VHF-UHF DIGEST The Official Publication of the Worldwide TV-FM DX Association FEBRUARY 2009 The Magazine for TV and FM DXers ***TWO WEEKS*** REMAINING UNTIL ANALOG TV SHUTOFF (MAYBE) PHOTO BY ROY BARSTOW WILL WE OR WON’T WE FLIP THE SWITCH ON 2/17?? Visit Us At www.wtfda.org 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, 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 FEBRUARY 2009 _______________________________________________________________________________________ CONTENTS Page Two 2 Mailbox 3 Finally! For those of you online with an email TV News…Doug Smith 5 address, we now offer a quick, convenient and FM News…Bill Hale 13 secure way to join or renew your membership Photo News…Jeff Kruszka 23 in the WTFDA from our page at: WTFDA Contest Update 27 http://www.wtfda.org/join.html Western TV DX…Nick Langan 28 You can now renew either paper VUD Southern FM DX…John Zondlo 31 membership or your online eVUD membership List of Eligible Nightlight Stations 35 at one convenient stop. Use the link above to The Transition – Satfacts Magazine 39 either join the WTFDA or renew your 6 meters…Peter Baskind 42 membership in North America’s only TV and Sign up/Renewal Form 43 DX organization. Eastern TV and Northern FM DX have no reports this month. Have a great month! 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] WHAT DROP-DEAD DATE?? Rick Shaftan (NJ), Dave Pomeroy (KS), Eldon Geiman (PA), Girard Westerberg (KY), So are we doing the transition in February James Roggentine (CA), John Zeis (PA), or aren’t we? February 17th was that magic David Legler (MN), Bruce Elving (MN), Peter date but now Congress is having second Oprisko (IN), John Ridge (NY) and Craig thoughts about it. Healy (MA). Thanks everyone for coming back Surely you’re not joking, are you? I’m not for another year! joking…and please don’t call me Shirley. This places your publisher in a little Look out! It’s that dreaded graph! predicament because I had a special VUD cover all ready to go for February plus some really neat stuff to go with it. Now it will have to wait until whenever. But all of the special stuff is stored in the computer, so if the creek don’t rise and the computer don’t blow up we’ll get to use it all a few months from now. But if the transition gets to happen on February 17th then I’ll use it for the March issue. It’s up to the people in Washington. DX? I think those two letters stand for Doesn’t eXist. I’ve seen very few reports over the past couple of weeks of any TV or FM DX, even mediocre loggings. From all indications the winter Es season was a bust. I remember seeing one or two short Es openings in early Bruce Elving sent a note thanking all the December and other DXers have mentioned WTFDA folks for their concern after we the lack of Es this winter. reported on Bruce’s health last month. Bruce went in for surgery on November The weather here in New England and the 28th, the day after Thanksgiving. It was elective upper Midwest and west has just been brutal hernia repair surgery for two hernias and he with more snow that we can handle and was released the next day. But two days later daytime temperatures in the single numbers he took sick again and ended up in the and overnight temps well below zero (ºF). emergency room and then spent three days in Clearing driveways and keeping warm is the hospital. It’s not clear if the hernia probably on more Dxers’ minds than wanting to operation had anything to do with that, but check for any DX. And nothing much has been Bruce is feeling better now, so don’t worry. happening down in the Gulf states either so it’s Bruce writes “Pictured in the January VUD not just us in the north. is me holding the stick and friend Hartly Conrad, Duluth, who is very opposed to FM and many months in the newsletter I used to MEMBERS AND MORE publish, FMedia!, included anti-FM comments such as his saying he wants to buy a new car We’d like to welcome Robert Coomlier with no radio and then going to a junkyard to (CA) back to the club as well as Gil Morgan try to find an AM-only radio that would fit the (MO). The last time I saw Gil was in Santa hole in the dash.” (Ask Hartley what he thinks Ana, CA and it was decades ago. Also here’s of AM IBOC, Bruce!) another Welcome Back to Edward Cotton From John Rieger (WI) “Thank so much for (VA). And we have two brand new WTFDA an excellent, well produced and on-time members: Jerry Ball out in WA and Barry product.” Thank you, John, for noticing! Bauer in DE. Barry, by the way, uses a 16 bay Comments like this one help keep me going monster for UHF DX! especially at times when I’d rather be doing Renewals were received from the period of anything but this. 12/16/08 – 1/13/09 from Paul Mitschler (NM), And here are some interesting comments Joe Perge (OH), Russ Edmunds (PA), John from Barry Bauer(DE): “Thanks for the Rieger (WI), Ronald Ehlke (WI), Russel Lay, 3 welcome to WTFDA, I have been using your site for several months and thought it was time to join. I am grateful for all of the links to useful information and hope to be able to participate with your group. My TV DX history is probably a bit unusual. I was active in Chippewa Lake, Ohio in the mid 1960’s and still have my reception lists, QSL cards and letters, and TV screen photos. I stopped DXing for many years but never lost the interest. I retired in September 2008 after working 25 years at NIST in Gaithersburg MD and moved to Rehoboth Beach, DE. I wanted to restart my TV interests and purchased an Antennas Direct DB8 antenna that I mounted in the attic of our small house. Conditions were far better than I ever imagined and before long I had improved my setup to include rotator, amplifier, tuners and recorders. I wanted to improve my antenna by buying a second DB8 and stacking them, but chose instead to build a 16 bay similar to the dimensions of two DB8’s. I have had a great deal of fun optimizing the configuration, but am still working on the final design. All of this is still indoors, so wind loading, weight, etc. are not factors. I realize that a much smaller antenna mounted outside would be an improvement over what I have, but I am still deciding which way to go for a variety of reasons.” The only 16 bay antenna we’ve ever seen is located at http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/16bay.html. The article accompanying this picture was printed in the VUD some time ago with permission of the author. LOOK OUT SENOR HOPPY! FROM THE TELEVISOR, NOVEMBER 1950 4 Douglas E. Smith TV 1389 Old Clarksville Pike Pleasant View, TN 37146-8098 News [email protected] http://www.w9wi.com February 2009 – SAY GOODBYE TO ANALOG! (or maybe not) 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 San Juan 26 W26DK- DG 800w translators in regular type; full-power digital stations in bold italics; low-power digital stations in regular italics) (THIS WILL CHANGE NEXT MONTH.