Cottage Grove sentinel., November 29, 2017, Page pg 3, Image 32

FREE TELEVISION IN COTTAGE GROVE FOR OVER SIXTY YEARS
South Lane Television, Inc.
In the early days of television, most TV stations serving Or-
egon were located in Portland. And reception from Portland was
poor in Cottage Grove. With the hopes of devising a plan for better
reception, a group of local television enthusiasts met over coff ee
to discuss how members of the community could engineer a sys-
tem that would provide better TV pictures in Cottage Grove. What
emerged was a community non-profi t organized in 1957 as South
Lane Television, Inc.
Th e new SLTV Board set out to raise money for an engineer-
ing study that determined Hansen Butte, located a mile southeast
of Cottage Grove, was the ideal point to receive TV signals and
translate those signals to new channels that could be easily picked
up in and around Cottage Grove. A successful fund drive followed
and the fl edgling board was able to purchase the necessary equip-
ment to put the fi rst three channels on the air in 1957.
Over the years, SLTV has steadily improved and expanded its
service. Today, the Cottage Grove system has grown to 36 channels
and the London Springs system now has 14 channels. All that is
necessary to receive these free television signals from South Lane
Television, is a good quality UHF antenna aimed toward the SLTV
towers atop Hansen Butte, a mile southeast of Cottage Grove, or
in the London area, the tower is located north of London and just
west of London Road. Th e system in the Dorena/Culp Creek area
is a bit diff erent in that it operates on a low power VHF system. In
order for the viewer to receive these SLTV signals, a good qual-
ity VHF antenna is necessary. Th e site for Dorena/Culp Creek is
on Hawley Butte (east of the Dorena Post Offi ce and northwest
of Culp Creek). Because there is no commercial power available,
South Lane Television produces its own power from collecting
energy from solar panels and a wind turbine. Th e surplus energy
is stored in a bank of batteries for nighttime operation. Th en the
system is backed up by a diesel generator. Even though this is a
very elaborate and complex system, it is pretty reliable. It has been
an expensive venture for SLTV, but the system off ers a very isolat-
ed community eight of the most basic and important television
channels.
Aft er many years of study and planning, South Lane Televi-
sion converted from the old analog television standard to the new
digital standard in 2009 – at the same time as the television broad-
casters were required to convert. Th e new digital standard has been
the most signifi cant improvement in television performance and
viewing pleasure since the arrival of color television. With the new
digital standard and brand new state of the art equipment, the up-
grade resulted in sparking clear digital pictures for our viewers,
and SLTV’s Hansen Butte operation has become one of the largest
and most technically advanced translator sites in the Country. And
when you combine the rural areas of London and Dorena, our sys-
tem is in a class of its own.
Th e best part about our message is that this valuable service
is yours absolutely free! All viewers need is a good quality antenna
aimed toward the SLTV tower in your vicinity. Th e more rural you
live, the more challenging reception is. SLTV operates on much
lower power than the full service stations in Eugene, Medford, Sa-
lem, or Portland -- and a hill or other obstructions such as trees
can make reception diffi cult for the signals to penetrate your an-
tenna. So look for the clearest path you can fi nd for your antenna
location, and if the signals are not producing a stable picture, an
amplifi er may improve the fi nal signal to the TV. Within the city
of Cottage Grove, many homes utilize indoor antennas, but these
can be problematic. Indoor antennas are challenged by the walls
in your house and any obstructions beyond your house, such as
trees in the pathway to the towers. So the fi rst step in purchasing
an indoor antenna, is to NOT buy the cheapest antenna you can
fi nd. Occasionally, indoor antennas will oft en work if the antenna
is set in a window with the towers clearly visible on Hansen Butte,
otherwise these seldom work. You may get a few channels, but if
you aren’t getting them all, you need a better antenna. A better
decision is to buy the best antenna you can fi nd. Generally speak-
ing, a cheap antenna might be about $19, but one that has a better
chance of working may cost closer to $40. And you usually get a
built-in amplifi er to help improve the signal with a better antenna.
When people ask us about antennas, we always recommend folks
skip indoor antennas altogether and buy a good quality outdoor
antenna. With an outdoor antenna, even if you have a few trees in
your or your neighbor’s yard that obscures your view of the towers,
you should still get great reception with a good outdoor antenna.
