WMVT to increase power new location on tower?

[AA9VI]

I found this article today:

Wisconsin: PBS station WMVT/36.1 (Milwaukee, RF 35) upgraded from 500kW to 807kW but is not yet on its permanent tower.

Source:
http://www.northpine.com/broadcast/

A new tower? From http://transition.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?call=WMVT&city=&state=
It looks like a lower antenna with more power.  So, what is the end result?  Better or worse for those of us on the outskirts? Best I can tell from the FCC plots, really no difference.  So why the move?

[Nels Harvey]

I found this article today:

Wisconsin: PBS station WMVT/36.1 (Milwaukee, RF 35) upgraded from 500kW to 807kW but is not yet on its permanent tower.

It looks like a lower antenna with more power.  So, what is the end result?  Better or worse for those of us on the outskirts? Best I can tell from the FCC plots, really no difference.  So why the move?

In conversations with those involved, I think what is happening is that Ch. 35 will use a spare antenna a bit below the existing antenna while that antenna is replaced with a circular polarization antenna.  Since the power increase is going to an antenna with lesser gain, the higher power will not increase the coverage.  When the circular antenna is installed, the higher power will be permitted with higher gain, because the new antenna will not radiate more power horizontally, but rather the increased power will also contribute to the vertical element of the signal.

Ch. 35 needs to protect a station in South Bend, Indiana.  The old antenna offered a null toward the southeast. The new antenna  pattern will also include a null toward that station.  According to the antenna plots, where the current antenna is sending about 75% of it's maximum power to the south, it appears the new antenna will send a full 100% of its power to the south.  Between that, and the new circular polarization, there ought to be a stronger signal due south, right in AA9VI's direction.  The extra power to the south is because the SW and NW directions will have a slightly smaller gain.

There are also plans to improve the sister station 10-1 (Ch. with a power increase and better backup systems for both stations.  Stay tuned!

[mrschimpf]

On the 10 question, what has happened to the 36 translator for WMVS? I thought it was going to be up by the end of the year, but that doesn't seem to be the case, and the FCC has been silent about it and Polvision's WPVS 29 (which wants to be on DT30 from MPTV and would likely be a simulcast of WPVN Chicago) for a long time.

[AA9VI]

There are also plans to improve the sister station 10-1 (Ch. with a power increase and better backup systems for both stations.  Stay tuned!

Please keep us updated since you obviously have an inside track!  I would love to see a better signal on WMVS.  I'm glad they put WMVS 10.1 on 36.2 but not so glad I lost PBS World.  The irony is that in the analog days 10 was rock solid and 36 was pretty weak.  Now, it's the complete opposite.  The only time I lose 36.1 is when band enhancement kicks up and South Bend and Milwaukee compete for the same spectrum.

[ButtonPuncher]

You probably know this already but I'll throw it out there anyway...

10.1 is broadcast on VHF channel 8, low frequency compared to 36.1 which is broadcast on UHF channel 35.  If you have a UHF only antenna, then your reception of 10.1 will be really bad.  If your antenna is old and you have bent/missing VHF elements, then 10.1 will also suffer.

For instance, I had a Winegard PR-6032 set up at my parents house in New Berlin.  I was getting obscene amounts of signal.

http://www.starkelectronic.com/wpr7032.htm

That antenna was total overkill but I was attempting to pick up Madison.

BP

[Nels Harvey]

In conversations with those involved, I think what is happening is that Ch. 35 will use a spare antenna a bit below the existing antenna while that antenna is replaced with a circular polarization antenna.  Since the power increase is going to an antenna with lesser gain, the higher power will not increase the coverage.

I misunderstood the plan for the Ch. 10/36 (8/35) antennas.  New circular polarized antennas are now installed on an adjacent tower and after testing, will become backup antennas for the two channels.  Next year, the current main antennas will be replaced with new, circular, antennas.  At that time, both channels will use their brand new backup antennas while the new, main antennas are installed.

The main site is on the American Tower tower that holds several other broadcast antennas.  The backup site is only a few hundred feet away, and is owned by Sinclair Broadcasting who operates Ch. 18 from there.  Both towers are nearly the same height, and the only real difference will be the longer feed line for the backup antennas.

The new antenna design on either tower ought to permit more signal to go north and south, benefiting Ozaukee, Racine Sheboygan and Kenosha counties, as well as N. Illinois.  I hope this clears this up for all!