I just found out that WJFB is on the air again. I don't know at this time if it is for good or not, but we will see. More updates to come.
Update 2:32pm: - Please be patient. It is not 3pm yet. After 3pm, it will probably be done if nothing else happens. Once I receive an all done e-mail, I will relay it. Until then, it is still a fluid situation.
Update 3:17pm: - As of 3:14pm, it is back on the air. Like I said before, once I receive an all clear e-mail, I will post it here.
Update 3:45pm: - I got the e-mail just now, but he sent it at 3:35pm, so sorry about that, but he said, "We’re staying on the new site as of 3:15." So, there you have it. It is now complete and done. I don't know about ya'll, but this has been a great ride. I want to send out a big thanks to Mr. Kyle Walker of Weigel Broadcasting for keeping not only me, but everyone else in the loop through all of this. So, thank you. You can keep commenting here if you want, but I am done updating this post. I will be posting something else in another post in a little while. So stay tuned for that, but until then, that's all for now.
WJFB 44 New Signal is Live Again!
- Posted May 24th, 2021 at 1:30pm
61 Comments
xmguy
- Posted on May 24th, 2021 at 2:16pm - Edited
I, too, am able to get a decent signal for MeTV in McMinnville on my CM3020, and using my HDHR4K. It will NOT come in on my Televes that's aimed toward WKRN though.
xmguy
- Posted on May 24th, 2021 at 2:27pm - Edited
Well, it's gone again. I really hope they don't change the antenna beam pattern, or power level. I was getting it great. I know they can't change the power/beam beyond what they are approved for from the FCC. But if the power was too high and that's why I was getting it, or the pattern wasn't just right. Time will tell. 30 minutes they should be live for good. But things do happen.
xmguy
- Posted on May 24th, 2021 at 2:36pm - Edited
If ever so fleeting. I've set my Channels DVR Server to record/watch the channel directly. So when it comes back it will start playing the stream it gets. https://www.rabbitears.info/tvdx/signal_graph/10815046/tuner1/WJFB
xmguy
- Posted on May 24th, 2021 at 2:46pm
One interesting tidbit. On my mother’s Charter/Spectrum cable MeTV is pixelating bad. I guess they get it OTA or they’re still working on the stream for cable/satellite.
Lee in Portland
- Posted on May 24th, 2021 at 3:03pm
At 2:40 I had a great signal for all the channels. It’s 3:01 & No Signal.
sensiblecinema7217
- Posted on May 24th, 2021 at 3:13pm
Back on again.
xmguy
- Posted on May 24th, 2021 at 3:13pm
We have signal again. My tuner just came live.
sensiblecinema7217
- Posted on May 24th, 2021 at 3:18pm
Four bars out of four here in Fairview as opposed to the one bar we had before the tower move.
xmguy
- Posted on May 24th, 2021 at 3:23pm
I have SS in the 60s, and SQ: in the mid 50s. As to nothing at all before. This was a great move.
sensiblecinema7217
- Posted on May 24th, 2021 at 3:28pm
Our ChannelMaster Digital Advantage 100 could never pick it up without momentary pixelization several times an hour. That wrecked havoc on our AirTV Anywhere recorder when it did this---it would cause it to buffer. As promised, the signal is as strong as channel 5. Hasn't skipped a beat yet, even before they went full power at 9:00 last night.
xmguy
- Posted on May 24th, 2021 at 3:35pm
Mine is the 3020, 20' off the ground. Aimed right at the Nashville tower farm. I still can't get WPGD. But I never could before either. I'm guessing it's the RF channel these are on that's making or breaking my reception. I was only able to get WJFB before when skip was just right. Now it's rock solid. Even on my lower powered HDHR3 Tuner.
sensiblecinema7217
- Posted on May 24th, 2021 at 3:40pm
I don't know where you are located, but I had a problem when overpowering channel 2 it would disappear when no others would. That 3020 is a hoss and in the right place with too much amplification, that could be happening. Can you check if bypassing the pre-amp brings it back?
xmguy
- Posted on May 24th, 2021 at 3:42pm - Edited
McMinnville, TN. Right now, I'm more concerned about losing WKRN totally. I usually lose it when the wind blows on sunny days. But I see it here and there on my graphs. But it's just gone. Signal of 60% is there, but nothing more. No Signal quality, or even ident. Bypassing the amp drops my signal to 19%. My run from the HDHRs to the Televes is well over 100' too. I did just see a flicker. So perhaps it will be back in time for the ABC World News tonight.
