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wsb-TV signal improvements

R

Rick Rose 2.0

Guest
Does anyone know the status of the move for the WSB-TV DTV transmitter to the top of the tower? It has been two weeks since analog 2 shut down and still have major signal issues in Stockbridge at times. I am aware of the 2 translators that WSB has permits to build to better serve Gainesville, Athens and a big chunk of NE metro Atlanta. I also see they want a translator to serve Rome as well. I figure Cox would have yanked the analog transmitter off the tower by now and should be well on the way to get the DTV transmitter to the top on the tower to better evalutate what other changes they need to make to get a good signal to all the market.
 
I just don't understand why they did not go up with everybody else. They don't have the same height that the other DTVs have.
 
I spoke with WSB TV's engineer a few days before the analog shutdown. He was very willing to share any information he had. He did not have an exact timeline for moving the digital transmitter up to the top. He told me it "might" improve things but not to count on it too much. They would not get more power to transmit digitally. What we have is it. He told me the same thing that Rick stated, that the translators would be added for the outlying for improving the signals. He told me that one drawback for transmitting digitally over the air was that the digital signals were not very good at going around tall buildings or through walls. He added if there were high winds it could affect the signal's ability to remain stable and not tile.
 
Re: WSB-TV signal improvements

Five words: MOVE TO A NEW TOWER. There has to be space at the Richland site from where WATL and WGCL have shut down their analogs. There also has to be room at New Street where WPBA shut down theirs.

Why does WSB-TV have to be so stubborn about this? You don't have to own the transmitter site (sister radio station B98.5, WSB-FM, is on a leased site). Plus...they don't have to be responsible for lawn mantience or other upkeep (the rent check pays for that). They can sell the old site for additional $$$$$$, and probably save money in the long term by renting. I am not an engineer and I don't have the numbers, but the economies of scale have to be better from renting than owning.
 
Just to nitpick... antennas are mounted on towers, not transmitters. The transmitters are at the base and comprise power amplifiers, exciters, etc.
 
Re: WSB-TV signal improvements

jal41 said:
Five words: MOVE TO A NEW TOWER. There has to be space at the Richland site from where WATL and WGCL have shut down their analogs. There also has to be room at New Street where WPBA shut down theirs.

Why does WSB-TV have to be so stubborn about this? You don't have to own the transmitter site (sister radio station B98.5, WSB-FM, is on a leased site). Plus...they don't have to be responsible for lawn mantience or other upkeep (the rent check pays for that). They can sell the old site for additional $$$$$$, and probably save money in the long term by renting. I am not an engineer and I don't have the numbers, but the economies of scale have to be better from renting than owning.
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I'm not totally sure, but I think the Richland site is full. Just because the WATL antenna is shut off, doesn't mean it's been pulled off the tower. But, when it is, I think Gannett's going to put up a backup antenna.

Owning, in this economy, might be bad, but not as bad as trying to sell real estate in this economy. It would be more economically feasable for Cox to keep the site and sell it when property values go back up again. Also, I don't know if they have any renters right now, but it's also an asset to own a tower to lease to other tennants. Regardless of your station, the renting stations will always bring in revenue.
 
I spoke to a contact at their corporate headquarters about the WSB signal and there are several things being studied and implemented to maximize their signal. By virtue of owning their own tower, they will make and continue to make adjustments to tilt, height, and changing gain so that, what they described as paper power becomes real power. A string of lower power transmitters across north Georgia is not out of the question, as well as some sort of synced transmitter system. The improvements begin this fall. She didn't go into much detail, and I don't understand it all, but got the impression that whatever it takes to have good coverage, they will do it.
 
I can't wait, I'm really tired of all of the pixelating. I like RTN/RTV (WSB 2.2) a lot. However it has the same issue. Well I do understand that the low power transmitters mean that areas that used to be able to get the analog signal and are in what is considered the Atlanta viewing area, will be able to receive the digital signal. These low power transmitters will be strategically placed so that any TV viewing areas which do not get a strong signal from main tower will be able to lock in WSB and WSB 2.2(I hope) .
 
BarryATL said:
Can digital use a synced transmitter?
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I don't think you can sync them like you can with COFDM, but there are provisions for "Distributed Transmission Systems", where a station uses multiple transmitters on the same channel.
 
Here is a bit of history. I remember surfing the old airwaves.com website back in college in late 1994 about the DTV conversion (then HDTV, no mention of the word DTV in those days) and how WSB was one of ten tv stations on air with digital on channel 39(there was allowance for one station in the top ten markets at the time). The other stations I remember had a note next to them that said "mandatory to be on air by November 2002." My how far we have come. It makes me think that if this system has been up and running for so long that it is already somewhat obsolete. Any thoughts?
 
Mr11WXIA said:
I spoke with WSB TV's engineer a few days before the analog shutdown. digitally. He told me the same thing that Rick stated, that the translators would be added for the outlying for improving the signals.
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The FCC gave the go ahead on the translators 6/29/09 (31 & 46). I sent an email to WSB TV last week on any possible on-air date, of course they did not reply. Anyone have a possible date for the hopeful improvement of their signal?
 
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