DUMP YOUR Tvs? Entering DX's Slow Season
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The Official Publication of the Worldwide TV-FM DX Association NOVEMBER 2008 The Magazine for TV and FM DXers FOUR MONTHS REMAINING UNTIL ANALOG TV SHUTOFF PHOTO BY ROBERT GRANT DUMP YOUR TVs? THREE Has Anyone Heard of MONTHS REMAINING UNTIL Converter boxes ? ANALOG TV SHUTOFF Entering DX’s Slow Season TV and FM DXing was never so interesting! THE WORLDWIDE TV-FM DX ASSOCIATION Serving the UHF-VHF Enthusiast THE VHF-UHF DIGEST IS THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE WORLDWIDE TV-FM DX ASSOCIATION DEDICATED TO THE OBSERVATION AND STUDY OF THE PROPAGATION OF LONG DISTANCE TELEVISION AND FM BROADCASTING SIGNALS AT VHF AND UHF. WTFDA IS GOVERNED BY A BOARD OF DIRECTORS: DOUG SMITH, GREG CONIGLIO, BRUCE HALL, KEITH McGINNIS AND MIKE BUGAJ. Editor and publisher: Mike Bugaj Treasurer: Keith McGinnis wtfda.org Webmaster: Tim McVey wtfda.info Site Administrator: Chris Cervantez Editorial Staff: Jeff Kruszka, Keith McGinnis, Fred Nordquist, Nick Langan, Doug Smith, Peter Baskind, Bill Hale and John Zondlo, Our website: www.wtfda.org; Our forums: www.wtfda.info NOVEMBER 2008 _______________________________________________________________________________________ CONTENTS Page Two 2 Mailbox 3 Finally! For those of you online with an email TV News…Doug /Smith 4 address, we now offer a quick, convenient and FM News…Bill Hale 9 secure way to join or renew your membership Photo News…Jeff Kruszka 22 in the WTFDA from our page at: WTFDA Contest Stats…Doug Smith 24 http://fmdx.usclargo.com/join.html Western TV DX…Nick Langan 25 You can now renew either paper VUD Eastern TV DX…Nick Langan 27 membership or your online eVUD membership Southern FM DX…John Zondlo 34 at one convenient stop. Use the link above to Northern FM DX…Keith McGinnis 35 either join the WTFDA or renew your 6 meters…Peter Baskind 46 membership in North America’s only TV and Renewal Form 47 DX organization. FIND US FAST! WTFDA BOARD OF DIRECTORS Mike Bugaj, use the WTFDA Mailing address listed below [email protected] Doug Smith, 1385 Old Clarksville Pike, Pleasant View, TN 37146-8098 [email protected] Greg Coniglio, 11825 Genesee St., Alden, NY 14004 [email protected] Bruce Hall, 5 Stirton Ave., Brantford, ON N3T 1E2 [email protected] Keith McGinnis, 18 Newbridge St., Hingham, MA 02043 [email protected] ******************************************************************************************************* THE MAILBOX and all general club correspondence: Mike Bugaj at WTFDA, PO Box 501, Somersville, CT 06072 [email protected] TV NEWS Doug Smith, 1389 Old Clarksville Pike, Pleasant View, TN 37146-8098 [email protected] FM NEWS Bill Hale, 6124 Roaring Springs Drive, N. Richland Hills, TX 76180 [email protected] PHOTO NEWS Jeff Kruszka, 1909 Lost Lake Pl., Pearland, TX 77581 [email protected] EASTERN AND WESTERN TV DX Nick Langan, 1040 Riverview Dr., Florence, NJ 08516 [email protected] SOUTHERN FM John Zondlo, 4009 Driftwood Cir., Yukon, OK 73099 [email protected] NORTHERN FM Keith McGinnis, 18 Newbridge St., Hingham, MA 02043 [email protected] TV and FM STATISTICS Fred Nordquist, 147 Travis Hill Road, Moncks Corner, SC [email protected] 6 METER/2 METER Peter Baskind, 3225 Forest Hill-Irene Rd, Germantown, TN 38138 [email protected] WEBSITE Tim McVey Webmaster http://www.wtfda.org [email protected] 2 P.O. Box 501, Somersville, CT USA 06072 MIKE BUGAJ [email protected] SEASONS CHANGE outperforms the 3671 in pickup and directionality. DXing forever!” Notice the flamingo on top of the Welcome to the November VUD. Months dish. (I’m looking for an owl to put on top of my change and seasons change and the amount of DX antenna…darned woodpeckers –Mike) we notice in November takes a big hit, unless we are one of the lucky ones located on or near the gulf coast. The further south you live, the better your chances for DX. DXers like Randy Zerr can almost count of 12 full months of DX, either by tropo or E skip. Those of us up north can count of cold days with just a few short hours of daylight. At that point we’re probably better off taking a nap, watching TV or doing some AM DXing instead. But good tropo can happen up north this time of year. I remember one pre-IBOC year when I caught two tropo events from my location in CT to SC in December! Those are the exception to the rule, but at least I can say that it did happen. So, go take a nap but keep one eye open. MEMBERS AND MORE We have more new members this month. Say Another new WTFDAer is Trip Ericson, and hello to Carl Vollmer (IL), Eugene Hinton (CA), Trip’s labor of love is RabbitEars.info. Quite a few Ed MacDonald (MO), David Mackes (MD), people here are probably familiar with the site. Trip George