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Digital TV Question

C

cooptulsa

Guest
Where I live I get Channel 8's channels fine....have two friends (one midtown/one BA) who can't get them at all right now. I can't get all the channels offered...I get most, others get most...would an amplified antenna help me get what I don't and my friends get what they don't? Will this improve after June. Someone I talked to had indicated that.

By the way, RTN rocks!!
 
Be sure to re-scan the channels FIRST before doing anything to improve the antenna situation. 2 and 8 moved digital channels recently so without a re-scan things can be pretty messy. Also, keep in mind that 2 and 8 are VHF digital channels. Amplified funky rabbit ears that are rather small will likely not perform well. Ugly larger antennas in the attic or on the rooftop will. UHF is much more forgiving of utilization of inferior smaller indoor antennas. Rescan first. If that doesn't cut it ask them to go get a real antenna. (if they can) http://www.radioshack.com/search/index.jsp?kwCatId=&kw=15-2152&origkw=15-2152&sr=1
 
CoopTulsa said.... would an amplified antenna help me get what I don't and my friends get what they don't? Will this improve after June. Someone I talked to had indicated that.


I've played with a digital converter at the farm, located northeast of Catoosa.  I can see the Oneta towers and Channel 8's tower from here.  I can get them all with rabbit ears, but it takes some fine tuning.  8 is the tough one here, because it's still down on the VHF band, channel 10.  I tried an amplified antenna, but all it did was amplify all the noise.  My old 1970's rabbit ears with twin lead work better.

Still, to get them all, everything has to be in just the right place.  Moving around the room screws up some of the channels.  Same with planes flying over.  I can just see life in the country this way, "Grandma, I know you're getting tired but stay where you are and keep holding that aluminum foil up, Marcus Welby is not over yet."

RTN does rock.  You can eat lunch with Ward, June, Wally and the Beaver every day.

Stan
 
It seems to me, for a multitude of reasons, going with UHF and a more portable DTV format (like Europe has) would have been a better gameplan. In both cases (VHF and digital format) finacial costs were in consideration of why we have what we have. When terrestrial TV finds itself loosing audience to the wireless handsets because they signal simply doesn't work well for portable devices the industry will wish it had chosen more wisely.
 
OKCRadioGuy said:
Be sure to re-scan the channels FIRST before doing anything to improve the antenna situation. 2 and 8 moved digital channels recently so without a re-scan things can be pretty messy. Also, keep in mind that 2 and 8 are VHF digital channels. Amplified funky rabbit ears that are rather small will likely not perform well. Ugly larger antennas in the attic or on the rooftop will. UHF is much more forgiving of utilization of inferior smaller indoor antennas. Rescan first. If that doesn't cut it ask them to go get a real antenna. (if they can) http://www.radioshack.com/search/index.jsp?kwCatId=&kw=15-2152&origkw=15-2152&sr=1
Click to expand...

Hold on...KJRH's digital signal is NOT yet on VHF. That can't happen until KTUL shuts off it's analog transmitter on June 12th (because 2's digital signal will be moving to channel 8). Also keep in mind that OETA will be moving it's digital signal to VHF as well. That means there will be 3 stations in the Tulsa market with their digital signals on VHF.

Here's a warning on buying ANY antenna that says it works for digital channels...make sure it specifies that it will receive VHF signals. MOST digital channels are on the UHF band, so most antennas sold as "HD" antennas are only good for UHF stations.

KTUL's digital signal is only at half power until June 12th (it's at reduced power because KTEN in Ada still has it's analog signal functional on channel 10), which is why it is difficult for some people to get KTUL's digital signal. I live in Sand Springs, and I can get it, but with a very weak signal strength. A friend in BA has problems getting it too, even with a directional VHF antenna.

I know a lot of people who have tried building the internet-promoted "coat hanger antenna"...if you do this, know that it is only going to receive UHF signals because of the phasing of the antenna. You can modify a pair of rabbit ears for it, which is better than nothing.
 
ionosphere said:
Hold on...KJRH's digital signal is NOT yet on VHF. That can't happen until KTUL shuts off it's analog transmitter on June 12th (because 2's digital signal will be moving to channel 8). Also keep in mind that OETA will be moving it's digital signal to VHF as well. That means there will be 3 stations in the Tulsa market with their digital signals on VHF.
Click to expand...

