-
Get involved.
We want your input!
Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.
After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.
After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/
Thanks in advance and have fun!
RadioDiscussions Administrators
Which Station In Your Area Has the Worst Singal In Your Area??
- Thread starter DJboutit3
- Start date
KHOU made the mistake of staying on VHF Channel 11 after the transition to digital TV. In the past, stations on VHF (Channels 2-13) had a big advantage over UHF stations (14 and above). Now with digital TV, that's reversed. Unfortunately many station owners didn't know that, till the coversion four years ago. Now it's probably be too late. Some stations that stayed on VHF are asking to move to UHF. But in a crowded market like Houston, that may not be possible.
The one thing you might check is whether your antenna is for ALL channels (UHF & VHF) or ONLY for UHF. If your antenna is for UHF only, you're not going to get decent reception from VHF 11 KHOU. Many people don't even know. You might visit Radio Shack or another reliable retailer and ask if you could buy a new antenna that gets all TV channels, with the assurance that if it doesn't improve your reception, you can take it back.
In my area, near NYC, people have trouble getting WABC (ABC), WPIX (WB) and WNET (PBS). They stayed on VHF 7, 11 and 13.
The one thing you might check is whether your antenna is for ALL channels (UHF & VHF) or ONLY for UHF. If your antenna is for UHF only, you're not going to get decent reception from VHF 11 KHOU. Many people don't even know. You might visit Radio Shack or another reliable retailer and ask if you could buy a new antenna that gets all TV channels, with the assurance that if it doesn't improve your reception, you can take it back.
In my area, near NYC, people have trouble getting WABC (ABC), WPIX (WB) and WNET (PBS). They stayed on VHF 7, 11 and 13.
KFWD/52 on physical VHF channel 9 is by far the worst in my area. They suffer from low power (13 kW) and co-channel interference from a facility only 92 miles away. Here's a chart as proof -- look at the weekly graph to see the dropout periods:
http://www.rabbitears.info/tvdx/signal_graph/101A67C8/tuner0/KFWD
With a proper antenna, VHF reception is fine as the comparable charts for WFAA/8 on physical channel 8 indicate. Unlike, KFWD, WFAA has more power (55 kW) and doesn't suffer from co-channel interference:
http://www.rabbitears.info/tvdx/signal_graph/101A67C8/tuner0/WFAA
Both transmit from the Cedar Hill antenna farm so this is an apples to apples comparison between two VHF high facilities.
http://www.rabbitears.info/tvdx/signal_graph/101A67C8/tuner0/KFWD
With a proper antenna, VHF reception is fine as the comparable charts for WFAA/8 on physical channel 8 indicate. Unlike, KFWD, WFAA has more power (55 kW) and doesn't suffer from co-channel interference:
http://www.rabbitears.info/tvdx/signal_graph/101A67C8/tuner0/WFAA
Both transmit from the Cedar Hill antenna farm so this is an apples to apples comparison between two VHF high facilities.
I live in the Hartford/New Haven DMA.
Due to the VHF factor and me living in southern Hartford County, my worst would be WTNH-TV (ABC) channel 8 of New Haven. They use channel 10 for their digital. I know I'm not blocked from their site on Madmere Mountain in Hamden. That's because I get their sister station, WCTX-TV (MY) channel 59 of New Haven, nearly all the time. WCTX-TV uses channel 39 for their digital.
Due to Walnut Hill in the south end of New Britain, CT (very close to where I live), I will rarely receive a solid signal from those on Avon Mountain in Avon, near the West Hartford town line. I nearly always receive WFSB-TV (CBS) channel 3 of Hartford, since they use the full 1 million watts of power allowed for a UHF station (channel 33 in this case). However, WUVN-TV (UNI) channel 18 of Hartford is near their site and drops out a lot (channel 18 uses channel 46).
Lastly, despite only being about 35 air miles away, I never receive a blip from Springfield, MA, whether it's NBC 22, ABC 40 (and their "FOX 6" subchannel) or PBS 57.
Due to the VHF factor and me living in southern Hartford County, my worst would be WTNH-TV (ABC) channel 8 of New Haven. They use channel 10 for their digital. I know I'm not blocked from their site on Madmere Mountain in Hamden. That's because I get their sister station, WCTX-TV (MY) channel 59 of New Haven, nearly all the time. WCTX-TV uses channel 39 for their digital.