Vilican (NC) and Bryce Foster (CA…LA writes “I invite you and your organization to use my area), plus a rejoin from Vincent Ferme (ON). site as much as you like. I can only hope the site David Mackes was doing a search on the internet will continue to be successful and operate into the when he found our website and decided to join. Ed future. And of course, I’m always glad to hear MacDonald is into TV, FM and 6 meter DX. He comments from users of my site and to receive also was vice president and past president of the information from those same users (especially if KCDXC, the Kansas City DX club with the calls they have computer-based digital TV receivers, that KR01A. For equipment he lists an Icom 7000, an type of data is extremely helpful). If there’s anything R75, an Insignia STB and an Optimus and RCA FM I can do to make the site even more useful to receiver. WTFDA members or to the general public, please Renewals have been received during the period let me know.” Trip lives in VA and attends the of 9/15 to 10/14 from John Callarman (TX), James University of Charlottesville. Snow (GA), Jim Renfrew (NY), Jeff Kadet (IL), Glenn Hauser (OK), Mike Bugaj (CT), Steve Branch (IL), Bill Hale (TX), Jefferson Lewis (MO), Joe Fela (NJ), Karl Zuk (NY) and Keith Short (OH). Thank you everyone for supporting the club! For those who are new and are wondering, I log in each check as it arrives. On or about the 15th of each month I mail them all to Keith McGinnis along with a check for the Paypal dues, and Keith then cashes them. New member Chris Hanley (IL) writes: “With my kids almost grown up and digital TV coming up, I’m hoping to upgrade my equipment and get back into TV DXing.” Well, Galesburg is not that far from This month’s card is sent in by Melvin Dishong Macomb. One look at Jeff Kadet’s website should of Kennesaw, GA. If you would like to see your card give you an indication of what he’s logged and what here, just send me one and I’ll print it. could be possible from your location. Give it a try! This month we’ll hold the Mailbox down to just Member Richard Gray lives in New Orleans one page. I’ve bumped the font down a point to fit and writes: “The new addition is up and running as everything. To those in the US, have a great of this weekend. I would have gotten it up sooner Thanksgiving holiday and to everyone else, have a but Gustav and Ike came to party and delayed me. great November and keep looking for DX! -Mike A Channel Master 4251 atop the CM 3671. It 3 Douglas E. Smith TV 1389 Old Clarksville Pike Pleasant View, TN 37146-8098 News [email protected] http://www.w9wi.com November 2008 Abbreviations: AF Applied For (a new station) NW New station on the air Aux Auxiliary (backup) transmitter PA Proposed Amendment CC Callsign change PC Power (and/or tower height) change on the air CL City-of-license change PG Power change granted DC Converted to DTV PR Power change requested DCC Digital Companion Channel RA Returns to the air NS DCC Granted flash-cut to DTV QC Channel (frequency) change on the air DE License/permit deleted QG Channel change granted DR Requests flash-cut to DTV QR Channel change requested FC Programming (format) change RE Reinstated (previously-dismissed app.) FTP Failure to Prosecute ROA Request of Applicant GA Granted amendment (to table of channel SI Off the air (silent) allotments) LC License to Cover STA Special Temporary Authority MX Mutually Exclusive XC Transmitter site changed NDA Non-directional antenna XG Transmitter site change granted NS Permit granted for new station XR Transmitter site change requested News: (full-power analog stations in bold face; LPTV and translators 356kw/576m in regular type; full-power digital stations in bold italics; low- Mobile 23 WDPM-DT CC for NS power digital stations in regular italics) Mobile 41 WEIQ-DT PG>1000kw Alaska: Anchorage 32 KDMD-DT PG 17.2kw/ 300m Canada: Juneau 24 KXLJ-LD DR 950w, Alberta: 58-18-05/ Calgary 41 CICT-DT AF 5kw/51m 134-26-26 Edmonton 47 CITV-DT AF 5.9kw/23m Arizona: British Columbia: Flagstaff 13 KFPH-DT QG from ch 27 Fort Fraser 13 CBCB-TV-2 SI 40.6kw/474m Globe 50 K50LA QG from K30ES, Quebec: 9.9kw, Laval 4 NEW AF 79w, French- 33-19-57/ language community 112-03-57 Quartzsite 55 KRPO-LP CC from K55KC Arkansas: El Dorado 43 KEJB-DT NS 1000kw/ 528m Puerto Rico: Mayaguez 29 WORA-DT PG>1000kw California: Ponce 19 WKPV-DT NW 700kw/ Alturas 47 K47EH FC?, sold by TBN 269m Barstow 20 K20IM PR>2kw, increase Quebradillas 48 WQSJ-LD DG 4.8kw, tower height 257m, 18-18-46/ 34-51-22/ 67-11-09 117-03-00 Ceres 15 KBSV-DT PR 421w/ 576m, 37-30-28/ 121-22-20 USA: Chico 19 K19FY FC?, sold by TBN Alabama: Crescent City 44 K44JF-D DC 12kw, 41-58-11/ Birmingham 50 WBRC-DT NS 1000kw/ 124-11-17 360m (aux) Etna 3 K02HC-D DC from ch.