I wonder how long this transition will take. They were one of the signals that was difficult to receive for me in Ames. It wasn't their strength either. It was something about the signal that made it not tune reliably on my Media Center PC. Perhaps transitioning to 19UHF will fix this for me.

that is great news about KDMI. Same thing here in Ames... for whatever reason could NOT get them OTA, but I could get everything else perfectly. That bodes well for post-transition reception.

Can anyone from there with Mediacom, tell me if the KDIN subs have been added in Des Monies?

Up here in Rochester, MN, I cannot get guide data for KYIN in Sage TV and I want to use KDIN as the data source, but Sage does not provide OTA data, only cable data....

Can anyone from there with Mediacom, tell me if the KDIN subs have been added in Des Monies?

Up here in Rochester, MN, I cannot get guide data for KYIN in Sage TV and I want to use KDIN as the data source, but Sage does not provide OTA data, only cable data....

There were plans for them to be added. I saw it on my bill, not sure of the date they are launching though.

Can anyone from there with Mediacom, tell me if the KDIN subs have been added in Des Monies?

Up here in Rochester, MN, I cannot get guide data for KYIN in Sage TV and I want to use KDIN as the data source, but Sage does not provide OTA data, only cable data....

Yes they have been added 118 and 119
Joe

Yes they have been added 118 and 119
Joe

Thanks guys... Got everything mapped and now have data for "KDIN" actually KYIN.... YUPPIE!

Has anyone noticed that KCCI's news is now almost HD? It looks like the graphics package is entirely HD, but all the cameras are still SD. They are getting close!

EDIT: It looks like SD widescreen too -- the studio shots fill my 16:9 screen.

Has anyone noticed that KCCI's news is now almost HD? It looks like the graphics package is entirely HD, but all the cameras are still SD. They are getting close!

EDIT: It looks like SD widescreen too -- the studio shots fill my 16:9 screen.

Looks awesome! The new graphics look pretty sharp too.

Actually, it looks like some sort of weird psuedo-mix of HD graphics and SD graphics. It looks like any graphics that fill the screen are also SD (opening titles, etc.).

The only HD graphics are those that are "overlays" -- like graphics identifying the anchors, etc.

There are stylized pillarboxes with a "KCCI" logo during 4:3 content. Most studio content is widescreen, including some weather radars -- but ironically, Super Doppler HD is 4:3 and standard def.

Has anyone seen any official word or write-up about this first step toward an HD broadcast by KCCI?

It is standard definition widescreen. Sort of a "soft launch" today. So not much promotion of it or anything. It's not *really* HD, so we're not saying so. Studio cameras and graphics are 16x9. A handful of graphics are still 4x3 or a slight cheat in-between (like the sports and weather tickers). Field video from outside the studio is still 4x3 and will be for some time to come (except for when we air the occasional pre-taped HD package). Radar is still a work in progress. The whole "Doppler HD" name has been in use for several years: promo-ese for the higher-sensitivity front end of the radar itself, as opposed to the video image the radar graphics box renders. Don't get me started on the radar names TV marketing folks come up with. :-) Everything is being kept "center-safe" for now, because of all the converter boxes and analog TVs out there. That's one reason we're not cropping in on the normally-round sweep of the radar image.

But, all in all, we're happy to be able to fill the screen where we can for now. Given the all-digital standard-def air chain we have already, the difference between "HD" and a good-quality upconversion of SD can be pretty hard to see. If some people can't tell the difference, we're fine with that! :-)

Chris
KCCI

Can you please have the weather announcements and radar not downsize the picture to 4x3 on programming and sports? It's a start with the radar, but when the scroll comes we lose HD! I know, I know, baby steps.

Chris -- thanks for the update on what's going on at KCCI. It definitely gives you guys yet another leg up on the rest of the competition for those of us viewing your 16x9 digital feed... and yes, it does look great, SD or not!

Keep up the great work.

Hi All,

I'm trying to get channel 23.2 on my PC. Everytime I add it it wants me to add the Frequency assigned to 23.2?

Anyone know what that would be?

Thumbs up on these KCCI improvements. Nice graphics. Only saw them in SD last night in the bedroom (SD set), but I'm sure they look great in HD even if the broadcast isn't considered fully HD yet.

Of course, WHO's news still looks like it's being shot with a $200 camcorder, at least when viewed on my HD set. :D

Anyone know when these improvements debuted? I first caught them on the 5:00 PM newscast.

Thankfully for those of us who prefer WHO, a source close to the situation tells me that their broadcast should be 16x9 similar to KCCI by the end of this week.

That is great news.

