ATSC: Approvals, Antennas And Other Details

As expected, President Obama yesterday signed the merged version of the House of Representatives- and Senate-approved bills delaying the shut-off of full-power NTSC broadcasts in the United States from next Tuesday to June 12. In spite of the delay option afforded them, however, 190 stations have already fully transitioned to ATSC or will do so prior to February 17, with another 491 unsurprisingly planning to shut off their analog television beacons next Tuesday.

Regarding the critical feedback I received on the then-proposed delay at CES, a recently published study by DailyTech points out that other countries (including some much smaller than the U.S. from both geographic and population measures) have regionally phased their transitions over a span of months if not years. Here’s the list (PDF) of early-transition stations from the FCC; it comprises approximately 40% of all full-power broadcasters in the United States (PDF). It includes Reno, NV ABC affiliate KOLO, who as I’ve noted before has already shut off its NTSC transmission (to the dismay of at least one clueless local) in preparation for migrating ATSC from VHF channel 9 to channel 8. The FCC documentation doesn’t make it clear when KOLO will make the spectrum migration, though.

I’m hopeful that when the move happens, I’ll gain improved reception as a result. Information garnered from the station’s competitors (which KOLO’s engineering team has to date chosen not to comment on) suggests that the station’s supposedly omni-directional antenna coverage footprint is sub-optimal on channel 9 versus the channel 8 for which it was originally designed. I’m hopeful…but cautiously so, since KOLO’s ATSC signal will still be much lower power than its NTSC predecessor (as is the case with many stations across the United States).

Interestingly, the past few days I’ve exchanged email with a reader in Carson City, NV (due south of Reno) who saw my recent CECB (coupon-eligible converter box) feature article and also has difficulty receiving KOLO’s beacon…even though he’s located only ~15 miles from (and has line-of-sight proximity to) the station’s antenna on Slide Mountain. I’ll keep you appraised if I ever hear back from KOLO, and at minimum I’ll be sure to post a follow-up reception report here on Brian’s Brain after the station’s channel migration is completed.

Maybe we both just need a better antenna If you’d prefer to save a little money as compared to a unit for sale at retail, and especially if you’d like to simplify the UHF-plus-VHF dual-antenna array that I’m currently tapping into, or if you’re just a do-it-yourself hobbyist, check out the series of articles published by MAKE Magazine in recent weeks. Chronologically ordered links are below for your assessment; please report back your results in the comments if you decide to tackle any of these projects!

• Maker Workshop PDF - DTV Antenna
• HOW TO - Make a Gray Hoverman UHF antenna
• Makers build DTV antennas… and you can too!

And here’s a MAKE-provided video:

In closing, and following up my GPS-themed writeup from last Friday, check out a just-published writeup at Ars Technica describing how timing information embedded within the ATSC bitstream can alternatively be used to ascertain location coordinates. Or, if you’re feeling really futuristic, check out what recently approved U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu has been doing with his off-hours. Atom interferometers…they use flux capacitors, right?