68 channels and counting!

KAXT-CA lit up their digital transmitter today (or sometime in the last couple days). They're RF channel is 42, taking over the old KTNC analog spot. They join the quad of stations on Mt. Allison. Their analog transmitter over in the East San Jose foothills is still up on channel 22. It's unclear how long it will stay.

But get this: They're transmitting twelve streams! Most of them are foreign language or religious or shopping, so there probably isn't a lot I'll be watching. And, of course, to fit 12 streams in 19 MB/s, they've had to squeeze the hell out of them. But their signal is good and strong.

So welcome to the digital age, KAXT!

There are only a couple stations left to show up. One is KMMC. They're set to flash-cut to digital on channel 40 sometime next month. Another is KTVJ, which will begin transmitting from Mt. Tamalpais on channel 4 sometime next month. Although there is a clear line of sight from here to Mt. Tamalpais, it'll be interesting to see how challenging it is to receive VHF low ATSC from so far away. The electrical noise might wind up drowning them out. Not to mention I'll probably need to build a dipole or perhaps a 2 or 3 element beam to pull them in (did I mention that a dipole for 70 MHz is gonna be almost 10 feet long?).