Due to Walnut Hill in the south end of New Britain, CT (very close to where I live), I will rarely receive a solid signal from those on Avon Mountain in Avon, near the West Hartford town line. I nearly always receive WFSB-TV (CBS) channel 3 of Hartford, since they use the full 1 million watts of power allowed for a UHF station (channel 33 in this case). However, WUVN-TV (UNI) channel 18 of Hartford is near their site and drops out a lot (channel 18 uses channel 46).
Lastly, despite only being about 35 air miles away, I never receive a blip from Springfield, MA, whether it's NBC 22, ABC 40 (and their "FOX 6" subchannel) or PBS 57.
I have the opposite problem... looking at my OTA channel summary on my Samsung I have 145 channels (this number of course includes many many subchannels)... 26 channels of that 145 are in viewable rotation, 18 of those 26 channels are favorited, leaving 118 channels deleted and deemed unwatchable by me for various reasons (Godsquad channels, languages I do not speak which make up the bulk of all subchannels received and HSN/Infomercial channels).
This is for the Los Angeles DMA for those that are curious. In an effort to keep the thread on topic I will say that KFLA-8 (Retro Television Network) is probably unreceivable to most all of Los Angeles unless you happen to live line of sight below Mt Wilson with nary a tree branch, leaf or a mailbox bisecting that LOS. KFLA is pumping a massive 300 watts of candle, that should be enough to cover an area the size of Los Angeles, right?
This is for the Los Angeles DMA for those that are curious. In an effort to keep the thread on topic I will say that KFLA-8 (Retro Television Network) is probably unreceivable to most all of Los Angeles unless you happen to live line of sight below Mt Wilson with nary a tree branch, leaf or a mailbox bisecting that LOS. KFLA is pumping a massive 300 watts of candle, that should be enough to cover an area the size of Los Angeles, right?
M
Mario500
Guest
I would not say WALA-TV in the Mobile, Alabama-Pensacola, Florida TV market has the worst signal in the area; I would rather say they have the toughest signal to receive with an antenna located either in Mobile County or Baldwin County, Alabama (the transmitter for the station is located in Baldwin County) based on my personal experience and various reports about the station's signal on the Internet.
(note: WALA-TV broadcasts on radio frequency channel 9 and virtual channel 10).
(note: WALA-TV broadcasts on radio frequency channel 9 and virtual channel 10).
Here in the Louisville, KY-IN market, it's got to be WBNA-DT (RF 8, Virtual 21.1 thru 21.4). Let me count the ways...
*Short tower that can't be raised, too close to approaches to two long airport runways at UPS world cargo hub
*Low transmitter power...just above minimum for VHF full-power stations
*Horrible terrain shielding blocking signal from much of city of license...western third of city and downtown a loss
*In the VHF trouble zone at Channel 8
Their actual coverage is nowhere near their filed pattern, with no corrective actions forseen.
*Short tower that can't be raised, too close to approaches to two long airport runways at UPS world cargo hub
*Low transmitter power...just above minimum for VHF full-power stations
*Horrible terrain shielding blocking signal from much of city of license...western third of city and downtown a loss
*In the VHF trouble zone at Channel 8
Their actual coverage is nowhere near their filed pattern, with no corrective actions forseen.
The King Bee said:
And the signal doesn't come from southern Indiana, like the other stations, but from the south of Louisville in Shepardsville, which means a full turn of the antenna to grab it. When I visited Radcliff near Ft. Knox to see my sister I was able to receive it on my portable DTV just fine, but that's within 15 miles without any civilization in-between because of the base. Forget it in other circumstances, though they get good cable coverage otherwise.
In Milwaukee it's another VHF signal, WMVS on VHF 8, which also has a UHF repeater on 36. Have never been able to get it unless the conditions are just right. WTMJ on UHF 28 is also iffy because of cross-channel interference from South Bend and Michigan.
You're right on, mrschimpf...instead of staying on the Floyds Knobs, IN tower farm, with its maximum tower heights on top of 900'-1100' bluffs above the Ohio River valley Louisville sits in (City Hall elev. is 460' AMSL...quite a height advantage in the Knobs) only 10 or so miles from the center of population, WBNA-TV moved to a short tower in Shepherdsville, KY about 17 miles S of downtown during their analog days.
