I did some more searching and reading tonight:

K38JH - When I first read their application I interpreted that the low power (0.1 kW) was so that they could expedite construction to meet their deadline. Re-reading I see another possible reason.
http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getattachment_exh.cgi?exhibit_id=695184
"The proposed facility does not cross into the
Canadian border because the offending F(50,10) 19 dBu contour has been lowered". My analysis of this comment is near the end of this post.

New information:
This week Venture Technologies applied for a change to construction permit for their other two Bellingham stations.
K65HP http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101281605&formid=346&fac_num=129611
K60GV http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101281848&formid=346&fac_num=128217

The application for K65HP is the interesting one. Once again they are lowering power to 0.1 kW. The same reason is given again - "because the offending F(50,10) 19 dBu contour has been lowered, the proposed facility does not cross into the Canadian border". This station (like K38JH) is listing KBCB channel 24 as its translator input channel. In exhibit 6 of this application we get a glimpse as to the reason. It appears that the Venture owners are either the managers or owners of KBCB. Perhaps they are listing this as their input channel temporarily because they have not reached other agreements? If they manage KBCB it is an easy placeholder to secure rights to to put something on the air. K65HP has until April 2009 to begin broadcasting.

K60GV is increasing the power, but decreasing strength towards Canada. Strength to the south is increasing though. No translator input channel is given. K60GV has until March 2011 to begin broadcasting.

Pulling everything together:
I read into it that channel 38 may not be allowed to broadcast into Canada. I now realize that there is an allocated station and allocated first adjacent to 38 in the lower mainland (38 in Naniamo & 39 in Vancouver - see Stampeder's IC listings - http://www.user.dccnet.com/jonleblanc/Canada_TV_Stations/BC.html). Likewise channel 65 is likely unable to broadcast into Canada due to CHNU on channel 66. I am not sure why I never thought of this before. I see no reason for 38 and 65 to exist in analogue form. I suppose they are holding license waiting for the digital versions on 24 and 34 respectively to begin.

It appears that K60GV may be our only hope. It appears though that K60GV has not applied for a digital channel assignment yet.

There is also an expired construction permit for analogue 52 which died in 2005 - unlikely that it will be revised as it is outside of the latest core channel allotment in the US.

Thoughts anyone?

Over on Gord Landsdell's site was the news item that KCPQ FOX in Tacoma, which is owned by the Tribune Company, is in ownership limbo. The owners hold a huge media conglomerate of newspapers, several TV stations, and the Chicago Cubs baseball team, but now it seems that the Tribune Company is in bankruptcy as it struggles beneath $13Billion in debt load, although KCPQ should apparently continue on.

http://members.shaw.ca/nwbroadcasters/recentnews.htm

KCTS will be firing up their VHF DTV transmitter soon for testing. The digital feed on UHF 41 will stay in effect during the test, while the VHF feed will be on 9.4 simultaneously.

I have very strong doubts that anyone in Canada will pick up 9.4 due to adjacent channel interference from being sandwhiched between two strong analogue stations (CHAN on 8 and CKVU on 10) but ya never know... Someone with a strong VHF antenna pointed right down to SeaTac might want to see how the test goes.Hello from KCTS 9!

Our transition to all-digital broadcasting is nearly complete! KCTS 9 engineers are excited to have installed our new digital transmitter, which will officially bring KCTS 9 digital to channel 9 in the VHF spectrum. We’re testing the new transmitter overnight on several occasions, and we need your help! If you’re up and about between 3:00 and 5:00 a.m. and can tune in, you’ll help us ascertain our signal strength and coverage. You will need to re-scan your tuner to receive KCTS-DT on VHF channel 9.4, as during these tests we'll also be operating on UHF channel 41—our current DTV channel. The VHF channel 9 transmitter will have a special message indicating that a test of the DTV transmitter on channel 9.4 is underway. After the test, you may have to re-scan your tuner again to help it re-locate KCTS 9 digital on UHF 41.

If you can stay up or get up to turn on your digital receiver, thank you! First, re-scan for KCTS 9 digital channel 9.4. Note the signal strength from your receiver, as well as any specifics of what you experienced. Please also include your location, antenna information, and what your receiver's signal strength is when tuned to KCTS-DT on UHF 41. Then, please e-mail the information to our engineers at dtvtest@KCTS9.org.

Test dates are:

December 22 from 3:15 to 4:45 a.m.

January 12 and 26 from 3:15 to 4:45 a.m.

February 9 from 3:15 to 6:45 a.m.

Finally, as of February 18 at approximately 1:00 a.m., KCTS-DT will be permanently on VHF channel 9.

Thank you as always for being a supporter of your local public television station—and happy holidays!

Well ya just never know it looks like a good time for a little fun I will give it a go :)

I forget which antenna you've got Dan, its a CM4228 right? Do you get KCTS 9 analogue on it, or is the adjacent channel interference from 8 and 10 too severe?

