This has been bugging me for a while, as I live in central Solano County and receive Sacramento-area TV signals over-the-air. Prior to the shutoff of analog signals in 2009, the three digital channels of KVIE were among the strongest signals I received. Immediately after the shutoff, I was no longer able to receive KVIE's digital signals. At first I thought this was temporary, since we were told to expect minor changes and tweaks after the transition, but my situation with KVIE has not changed. I have a basic indoor HDTV antenna and can receive all other Sacramento-area TV stations, including KUVS 19 from Modesto, KQCA 58 from Stockton, and all 4 digital channels of KSPX 29. Does anyone know if KVIE has any plans to change their coverage pattern to better serve Solano County? It's one of my favorite stations, and I'd much rather watch it in HDTV over-the-air than through my DirecTV tuner. Any info or comments would be appreciated, thanks!
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KVIE 6 Sacramento Digital Signals Weaker after Analog Signal Turned Off (?)
- Thread starter SwapMeetLouie
- Start date
SwapMeetLouie said:
What kind of indoor HDTV antenna do you have?
As Trip asks, how's your reception of KXTV 10?
KVIE and KXTV moved from UHF frequencies to VHF when the analog signals went off. Some "digital" antennas don't support VHF frequencies. If your antenna has a flat panel and no "ears" (like the ears on the old rabbit ears antennas) it probably won't be very reliable on these two stations.
If you have an antenna you were using for *analog* reception before the transition, try it with the digital set. Chances are it will work fine.
w9wi said:
My HDTV antenna is a Terk HDTVa Indoor Amplified High Definition Antenna for Off-Air HDTV reception. I bought it about 2 1/2 years ago from Amazon.com.
My reception of KXTV 10 is excellent, which makes the loss of KVIE 6 even more puzzling.
SwapMeetLouie said:
This antenna?:
http://www.amazon.com/Terk-Amplified-High-Definition-Antenna-Reception/dp/B0007MXZB2
It has a series of what I'll call "wings", gradually getting shorter as they get further from the base. Do I understand from the specs that the longest "wing", the one closest to the base, is only 12 inches long?
If I'm reading that length properly, this antenna is too small for efficient VHF reception. If you're receiving KXTV reliably, it's just plain luck.
As an engineer, I find it HIGHLY frustrating that companies like this will advertise an antenna like this as supporting VHF.
I would try a set of rabbit ears. If you lose other channels that way, you might get a splitter at Radio Shack and connect both antennas simultaneously. (this is generally not good engineering practice but if you have plenty of UHF signal and not much multipath/"ghosting", it'll probably work)
w9wi said:
Take a closer look at the picture, Doug, and you'll see a pair of rabbit ears that fold into the stand of this antenna, which truly is a VHF-UHF model. They extend plenty long for high-band VHF.
Louie, be sure you have those rabbit ears extended out from the base of the antenna - they should form a big "V" shape when pulled out!
I use the non-amplified (HDTVi) version of this antenna as my usual travel antenna, and it works quite well. I don't know how much noise the amplified version adds. My personal policy is to stay away from amplified indoor antennas under pretty much any circumstance.
SwapMeetLouie said:
I live in Solano County too and I understand this frustration I stopped using rabit ears for Satellite TV like Directv. The Reason I stopped using ears because sometimes i get a Bay Area Signal like KGO and Sometimes I get KVIE and then its fades. Since I live on the Vallejo side of Solano County we get the San Francisco Stations. Yes Solano County is a Split TV Market. Where Vacaville and Dixon gets Sacramento Stations while Vallejo and Bencia gets San Francisco Stations.
M
mapthomas
Guest
Guys THANK YOU for the explanation on why KVIE and KXTV aren't coming in. Since I'm in the market for a new antenna does anyone have a setup where they are receiving digital channels outside of the Sacramento market that live in Sacramento county?
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