Fascinating interview with Mark Aitken on how ATSC 3.0 will support and even
change the radio industry. This is just one more piece of the puzzle of how
3.0 can help make LPTV profitable again.
http://thisweekinradiotech.com/twirt-home/2021/1/22/twirt-528-radio-over-atsc-30-with-mark-aitken.html
<http://thisweekinradiotech.com/twirt-home/2021/1/22/twirt-528-radio-over-atsc-30-with-mark-aitken.html>
dB
On Jan 23, 2021, at 9:35 AM, craigf199 (Redacted sender "craigf199" for
DMARC) <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
The transmitter has to be within your 51 dBu (50,90) contour, but the DTS's
signal can extend its (50,50) contour out to the primary station's (50,50)
contour.
(50,90) means that an LPTV station (or any station) has a protected contour
that is receivable at 50 percent of the locations for 90% of the time. This
leads to smaller predicted coverage area due to the higher reliability
requiring 90% of the locations to receive the signal (51 dBu for LPTV UHF).
A (50,50) contour is larger due to only needing to receive 51 dBu at 50% of
the locations.
So, the DTS transmitter must be physically located inside the primary
station's 51 dBu contour, but may extend its (50,50) service contour out to
the distance of the primary station's (50,50) contour.
The result of all of this is that you can have a DTS transmitter right at the
edge of your (50,90) contour, but not have to contain the (50,90) contour of
the DTS inside the primary station's (50,90) as was originally proposed for
full power stations. This relaxes the rules somewhat and gives you a greater
service area, but that greater service area may not be protected from outside
interference from someone else. In practice, most stations have additional
coverage at least in some directions beyond their protected contours and
often out to the "Noise-Limited" contour of roughly 41 dBu for UHF.
Here are some of the paragraphs from the FCC's Report & Order:
29. Specifically, as discussed below, we will permit low power stations to
employ DTS facilities so long as such facilities meet the following
conditions: first, DTS transmitters must be located within the authorized
F(50,90) contour for the station, and second, the F(50,50) contour of each
DTS must be contained within the station’s F(50,50) contour based on
currently authorized technical parameters (as opposed to an authorized
service area drawn according to a Table of Distances). In so doing, we give
low power stations the same flexibility of a streamlined licensing process as
we give full power stations.
32. Rather, we require that the DTS facilities of low power stations be
contained within the station’s authorized F(50,90) and F(50,50) contours as
follows. First, DTS transmitters must be located within the authorized
F(50,90) contour for the station. Second, the F(50,50) contour of each DTS
must be contained within the station’s F(50,50) contour. As discussed above,
the F(50,50) curve can be considered as representative of an area in which
most of the people could view a DTV signal a substantial amount of the
time.125 Accordingly, we find that it makes sense to limit spillover service
to this area, an area that likely already experiences some level of reception
from the existing non-DTS facility and thus may already have viewership of
the station. In this way, we define the permissible spillover for the low
power service and afford LPTV stations greater flexibility to more easily
deploy DTS facilities.
Craig Fox
WTVU/WMJQ
Syracuse, NY
______________________________________________________
-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Goetz <rickg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: lptv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Sat, Jan 23, 2021 11:01 am
Subject: [lptv] Re: DTS rule change
DTS means you are granted a coverage area from your “primary” station
unless the FCC decides to assign a fixed circle for LPTV like they did full
powers. My take, as of today, is if your station’s 51 dBu, UHF, goes out 25
miles, you can place small transmitter on the same channel within that
contour and none of these small transmitters 51 dBu can go outside of the
“primary” station’s 51 dBu. You can get interference between the small
transmitters where their contours overlap even if they are locked, so you
have to be creative to make those overlaps occur over low populated areas and
hope the homes are using directional antennas aimed at one or the other small
station.
DTS is VERY helpful if you have a hill blocking your signal or you have a
large area and you are wanting to make as much of it 80 dBu (Rabbit Ears
coverage) level. You can make an LPTV look like a full power station. I
cannot stress how important it is to make your 80 dBu cover as many people as
you can. This is a minimal receive antenna world which make no sense when you
can spend $100 for an outside antenna and get 5x more channels.
If the FCC sticks with the 51 dBu plan, LPTV stations may apply on tall
tower to increase the 51 dBucontour, then build many small sites. Would also
aid those that still feel LPTV can be used to supply internet by creating
small cell sties and locking them all together as much as they can. But how
do you compete with paying an extra $20.00 a month to make your Straight Talk
phone a hot spot. Folks out in the country simply get a bigger antenna for
their cell phones and save a lot of money.
Anyway, that is this old guys take on things.
Rick Goetz
R & L Media Systems
rickg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
From: lptv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:lptv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf ;
Of Jon C. Moon
Sent: Friday, January 22, 2021 2:20 PM
To: lptv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [lptv] Re: DTS rule change
Not sure what the argument against that would be. A DTS transmitter is a
legally approved transmitter for a broadcast station and if it's within 35
miles of a headend, I'd say the LPTV Must Carry rules would apply. You just
need to make sure the signal is sufficient and meet all the other
requirements for Must Carry. My 2 cents worth anyways.
Jon C. Moon
Ridgeline TV Channel 99
706-897-0872
www.ridgelinetv.net <http://www.ridgelinetv.net/>
On Jan 22, 2021, at 1:15 PM, Keith Leitch <keith@xxxxxxxxx
<mailto:keith@xxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
Hi LPTV Loopers,
Do you think that I have the correct interpretation of the LPTV Must-Carry
Rules that a second DTS transmit facility could be used to meet the 35 mile
rule to feed a cable headend?
Some LPTV Stations Have Must-Carry Rights Too — Comm Law Center — May 11,
2010
<https://www.commlawcenter.com/2010/05/some-lptv-stations-have-must-carry-rights-too.html>
Blessings,
Keith
From: lptv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:lptv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
<lptv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:lptv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>> on behalf of
RabbitEars Webmaster <webmaster@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
<mailto:webmaster@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>>
Sent: Friday, January 22, 2021 7:38 AM
To: lptv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:lptv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> <lptv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<mailto:lptv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>>; Richard Goetz <rickg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
<mailto:rickg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>>
Subject: [lptv] Re: DTS rule change
The new rules will permit LPTVs to operate DTS facilities. See paragraphs
29-33.
- Trip
www.rabbitears.info <http://www.rabbitears.info/>
On 1/22/21 10:36 AM, Richard Goetz wrote:
As for DTS, at this time, it does not apply to LPTV. Do not know about
Class A.
Rick Goetz
R & L Media Systems
rickg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:rickg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
