If you use an antenna to watch over-the-air TV signals, you’ll need to rescan your equipment on Friday.
Nationwide, nearly a thousand stations are switching frequencies to make room for 5G and other mobile broadband services.
Three local stations are moving to new frequencies.
WSYM Fox 47 will need to be rescanned sometime after 10 a.m. Friday.
WLNS, Lansing’s CBS station, and WLAJ’s ABC signal will need to be rescanned after 12:30 p.m.
Fox 47 vice president and general manager Gary Baxter says rescanning is easy, but some viewers might need assistance.
Rick Camburn is director of engineering at Fox 47. He says they had to purchase and install a new transmitter. “It’s a multi-facet process," Camburn explains, "where we have to put new transmission line up the tower, a new antenna on the tower, beef up the tower to support both the old system and the new system and install a new transmitter and test it out while staying on the air with the current transmitter.”
The federal government is financing channel reassignments. At Fox 47, that’s about $3-million.
Information on rescanning TV’s can be found here.
If you only watch the stations via cable, satellite or the internet, no rescan is needed.