102.1-2

[Megapsycle]

I use and enjoy my HD radio in the DFW Metroplex, so dropouts are rare.

I'm at I-35E and I-635 in FB. I can literally see KLIF's towers about 7 or 8 miles to the NW from here, and it it is still hit of miss on dropouts. Even with my super-duper Terk Advantage antenna. KAAM is even more unreliable. Just doesn't work very well. FM performance is much better of course.

AS I understand it, the main reasons the TV stations are abandoning Low-VHF for the most part is susceptibility to noise, static crashes, and co-channel interference. Probably would be the same set of problems if radio moved there.



(Off Topic) Now, can someone explain the logic of KERA Ch 13 staying on UHF Ch 14 for their 13.1 digital broadcast after the transition? With over 200 mHz difference between Ch 13 and 14 there's a big difference on the receiving end. I am trying to understand why they would abandon their Hi-VHF channel with its superior coverage. I get Ch 13 analog crystal clear from my roof antenna. Digital Ch 13 (UHF 14) forgetaboutit! Constant dropouts. I get 31 or so of the other digital channels fine. Ch 13 will not respond to my complaints. Looks like they have no plans to improve things after 2-09 either.

 

[eas_test]

(Off Topic) Now, can someone explain the logic of KERA Ch 13 staying on UHF Ch 14 for their 13.1 digital broadcast after the transition? With over 200 mHz difference between Ch 13 and 14 there's a big difference on the receiving end. I am trying to understand why they would abandon their Hi-VHF channel with its superior coverage. I get Ch 13 analog crystal clear from my roof antenna. Digital Ch 13 (UHF 14) forgetaboutit! Constant dropouts. I get the all 31 or so of the other digital channels fine. Ch 13 will not respond to my complaints. Looks like they have no plans to improve things after 2-09 either.

Actually those DTVs remaining on VHF have more reported reception problems than their UHF counterparts. Do you have rabbit ears or an external antenna? And how well do you receive WFAA DTV?

 

[Megapsycle]

Actually those DTVs remaining on VHF have more reported reception problems than their UHF counterparts. Do you have rabbit ears or an external antenna? And how well do you receive WFAA DTV?

I get digital Ch 8 (9) great. I have TWO medium sized rooftop antennas, a Channel Master, and a Winegard, about 40 ft apart and about 5-10 ft above the peak of the roof. Neither one will pick up KERA on 14 well enough to watch it.

At this location, been here 30 years, I've always noticed UHF is more finicky, more sensitive to trees, more sensitive to multipath problems, and more reliant on line-of-site.

 

[eas_test]

I get digital Ch 8 (9) great. I have TWO medium sized rooftop antennas, a Channel Master, and a Winegard, about 40 ft apart and about 5-10 ft above the peak of the roof. Neither one will pick up KERA on 14 well enough to watch it.

At this location, been here 30 years, I've always noticed UHF is more finicky, more sensitive to trees, more sensitive to multipath problems, and more reliant on line-of-site.

Interesting. The rooftop antennas help though. I assume if you only had rabbit ears (in an apartment or something) you'd be able to pick up the UHF stations much better than VHF. You're right, the higher freqs bounce around more, but they seem to be picked up better because they DO bounce around. I'm near downtown, with a panel antenna and I can get the UHF stations much better than VHF - I can't even decode WFAA DTV.

Sorry to take this OT...Back to your regularly scheduled 102.1-2 thread.

 

[TheRover]

Sorry to take this OT...Back to your regularly scheduled 102.1-2 thread.

Not so fast . . . . . .

I must put my 2 cents in on this:

I have a DTV Converter Box, one bought with the Govt. $40 Coupon.....

I settled on the Zenith DTT900, an April model. I know there is now a pass-thru DTT901, but my DTT900 was bought over a Month ago... so no returns.....

The Antenna that use is an indoor amplified Phillips -- the MANT 410. I got it at Wal-Mart.

It pulls in all of the local Digital Channels. And that without hardly any adjusting of the UHF/VHF antenna setting. Once I found the "sweet spot", I'm good to go. I live in North Irving. If it's thunderstorming, or very windy, I notice some dropouts.

