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KTVT signal strength

S

Scotpfv

This problem began last week, KTVT began having several drop outs. No probs on any other station. Even the LPTVs come in with a signal reading of 75 or above. On the secondary TV hooked up to a converter box I cannot get any signal from KTVT, on the DTV I can only receive an intermitant signal, just enough to lock onto but not display a continuous pic.

Is anyone else having a similar problem? Have never had an issue with RF19 previously. Every other signal is coming in the same as always on both sets.
 
I've seen a few short dropouts on both KTVT and KTXA over the last several weeks but they've both been OK here for the last several days.

Make sure you're actually tuned to RF 19. KTVT also broadcasts on RF 11 but it's a much weaker signal for most folks, and it's often difficult or impossible to tell whether you're on 11 or 19 aside from the signal strength.

If that's not the issue the only other thing I can imagine is QRM from RF 18. KPFW went online a few weeks ago, and I think they worked their way up to the full 15 kW gradually. If you're very close to KPFW (or KGSW) you may find RF 11 works better for you, but you'll need a VHF antenna such as rabbit ears.
 
Oddly enough have had no prob with KTXA. Am getting KTVT on RF19, doubt the prob is antenna related as I get WFAA and KFWD and even the LP's with no prob. Just became an issue last week and especially last evening when I was attempting to watch 60 minutes and had a pic freeze every 10 seconds. The fact that K31GL comes in stronger than a full power STA just seems odd
 
Scotpfv said:
Is anyone else having a similar problem? Have never had an issue with RF19 previously. Every other signal is coming in the same as always on both sets.
Click to expand...

I'm enough of a geek to measure station powers periodically. I've got a script that does this for me every 4 hours. KTVT's power and signal quality has been invariant for at least the past month on both RF-11 and RF-19.

The only wobble I've tracked of late is KDFW which evidently has regularly been switching to their auxiliary facility early Monday morning for a few hours.
 
Bob E. Nelson said:
Scotpfv said:
Is anyone else having a similar problem? Have never had an issue with RF19 previously. Every other signal is coming in the same as always on both sets.
Click to expand...

I'm enough of a geek to measure station powers periodically. I've got a script that does this for me every 4 hours. KTVT's power and signal quality has been invariant for at least the past month on both RF-11 and RF-19.

The only wobble I've tracked of late is KDFW which evidently has regularly been switching to their auxiliary facility early Monday morning for a few hours.
Click to expand...
I noticed that early this morning when my TV tuner couldn't pick it up. I thought it was my antenna.
 
Scotpfv said:
Oddly enough have had no prob with KTXA. Am getting KTVT on RF19, doubt the prob is antenna related as I get WFAA and KFWD and even the LP's with no prob.
Click to expand...

I don't think it's your antenna either. Sounds like QRM, or possibly an odd multipath situation. Were you able to try RF 11 just to see if it works better than 19, or does your equipment always pick up 19 no matter what?

I have a similar issue; luckily mine is with K25FW, which I don't care about. I'm guessing my issue is multipath, since there's nothing to speak of broadcasting on RF 24 or 26. In some cases multipath can cause destructive interference, producing a "dead zone" specific to one frequency. (Either that, or K25FW's transmitting antenna is askew.)

Scotpfv said:
The fact that K31GL comes in stronger than a full power STA just seems odd
Click to expand...

Little 8 kW K31GL frequently beats 475 kW KERA on my signal meters, although from what Bob has said I gather it's due to SQ issues from broadcasting on RF 14, not raw power.
 
JHBrandt said:
Little 8 kW K31GL frequently beats 475 kW KERA on my signal meters, although from what Bob has said I gather it's due to SQ issues from broadcasting on RF 14, not raw power.
Click to expand...

Another station with superb signal quality in spite of limited (5 kW) power is KHFD/51. I chatted with the owner about this and he explained that they're using a Linear brand transmitter and exciter. It's a Brazilian product and was one of the topics at the last SBE chapter 67 presentation. It's a very impressive product, producing an enviable MER value near perfection.

While I don't want to discount the importance of a good hot signal, ATSC is a very different world from analog. It has brought the little stations up to parity with the megawatters (presuming the bitstream can be decoded).
 
LibertyNT said:
I know that 51 is one of the few LPTVs I can get at Calendar Lake In East Texas
Click to expand...

It comes in very weak for me, but as Bob said it doesn't really matter. As long as it's above the 15 dB S/N threshold (plus a few extra dB to compensate for fading) it looks perfect.
 
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