VHF-UHF DIGEST The Official Publication of the Worldwide TV-FM DX Association OCTOBER 2009 The Magazine for TV and FM DXers Courtesy of Fred Vobbe Convention 2009 is History Convention 2010 Returns to Rochester NY August 27, 28 and 29 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, 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 OCTOBER 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 15 secure way to join or renew your membership Photo News…Jeff Kruszka 27 in the WTFDA from our page at: Eastern TV DX…Nick Langan 29 http://www.wtfda.org/join.html Western TV DX…Nick Langan 31 You can now renew either paper VUD 6 Meters…Peter Baskind 35 membership or your online eVUD membership To Count or Not to Count? 38 at one convenient stop. Use the link above to FM Polarization 40 either join the WTFDA or renew your Tropo Talk 41 membership in North America’s only TV and Renewal Form 43 DX organization. Lots of good reading this month! FM North (and hopefully FM South) return next 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] D.Bruce Hall, 5 Stirton Ave., Brantford, ON N3T1E2 Canada [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] CONVENTION 2009 end up with co-channel interference problems. What's more, the receiving antenna situation Convention 2009 is now history. There were would become a whole lot simpler in a UHF- a total of 39 attendees at the convention in only world. I just don't know if there are enough Allentown over the Labor Day weekend. available UHF slots to do the trick. WTFDA members in attendance were Brian Down here on the Outer Banks, I have May, Scott Fybush, Russ Edmunds, Harry basically given up on seeing WVEC-13 in Hayes, Paul Swearingen, John Cereghin, Norfolk/Suffolk, some 70 miles away. They are Robert Seaman, John Adams, George Greene, up to 35 kW, and that's not doing the trick. Bob Smolarek (your host), Frank Merrill, Tom Their digital signal comes in only some of the Yingling, Rick Shaftan and Jerry Bond. That time. Their analog signal was so strong that the makes a total of 14 WTFDAers. Most of them folding dipole antenna of a battery-powered set are NRC members anyway, but that’s besides could pick it up. Norfolk's WHRE-7 has never the point. Hope you all had a great time there. I shown up here. WSKY-4 on the VA/NC border thought of you as I was eating my prime rib at (around 50 miles away) is a jumble of confetti the wedding and listening to some guy sing a most of the time. medley of Italian Wedding favorites. On the plus side, WHRO-15 got it just right. Bob must have done a really great job Their 1000 kW digital signal, coming out of the putting the convention together as I was just same tower farm as WVEC and the rest of the notified this afternoon that the convention had Norfolk area stations, makes it down here actually made a modest profit! That means almost all the time. And their analog signal was that both clubs will be splitting the proceeds always very weak. instead of writing a check this time. I think that the real big down side of the So next year the convention is back in digital transition is the loss of service to Rochester NY with Scott as your host. The date portable sets. 8-VSB doesn't seem to do a will be the weekend before the Labor Day good job of illuminating the rabbit ears and pull- weekend. up antennas on little sets--even if they were out there. Add in motion, and there's no reception MEMBERS AND STUFF possibility The portable/mobile "fixes" that are being proposed (MPH/MH/E-8VSB) will require We have no new members this month but some serious diddling with the digital signal and we do have some renewals. Renewals were probably some reduction in the number of sub- received during the period of 8/21 through 9/10 channels. I'm not sure that broadcasters will be from Glenn Boche (MN), William Eckberg crazy about that.” (IL), Melvin Dishong (GA), Mark Colombo Richard Gray in LA writes: “I was looking (VA), Carl Vollmer (IL), Jeff Lehmann (MA), on the website a bit ago and ran across the Lee Freshwater (FL), John Lentz (WI), Karl Finco 400-SA literature. When I was a young Zuk (NY), Bob Smolarek (NJ), Roosevelt boy (1950's) my mother took me and my Crawford (KS), Glenn Hauser (OK), Richard brother to a demonstration in a local park Gray (LA) and Bill Smith (MA). Thank you all sponsored by Finco to show off the capabilities for supporting the WTFDA. of their antennas. They called their monster Calvin Glover writes from the outer banks: "the bedspring". I remember my mouth hanging “Are you getting any reports of poor (or non- open at the reception this thing could provide. It existent) digital reception on VHF? I'm coming was mounted on a large truck that they used for to believe that the FCC power assignments for their demonstrations along with a number of VHF digital are too meager to allow the stations other antennas they could crank up on some to cover their analog footprints. Apparently the form of tower. This was advertised on the local problem is due to electrical noise, which saps tv station at the time. I don't remember a large the 8VSB signal in the VHF range. crowd but I guess that started the DX bug in me I'm thinking that maybe that all TV long ago! broadcasting should move to UHF. The VHF After seeing this ad, I have to ask, has situation is too problematical. If the VHF anyone else seen this demo and more curious, stations upped their power enough to beat the does anyone that you know of have any electrical noise problem, they would probably engineering literature on the 400-SA. I have 3 been making a number of antennas to compare investors has bought the Victoria-based local to my CM4251 and have limited access to a TV station it was planning to shut down. metal shop. With drawings I think building one The Winnipeg-based company said Friday would be possible. Even though low band TV is that the investors group paid a “nominal no more in the United States, I routinely get purchase price” for CHEK-TV, one of British Mexico now that the interference is greatly Columbia’s oldest television stations, but reduced. wouldn’t disclose the exact price tag. I have to wonder how the 400-SA compares The Globe and Mail is reporting the to the Wade VIP-307. Winter is coming and, purchase price is $2. even though usually mild compared to where In June, Canwest agreed to sell two of its you are, it keeps me indoors a great deal more local TV stations — CHCH-TV in Hamilton and than our Summers. CJNT-TV in Montreal — to specialty television If information is available, building one of company Channel Zero for $12. these would probably be a challenge but fun to Canwest had planned to close the Victoria- try. based station last Monday, saying that is has been a money-loser since it purchased it in 2000. However, the company extended programming this week as it worked out the deal. CHEK employs 45 staff members in Victoria and Vancouver Island. “Many dedicated individuals on both sides of the table came together and the result is that it has preserved jobs and service in the community,” said Canwest president and CEO Leonard Asper said in a statement.