BANGOR, MAINE WABI-TV, The CW affiliate serving designated market area No. 154, said it “made Maine television history Monday” by launching local news in high definition. WABI is also installing a new antenna to transition from a UHF to a VHF signal.
“Technicians will install more transmission equipment, and testing the new antenna over the next couple of months,” WABI news director, Jim Morris, says in a video on the station’s Web site. “We expect to complete the switch to VHF in early December. For now, we will remain on the current UHF channel. We will air announcements in advance of the final channel switch.”
WABI will be moving from Ch. 19 to Ch. 13. When the station was granted approval for the channel change earlier this year, it warned viewers that signal quality could change:
“While the switch may improve signal viability for some, there are no guarantees in the world of over-the-air broadcasting, so we want to be clear that if you are having trouble with our signal now, this switch will not necessarily be a fix for your location issues--and equally, there is some chance that some current viewers may have trouble with the VHF signal. However, our technicians are working to assure optimum performance from the new transmitter set-up, and we are cautiously optimistic that reception issues will be minimal.”
WABI is owned by Diversified Communications of Portland, Maine. It also owns WCJB-TV, the ABC affiliate in Gainesville, Fla. -- Deborah D. McAdams
