Rick Kemp
Rick Kemp, Chapter 16 Board – The UHF Television spectrum auction has concluded. The FCC received or will receive $19.6 Billion from the wireless carriers that bid on 84 MHZ of 600MHZ Television spectrum. Out of the total, $6 Billion will be used to go to help reduce the US Deficit
$1.75B will be used to help defray some of the cost to broadcasters who wish to participate in the next step, the TV Re-pack.
Over $10 Billion will go to broadcasters that chose to relinquish their spectrum rights.
Basically, what this means is all the UHF TV Channels that wish to stay on the air will be required to move to different channels (repacked) into the UHF Channels between UHF Channels 18 and 36. The frequencies above CH 36 have been sold (auctioned) to Wireless companies.
This will affect 1200+ TV stations in the US. it will be up to the station owners to decide if they want to continue broadcasting or hand in station some or all their licenses and go dark. FCC requires a station going off the air provide 30 days’ notice.
How will it work?
If a station wants to continue to broadcast and is out of band, they will need to:
Get a new (ATSC3.0) antenna*
Arrange for an interim or aux antenna and / or site, to continue to operate while replacing their old antenna.
Get /upgrade to a new ATSC3.0 Exciter
At antenna sites that are co-located with FM Stations, there is a strong likelihood that the FM stations will be affected as well, possibly requiring an antenna relocation.
TV Stations that will be out of band in Washington State:
KOMO (38)
KING (48)
KIRO (39)
KFFV (44)
KUSE-LD (46)
KUNS (50)
KVEW (44 Kennewick)
KSKN (36 Spokane)
LPTV’s
Channel 36 (RF channel 36): K36EW-D – (Religious independent) – College Place
Channel 36 (RF channel 36): KEVE-LD – (3ABN) – Vancouver
Channel 38 (RF channel 38): KYPK-LD – (Mundo Fox/Infomercials/The Walk TV/TeLe-Romántica/Religious independent) – Yakima
Channel 39 (RF channel 39): K39DL-D – (3ABN/Radio 74) – Moses Lake
Channel 39 (RF channel 39): KHBA-LD – (Hope Channel/3ABN/Religious independent/LLBN) – Spokane
Channel 39 (RF channel 39): KWYT-LP – (Estrella TV/Azteca America/MiCasa/LATV/QVC/Almavision) – Yakima
Channel 41 (RF channel 41): KCYU-LD – (Fox/This TV) – Yakima
Channel 42: KVBI-LP – Clarkston
Channel 42 (RF channel 42): K42KA-D – Moses Lake
Channel 43 (RF channel 43): K43MG-D – Hermiston
Channel 43 (RF channel 43): K43GZ-D – (HSN) – Spokane
Channel 45 (RF channel 35): KDHW-CD – (TBN/Church Channel/Smile of a Child TV/TBN Enlace USA) – Yakima
Channel 46 (RF channel 46): KUSE-LD – (Peace TV/SonLife/QVC/Hot TV/Infomercials) – Seattle
Channel 47 (RF channel 47): KQUP-LD – (Daystar) – Spokane
Channel 47 (RF channel 47): KWWO-LD – (Cornerstone) – Walla Walla
Channel 47 (RF channel 47): KWCC-LD – (Independent) – Wenatchee, Washington
Channel 49: K49EV – Clarkston
Channel 49: K49GF – Yakima, etc.
Channel 49 (RF channel 38): K38LZ-D – (MyNetworkTV) – Longview
Channel 49 (RF channel 49): KRLB-LD – (Cornerstone) – Richland, etc.
Channel 51 (RF channel 51): K51KY-D – Hermiston
Channel 51 (RF channel 51): K51JG-D – (3ABN/Radio 74) – Yakima
Channel 53 (RF channel 42): K42IH-D – (Independent) – East Wenatchee
Channel 54 (RF channel 31): K31KW-D
It’s unclear to me if KVOS (Ch 35) will be affected by the re-pack, due to the proximity to Canada, which might require they still move (or go dark) to avoid potential interference with Mobile wireless in B.C.
