Analog-to-digital conversion
KAUU (as KYES-TV) signed on its digital signal on channel 22 with 20 watts of power on August 25, 2003—the first television station in the Anchorage market to have a digital signal, and the first in Alaska to offer high-definition television.
The means of getting the digital signal out, however, was extraordinary—KYES used a TTC 100-watt analog translator and a K-Tec digital exciter purchased on eBay, along with a temporary 30 ft tower, originally used for an analog LPTV translator, on the roof of the hillside home of KYES' president and chief engineer manager, Jeremy Lansman. At only $5,000 to construct, it was sufficient to transmit a viewable digital signal throughout most of Anchorage,[16] with the exception of the road to the town dump.[17] KYES' initial digital programming included high-definition programming from HDNet and Wealth TV, along with an in-house audio music channel, rebroadcasts of KUDO-AM, KEUL FM and the Republic Broadcasting Network, and a standard-definition KYES broadcast.[18]
KYES briefly included Retro Television Network in its digital lineup for a few days in January 2009. However, this was discontinued only days later on January 4, when the network was acquired by Luken Communications. No explanation has been given by KYES as to why the programming was discontinued, though the reason was likely technical involving Alaska's geography, rather than directly involving the dispute between Luken and its former owners, Equity Broadcasting that ensued in the Lower 48. Equity's satellite setup had RTN uplinked from Galaxy 18 at 123° West. When Luken acquired the network, it was moved to AMC-9 at 83° West, an orbital location below the horizon from Anchorage.
The channel 22 signal was then licensed as K22HN (now KYES-LD) and operates at 2.8 kW ERP. KYES is authorized by the FCC to broadcast digital signals via VHF channel 5, broadcasting up to 45 kW. Thus, it has duplicate VHF and UHF signals.
In a DTV transition status report (FCC Form 387) filed by the station on October 7, 2008, Jeremy Lansman of KYES described the station's digital readiness:
The document then goes on to cite an Anchorage Daily News article,[20] explaining that a storm and 100 mph winds had knocked out power in the area, taking K22HN dark, suggesting that the station's DTV status reports were filed without the aid of electricity.
Fireweed Communications LLC then requested FCC authorization to operate KYES-DT post-transition from multiple transmitter sites. The existing UHF 22 DTV facility would continue operation, and multiple transmitters would rebroadcast the signal onto the former analog channel (5) using the existing KYES low-power television facilities.
While the cash-strapped station expected this would allow rapid and less costly construction and provide replication of analog service, this was not a request for a DTx (distributed transmission system). The transmitters were not synchronous, and therefore could interfere with each other in certain narrow geographical areas. The affected locations were all unpopulated.[21]
KAUU (as KYES-TV) shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 5, on June 13, 2009. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition VHF channel 6 to channel 5.[22][23] In 2019, KAUU (as KYES-TV)'s transmitter was moved to the same tower as KTUU's as part of the FCC's spectrum re-allocation and an overall want by Gray to combine transmission facilities between the two stations. KAUU (as KYES) also shifted to physical channel 7, which due to its high-VHF location had better overall reception and antenna compatibility than its former low-band VHF channel 5.
