Is Global 41.1 Toronto now operating at their full 100 KW power?

 

Wondering the same. In Fort Erie where analog 55 was shut down, not a blip on 41.1. Other Toronto channels coming in no problem.

 

CIII Paris 6.1 complaint number?

Does anyone have Global tv contact on where a complaint should go regarding reception of Global 6.1 (Paris,ON) ?

 

BCF, have you tried http://www.globaltv.com/about/contactus.html ?

 

Yes, I've submitted at least 2 complaints at that link. Of course, I have never received an email acknowledgement or reply.

Does anyone have another means to contact Globaltv?

 

Yes, call them at (416) 446-5311. They have a menu option (#4) for unacceptable reception. FYI, they are still not at full power because the equipment at the Paris site (owned by TVO) is really old. But the engineer says they are working on it.

 

Paris Power

I called Global again today. The guy on the other end said that they are still not running at full power because the site and its equipment are so old, and there are safty issues, etc.

He also mentioned that Paris and Ottawa are specifically problem sites (as predecited here by many).

Anyway, I should have asked what power they are running at, but I forgot.

 

Thanks Micah for the contact number. I will give them a call tomorrow, even if it's just to add another mark to the tally of people affected.

 

Thanks Micah for posting some information for Globaltv CIII 6.1. Hopefully Global will remedy the issue(s) with their Paris and Ottawa transmitters quickly.
I'll try to remember to ask the engineer what ERP they are broadcasting at when I call. I will post the information on this forum.

 

Good thing that they had all that time to work out those issues pre transition. I find it so ironic that no lessons from the US transition were heeded.
I understand the whole monetary thing, but common.

 

I called Global @ 416-446-5311, the number provided micah the other day.
Global/Shaw must have changed the menu, as it only prompted to press 1 (english) or 2 (french). There was no menu option 4 for unacceptable OTA reception.

The number went to Global TV News, so I'm not sure why that happened. I was given another number to call, which gave options to subscribe to Shaw Cable to Shaw satellite.
The call eventually went to voicemail, so I left a brief message about not being able to pickup Global 6.1 from Paris,ON in London.

I'm glad some got through to Global and spoke with their engineers regarding reception of Global 6.1 from Paris,ON in London. Hopefully Global will be able to resolve the known issues soon.

 

When did you call? I wonder if the options are only accessible during business hours?

 

I called Global @ 416-446-5311 at about 10am this morning (Sept 8)

 

BCF, I _just_ called (416) 446-5311 seconds ago (5:12pm) and option four (#4) was still there for unacceptable results. Odd. Anyway, they are getting to know me now, so I'm not going to call back for a little while.

 

@micah
call the option 2 French line, perhaps they won't know you there.

 

Sadly, my French is definitely not good enough to start gaming the system

 

I called from Ottawa today and was told that they are at full power and it sucks too bad Well not exactly like that but yeah. (note: I called the number posted and go no menu, someone answered immediately).

So I called CRTC and they said that Global's signal is weak and they can apply for a stronger signal but they have to ask for it and then the CRTC will look at it. So keep calling global to bug them.

One would think that the CRTC mandating digital in certain areas would require a certain percentage of penetration but I guess as long as it is on, it doesn't matter how wimpy it is.

 

Posted in more detail before, but just to repeat in brief:

The regulatory scheme for determining channel assignments and power for digital TV is the same as it was for the last years of analog TV. The problem was that some engineering assumptions for VHF, especially low-VHF were not correct for DTV.

At least in the US, the FCC cannot change the scheme without a rulemaking process. In the interim, stations that want to raise power have to submit reports that include some measurements about how far off predictions were and/or an anlysis of where viewer complaints are coming from. Stations also have to prove that they will not create new interference to others or have negotiated agreements with stations they may affect.

If stations can file for more power and show no increased interference under the current regulatory scheme, then the process is much simpler and quicker.

 

I got a call back from Global they are looking into it and will call me back.

The guy suggested turning off the FM trap incase it is interfering as he said they broadcast from 82Mhz to 88Mhz although we know we have a strong 88.5 here in Ottawa.

It's worth a try but pretty sure with the trap I had worse signal before.

