From bob.bosra@demattia.net Sun Feb 27 19:07:49 2022 From: bob.bosra@demattia.net (Bob DeMattia) Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2022 19:07:49 -0500 Subject: WHDT Rf 4 In-Reply-To: References: <19e69896-07ef-8d23-bbea-a835bea53e37@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: WHDT Rf4, virtual 3.1 went on the air today from the Pru. Low power temporary antenna. Is anybody able to receive it? Bob ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: A Joseph Ross Date: Thu, Jan 6, 2022, 12:02 AM Subject: Re: WMBR (formerly WMIT) history and current events To: Kevin Vahey , Bob DeMattia Cc: Boston Radio Group Thanks Shawn, Bob, and Kevin for answering my question. Why it wasn't called WMIT is something that I've wondered about for many years. On 1/5/2022 9:52 AM, Kevin Vahey wrote: In the mid-1950s, the possibility of an FM license was explored and it was discovered that the call letters WMIT were (and still are) in use by a North Carolina station serving the Asheville area. WTBS (for "Technology Broadcasting System") was chosen as the best alternative. On Wed, Jan 5, 2022 at 9:42 AM Bob DeMattia wrote: Actually, WMIT was the callsign they used for their carrier current station. When they went to FM in 1961, they were actually WTBS. They changed from WTBS to WMBR in 1979 when a certain fellow from Atlanta wanted the calls for his UHF television station in Atlanta. -Bob On Wed, Jan 5, 2022 at 12:26 AM A Joseph Ross wrote: I didn't know the station was once WMIT. I always wondered why it wasn't WMIT. On 1/4/2022 9:48 PM, Tim Gordon wrote: I just happened upon this article the same week I learned that my father had been involved with the engineering/technical side of WMIT in the early 50's. Maybe someone else on this list might find it interesting, also. --Tim https://alum.mit.edu/slice/steady-beat-student-alumni-collaboration-sustains-campus-radio-station -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 617.367.0468 ? http://www.attorneyross.com -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 617.367.0468 ? http://www.attorneyross.com From elipolo881@gmail.com Mon Feb 28 16:29:44 2022 From: elipolo881@gmail.com (Eli Polonsky) Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2022 16:29:44 -0500 Subject: WHDT Rf 4 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: My set scanned it in with an indoor antenna here in Somerville, but it's not on virtual 3.1 (which it was briefly on years ago), it's now on virtual 4.3, and the visual TOH ID card says WHDT 4. It's coming in with a very weak signal, one "bar" on my set. Apparently, different types of sets deal with scanning in multiple signals that have the same virtual channel but are on different RF channels differently. On my old 2009 Westinghouse HDTV (that died a few years ago), the channel with the highest RF channel of two that used the same virtual channel (that the set would find last of the two in a scan), would supercede the one with the lower RF channel (that the set would find earlier in the scan) and it would map that channel to the virtual channel, with the one with the lower RF channel being lost. The Element "Smart TV" that I bought to replace it (an off-brand that was on sale cheap at Target the night that my Westinghouse died) maps both channels as watchable. It mapped the first one it found (with the lower RF channel) WHDT to virtual 4.3, and it now shows up on the set on 4.3 between WBZ 4.2 and 4.4, instead of WBZ 4.3. When the Element encountered the WBZ channels on its higher RF channels later in the scan and it already had WHDT mapped to 4.3, it mapped WBZ 4.3 to display on its RF channel 20.3, which is where I now get WBZ 4.3. The Westinghouse would have just thrown out the one it got earlier in the scan (WHDT) and mapped WBZ 4.3 there. I don't understand why WHDT does this. They have been on, what, about a half-dozen different virtual channels in all of their short-lived attempts to come on the air in Boston over the years? I don't see how this one will work in the long run, are they even aware that they are using a virtual channel occupied by a heritage 70+ year major station? I'd think that WBZ wouldn't be happy