WZPX (ION) files app to move closer to Grand Rapids

[fuzzpower]

It’s similar to what WPXD did when they moved to Southfield. Ann Arbor is in the city grade, but barely. Looks like Battle Creek is covered with a little more leeway, but not nearly what it is now.

Is WZPX still must carry in the Lansing market due to the current tower location? If so, they will lose that.

[kc8yqq]

(Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe ION is already carried on a .2 or .3 of WLNS-TV anyway.)

ION isn't in the Lansing-Jackson area unless it's doing share time on WLAJ's .2 with CW. WLNS is on .3 and ABC is on .1. In the Jackson area, we lost ION when WPXD left the tower near M-52/N. Territorial Rd. north of Chelsea. WZPX was weak in the analog days and since the digital switchover, not receivable any more.

[innate-in-you]

It’s similar to what WPXD did when they moved to Southfield. Ann Arbor is in the city grade, but barely. Looks like Battle Creek is covered with a little more leeway, but not nearly what it is now.

Is WZPX still must carry in the Lansing market due to the current tower location? If so, they will lose that.

The city service contours expanded greatly when DTV replaced NTSC.

On UHF, the contour actually is realistic. On high VHF, they are a little overrated.

On low VHF, they're a joke.

[kc8yqq]

Out of Curiosity I checked ION's website. I put in my zip code, 49201, and it came up with 6.3 as you said MW. There is no 6.3, but maybe something is planned due to the lack of coverage in the area. WLNS and WLAJ combined a while ago and are on actual 25. Here's the layout:

25.1 is WLAJ ABC, virtual 53.1
25.2 is WLAJ CW, virtual 53.2
25.3 is WLNS CBS, virtual 6.1

[tvradiojunkie]

WLNS 6.3 went away when they began sharing the WLAJ frequency last year.

[Calvert DeForest]

WLAJ 53.1 and 53.2 are both 720p HD streams. I believe WLNS 6.1 is a 1080i HD stream. That's a lot of bandwidth for a single channel. Doesn't leave much real estate for additional SD streams without infringing on the quality of the existing HD.

[statmanmi]

Approved!

Last Tuesday (6/11) the FCC approved WZPX's filing from 3/11 to place their repack equipment on the WOTV tower:

https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/datae ... c&goBack=N


Another forum site had postings that tipped me of to ION having to do the same thing in the Lexington, Kentucky market:

https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/datae ... ttachments

Apparently their tower landlord(s) aren't agreeable to whatever compensation or situations are being offered up by ION.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Given that ION has these examples of requesting waiver of the freeze to accomplish having the repack construction permits relocate to other towers, one would think WMKG could take the same approach. All their recent Special Temporary Authority filings mention that the tower they currently use can't even be replaced to adequately support the intended RF 31 antenna.

Cheers ~ Statmanmi

[fuzzpower]

How long before WZPX is dumped on Lansing market cable systems?

[HD74]

"25.1 is WLAJ ABC, virtual 53.1
25.2 is WLAJ CW, virtual 53.2
25.3 is WLNS CBS, virtual 6.1"

Ummm, no. WLNS is on 6.1, but not 25.3.
While the signals are muxed if you were to actually look at the streams, WLNS is .1, the others are .2 and .3.
CBS has the most bandwidth, as they are at 1080i with the largest portion of the signal.
6.2 and 6.3 as well as 53.3had to go in order to ensure quality streams from the main networks.
ION was a casualty of bandwidth, as was Justice and Get.
The ION station has several streams, WLNS only carried the main ION channel, which was too bad, as I like to watch Theodore Tugboat.

[ftballfan]

How long before WZPX is dumped on Lansing market cable systems?

I think WZPX remains as Lansing doesn't have an ION affiliate.

When CMU shut down WCMZ, Xfinity gave it the heave-ho (they must have thought Mt. Pleasant is in the Traverse City-Cadillac market) but Spectrum (even on their northern/western Detroit market systems!), Uverse (in the Flint market), and the dishes kept WCMU.

[innate-in-you]

I've been wondering if PBS is available OTA in Flint Proper.
I guess it is near-fringe to three PBS stations, equidistant WKAR, WTVS and WDCQ.
I believe there is or was a Channel 9 LPTV in Flint, and it would be nice if a PBS station could run a subchannel of it (or some other translator).

[Jason Kragt]

I've been wondering if PBS is available OTA in Flint Proper.
I guess it is near-fringe to three PBS stations, equidistant WKAR, WTVS and WDCQ.
I believe there is or was a Channel 9 LPTV in Flint, and it would be nice if a PBS station could run a subchannel of it (or some other translator).

Probably something best for the Flint board.

Flint does look like a PBS wasteland now when using an indoor or city antenna. If you leave the city in just about any direction you can pick up one of the others, but the city itself looks like it's in a void. It would be nice if WDCQ could move south to fill it since they are practically in the bay, but I assume things are going to be too tight after the repack to allow for anything like that.

[cs15]

I'm just south of Flint in Grand Blanc and I can pick up both WTVS & WDCQ. This is with a homemade 4 bay antenna mounted on the roof of my ranch home.