WHNB/WVIT Channel 30 (was Re: WTAG-TV?)

[Peter Q. George]

WATR-TV (Channel 20) provided the NBC coverage that WHNB could not provide due to the hilly terrain west of Hartford.  In 1978, WHNB made a major power increase to a full 4 million watts of power from a taller tower.  At the same time, the station was sold to Viacom and had the call-letters changed to WVIT.  With solid cable coverage and a solid OTA coverage, WATR (a very poor NBC affiliate) had no reason to be there.    Channel 20 made a major power increase in 1982 and as such would overlap the coverage area of WVIT.  So, Channel 20 was sold and became Independent WTXX.  It immediately became a smash in the Hartford area. It was Hartford's first Indy, ever since Channel 18 (WHCT) went religious in the late 70's. 

The two WVIT translators (59 New Haven and 79 Torrington) continued into the 1990's until WTVU/59 finally fired up after 40+ years of CP status.  Channel 79 was forgotten around 1996 after the engineer stopped visiting.  The unit is still there in the woods but has been silent since around '97. 



Peter Q. George (K1XRB)
Whitman, Massachusetts
"Scanning the bands since 1967"

radiojunkie3@yahoo.com
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By the early 70's, WHNB had
> signed on translators in New Haven (59) and Torrington (79)
> to fill in their coverage gaps.  I would assume once
> that happened WATR lost their NBC affiliation, but I
> couldn't find an exact date.
> 
> -Dave Tomm
> 
> On Nov 20, 2009, at 11:27 PM, vzeej5wn@myfairpoint.net
> wrote:
> 
> > I've always been curious about WATR-TV's NBC
> affiliation, given that WHNB-TV Channel 30 in New Britain
> was only about thirty miles away (if
> that).   Is the terrain down there so hilly
> that one NBC affiliate wasn't sufficient to cover the
> area?  -Doug
> > 
> 
>