sensiblecinema7217
- Posted on May 24th, 2021 at 3:50pm - Edited
If you are pointed directly at the antenna farm at 306 degrees you'd be off by 13 degrees from pointing towards channels 8 and 27. Have you tried pointing closer to 293? Can you still get everything over at the antenna farm? Can you get that hi-vhf channel 8 signal with your Televes? Their towers are literally across the street from one another.
xmguy
- Posted on May 24th, 2021 at 3:55pm - Edited
I aim at 295 degrees. My area is so woodsy (this is after clear cutting a line directly toward WKRN and the tower farm too), and Woodbury presents such a path, that signals are very hard to pick up. My Televes wouldn't get a signal from WKRN unless I put it 8 FEET above the ground. Higher and it got nothing. I rarely get WNPT RF 7 unless during the early morning skip, or night skip. My area is so distant though that I have to aim within inches to get a signal. Especially since I have a ATSC 3.0 tuner. That requires strong signal to get QAM256. Of which I can only get from RF 21, WUXP anyway since they broadcast at 100 kW. Where WNAB RF 30 is half that. (edited for degree typo)
sensiblecinema7217
- Posted on May 24th, 2021 at 4:08pm
The area desperately needs Locast, but from chatting with and hearing the mention of ATSC 3.0, I am certain the PQ would not be to your liking. Mine either. It's why I use an antenna mostly. I wish 17.3 would dial down the compression. I watch that channel Antenna TV on Locast Chicago. WGN owns the Antenna TV station there and the picture is 100% better than it is on Fox 17.3.
xmguy
- Posted on May 24th, 2021 at 4:17pm
I'll be honest. I wouldn't care if it was SD. I grew up with SD, and Tube TVs. I would be fine with it. I watch the morning, and evening news mainly. ATSC 3.0 for me, and my area is a God send. I can't get WTVF at all on UHF. The VHF Translator is a hit or miss. But I CAN get the QAM256 layer of WUXP 21, or PLP1. Which lighthouses with Fox 17, and My TV 30. I WISH I could get WNAB 30. But the power output is too low for QAM256. I would love LoCast coming to Nashville. But I think it's a long way off. Plus it's another bill to pay if you don't want ads every 5 minutes. You're welcome to shoot me an email if you want jnkrgy+84ATgmail.com. (remove the + and replace AT with @)
cdg
- Posted on May 24th, 2021 at 3:19pm
Channel 44 is back on the air and has a great signal here in Donelson.
xmguy
- Posted on May 24th, 2021 at 3:32pm
I've totally lost WKRN on my Televes. I hope WJFB being on RF 25, isn't over powering WKRN on RF 27. I know TV has a guard band as well. But being that TV is Frequency Modulated, I guess it could cause issues. Time will tell for that. WKRN should relocate to the tower farm as well someday.
Lee in Portland
- Posted on May 24th, 2021 at 3:35pm
I reverse line-split 2 digital antenna into each tv. This is the 1st time the tv on the East end of the house ever picked up the 44s, & the 1 on the West end has great clarity, except when planes take off or land from Portland Airport. Fingers crossed
Lee in Portland
- Posted on May 24th, 2021 at 3:54pm
I envy you guys who have that equipment but I grew up in the 40s’ & can still move a lamp or wires around to strengthen signals when they’re available & right now all is great. Thank you all for updates & input, guess not all social media is negative
Lee in Portland
- Posted on May 24th, 2021 at 4:39pm
I am 75 & grew up on crystal radios. You learn patience and jury rigging. TVs are easier than new cars but thanks to all of you for updates & suggestions
Murphysmomma
- Posted on May 25th, 2021 at 4:57am
Getting the new channels up in Clarksville! Thank you.
n2radio
- Posted on May 25th, 2021 at 9:43am
In the last half hour or so, I have had no signal at all from WJFB. Not sure if they are off-the air, or possibly have reduced power while finishing up the project. I am not having issues with any of the other full power Nashville signals. Back when WTVF was on RF25, it was always a solid signal. However, there has been some skip this morning. For a while earlier this morning, I was not able to lock on to a signal for WZTV/WUXP and WNPX signals.