with them not only being on the same virtual channel (albeit the .3 subchannel) but also marketing and promoting themselves as Boston's Channel 4. If they are aware of the existence of WBZ-TV and they insist on being "on" ch. 4 in Boston, why didn't they map to a higher sub-channel than 4.4 to avoid the in-use WBZ virtual channels? EP > Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2022 19:07:49 -0500 > From: Bob DeMattia > To: boston-radio-interest@lists.bostonradio.org > Subject: WHDT Rf 4 > > WHDT Rf4, virtual 3.1 went on the air today from the Pru. Low power > temporary antenna. Is anybody able to receive it? > > Bob > > From bob.bosra@demattia.net Mon Feb 28 20:03:19 2022 From: bob.bosra@demattia.net (Bob DeMattia) Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2022 20:03:19 -0500 Subject: WHDT Rf 4 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Thanks Eli. I think they have fixed it, my TV is now saying "WHDT" (no 4) and virtual channel 3.1. The audio needs some work though. -Bob On Mon, Feb 28, 2022 at 5:41 PM Eli Polonsky wrote: > My set scanned it in with an indoor antenna here in Somerville, > but it's not on virtual 3.1 (which it was briefly on years ago), it's > now on virtual 4.3, and the visual TOH ID card says WHDT 4. > It's coming in with a very weak signal, one "bar" on my set. > > Apparently, different types of sets deal with scanning in multiple > signals that have the same virtual channel but are on different RF > channels differently. > > On my old 2009 Westinghouse HDTV (that died a few years ago), > the channel with the highest RF channel of two that used the same > virtual channel (that the set would find last of the two in a scan), > would supercede the one with the lower RF channel (that the set > would find earlier in the scan) and it would map that channel to > the virtual channel, with the one with the lower RF channel being > lost. > > The Element "Smart TV" that I bought to replace it (an off-brand > that was on sale cheap at Target the night that my Westinghouse > died) maps both channels as watchable. It mapped the first one it > found (with the lower RF channel) WHDT to virtual 4.3, and it now > shows up on the set on 4.3 between WBZ 4.2 and 4.4, instead of > WBZ 4.3. > > When the Element encountered the WBZ channels on its higher RF > channels later in the scan and it already had WHDT mapped to 4.3, > it mapped WBZ 4.3 to display on its RF channel 20.3, which is where > I now get WBZ 4.3. The Westinghouse would have just thrown out the > one it got earlier in the scan (WHDT) and mapped WBZ 4.3 there. > > I don't understand why WHDT does this. They have been on, what, > about a half-dozen different virtual channels in all of their short-lived > attempts to come on the air in Boston over the years? > > I don't see how this one will work in the long run, are they even aware > that they are using a virtual channel occupied by a heritage 70+ year > major station? I'd think that WBZ wouldn't be happy with them not > only being on the same virtual channel (albeit the .3 subchannel) but > also marketing and promoting themselves as Boston's Channel 4. > > If they are aware of the existence of WBZ-TV and they insist on being > "on" ch. 4 in Boston, why didn't they map to a higher sub-channel than > 4.4 to avoid the in-use WBZ virtual channels? > > EP > > > > > > Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2022 19:07:49 -0500 > > From: Bob DeMattia > > To: boston-radio-interest@lists.bostonradio.org > > Subject: WHDT Rf 4 > > > > WHDT Rf4, virtual 3.1 went on the air today from the Pru. Low power > > temporary antenna. Is anybody able to receive it? > > > > Bob > > > > > From paulranderson@charter.net Mon Feb 28 20:38:46 2022 From: paulranderson@charter.net (Paul Anderson) Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2022 20:38:46 -0500 Subject: WHDT Rf 4 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <5B41112F-E7BD-4A44-A31A-77200BDC0FCB@charter.net> Who or what is WHDT? I?ve not heard of them, nor do I expect to pick up their signal here in central Massachusetts. Paul From elipolo881@gmail.com Mon Feb 28 17:13:10 2022 From: elipolo881@gmail.com (Eli