DTV Question

[amos]

i understand that an outdoor antenna isn't for everybody.

it's some trouble to install and setup. also, you pretty much need a tuner than can add channels without erasing the one you already scanned in.

that being said, listen to this reception report.

we installed a channel master 4228, with the channel master 777 amp on a 30 foot mast (with two levels of 3 of guy wires) and a channel master rotor in a mountain cabin in woolwine, va. woolwine is north of greensboro, just south of the blue ridge parkway, close to mabry mill on the parkway.

these are the stations with a strong enough signal to watch. we expect to get more on good days.

2-WFMY-CBS - Greensboro
4-WUNC-PBS - Chapel Hill
7-WDBJ-CBS - Roanoke
8-WGHP-FOX - High Point
9-WSOC-ABC - Charlotte
10-WSLS-NBC - Roanoke
12-WXII-NBC - Winston-Salem
13-WSET-ABC - Roanoke
16-WGPX-ION - Burlington
18-WCCB-FOX - Charlotte
20-WCWG-CW - Greensboro
24-WDRL-IND - Danville
26-WUNL-PBS - Winston-Salem
27-WFXR-FOX - Roanoke
40-WUVC-UNI - Fayetteville
43-WLXI-REL - Greensboro
45-WXLV-ABC - Winston-Salem
47-WGSR-IND - Reidsville
48-WMYV-MY - Greensboro
64-WAXN-IND - Charlotte

 

[Mike Sheridan]

i understand that an outdoor antenna isn't for everybody.

it's some trouble to install and setup. also, you pretty much need a tuner than can add channels without erasing the one you already scanned in.

that being said, listen to this reception report.

we installed a channel master 4228, with the channel master 777 amp on a 30 foot mast (with two levels of 3 of guy wires) and a channel master rotor in a mountain cabin in woolwine, va. woolwine is north of greensboro, just south of the blue ridge parkway, close to mabry mill on the parkway.

these are the stations with a strong enough signal to watch. we expect to get more on good days.

2-WFMY-CBS - Greensboro
4-WUNC-PBS - Chapel Hill
7-WDBJ-CBS - Roanoke
8-WGHP-FOX - High Point
9-WSOC-ABC - Charlotte
10-WSLS-NBC - Roanoke
12-WXII-NBC - Winston-Salem
13-WSET-ABC - Roanoke
16-WGPX-ION - Burlington
18-WCCB-FOX - Charlotte
20-WCWG-CW - Greensboro
24-WDRL-IND - Danville
26-WUNL-PBS - Winston-Salem
27-WFXR-FOX - Roanoke
40-WUVC-UNI - Fayetteville
43-WLXI-REL - Greensboro
45-WXLV-ABC - Winston-Salem
47-WGSR-IND - Reidsville
48-WMYV-MY - Greensboro
64-WAXN-IND - Charlotte

Interesting you are not seeing the other Charlotte stations, most of the ones that have their transmitters in Gaston county (WBTV, WJZY, and WMYT) Some on the North side of Charlotte are also missing from the list (WTVI, WUNG) but you got the others on the North side of town (WSOC, WCCB, WAXN).

I think one day people will realize you no longer need cable or satellite for good TV reception. With the current prices for cable and satellite this comes as good news to those of us who need to cut down on monthly expenses!

 

[eacalhoun1]

i understand that an outdoor antenna isn't for everybody.

it's some trouble to install and setup. also, you pretty much need a tuner than can add channels without erasing the one you already scanned in.

that being said, listen to this reception report.

we installed a channel master 4228, with the channel master 777 amp on a 30 foot mast (with two levels of 3 of guy wires) and a channel master rotor in a mountain cabin in woolwine, va. woolwine is north of greensboro, just south of the blue ridge parkway, close to mabry mill on the parkway.

these are the stations with a strong enough signal to watch. we expect to get more on good days.

