After successfully negotiating the switch to digital television, Oamaru's 45 South Television is hoping that with a bit of technical ''tinkering'' its broadcasting range can be increased.
Before the station's 50-watt analogue transmitter was turned off at midnight on Sunday, , analogue signals from the channel could be received between Shag Point and Glenavy, but 45 South Television chairman Tony Reynolds said he hoped it would be possible to salvage items from the now defunct analogue set-up to boost the lower-powered 10-megawatt digital transmitter to maintain, or even increase, the channel's range.
''I hope we might be able to salvage one piece of equipment and increase our power with it. That's a technical thing that might be possible, so it's possible we might be able to concoct something from the old equipment.''
The channel started broadcasting around Oamaru in 2006, and operating from its own digital platform last year. However, Mr Reynolds said the channel, which had now moved from channel 41 to channel 34, would not be available through a satellite set top box.
''If they were watching us in the analogue days, and they are sticking with an old TV, they need a terrestrial set top box as opposed to a satellite set top box. So it's very important they get the right box. If they have an up-to-date flat-screen TV, the terrestrial tuner is built in.''
Mr Reynolds said some people on the fringes of the old analogue signal may also need a UHF aerial to receive the 45 South digital transmission.
Under the digital platform the channel could run 45 South, an information channel, TV3, QTV, Prime, Trackside and a local digital radio station, Whitestone City Music.
