Looks like Global HD is off the air this morning. ~ 7:15am / Sep. 14th. Analogue is on air though.

Could this be part of the new antenna and service coming into operation from the new tower? Can someone phone Global to find out? As I am now in Mexico. :)

The Global TV Noon News Hour just began with some aerial footage of the CICT tower site.
The anchor declared today a "historic day" for the station, although it isn't immediately obvious to me what was so special ... Their new analog OTA signal came on the air last week; their digital service is still coming from their temporary site at the studio.
Anyway ... it was explained antenna work was the reason behind intermittent transmission outages on OTA channel 2 through the summer. Incidentally, channel 2 was off this morning and yesterday morning as well, about 11 a.m.
The anchor said the old tower could not support extra antennas -- I presume these would be for digital service. (No direct mention of OTA digital broadcasts, though.)
I got to the TV in time to see what looked like four vertically stacked UHF broadcast antennas at the top of the tower, though I can't be sure. I didn't get a good look.
Maybe they'll be repeating this video later on?

I was one of the three personnel on that tower today when that footage was taken. The stack you saw was the old analog batwing antenna. That stack is now laying on the ground in 3 pieces being it was too heavy to pick with our gin pole at once. The old tower is also in extremely bad shape. It has seen excessive strains at some point in its fifty plus year tenure. Also the Global technician has been turning the RF down or off on the new tower because it is radiating us while working on the old tower. That might explain your interruptions. Any more questions just ask. I hope Calgary enjoys its new tower for many years to come.

Kyle

Oh ya Global comes back on air at 11am because that's about when we're usually heading down for lunch. ;)

Thanks for the details, Kyle! It was cool to see you guys scampering about on the tower.
Do you know if the new tower is fully installed? (e.g. Are there more antennas to add to it?)

The Global TV Noon News Hour just began with some aerial footage of the CICT tower site.

Thanks downbeat! Great footage. For those who are interested, you can see the video online on Global's Website (http://www.globaltvcalgary.com/video/index.html). Just select "Noon News Hour" and then Sept 16.

The anchor said the old tower could not support extra antennas -- I presume these would be for digital service.

As I quoted in post #465 (http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?p=980510#post980510), they need to install a new FM antenna and want to sell space to other Calgary broadcasters (presumably both TV and radio).

X92.9 was trumpeting their new tower in on-air promos several weeks ago, so I presumed the new FM equipment was already in operation.

Hello, I've been using the standard "coat hanger antenna" build from YouTube for quite some time and it is working great for the 4.1 CFCN channel but I cannot seem to get the CICT 2.1 channel in NW Calgary (Citadel). My brother living in the NE can get both channels with the same antenna.

Is the signal strong enough to get to me for Global? If not, is the new tower going to be once it becomes operational for the digital signal?

Thanks,
Pete

Thanks for the details, Kyle! It was cool to see you guys scampering about on the tower.
Do you know if the new tower is fully installed? (e.g. Are there more antennas to add to it?)

We are not adding any more antennas. All of the large antennas are already in place. Our company is completely done with that tower, derigged, finished. Some smaller things might be added by other companies later. Oh and the Honeywell lighting system is junk, so it needs lots of help still. Look at the tower sometime. A lot of the lights don't even work:confused: Most of the work that needs to be done is in the transmitter room now. Also someone shot one of the two new 5" coax lines that was to be feeding the top stack (TV antenna). Presumably a drunk local shooting at the new blinky lights. I don't know what they're going to do to fix that. I have some ideas, but it won't be easy! :(

The FM array that we installed on this tower is the largest in Canada. It can support several FM stations. 92.9 "pays the bills" so they are on first. Other radio stations will be coming on to this tower later as they get their transmitters moved to the new building.

Welcome, Pete!
If your antenna is outdoors, have you tried re-orientating your antenna toward the temporary transmission site at the Global TV studio? They are roughly southeast of your location, at Barlow Tr. and Centre Ave.
If it's inside ... try placing your antenna near a window facing east to south for Global. (If you're lucky, you've got a window facing southeast!)
I'll have to let some more technically minded people speak to possible signal improvements when Global does move to their new transmission facilities. At the very leat, I know it will help you re: aiming your antenna, as the permanent CBC, CTV and Global transmission sites are generally in the same direction from you.

