Westchester County, NY
12 miles north of the ESB
Apt bldg with roof antenna
Digital Stream #15-150 converter box
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I get 2-CBS, 5, 7-ABC (most of the time) 11, 13-WNET. The only other channels that interest me would be 4-NBC, which comes and goes, mostly goes. But it's broadcast from the ESB, the same as most of the other channels, and I was getting 4 before the transition. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/images/icons/icon5.gif
I occasionally get just 2 UHF stations 41, 47, the same as before the transition, but 21-WLIW would be nice!

It's possible the roof antenna is defective, but the management claims no responsibiity for it, as I'm the only one of 88 tenants in my bldg using it. I don't want to pay cable $20/month just to add one or 2 channels, nor do I want their more expensive packages. I don't watch much TV.

Living near the city, there's plenty of multipath, but according to my profile at antennaweb.com and TVfool, I should be getting these channels and even more with just a small indoor anteanna. So I'm trying to improve my signal with an indoor antenna. Any recommendations?

Digital NBC-HD in NYC from the ESB is not broadcast over the actual channel 4 frequency like it was when using analog. If is actually broadcast on a UHF channel so your antenna has to be able to receive and you rooftop antenna may not be UHF capable, whereas a small indoor antenna would be.

No, I know it's on 56 or something similar. But I'm getting all the other networks on their old numbers, which I guess is done by the converter box. It's my understanding that all the numbers up to 13 are on VHF, after 13 on UHF, but I don't know if that applies to the new numbers or the old ones.

I've looked at the antennas reviews here, and it's mind-boggling. I don't know where to begin.

Maybe someone from the Westchester area can contribute here. Why would NBC-4 be different from the others? On the NYC-OTA forum, I noted some people have a specific problem with ABC-7, so these things are really unpredictable.


BTW--I know about the NYC-OTA forum, but I was getting no help there. There's a lot of technical lingo going around, which is beyond me.

http://public.fotki.com/sneakers123/misc/antennaweb.html
OK, here's my chart from antennaweb. You're right, NBC is 28, therefore UHF. But so is CBS, duh, although ABC might not be coming from the ESB.

Can anyone in my area recommend a specific antenna?. I need to begin somewhere. I'm in a strong-signal area, with lots of multipath, VHF+ UHF.

My image URL at my photohosting site keeps getting cut off my post.

http://public.fotki.com/sneakers123/misc/antennaweb.html

To help us help you, please go to tvfool.com and enter your exact address (which will not show in the results) and give us the URL in bold type at the top of the report.

Have done this before, and their results are similar to antennaweb's.

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=90

I get pretty much the same as before the transition, all in their green zone.
CBS
NBC (hardly ever)
ABC (mostly)
WNYW
WWOR-
WPIX
WNET
(? Network) 41

The other green DT's are NJ and Long Island stations, and I've never gotten them. Their analog list in the first column is way off; I don't know any of these stations, and I'm 63. LOL

When you go to tvfool.com you need to click on "Click HERE" on the left instead of "Start MAPS" on the right which should take you to:
http://www.tvfool.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29

where you can enter your exact address.

What we need is something like this from tvfool that is for Ossining:
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3dd5a047d741891f

As you can see, NBC is much weaker being further down the list, so it will be harder to receive consistently. No chance for WLIW---too weak.

Or, maybe your closer to Elmsford:
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3dd5a0692cc943cd

I used this interactive map to help me guess:
http://www.westchestertowns.com/htm/index.html

Do you have a window that faces the ESB for your indoor antenna?

From one of your previous posts on another thread:
Much of this stuff is too technical for me. TV has never been as important to me as computers.

1-Why do the channels still come in on the old numbers, with the exception off some -1's. Is that because the conv box translates them back to the old numbers?

The channel number with the decimal point is called the virtual channel number (Virt column in report); it retains the identity of the original channel number that people got used to. The actual channel for transmission (Real) may or may not be the same.

Digital NBC-HD in NYC from the ESB is not broadcast over the actual channel 4 frequency like it was when using analog. If is actually broadcast on a UHF channel so your antenna has to be able to receive and you rooftop antenna may not be UHF capable, whereas a small indoor antenna would be.

Yeah, that's one of the few channels that didn't convert to VHF after the nightlight went out. Strange!

Rabbit--the post you quoted from me is months old, before I started educating myself on the subject, far more than I would wish, I might add.

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3dd5a0606e75508a

I'm in Yonkers, in the southwestern most tip of your map. Actually I'm just north of the Bronx, one of NYC's outer boroughs.

I presume ABC comes and goes for the same reason, weaker signal. I know that the world is not rational, but wouldn't you think that the city which is the center of the known universe would make it TV channels more reliable? I'm not exactly in the sticks, in a county of 1 million people, and 12 miles from midtown, and it's waaaaaaay past June 12. :(

All my windows face north, and no, we're not allowed to put antennas outside the window anyway. Do you need any more info?

Thanks for posting your exact address tvfool report; it gives us a better idea of your situation. The signals in your area are quite strong but the two factors that are hurting you are wanting an indoor antenna and you not having a clear shot of the ESB. Signals reflected from other buildings could indeed be causing multipath problems.

The ideas that come to mind first are to try a better UHF antenna for NBC, like a 4-bay Chanel Master 4221 or other mfg similar design (please be careful of the sharp "whisker" wires), and try other locations in your apartment. For ABC and PBS on CH 7 and 13 you would need an antenna designed for VHF-hi. The two antennas could be combined with a UHF/VHF splitter/combiner (UVSJ). You could also try a UHF/VHF-HI combo antenna, but I don't think it would give you enough gain for NBC.

Is there any chance you can improve the quality of the signal coming from the roof antenna?

The management claims they have no responsibility for the roof antenna, and since I'm a tenant in what is mostly a co-op, I don't make waves. I think everyone else in the bldg has cable.

Thanks for the suggestions, but I prefer one antenna.

What's VHF-Hi?

Is there any difference in reception among converter boxes? Also, if I hold out for a DTV, will the flaky old antenna still affect the reception?

What's VHF-Hi?

Channels 7-13. VHF-Lo is 2-6. Although 6 and 7 look like they ought to be right next to each other, they're actually separated by a large gap in frequency and wavelength. Antennas designed to pick up VHF-Hi but not VHF-Lo are a lot smaller than ones that pick up both, because the wavelengths for VHF-Hi are a lot shorter. This is very nice if you don't need VHF-Lo.

For NYC a 7-51 antenna such as the follwing appears to be an excellent choice.

http://www.winegard.com/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=321

Looks good. Aree you recommending the BatWing and Sensar together?

I am not reccomending anything other then choosing an 7-51 antenna since I do not receive OTA digital with any antenna myself.

I meant the Sensar and Batwing together as opposed to the Sensar by itself. I realize you haven't tested every antenna, even if you had OTA. I'm not holding you liable if I buy the wrong one. :D

A 7-51 would leave out 2 and 4. Does the Sensar cover those?

In NYC digital channels named 2-1 and 4-1 are no longer transmitted on LVHF chanels 2 and 4 they are on UHF channels which is why a 7-51 antenna will receive them.