Anyone want to give a quick summary of what is coming for OTA DTV in Calgary, and when?

I know that quite a bit is up in the air as of yet, but a few of you have got to have an educated best guess.

When will other DTV stations come online, and which ones? Any timeframe for power upgrades too?

Thneed, [/URL]see this: [URL="http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=128142"]Track The Daily Status of Canada's DTV Stations During the Transition (http://www.user.dccnet.com/jonleblanc/Canada_TV_Stations)

http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2010/2010-605.htm

The Commission approves the application by Rogers Broadcasting Limited to amend the broadcasting licence for the television programming undertaking CKAL-TV Calgary in order to add a digital transmitter in Calgary (CKAL-DT). The Commission did not receive any interventions in connection with this application.
The new transmitter will operate from the existing CKAL-TV tower on channel 49 with an average effective radiated power of 100,000 watts (effective height of antenna above average terrain of 378 metres).

YEP - looks like CKAL-DT should be ready to go almost right away as the transmitter gear is installed and set up. Don't know about the STL though!

Just scanned Channel 49 — no signal yet!
And there's a CRTC typo up there: CKAL is moving to the Harvard Broadcasting tower site.

Just received a communication from CFCN. Looks like their DT service install will be a fall project so no point in scanning the UHF band looking for them just yet! ;)

Bill, do you mean CKAL?

According to earlier posts, CKAL-DT's equipment is ready to go.
I'm guessing that what Billsmith is referring to is an upgrade for CFCN-DT, which will see it move to Channel 29 and increase its maximum ERP to 220 kW.

Arthur Dent - No Arthur - I am actually referring to CTV Calgary as they also received their CFCN-DT CRTC approval for 220KW Max ERP (10 Kw UHF transmitter) at 206 Meters EHAAT.

The new post-transitional service on UHF Channel 29 replaces the present
1Kw ERP transitional service unit on Channel 36 which employs a 100 Watt transmitter.

As my update says (from CFCN) - the install will be fall project and so will not be happening yet! So for all those who do daily UHF band scans, there is no point in looking for Channel 29 just yet. This was the point of the update.

I have not been in contact with CityTV (CKAL-DT) however we know that their UHF equipment is installed and ready to go on Channel 49. My doubts are over the STL end of the new system. ;)

I don't know if Mike FM has any update on this?

Good news: As of 11:58 MDT, CKAL-DT (Citytv) is on the air with a test signal.
Please post reception reports in the Calgary/Southern Alberta reception thread (http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=81023).

Damn, I was thinking of beating downbeat this time (for the first announcement of a new DT station, that is). ;) Too bad I'm at work. :(

Just noticed the date coded into CKAL-DT's PSIP is off by several days. My TV is set to auto time and it displays as Sunday, Aug. 29, instead of Thursday, Sept. 2., when I tune to Citytv.

CBC has applied for a post-transitional transmitter for CBRT-TV Calgary on channel 21: http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2010/2010-669.htm

That's good, by going with 21 they're making it easier on Calgarians to use a single UHF antenna. :)

Unfortunately CIAN's transitional channel is still showing up as 13 in the IC database. People should be asking Access to go UHF if/when they transition.

Very good news for using Channel 21 but don't quite follow the proposed use of such a low ERP 23,500 Watts maximum @ only 276.3 EHAAT? Would have thought that the national broadcaster would have wanted to use more ERP to cover surrounding areas that will not receive locally transmitted DTV any time soon e.g. Olds?? Instead there is a predicted net decrease in population coverage of 3.47%?

However, included in the submission enclosures there is a note under "transitional DTV transmitters" which states that the initial technical parameters have been chosen to minimize costs and that final values of EHAAT and ERP and therefore coverage area will be much higher but it does not specify a time frame.

For your information …
This is a cropped version of a coverage map for CBRT-DT that CBC supplied in their CRTC application.
• The green area represents a predicted signal strength > 39.5 dBu
• The blue line represents CBRT's digital urban contour (59.5 dBu)
• The black line represents CBRT's noise-limited bounding contour (39.5 dBu)

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/picture.php?albumid=505&pictureid=3035
Image from CBRT application to the CRTC.

According to Stampeder's mirror of the Industry Canada broadcast database (http://www.user.dccnet.com/jonleblanc/Canada_TV_Stations/DT.html), CKCS-DT has been approved by the CRTC. Co-ordinates suggest they are staying on the CFCN tower.

Calgary; Channel 32; CKCS-DT; 510337 long.; 1141017 lat.; 207.4 metres; 36,000 watts

That is a great list / resource, Anyone have an idea when any of these stations (21, 32, 38) are going to actually start transmitting? or when 49 is going to show something other then cityline?

@Crash1hd: Welcome to the OTA forum!
Channels 32 and 38 have been approved by the CRTC. Their digital signals will come on only when their analog signals go off. That can be as late as Aug. 31, 2011.
Channel 21 is going through the CRTC approval process. CBC's application said it would bring its signal online after they get CRTC approval and the OK for Industry Canada.
As for Channel 49, Citytv in Edmonton went with a test program loop for something like a month before real programming showed up. I would expect the same for Citytv Calgary, although I don't know for sure.

As for Channel 49, Citytv in Edmonton went with a test program loop for something like a month before real programming showed up. I would expect the same for Citytv Calgary, although I don't know for sure.

Interesting. Here in Ottawa Citytv had live programming right from day 1, but then again unlike Edmonton and Calgary, we aren't worthy of a real station but instead get a repeater of the Toronto station, which was already on air. ;)