The picture below is the east half of the master control room. Denny (L) is seated in front of the WOHL ABC 35.1 Master Control switcher. Becky (R) is on the WOHL CBS 35.2 switcher.
Mike is on the west half of the master control room, and is in front of the WLIO NBC 8.1 Master Control switcher. The switcher on the right is the WLIO Fox 8.2 Master Control switcher, which is presently in automation mode.
Jon is in our Satellite Room, which is just north of the MCR. The satellite room is where all the syndicated shows come in and are recorded for playback later. At the present time we record 422 shows a week. Everything is recorded on hard drive for playback.
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( 3 / 186 )WLIO will be conducting local HD tests (independent of NBC) with Cincinnati Bengal Football. The tests will originate on the following days.
August 14 @ 8:00PM - "Bengals at New Orleans"
August 20 @ 7:30PM - "Bengals at New England"
August 27 @ 7:30PM - "Bengals at St Louis"
September 3 @ 7:30PM - "Bengals at home hosting Indianapolis"
These transmissions will be made on WLIO-NBC on 8.1, as well as carried on cable. Note, at the present time Time-Warner cable is the only cable company carrying our HD signal.
If you would like to be our Signal Spotter, here is what I'm looking for.
1) A quality judgment on the HD signal.
2) A quality judgment on the audio.
Please let me know how you are receiving the signal and equipment being used.
In the event we have a technical issue, we will drop to SD. I'll try to post something here, but sometimes it's impossible to post when we're trying to solve an equipment problem at the same time.
Send reports to fred@wlio.com
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( 2.9 / 210 )Date: Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:09:41 -0700 (PDT)
From: Steve Rich
Subject: WOHL-DC 35 >> Indy
To: fred@wlio.com
Hi Fred,
As a DTV DXer on the far north side of Indianapolis, near Carmel, I thought I'd let you know that your 9 kW WOHL-DC, with some tropo help, was really getting out late this morning (@ 119 miles). I captured two screenshots and have attached them. Just thought you'd enjoy knowing how far the new signal can go.
Plus, during the same time, WLIO-DT 8 was quite strong here, too.
Steve Rich
Indianapolis
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( 2.9 / 209 )WOHL-DC is now on the air testing on Channel 35.
WOHL operates with 9,000 watts ERP, and will be the home to ABC and CBS. Programming will start August 17, 2009 at 7:00AM
At the present we are testing, so the signal may be on an off the air at times.
I look forward to reception reports.
Frederick R. Vobbe, Chief Engineer
___________________________________________
As of Saturday, July 25 at 10:53, here is where WOHL-DC Lima has been spotted.
MAP / JPeg Image
Stereo PCM Audio will be tested next week starting Monday 7/27/2009 afternoon.
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( 3 / 179 )On June 12th at 6:59AM will will sign off WLIO analog.
during "First Edition" from 6AM to 7AM, we will be talking about the transition, and at the end of the news show we will press the button for the last time.
During the day, our technical staff will be disassembling the 1964 transmitter, which will be scrapped out.
In it's place a new IT center will be built.
BTW, In anticipation of the completion of the digital transition on June 12, 2009, the Media Bureau announces the procedures for full power television stations to secure their preferred station call sign" suffix, for example, KXYZ (no suffix), KXYZ-TV or KXYZ-DT. This Public Notice gives the details:
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/a ... 1253A1.pdf
This means that starting Saturday, June 13th, WLIO-DT Lima will become WLIO Lima.
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( 3 / 118 )
As I write this entry, we are close to shutting WLIO's transmitter down. As many of you are aware, WLIO (analog) on channel 35 will go dark at 7AM on June 12, 2009 when all analog transmissions in the United States cease to exist. This ends an era for a station that came on the air on Easter 1953.Today we were notified that there were no objections to WLIO, and Block Communications filing of a request for a new digital television station on Channel 35. This new station is actually a rebirth of another station. Here's how it works.
After WLIO, Channel 35 analog is signed off, we will begin the task of taking the RCA TTU-30 transmitter apart.
The WLIO transmitter actually began its life in Springfield OH on channel 16 as a RCA TTU-30A. But when the station in Springfield went bankrupt, WLIO (then WIMA-TV) purchased it for a power increase. The station had an old GE transmitter, and the E.R.P. was 212,000 watts. With the used RCA transmitter, the station was able to increase to 512,000 watts. It went on the air in 1979.In 1985 I arrived at WLIO, and one of my first tasks was to replace the old GE helical antenna at the top of the tower. This old antenna was what was used for most of WLIO's broadcast days, after switching from channel 79 down to 35. By the way, in 1953, and when operating on channel 79, the power off the antenna was only 1,000 watts!
The antenna was beaten up badly, had a very poor response, and had arced over several times. After it was removed, it was obvious we were operating on borrowed time. The only thing we could do was scrap it.In January of 1986, when it was 20 degrees below zero, a new RCA/Dielectric TFU-30JA antenna replaced the old GE. This allowed WLIO to raise its power to 661,000 watts. This antenna was built by the RCA team, and I personally went to Marlboro NJ to the test range to "tweak" the performance of the antenna.
One of the things it also did well was throw signal over the horizon, instead of up in the sky, or "to the moon", as my predecessor Maurie Lamb would say.
For the first three months we handled well over 100 complaints from people getting WLIO on two or three places on the dial as the signal was so strong it would overload antennas, and especially the cheaper "boosters" that people liked to use. WLIO's coverage more than doubled with the antenna change.
