Well, I haven't seen it mentioned elsewhere, but I'm now receiving the Watch TV multiplex of channels on DTV channel 16 (KORS).

Pretty impressive that I'm able to pick up the station from Hillsboro with just a small set-top antenna.

I am getting it also... although listed as a Salem channel, it appears to be transmitting from the West Hills:

http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service-area?x=CA1009339.html

What's on them?

Bohemia?

HSN, Bohemia, and it appears the Jewelry channel is coming soon (just bars/tone right now).

I'm a little confused. The FCC lists it as an application! I'll do some checking.

Hmm... That's not good :-)

They are operating under an ongoing STA (temporary authority)

Exhibit 35
Description: REASON FOR EXTENSION

THE CIRCUMSTANCES JUSTIFYING AN STA ARE THE SAME AS IN THE PREVIOUS FIVE REQUESTS.

KORS-CA CAUSED AND RECEIVED INTERFERENCE ON ITS LICENSED CHANNEL 36, SO IT APPLIED TO MOVE TO DIGITAL CHANNEL 16, FILE NO. BPTTA-20040902AAJ. THE CONSTRUCTION PERMIT APPLICATION REMAINS PENDING BECAUSE OF THE FREEZE ON CHANGES TO CLASS A STATION FACILITIES.

BECAUSE INTERFERENCE WAS OCCURRING NOTWITHSTANDING THE FREEZE, THE MEDIA BUREAU GRANTED AN STA TO OPERATE ON THE CHANNEL PROPOSED IN THE PENDING APPLICATION.

AN EXTENSION OF THE STA IS NEEDED BECAUSE INTERFERENCE WOULD RESUME IF THE STATION WERE REQUIRED TO RETURN TO ANALOG CHANNEL 36. THE STATION WISHES TO HAVE CONTINUED AUTHORITY TO OPERATE ON DIGITAL CHANNEL 16 UNTIL THE FREEZE IS LIFTED AND PROCESSING OF THE CONSTRUCTION PERMIT APPLICATION CAN BE COMPLETED.

THE DATE WHEN THE FREEZE IS LIFTED IS NOT WITHIN THE LICENSEE'S CONTROL, SO THE LICENSEE CANNOT NOW ANTICIPATE WHEN ITS PERMANENT APPLICATION MAY BE FURTHER PROCESSED.

THIS IS THE SAME REASON STATED IN OUR FIRST THROUGH FIFTH REQUESTS FOR EXTENSIONS OF THE STA, BESTA-20051114ABN, BESTA-20060509ABB, BESTA-20061109AAR, BESTA-20070522AAS, AND BESTA-20071113ADD. HOWEVER, THE REASON REMAINS VALID, BECAUSE THE CLASS A FREEZE IS STILL IN EFFECT, PREVENTING ANY APPROVAL OF A PERMANENT FACILITIES CHANGE, AND THE NEED FOR IMMEDIATE INTERFERENCE RELIEF CONTINUES TO EXIST.

I may be wrong here, but I thought that the STA was to permit analog broadcasting on (digital) ch 16 rather than 36 in Salem because of a local interference problem. Now it appears that they have modified the CP (move to Portland) and started broadcasting in digital while operating under the same STA ?
My head hurts!

I can't get 16 at all here....... :o(

From just north of Hillsboro, on a Sony HDTV, I get a signal strength of "27"*... most other Portland channels are running high 80's to mid 90's.
A strength of "27" is in the "red zone" but the picture seems stable. I have not tried the tuner in the Panasonic EZ47, but I remember that it was less sensitive than the Sony TV tuner**. I am using an old RS bow-tie corner reflector about 15 feet agl.

* out of 100 possible, I will not call this reading "%" because the scale is not linear.

** both are considerably more sensitive than the "first gen" Humax (HFA100) that I used 2-3 years ago.

Thank you for the explanation, Andy! I'm not completely clear on a couple of points, possibly because I haven't personally received the station. It sounds like they are operating digitally on channel 16. Is that from the west hills or the old location near Salem? I talked to my sister on the phone. She was at our mother's house. She was fiddling with the digital converter box so I asked her to punch in "1, 6". She said she got nothing but she may have scanned it instead. I can't be sure. There's a roof antenna aimed at the TV towers and all the main digital stations decode just fine. I would think it would at least come in well enough to be full of artifacts. I'll go over in a few days and check it out myself. One of these days, I'm going to disconnect the channel 22 yagi antenna and channel 22 splitter that are connected through the main antenna. That should help any future low power digital stations.

Both their license and application are for Salem, but from different sites. All the info is located and/or linked to:

http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?list=0&facid=71069

That link was part of my confusion in the first place! As long as we're here, why is it OK to have a translator licensed to a COL that doesn't even begin to reach it?