I guess I should have realized this would happen, but I wanted to correct myself in that channel 2's digital signal will be moving channel 8, not channel smiley face.

Of course, thanks to PSIP, your digital tuners will still show it as channel 2.1 or 2.2.
 
ionosphere said:
OKCRadioGuy said:
Be sure to re-scan the channels FIRST before doing anything to improve the antenna situation. 2 and 8 moved digital channels recently so without a re-scan things can be pretty messy. Also, keep in mind that 2 and 8 are VHF digital channels. Amplified funky rabbit ears that are rather small will likely not perform well. Ugly larger antennas in the attic or on the rooftop will. UHF is much more forgiving of utilization of inferior smaller indoor antennas. Rescan first. If that doesn't cut it ask them to go get a real antenna. (if they can) http://www.radioshack.com/search/index.jsp?kwCatId=&kw=15-2152&origkw=15-2152&sr=1
Click to expand...

Hold on...KJRH's digital signal is NOT yet on VHF. That can't happen until KTUL shuts off it's analog transmitter on June 12th (because 2's digital signal will be moving to channel 8). Also keep in mind that OETA will be moving it's digital signal to VHF as well. That means there will be 3 stations in the Tulsa market with their digital signals on VHF.

Here's a warning on buying ANY antenna that says it works for digital channels...make sure it specifies that it will receive VHF signals. MOST digital channels are on the UHF band, so most antennas sold as "HD" antennas are only good for UHF stations.

KTUL's digital signal is only at half power until June 12th (it's at reduced power because KTEN in Ada still has it's analog signal functional on channel 10), which is why it is difficult for some people to get KTUL's digital signal. I live in Sand Springs, and I can get it, but with a very weak signal strength. A friend in BA has problems getting it too, even with a directional VHF antenna.

I know a lot of people who have tried building the internet-promoted "coat hanger antenna"...if you do this, know that it is only going to receive UHF signals because of the phasing of the antenna. You can modify a pair of rabbit ears for it, which is better than nothing.
Click to expand...

I'm surprised that KTUL and KJRH haven't swapped channels when all the channels go digital that KJRH would go on 10 and KTUL stays on 8, that would probably make more sense IMO.
 
X-Man said:
I'm surprised that KTUL and KJRH haven't swapped channels when all the channels go digital that KJRH would go on 10 and KTUL stays on 8, that would probably make more sense IMO.
Click to expand...

The true channel numbers will be invisible to the consumer, so no need to do it for cosmetic reasons.
 
Not to mention that he also has it backwards. KTUL stays on 10, and KJRH moves to 8 after KTUL signs analog off. It's going to be interesting to see what happens in Tulsa. Most of the FCC's maps show Tulsa stations losing a fair amount of coverage, certainly more than a lot of other markets.
 
What confuses me is, KOTV supposedly went up in power Wednesday, but I still get a spotty signal while KJRH seems pretty solid & even KTUL is looking better these days (which I can't explain).

I'm located between Owasso & Claremore so I'm not in a great location and to make matters worse I'm using an indoor antenna... still, if this is all I'm going to get from KOTV, I'm absolutely going to have to invest in a roof antenna.

(It's weird to scan past 87.7 on FM & hear only static...)
 
NightAire said:
What confuses me is, KOTV supposedly went up in power Wednesday, but I still get a spotty signal while KJRH seems pretty solid & even KTUL is looking better these days (which I can't explain).

I'm located between Owasso & Claremore so I'm not in a great location and to make matters worse I'm using an indoor antenna... still, if this is all I'm going to get from KOTV, I'm absolutely going to have to invest in a roof antenna.

(It's weird to scan past 87.7 on FM & hear only static...)
Click to expand...

KOTV was supposed to go to full power on Wednesday. However, I don't know if they moved the DTV antenna to the top of the stick yet or not. It has been bolted about 3/4ths of the way up.

I'm not smart enough on the engineering end to know what may or may not cause the loss in signal. I can say that KOTV is broadcasting their signal on UHF, which is a directional signal. So if you just have a pair of rabbit ears, that's probably not going to cut it, especially with your distance from the tower. That's like trying to soak up a spilled can of soda with two strands of thread.

Of course, that last paragraph from me doesn't explain why you continue to get a high signal from KJRH, who is also broadcasting on UHF (for now).

If you are using rabbit ears, I would ditch them. You're definitely going to need a better antenna.
 
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