2-WFMY-CBS - Greensboro
4-WUNC-PBS - Chapel Hill
7-WDBJ-CBS - Roanoke
8-WGHP-FOX - High Point
9-WSOC-ABC - Charlotte
10-WSLS-NBC - Roanoke
12-WXII-NBC - Winston-Salem
13-WSET-ABC - Roanoke
16-WGPX-ION - Burlington
18-WCCB-FOX - Charlotte
20-WCWG-CW - Greensboro
24-WDRL-IND - Danville
26-WUNL-PBS - Winston-Salem
27-WFXR-FOX - Roanoke
40-WUVC-UNI - Fayetteville
43-WLXI-REL - Greensboro
45-WXLV-ABC - Winston-Salem
47-WGSR-IND - Reidsville
48-WMYV-MY - Greensboro
64-WAXN-IND - Charlotte

Amos,

Is this Channel Master 4228 antenna (an older model) or the newer 4228HD which replaced the 4228 about 2 years ago? If it's the newer 4228HD, I am very impressed you're getting WSET since it's on VHF channel 13 and that you're about 50 miles from WSET's tower. If you're indeed using the older 4228, I've read it to be better with Hi-VHF versus the 4228HD - however, both are advertised to be optimized for UHF.

 

[amos]

yes, we're not getting the stations from the dallas tower sites. i guess it's just too far.

wtvi and wung don't make it that far. i do get wung north of winston-salem (another location), but wtvi just isn't strong enough.

it's the older model 4228. we were actually disappointed that we didn't wait and get the newer model, but that's what dow electronics had in stock when i bought it last year. but i'm happy to have the older one now that i've seen the new 4228HD. i don't like they way it looks at all.

i have a 4221 at my house, and i lived in high point last year. i could get wghp on both 8 and 35 digital, so the channel master antennas do pick up SOME high-vhf. i haven't been able to get WTVD-11 in durham at either my house (north of winston-salem) with the 4221 or at woolwine with the 4228. also, at my mom's in wadesboro her 4221 doesn't get WBTW digital 13 but it did get them before they switched back to 13, and we get WPDE just fine. we get absolutely no signal on digital 3 on the 4228 in woolwine, so low-vhf doesn't come in at all.

 

[Mike Sheridan]

I have the same antenna the 4228 not the 4228HD. I used to have it up about 30 feet on a rotor with no amplifier. I could see all the Charlotte locals even WTVI Digital 11, and WNSC in Rock Hill.

The only out of market signals I could see were WFMY and WXLV.

The antenna is down temporarily, but I hope to put it back up with a mast mounted preamp.

I have 2 Zenith converter boxes and an actual HD box that does Dolby 5.1. The HD box is really picky about signals but I was surprised to hear Star Wars in Dolby 5.1 when I happened to see it on WCCB.

 

[turkeydance]

my two great uncles used to have 30' lightning rods
mounted and grounded on the back side of their house.
they were a work of art. some "picker" got 'em cheap.
thanks for reviving that memory.

 

[vchimpanzee]

yes, we're not getting the stations from the dallas tower sites. i guess it's just too far.

wtvi and wung don't make it that far. i do get wung north of winston-salem (another location), but wtvi just isn't strong enough.

WTVI operates with a couple of hamsters.

 

[mp3RadioGuy]

yes, we're not getting the stations from the dallas tower sites. i guess it's just too far.

wtvi and wung don't make it that far. i do get wung north of winston-salem (another location), but wtvi just isn't strong enough.

WTVI operates with a couple of hamsters.

After Mecklenburg County just slashed its annual contribution to the station, that's probably now what they are using to power it.

 

[vchimpanzee]

yes, we're not getting the stations from the dallas tower sites. i guess it's just too far.

wtvi and wung don't make it that far. i do get wung north of winston-salem (another location), but wtvi just isn't strong enough.

WTVI operates with a couple of hamsters.

After Mecklenburg County just slashed its annual contribution to the station, that's probably now what they are using to power it.

That's what I meant. 2200 watts. Wasn't 10,000 the standard for a low VHF? Actually 10,000 video and 100,000 audio. Or do I have that backwards? I don't know what the usual was for high-VHF but it would have to be hgiher.

 

[Mike Sheridan]

yes, we're not getting the stations from the dallas tower sites. i guess it's just too far.

wtvi and wung don't make it that far. i do get wung north of winston-salem (another location), but wtvi just isn't strong enough.

WTVI operates with a couple of hamsters.

After Mecklenburg County just slashed its annual contribution to the station, that's probably now what they are using to power it.

That's what I meant. 2200 watts. Wasn't 10,000 the standard for a low VHF? Actually 10,000 video and 100,000 audio. Or do I have that backwards? I don't know what the usual was for high-VHF but it would have to be hgiher.

