The transmission line repair parts finally arrived! A tower crew is scheduled to arrive between Christmas and New Year's to begin assembling and installing the repaired transmission line. During this process, the temporary antenna will be moved near the top of the tower while we continue working on the final repair plans. The over-the-air signal will be interrupted periodically in the weeks following Christmas, as the crew works to re-install the transmission line. We expect an improvement in our signal once the temporary antenna is moved toward the top of the tower. Check back for updates as we make final plans to complete the repairs and get back to full power.

WQLN TV PLANS TO BROADCAST ONLY IN DIGITAL
A message from WQLN President Dwight Miller
November 5, 2008

The conversion from analog to digital television has come early for WQLN TV. Not by choice, but through necessity, WQLN TV has become the Erie area’s first digital-only television station. How we got here and how we plan our future will impact the Erie television market, and pave the way for the remaining analog TV stations as they make the jump to digital.

WQLN TV has been using a dual analog/digital antenna since December 2001. In the early morning hours of September 15th, damage from a recent storm finally forced WQLN TV off the air. Tower engineers identified the problem as a damaged power divider, located at the base of the antenna, at the top of our 680’ broadcast tower. The damage power divider could not be repaired and a new one must be manufactured. Because there is no way to use our current antenna without the power divider, we decided to install a temporary antenna. When the temporary antenna arrived, it brought with it three days of rain, preventing much tower work—but as the skies cleared and the rain ended, so did our luck.

Engineers attempting to install the temporary antenna discovered that nearly all of WQLN TV’s transmission line was also damaged. A transmission line is a broadcaster’s aorta—it’s the main artery that delivers programming to over a quarter million homes. The 680’ transmission line is composed of 38 twenty-foot sections of conduit that more closely resembles a city water-main rather than a piece of electronics. With the addition of repairing the faulty transmission line our recovery plan was dramatically altered.

To repair the line, it’s necessary to first remove it, which has been done. In its place we’ve installed a temporary transmission line, with a temporary antenna. The one caveat to this solution is that the temporary antenna is a digital-only antenna. Most viewers in the area will not notice a difference, but a few will. WQLN TV viewers who watch us off of an antenna will need a digital converter box or a television with a digital tuner to receive our signal. Cable subscribers won’t be affected by the switch at all – in fact, cable companies in Ontario, Eastern Ohio, Western New York and the Pennsylvania counties of Warren, Crawford, Venango and Mercer will once again be able to receive WQLN TV and include it in their channel line ups.

The next steps towards ‘normal operations’ are fairly straightforward — repair the damaged transmission line and reinstall it, and install the new power divider. The permanent repair will take a few more weeks, or sometime around Thanksgiving. And that’s only if all goes well and the weather cooperates. When the repair is complete WQLN TV will remain a digital-only station. It does not make sense for WQLN to spend money restoring old technology (our analog signal) when we know that it will become obsolete in a few months.

Our current dilemma is not unprecedented—every local television station has, at one time or another, lost the ability to broadcast. What is unprecedented is the kindness shown to WQLN by viewers across the Lake Erie region. We have received hundreds of letters and emails offering us words of encouragement and support—and for all those letters, I would like to say “Thank you.” For everyone in the area who totally lost reception of WQLN TV, we sincerely regret the inconvenience and welcome the opportunity to return to your homes.

The digital transition is a challenge for all of us—broadcasters and viewers alike. I don’t think it has to be a nightmare—we can get through the transition together. Let’s make the best use of our time and resources and view this inconvenient situation as an opportunity to prepare for the mandated transition to digital that will happen in just a few months. To that end, WQLN has produced a 30-minute program on the switch to digital called Is My TV Going Away. The program is hosted by Scott Wludyga and Karla Mullenax and it will air many times on WQLN TV (please check the listings here). We have also segmented the program and placed it on our website (www.wqln.org) along with questions and answers about the conversion. As always, we welcome calls, emails, and letters from our viewers.

Thank You
Dwight Miller



Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Why is WQLN off the air?
A. WQLN TV sustained damage to its transmission system and is currently unable to broadcast a TV signal. The part is called a power divider and is located at the base of the antenna 680 feet up. However, WQLN provides its signal to Time Warner cable systems via a fiber connection so many viewers in the Erie area are not experiencing a disruption of service.

Q. Why didn’t you have a backup plan to get back on the air?
A. Antennas and their associated transmission systems are custom designed for each TV station taking into account the channel, signal pattern and power requirements of the station. The power divider itself costs over $22,000 and it is not a part that is expected to fail except for catastrophic reasons. Stations don’t keep spare power dividers around just like the average person doesn’t keep a spare transmission for their car or a spare compressor for their refrigerator.

Q. How long will it take to get a new power divider?
A. It will take the manufacturer 5-6 weeks to manufacture a new power divider for WQLN. This does not account for shipping time and the time it takes a tower crew to install and test the equipment.

Q. Is WQLN going to be off the air that long?
A. No. In an effort to provide TV programming to our viewers in the mean time, WQLN will install a temporary antenna during the week of September 29th. This temporary antenna is only capable of handling one signal. We had to choose either an analog signal at 40% or a digital signal at 100%. In an effort to serve the largest US audience, WQLN chose to go with the 100% digital option. This will allow WQLN to reach the cable providers in the US and also reach any over-the-air viewers who have a digital TV or have a digital converter box.

Q. If I watch WQLN on an antenna, will I get the digital signal?
A. If you have a TV with a digital tuner or you purchased a digital converter box in preparation for the digital conversion next February, the answer is yes. If you have been watching WQLN with an antenna on an analog TV, you will not receive a picture until we are able to return to normal broadcast operations. This might be a great time to get ready for the conversion by purchasing a converter box or new digital TV.

Q. Did my cable provider take WQLN off my service because WQLN charges the cable company too much?
A. WQLN provides its signal to everyone free of charge. As a non-profit, non-commercial station, WQLN relies on its viewers to become members and provide the financial support it takes to provide TV and Radio programs to the community. WQLN does not derive any income from cable carriage in the US.

Q. When can I expect WQLN to return to normal operations?
A. Our best estimate at this time is that WQLN may be able to return to normal operations in November or at the latest early December.