Analog To The End

[egrabow]

I'm planning to do a video this summer on the very last analog stations in the US. If you know of an analog station still on the air in 2021, please let me know! (Reply in this thread.)

How is it operating?

• On-air and watchable (that is, watchable to someone living near the transmitter)
• On-air but not watchable (satellite error message or muted audio)
• Franken-FM (Does it use a video carrier? What's on it?)

Of course if you could get a recording to me I can feature it in the video. And I'll give you credit.

These are the ones I know of:

• WEYS-LP 6 near Miami, FL. Franken-FM with Almavision (local "54-1") for the picture.
• W05CO 5 in Sarasota, FL. 3ABN with muted audio. Last confirmed in August... I need to go back there.
• WBPN-LP and WXXW-LP in Binghamton, NY, according to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgAxeluxYkY

Thanks in advance. I'm curious to know what's still out there.

[amason1968]

Nothing on analog in my area, not since the DTV switch. I was actually planning a road trip this summer out west, and if the FCC database and TVfool.com are to be believed, I'll be going through some areas that still have analog TV up and running. Actually, the final day for transmission, July 13, is right in the middle of my trip. I was planning on taking a DTV box with me to see what I could get on DTV bands, and I'm trying to come up with a solution as to how to get potential analog stations too. (Side note, does anyone know if the Insignia NS-DXA1 is capable of tuning analog stations too?) I might be the last one to record some of them, before they disappear forever in the US. If I catch some, I'll record it, and send it on to you.

[Jim Thomas]

KSHW-LP 87.7 (6), Sheridan Wyoming - the audio was confirmed this past summer when I received them on the SDR during an E-skip opening. I can't confirm if they are using video. You might consult Hepburn's page for RF 6 in the US, as he has more than 20 LP's listed as still being on the air -
https://www.dxinfocentre.com/tv-nam.htm

Note to AMason1968 - you might want to consult Mark Colombo's RabbitEars website - Https://www.RabbitEars.info - for up-to-date TV information, rather than TVFool, as that site is rarely up to date and it has a ton of errors. RabbitEars is updated daily with the smallest of changes with TV broadcasters. Doug Smith W9WI also keeps his TV website pages up to date - http://www.w9wi.com/web/tv-states.html

Mark and Doug are both WTFDA members and work in the broadcast industry.

[egrabow]

The NS-DXA1 does not tune analog stations, but if you're plugging it into an old TV there's your analog tuner.
You may be able to find an old portable TV lying around in a Goodwill or something. Then it's just a matter of recording video on your smartphone or digital camera.

For the best recordings I use a Hauppauge USB tuner plugged into my laptop... that's what I'll be using to capture the last ones in Florida. My tuner is ~12 years old, I don't know if newer models have analog tuning.

Jim, the FCC filings are overly optimistic. Ever since 2009 it seems like half the stations (even digital) only exist on paper. I tried looking for analogs in October when I was driving through the Smokey Mountains and struck out. I'm trying to go off of DXer's first-hand experience.

[amason1968]

Thanks for the tip Jim. I looked at TVfool + the fcc database, but you and egrabow are right, many of these stations seem to exist only on paper. Apparently there actually is a analog only about an hour from me, WCMN-LP in St. Cloud, MN. I'll try to get up there one of these days to grab a recording. There appears to be a few more a bit farther from me, don't know if I'll be able to go out to them though.

[amason1968]

Unfortunate news, it seems that WCMN-LP is no longer on the air on its analog channel. I drove up there this afternoon to record it, and when I looked back at what I had recorded, nothing but static. Granted, I had a pretty crappy antenna, but I was probably a half mile from the transmitter site, with line of sight. I didn't pick up any sign of anything broadcasting on the station. It seems it applied for a license for a digital channel on virtual channel 14 last June, even though I don't see any record of it moving, it must have gone off air on 13. I didn't get a chance to look for the digital channel.

[Route66Fan]

I've heard that KKRA-LP, Ch. 24 & KWBH-LP, Ch. 27 in Rapid City, SD, are still operating analog signals.
https://transition.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?call=KKRA-LP
https://transition.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?call=KWBH

[amason1968]

I've got it mapped out, I believe that if the FCC database is correct, I should drive through 5 cities that have analog stations on air. There's a few more that I'll go through, but not until after the shutoff. I'll try my best to record some of them.

