WSPX-TV (channel 56) is a television station in Syracuse, New York, United States, airing programming from the Ion Television network. Owned and operated by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company, the station maintains studios on Basile Rowe in East Syracuse and a transmitter on Sevier Road in Pompey, New York.

WSPX-TV
Channels
BrandingIon
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
November 24, 1998 (25 years ago) (1998-11-24)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog: 56 (UHF, 1998–2009)
  • Digital: 15 (UHF, until 2019)
Call sign meaning
Syracuse's Pax
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID64352
ERP82 kW
HAAT452.1 m (1,483 ft)
Transmitter coordinates42°56′42″N 76°1′27″W / 42.94500°N 76.02417°W / 42.94500; -76.02417
Links
Public license information
Websiteiontelevision.com

History

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WSPX-TV has been operating since November 24, 1998.[2] From 2001 to 2005, WSPX re-aired newscasts from NBC affiliate WSTM-TV (channel 3).

Technical information

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Subchannels

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The station's signal is multiplexed:

Subchannels of WSPX-TV[3]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
56.1 720p 16:9 ION Ion Television
56.2 480i CourtTV Court TV
56.3 Grit Grit
56.4 Mystery Ion Mystery
56.5 IONPlus Ion Plus
56.6 Laff Laff
56.7 Jewelry Jewelry TV
56.8 HSN HSN
56.9 QVC QVC

WSPX-TV started broadcasting in high definition in May 2010.

The channel 15 frequency was short-spaced to Belleville, Ontario's CBLFT-13 and was approved on the condition that the effective radiated power of the U.S. station not exceed 100 kilowatts.[4]

According to WSPX-TV, an early reduction in analog power and start of digital operation needed to take place months in advance of the February 17, 2009, FCC digital transition deadline to ensure that channel 15's antenna could be installed on the top of the tower in place of the existing channel 56 antenna before the onset of winter.[5] UHF 56 was then left operational from a secondary, side-mounted antenna at a 25% reduction in coverage area until analog shut-off.

Analog-to-digital conversion

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WSPX-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 56, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 15,[6] using virtual channel 56.

References

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  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WSPX-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ Fybush, Scott (November 26, 1998). "WQEW Getting Mouse Ears?". North East RadioWatch. The Archives at BostonRadio.org. Retrieved April 30, 2006.
  3. ^ RabbitEars TV Query for WSPX
  4. ^ FCC construction permit for DTV beginning Feb 2009
  5. ^ FCC application to reduce power on analog UHF 56
  6. ^ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
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