Phase-Out

[egrabow]

To my friends at the Worldwide TV-FM DX Association,

You all know that we're in the last year to DX full-power analog TV in the US. I decided a while back that I would monitor more diligently this year and be sure I wasn't missing anything. More recently, though, I made the tough decision that I wouldn't carry my hobby into the digital age or try to fill the analog void with international targets. The fact I had to face was that my interest has been fading over the last several years... the first good tropo opening this year (even with a new station) felt more like a chore than an exciting evening and that's not what DXing is supposed to be about. I posted more in my blog on egrabow.com (http://www.egrabow.com/frontPage.php?view=142&exec=1001&config=0).

Though it can't hold a candle to the veterans in this club, my 14-year history (starting when I was 12-years-old) with DXing is something I'll remember fondly. Discovering the WTFDA was a big plus during the very-active years of 1999 and 2000. I'd like to thank all my friends in this club for their camaraderie, help with IDs, website feedback, etc. Before the WTFDA, I thought I was the only weirdo who watched static on TV. :D

I'll be around up until March '09. Though I'm not monitoring trops as much anymore, I am still watching for e-skip (with it's uniquely unstable three-stations-at-once effect that just won't be the same with digital) and I even met my long-time goal of catching Mexico last month. In January, the Logo Gallery (http://www.egrabow.com/ram.php?src=Gallery&exec=1001&config=0) will come down and everything DX-related will be reduced to a single page, the DX from five VHS tapes will be made into a DVD compilation, and I'll see if any local station does anything special with their analog sign-off. I'll just have to see what new interests present themselves... one thing that I've started that may be big is writing fiction. I'm in the process of writing my first novel and it looks like I'll be finishing it soon. Who knows? You might see my name in Barnes & Noble someday (maybe I'll even write some characters who are DXers).

Anyway, I'm staying more or less active through the summer and I'll still be around, hoping to give this childhood hobby of mine a good sendoff before the analogs get shut down and I retire the A/B switches on my TVs.

73s.
-Ryan Grabow
-Fort Myers, FL

P.S.
I spent my gov't coupon on the Insignia coverter box, following the advice given in the HDTV forum here. So if I should ever feel like checking conditions one night post-transition, at least I'll have one of the more DXer-friendly boxes.

[cd637299]

Ryan,

As far as the digital conversion, I am with ya buddy. I too plan on buying 2 Insignias, but like you, the hobby (TV aspect anyway) won't be the same.

That being said, I feel that you are really gonna enjoy the next few Es summers, strictly trying for foreign TV. I myself am looking forward to it. The southern half of FL is ripe for the picking. Although I have not seen a new TV country since 2000 from home (Haiti & Dom Rep), don't miss out on the opportunities.

I have never seen ch 2 Nicaragua, El Salvador, Colombia, Venezuela from home, and next year will be my chance (if I have a 50th birthday surprise party on May 6, I'll have to set the recorders!).

Let's keep in touch.

cd

[KW4RZ]

Ryan, thanks for all your hard work producing the logo maps and for making it available. It's been my #1 resource for identifying TV DX over the last 3 years. Hats off to ya.
Good luck with the novels!
Randy

[Mike-CT]

Hey Ryan,
You've come a long way from the days on Long Island. Times change and people get older. Hobbies come and hobbies go. How much of the hobby is left after shutdown remains to be seen, but between DTV and iboc, you can probably guess.

Thanks for your contribution to the hobby. You did good! Good luck to you, my friend.

[Russ-PA]

I haven't really actively DX'ed TV in many many years. I DX'ed AM, FM & TV as a teen, dropped FM and TV in my 20's, picked up FM again in my 40's. But I'm actually seriously thinking of paying a lot more attention to TV after the analog shutdown because of the foreign stations I may finally get a chance to see with only a smallish TV and an internal antenna.

I've of course perused the logos and so forth on your site, and can appreciate the work that went into keeping it up.

Now a question -- is there a way that the logo gallery might be preserved on the club site, and in such a way that others could contribute to it -- taking what started as one member's project and making it a club project ?

[egrabow]

I've DXed the AM BCB a night here and a night there, and I've made a couple of attempts years back to spark interest in FM... but TV is where my interest was always concentrated. For a while, I planned to stay active through 2009 just to see if international catches would become easier, but since I had only seen a few over the years, they never quite registered as part of the hobby for me... if that makes sense.

Still, I'm happy I got a Mexican catch last month! :D

I mentioned the Insignia box at work today, and one of our news anchors suggested that they might want to interview me when they do a story for the February switch-over. Maybe I could explain how the Insignia is good for DXing?

As for doing the Logo Gallery as a club project: My policy is to offer in the public domain anything I don't plan to use anymore, so the Photoshop files for the maps can go to whoever asks. Though, in the age when a WinTV card can decode the call letters before the target's video data... won't you already know what station it is before you see the logo? Also, between the FOX network's latest cookie-cutter logo campaign and the CW logos, none of it seems as sporting anymore. Still, if you think they'll be useful you're welcome to them. It was my pleasure to serve the DXing community with my analog maps, thank you guys for the compliments.

[Danny]

Ryan, your logo pages have been used by many DXers. Thanks for providing the service.

I really think you could ID plenty of Mexicans and Latin American TV stations from your location.

I hate to see you leave TV DXing; but when a hobby feels like a "chore," it might be a good idea to do something else (or at least take a break from the hobby).

Best wishes for whatever you do.

[desrudx]

I also want to thank you for the maps as here in SW Quebec almost all ES is from the US and they have been much help to me.
I can relate with the loss of interest in tv-I noted 3 occasions this year when I would have seen ES on ch2 without US TV analogs (twice it was unIDable strange-looking CCI,only once had video, Global Winnipeg). Only signal I ever got here outside Can/US was WKAQ PR and they`re going off too. Can hardly imagine monitoring ch2 next year for what little chance I have of seeing something beyond that...FM however remains just as fun, especially since I have often received ES at work over my local not even looking for it...But for tv, Im with you 100%, the fun factor next year is gone and time to work on the novels...let`s see who gets published first! No worries, you`ll be the first as mine have hardly been worked on for years...!
Hope all the best for you, thanks again