Thankfully for those of us who prefer WHO, a source close to the situation tells me that their broadcast should be 16x9 similar to KCCI by the end of this week.

A little competition is good for everyone. Great news from the team at WHO, too.

WHO is "HD" tonight. Well . . . 16:9 at least.

Looks nice though. Glad the stations are doing this.

WHO's 16:9 newscast still looks like ****. They really need to upgrade their signal chain to an all-digital format like KCCI.

WHO's 16:9 newscast still looks like ****. They really need to upgrade their signal chain to an all-digital format like KCCI.

I kind of have to agree. Especially when it came to the weather segment today from the Science Center. Pillarboxed SD that looked like full screen totally compressed web video off of YouTube. The in-studio shots didn't look all that bad though. But where was the ticker? It's a start... but it looks like 13 really rushed their launch to me with all the bugs.

WHO's 16:9 newscast still looks like ****. They really need to upgrade their signal chain to an all-digital format like KCCI.

At least they've eliminated their "shoot through a patio screen" approach, though the studio shots are still not 16:9, colored pillarbox graphics notwithstanding.

Hmm...I revise my statement...the anchor desk shots this morning are full 16:9. Looks good!

At least when WHO shows weather crawls and announcement they are keeping a mini 16x9 and all the crawl is below the programming! Nice job on that WHO!

FYI: For you OTA viewers, KWWL-DT's new 30KW transmitter is online as of about 3:30 this afternoon.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=16380039#post16380039

now we need ch17 to be 16:9 so that WHO ch 13 news at 9 fills the screen

Sometime late last week I lost my OTA channels 13 and 17. I still get 5 and 8. Anyone else have a problem? Or maybe a suggestion for me. I already rescanned.

Thanks for your help,

Cad

There was an report on eye fatigue in HD tonight on 13. It looked absolutely beautiful! Can't wait until they can produce the whole newscast like that!

Last night on 8.1 I was receiving 5.1 proggraming??????????? What the heck is going on?

Last night on 8.1 I was receiving 5.1 proggraming??????????? What the heck is going on?

5.1 as in the channel, or DD5.1 audio?

The channel. It is real odd. It happened again last night. I am still not able to get 17.1 or 13.1 at all

Sounds unlikely to be a source problem. Do you have any other TV's and/or antenna you can test?

I just recently had the tuner go out in my Pioneer TV and it caused all sorts of strange problems. I only got a few channels, and some of those weren't where they were supposed to be.

Good luck. :)

I wonder how long this transition will take. They were one of the signals that was difficult to receive for me in Ames. It wasn't their strength either. It was something about the signal that made it not tune reliably on my Media Center PC. Perhaps transitioning to 19UHF will fix this for me.The FCC has approved the revised KDMI-DT 19 construction permit as of Tuesday. It expires August 18, but since they're using WHO-DT's old channel 19 equipment on the same tower they're already on, I suspect it shouldn't take that long.

Since it will require viewers to re-scan, though, I suspect they'll need to warn their viewers and may find it expedient to wait until June 12, when their competitors (except WHO and KDSM) also change channels.

The FCC has approved the revised KDMI-DT 19 construction permit as of Tuesday. It expires August 18, but since they're using WHO-DT's old channel 19 equipment on the same tower they're already on, I suspect it shouldn't take that long.

Since it will require viewers to re-scan, though, I suspect they'll need to warn their viewers and may find it expedient to wait until June 12, when their competitors (except WHO and KDSM) also change channels.I will be keeping my fingers crossed. I just hope when all of this is over this station and the others all come in reliably without needing anything extravagant. So far 13 hasn't been a problem, but who knows what will happen to 5 when they make the switch.

Anyone else see the HD footage of the reporter with KCCI that went up with an F-16?

I will be keeping my fingers crossed. I just hope when all of this is over this station and the others all come in reliably without needing anything extravagant. So far 13 hasn't been a problem, but who knows what will happen to 5 when they make the switch.

I am able to receive 13.1 and .2 (as well as all other channels) with nothing more than an RCA flat panel with internal low noise preamp to my USB HD tuner stick. The antenna is laying on an end table about 30" above ground level. I am 27 miles from the transmitter complex. (3 miles north of Ogden)

Since 13 is on hi-band VHF, I can understand how it might just make it. I am somewhat concerned about 8 and 11, being lower in frequency (and antennas becoming subsequently less efficient). I don't think I'll be able to get Ch. 5 after the move (on this setup), as the ambient noise is going to skyrocket (compared to its current Ch. 59 UHF assignment).

