Plan To Rescan – PBS Fort Wayne

We’ve Made The Change to a New Over-The-Air Signal!

What does this mean for you?

If you are using an antenna to watch TV for free, you will need to re-scan your TV. If you get your television through a cable or satellite provider, you don’t have to do anything.

If you watch any of PBS Fort Wayne’s channels – 39.1, 39.2, 39.3 or 39.4 — over-the-air, meaning you have a TV antenna plugged into your TV — then you will need to re-scan the channels on your television any time after September 1st at 12:01 am in order to continue to receive our signal.

Antenna Information: Upgrades complete!

PBS Fort Wayne is happy to announce the completion of the final phases of upgrades to our antenna and tower infrastructure.

This final phase puts a brand new, permanent antenna in service to replace the temporary antenna PBS Fort Wayne had been broadcasting from since our channel re-assignment on September 1. On that day, PBS Fort Wayne completed its move from RF channel 40 to RF channel 18 as part of the FCC’s channel re-pack process. Since then, we had been broadcasting using a temporary side mounted antenna to satisfy the FCC deadline until the new antenna could be installed.

Area TV viewers who previously have been going through the rescan process with varying results are encouraged to re-scan their TVs once again so that they may acquire our signal from the new antenna, now at the top of our tower.

In addition, our transmitter is now broadcasting using 350,000 watts of power, nearly twice our old signal strength. The combination of the two should ensure that most viewers who may have recently had issues receiving our broadcasts should be able to receive them now as they did before the move.

In addition to re-scanning, don’t forget the following tips to re-acquire PBS Fort Wayne’s signal:

Make sure your antenna connection to your TV is good and tight. Sometimes, over time, they can loosen.
It may take more than one scan to acquire the new signal. We know you’ve already done this, but after checking the antenna connection or changing its position, try again.
You may have to re-position or rotate your antenna, then re-scan. We have had dozens of people call us back or email us after rotating their antenna 90 degrees (one quarter turn, if you will) and have had success in getting our signal once again.
If you have been aiming your antenna at our offices (located adjacent to the Purdue-Fort Wayne Campus on Fort Wayne’s northeast side) you may want to re-aim or re-position your antenna facing the northwest side of Fort Wayne, where our tower/transmitter are located.

Basic Steps to Re-scan your TV Channels:

While each television is a little different, here are the basic steps to take to re-scan the available channels on your TV to ensure you will still receive PBS Fort Wayne:

Make sure you have a antenna connected to your TV
Select the MENU button on your television’s remote control
Select “Channel Setup” (or similar option)
Select “Antenna” and/or “Air”
Select “New Scan” (or similar option)

That’s it! This process should take about 5-10 minutes and then you should be able to receive all of PBS39’s channels as you did before, and we’ll still show up as channel 39. You may have to do this several times, and you may have to move or re-position your antenna, then rescan to acquire PBS Fort Wayne’s new signal.

Some things to remember:

Make sure your antenna connection to your TV is good and tight. Sometimes, over time, they can loosen.
It may take more than one scan to acquire the new signal.
You may have to re-position or rotate your antenna, then re-scan.

For cable, satellite and other Pay TV subscribers…

Remember, if you watch PBS Fort Wayne through a cable or satellite provider (Comcast, Frontier, Mediacom, DirecTV, DISH, etc) you don’t need to do anything. They have been notified of our channel change and will continue to provide PBS Fort Wayne.

If there is an issue after September 1st, 2019 please call your provider.

This video shows the rescanning process.

Troubleshooting Tips and Other Resources to learn more about Rescanning and the FCC Channel Repacking Process

Following is some information which we hope will assist viewers having reception issues.

Antenna Positioning

A vast majority of reception issues are due to antenna position. A common misconception is that the PBS Fort Wayne’s tower and studios are located in northeast Fort Wayne, where our offices at the corner of Coliseum & Crescent Boulevards are located. Our tower and transmitter is located in northwest Fort Wayne. Visit https://www.fcc.gov/media/engineering/dtvmaps to determine the best antenna position and the quality of signal that can be expected at your location.

Pictured below is an example of a location in northeast Indiana in relation to the location of PBS Fort Wayne’s transmitter.

Make sure that your antenna is pointed in the correct direction before performing a channel scan on your television or converter box. If your television or converter box doesn’t detect the signal(s) you are interested in, you will need to readjust your antenna and perform another channel scan and repeat until the tuner identifies the signal(s). Once the signal is identified then fine tune the position with the television’s signal strength indicator.

Quality/Strength Indicator

With digital television, viewers will see the same quality of picture regardless of the signal level on their television. Due to the all or nothing nature of digital reception also known as the digital cliff, it is very important to find and use the signal quality/strength indicator available on the television or converter. This is a valuable aid for adjusting any antenna to provide adequate signal reception and level to counteract any changes in weather or surroundings that may affect the reception quality over a period of time.

TVAnswers.org – a great basic information resource from the National Association of Broadcasters. http://www.tvanswers.org/default.asp

On the same page, simple directions on what to do… http://www.tvanswers.org/rescan.asp

To help answer questions “Why?”, the FCC’s webpage detailing the Spectrum Auction and how we all got to here. https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/consumer-faqs-tv-spectrum-auction

The FCC’s Troubleshooting Guide for Digital TVs and Convertor Boxes: https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/troubleshooting-guide-digital-analog-converter-boxes-and-digital-televisions

The FCC’s DTV Reception Maps web page: https://www.fcc.gov/media/engineering/dtvmaps

The FCC’s Guide to Antennas and Digital Television: https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/antennas-and-digital-television

Brand-Specific Steps to Rescan your TV Channels

You can also follow the steps for your specific TV in your owner’s manual. We have provided some of the top television manufacturers’ information on how to perform a scan through the links below.

Samsung

Sony
Instructions for the Sony Bravia

Toshiba
From Toshiba’s verified YouTube account

Vizio
From Vizio’s YouTube account

Panasonic
Instructions for the Panasonic Viera

Philips