100KW visual 10KW audio was the old analog max power levels for low band VHF (2-6) that was. VHF hi (7-13) was something like 316KW visual and I forget what the audio ERP was. Anyway digital takes less power to get the same kind of coverage.

 

[w9wi]

100KW visual 10KW audio was the old analog max power levels for low band VHF (2-6) that was. VHF hi (7-13) was something like 316KW visual and I forget what the audio ERP was. Anyway digital takes less power to get the same kind of coverage.

Yep, 316kw visual. Aural was limited to no more than 22% of visual. Most stations chose 10%. UHF was 5000kw visual.

Comparing digital and analog powers is indeed somewhat like comparing apples and oranges. Digital power is averaged over time -- if we say WTVI is running 2,200 watts digital power, that means if you take the average over some length of time you get 2,200 watts. Half the time, WTVI's power is greater than 2,200 watts, and half the time it's less than 2,200.

Analog power is *peak* power, the highest power the station ever transmits. Most of the time, the power is considerably lower. If we say WTVI's analog power was 2,750,000 watts, it was actually much less than that most of the time.

In WTVI's case you also have to consider they moved from UHF analog to VHF digital. MUCH less power is required at VHF to achieve the same coverage.]

 

[vchimpanzee]

yes, we're not getting the stations from the dallas tower sites. i guess it's just too far.

wtvi and wung don't make it that far. i do get wung north of winston-salem (another location), but wtvi just isn't strong enough.

WTVI operates with a couple of hamsters.

After Mecklenburg County just slashed its annual contribution to the station, that's probably now what they are using to power it.

That's what I meant. 2200 watts. Wasn't 10,000 the standard for a low VHF? Actually 10,000 video and 100,000 audio. Or do I have that backwards? I don't know what the usual was for high-VHF but it would have to be hgiher.

100KW visual 10KW audio was the old analog max power levels for low band VHF (2-6) that was. VHF hi (7-13) was something like 316KW visual and I forget what the audio ERP was. Anyway digital takes less power to get the same kind of coverage.

That's what they believed. In the real world it's different. Especially for VHF.

I want to know what's wrong with WXLV. WMYV and WFMY are doing perfectly but I can't get anything but stripes and squares on WXLV these days. Last summer I never had a single problem with WXLV. Even WCWG is doing better.

On the other hand, the other night I needed to watch WCCB and I don't know how to change channels with TiVo, and WTVI was on the other station hooked up to cable. On converter box no. 1, I used to have only minor problems with WCCB. True, this was before I replaced the TV and after moving the converter box I had all sorts of problems. This past weekend, "No Signal". So I had to use converter box no. 2, which did fine. It IS on the same end of the house as WCCB. It's just the antenna has less gain. I have been taping "Roy's Folks" with a timer for the first time since Feb. 17, 2009. Now it is true I could have because of analog pass-through until June 14. But the TV I was using didn't have a VCR that could be set. I have replaced that one with a TV/VCR that can be set--it's the one I was using that broke requiring me to move it and messing up my stations on converter box no. 1--but all these months later it works again. Setting it up was interesting since it made all the same changes to another TV/VCR in the same room which I haven't been using since it broke too, and it's hooked up to TiVo. With the AC keeping me from hearing Roy in the other room, taping became a necessity--but what if I'm not home? Amazingly, that defective converter box hasn't been cutting off unexpectedly. It would have the green light on but I'd turn it on and get 'No Signal" everywhere. Maganavox always tried to blame the stations.

 

[Mike Sheridan]

I have heard that the Magnavox box is not very good.

I have two of the Zenith boxes and they work well, except one seems to crash a lot. It requires me to disconnect the power to the box so it can be rebooted.

Have you noticed the stores stopped stocking converter boxes a long time ago. I guess they would rather you buy a new TV set. I haven't yet since we have 3 older sets that work perfectly. Maybe someday but right now it's just not a priority.

One box I have is temporarily using an indoor bow tie. I discovered it works much better if I move the antenna away from the metal blinds.

Can't wait to see "This TV" network on WBTV 3.2. That starts July 12th!!

 

[eacalhoun1]

I have heard that the Magnavox box is not very good.

I have two of the Zenith boxes and they work well, except one seems to crash a lot. It requires me to disconnect the power to the box so it can be rebooted.