I wrote CBC TV an e-mail relating to the digital TV rollout here in Calgary. Here's the answer I got back from Audience Relations.

We appreciate your interest in CBC Television.

CBC is aware of VHF difficulties in some U.S. markets and we are currently evaluating a possible change to a UHF frequency. However, a UHF allottment would require a costly investment in new transmission facilities, whereas using channel 9 would allow us to take advantage of existing equipment and keep costs down. A final decision has not yet been made on this issue.

Digital high definition service will not be implemented in Calgary before 2011. A time table for implementation after the transition date has not been confirmed.

Thank you for writing to CBC.

We are not adding any more antennas. All of the large antennas are already in place.

Do you know any details about the TV antenna(s)? Has a UHF antenna been installed? Can the channel 2 antenna be used for UHF (I would find this surprising, but you never know)?

Also someone shot one of the two new 5" coax lines that was to be feeding the top stack (TV antenna). Presumably a drunk local shooting at the new blinky lights.

LOL. That is why outdoor telecommunications (and presumably broadcast) equipment must pass various shot gun tests to prove that it will survive a shot gun blast. Hitting the coax line is pretty rough though. It is amazing what some idiots will use for target practice.

I wrote CBC TV an e-mail relating to the digital TV rollout here in Calgary. Here's the answer I got back from Audience Relations.

That sounds about right. The problem is the CBC just doesn't have any money to spare right now. They are going to need a huge influx of cash from the Canadian government to complete their DTV transition.

I found their comments on VHF interesting. One way they can save money would be to share a UHF antenna with another broadcaster. This wouldn't solve the ongoing issue of increased electricity costs however. The biggest problems with VHF-HI for DTV are:

People not using a VHF antenna,
Under estimation of VHF propagation for DTV, and
Poor propagation through buildings making it inferior in urban areas.


This is off topic, but here is what I would like to see done with the bands:
VHF-LO: Northern and remote analog transmitters and FM band extension in urban areas.

VHF-HI: Rural DTV (multicast?) transmitters

UHF: Urban DTV transmitters.

I found their comments on VHF interesting. One way they can save money would be to share a UHF antenna with another broadcaster. This wouldn't solve the ongoing issue of increased electricity costs however. The biggest problems with VHF-HI for DTV are:
People not using a VHF antenna,
Under estimation of VHF propagation for DTV, and
Poor propagation through buildings making it inferior in urban areas.

This is off topic, but here is what I would like to see done with the bands:
VHF-LO: Northern and remote analog transmitters and FM band extension in urban areas.

VHF-HI: Rural DTV (multicast?) transmitters

UHF: Urban DTV transmitters.

I would like to pass a few comments on ROGER1818 post # 495

I agree that sharing another broadcaster's UHF antenna is an excellent idea, not only due to the economic benefits but also it helps with simpler reception via a single UHF recieve antenna at the consumer end. The UK have universally adpoted this philosophy in their digital switchover and post 1962 for their UHF 625 line analog services with all channels coming from one tower for a given region (plus low powered relays for those areas not adequately served). see http://www.mb21.co.uk select Tranmitters then The Transmission Gallery

I'm not sure about higher electricity costs as at changeover, as there will be a saving from all of the higher powered analog services that are to be switched off. Digital services with their inherently lower power needs would use less electrical power with both VHF and UHF frequencies.

After a chat with the Global Transmitter engineer I had also understood that there is a new feature from UHF yet to be implemented which will allow cell phone recievers to recieve UHF Digital TV in addition, as they do FM signals at present. There is therefore an obvious advantage to UHF only broadcasting.

In the case of the CBC Calgary station however, the immediate cost saving would be to use of their existing Channel 9 antenna array and transmitter (assuming that it is modern enough to be converted for digital use).

In general, I agree with Roger1818's "off topic" comments for Urban, Rural and Northern areas. Thank you Roger1818!

I'm not sure about higher electricity costs as at changeover, as there will be a saving from all of the higher powered analog services that are to be switched off. Digital services with their inherently lower power needs would use less electrical power with both VHF and UHF frequencies.

