06.29.09
RNI Schedule for July - So Far
July 5th: A Big Steve Music Show
July 12th: Johnny Lightning
July 19th: Dave the Boogieman
Weekly Audio Update - 6/28/09
A Different Kind Of Oldies Show and Rock The Universe from 6/27/09 are available for Podcast, On Demand Streaming and Downloading. A Different Kind Of Oldies Show is also streaming continuously until Thursday at our Webcast page.
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06.21.09
Weekly Audio Update - 6/21/09
A Different Kind Of Oldies Show and Rock The Universe from 6/20/09 are available for Podcast, On Demand Streaming and Downloading.
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06.16.09
Weekly Audio Update - 6/16/09
A Different Kind Of Oldies Show and Rock The Universe from 6/6/09 and 6/13/09 are available for Podcast, On Demand Streaming and Downloading.
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06.01.09
Weekly Audio Update 6/1/09
A Different Kind Of Oldies Show and Rock The Universe from 5/23/09 and 5/30/09 are available for Podcast, On Demand Streaming and Downloading.
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05.18.09
Weekly Audio Update - 5/17/09
A Different Kind Of Oldies Show and Rock The Universe from 5/16/09 are available for Podcast, On Demand Streaming and Downloading as is our Joe Turner tribute from RNI (5/17/09)
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05.14.09
DTV in NYC: Affected, Effected and Infected
Except for those who are the human versions of an Ostrich, we all know that analog over-the-air TV will evaporate into the ether on Jun 12th at about 12:30PM local time. What we are finding out now, vs. the original February date, is that we are going to have to retune our DTV sets and converters at about the same time. While this is something quite a number of us did know back then, most people didn’t. A look at the mandate and the FCC media bureau data base shows why.
Affected is all UHF stations from channel 60 and above, those frequencies are going into public service and emergency communications services. This includes LPTV stations such as Translator and Low Power Broadcasters who do not have to make the DTV transition if they are licensed to any other channel. A date will be determined for them to make either the change or go off the air, probably effective sometime in 2011. While TV channels 2 through 6 may still be used for LPTV until then, they can no longer be used for high power broadcasting of any kind. Channels 2 and 3 are being auctioned off to wide area commercial wireless uses with the mostly unknown Utility radio band located between channels 4 and 5 expanding down into channel 4. 5 and 6 usage is still up in the air, but expanding the FM band down into it is most likely. It’s how it will be divided. Moving the AM stations to a portion of the band has been thought of, as has an LPFM radio portion.
Effected will be the TV station channel changes. VHF stations on channels 2 through 6 have been permanently forced to UHF channels. A look up at the coverage maps for NYC stations shows that all 3 stations will be losing coverage area. Drop outs in valleys north west of the city will drop viewers. Some of them are also operating on channels used by LPTV stations that will cause interference, and with DTV, it’s all or nothing. Channels 2, 4, 5, and 9 will continue to operate their DTV stations on the same UHF channel they are on currently. The retune comes in because some channels will move their DTV operations to their current Analog channel. Channel 13 must do this because their DTV is on the must vacate channel 61, but for the others it’s trying to avoid confusion. Channels 7, 11, 13, 21, and 31 will return to their original channel. Channel 11 already tested DTV on channel 12 and will probably be the first station to move. The others are also expected to make the move ASAP but we expect some tweaking will be needed. UHF stations will just turn off their Analog channels and keep the DTV where it is. 68 is a must vacate, its DTV will remain on 53, 41’s DTV is adjacent to it on Channel 40, as is 50’s DTV on 51 and 25’s is on 24. 47’s DTV is down on channel 36 and will also stay there. Must vacate channel 60, an existing LPTV Home Shopping Channel will move to full power DTV channel 30 when channel 31 ceases using it in August.
The Infected is encroachment. It’s here again and no inoculation will help. Over the years it has been the bane of suburban broadcasters to somehow maneuver, finagle, wangle or in some way push their station into the main part of the market. We know the station now as WFAN on 660 khz, but when originally built by AT&T in the 1920’s, it was in the town of Merrick, NY on Long Island. WOR started as a promotion of Bambergers Department Store in Newark. The long defunct WGLI moved its FM license to Late Success, NY, just outside the NYC Queens/Nassau Co. border in 1961. This technically served New York City. It became WTFM and began transmitting from a warehouse owned by its parent company, Friendly Frost, just inside the Queens border from Lake Success. A few ownership changes later and as WAPP it was the first FM station on the World Trade Center. With the attack on the WTC, the current station, WKTU, is now on “Empire”, as we refer to the Empire State Building.
Channel 34, a New Jersey LPTV translator, which is probably still owned by ION-TV and was used by, (and is licensed to), Caribvision, until the beginning of this month went from analog to DTV over the past few days. Last year, it moved from East Orange, NJ to Empire. For all intent it is now a full power DTV station, even though it is only broadcasting a test pattern. This is more likely a maneuver so that ION can have 2 stations in the market like some others. NBC Universal has both NBC’s WNBC and Telmundo’s WNJU, Fox has WNYW and MYTVs’ WWOR, and Univision has its own WXTV and Telefutura’s WFUT. Also, although they are owed and licensed to separate entities, The Educational Broadcasting Corporation operates both channel 13 and suburban channel 21.
OK, I can live with a NY station bringing a 2nd service online, especially since I consider New York City and Newark as twin cities. I fully accept NJ channels 68, 47, 41, 13 and 9, which originally was a NYC TV station. Although I don’t like encroachment, I see what these stations are doing and are sort of behind the niche they fill.
It does seem that must vacate channels 63 and 66 must also think that they have to vacate their facilities, but moving is better to reach the audience they clearly can server better.
Channel 63 located in Newton, NJ at the western end of Morris Co. has its DTV facility on channel 18 in Little Falls, NJ. This is about 10 Mi closer to the City and has a coverage area about 2x the size of the original station. The station transmits mostly Korean language programming, including 3 of its full time multicast channels. The eastern pattern lobe cuts a swat into the borough of Queens which has the largest Korean population in the City.
Channel 66 on the other hand is doing what it should have done all along, transmit from its radio site. The sign on of the WFME-TV operation was from West Milford, NJ along the NY State border. Its coverage was limited since it was surrounded by foothills and valleys. Because the DTV transmitter is a lot less bulky, it’s DTV operation on channel 29 is being sent from West Orange, NJ, about 20 miles south.
Another encroachment does not make sense at all. According to the maps at dtv.gov, NJN, (New Jersey Public TV) is moving the New Brunswick operation, WNJB, to the Conde-Nast building on 42nd street in Manhattan. The DTV operation on channel 8 is currently operating out of the Rutgers Univ. campus, as is analog channel 58. This poses an interesting situation as NYC is served very well by Channel 50 out of Montclair, NJ. That station seems to have the highest ERP of any DTV station and will have an almost equal coverage area in NJ. This really sounds screwy, especially for a State run entity in a state that is crying poverty.
05.11.09
Weekly Audio Update - 5/11/09
A Different Kind Of Oldies Show and Rock The Universe from 5/9/09 is available for Podcast, On Demand Streaming and Downloading.
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