I enjoy watching the "extra" Digital weather channels, and the DFW towercam on CH 8.3.

Ch 58 and Ch 69 use all their extra channels.

Now...... back to 102 and their sad state of 'popular' music...

 

[TheRover]

I use and enjoy my HD radio in the DFW Metroplex, so dropouts are rare.

I'm at I-35E and I-635 in FB. I can literally see KLIF's towers about 7 or 8 miles to the NW from here, and it it is still hit of miss on dropouts. Even with my super-duper Terk Advantage antenna. KAAM is even more unreliable. Just doesn't work very well. FM performance is much better of course.

AS I understand it, the main reasons the TV stations are abandoning Low-VHF for the most part is susceptibility to noise, static crashes, and co-channel interference. Probably would be the same set of problems if radio moved there.

I too have noticed some KAAM dropouts while travelling on the Bush Turnpike from Irving to Garland.....

What I enjoy most on HD AM is a Music station, such as KAAM. I have a tabletop HD Radio, and I never get any lost signals at home. (In North Irving)....

For general News/Talk/and Sports, on AM.... I really do not prefer the HD AM acoustics.

I really don't need my News or Talk to be Stereo-Surround sound (Hate the Cowboy games the way they are broadcast with the stereo-surround mixing......pleeeeze!!).

 

[Megapsycle]

I enjoy watching the "extra" Digital weather channels, and the DFW towercam on CH 8.3.

Wondering what happened to 8.3 it's gone from my TV and Zenith box.

 

[DoogieDown1]

The Antenna that use is an indoor amplified Phillips -- the MANT 410. I got it at Wal-Mart.

It pulls in all of the local Digital Channels. And that without hardly any adjusting of the UHF/VHF antenna setting. Once I found the "sweet spot", I'm good to go. I live in North Irving. If it's thunderstorming, or very windy, I notice some dropouts.

I had that SAME antenna, but didn't get anywhere near the results you're getting. I'm also using a DTV receiver bought with the govt. coupon. But I'm in Garland. I returned the antenna.

I've got a roof antenna that routes to the downstairs living area, so the MANT 410 was intended to put a DTV reciever upstairs for my daughter (she can't get enough Qubo on 68-2). The roof antenna works great on the downstairs TV. Except for Ch. 8. Seems like there are hiccups in the signal sometimes.

 

[eas_test]

Wondering what happened to 8.3 it's gone from my TV and Zenith box.

its currently down. Having some issues with Direct TV and there's another encoder currently in line - which only does 8.1 and 8.2.

 

[TheRover]

I enjoy watching the "extra" Digital weather channels, and the DFW towercam on CH 8.3.

Wondering what happened to 8.3 it's gone from my TV and Zenith box.

Wouldn't you know... Just when I and brag about 8.3.... It's out of service.

I guess I'll watch The Worship Channel on 68.5...

I love those seascapes.

I installed a convertor box for a relative in Garland. Does not pick up all the channels I get in North Irving..

 

[LibertyNT]

I Always Have Problems Getting WFAA-DT 9.
SO hard to get. I get everyone BUT Them. NO ABC For ME I Guess...
Good thing my Dish gets them in HD.
[Sometimes Direct TV Has a Hard Time Getting WFAA Too ]

 

[eas_test]

Direct TV has had issues lately getting WFAA's DTV. The equipment that was running 8.3 has been re-purposed to try to fix the Direct TV issue.

 

[Megapsycle]

Wouldn't you know... Just when I and brag about 8.3.... It's out of service.

8.3 is on now as I type (and listening to 92.5-2 HD) and was back on yesterday.

Also all of a sudden I am getting Ch 13.1 that I was complaining about the other day almost dropout free. I watched a whole hour long program and it never dropped out. It was unwatchable before. I didn't do anything here so I wonder if they upped power changed antenna or ??? Does 13.1 (14) antenna share a tower with anyone else?