It is true that on the same channel, DTV requires less power than analog to get the same coverage. My comment was that UHF channels require more power than VHF channels to get the same coverage (assuming both broadcasts are either DTV or analog).

After a chat with the Global Transmitter engineer I had also understood that there is a new feature from UHF yet to be implemented which will allow cell phone recievers to recieve UHF Digital TV in addition, as they do FM signals at present. There is therefore an obvious advantage to UHF only broadcasting.

The technology isn't unique to UHF, but cell phones may not be have large enough antennas to receive VHF very well. Having said that, it is very likely that the big carriers here in Canada will likely require cell phone manufactures disable this feature in the phones the sell so that people will use their data feeds for video.

I'm a little new to OTA DTV but I'm definately taking interest. Can someone please clear something up regarding CICT for me as I read these forums; so far Global Calgary has moved their analog signal to a new tower/hardware and are currently broadcasting their original signal, while their digital signal is still coming from their old tower? Is this correct?

If so, is there a rough time frame when they will broadcast their digital signal from the new location? Is my information correct on this?

Cheers,
Pete

Hi Pete,

Can someone please clear something up regarding CICT for me as I read these forums; so far Global Calgary has moved their analog signal to a new tower/hardware and are currently broadcasting their original signal, while their digital signal is still coming from their old tower? Is this correct?

Yes Pete - CICT have moved their Channel 2 service to the new tower as the old tower was no longer fit for further service and couldn't support additional antenna arrays. However, the digital signal CICT-DT is coming from a smaller tower on the same site as their Calgary studios located just off Barlow Trail and Center Avenue in the East of the city. This is not the same site as the old and new broadcast masts spaced 150 feet apart off the Old Banff Coach Road to the West of the City.

If so, is there a rough time frame when they will broadcast their digital signal from the new location? Is my information correct on this?


The time frame isn't exactly known for this but a Global Calgary engineer told me that it would be prior to the 2011 analog shutoff date. Reading the earlier parts of this thread, it may be possible this year, but no garantees??

Hope this helps you!

Cheers,
Pete (my name also)

It is true that on the same channel, DTV requires less power than analog to get the same coverage. My comment was that UHF channels require more power than VHF channels to get the same coverage (assuming both broadcasts are either DTV or analog).


Tks Roger1818,

Further to your remark, could you say how the VHF/UHF transmitter powers relate to a given area? For example, I believe that the FCC ERP power limits for VHF Lo Band is 100KW, for VHF Hi Band, 325KW and UHF, 5000KW based on the same area of coverage (and presumably at equal aerial height). But I'm not really sure how these stack up in terms of transmitter powers at the antenna feeders as these depend on the relative antenna gains which may vary considerably in turn, depending on the antenna/tower configurations. However, I have read that when UHF broadcasting started that it was more expensive for the broadcaster generally than VHF.

Having said that, it is very likely that the big carriers here in Canada will likely require cell phone manufactures disable this feature in the phones the sell so that people will use their data feeds for video.

Chatting with the Global Engineer, he did say that this was Global's reason for staying with a UHF DT channel as opposed to using their existing channel 2 frequency or possibly going to a new Hi Band option.

Further to your remark, could you say how the VHF/UHF transmitter powers relate to a given area? For example, I believe that the FCC ERP power limits for VHF Lo Band is 100KW, for VHF Hi Band, 325KW and UHF, 5000KW based on the same area of coverage (and presumably at equal aerial height). But I'm not really sure how these stack up in terms of transmitter powers at the antenna feeders as these depend on the relative antenna gains which may vary considerably in turn, depending on the antenna/tower configurations. However, I have read that when UHF broadcasting started that it was more expensive for the broadcaster generally than VHF.

We are getting beyond my knowledge and off topic, so I will leave this to someone else in a different thread.

Chatting with the Global Engineer, he did say that this was Global's reason for staying with a UHF DT channel as opposed to using their existing channel 2 frequency or possibly going to a new Hi Band option.

I guess we will have to wait and see. It is promissing to hear that
Global at least is thinking along these lines. They might be able to put pressure on the cell phone carriers to enable the feature on the phones. My fear is they will do something silly like Rogers does with the iPhone and require that you buy a data plan to buy the phone, even though it isn't really necessary. Once again we are getting off thread topic though.