Have you noticed the stores stopped stocking converter boxes a long time ago. I guess they would rather you buy a new TV set. I haven't yet since we have 3 older sets that work perfectly. Maybe someday but right now it's just not a priority.

Mike...ditto on the Magnavox. However, I'm surprised at one of your Zenith's crashing. I guess there's a lemon ever so often. I have an Insignia (same as a Zenith) and a friend of mine has a Zenith. They've both been flawless for the past 1 1/2 years or so. A few online retailers (Solid Signal is one) and Ebay still carry a few boxes. But, overall, they are getting harder to find. Channel Master also now has one with a DVR -- it's a couple of hundred dollars, I believe.

 

[lmrcabsu]

Can't wait to see "This TV" network on WBTV 3.2. That starts July 12th!!

I am too. I'm digging RTV on WHKY 14.2 right now. I know we have a bizzilion channels to choose from on cable and satellite nowadays, but stuff like RTV and This TV are what I would prefer than the newest reality TV show.

 

[landtuna]

I have heard that the Magnavox box is not very good.

I have had no problems with my Magnavox box nor has a relative who also has one. All boxes have different attributes but the basic operation has been fine. The Magnavox has one feature that none of the other brands I own have - a power-off button (most have standby where power is still applied to the box). I find that useful on the TV that is used most infrequently.

I have two of the Zenith boxes and they work well, except one seems to crash a lot. It requires me to disconnect the power to the box so it can be rebooted.

I have one Magnavox, one Tivax, one Digital Stream and two Channel Master CM-7000. I have had no trouble with any of them.

Have you noticed the stores stopped stocking converter boxes a long time ago.

I noticed that Walmart is still carrying the Magnavox. Don't frequent the other stores like Radio Shack, Best Buy etc. so don't know if they still stock or not. You can find them online easily.

One box I have is temporarily using an indoor bow tie. I discovered it works much better if I move the antenna away from the metal blinds.

Metal blinds ARE an antenna of sorts and they will block weak signals. You may notice a significant difference in reception if your antenna is between the transmitter and the blinds as well. I've also noticed significant interference on digital signals when someone walks behind the antenna. That was never the case with analog.

Can't wait to see "This TV" network on WBTV 3.2. That starts July 12th!!

Don't hold your breath. ThisTV features old, moldy films interspersed with many commercials. Rarely do I find anything interesting but if so I record it so I can zip the commercials. Nothing like watching the same commercials hundreds of times every day, every day, every day......

 

[amos]

i get "this tv" on wxii 12.2 winston-salem, and like landtuna said, don't hold your breath. it's mostly stuff you've never heard of. bad stuff you never heard of.

i sometimes can pull in RTV on whky 14.2 in hickory. IMO rtv is better... but... they need to realize that putting the same show on 5 nights in the same time slot hurts them. they only have so many slots to fill, and every night at 8 pm Airwolf gets old.

by the way, my latest purchase is the dish network DTVPAL DVR. it's not anything to do with dish and it's not PAL. but it is a DTV (ATSC) set top box that gets HDTV and has a DVR built in. sure tivo-hd is better, but for $149 (closeout at sears) i LOVE it. no subscription!! it's not a name-based DVR like tivo, more like a fancy digital vcr. but it's HD and as i said I LOVE IT!

-amos

 

[fortmill]

Rite Aid had DTV converter boxes (brand unknown) on sale for $29.95 in their newspaper insert last weekend.

 

[vchimpanzee]

My Magnavoxes are both TB100MG9. The boxes are sitting here next to me until I find a use for them. The first one I hooked up works just fine, except for the various signal problems I've mentioned. I don't think the wire is coming loose from the back any more. The second one kept going off even though the green light was on. I could save money by turning the things off bu if I'm taping I'd forget to turn them on, especially if I was going somewhere. I haven't had a problem with the second box going off, though when I watched "Roy's Folks" the other day I kept getting "No Signal" for a few seconds. This is strange because usually the picture messes up. But that happened too.

The signals seem better when it's hot and humid.

 

[Mike Sheridan]

I seem to have a lot of signal fluctuation too, must be the nature of DTV. That can be frustrating it takes a strong signal to overcome that.

The good thing is WBTV digital comes in much better than their old analog signal ever did.