the high band VHF's from both cities. When WAVE moved to Oldham county they had a solid but noisy picture if you lay the elements horizontal.
As long as we're talking retro Lexington TV who remembers Centerstage? They were a microwave distributed service that offered Showtime and WTBS. On occasion you still see an antenna for the long defunct service.
A lot of things have changed since analog went away. First, WAVE-3 had a 1700 foot tower in La Grange that covered the Lexington AND Cincinnati areas quite well. When they went digital, they relocated to a much shorter tower in Southern Indiana and moved to Channel 47, much farther from Lexington and Cinci. Both Lexington and Cincinnati have lost WAVE since the switch. Channel 21 was rarely seen here when analog, but their DTV transmitter is on Channel 8, which comes in quite well to me. Louisville's Channel 11 was a little snowy when analog, but they are clear most of the time on their digital signal which is also on channel 11. When WHAS was on BOTH analog and digital, their digital was on Ch 55 which I never saw here, but when they had to shut the analog off on Channel 11, they moved their digital to 11 and I can see it again. Most of the Cinci stations, when analog, were snowy to really snowy and their digital signals are rare, but Channel 5 does gets through once in a while.
Remember, I am in SW Lexington, near the Jessamine Co. line. My antenna is up 55 feet and I do NOT use an amplifier. People on particularly high ground with amplifiers blow my reception away!
Remember, I am in SW Lexington, near the Jessamine Co. line. My antenna is up 55 feet and I do NOT use an amplifier. People on particularly high ground with amplifiers blow my reception away!
Back on subject....
My friend at WJMM says he does not think WLEX has a second DTV transmitter (backup facility) at their old Russell Cave Analog tower location. A third FM station is scheduled to move to the WLEX tower soon. So, it appears WLEX has a new business going regarding their old tower....renting space to radio stations!
My friend at WJMM says he does not think WLEX has a second DTV transmitter (backup facility) at their old Russell Cave Analog tower location. A third FM station is scheduled to move to the WLEX tower soon. So, it appears WLEX has a new business going regarding their old tower....renting space to radio stations!
In my experience few TV stations have backup facilities due to the cost except in major markets. Like in radio, the use of multiple power amplifier modules has greatly enhanced the reliability of television transmitters. Many stations have direct links wired into cable operators in their city of license.
From my location in north Lexington, on a ridge, a medium gain yagi antenna at 35 feet with a medium gain preamp pulls in the Louisville UHF stations solid: 80-100% on the TV’s signal strength indicator.
Thanks to all who replied to my query re: the WLEX-TV tower.
From my location in north Lexington, on a ridge, a medium gain yagi antenna at 35 feet with a medium gain preamp pulls in the Louisville UHF stations solid: 80-100% on the TV’s signal strength indicator.
Thanks to all who replied to my query re: the WLEX-TV tower.
Kinda had the same deal 70 miles north of WHAS TV. When they first went on 55, I saw them OK. Then a channel 54 or 56 DTV signed on at full power 12 miles west of me. That was the end of 55, but once they moved to 11, it was back to having a rock solid signal here, just like it always had in analog.KR4BD said:
T
Tri-State Media
Guest
KR4BD said:
I can back that up. In Florence, KY (just outside Cincy), we could pull in WAVE 3, no problem. Not an option anymore. But we can (albeit BARELY) squeak out the Dayton signals which are 20-30 miles closer (in general) than Louisville's Floyd's Knobs tower farm.
Jeremy...
Now that WCPO has moved their Digital signal from channel 10 to 22, I see WCPO about 40-50% of the time....It's usually breaking up, but it is there more than the other Cinci stations. I would say that in this direction, WCPO is now more apt to show up than WLWT here in SW Lexington. I do see channels 12, 19 and 64 at times, but rarely get 48.
Now that WCPO has moved their Digital signal from channel 10 to 22, I see WCPO about 40-50% of the time....It's usually breaking up, but it is there more than the other Cinci stations. I would say that in this direction, WCPO is now more apt to show up than WLWT here in SW Lexington. I do see channels 12, 19 and 64 at times, but rarely get 48.
T
Tri-State Media
Guest
KR4BD said:
The fact that you're getting WCPO about 40-50% of the time doesn't surprise me, since WCPO has also increased power to 910 kW (and from what I remember on FCC coverage maps, WCPO should be good for viewing as far south as northern Scott County, but since the FCC site is flat inaccessible right now, I can't ascertain that). WKYT operates on RF 36, just one channel above WLWT's RF 35, which can explain why you can't see it as well, despite its 1 million watts of power and higher antenna than WCPO....first-adjacent interference and all. (WKYT moved to RF 36 on September 1st.)
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