NashDigie
- Posted on May 25th, 2021 at 1:29pm
Yeah, it was due to some tropo we had this morning. Actually, it was enhancing Nashville signals meaning the reason WJFB went out at your location, as well as mine, is because we were getting too much of WJFB's signal that it overloaded our tuners. It did the same way with me for WTVF's UHF 36 signal. I hope I explained it well.
sensiblecinema7217
- Posted on May 27th, 2021 at 8:32pm
My problem is fixed. The antenna was still pointed to Lebanon. It’s now nearly 90% signal strength. Was 40-53% before.
NashDigie
- Posted on May 27th, 2021 at 11:09pm
Congratulations on you fixing your antenna problem. The atmosphere did do something last night due to the fog we had, but this afternoon and evening I have found out there is something wrong with my setup because all my channel's signals have gone down except for WSMV. I don't know if that's due to it broadcasting on VHF or on another antenna than the UHF antenna. I don't know. I just have to check every nook and cranny of my setup to see what's wrong.
sensiblecinema7217
- Posted on May 25th, 2021 at 3:09pm
Getting a lot of pixelization today in Fairview... as much or more as when they were in Lebanon. We're aiming directly at the antenna farm. No trouble on any other channel located there.
sensiblecinema7217
- Posted on May 26th, 2021 at 11:24am
It appears all is working well today. Recorded "My Three Sons" very early this AM and it hasn't skipped a beat.
NashDigie
- Posted on May 25th, 2021 at 8:49pm
It may have dipped a little bit with me at that time, but I don't know if it was messing up or not. If you look at the first graph on this page - https://www.rabbitears.info/tvdx/signal_graph/10809219/tuner0/WJFB. You can see at the top there is a little dip in the signal. The time is at the bottom of the graph in military time and Eastern time zone. So, 16:00 is really 3pm.
r451
- Posted on May 27th, 2021 at 8:21am
I live 60 miles east of the antennae farm, on the first day that WJFB went back on I had a signal strength of 4 bars. Since then, it has dropped to 1 bar very weak. I remember when Weigel first took over this station in Lebanon, they did the same thing. It went from a solid 4 bars to 1. Are they lowering the power to save money or, just broadcasting strong enough to be on cable. if so, this is worse than it was before. Does anyone know what WJFB is doing about this?
sensiblecinema7217
- Posted on May 27th, 2021 at 11:57am - Edited
I'm now getting as much pixelization here in Fairview as I did when the station was in Lebanon but didn't get it at all when they first threw the switch. https://www.rabbitears.info/tvdx/signal_graph/10809219/tuner0/WJFB Looks like signal has been going up and down and was off entirely at Midnight.
NashDigie
- Posted on May 27th, 2021 at 2:13pm
Actually, they haven't done anything. When they first switched it on this past Monday at full power, that was it. It is still at full power. What it is, is that the atmosphere at this time is wreaking havoc on all the signals. Last night when I lost WJFB, I also lost WTVF UHF 36, but a little later, I was able to receive WCTZ-LD 35. I hardly ever receive WCTZ 35. The atmosphere can sometimes enhance signals or degrade them. Either way, they will either break up making them seem weak or just make you lose the signal altogether. When you lose a signal or when it appears weakened, please check other channels first. It could just be the atmosphere.
NashDigie
- Posted on May 27th, 2021 at 2:20pm
sensiblecinema7217, it was just the atmosphere. I also lost WTVF UHF 36 last night as well but just for a few moments though. WJFB has been at full power ever since Monday. You might also want to take a look at this person's graphs. This person is in Hendersonville, which is a lot closer to Nashville then I am. They haven't skipped a beat. I always compare this person's graphs to mine to see if a station has changed anything about their signal. https://www.rabbitears.info/tvdx/signal_graph/1033079F/tuner0/WJFB
sensiblecinema7217
- Posted on May 28th, 2021 at 3:18pm
Haven't had any pixelization on 44 since centering my antenna on the antenna farm. The gentlemen at Denton's TV did not have it centered precisely on the White's Creek antenna farm as I had requested. After carrying out a portable and moving it incrementally I went from < 50% strength to > 80% at the base of the antenna pole before adding back the preamp. It improved every channel located at that tower farm and signals on 2, 4, 8 are so strong they were barely affected... still in the 90s.
r451
- Posted on May 27th, 2021 at 2:57pm
I use a cm deep fringe antenna with a cm preamp at 60 miles I receive 2 4 5 28 50 and 58 at 4 to 5 bars I receive 8 17 30 44 at 1 to 2 bars I hope this gives some info or help to other folks out there I am due east of the city
Lee in Portland
- Posted on May 28th, 2021 at 8:34am - Edited
I assume I have the "NO SIGNAL" prompt here in Portland due to the inclement weather?
xmguy
- Posted on May 28th, 2021 at 8:57am
I have several folks bookmarked on my RabbitEars BandScan. Seeing one in Hendersonville. His went from 100% to 10% in seconds. Same for NashDigie's, and mine.
