1inxs

Piggie

This has been in the works for quite awhile. Trip or Falcon (you don't know him probably) have been following this stuff like a Hawks (even if one is a Falcon).

There were an entire set of stations set to nightlight after Feb 17. Then when the delay happened it stirred the pot who was still on analog, when other stations were leaving analog.

So basically when moved to June 12, they had to start over who would nightlight.

Nightlights were preferred to be a high power VHF with a big tower and not afraid to use it, or as a buddy of mine calls them, Blow Torches.

But they had to be on a channel that would not be used post transition in their area or they were out of the game. In many areas, the one powerful lowband station was chosen as there are little to no lowband digital stations in a lot of areas.

Look at the Orlando-Daytona Bch-Melbrn list. WESH on RF 02 will keep the torch lit as it is the perfect station as it covers most of three DMAs with that signal. Not sure why WKCF volunteered as even though their city of license is Clermont, they broadcast from Orlando. However they have always been the strongest UHF at least on the north part of the DMA where I live.

Gainesville the DMA I am closest to but don't live in will have no nightlight. WUFT on RF5 considered it but appears to have backed out, probably due to the delay already stressed their budget.

In Jacksonville DMA (I live 2 miles from it) the nightlight will be WJXT on RF 4, again a low band.

Another thing that happened in a lot of towns were the stations got together to figure who probably would not interfere, then split the cost between all the local stations for the one to stay on the air in analog for the nightlight service.

The above cooperation was largely spurred by the recession, which also means there is a bunch of stations that will not or can't due to the economy.

So the chance of someone now at the last minute also volunteering to nightlight seems slim to none. Actually it would not surprise me for the list of nightlights to shrink as stations find they don't have the money, equipment failures (some analog stations stopped preventive maintenance back in 2008 anticipating a Feb 17th cut off for financial reasons.).

Aaron62

This just seems wrong (not you Piggie, the stations). They've known about the transition for years...actually a decade...how could they not have budgeted for this.

1inxs

I believe the economy has played into the budget woes a bit. When you think about it. The FCC delayed the DTV transition into broadcasters off season. Advertising dollars are down naturally during the off season. Then you add the recession into the mix. I would guess advertising forecasts have shrunk as well, which would cause broadcasters to tighten their budget belts.

Piggie

Don't you know American business plans one quarter at a time. Year is not in their vocabulary.

But in another way is was planed. Current revenues were to pay to run two transmitters until Feb 17th, 2009. Then a recession hit so money wasn't coming in. Then they extended the time to be on the air till June 12. So a lot of stations that would have just nightlighted, paid the bill, asked other stations in the area for money.

You know if the banks had planned for years, they would not have had extended credit to people that they knew after centuries of lending money never to lend money to people that can't pay it back. Then they should have known that if they tried to back them all up with credit default swaps, if one bank failed it would take down the house of cards.

If the stations had of planed, then the several of the delays would not have been needed.

But alas, the final PSA on the transition will be when they turn on their TV and see snow. Then they will say, wow, they meant it.

Orrymain

Thanks for this. I asked about it somewhere else and then ran across this. I found that two stations in my area are nightlighting. One is the one I would expect to, the biggie station, and the other was, oddly I thought, the PBS station. Interesting.

Piggie

There were two types of nightlight stations.

1) said they would and have to nightlight for 30 days.

2) said they might and were eligible to nightlight, not many of them did but they can do it for a week or 2 weeks, or up to a month.

Eligible means by staying on their analog channel, they won't interfere with any new digital station.

A lot of the nightlights are on low band (2-6) because there are only a handful of digitals on those channels. Some stations pooled money to pay the electric bill of the station that stayed on.

Some odd bed fellows. Here in Gainesville FOX and PBS split the bill for PBS to nightlight. First PBS is on 5 and takes less power to run. Also it allowed a station in Orlando to move to the old Gainesville FOX channel.

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