The 1611AM in Gracemere has only recently been changed from Relaying VAST CH 800 to now dead air after the demise of the Radio Italia network
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The ACMA need to do a compliance run through some of these places and have a look at things like council self help TVâs and community radio. Unfortunately ACMA have the same issue as the broadcasting - hardly any techâs left and those they have are in only a couple of capital cities. Like most technical work these days, you need to like airports at 5am, driving and motels if you want to be an ACMA Field Officer.
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I donât mind this sort of stuff and they ainât interested in me
I think it is more of a funding issue these days
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There have been quite a few ex-broadcasting techâs at ACMA over the years - also a few ex-military people as well. They will put you through a Cert 4 in Government Investigation as well before they turn you loose chasing baddies.
Another job broadcasting techs often end up doing is Antarctica - they even had a LPFM on each base years ago.
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Bungendore, NSW, has a very interesting and somewhat unique TV broadcast installation.
Their main site is at Chaton Ridge, 36 km north of town, which is even further than the main Canberra site (Black Mountain @ 31 km west). Itâs a 6kw vertical set up, but with a VERY directional array (as below) and appears to serve Bungendore only.
@dxnerd As a local, are there some topographical challenges as to why the Bungendore TV site is so far out of town like that?
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The Lake George Escarpment blocks the direct signals from Black Mountain. The signal path is clearer to the NNW (over Lake George) as that map demonstrates. It is definitely an anomaly though given the distance. I think a translator site on top of the escarpment near Brooks Hill would work better. The ridge has clear LOS towards Black Mountain and Bungendore and all points north to Lake George and the windfarms. There are already mobile phone towers at this location, just to the west of the NSW/ACT border as you travel south from Bungendore.
No need to cover areas like Wamboin and Bywong as these have LOS to Black Mountain, being atop or on the western side of the Lake George Escarpment.
I have had some issues with pixellation due to lightning interference, probably originating from the Chaton Ridge site itself as itâs so far from Black Mountain. I mainly stream these days so just put up with it. There are a lot of storms on the Southern Tablelands though so this is a problem for a substantial part of the year.
There are several old Band III verticals in town aimed at Black Mountain.
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Thanks!
Looks like ABC and SBS for Bungendore are fed off air by Black Mountain too.
Thus the 7pm ABC News bulletin would then be the Canberra one, not the NSW one, despite being in NSW.
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Yep thatâs right. Braidwood gets NSW and Sydney news on the ABC. Not sure about El Capitanos Flatos.
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Since the Captains Flat translator feed their TV signals off the Bungendore translator, they would be getting the Canberra edition of ABC News.
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@TV-Expert does it again! Come to think of it, I think youâve posted that before. Iâm assuming the identified input channels are the Bungendore ones which is how you know?
That is right. I got that information off this document: https://www.acma.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019-10/TV%20planning%20data%20web%20xlsx.xlsx
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The Chaton Ridge site is also the parent site for Captains Flat, for the commercial services at least. Captains Flat being further out along that very directional signal and possibly part of the reason why the Chaton Ridge site was chosen.
ABC/SBS have a satellite dish at Captains Flat to receive NSW services and they use the Chaton Ridge signal carrying Canberra services as a backup feed in case of rain fade etc.
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Thanks, I thought it was interesting that the commercials at Captains Flat are not fed straight from Black Mountain, which is closer than the Bungendore site.
Edit: Could it be possibly because Central West Slopes may cause i/f to Black Mountain in the summer at that elevation, since they are both vertical and are roughly in the same direction?
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Interference from Mt Cenn Cruaich could certainly be a concern. SCA at Braidwood is fed off-air from Black Mountain Tower and when I was working in the TV NOC and BMT was off for maintenance one night, the off-air RX at Braidwood was intermittently receiving Prime from Cenn Cruaich. At the same time Captains Flat was getting fed something intermittently from Chaton Ridge, probably Cenn Cruaich Prime, but the available equipment didnât allow me to identify the signal.
Braidwood also decoded ATN7 one night while BMT was on during a particularly strong ducting event.
I recall the field techs trying to get a viable signal from BMT at Captains Flat as an alternative input but couldnât make it work. Whether it was due to low RF level or interference, I didnât ask.
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Some big changes as mentioned in the WIN thread.
- All WIN channels will be in MPEG-4 by the end of 2023, including the main channel. Includes WIN Seven/WIN Ten.
- All Commercial channels in Tasmania (SCA, WIN, JV) will be MPEG-4 only, including main channels.
- 9GemHD will be launching in WIN areas in July 2023.
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WINâs current multiplex allocation. Sure are a lot of bytes allocated to the shopping channels - and being MPEG 4 potentially better picture than the other multis for now.
| WIN 8 | 3.1 | |
| WIN HD 80 | 6.2 | MPEG 4 |
| Gem 81 | 2.8 | MPEG 4 |
| Go 82 | 2.8 | |
| Life 83 | 1.8 | |
| TVSN 84 | 1.9 | MPEG 4 |
| Gold 85 | 2.5 | MPEG 4 |
Updated 30/3/23
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Wow thatâs a huge chunk for WIN HD
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Yes, would need to be for MPEG 2 HD.
Back before multi channels their old MPEG 2 HD channel was about 12 Mbps.
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WIN HD is MPEG 4 - I didnât note that on the table, thought it was assumed. Itâs allocation has varied a lot over the last day that I have been monitoring - it was up even higher at one stage yesterday then dropped back down then was up again thins morning.
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I wondered that given 6 Mbps is high even by todays standards.
Thanks for updating.
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