The season got a late start due to the fact I didn't put up my new television antenna until May 18. The Radio Shack VU-210XR that I had used for analog and TV DX since 1998 was totaled in the tornado on April 10, as many of you may know. The replacement is a Winegard HD8200U VHF/UHF/FM yagi antenna. I broke it in with an E-skip opening to Mexico, during which I logged a new state: Veracruz. XHGV 4 from Las Lajas was noted on May 19 during the late morning hours. Later that evening, I stumbled on a tropo opening into the Nashville area. Here are the Nashville area digital TV stations I logged:
Outside of Music City U.S.A., I also noted WNIN Evansville, IN operating in digital on their former analog channel of 9. I previously noted WNIN on channel 12 in digital format in 2008. In addition, I also noted WBKO 13 Bowling Green, KY for the first time since the digital transition. The video captures below are from WNIN and WBKO. WNIN on channel 9 is the 150th digital TV station logged from my location.
Toward the end of May, I added an analog on 2: CKCO2 Wiarton, ON. At 630 miles, it was short distance for E-skip. The only other CKCO relay station logged at my location was in December 1994: CKCO3 from Sarnia on analog 42. On June 4, after I witnessed the landing of the Solar Impulse solar-powered plane at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, I returned to my shack to pull in KAFT 9 (13) Fayetteville, AR. It's only my third station noted from Arkansas, and the first one from outside Jonesboro. Note that the fourth channel is used as a reading service for the visually impaired.
As the month of June ended, I was able to more than double the size of my digital TV logbook from Kansas. During the evening hours, I added KTWU 11 and WIBW-DT 13 in Topeka, as well as KOAM 7 in Pittsburg. The one relog noted below is KMCI 41 (38) in Lawrence. The one thing I started to discover about my new TV antenna is that it's really helped my VHF digital TV count.
June also brought three new analog TV stations to the logbook: XHGC 5 from Mexico City, a relay of XHCNL 34 Monterrey, NL on channel 2 from Saltillo, Coahuila, and XHFM on channel 2 from Veracruz. July 3 brought the first log of WRGB 6 in digital format from Schenectady, NY since 2009...I noted This TV on 6.2, identifying as "This Albany". July 5 finally had WACP 4 Atlantic City, NJ decode...all I got was PSIP info on 4.2. July 15 brought a very strong signal in analog format from CFQC1 on channel 3 from Stranraer, SK. It's a wide spot in the road somewhere in the western part of the province. On August 18, I logged my 10th Mexican state with the addition of XHQ 3 in Culiacan, Sonora. The capture below is from CFQC1.
August was the month that all of television in St. Louis went all-digital. The last holdout was the 3ABN affiliate...moving from analog 49 (as K49FC) to digital 25 as K25NG. 3ABN also added three other video channels (Proclaim!, Dare to Dream and Latino) and three radio channels (3ABN English and Spanish radio feeds, as well as Radio 74 Internationale) to the channel.
That same evening, I pulled in Memphis on FM again, as well as WHBQ 13. This video capture is for WHBQ 13.2, which carries Movies!, a 24-hour movie channel.
The end of August brought my first low-power DTV stations with the new antenna: W40CV on channel 40 from Jacksonville, IL (relaying WAND 17 Decatur, IL) and 3ABN affiliate W29CI on channel 29 from Salem, IL (configured the same as K25NG). Here's the video captures.
The tropo season went into September, noting relogs of KWWL 7 Waterloo, IA and KCRG 9 Cedar Rapids, IA. Another opening during the first full weekend of September brought digital TV stations from Louisville and Evansville. These two captures are of sub-channels of WHAS 11 Louisville.
As of September 27, 2013, the analog TV logbook stands at 576 stations; the digital TV logbook stands at 162. There may end up being more tropo later this fall...tropo has also been reported in the autumn and winter months.
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