i notice that tropos was strong this mornming from Ottawa CBOT-DT came at 77%Maybe you'll see SunTV from Ottawa too now that they are testing:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=92232

As previously noted WCAX Ch 3.1 has been restored to full power

Answers for blackburst; post 532:

We have been known as WCAX channel 3 for a long time, and I believe we will continue to be known as channel 3, even after we move to OTA ch 22.1.

The transmitters for WFFF 43.1 and WVNY 13.1 are going to stay at thier current power and channel assignment. I am not aware of any plans to change any of these parameters.

Answer for Patook, post 533

WPTZ ch 14.1 is on backup transmitter, they are working on the main tx, and they are hopefull a fix will be very soon.

thank-you FraserR for the update!

Yes, thank you very much FraserR for the info, and for participating on this board. Your posts are very much appreciated.

As of Wednesday, Sept. 10, 01:20 am

WVNY-DT 13 - No signal, as usual
WPTZ-DT 14 - Very week signal, no picture lock
WNPI-DT 23 - No Signal, usually get something.
WETK-DT 32 - Lower Signal, but still coming in very strong
WCFE-DT 38 - Lower Signal, but still coming in extremely strong
WFFF-DT 43 - Lower Signal, hovering just above picture lock
WCAX-DT 53 - No Signal, very strange. I usually get a strong signal.

What is going on? Again!

channel 3.1 is still back up at full power, blackburst, you may need to re-enter that ch. (OTA 53), again.

Hi Blackburst

WCAX CBS 3-1 is working fine, full normal signal for me.

WPTZ NBC 5-1 is not back to normal yet.

this is the latest news from WPTZ:We lost a very important and unique tube in our main transmitter. We are currently on our back up transmitter at 20%. I don't think we will be up by the weekend...unfortunately.
We are at 25 KW effective radiated power on our main digital transmitter.
Jim Gratton
WPTZ Operations

Damn, Heroes Season 3 begins on Monday!!!
Hope it will be fix by.

I own a flat-panel LCD HDTV (Samsung LN-T4053H) and indoor antenna (Jensen TV-911).

I live on the south side of the mountain in Saint-Bruno (Lat: 45°31 Lon: 73°20) with the TV and antenna setup in a corner by a patio door that looks out northwest (I’m on the 3rd floor). All summer I had perfect reception for the following digital American stations:

3-1, 3-2 CBS (WCAX-DT)
5-1, 5-2 NBC (WPTZ-DT)
57-1, 57-2 & 57-3 PBS (WCFE-DT)

But sometime this past week these signals became weak, and I now cannot receive any of these signals properly and know that there has been no damage to my equipment. None of the analog signals I receive have changed (CBC 6, CTV 12, ABC 22, Global 46). Can anyone help me understand what has happened?

I,m experiencing the same problem
i have a big antenna on the roof of my appartment near Outremont, in MTL
and i have difficulties with the american channels since a week or two

for WPTZ 5.1 (uhf 14 ) the transmitter is 1/20th of it's power...they kinda blow an important lamp

for WCAX 3.1 (uhf 53 ) they had problems too, but it suppose to be back as usual , but not for me...

FOX is very weak too, PBS 32.1 WETK vanish often, and i never really get PBS 38.1 WCFE...

and i never got ABC 13 ( 22.1)

i hope they all come back for the fall season
and even increase there power ....

I have since discovered this Montreal/Burlington, VT: OTA Station Status thread, where FraserR (Post #546) suggests re-entering the channel to resolve the lack of reception issue. (Thank you FraserR)

In my TV’s menu, I had it automatically re-scan all channels and then had to manually delete all the ones I didn’t want, essentially re-programming it like I did when I first bought it. Now all reception is perfect again, with the exception of NBC 5.1 (WPTZ), which is still experiencing problems per your Post #548 of the same thread (Thank you Jim Gratton). Once they repair their tube I will presumably have to repeat the process again to pick up their signal.

I don’t know if this situation is unique to my brand of TV or if this is common, but it certainly is an issue I would suggest Samsung review.

Same here, all the US border stations seem to be weeker. Except for WCFE-DT 38.

WPTZ-DT 14 is down, but we know why. But again tonite WFFF-DT 43 is going in and out. WCAX-DT 53 is okay, as is WETK-DT 32.

WNPI-DT 23 comes & goes, but hey, my antenna is pointing to Mt. Mansfield. I consider WNPI-DT 23 a bonus when it comes in. But, the channels at Mt. Mansfield, I expect to get.

WFFF-DT 43 needs to boost their signal. WVNY-DT 13 is a lost case.

The new TV season is here, as is the NFL, and I can't rely on watching any of it. How is that two piss poor PBS stations can manage to get their signals up here, but WFFF-DT, and WVNY-DT can't manage to even output a signal strength to match those PBS stations.