They have remained there through the transition to -DT...but the tower can't be raised due to its proximity to the approach zones of two parallel NNW-SSE 14,000' runways at Louisville International Airport (SDF), where the UPS Worldport cargo hub is located-at night, the busiest cargo airport in the world.
Also, they are right behind a ring of hills in northern Bullitt and southern Jefferson counties (Holsclaw, Waverly, Cardinal and Iroquois Hills) that only serve to obliterate their minimum-powered, low-angled signal on troublesome RF channel 8. Yes, cable and satellite are their only reliable outlets...their RF is largely out of play competitively.
They have remained there through the transition to -DT...but the tower can't be raised due to its proximity to the approach zones of two parallel NNW-SSE 14,000' runways at Louisville International Airport (SDF), where the UPS Worldport cargo hub is located-at night, the busiest cargo airport in the world.
Also, they are right behind a ring of hills in northern Bullitt and southern Jefferson counties (Holsclaw, Waverly, Cardinal and Iroquois Hills) that only serve to obliterate their minimum-powered, low-angled signal on troublesome RF channel 8. Yes, cable and satellite are their only reliable outlets...their RF is largely out of play competitively.
For me in Gary, IN, it's actually 2 stations, WCPX on RF 43 (Ion) & WLS-TV on RF 44 (ABC) for full power stations. I never had problems with WCPX in the months after 6/12/2009, until WLS-TV decided to change their RF channel from 7 to 44. I never got WLS-TV that well on RF 52, but when they returned to RF 7, I never had problems. Once they started operating on RF 44 from the Sears Tower, RF 43 received interference from RF 44 the entire time. RF 44 would always pixelate. Before the final antenna was installed on the Sears Tower, the first new antenna didn't reach those within 10 miles of the Sears Tower, while for me, the signal dropped out constantly. When WLS-TV operated RF 44 from the John Hancock, I had fewer problems, & WCPX received no interference. ABC has always insisted on operating from the Sears Tower over the John Hancock. Now with their new antenna installed, & RF 7 turned off, the bugs are still not worked out, & it seems complaints are mostly coming from the far suburbs & Indiana that have trouble with the signal, & I still have problems with WCPX getting interference from WLS-TV to this day. Somehow, WLS-TV doesn't affect WSNS on RF 45.
When it comes to LPTV, the overall worst is WOCK-CD on RF 4, mainly because they transmit at only 300 watts, & almost no one gets the station. I can only get it from Gary, IN, if I use an outdoor antenna optimized for RF channels 2 - 13 (I use an Antennacraft CS600), & a pre-amp, & reception is iffy on some days. Being on VHF Lo is also a major problem, as outdoor antennas optimized for VHF (old-fashioned element antennas) are the only way to get VHF-Lo. On the UHF side for LPTV, WWME-LD is iffy on some days, because the station is nulled toward Indiana, mainly to protect sister station in South Bend, IN, WMYS-LD (both RF 39). WWME-LD carries MeTV on the main channel, & I can get that on WCIU 26.3 (RF 27), but I must get WWME-LD in order to watch Bounce on VC 23.2. I've also changed antennas more than once. I originally used a combo VHF/UHF/FM antenna, but that antenna was falling apart. I went with an Antennacraft CS600 antenna, & been used all this time for VHF. For UHF I originally used a Winegard HD9032 yagi antenna, & only worked with the full power stations, & WWME-LD, but didn't work as well with WCPX on RF 43 or WLS-TV on RF 44. Since switching to an Antennas Direct DB8 whisker antenna, I get less interference from WCPX & WLS-TV (I believe the problem lies with WLS-TV engineering problems that doesn't keep interference to a minimum), but since the DB8 is a lot less directional, I started getting other LPTV stations that are normally too weak to receive on the Indiana side, due to the signals aiming their signals more at the nearby south suburbs, or nearby western suburbs (a few can also aim their signal to the northern suburbs).