[w9wi]

I finally completed a runthrough of the current FCC DB. Best I can tell, there are 1,208 stations still authorized to broadcast in analog. Of those:

247 - also have licenses to cover for conversion to digital -- so presumably are *not* actually still broadcasting in analog.
20 - have Digital Companion Channels. They're already simulcasting in digital & will presumably allow their analog licenses to be canceled later this year.
535 - have permits to convert to digital but have not yet filed for a license to cover. They may have converted.
31 - have applied for permission to convert to digital but the FCC has yet to act on the application.
280 - have not filed to convert but are located in Alaska. (I'm hearing some of them may have in fact converted)
95 - do not appear to have made any effort to convert.

To "re-math" that... unless you're visiting Alaska, there are roughly 150 stations that should still be broadcasting in analog and another 535 that might be.

[w9wi]

Stations in Florida that should still be on in analog:
WWRJ-LP Jacksonville (ch. 27)
WGZT-LP Key West (ch. 27)
WXDT-LP Naples (ch. 23)
W26BV Panama City
WHDY-LP Panama City (ch. 6)
WYMI-LP Summerland Key (ch. 28)

Stations that *might* be still on in analog (but have CPs for digital):
W33BL Chiefland
W29CW Duck Key
WOCD-LP Dunnellon (ch. 27)
WTBZ-LP Gainesville (ch. 29)
W45BZ & W50CO Jacksonville
W16CL & W25DQ Key West
WKWT-LP Key West (ch. 42)
WTVK-LP Key West (ch. 31)
W23AQ Lake City
W47DA Melbourne
WEYS-LP Miami (ch. 6)
WZDT-LP Naples (ch. 39)
WVCI-LP Orlando (ch. 16)
W40BU Panama City
WGOM-LP Panama City (ch. 10)
W05CO Sarasota
WMMF-LP Vero Beach (ch. 19)

[egrabow]

Thanks for the South Dakota info, Route66Fan. First post to the forum?

Doug, I can confirm WXDT-LP, WZDT-LP, and WVCI-LP are not on the air, and haven't been in years. Whether they switch on the transmitter once a year to keep the license I can't say, but I assume filings would reflect that. I'm 99% sure that W23AQ and W47DA are also long-gone. A 2015 scan of Jacksonville indicated they were all gone already, but I wasn't close to the transmitter sites.

I'm taking a drive next week to check on W45BZ, W50CO, WWRJ-LP, W23AQ, W33BL, and WTBZ-LP. I'll be within sight of their transmitter towers, like I have to be with W05CO. Then I can be sure about those six.

[egrabow]

Drove around a bit today with the Channel Master 4220HD and my 13" TV (the last CRT I own), taking care to get within a couple miles of the transmitters.

Struck out.

27 WWRJ-LP Jacksonville: Analog Off Air, Digital Off Air
45 W45BZ Jacksonville: Analog Off Air, Digital (26) Off Air
50 W50CO Jacksonville: Analog Off Air, Digital (32) Off Air
23 W23AQ Lake City: Analog Off Air
33 W33BL Chiefland: Analog Off Air (picture below)
29 WTBZ-LP Gainesville: Analog Off Air, Digital (14) Off Air
^ worth noting, if 29 analog were on the air it would interfere with local WGFL

On Monday I'll swing by Sarasota to check up on W05CO.

W33BL.jpg

[iceberg]

Here in Minnesota there are 3 analog translators. All 3 relay KSAX (Alexandria) which is now a satellite of KSTP Minneapolis (ABC)
K32FY Park Rapids
K28DD Bemidji
K17FE Wadena

All are still on the air and watchable and recently applied to flash cut to digital

[iceberg]

gosh I forgot WCMN-LP in St Cloud, MN on analog 13
They are still on the air and have a digital channel of 14 but in their latest document with FCC they need some more time to move to RF14 due to mobile radios in the vicinity. They say they will still go off the air for the analog signal in July.

[egrabow]

I've finished driving around the state. The only analogs left in Florida are:
WEYS-LP Miami (Franken-FM with black screen and very little power on their video carrier)
WHDY-LP Panama City (Franken-FM with no video carrier)
W05CO Sarasota (3ABN).

Thanks for the info on Minnesota, iceberg. Your state had the last translator above channel 69, so it's nice that the tradition continues at the end of the analog phaseout.