TV Stations that will be out of band in Portland:
KATU (43)
KOIN (40)
KNMT (45)
KTCW(45-Roseburg)
LPTV’s
Channel 36 (RF channel 49): KAMK-LD (3ABN) – Eugene
Channel 38 (RF channel 38): KHWB-LD (TBN) – Eugene
Channel 38 (RF channel 38): KKEI-CD (Telemundo) – Portland
Channel 39 (RF channel 27): K27DO-D (FOX/Telemundo) – Bend, etc.
Channel 39 (RF channel 39): K39EF-D (HSN) – Ashland
Channel 39 (RF channel 39): KFXO-LD (FOX/Telemundo) – Bend
Channel 39 (RF channel 39): K39DP-D – Klamath Falls
Channel 39 (RF channel 45): K45KM-D (FOX/Telemundo) – Bend
Channel 40 (RF channel 40): K40KR-D – Medford
Channel 42: K42IR (3ABN) – Astoria
Channel 42 (RF channel 42): KPXG-LD (Daystar) – Portland
Channel 43 (RF channel 43): K43MK-D – Roseburg
Channel 44: KDOV-LP (Religious independent) – Medford
Channel 46 (RF channel 46): KGWZ-LD (Ind.) – Portland
Channel 47: K47HT (3ABN) – Roseburg
Channel 47 (RF channel 47): KUNP-LD (Univision/TBA) – Portland
Channel 48 (RF channel 16): K16IG-D – Cottage Grove
Channel 48 (RF channel 48): K48GC-D (3ABN/Radio 74) – Florence
Channel 48 (RF channel 48): K48DZ-D (3ABN/Radio 74) – Hermiston
Channel 48 (RF channel 48): KFBI-LD (MyNetworkTV/Telemundo) – Medford
Channel 49 (RF channel 20): K20DD-D (MyNetworkTV) – Albany, etc.
Channel 49 (RF channel 20): K20EH-D (MyNetworkTV) – Hood River
Channel 49 (RF channel 43): KUBN-LD (MyNetworkTV) – Bend
Channel 49 (RF channel 49): K49KT-D (GCN) – Bend
Channel 49 (RF channel 49): K49DM-D – Coos Bay
Channel 49 (RF channel 50): K50GG-D (MyNetworkTV) – Salem
Channel 51 (RF channel 41): KOXO-CD (America One) – Portland
Channel 51 (RF channel 51): KHPN-LD (Silent) – Warrenton
Channel 57 (RF channel 21): K21KB-D (3ABN/Radio 74) – Brookings
The FCC will issue a “Channel Reassignment Public Notice(CRPN) which will trigger a 39-month window. At present, the countdown clock is set to start on March 31.
This also means that several Wireless Microphone bands and IFB channels will also become no longer available. But as far as I can tell, the major wireless mic manufacturers are or have already planned for this eventuality.
The FCC originally had put 126 MHZ worth of UHF Spectrum up for auction, but after 3 rounds of auctions with no bites, the amount was whittled down to 84MHZ.
This is an excerpt from a statement by Lectrosonics on the subject:
“The 600MHz band auction, which began last spring, is finally coming to a long-awaited conclusion. After 3 failed rounds, round 4 has met the required conditions for a successful end. This round offered 84MHz of spectrum to the wireless carriers and other interested parties and will result in the loss of TV channels 38-51, (614-698MHz, or Lectrosonics blocks 24, 25 & 26, and Band C1). Remember that channel 37 was, and will continue to be, off limits for wireless mics, so the remaining usable band will be channels 14-36 (Lectrosonics blocks 470, 19, 20, 21, 22 & 23, and Bands A1 and B1).
As we have in the past, we are happy to offer re-blocking service for any eligible affected units, at approximately 1/3 to 1/2 the cost of new. Please consult the re-blocking price list for further details. For any questions about re-blocking or to schedule your products for this service, please contact us at 800-821-1121 or service.repair@lectrosonics.com.
We will continue to update this page as the news from the FCC is published.
The diagram below shows the resulting TV band spectrum with detail on the 11MHz Duplex Gap and 3MHz channel 37 Guard Band.”
* Min. Field Strength: 41dBu, Estimated Indoor NG broadcast service, based upon a data rate for 15db C/N: 84dBu.
Source: John L. Schadler, Dielectric, “Antenna Technology for ATSC3.0 – Boosting the Signal Strength”