Polonsky) Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2022 17:13:10 -0500 Subject: WHDT Rf 4 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Sorry for the duplicate, but I realized I forgot to turn off formatting, which has sometimes made my messages on this list show up with question marks at every line in the past. In case that happened again, here it is unformatted. My set scanned it in with an indoor antenna here in Somerville, but it's not on virtual 3.1 (which it was briefly on years ago), it's now on virtual 4.3, and the visual TOH ID card says WHDT 4. It's coming in with a very weak signal, one "bar" on my set. Apparently, different types of sets deal with scanning in multiple signals that have the same virtual channel but are on different RF channels differently. On my old 2009 Westinghouse HDTV (that died a few years ago), the channel with the highest RF channel of two that used the same virtual channel (that the set would find last of the two in a scan), would supercede the one with the lower RF channel (that the set would find earlier in the scan) and it would map that channel to the virtual channel, with the one with the lower RF channel being lost. The Element "Smart TV" that I bought to replace it (an off-brand that was on sale cheap at Target the night that my Westinghouse died) maps both channels as watchable. It mapped the first one it found (with the lower RF channel) WHDT to virtual 4.3, and it now shows up on the set on 4.3 between WBZ 4.2 and 4.4, instead of WBZ 4.3. When the Element encountered the WBZ channels on its higher RF channels later in the scan and it already had WHDT mapped to 4.3, it mapped WBZ 4.3 to display on its RF channel 20.3, which is where I now get WBZ 4.3. The Westinghouse would have just thrown out the one it got earlier in the scan (WHDT) and mapped WBZ 4.3 there. I don't understand why WHDT does this. They have been on, what, about a half-dozen different virtual channels in all of their short-lived attempts to come on the air in Boston over the years? I don't see how this one will work in the long run, are they even aware that they are using a virtual channel occupied by a heritage 70+ year major station? I'd think that WBZ wouldn't be happy with them not only being on the same virtual channel (albeit the .3 subchannel) but also marketing and promoting themselves as Boston's Channel 4. If they are aware of the existence of WBZ-TV and they insist on being "on" ch. 4 in Boston, why didn't they map to a higher sub-channel than 4.4 to avoid the in-use WBZ virtual channels? EP Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2022 19:07:49 -0500 > From: Bob DeMattia > To: boston-radio-interest@lists.bostonradio.org > Subject: WHDT Rf 4 > > WHDT Rf4, virtual 3.1 went on the air today from the Pru. Low power > temporary antenna. Is anybody able to receive it? > > Bob > > From elipolo881@gmail.com Mon Feb 28 21:24:04 2022 From: elipolo881@gmail.com (Eli Polonsky) Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2022 21:24:04 -0500 Subject: WHDT Rf 4 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I just scanned again and still getting what I described above. I guess my "Elements" brand set can't handle two signals on the same RF channel and can't map them where they belong, it just shows them on their RF channels. I did find that moving the antenna strengthened the WHDT signal a lot, though their audio feed is a little garbled. EP On Mon, Feb 28, 2022 at 8:03 PM Bob DeMattia wrote: > Thanks Eli. > I think they have fixed it, my TV is now saying "WHDT" (no 4) and virtual > channel 3.1. > The audio needs some work though. > > -Bob > >> >> From elipolo881@gmail.com Mon Feb 28 22:33:28 2022 From: elipolo881@gmail.com (Eli Polonsky) Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2022 22:33:28 -0500 Subject: WHDT Rf 4 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: It's still promoting as channel 4 at the top of the hour, both on the visual ID card and the ID voice announcement. EP On Mon, Feb 28, 2022 at 8:03 PM Bob DeMattia wrote: > Thanks Eli. > I think they have fixed it, my TV is now saying "WHDT" (no 4) and virtual > channel 3.1. > The audio needs some work though. > > -Bob >