I actually do get during the skip time on the tv side as the cpu on is for digital
my reception for 8 and 10 suck 10 being the stronger but it is a small turning of the antenna and I can loose both :)
Dan

After the Canadian analogue transmitters on 8 & 10 are shut down in a few years do you expect KCTS-DT will be easier to receive in Canada than it is now on channel 9 analogue? Or is deep fringe reception less likely with digital signals even from a high power transmitter on a VHF channel?

After the Canadian analogue transmitters on 8 & 10 are shut down in a few years do you expect KCTS-DT will be easier to receive in CanadaToday the problem is ACI (Adjacent Channel Interference) and while CHAN and CKVU have transitional channels in UHF it is always possible that they will elect to stay on their VHF-HI allocations afterwards, and indeed I've heard that CHAN wishes to stay on 8 afterwards. I get a massive amount of ACI from CHAN on 9, so with my extremely directional CM1111 Quantum VHF antenna pointed directly at KCTS if I cannot get it in digital from North Delta then I expect that nobody in the Lower Mainland will. We need to wait and see at this point.

KCTS emailed that tonight's test has been cancelled due to the awful weather.

I should have checked the posting last night that would explain the zero luck.
:)

What you’ll see

Each test period is 90 seconds long. At the appointed time, Enrique Cerna will come on screen to confirm that we will be running a digital television test. Then, for 30 seconds, our analog service will be turned off. During this period, if your television set is not receiving a digital signal, you will see directions on screen about what to do to prepare. If you are receiving a digital signal, Enrique will remain on screen throughout the test. The program will begin after the test is complete.http://www.kcts9.org/tvschedule/digital/readinessKCTS 9 DTV Test Dates for December 2008

Monday, 12/15, at 8:00 p.m.

Wednesday, 12/17, at 5:28 p.m.

Sunday, 12/21, at 8:00 p.m. TEST CANCELED due to inclement weather

Monday, 12/29, at 2:00 p.m.

Tuesday, 12/30, at 9:00 p.m. (KCTS 9 only)

Wednesday, 12/31, at noonNOTE: these are not the same tests as discussed in Post #895

Will ACI remain a problem when all broadcasts are digital? I understood ACI was mostly eliminated with ATSC.

Yep. ACI is an analogue TV problem. On the other hand, if you are very close to a powerful digital transmitter and there are adjacent weaker digital channels there are some possibilities of preamp overload and other such local factors that could still cause problems. ACI tends to be worse than those problems, but personally I'm taking a wait-and-see attitude regarding the post-2011 era.

I scanned this afternoon and am now picking up KBCB, 24-1 on channel 19. Not that it's any great prize, but it is there. I wasn't picking it up before...

...laura

They have troubles during the storms and 2 week ago the came back on after being off for I think was about 2 weeks as they needed a part for the metering/control circuitry so they have been up and down often the past couple months

I have / had a good line in with the Chief Engineer and he has since just retired and I have been directed to the new Chief Engineer for my observations and question and KVOS has been great in giving good replies.
So I posed the question to him about the No idea why KVOS-DT didn't grab 12 though
I will post the info apon the reply coming to me.

NOTICE TO KONG-TV VIEWERS

On February 17, all television stations in the U.S. will stop analog broadcasting and transmit only in digital. However, KONG-TV, Everett, Washington, will cease analog broadcasting at 9:00 a.m. on February 6th. Viewers that watch KONG-TV over the air on an analog TV will need to take action to continue receiving the station. Possible options include using a digital-to-analog converter box, subscribing to a cable or satellite service, or using a TV with a digital turner. For more information on the DTV transition, converters boxes or how you can continue to receive the station, go to www.KONGTV.com, email us at info@kongtv.com, call us at 206-448-5555, or write to us at 333 Dexter Avenue North, Seattle , WA 98109.http://www.king5.com/dtv/

Not much agreement amongst SeaTac stations as to what they will do about the digital cutover, but I think we can rule out most of them for Feb. 17:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/tv/399028_digitaltv06.html

June 12 cutover:

KING
KONG
KOMO

Undecided or Unknown:

KIRO
KCPQ
KCTS
KSTW
KUNS

According to this:
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-09-221A5.pdf

Both KVOS and KBCB are shutting down their analog on Feburary 17th.

We now know who's definitely switching off the analog next week. As of yesterday's deadline, only three stations in the Seattle market declared their intention to make "The Big Switch" at midnight next Tuesday. They are KBCB/24, KVOS/12 and KWPX/33. Everybody else will stay the course until June 12 - or if and when said equipment suffers the electronic equivalent of a grand mal coronary.

Notice that KBCB is running a continuous crawl (complete with station ID) while KVOS inserts theirs into every segment of every program - but the automation cuts theirs off before it finishes.

LINK: FCC National List of Feb. 17 Cutovers (http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-09-221A3.pdf)