I know, I know...this is a radio board. Wondering if anyone has any input on how well WCPO DT gets out? I'm 80 miles west & see WLWT DT, WKRC DT & WXIX DT fine, but I've never seen a peep out of WCPO. Is anyone getting it in the 70+ mile range?
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WCPO DT
- Thread starter BobOnTheJob
- Start date
Last night, under heavy "tropo" conditions, I was seeing WCPO-DT (RF Ch 10) with some breakup here in Lexington, KY. WLWT-DT, WKRC-DT (on RF Ch 12) and even WDTN from Dayton (RF Ch 50) were solid here last night. Normally, none of these stations are "regulars" however. All had "snowy" pictures with their analog signals. I have heard from friends in Cinci that WCPO is a "problem" for OTA reception, most likely due to the fact that many are using UHF only antennas.
Even here in Lexington, so many folks locally were not seeing WDKY (DT Ch4) that they got a change to DT31 on June 12. Not sure how WKYT-DT is doing (RF Ch 13) as they are now the lone wolf on VHF in these parts.
After all the shakeouts and analyzing is concluded, I wonder if the FCC will authorize more power for DT. It just does not seem to get out that well....
Even here in Lexington, so many folks locally were not seeing WDKY (DT Ch4) that they got a change to DT31 on June 12. Not sure how WKYT-DT is doing (RF Ch 13) as they are now the lone wolf on VHF in these parts.
After all the shakeouts and analyzing is concluded, I wonder if the FCC will authorize more power for DT. It just does not seem to get out that well....
Those folks in Adams County and other "way out" points are already using VHF rooftop or tower mounted antennas so 9 and 12 would probably be easy for them. It's all the folks using cheap indoor antennas in the Cinci metro area that are having problems with ch 9. Most of these set top antennas favor UHF only. There is no question that VHF signals travel much farther with less power than UHF, but the antennas for VHF are much larger, which scares off many folks.
I'm seeing at least three of what I'd call concerns...KR4BD said:Last night, under heavy "tropo" conditions, I was seeing WCPO-DT (RF Ch 10) with some breakup here in Lexington, KY. WLWT-DT, WKRC-DT (on RF Ch 12) and even WDTN from Dayton (RF Ch 50) were solid here last night. Normally, none of these stations are "regulars" however. All had "snowy" pictures with their analog signals. I have heard from friends in Cinci that WCPO is a "problem" for OTA reception, most likely due to the fact that many are using UHF only antennas.
Even here in Lexington, so many folks locally were not seeing WDKY (DT Ch4) that they got a change to DT31 on June 12. Not sure how WKYT-DT is doing (RF Ch 13) as they are now the lone wolf on VHF in these parts.
After all the shakeouts and analyzing is concluded, I wonder if the FCC will authorize more power for DT. It just does not seem to get out that well....
1) We should have a goal of expanding the number of potential viewers. Given the power levels compared to analog, I don't see that happening, although with a good outdoor antenna, it's not bad. Problem is, not everyone has that option.
2) Channels too closely spaced. There are two DT's on 9 at 111 miles & you just mentioned at WKYT is on 13...so is WTHR,Indy. DT signals are quite sensitive to interference. In the channel 9 case, a friend lives 45 miles from WILL in Champaign,IL. He sees WILL fine on rabbit ears at 1PM, but even with the yagi aimed at WILL in the morning, he gets nothing. They failed to take into account the daily interference from tropo & ground wave being "up". Had little effect on analog, it's a deal breaker on DT. In the case of WCPO, I have them on 10 & WTHI/Terre Haute on 10...I get neither at the halfway point with a 10 element hi-band yagi at 50', yet WKRC 12 might as well be a local--no one else is on that channel near here. I got WTHI analog 10 & DT 24 watchable before they switched. Further evidence of this is how many channels are directional. If they couldn't give everyone an allocation as a Full Power Full Spaced Non-Directional station, they should have kept a few more channels in the UHF spectrum. They're trying to shove 12 feet in 10 pairs of shoes...good luck.
3) People totally left out in the cold. There are MANY areas more than 60 miles from a TV market (example, Effingham, IL). These people have been content to watch snowy pictures in analog for decades. And DISH or DirecTV ain't gonna cut it. If they had the money for sat TV, they wouldn't have been watching snowy pictures. I'd better not gripe too loudly or my tax dollars might bail these folks out with free sat tv.
