Indian Wells Valley TV Booster, Inc.
P.O. Box 562
Ridgecrest, CA 92556-0562
760-375-0233
October 1, 2005
see our web site: iwvtvbooster.org
Dear Friends and Supporters of TV Booster:
Fall is in the air, the weather is changing, and so are the TV Booster's offerings from Laurel Mountain. We are midway through our preparations for the transition to digital television service in the Indian Wells Valley. The first part of the process involved relocating downward all channels from 52 through 69 and began several years ago. The translators at "B" Mt. have been modified to accept the relocated Laurel Mt. channels. We sold four of the twelve channels in use on Laurel Mt. to provide part of the funds needed to accomplish the second part of the process, while reducing the amount of new equipment needed. We plan to begin digital TV broadcasting as soon as the FCC permits it and we anticipate all Laurel Mt. channels to be carrying high definition TV signals by spring. We also hope to have one HDTV signal on the air in the coming weeks under a temporary experimental license so we may determine the minimum power required to get reliable digital TV signals into College Heights.
The "B" Mt. site will continue broadcasting analog TV signals after the Laurel Mt. site replaces analog TV signals with digital TV signals. If you get your TV signals from "B" Mt., you won't have to make any changes of your own right away. If you get your TV signals from Laurel Mt., you will either have to upgrade your receivers to accept the type of signals used for digital TV broadcasts (called ATSC), or else use a VHF/UHF antenna pointed at "B" Mt. Please note that Congress intends to end analog TV signals after December 31, 2008, so TV signals from "B" Mt. may no longer be available beginning in 2009 as we do not expect to convert that site to digital TV service.
We've also made changes to our FM radio services. The theme behind all these changes is providing the best possible FM radio signals and we will soon be modifying our translators to pass HD Radio signals where they are available. Some changes were required because we lost some distant stations due to closer stations going on-air on their frequencies. Fortunately, we have found other stations with similar programming to replace them.
For several years, local reception of the classical music station KMZT has been generating lots of comments to the TV Booster. After considerable time and effort, we seem to have found an antenna design and location that allows us to receive the KMZT signal without degradation from the signal on an adjacent FM channel used by a local radio station located less than a mile away.
So do help with a donation to keep the TV Booster broadcasting to the Indian Wells Valley. We mail this newsletter only once each year to get the lowest bulk mailing rate. So, if you have already sent a donation, we thank you for your support. Your donations are essential and are very much appreciated.
Ronald Cole
President
Please mark any name or address changes on the reverse side of this page, sending it and your contribution to IWV TV Booster, PO Box 562, Ridgecrest, CA 93556-0562. To save postage, we do not send a receipt unless you request one. Contributions are not tax-deductible.