WHYY Digital Television Facts

WHYY officially went on the air with its digital signal on Tuesday, May 16, 2000.

WHYY's digital channels (WHYY Digital HD 12.1, Comcast 240; Y Arts 12.2, Comcast 241; WHYY Wider Horizons 12.3, Comcast 242) are available to Comcast Digital Cable subscribers and over the air on digital television sets equipped with a tuner and an external antenna. Low-cost PC cards that allow reception on standard PC monitors are also available.

WHYY broadcasts a digital signal on UHF Channel 50 as assigned by the FCC. On most digital receivers, you can still tune to DT50, but you may see 12.1 displayed on your screen.

WHYY's transmitter, manufactured by Harris Communications, is located in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia. The coordinates are 40-2-30 North and 75-14-23 West. The average ERP (Effective Radiated Power) at the antenna is 89,000 watts.

The DTV antenna is manufactured by Dielectric Communications and mounted 323m (1060 feet) above sea level. The DTV signal is transmitted as an 8-VSB modulated signal, providing a data stream at a constant 19.39 mb/s.

DTV allows up to six channels of digital sound to be transmitted.