KOPB-TV

KOPB-TV, virtual and VHF digital channel 10, is a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member television station licensed to Portland, Oregon, United States. The station is owned by Oregon Public Broadcasting.

KOPB-TV
Portland, Oregon,/Vancouver, Washington
United States
ChannelsDigital: 10 (VHF)
Virtual: 10 (PSIP)
BrandingOPB
Programming
Affiliations10.1 PBS (1970-present)
10.2 OPB Plus
10.3 PBS Kids
10.4 OPB Radio
Ownership
OwnerOregon Public Broadcasting[1]
History
First air date
February 6, 1961 (1961-02-06) (as KOAP-TV)
Former call signs
KOAP-TV (1961–1989)
Former channel number(s)
Analog:
10 (VHF, 1961–2009)
Digital:
27 (UHF, 2001–2009)
NET (1961–1970)
Call sign meaning
Oregon
Public
Broadcasting
Technical information
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID50589
ERP32.4 kW
HAAT524 metres (1,719 feet)
Transmitter coordinates45°31′21″N 122°44′45″W
Translator(s)26 (UHF, Newberg)
28 (UHF, Sentinel Hill)
Links
Public license information
Profile
LMS
Websitewww.opb.org

History

KOPB-TV originally signed on the air as KOAP-TV, on February 6, 1961.[2] The call sign letters stood for "Oregon Agricultural Portland", preceded by the K prefix the Federal Communications Commission uses when assigning call signs for stations west of the Mississippi River.[3] It was a sister station to KOAC-TV in Corvallis, Oregon, whose call letters – carried over from KOAC-AM, which received them in the mid-1920s during its early years broadcasting as an AM radio station – stood for "Oregon Agricultural College" (Oregon State University's original name). KOAP-TV was first housed at the campus of Portland State College (now Portland State University), with the transmitter being located on Council Crest.[3] KOAP-TV was a member of NET, or National Educational Television, carrying its programs. On April 30, 1962, KOAP-TV's FM sister service (KOAP-FM) signed on the air. By 1966, most local programs originated at KOAP-TV.

Originally known on-air as OEB (Oregon Educational Broadcasting), the organization running the station changed its name in early 1972 to OEPBS (Oregon Educational & Public Broadcasting Service). The network was spun off from the state board of education in October 1981 and renamed Oregon Public Broadcasting. At the same time, the network moved to Portland, and KOAP-FM/TV became the flagship stations. On February 15, 1989, KOAP changed their call letters to KOPB, for both radio and television.[4]

OPB was a pioneer in HDTV. As early as March 5, 1997, OPB's experimental HDTV station transmitted a random-bit data stream. On September 15, 1997, OPB Portland was assigned the experimental call letters KAXC for channel 35. Then on October 11, 1997, at 4:37 p.m. KAXC became the first TV station in Oregon and one of the first on the west coast to transmit an HDTV picture. After experimentation ended, channel 35 was vacated. On December 7, 2001 KOPB-DT began operation on channel 27.

Digital television

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming[5]
10.11080i16:9KOPBMain KOPB-TV programming / PBS
10.2OPBPlusOPB Plus
10.3480i4:3OPB KidsPBS Kids
10.4OPB-FMOPB radio main programming (SAP audio channel 1)

Analog-to-digital conversion

KOPB-TV shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 10, on June 12, 2009, the official date in which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 27 to VHF channel 10.[6][7]

References
  1. Nelson, Bob (June 2, 2009). "Call Letter Origins". 238. The Broadcast Archive. Archived from the original on February 18, 2016. Retrieved June 21, 2009.
  2. "Educational TV Wins Good Opening Response". (February 7, 1961). The Oregonian, p. 9.
  3. Swing, William (February 5, 1961). "Portland To Get First Glimpse Of Educational TV Monday". The Sunday Oregonian, p. 33.
  4. Farrell, Peter (February 15, 1989). "Not all of 'Elephant' has Dumbo cuteness" (TV column headed by review of new National Geographic special). The Oregonian, p. F7. Excerpt: "New name: After more than a quarter-century, Portland's public television and radio stations have new call letters. KOAP has become KOPB, for Oregon Public Broadcasting."
  5. RabbitEars TV Query for KOPB
  6. "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-08-29. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
  7. CDBS Print
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