March 4th, 2009 
joel We now have two weeks under our belts since the original digital television deadline, and the switch by WSEE from analog to full-power DTV. So how is it going?
According to Scott Bremner, it sounds like the phones are ringing pretty regularly:
Given that over-the-air viewers are a relatively small part of total viewership, I would have to say that we have been getting a good amount of calls about not getting the new signal OTA (over-the-air). Far and away the vast majority of calls come down to having the right antenna and pointing it in the right direction. Many people simply hook up the equipment, turn everything on and then call us when they don’t receive our picture. Many seem unwilling to put in the time and effort to buy additional wire, move the antenna around the house and be sure to be pointed toward upper Peach Street where all of the towers can be hit. Our engineers tell them a rooftop antenna is the best set up but of course many are unable to do that. We have gotten some positive feedback that after tweaking the antenna for a while some viewers are now getting all of the full power stations from the various towers. But there is a fair amount of frustration, especially among older viewers.
It seems that many of the forecasts that stemmed from the Wilmington NC market early transition are coming true here. A decent antenna tuned correctly is the key to digital reception.
As much as the date change to June 12th was frustrating to most, it appears that this kind of “rolling switchover” of some stations switching before others is allowing those who just refused to deal with getting a box or antenna are now prompted to do what’s necessary to continue to watch TV in Erie.
Posted in 
Tags: 
Loading ...
Actually, you’ll want to aim the antenna towards the WICU tower over on Donation Road near the landfill. WSEE’s digital antenna is actually on the WICU tower unlike their old analog antenna that was on Peach Street. You may need a rotor for your outdoor antenna in order to go between the stations on Peach and Donation.
I disagreed with the government-enforced change to DTV, preferring market-driven upgrades.
That said, I have been pleasantly surprised by the vast improvement of the digital signal over analog. I live out in North East, and receive all local stations through a set of rabbit-ears with few minor tweaks once in awhile.
The resulting image is clearer and more stable, nearly as good as cable.
I’m disappointed with WSEE powering the digital signal at only a fraction of what the analog transmitter did. It is no wonder so many are having reception problems. I believe they are allowed to increase it to nearly 1 million watts but they are closer to 10 percent that amount. They need to upgrade the transmitter to better cover the hills and valleys of NWPA
We are at maximum output currently permitted by the FCC. We can increase power but only if we petition the government to do so, which is currently being debated.
We can only marginally exceed the footprint generated by the analog signal so are restrained in how much signal we can put out. But stay tuned.
With your theory Scott, that would mean that WFXP is violating that rule. The FCC allowed DT22 (Fox 66) to transmit a similar output power on a frequency much lower, 800 thousand watts. This increased the coverage area by a large amount. Now Fox 66 fully covers the DMA which is was unable to do before with analog. I strongly suggest the petition the FCC just like many of the Youngstown Ohio stations have done so. WYTV is an example where they will be able to greatly enhance the digital broadcasting experience.
I wholeheartedly agree with Mark. Some Erie channels that our area has relied upon for years, seems to not care about it’s viewers that use antennas. After doing everything that they are told to do, they get Fox 66 DT and nothing else. Even though WSEE claims that its full power allowed by the FCC, what is it doing to fix this obvious problem? While it is true that some need to upgrade, I am one of those antenna users. I have the best outside antennas with a booster and rotor on a tower. The measely 75kw ERP provides me with a bunch of mainly green squares.
I also agree with the current trend of thought: PETITION.
I have been able to watch WSEE & WICU for the last 13 years I have lived here (Cochranton) and have also been employed at a Family owned TV & Appliance store in the area. During that time I have been active in Education, Sales, Installation, and now Trouble-Shooting of OTA systems. We have principally sold Winegard & Channel Master brands over the years and personally have a 30′ tower with high gain Yagi UHF & a separate VHF antenna. Both units & the booster are upper end. The in-house distribution while not perfect, (older house) is well above the “norm”.
Because of my job, our lack of watchable reception of my wife’s favorite network has been a “topic of discussion.”
