A few days ago I dropped the bomb on antenna users when I told them that the FCC was reassigning about 1,000 stations. After a historic, three year process, the FCC will be re-allocating UHF channels 37-51 for cellular data use. The remaining channels will be “repacked” into a tighter space, with most moving down the dial somewhat. It will be an easy transition for regular folks; cable, satellite and streaming users won’t be affected and if you have an antenna it will take about 10 minutes to scan for new channels. You won’t need a new antenna either.
If you’re interested in finding out even more, such as which stations in your market will be affected, there’s a great resource hosted by Satellite Guys, a site which started for fans of DISH and DIRECTV but has evolved to serve a whole variety of home entertainment needs. The resource itself is maintained by an independent group and can be found at rabbitears.info.
Honestly folks I was working on my own version of this same information, based on FCC resources, but these guys did an excellent job. No need to reinvent the wheel here. Check your market or the whole country, sort by old channel or new, and get an idea when the transition’s going to happen.
My hat’s off to them, this is a great addition to the antenna community.