It's not totally clear how they get away with it. The coverage overlaps and provides interference relief. BTW, It's a CA (low power tv), not a translator.

The justification for its relocation is:

Minor Change Application Compliance
Figure 1 depicts the licensed and herein proposed 74
dBu contours for KORS-LP. As indicated, the proposed 74 dBu
contour encompasses a portion of the licensed 74 dBu contour.
Therefore, it is believed that the proposed modification is
considered a "minor" change in facilities pursuant to Section
73.3572.

See:

http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getattachment_exh.cgi?exhibit_id=4 16322

To make any more sense of it is beyond my uncompensated desire

It appears to be on the KGW tower based on the co-ordinates.

The licensed facility is a few miles NW of West Salem, between the ghost town of Zena and Oak Grove.

This is a very interesting concept, not unlike KFI remaining licensed to LA, even though they've moved to Medford! Wait a minute, there's another "Oak Grove"? There's already one near Hood River. That make's at least 3!

What is the difference between a CA and an LP?

I asked her to punch in "1, 6"

I saw nothing until I punched in "16.1", "16.2" and "16.3"... there is no "16" analog on the air that I can receive.

(slaps hand to side of head)Thank you, it's a whole new world!

What is the difference between a CA and an LP?

Class A stations (CA) are former low-power stations that have some interference protection rights not available to low-power stations. They must broadcast three hours of locally-produced program each week and operate much the same as full-power stations.

Low-Power stations (LP) provide opportunities for locally-oriented TV in small communities, which may be in rural or individual communities within larger urban areas. Programming can include satellite-delivered programming, syndicated programs, movies, and various locally-produced programs.

Translator stations (TX) rebroadcast programming from full-power stations to live in regions that are unable to receive the full-power signals because they are too far away or live in the mountains or other remote areas.

Thanks. That answers a question that I have wondered about for a long time.

Interestingly enough, I can't even get any sort of copy of KORS-CA on my Digitalstream box at the apartment. (I won't even try using the Pansat for this stuff, as its ATSC section is a very, very poor DX tuner--possibly my one and only bitch about the Pansat! It's far better suited for the local stuff.)

When I took the D-stream box over to my Aunt's place about a mile and a half NNE of Harmony football field (192nd and 18th), it came in about 30-37% at around 12:30 this morning. Still in the red zone and drops out frequently but viewable enough to tell what it is. Given the positions and distances my apartment and my Aunt's place are in relative to the tower, this is truly bizarre.......of course, using an amplified deep-fringe antenna about three stories in the air like she does can change things quite a bit........

(With that antenna, KXXO on 96.1 comes in on her stereo with clarity that I'd never heard before outside Olympia.......yeah.)

My Apex and Zenith converters only need 1 6 punched in and they will go to 16-1 even if it is not scanned. My Channel Master will not.
My Zenith shows it pixilated sporadically and not there other times with a low signal level....

My Apex shows it as level 37% and it had decent picture but no sound at 4PM today. My Channel Master doesn't know it exists.
These are in East Gresham.

I just tried my Panasonic EZ47 (DVD/VHS recorder with ATSC tuner). Only after a scan (it had not been connected to an antenna for months), it found 16.1 when I punched in "16". On the remote, I must use a hyphen instead of a period that the Sony remote uses (16-2 instead of 16.2).
Sound on channels 16.1, 16.2, 16.3 is fine.

My Digital Stream box has no audio on 16.1 or 16.2. Not sure why, but given their programming I guess it's no great loss...

Just checked using the ATSC tuner in my Panasonic recorder and Sony TV, the sound on 16.1, 16.2, 16.3 is still working ok... weird that some boxes are not receiving it !

The slap to the side of my head being fresh in my mind(unintentional humor), I went over to my mother's house and pressed in "16.1" and "16.2". This was ineffective with the converter box. Whether the problem was that this particular box needs a really strong signal to decode or that having 2 antennae connected together is bringing down the level too far, I cannot say. All I know is that it didn't work when I tried it.

I got it over here in Hillsboro with my indoor antenna facing due west

Reflection off the coast range?

According to FCC records, KORS is transmitted from the west hills (KGW tower, ASRN 1204059):

http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?list=0&facid=71069

I have noticed many outdoor antennas around Hillsboro point West instead of East... Perhaps this reduces overload from the stronger Portland stations?

It's more likely the antennas were set up backward.

Indeed, that is very likely... many homeowners may not know which end of a "V" shaped log periodic to point at the towers, and end up aiming it like an arrow point. But, in the Hillsboro area, the signal from ch 49 from a hi gain antenna can overwhelm the front end of some TV or VCR tuners... turning the antenna around backwards is cheaper than using an attenuator to clean up the mess!