BILLINGS — A major project to upgrade KTVQ television transmission technology is nearing completion, and it will directly impact over-the-air viewers in the Billings area.
Mark Huller, with Scripps Montana Engineering, said the station is shifting from a very high frequency (VHF) channel to an ultra-high frequency (UHF) channel.
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"The reason we're doing that is UHF is better for indoor reception. It's a higher frequency. Higher frequency penetrates walls better," Huller said on Wednesday. "This only impacts over the air, does not impact cable, satellite, or people in outlying areas that might pick up a translator that's not affected."
The Montana Television Network (MTN), which includes KTVQ, has been working on this project for three years. Viewers using antennas in Billings will need to rescan their TVs to access the new channel. The transition is scheduled for Tuesday, April 29.
"That is, of course, weather dependent. If we get a big storm, that will delay us," Huller said. "Scripps (the parent company of KTVQ and MTN) is investing a lot of money in the state of Montana because we are doing this all over the state."
To rescan, over-the-air viewers should navigate to the menu on their TVs, scroll to channels, and select the auto channel search option. If they do not, they will not be able to access the channel.
"It's good for our viewers. It gives them better reception," Huller said. "We're actually doing Billings, Bozeman, Butte, Helena, Missoula and Great Falls all this summer.”
A new antenna will be brought over 350 feet up the transmitter tower to make the change. David Hayley from the tower crew explained the process as other crew members were hundreds of feet in the air working.
"We're going to put that pole on the tower. It's pretty much a crane that we put on the face of the tower and then we jump it up and secure it. And then we snatch the old antenna down, bring it down and then we put the new one up," Hayley said. "There's a lot of work that goes into it. It's a lot of rigging, so you got to know your weights and stuff like that."
One pole weighs 9,725 pounds, according to Hayley.
The crew has been in Billings for two months working on this project alongside MTN and Scripps engineers. Hayley travels across the United States working on towers.
"It's just another day for me, you know," Hayley said. "Nobody really looks up, you know what I mean? Like, nobody notices there's towers. I didn't ever notice there was towers before I started bombing, you know what I mean? So, a lot of people don't even know what goes into it."
