W55BM
Encyclopedia
WXID-LP is a low-power television station on channel 49 (with a negative frequency offset
) in north-northwest metro Atlanta
. Licensed to serve
Marietta, Georgia
, the station's TV transmitter is atop Sweat Mountain
, north-northwest of Atlanta. Since being permit
ted in 1988, it was W55BM until March 2008, becoming W49DE after it was forced to change TV channels due to the DTV transition in the United States
(which resulted in channel 55 being auction
ed to MediaFLO
). The station was previously owned by the Trinity Broadcasting Network
, which sold it in 2010 to Word of God Fellowship, which changed the station to its current broadcast callsign in mid October 2010.
Originally airing The Box, it later became a translator station for TBN-owned WHSG-TV
. The station later affiliated with the TBN-owned JCTV
network, making it one of the few TBN-owned analog stations to carry programming other than TBN. This programming is also seen on one of WHSG's digital subchannel
s: virtual channel
63.3, via RF channel 44.
The station was analog TV channel 55 with 11.6 kW ERP
and used an omnidirectional antenna
. In 2007, the station went off-air, possibly due to the use of channel 55 by MediaFLO
. It obtained a construction permit
to move to channel 49 with an extremely directional antenna
, aimed southeast toward Sandy Springs and North Atlanta. The maximum ERP in that direction is 48.3 kW, and the nearly-circular coverage area centers on Sandy Springs, and ironically covers much less of Marietta. It also had an application to modify this permit to flash-cut
as its digital TV channel (as all channels above 51 are being revoked from the TV bandplan
), but the FCC dismissed this, possibly due to a request from TBN.
TBN again took W49DE silent on February 12, 2010, this time citing declining support. This has been attributed to the digital transition, but its also due to WHSG moving much closer (right into Atlanta proper instead of the far southwest side of metro Atlanta
), making a translator station unnecessary. A month later, on March 19, a deal was reached to sell W49DE to Word of God Fellowship, owner of the Daystar Television Network
; the deal makes it a sister station
to WDTA-LP
.
The station has a new application to flash-cut
to digital on channel 49, which would make it WXID-LD. This permit would also move the station's transmitter into the city at the North Druid Hills site.
Frequency offset
In radio engineering, a frequency offset is an intentional slight shift of broadcasted radio frequency , to reduce interference with other transmitters.- Interference :...
) in north-northwest metro Atlanta
Metro Atlanta
The Atlanta metropolitan area or metro Atlanta, officially designated by the US Census Bureau as the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metro area in the U.S. state of Georgia and the ninth-largest metropolitan statistical area in the United States...
. Licensed to serve
City of license
A city of license or community of license, in American and Canadian broadcasting, is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator....
Marietta, Georgia
Marietta, Georgia
Marietta is a city located in central Cobb County, Georgia, United States, and is its county seat.As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 56,579, making it one of metro Atlanta's largest suburbs...
, the station's TV transmitter is atop Sweat Mountain
Sweat Mountain
Sweat Mountain is a low mountain located in far northeastern Cobb County, Georgia, in the suburbs north of Atlanta. The exact GNIS location of its summit is , and it has an official elevation of above mean sea level...
, north-northwest of Atlanta. Since being permit
Construction permit
A construction permit or building permit is a permit required in most jurisdictions for new construction, or adding on to pre-existing structures, and in some cases for major renovations. Generally, the new construction must be inspected during construction and after completion to ensure compliance...
ted in 1988, it was W55BM until March 2008, becoming W49DE after it was forced to change TV channels due to the DTV transition in the United States
DTV transition in the United States
The DTV transition in the United States was the switchover from analog to exclusively digital broadcasting of free over-the-air television programming...
(which resulted in channel 55 being auction
Spectrum auction
A spectrum auction is a process whereby a government uses an auction system to sell the rights to transmit signals over specific bands of the electromagnetic spectrum and to assign scarce spectrum resources. Depending on the specific auction format used, a spectrum auction can last from a single...
ed to MediaFLO
MediaFLO
MediaFLO is a technology developed by Qualcomm for transmitting audio, video and data to portable devices such as mobile phones and personal televisions, used for mobile television...
). The station was previously owned by the Trinity Broadcasting Network
Trinity Broadcasting Network
The Trinity Broadcasting Network is a major American Christian television network. TBN is based in Costa Mesa, California, with auxiliary studio facilities in Irving, Texas; Hendersonville, Tennessee; Gadsden, Alabama; Decatur, Georgia; Miami, Florida; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Orlando, Florida; and New...
, which sold it in 2010 to Word of God Fellowship, which changed the station to its current broadcast callsign in mid October 2010.