I'm not sure how this will all play out, but it's going to have some growing pains. I just hope there's an answer (realigning channels to maximize separation would be an excellent start) and that someone at the FCC has the gonads (or ovaries) to admit some mistakes were made & right this wobbly ship called DT.
I had a problem with our WKRC Ch 12 on June 12. It went from broadcasting its digital channel on UHF Channel 31 back to VHF channel 12. I had to re-scan and POW! as powerful as before.
WCPO ch 9 is using VHF Channel 10. However, it was reported in the paper that their digital antenna is at about 600 feet on the 900+ foot tower. It is supposed to be moved and in use by June 26, 2009. I would wait until then before panicking.
Channel 25, the low power channel, had been off the air for about a week, due to cabling problems at the transmitter. These have been fixed, I can see it clearly now.
I live in Amelia, 20 miles east of town.
WCPO ch 9 is using VHF Channel 10. However, it was reported in the paper that their digital antenna is at about 600 feet on the 900+ foot tower. It is supposed to be moved and in use by June 26, 2009. I would wait until then before panicking.
Channel 25, the low power channel, had been off the air for about a week, due to cabling problems at the transmitter. These have been fixed, I can see it clearly now.
I live in Amelia, 20 miles east of town.
Thanks for that insight...when you're 80 miles from Cincy, you don't hear much news along those lines. Someone else on this thread indicated that it was fine far to the East...that hints that the antenna is on the east side of the tower, which would cast a deep shadow my way. June 26...I'll rescan after that date & see what happens. As long as I can see at least 1 Cincy station, I'll be happy. And WKRC 12 DT is a flame thrower this way.major said:WCPO ch 9 is using VHF Channel 10. However, it was reported in the paper that their digital antenna is at about 600 feet on the 900+ foot tower. It is supposed to be moved and in use by June 26, 2009. I would wait until then before panicking.
Thanks for that update!major said:More news from WCPO:
Don't expect to be at full digital power until July 13th due to weather conditions.
This morning, I aimed the TV antenna at Cincinnati & did a scan...I got WTHI DT 10 Terre Haute off the back of the antenna with WCPO DT 10 nowhere to be found, yet WLWT, WKRC & WXIX were great. I'd have to guess their HD antenna is on the east side of the tower...
Hold the presses! WCPO actually showed up yesterday (80 miles west)...but it's gone again today.BobOnTheJob said:Thanks for that update!major said:More news from WCPO:
Don't expect to be at full digital power until July 13th due to weather conditions.
This morning, I aimed the TV antenna at Cincinnati & did a scan...I got WTHI DT 10 Terre Haute off the back of the antenna with WCPO DT 10 nowhere to be found, yet WLWT, WKRC & WXIX were great. I'd have to guess their HD antenna is on the east side of the tower...
What kind of rig do you have there? I'm looking for a good outdoor antenna.KR4BD said:Last night, under heavy "tropo" conditions, I was seeing WCPO-DT (RF Ch 10) with some breakup here in Lexington, KY. WLWT-DT, WKRC-DT (on RF Ch 12) and even WDTN from Dayton (RF Ch 50) were solid here last night. Normally, none of these stations are "regulars" however. All had "snowy" pictures with their analog signals. I have heard from friends in Cinci that WCPO is a "problem" for OTA reception, most likely due to the fact that many are using UHF only antennas.
My TV is a Sharp 20" flat screen, EDTV (Enhanced Digital as opposed to HD) connected to a small, rotatable Radio Shack VHF/UHF antenna, at about 55' on my ham radio tower. The antenna is unamplified and feeds the TV with high quality RG6 cable.
The most frequently seen Cinci station is Channel 5 (RF Ch 35) at my location in SW Lexington.
The most frequently seen Cinci station is Channel 5 (RF Ch 35) at my location in SW Lexington.
How often you see it?KR4BD said:My TV is a Sharp 20" flat screen, EDTV (Enhanced Digital as opposed to HD) connected to a small, rotatable Radio Shack VHF/UHF antenna, at about 55' on my ham radio tower. The antenna is unamplified and feeds the TV with high quality RG6 cable.
The most frequently seen Cinci station is Channel 5 (RF Ch 35) at my location in SW Lexington.
For the past week, I have been seeing WLWT (35), WCPO (10), WKRC (12) and WXIX (29) most every evening, after the sun goes down. I am sure this is primarily due to the Tropospheric Ducting conditions we have been experiencing in the last week or so. I rarely see the other Cincinnati stations at my location.
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