Further to my previous post regarding WPFO, Fox 23, I received a call today from Tom MacArther
While I'll never be happy when HD programming isn't in HD, it was nice to finally speak to Tom MacArthur, General Manager (among other things) at WPFO in Portland, Maine.
He did finally get back to me about WPFO's HD issues. Apparently, equipment that was provided to WPFO by the FOX Network itself, is having some difficulties with the HD programming. FOX is replacing the equipment and WPFO hopes to have the problem fixed in the next few weeks.
Tom was very pleasant and easy to talk to. I told him about the blog and about my mission to simply make HDTV more commonplace, and available to everyone. Tom is actually in an enviable position in that his Network provides him with the HD equipment. I don't believe that any other of the Maine TV stations get free equipment from the Network of which they are an affiliate; most affiliates (Maine or elsewhere) have to buy the HD equipment on their own and it is very expensive.
What really clinched it for me was when Mr. MacArthur gave me his cell phone number. I explained to him how many times I call TV stations in Maine (and some in NH) when an HD program is NOT in HD. I further explained that there is often nobody to receive my call on the other end. But he was happy to give me his cell number and told me I could use it whenever I had a question or noticed a problem with the broadcast at WPFO - Fox 23.
This is my first interaction with WPFO. I hope the relationship between Fox 23 and the Maine HDTV blog continues to go well.
Thanks, Tom
8 comments:
Also missing from WPFO-HD is program information in their PSIP data stream. The OTA guide says 'Program Information Unavailable' where program descriptions should be. Is this connected to their equipment failure?
I checked WPFO this morning on my TV and the PSIP info was there. It said "Fox Morning News" or something lke that, and Channel 23.1" The PSIP data, and your TV's ability to read it depends on if you are using Antenna, cable direct, or a cable box, usually.
Yes, it is now back for me also. It was gone for several days. Tuesday night it was missing, Wednesday morning it was back.
What is the lat-lon (or city location) for their transmitter?
Hey Bill,
The Coordinates are
44°9′15.3″N
70°0′35.2″W
I didn't know it off the top of my head, I looked it up on Wikipedia :)
I'm in Scarborough and don't get their signal at all. I get abc, nbc, cbs, cw, mynet, pbs... but not fox. Is their broadcast on 23? I get a 0% signal, which seems very very odd. I'd expect something small at least.
Hey steedums, I haven't looked into HD on WPFO in almost 3 years. Just this week I rescanned my digital channels and I'm not picking them up either, never have.
Here's what I know: their broadcast tower is located on Oak Hill in Litchfield near the Androscoggin and Kennebec County line. Its location makes it nearly impossible for most of us in to get it over the air because of where it is and because it's a weak signal. They are just at the legal limit in terms of broadcasting power as set by the FCC. One notch lower and they woudl be considered a "low power" TV station and different rules would apply to them.
They've been getting away with a weak signal and piping their signal directly via fiber optic cable to cable providers and satellite companies. They don't have much of an interest in keeping free HDTV free.
Unless you are sitting underneath their broadcast tower in Litchfield (odd location considering they claim to serve Southern Maine) then you are only going to get WPFO via cable/satellite. Sad but true. They cut deals with media providers and dont' care if regular folks can get their signal or not. In fact, I believe the FCC rules states they have to carry any "high powered" network affiliated stations. So cable/satellite providers have to pay WPFO to get the signal over fiber option whiel WPFO spends no money to make sure people can get the signal for free. They are just sqeuaking by the FCC laws. It's corruptions at its finest.
If you are interested, I'd love for you to contact them at 207-828-0023. The GM was Tom MacArthur, but I don't know if it's still him or not.
I live in Arundel and with a solid rooftop antenna Fox 23.1 is to blochy to watch. I faced it to the tower and its just to far. I noticed last big game it came in perfect...hmmm
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