While not good, my situation is a far site better than the mostly elderly people who have been using rabbit ears. I spend a significant portion of my day on the phone with people who purchased their converter box at “W” and were told they would have no problems and would get even more than they used to. I’ve been on my soapbox for over 2 years now that this will not go well and am sorry I’m right.
Adding confusion to panic, people who did what they were supposed to, hooked up their boxes & etc, have now found themselves with nothing or just 66. WSEE breaks up more than not down here, a lot of boxes don’t have analog pass thru so there goes 12 & 24…
Scott, we know this was thrust upon you guys and there is still tweaking to be done, but please hear us, you are not strong enough to service what you used to. Also, your sister station looks to be set to disappoint even more with 7.5 kw ERP. I do wish you luck in this and please pass on the feedback you receive to whomever is considering the petition.
Mark, I really hope that the WYTV DT application is accepted by the FCC since their 50kw signal on the digital side is sometimes hard for me to pull in near Cochranton. WYTV on both analog & digital has always operated on much lower power than other full powered stations in Youngstown and the analog never broadcasted in stereo, believe it or not. WYTV at 1,000 kw would definitely get the job done. WKBN DT with 700kw is much more reliable for me than WSEE DT for CBS programs plus they also carry Fox on their second channel in HD. However, I usually watch WFXP DT since they come in very well near my area. WJET DT looks promising once they get converted between April & June. It will be interesting to see how well WICU DT comes in once they get their own digital signal on at full power (5.4kw VHF) on DT 12.
Alan – Someone from my neck of the woods. I’m actually near Frenchtown but not too far from Cochranton. With your antenna setup, you should be able to get the Youngstown digital stations like I do. Try finding WKBN DT 41 (700kw) which will remap as 27-1 for CBS programs. Also, WFMJ DT 20 (460kw) which will remap as 21-1 for NBC programs and WYTV DT 36 (50kw, applying for 1,000 kw) will remap as 33-1 for ABC. While you will have network programming, you will not have the Erie news and other localized programs you’d see on WSEE or WICU. WSEE DT is also a problem for me with constant breakups and needs to be resolved for those in outlying areas. You can also use a splitter in order to go between digital and analog locals. Any questions, drop me a line at Laveryman@hotmail.com.
Tom, Thanks for the reply… and Howdy Neighbor. As for Y-town, 27(41) no problem, but 21(20) ,33(36), and 45(45) no chance. My parents who live up on the hill get them all & well, but I’m downtown & there is a hill to our W.S.W. Yeah, I know, “Move”.
Well at least you get one of those locals. Downtown Cochranton is a tough area for reception. It’s a smaller version of the fishbowl downtown Meadville is in that respect. I too may have a problem pulling in WICU once they go digital but may have a better chance than you since I’m in a more open area. It’s hard to say until everyone (full power wise) converts by June 12th.
I live near the Millcreek Mall and my TV on a second floor with rabbit ears drops out and dititizes a lot on WSEE. I’m not far from the ICU tower.
WICU and WSEE both broadcast from the tower on Donation and Robinson Roads, as of February 17th. It’s located near the casino and landfill, just off Route 97.
WSEE’s analog signal came from upper Peach Street, but it is no longer on-the-air. Lilly Broadcasting built WSEE’s digital signal at the WICU tower, where it now broadcasts.
So, WJET (TV & DT), WFXP (TV & DT), and WQLN (DT) broadcast from upper Peach Street while WICU (TV & DT) and WSEE (DT) broadcast from Donation and Robinson Roads. TV=analog, DT=digital.
So what’s going to hapen to WSEE’s old analog tower? Is it going to come “a-tumblin down?” Should be something to see!
Jim – Purely speculation here but I believe that there is also a TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network) low powered translator (W48CH) which is channel 48 on WSEE’s analog tower. They have a construction permit for a low powered digital translator which would be assigned to channel 38. I’m not sure if they could use WSEE’s existing antenna for the digital channel or put another antenna on the tower. I’m not even sure if TBN will purchase the tower from WSEE or have another agreement in the works. The new digital station would cover more area than their current analog translator does which leads me to believe that the WSEE tower will help with the digital translator’s coverage area.