Originally airing The Box, it later became a translator station for TBN-owned WHSG-TV
WHSG-TV
WHSG-TV is a Georgia television station on digital channel 44 . The analog station is located in eastern metro Atlanta in northern Rockdale County about halfway between Atlanta and Monroe, Georgia, it's city of license...
. The station later affiliated with the TBN-owned JCTV
JCTV
JCTV is a young adult television network devoted to music videos, owned by the Trinity Broadcasting Network. It is similar to MTV, but with a Christian focus....
network, making it one of the few TBN-owned analog stations to carry programming other than TBN. This programming is also seen on one of WHSG's digital subchannel
Digital subchannel
In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a means to transmit more than one independent program at the same time from the same digital radio or digital television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compression techniques to reduce the size of each individual...
s: virtual channel
Virtual channel
In telecommunications, a logical channel number , also known as virtual channel, is a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel on which the signal travels....
63.3, via RF channel 44.
The station was analog TV channel 55 with 11.6 kW ERP
Effective radiated power
In radio telecommunications, effective radiated power or equivalent radiated power is a standardized theoretical measurement of radio frequency energy using the SI unit watts, and is determined by subtracting system losses and adding system gains...
and used an omnidirectional antenna
Omnidirectional antenna
In radio communication, an omnidirectional antenna is an antenna which radiates radio wave power uniformly in all directions in one plane, with the radiated power decreasing with elevation angle above or below the plane, dropping to zero on the antenna's axis. This radiation pattern is often...
. In 2007, the station went off-air, possibly due to the use of channel 55 by MediaFLO
MediaFLO
MediaFLO is a technology developed by Qualcomm for transmitting audio, video and data to portable devices such as mobile phones and personal televisions, used for mobile television...
. It obtained a construction permit
Construction permit
A construction permit or building permit is a permit required in most jurisdictions for new construction, or adding on to pre-existing structures, and in some cases for major renovations. Generally, the new construction must be inspected during construction and after completion to ensure compliance...
to move to channel 49 with an extremely directional antenna
Directional antenna
A directional antenna or beam antenna is an antenna which radiates greater power in one or more directions allowing for increased performance on transmit and receive and reduced interference from unwanted sources....
, aimed southeast toward Sandy Springs and North Atlanta. The maximum ERP in that direction is 48.3 kW, and the nearly-circular coverage area centers on Sandy Springs, and ironically covers much less of Marietta. It also had an application to modify this permit to flash-cut
Flash-cut
A flash-cut, also called flash-cutover, is an immediate change in a complex system, with no phase-in period.Some telephone area codes were split immediately, rather than being phased in with a permissive dialing period. An example is telephone area code 213, which was split into 213 and 714 all at...
as its digital TV channel (as all channels above 51 are being revoked from the TV bandplan
Bandplan
A bandplan or band plan is a plan for using a particular band of radio frequencies, that are a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum . Each bandplan defines the frequency range to be included, how channels are to be defined, and what will be carried on those channels...
), but the FCC dismissed this, possibly due to a request from TBN.
TBN again took W49DE silent on February 12, 2010, this time citing declining support. This has been attributed to the digital transition, but its also due to WHSG moving much closer (right into Atlanta proper instead of the far southwest side of metro Atlanta
Metro Atlanta
The Atlanta metropolitan area or metro Atlanta, officially designated by the US Census Bureau as the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metro area in the U.S. state of Georgia and the ninth-largest metropolitan statistical area in the United States...
), making a translator station unnecessary. A month later, on March 19, a deal was reached to sell W49DE to Word of God Fellowship, owner of the Daystar Television Network
Daystar Television Network
The Daystar Television Network is an American evangelical Christian television religious broadcasting network headquartered near Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in Bedford, Texas...
; the deal makes it a sister station
Sister station
In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio and/or television stations operated by the same ownership....
to WDTA-LP
WDTA-LP
WDTA-LD is a low-power television station in Atlanta, owned by Word of God Fellowship. It is an affiliate of Daystar. Broadcasting from the SunTrust Plaza in downtown Atlanta, its city of license is Atlanta. The office is located with WPXA-TV next to Six Flags White Water on Cobb Parkway WDTA-LD...
.
The station has a new application to flash-cut
Flash-cut
A flash-cut, also called flash-cutover, is an immediate change in a complex system, with no phase-in period.Some telephone area codes were split immediately, rather than being phased in with a permissive dialing period. An example is telephone area code 213, which was split into 213 and 714 all at...
to digital on channel 49, which would make it WXID-LD. This permit would also move the station's transmitter into the city at the North Druid Hills site.
External links
- JCTV (requires Macromedia Flash to view)