On my Samsung TV I had to rescan after all these problems to get back WCAX. After that, Fox actually came in better (usually it is not watchable, it is slightly "above lock" now). Managed to watch an entire episode Fringe with NO DROP OUTS.

Rescan folks, but again...NBC is currently down to 1/20th signal strength due to some "unique part".

If the weather stays nice, the DTV signals from Mt. Mansfield, in Vermont will be lowered during the hours in the middle of the night, tonight, Mon 22 Sept. 08, from roughly 1 am. to 5 am.

Lowering the power is going to occur so that work can be done up on the towers. This work is being done in preparation for the Feb 09 switchover. Some of you had to re-scan to restore service on 3.1 after the power dropped due to an equipment failure last week. It is possible that the same thing could happen tonight, which might result in the need to re-scan your signals tomorrow. So far the weather looks good to go, however if the wind gets too high, the work will occur on the first good night, hopefully this week.

early monday afternoon here and still no WPTZ 5.1 HD! Will I be able to watch Heroes tonight??

early monday afternoon here and still no WPTZ 5.1 HD! Will I be able to watch Heroes tonight??
I asked the same question few days ago.

I hope thet the transmitter will be fix by tonight!

FraserR...

Thank you for the update for tonite. And thank you for the tip on re-scanning. It's the kinda thing that even us OTA folks are not aware of.

Can I make a suggestion...

Since we are getting closer to the analog cut off date, tips like re-scan needs to be made clear to the regular folks who don't frequent on-line forums. WCAX-DT's secondary channel 53.2 (remap as 3.2) can be used to educate folks on this tranistion. Perhaps some sort of program from the WCAX-DT's Engineering Department may help people to understand how to get the most out of this new situation. I do believe that this digital transition can benefit both viewers and over the air broadcast stations to recapture the viewers they lost to cable & satelitte due to the analog signals instability in receiving a constantly watchable signal.

Consumers save money by cutting their cable subscriptions, and local stations regain their audience, and start to offer a greater local ID with an increase of local programs.

Just a thought!

Also, just as a side note. Since WCAX will seem to continue to refer to itself as Channel 3 after the switch. You'll need to let the new viewers know how that works. Example...a co-worker just bought a new ATSC/NTSC Flat screen TV. He tried to tune into WCAX-DT by entering 3.1 on his remote. Well no luck. He really needed to tune into 53.1, and then once the signal locked in, the remap would kick in and make the channel appear as 3.1
I think people need to know this. Because they'll think they can't receive the channel, when in realty, they are just tuning to the wrong channel.

I think that if WVNY-DT continues to refer to itself as Channel 22, but WCAX-DT is in reality on that Channel as of February, people will get confused. Or may not even punch in the right channel number. Not everybody will do a re-scan. And a re-scan simply assumes that your antenna is pointing in the right direction. If your antenna is a bit off, you really need to know the right channel that the station is broadcasting on in order to see the signal meter. And in this case you need to punch in 53.1, and as of February 2009, 22.1.

Blackburst,
Getting people to understand the differences between the old days and what will happen after Feb 09 is a huge task, as you might guess. A large effort has occured just to get the basic concept that a change is coming out there. There are some things that come up a lot. Rescanning is one. Understanding the importantance of the signal strength meter when setting up the antenna is another. The basic fact that the old ch 3 comes in on rabbit ears, but the new channel 3 does not because it is not really channel 3, it is 53 when tuning the antenna, and only becomes 3.1 once it is remapped. is one. The idea that once old channel 22 shuts off, our ch 53 will change and move to the vacant 22, which, once it is rescanned will become the new 3.1 is one. The idea that the old ch 3 got into some locations and the new OTA 53 or OTA 22 will not (higher freqs like line of sight), is another. The use of translators to cover the southern part of the state is lagging, old translators are bring shut off and new translators are not there to replace them yet is another.

Given the effort it took to just get people aware that some kind of change is coming, there is no way any amount of effort would successfully get all the above examples, and the other stuff i don't recall right now, out there with enough clarity to be useful. We are answering questions as the calls come in, we are learning as we go, and we really appreciate all you who are out there helping us to figure this stuff out, and we are equally gratefull for any effort you all put forth in explaining to others how this stuff works. I get on computer a couple times a week, I'm not much of an expert, but i will try to answer your questions as best I can. you folks are light years ahead of many people who call us.

here's a copy of an announcement posted on wptz.com:WPTZ Digital Signal Compromised

POSTED: 3:46 pm EDT September 22, 2008
UPDATED: 4:03 pm EDT September 22, 2008

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. -- WPTZ Newschannel 5 viewers may experience some trouble viewing the station digitally due to a compromised signal.

Some people in the extended regions, particularly around Mount Mansfield, may have trouble finding a digital signal. Traditional rabbit ears should still work.

NewsChannel 5 is working to fix this problem.

We appreciate your patienceI guess well have no Heroes tonight in HD! :(