Th e cost for an outdoor antenna, with wiring, etc., will be about
$100. For fringe areas, a bigger antenna may run around $150.
Th ese days, most people buy antennas and related equipment via
the Internet. SLTV recommends Channel Master.com for supe-
rior equipment. When ordering, remember you need UHF for
the Cottage Grove and London systems and a VHF for Dorena/
Culp Creek. BiMart also has an expanding line of antennas. Mike
in the Electronics section is knowledgeable and can be a valuable
resource in helping you select the proper antenna and wiring, etc.
Th e cost savings compared to cable or satellite services oft en
amounts to $1,000 per year, or more! And, a typical family only
watches eight to 12 satellite/cable/premium channels regularly
beyond the remaining 80% of what typical households routinely
watch. We all watch the local news, network programming, and
public broadcasting. SLTV carries all the networks and their af-
fi liate’s sub-channels on all of our systems. Beyond the Eugene
network affi liates, we add programming options from stations in
Salem, Portland, and Medford on our main Cottage Grove system.
SLTV also has an on-air program guide for all 36 channels and has
agreements from various program suppliers from various regions
of America to bring in additional varied programming to Cottage
Grove via satellite. Altogether this results in South Lane Television
being able to provide 36 channels of free crystal clear digital tele-
vision of varied interests. You may be interested in knowing that a
half dozen radio stations are also rebroadcast over the SLTV sys-
tem for better reception in Cottage Grove.
Due to an FCC mandate, SLTV is presently replacing seven
of our 10 licenses as a part of an overhaul of the TV spectrum. It
These messages are brought to you as a pub-
lic service by South Lane Television. Our goal
is to continue serving the community with
the highest quality free over-the-air television
service possible.
is a very complicated process, but SLTV is ahead of the curve and
will emerge with all of our lost channels being replaced, we believe.
Th is will be expensive, but SLTV is ready to rebuild the system
as needed. We are a non-profi t community benefi t organization
who’s income comes from space leases and agreements with users
of the site. We do not receive any tax money and SLTV does not
solicit money from the public. In may areas of the country, trans-
lator systems are supported by a taxing district. While SLTV will
come through our challenges OK, there are, unfortunately some
translator organizations across the country that won’t make it as a
result of the expense and complication of the process. Translators
are considered a secondary service, so that makes it even hard-
er for us as an industry to survive. But we have the best engineer
on the West Coast and he has managed to receive approvals from
the FCC to move to all seven of the aff ected channels to new re-
placement channels that he has identifi ed. We then, once our new
equipment is installed, will have to test for and meet certain engi-
neering standards. We are optimistic of a positive outcome. Quite
honestly, it is frustrating for us to try to serve the public and see the
attitude of the FCC to be that nobody watches over-the-air televi-
sion anymore and the spectrum could better serve the cellphone
industry. While it is oft en true that viewers in more affl uent areas
don’t mind paying $100 per month for satellite or cable services,
it is not necessarily true in Cottage Grove -- or much of the in-
ter-mountain West where free over-the-air television is critical in
people’s daily lives. Did you know that our studies have consistent-
ly shown that approximately 1/3 of the television households in the
Cottage Grove area choose South Lane Television’s free TV service
rather than pay for satellite or cable service. Th at’s thousands of
people. Certainly free over-the-air TV is important to many folks
in Cottage Grove.
South Lane Television’s Board President, Lloyd Williams, is
also a member of the National Translator Association Board of
Directors so we are always well aware of changes in the industry –
and how to respond. Th e NTA’s only interest is in keeping free tele-
vision and radio available to rural America. South Lane Television
has the same goal, along with a desire to continue to add as many
programming choices beyond the standard broadcast TV model
as we can. It is our desire to be an active voice in broadcasting,
advocating for free television and radio services for everyone in
America, whether urban or rural.
South Lane Television and its volunteer board has been with
you for six decades and is always watching for new ways to bring
new and better ways to deliver the best television, radio, and gen-
eral communications services to our community.
May you enjoy the holiday season to its fullest!
Signed:
Lloyd Williams, President, Ron Irvine;
Executive Vice President, Gary Williams;
Vice President, Joe Brown; Board Member, Don Lonsbury;
Board Member, Naomi Motta; Board Member, Connie Ourada
Stay tuned!
S OUT H L A N E T E LE VISION
GRACENOTE - 2017 HOLIDAY PREVIEW pg 3