I can believe that people on small indoor antennas would have trouble picking up Ch8 as I found on a little TV with rabbit ears and an Insignia-Zenith converter box. Someone gets their antenna optimized for those UHF stations and that position may be way different than where it needs to be for 8.1 on VHF. Get it set just right for 8.1, and many of the others on UHF won't be good enough to be stable. Adjust the ant so you get the usual 4,5,11,13 and 8 will be bad making one on the receiving end think Ch8 is at fault. Pretty much impossible here to find one position with rabbit ears for them all. Sure seems to me it would have been advantageous to put all TV broadcast on one band, so you could use just a small single band UHF antenna.

 

[txchipk]

Also all of a sudden I am getting Ch 13.1 that I was complaining about the other day almost dropout free. I watched a whole hour long program and it never dropped out. It was unwatchable before. I didn't do anything here so I wonder if they upped power changed antenna or ??? Does 13.1 (14) antenna share a tower with anyone else?

I can believe that people on small indoor antennas would have trouble picking up Ch8 as I found on a little TV with rabbit ears and an Insignia-Zenith converter box. Someone gets their antenna optimized for those UHF stations and that position may be way different than where it needs to be for 8.1 on VHF. Get it set just right for 8.1, and many of the others on UHF won't be good enough to be stable. Adjust the ant so you get the usual 4,5,11,13 and 8 will be bad making one on the receiving end think Ch8 is at fault. Pretty much impossible here to find one position with rabbit ears for them all. Sure seems to me it would have been advantageous to put all TV broadcast on one band, so you could use just a small single band UHF antenna.

Remember some of the current digital signals are temporary. Once the analog signals go off in 2/2009, WFAA-DT will move from 9 to 8; KFWD-DT will move from 51 to 9; KTVT-DT will move from 19 to 11. So, we will have 3 VHF digital stations instead of the one that is on today.

A couple of other stations will be on a different digital channel than they are now. Here's the final digital assignments:

2/KDTN 43
4/KDFW 35
5/KXAS 41
8/WFAA 8 (move from 9)
11/KTVT 11 (move from 19)
13/KERA 14
21/KTXA 18
23/KUVN 23 (move from 24)
27/KDFI 36
29/KMPX 30
33/KDAF 32
39/KXTX 40
47/KTAQ 46
49/KSTR 48
52/KFWD 9 (move from 51)
55/KLDT 39 (move from 54)
58/KDTX 45
68/KPXD 42

 

[LibertyNT]

I Hope that By Moving Their Digital to 8 they will go farther.
Its Analog Signal is a monster.

 

[Megapsycle]

I doubt you will see any improvement since 8 and 9 are adjacent channels 6 mHz apart.

I'm back to lousy KERA 13.1 (14) reception must have been conditions the past day or so working in my favor. KERA DT barely hangs in, sig strength on my TV varies from 10-43 with a s/n of 18-20 dB, whereas my WFAA 8.1 DT on 9 is full scale 98 with s/n 33 dB.

 

[LibertyNT]

I doubt you will see any improvement since 8 and 9 are adjacent channels 6 mHz apart.

I'm back to lousy KERA 13.1 (14) reception must have been conditions the past day or so working in my favor. KERA DT barely hangs in, sig strength on my TV varies from 10-43 with a s/n of 18-20 dB, whereas my WFAA 8.1 DT on 9 is full scale 98 with s/n 33 dB.

KERA is Easy to get. and 6 mhz can make Quite a Bit of Difference.

 

[eas_test]

6 mhz can make Quite a Bit of Difference.

6 meg? You're kidding right? It's not "quite a bit" - lucky if its any difference!

 

[LibertyNT]

6 mhz can make Quite a Bit of Difference.

6 meg? You're kidding right? It's not "quite a bit" - lucky if its any difference!

Meh... :

Hopefully when they Move to 8 it will be better. Hopefully with the Same Or More power
that the analog has.

 

[Megapsycle]

Ch8 at 183 Mhz and 9 at 189 mHz both around 1.6 Meters wavelength, won't be much difference if any the way they act. But analog Ch13 at 213 Mhz (1.4 Meter) , vs. digital 13 on 14 at 473Mhz 63 Centimeters, 260 mHz, that's a pretty big difference. Anyway I hope I can figure out something, or they improve the signal. I've emailed Ch13 about reception problems twice and never received a response.