 

Dave, in the specific case of Global Ottawa, a little history, which will show why this channel six is worse than most other ch. 6 ATSC disasters:

CII-TV-6 was implemented back in 1974, when few people in Ottawa had UHF reception capabilities. The English market was basically CBC on 4 and CTV on 13, TVO on 24 with some people pulling in the Watertown CBS (and secondary NBC and ABC) affiliate WWNY on 7.

Cable had started in the mid-sixties, and most people who wanted more than 4 and 13 got hooked up to that, which offered Montreal stations, as well as Watertown CBS and PBS and Plattsburg NBC (still, no ABC affiliate until the CRTC permitted microwave delivery of distant signals in the late seventies).

In order to elbow its way into the Ontario TV market without upsetting local affiliates jealous of their local ad revenues, Global came up with the idea of a "regional" stations with no direct local presence, and no local ad sales. Except for Ottawa, not one transmitter was located in a major centre. Sarnia was served from Oil springs, London and Kitchener from Paris, Toronto from Uxbridge, Kingston and Pembroke barely from Bancroft.
(And Windsor was "unserved" by a transmitter in Cottam)

Eastern Ontario (east of Ottawa) was supposed to be served by a high-powered ch. 36 transmitter in the Glengary Highlands at Maxville.
Because that station would rimshot Montreal (and get mandatory cable carriage there) it was not approved.

In order to slip in a channel 6 transmitter to serve Ottawa, channel 6 had severe nulls toward short-spaced CBMT in Montreal and CJOH-TV-6 on Mount Carmel near Deseronto.

(According to TVfool, channel 6 is putting out as little as 70 watts towards now heavily-populated areas such as Orleans.)

That eastern null would have been served by Maxville had it been approved.

Analog reception in Ottawa with rabbit ears was always atrocious, mostly due to FM interference.

(Oh, and did I mention that channel 6 analog started off with 12 kW, not the 50 kw it ended up with?)

In the meantime, the FM band here in Ottawa has completely filled up -- we're even got second adjacents now. I think there are at least two FM stations below 90 MHz that share channel 6's antenna low down on the tower.

Shaw took over Global late in the transition game, so I expect the mandatory stations were all converted with the minimum of changes to existing equipment, so right now we're stuck with a combination of NTSC short-spacing-based equipment and faulty planning parameters.

My best guess is that, should Global do anything, they would apply for temporary permission to increase power (the channel 6 allotment in Montreal is vacant, and CJOH-TV-6, being an analog station, no longer enjoys protection - in any case, those in the interference zone would likely get CJOH-DT.)

In the longer term, I could see them applying for one of the two vacant UHF allotments (33 or 50), but I would bet on the recently freed-up-by-SunTV 33, because perhaps it could be accommodated on the existing TeleQuebec antenna on the Ryan Tower at Camp Fortune already carrying 30, 34, and 40. (The VHF-high allotments on 11 and 12 are both short-spaced.)

As part of Shaw's purchase of Global TV, one of their promised "tangible benefits" was to convert ALL of the Global stations to digital by 2016. I believe they may even have to report annually on their progress, so the public may have more leverage than usual getting this discussed at the CRTC level. (What's the point of serving the countryside from Bancroft if Ottawa residents in a mandatory market can't get Global OTA?)

 

Oddly I get channel 2 from bancroft perfectly!

 

I am still waiting for an Email Response from Global, asked if they were at full power yet in Paris Ontario. (6.1).

 

It's worth a try but pretty sure with the trap I had worse signal before.

88.5 is very close to 88 MHz, so there's no way you can filter it without having some effect on Ch. 6. With analog signals, the effect would be to reduce the strength of the audio channel and perhaps affect the colour carrier, with some roll off of the higher frequencies of the luminance (brightness or B&W) signal. With digital, the roll off may affect the entire signal.

 

Global 41-1 reception

update Global returned at about 0930 - [Yesterday at approx 2330, Global appeared to go dark on both my TV's [separate antennas]. It is still out this AM. Rescan did not find it. Our location is highway 48 & Mount Albert road in york region. Does anyone else have this issue or notice that the signal strength reduced in there area? thnx]

 

Just a note for Global Ottawa. The FM trap on the 7777 is required, without it my signal cuts in half. I have contacted an engineer at Global again as I can now catch it I'm not sure yet if they did something or what though. I posted my results in the kanata results thread for those interested.

 

Still waiting ...........not sure they care about London.
I am still waiting for an Email Response from Global, asked if they were at full power yet in Paris Ontario. (6.1).