# special temp authority?



## hollistonma (Oct 10, 2007)

Today I noticed that the NBC affiliate in Boston (WHDH) now appears four times in my guide. Two have always appeared (7.1 WHDHDT and 7.2 WHDHDT). The other two are recent (7.1 WHDHSTA and 7.2 WHDHSTA2). The two 7.1 channels are carrying the same programming as are the two 7.2. Only difference is in the description where the "new" adds "Special Temp Authority" to the description. Any idea what is happening?


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## Jon Ellis (Dec 28, 2003)

"Special Temporary Authority" is just what it says, a special temporary authority approved by the FCC. It's used in emergency situations where the FCC decides temporary approval is warranted while it considers permanent approval. In the past, it was used mainly in the case of natural disasters, but it has been used quite a bit for DTV in recent years. In this case, the emergency would be the inability of many to receive VHF DTV signals.


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## mcrutland (Dec 29, 2004)

WHDH was originally on channel 42 before the digital transition. After the transition, it moved to its old analog slot, channel 7. They have now figured out that digital broadcasts work better on UHF, so they are moving back to channel 42. Both channel 42 and channel 7 should be working now. The broadcast on VHF 7 will eventually go away.

More info here:
http://www.rabbitears.info/vhf.php


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## hollistonma (Oct 10, 2007)

mcrutland and Jon,

Thanks for the information. Learn something new everyday.

hollistonma


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## n3ntj (Dec 18, 2006)

If only WPVI 6.1 in Philly could do the same thing.. (go back to a UHF channel)


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