WTVF NewsChannel5 (RF 36) went off the air just before 5pm today. I don't know if something went wrong, or they are doing some maintenance. I will try and find out.
Updated 5:30pm - I got word from their social media sites. They have said, "We are currently experiencing technical difficulties with our on-air signal. We are working to fix the problems as quickly as possible." So, there you have it. Until more news breaks, that is all for now.
Updated 8:15pm - They are, for now, back on the air. I don't know if there will be any more outages like that or not, but I have found out that it will be operating at this low power for another week or two depending upon weather. Once they are done with all the construction replacing the top mounted antenna, then they can turn on their full power new top-mounted antenna. Like always, until more news breaks, that's all for now.
WTVF UHF 36 Off the Air - Updated Again
- Posted October 24th, 2019 at 5:07pm
9 Comments
jimb2341321
- Posted on October 25th, 2019 at 8:58am
I have a question...I live in Dickson and I am on an indoor antenna and last night I was getting Memphis stations and this morning i am getting Louisville,KY. Also I have lost CH 28 Ion...Did they drop power again and how do I get those stations so far away?
NashDigie
- Posted on October 25th, 2019 at 1:51pm
Wow, you were getting Louisville, KY stations with just an indoor antenna. The reason you lost 28 ION is because they now broadcast on channel 32 (they still show up on your TV as 28.1-28.6) and they have now moved to the north near Cross Plains in Robertson County and have gone from 733kw down to 550kw. Also, a station in Louisville (WDRB) has also changed to channel 32 the same as ION. When two channels on the same frequency exist, all they do is block each other out unless one becomes dominant over the other.
NashDigie
- Posted on October 25th, 2019 at 1:57pm
... Also, about your question, are you saying "how do I get..." or are you saying "how did I get..."? If you are saying "do", then if you can, you can get an outdoor antenna to put outside for a better reception of channels, but just so you know, when you do that, reception for local channels may improve or deteriorate. Most of the time you can only get far away stations when the atmospheric conditions are right for them, i.e. when it is foggy. I hope I answered your question. If I didn't or if you have any more, please let me know.
jimb2341321
- Posted on October 25th, 2019 at 2:19pm - Edited
I was getting ION till last night then i got memphis for a bit when channel 2 was down and this morning I was getting Louisville,I though maybe something changed in the last 24 hrs.I was as amazed as you are I got Louisville on rabbit ears.We live in an apartment and cant put up outdoor antennas...btw do you have any reccomendations for a good indoor antenna? Thanks for all you do!
NashDigie
- Posted on October 25th, 2019 at 9:51pm
As far as indoor antennas go, I am not that knowledgeable on those antennas when it comes to which is best. Also, you said 2 was down when Memphis was in. Well, actually, WKRN 2 has never changed or went down. It was out at your location, because a station near Jackson, TN is now broadcasting on channel 27, which is the same channel WKRN is broadcasting on. When Memphis came in, that channel 27 knocked out your reception of WKRN.
CompuPaul
- Posted on October 26th, 2019 at 12:16am
I am pretty happy with my Winegard Flatwave amplified antennas. (Amplified is important.) I got them refurbished (renewed) from Amazon, currently $27.95. Mount to wall, window, etc. with two included Command strips, so you can position it for better reception.
itgrouch
- Posted on October 25th, 2019 at 7:28pm
They sent a Twitter message right before 12pm today (10/25) that they would be off the air to fix a problem and they came back up a little after 1pm. They sent out another tweet around this same time that they were back on the air. Also in this tweet, they also stated that they were working on a solution to the issue of some viewers not being able to receive their signal since their repack on 10/18.
NashDigie
- Posted on October 25th, 2019 at 9:56pm
Yeah, they are currently operating on an temporary antenna that is mounted on the side of the broadcasting tower while they switch out their full powered antenna on the top of the tower. Once they change the antenna on top, then they can start broadcasting from the top at full power so where everybody can receive them. That is the solution they were talking about.
dave
- Posted on October 31st, 2019 at 12:39pm - Edited
I live about 88 miles due East of WTVF's tower in Cumberland County, on the Cumberland plateau about half way between Sparta and Crossville on HWY 70 W. Being on the plateau give me a very good height advantage for my antennas. I am using an Insignia digital converter Model SN-DXA1 with a manufacture data of 2-2008 to look for OTA TV signals. The Insignia allows me to add and remove channels with out having to do a rescan. I have programmed all of the channels from 2-69 into the Insignia. The antenna array that I am using is home made, it has 2 co-phased 17 elements Yagis of my own design, I designed the array specifically for CH 36, WTVF's new over the air channel. I built this antenna to specifically receive WTVF 5 (any other channels received are a bonus) I designed the antennas for CH 36 and it has worked outstandingly, I had around 97% up time while WTVF was transmitting on CH 25 up until the channel change over on the 18th. I know they are using a temporary side mounted antenna and are running lower output power so I am confident that after the new top mounted antenna is fully installed and they are back to full output power that I will once again receive WTVF. I am hopping for 100% up time. I am using an RCA TVPRAMP1E mast mounted preamp. This preamp allows for the use of separate VHF and UHF antennas, I have my Preamp set to use the separate antenna inputs. I am using my DIY UHF CH 36 Yagi array on the UHF input side of the preamp. In this configuration it will not pass VHF channels only UHF. I will be designing and building a VHF Yagi that I will connect to the VHF side of the preamp. This new antenna will be pointed south to receive the VHF station from Chattanooga. I am currently receiving WRCB 3, WTVC 9 and WDEF 12 on a simple 1 element dipole that I built using a 4 ft piece of 1 inch gray PVC pipe and door bell wire cut specifically for CH 9, this antenna is mounted on it's own mast about 16 ft AGL. Today I ran separate UHF and VHF channel sweeps not a rescans, I work my way up the UHF and VHF channels, the sweep delivered the following. UHF Channels WKRN 2 27 Very weak WTVF 5 36 NO SIG. WZTV 17 20 Very Weak MyTV30 21 Strong WBXX 20 31 Very Strong ION 28 32 Weak TBN 50 33 Weak VHF Channels WRCB 3 13 Strong WTVC 9 9 Strong WDEF 12 12 Strong Videos of my antennas can be seen on my YouTube channel at DIY TV ANTENNA PART 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jintvRnYWzI and DIY TV ANTENNA PART 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3fhmYf7Nc0
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