NashDigie
- Posted on May 28th, 2021 at 3:01pm
That's the same thing I do. I look at mine, yours, and Hendersonville's. Well, found out what was wrong with my setup. It was a rusty connection. Now, it's cleared up. It's not exactly like it was, but it will do.
NashDigie
- Posted on May 28th, 2021 at 3:06pm
It's due to WKUW and WCTZ, because the owners (HC2 Broadcasting) are trying to change the lineup. The last time I checked they changed the lineup from just MeTV on WKUW 40.1 to the exact lineup WCTZ 35 has: Buzzr on WKUW 40.1, ShopLC on 40.2, and etc. I don't know what the owners are going to end up with on WKUW, but I am hoping it is exciting.
xmguy
- Posted on May 28th, 2021 at 8:54am
Just like that. WJFB went off air. Wild!
Lee in Portland
- Posted on May 28th, 2021 at 9:44am
Thanks for the confirmation xm as that assured me it’s not my setup.
aludra
- Posted on May 28th, 2021 at 2:06pm
Looks Like channel 40 has a new lineup and additional 2 channels..(7 total so far)..Kewl...Thanks for this great website!
NashDigie
- Posted on May 28th, 2021 at 3:09pm
Yeah, but all those channels right now are nothing but what WCTZ 35 has. Buzzr on 40.1 and 35.1, ShopLC on 40.2 and 35.2, and etc. I don't know at this point what they will end up with on WKUW 40.
xmguy
- Posted on May 28th, 2021 at 4:47pm
I wish some of these stations would go full power. I could very seldom get MeTV before their move.
r451
- Posted on June 3rd, 2021 at 1:17pm
60 miles east of the towers and after a few days 44 is down to 0 to 1 bar I’ve given up on 44 I thought they were going to be like 28 and 50 I get those two at 5 bars I hope other folks are getting them better but I’m not
Brentwood OTA
- Posted on June 4th, 2021 at 7:45am
As he stated would happen, the Weigel channels have been dropped from WKUW-LD 40. That station has now been carrying the same channels as WCTZ-LD 35 for a couple of days or so now.
r451
- Posted on June 8th, 2021 at 12:11pm
I would like to hear from other folks about 44 has your reception improved or not and your distance from the tower mine is much worse if I can get it all
NashDigie
- Posted on June 8th, 2021 at 2:15pm
Mine has improved substantially. I am closer to the old site on Franklin Pike near Lebanon, but there is a hill in that direction where as there is a clearing off toward the Nashville antenna farm where they are now.
n2radio
- Posted on June 8th, 2021 at 2:36pm
Like you, I am over 60 miles away from the towers, but mainly North and a bit east of Nashville. However, my antenna is 40 feet off the ground and my house is on a high ridge which helps with reception. I am 65.8 miles from channel 44. The signal for me has been consistent for the last couple of weeks and very rarely do I see macro-blocking or signal issues due to atmospheric conditions. Below is a listing of Nashville signals from strongest to weakest for me including the distance from transmitter to my antenna: >>>Consistent Signal 24/7 28 (RF32) 47.3 miles 5 (RF36) 65.6 miles 30 (ATSC 3.0/RF21) 66 miles 44 (RF25) 65.8 miles 50 (RF33) 65.8 miles28 17/30 (RF20) 66 miles >>>Fringe or Subject to interference - mainly nighttime viewing 58 (ATSC 3.0/RF30) 66 miles 2 (RF27) 80.4 miles >>>Fringe/Inconsistent 4 (RF10) 75.4 miles
MDR
- Posted on June 13th, 2021 at 12:41am
Wondering if anyone gets a picture for channels 44-6 and 44-7. I get 44-1 through 44-5 just fine. But nothing for the other two.
r451
- Posted on June 18th, 2021 at 11:22am
60 miles away the last week 44s signal has improved to 4 bars much better hope it has improved for everyone
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