A drive to Salina

Sorry, no pictures to go with today’s entry. My adventures from two days ago didn’t involve tower hunting. (There likely won’t be any of that until I get my truck into the mechanic--it needs a little attention.)

Saturday. The first 24-hour installment of a long holiday weekend. And what am I doing? Heading to Salina for some retail activity. Yes, it’s shopping, but since I’m by myself this day I get to do the male version of capitalism. In short: Go find what I need, pay for it, get outta there. None of this standing and staring silently for five minutes, then asking “does this make me look fat?”

Sorry, that’s the offshoot of being the only male member of my household, not to mention having two sisters and no brothers. So don’t get to thinking I’m lonely on this trip--rather just the opposite. Plus the drive helps rid me of some of my nervous energy.

As over-the-air TV broadcasting is heading into its final days of analog transmissions (maybe), I wanted to take the laptop and DTV stick with me and see what’s on (and off) the air.

First stop: a rest area on I-70 just east of Russell. And I wasn’t disappointed with this break in the driving. A little background before I share the reception info. Based on my research from TV Fool and the FCC CDBS database I knew that KSNC-DT and KOOD-DT should come in clear as a bell. The one I was curious about is KOCW, licensed to nearby Hoisington. The FCC documents indicate their intent to discontinue analog broadcasting as of March 17. Yet there is another document in the public file showing it will terminate analog broadcasting on June 12, late morning. Hmmm, I wonder which one is correct? (As an aside, KOCW has no companion digital channel as they were licensed after the DTV channel allocations. They will have to flash-cut to digital.)

After scanning, KSNC and KOOD showed with good signals. No KOCW, though. Switch over to analog, do another scan. Question answered: KOCW is still on analog so it appears their plan to flash-cut on June 12 appears in place. They aren’t even operating on reduced power right now (like so many analog channels do before they switch off for good). In fact their analog signal came through as one of the best I’ve ever received. Real clear, no static, no snow.

Pack up, now it’s on to Salina (for those of you outside the state, it is the largest city in the area and the location of the nearest Sam’s Club, Kohls, and Lowes). It’s also home to Hickory Hut, great barbecue. I was under orders from Geogal to bring back some smoked meat, beef and pork preferred. I also did the necessary shopping (new polo shirts as the tie-required dress code at my workplace is suspended between Memorial Day and Labor Day). And since I’m here of course I’ll fire up the computer again. KAAS-DT was the only discernible signal on the digital side, the analog gave me KAAS’s analog version and a translator of Wichita’s KAKE.

In my entry regarding the DTV signal of KWNB, Hayes Center, Nebraska, I pointed out that its PSIP identified it as the parent station. Same thing with KAAS-DT. KAAS (and the aforementioned KOCW) are full-power satellites of Wichita’s KSAS, branded as Fox Kansas. KAAS was showing as KSAS-24 on the PSIP. Interesting, I thought all full-power stations had to use their original analog channel assignments as the PSIP identifying channel. Maybe not. Or perhaps there is an exception for satellites which fully repeat the on-air programming of the parent channel. I’m sure this doesn’t matter to most folks, and certainly not in the long run. I believe the channel identifying numbers used by digital stations will soon be irrelevant, but that’s another blog entry. Still, I thought this oddity deserved mention.

Shopping done, I head toward home. Decided to go a different way, north on US 81 then turn left on the 2-lane highway for a far piece. Still, it’s nice to drive another way as I enjoy variety. This is definitely one advantage Kansas has over Arizona. To drive differently in the Grand Canyon State sometimes requires going many extra miles. (If an alternate drive is feasible at all!) And this time of year even western Kansas is a nice shade of green.