Is CBET operating at reduced power?

[Splouge]

Using rabbit ears in Melvindale, I can get CICO (on the same tower as 9 I think) just fine. And the antenna is tuned to the right wavelength for channel 9, but I've been having problems with CBET for over a year now. I really wanted to watch the Red Wings game the other day, too. I'm only 15 miles away, is anyone else having problems?

[billmich88888]

I am in Plymouth /Livonia border
broke out the antenna last weekend, and actually got 9 in BETTER than i did over the summer and last winter.
from my location have never gotten any other Canadian stations though....

[Art Van Damme]

Channel 9 is hit or miss here in Dearborn. I think it would be coming in better than it does. IIRC 9’s power is 26k (coming from the tower in Essex) which is lower power than most US commercial tv stations.

Sometimes I’ll be watching HNIC for like an hour or more, then, for what seems like no reason, the signal will stop coming in. It’s strange.

[radiofann]

I like how when they simply cut to “country cottages” or some real estate Europe TV fantasy show right at 1pm.
Cut right out of ongoing news conferences during transition from 12 noon CBC news to 1pm, whether it’s Trudeau or Ford or some other important govt figure. Cut them right off and cut out.No announcement “and now we return to local programming”

I guess they’re highly automated

[80sTalkRadioFan]

That is one channel I miss since dropping Buckeye Broadband, their hockey coverage in particular. Buckeye always had a good strong HD signal for CBET. Unfortunately, no CBET/CBC on any of the U.S. streaming services and I live a bit too far south, near the Ohio/Michigan border to get CBET with an antenna. As for the automation, it may be an issue with CBET having to block out certain CBC programming due to their proximity to the border, which forces CBET to block out CBC at certain times, regardless of what is actually being broadcast on the network. This includes Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, as well as U.S. based soap operas.

[Splouge]

Channel 9 is hit or miss here in Dearborn. I think it would be coming in better than it does. IIRC 9’s power is 26k (coming from the tower in Essex) which is lower power than most US commercial tv stations.

Sometimes I’ll be watching HNIC for like an hour or more, then, for what seems like no reason, the signal will stop coming in. It’s strange.

The lower power is due to the VHF band having lower power limits than UHF. WJBK operates at a comparable 27.2 kW

[MWmetalhead]

Bear in mind, too, CBET is directional. In most azimuths in the direction of Michigan, only 15 kW to 20 kW of ERP is radiated.

Most Metro Detroit TV stations have antenna heights that are 900+ feet above ground level. CBET's antenna is about 600 feet above ground level. Depending on what sits between anyone's Metro Detroit viewing location and their TX site, there may be quite a few tall buildings or heavy industrial facilities in the way.

The Canadian government has been spending less and less on its OTA television transmission sites. A bad cable, malfunctioning transmitter or malfunctioning antenna could all be causing signal irregularities. Ice could be yet another.

[billmich88888]

great thread.....

[ftballfan]

That is one channel I miss since dropping Buckeye Broadband, their hockey coverage in particular. Buckeye always had a good strong HD signal for CBET. Unfortunately, no CBET/CBC on any of the U.S. streaming services and I live a bit too far south, near the Ohio/Michigan border to get CBET with an antenna. As for the automation, it may be an issue with CBET having to block out certain CBC programming due to their proximity to the border, which forces CBET to block out CBC at certain times, regardless of what is actually being broadcast on the network. This includes Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, as well as U.S. based soap operas.

I think the CBC network is nearly entirely Canadian-produced programming, with the one exception that comes to mind being Coronation Street (from the UK).

[MWmetalhead]

That is one channel I miss since dropping Buckeye Broadband, their hockey coverage in particular. Buckeye always had a good strong HD signal for CBET. Unfortunately, no CBET/CBC on any of the U.S. streaming services and I live a bit too far south, near the Ohio/Michigan border to get CBET with an antenna. As for the automation, it may be an issue with CBET having to block out certain CBC programming due to their proximity to the border, which forces CBET to block out CBC at certain times, regardless of what is actually being broadcast on the network. This includes Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, as well as U.S. based soap operas.

Only about 5 kW of ERP is transmitted in the direction of Greater Toledo. Definitely not much signal.

https://fccdata.org/?lang=en&cantv=CBET-DT

[ChrisWL1980]

That is one channel I miss since dropping Buckeye Broadband, their hockey coverage in particular. Buckeye always had a good strong HD signal for CBET. Unfortunately, no CBET/CBC on any of the U.S. streaming services and I live a bit too far south, near the Ohio/Michigan border to get CBET with an antenna. As for the automation, it may be an issue with CBET having to block out certain CBC programming due to their proximity to the border, which forces CBET to block out CBC at certain times, regardless of what is actually being broadcast on the network. This includes Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, as well as U.S. based soap operas.

That was an issue when CBC was showing All My Children and The Golden Girls. Not so much anymore. As ftballfan pointed out, the schedule is now entirely Canadian except for Coronation Street, which has been on for decades.
Viewers of a certain age might recall when Global started in the mid-'70s and the channel 22 Windsor area (Cottam) transmitter had to air slides when U.S. programs were being shown. I take it 29 Oil Springs' signal was directional enough that it wasn't subject to the same restrictions.

[edj]

The odd thing is, the Sarnia Global repeater is carried on cable in parts of Macomb and St Clair, despite airing many US programs the Detroit stations have the rights to.

CBET's children's programming has never been blacked out, even Sesame Street (with some Canadian segments).

[CurlyHoward]

That is one channel I miss since dropping Buckeye Broadband, their hockey coverage in particular. Buckeye always had a good strong HD signal for CBET. Unfortunately, no CBET/CBC on any of the U.S. streaming services and I live a bit too far south, near the Ohio/Michigan border to get CBET with an antenna. As for the automation, it may be an issue with CBET having to block out certain CBC programming due to their proximity to the border, which forces CBET to block out CBC at certain times, regardless of what is actually being broadcast on the network. This includes Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, as well as U.S. based soap operas.

Only about 5 kW of ERP is transmitted in the direction of Greater Toledo. Definitely not much signal.

https://fccdata.org/?lang=en&cantv=CBET-DT

It had to have been a stronger signal into Toledo/northwest Ohio back in the day, because plenty have watched Hockey Night here through the decades. To the point where some here even became Leafs fans instead of Wings (nobody ever has given a shit about the Blue Jackets here although I think the old 1560 AM did carry their games for a time in the aughties).

Didn't CBET also have to black out Simpsons and Frasier reruns when CBC was running those?

[MWmetalhead]

During the analog era with the exception of the final year or so, they broadcasted with 320 kW omni (I think). Their tower is only about 45 miles from Toledo, so definitely plenty of signal back then.

[rugratsonline]

Didn't CBET also have to black out Simpsons and Frasier reruns when CBC was running those?

Yes, as the Detroit stations were airing those shows. I think at one point during the late 1990s into the 2000s, CBET aired its local news at 5:30PM (when the rest of the network had an American program), followed by Toronto's newscast at 6PM.