Now it's April, and in a few months we'll kiss the old RCA transmitter good bye. The only task will be to get it taken apart, salvage what good metal we can, and take the remainder to the junkman.
But out of the ashes rises the Phoenix.
When Block Communication purchased the low power stations, we got three analog stations, WOHL channel 25, WLQP channel 18, and WLMO channel 38.
The plans are to move the programming of WOHL, (which has the Fox network), to the 8.2 channel of our digital station, WLIO-DT. This will increase viewing from the present one county, to eleven counties, as well as allows people to see the Fox programming in HD. NBC will be 8.1, and Fox 8.2. But in this move, WOHL becomes an orphan. No programming will be available.
What we plan to do, once WLIO analog is cleaned out and gone, is to move WOHL to channel 35, then flip it to digital. This new station will have the call sign of WOHL-CA Channel 35, and will be 9,000 watts E.R.P.
The power is the maximum allowed due to interference issues with CBET channel 35 (digital) in Windsor, Ontario. The reason this will be an issue is because we will be using the big, 50-foot tall RCA TFU-30JA pylon antenna, formally used by WLIO analog. This antenna as plenty of gain and a good beam (-5 degree beam tilt) over West Central Ohio.
The new channel 35 will then become the home of ABC and CBS in HD. As soon as WOHL channel 35 digital comes on the air, we will then start to phase out WLQP-18 and WLMO-38 as analog stations. What will happen with them? Well, that a story for another day. 
For those of you that notice the construction on the east side of the property, a small 30 x 28 foot building is being put up for the new channel 35 digital transmitter. The building will also hold the satellite uplinks for one of the dish TV providers, which should start providing the Lima stations, ABC, CBS, NBC, & Fox on the satellite in a few months. And it will house the repeaters for the local amateur radio club, as well as WLIO's news repeaters.
If you want to see some great pictures from WLIO, WIMA, and WLOK's early years, click on the RELATED LINK below and see some of the great pictures posted by master control operator, Dennis Lamb.
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( 2.9 / 209 )
Here is our new master control room that was built just prior to the 2008 Olympics.In this picture you see the two switchers, one for WLIO 8.1, and the other for WLIO 8.2. WLIO 8.1 is now NBC in HD. WLIO 8.2 will be Fox in HD.
The master control was designed by WLIO's engineers, and is a Utah Scientific HD product. Employee involvement was key to the success of the building of the master control.
Click on the picture to get a large image.
The Utah Scientific system consists of Miranda and AJA converters to automatically take content from analog, or SD-SDI and convert it to HD.When SD programming is aired, we put two bars on the sides of the picture to fill out the 16:9 picture. Both station transmit 16:9 in the 720P format at all times.
The monitors you see are large screen "picture in picture" monitors that allow the operator to see what is happening on all the feeds and stations.
Two monitors between the larger big screens allow the operator to see the parameter's of the transmitter, that is located in a room behind the operator.The screen on the bottom is the automation that allows the commercials and shows to be played out on the air.
The automation system is by a company called Wireready NSI which has been a leading automation supplier since the early 1990s.
The Wireready automation runs the MC2020P control panel, that in turn selects the programs and sources seen on the air.The operator can take control of the panel at any time, should there be live programming or breaking news.
Each panel has the ability to seize control from the other station, so operators don't have to dash from switcher to switcher.
Additionally, the panel contains a button called "Emergency Join" that allows once switcher to take over the programming from another station.
The master control room is designed ergonomically for operator comfort, and the floors are wood to remove all possibility of static.
In the back room, behind the operator you find the Axcera 5,000 "Innovator" high-band VHF transmitter. This is our digital transmitter.The transmitter is all air cooled, with (2) redundant exciters, controllers, and eight power amplifiers.
We have also kept our original Larcan DTT-250 transmitter, the one we first used to come on in digital, and now serves as a third level of backup. Along with our new generator, this makes WLIO a very dependable source for information in west-central Ohio
CLICK HERE for a PDF map showing our digital coverage (large circle) vs the analog coverage.
We will have more pictures as time progresses. Look for our new ABC and CBS to pop up soon!
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( 3 / 190 )Eight calls this morning from people asking if I know anything about when stations will transition. Here is what I know at this moment.
Dayton stations are going to transition on February 17th as planned.
Toledo stations are going to wait till June 12th.
Fort Wayne's channels WANE-15, WPTA-21, WFWA(PBS)-39 are suppose to transition on February 17th. WISE-33 may wait till later due to a change in their DTV plans. No word on when WFFT-55 will transition as they are struggling. The delay of WISE and WFFT may force the other three to delay.
In Lima, WLIO-35 remains the only high-power analog on the air. WTLW transitioned back on December 1st, 2008. WBGU-27 transitioned on December 31st, 2008.
The low power stations in Lima are not required to transition, but now that they are owned by Block Communications, they will likely be made into DTV stations. A plan has yet to be set in stone, but you will hear it here first when I have details.
Meanwhile, public attitude is that everyone should transition on time. As one caller put it, "those, if they do exist, who want a delay because they are not ready, will not be ready on June 12th, September 12th, or February 17th 2010. We have had two years to prepare. Let's get it on!"
View Letter to the Editor
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( 3 / 167 )Jim Gillen lives NE of Lima near the community of Lafayette, OH. He writes;
Fred:
Attached is a spreadsheet with the channels I was able to receive.
Green = Good strong signal.
Yellow = Weak or marginal signal.
Red = No signal.
I'm using a Channel Master 1161A antenna.
The antenna is on a 50' Rohn G25 tower.
Jim's List
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