When it comes to LPTV, the overall worst is WOCK-CD on RF 4, mainly because they transmit at only 300 watts, & almost no one gets the station. I can only get it from Gary, IN, if I use an outdoor antenna optimized for RF channels 2 - 13 (I use an Antennacraft CS600), & a pre-amp, & reception is iffy on some days. Being on VHF Lo is also a major problem, as outdoor antennas optimized for VHF (old-fashioned element antennas) are the only way to get VHF-Lo. On the UHF side for LPTV, WWME-LD is iffy on some days, because the station is nulled toward Indiana, mainly to protect sister station in South Bend, IN, WMYS-LD (both RF 39). WWME-LD carries MeTV on the main channel, & I can get that on WCIU 26.3 (RF 27), but I must get WWME-LD in order to watch Bounce on VC 23.2. I've also changed antennas more than once. I originally used a combo VHF/UHF/FM antenna, but that antenna was falling apart. I went with an Antennacraft CS600 antenna, & been used all this time for VHF. For UHF I originally used a Winegard HD9032 yagi antenna, & only worked with the full power stations, & WWME-LD, but didn't work as well with WCPX on RF 43 or WLS-TV on RF 44. Since switching to an Antennas Direct DB8 whisker antenna, I get less interference from WCPX & WLS-TV (I believe the problem lies with WLS-TV engineering problems that doesn't keep interference to a minimum), but since the DB8 is a lot less directional, I started getting other LPTV stations that are normally too weak to receive on the Indiana side, due to the signals aiming their signals more at the nearby south suburbs, or nearby western suburbs (a few can also aim their signal to the northern suburbs).
KRCG cannot be picked up in Columbia, MO with just rabbit ears
In Cleveland, it's WOIO/19 (RF10) CBS (VHF, 9 or 10 kW, highly directional, and short-spaced to a Canadian station that can interfere in the northernmost part of the market) and WJW/8 FOX (VHF, 11kW).
WOIO has a UHF translator, but it only covers a portion of the southern part of the market.
Though I have no problems with either station with my outdoor antenna, I know several people who can't get one or both of these stations reliably.
WOIO has a UHF translator, but it only covers a portion of the southern part of the market.
Though I have no problems with either station with my outdoor antenna, I know several people who can't get one or both of these stations reliably.
DJboutit3 said:
In the Providence area, the PBS affiliate, WSBE-TV 36 (RF 21) has the weakest signal at only 50 kw power from its transmitter in Rehoboth, MA (though many cable systems in Rhode Island and Massachusetts carry the station). In the Boston area, it appears to be WYDN-TV 48, the Daystar station, though the station is not that bad off, but its directional from its Needham, MA transmitter on the WBZ-TV tower. Both areas are so close to one another that many stations can be seen in both areas OTA with a good antenna system.
In Phoenix, the worst is KSAZ/10, although all the VHFs (it, plus KAET/8 and KPNX/12) have issues occasionally. Even at my location, 5 miles SE of the South Mountain tower farm, 10 cuts out more often than the others. They use sister-station KUTP as an SD quasi-translator on 45.2 (or 10.2, depending on your TV) for a reason.
In Columbus, Ohio, it's easily WSFJ-Channel 51. That channel looks like it's coming off a spaceship several thousand miles away and has for years. Dull picture, not sharp at all. They did bring their tower in closer to the metro several years ago. It used to be located at the intersection of I-70 and Ohio 13 about 32 miles east of downtown Columbus.
Pre-digital, it was WTTE-Fox 28 without a contest. I didn't realize how bad it was until I saw Fox programming in another market, and it looked like every other network. Here, it was grainy and dull. Nowadays, Fox looks great.
Pre-digital, it was WTTE-Fox 28 without a contest. I didn't realize how bad it was until I saw Fox programming in another market, and it looked like every other network. Here, it was grainy and dull. Nowadays, Fox looks great.
In Memphis, it's WMC 5. They never had a good digital signal to begin with. Before the transition, they were on RF 52 and broadcasting from a small transmitter in northeast Shelby County and I could never receive it then. When transition time came, they moved to Lo VHF 5 which isn't great either. I can at least pick it up now, but at times, especially during the summer and cuts up and doesn't want to come in clear. It's very frustrating since it is the only NBC station near here. The closest one is WTVA 9 in Tupelo, and they made a bad decision too of putting theirs on RF 8 which is still Hi VHF. No UHF NBCs anywhere near here.
- Status