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VHF DTV - POWER BOOST

Personally I'd like to see the VHF band switched over to DAB digital radio. Of course, we'd need to make room for or delete the TV stations still on VHF.
 
I have an aunt who is one of those refusing to get an outdoor antenna. Her reason is because she doesn't want any holes in her roof (other than the nails to hold the shingles), and supposedly, her town requires outdoor antennas on the roof. Because of that, she relies on rabbit ears, and doesn't get WLS-TV or WBBM-TV on the VHF. She lives in grade A coverage, but doesn't get VHF. I also live in Grade A coverage with a big outdoor antenna, and get get both stations mentioned above, and also got WBBM-TV when they were on 3 with no problems.

I have another antenna that is made for big rigs, and did work for VHF & UHF on analog, but VHF doesn't work on that antenna, and that same antenna didn't pickup all the UHF stations either. So I had to get rid of that antenna, since it was optimized for analog. The big antenna mentioned is an old fashioned element antenna optimized for 2-69, and still works for digital.

I say for those who have their own house stop complaining, and get an outdoor antenna that's made for VHF & UHF. I can't believe how recently I've seen homes in my area only having UHF antennas, where before, homes had both VHF & UHF. Chicago has always been a VHF/UHF market in both analog & digital. For analog, VHF stations were WBBM 2, WMAQ 5, WLS 7, WGN 9, & WTTW 11. For pre-transition digital, only WBBM was on VHF on 3. For post-transition, WBBM moved to 12, and since WLS was on 52 (out of core), and didn't request a new channel earlier on, they had to return to 7. Surprisingly, I get better reception on 7 than when they were on 52, since I always had pixelation on 52 than on 7. The problem with WLS also has to do with having to protect WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids (also on 7). Lake Michigan makes it easy for signals to travel further than they normally would, and interfere with each other. I believe WLS should consider having a null toward Michigan to prevent most interference.
 
This is why that Columbus Ohio is a UHF city when its comes to DTV. (With the exception of WSYX DT. They do have a application to moved to UHF 48.)
 
We're all UHF in Hartford/New Haven, with the exception of WTNH-DT (ABC) from New Haven, which is on channel 10 (old 8).
 
I wonder if it is VHF or a combination of VHF and dense areas like Chicago and NYC.

I live in Chicago only 3 miles NW of Sears Tower and can't get any digital signals in my flat. I only have a silver sensor indoor antenna. So evidently the signal can't go through buildings well, as I got 16 analog stations, and I still get the lp analog TV stations in Chicago.

So is it really VHF or a combination of VHF with buildings and such, as I am not the only one in Chicago that has trouble getting any digital signals.
 
WSYX DT (VHF 13) broadcast at 59KW. The main problem is that high VHF is workable for DTV. I do support the following that VHF channels 7 8 9 can be use for DAB.
 
Mark said:
I wonder if it is VHF or a combination of VHF and dense areas like Chicago and NYC.

I live in Chicago only 3 miles NW of Sears Tower and can't get any digital signals in my flat. I only have a silver sensor indoor antenna. So evidently the signal can't go through buildings well, as I got 16 analog stations, and I still get the lp analog TV stations in Chicago.

So is it really VHF or a combination of VHF with buildings and such, as I am not the only one in Chicago that has trouble getting any digital signals.
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I wonder if part of it is that the highest point isn't always the best choice (in Chicago, Sears Tower as I still call it, being the highest point). Though the transisiton seems to ease up a bit, my problem has been UHF stations by RF channel on the Sears Tower: 27, 29, 43, 45, 47, & 50.

I would say all the buildings being so close in downtown Chicago, plus the high points make it difficult to receive the digital signal, regardless of VHF or UHF. I'm approximately 30 miles SE of Downtown Chicago, and can receive all Chicago stations, including WBBM (both on RF 12 from the Sears Tower & when they transmitted from the John Hancock on RF 3) & WLS-DT on RF 7. The antenna I use is a Philips VHF/UHF outdoor antenna made for suburban/rural areas, and optimized for 2-69 (now 2-51) that I've had since 2001, and has worked well for me.

I would think that people living in a major city with lots of skyscrapers, or near an area with tall guywired towers, and have trouble receiving signals, due to the height, and how many miles it would take for the signal to angle downward. That's why I always thought people in major cities with tall buldings had to rely on cable for TV, even when analog was around for full power stations.
 
willcail said:
To be nitpicky that UHF 37 is reserved. DT broadcast at VHF DT Band I channels 2-6. Band III 7-13. UHF 14-36 and 38-51.
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Channel 37 is used for astronomy. I don't know why the FCC had to take that channel away years ago. It would help a bit in some markets to offer an additional channel; especially in markets where channel spacing is at a premium, such as the North east.
 
AFAIK Channel 37 UHF is blocked off worldwide. I might be wrong but I think this is the case.

On blocking off certain channels, the UK - an all-UHF market - in its early planning reserved UHF channel 36 for VCRs and the like. Only 4 TV channels were planned for the country. Then some genius figured out how to squeeze in a fifth analog channel for "most" of the country, but would require retuning a lot of VCRs.

As for DTV on VHF - should have been abandoned but UHF channels 52-69 should not have been sold off - well not all of them. VHF 2-6 should have been abandoned for all public broadcasting and handed over to the amateurs, VHF 7-13 handed over to digital audio, and those in 2-13 who have been displaced could have had something between 14 and 59. 60-69 could still be sold off for 4G "mobile phone" usage.
 
When I first heard about the transition to digital in the 1990's, only 60-69 was being eliminated. I only knew about 1 station with their new channel number, and that was WYIN. They were given ch 17 for digital. Their analog was 56. At that time, 56 wasn't out of core, but WYIN wanted to stay on 17, since it was toward the top of the UHF dial. I forgot when it was that 52-59 were added to that list as well.

As for the post-transition, I believe eliminating 52-59 was a mistake, now that some markets don't have enough channels for more full power TV stations (even with being able to allow 1-2 channel spacing). Now if the VHF had been eliminated, I believe channels 5 & 6 would be best used to expand the FM band (as most people on here have mentioned). 2-4 maybe for amateur radio or something else.
At least for me, I've had no issues with 7-13 for digital. I didn't have any problems when WBBM-TV was on DT 3. I still say 7-13 has some use for TV.
 
Dave said:
willcail said:
To be nitpicky that UHF 37 is reserved. DT broadcast at VHF DT Band I channels 2-6. Band III 7-13. UHF 14-36 and 38-51.
Click to expand...
Channel 37 is used for astronomy. I don't know why the FCC had to take that channel away years ago. It would help a bit in some markets to offer an additional channel; especially in markets where channel spacing is at a premium, such as the North east.
Click to expand...
Apart from the fact that there is a radio-telescope in NH and using Channel 37 in the NE might cause problems with it?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Very_Long_Baseline_Array

The "Channel 37" frequency band can also be used for medical telemetry (patient worn ECG monitors) limited to 1W ERP. If there are any radio telescopes in the area another band should be selected.
 
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