I expect a lot of people to experience problems on June 12. I got scores of calls and drop bys about channel 13 after the Feb 17 switch. 8 and 11 are likely to result in the same problem, and 5 will be much worse.

Those with marginal setups are walking a fine line that is likely to disappear for them on June 12. As in the old days, external antennas solve the problem. It doesn't take much, just about any dual band yagi/lp out in the open will do the job and end the hand-wringing. Indoor antennas are going to be problematic in the Boone area on out. A larger array in the attic might to fine, depending on any metalization in the shingle/insulation materials.

I have two outdoor antennas (one on garage, one on house), and signals are no less than 84% on any channel.

Current Signal Levels on my RCA Flat Panel and HD USB Tuner Stick:
(antenna not moved to maximize signal, unless noted below)

5.1 4/6 Bars
8.1 6/6
11.1 5/6
13.1 4/6
17.1 4/6
23.1 2/6 (antenna must be moved to get signal)
56.1 2/6 (antenna must be moved to get signal)

Just a quick note about the USB HDTV tuner stick. It is only 39 bucks! It includes a magnetic base whip antenna (which does fine on UHF). It does DVR functions (record to drive, replay from drive, burn to DVD, schedule recording from electronic program guide), with the included Total Media software. Install is simple.

I am using a moderately quick computer, AMD X2 64 3 gig processor (5600), and 3 gigs of ram. Windows XP Home, SP3. DirectX 9. With hardware acceleration turned on (inside Total Media), processor use is only 18%. The stick was recommended (and demonstrated) to me by a friend who builds and repairs PCs. I was so impressed with the stick's performance (using his homebrew (coat hanger) 4 bay UHF bow tie), that I ordered one the same day. So far, I'm very pleased. HD looks downright beautiful on my 22" ProView monitor, using the on motherboard Radeon video card.

Those looking for a convenient and inexpensive HDTV solution for their PCs might want to take a look (if they have the hardware to support it).

kworld UB435-Q USB ATSC TV STICK (no analog)

I got mine through Amazon, but I think it really came from Tiger Direct.

I am able to receive 13.1 and .2 (as well as all other channels) with nothing more than an RCA flat panel with internal low noise preamp to my USB HD tuner stick. The antenna is laying on an end table about 30" above ground level. I am 27 miles from the transmitter complex. (3 miles north of Ogden)

Since 13 is on hi-band VHF, I can understand how it might just make it. I am somewhat concerned about 8 and 11, being lower in frequency (and antennas becoming subsequently less efficient). I don't think I'll be able to get Ch. 5 after the move (on this setup), as the ambient noise is going to skyrocket (compared to its current Ch. 59 UHF assignment).

I expect a lot of people to experience problems on June 12. I got scores of calls and drop bys about channel 13 after the Feb 17 switch. 8 and 11 are likely to result in the same problem, and 5 will be much worse.It looks like we're probably going to be learning about 5 the hard way.

In New Orleans, the Fox affiliate (which is already DT only) told the FCC its viewers were having so much trouble picking up its DT on channel 8 that they want to go back to UHF. A link to the request, originally posted by Trip in VA, is here (http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1310665&Service=DS&Form_id=911&Facility_id=4149).

Their situation is a little different, though: they're authorized for a little less than half the power of your channels 8 and 13 (as well as 7 and 9 in my market), and they can't go much higher on 8 due to a channel 9 that's too close to them.

But it's interesting nonetheless, and we'll see what happens with 5 in less than a month. I have two DT tuners back in Ames waiting for it.

UPDATE:

It appears KFPX (Ion) now has the go-ahead to build its digital transmitter near Alleman, where the other major stations are. Its Channel 39 analog transmitter is currently near Baxter in Jasper County and has no paired DT channel, so it must flash-cut on 39.

The proposed station is expected to broadcast at 1 MW at about 2,000 ft. above average terrain, but the proposed transmitter will have a directional pattern which appears to not favor Fort Dodge or Carroll, among other places in the western part of the market. (A .pdf of their proposed coverage map is here (http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getattachment_exh.cgi?exhibit_id=650693&formid=301&q_num=5440).)

KFPX-DT's big signal has to be directional like that to protect KMEG-DT in Sioux City. This, I believe, is why KFPX-DT tried to get channel 29 rather than 39.

- Trip

KFPX-DT's big signal has to be directional like that to protect KMEG-DT in Sioux City. This, I believe, is why KFPX-DT tried to get channel 29 rather than 39.

- TripYeah, that was an interesting one. Their owner -- Paxson at the time -- claimed to have negotiated the use of 29 with 11 other stations, but the FCC found otherwise:

"Several licensees in the Des Moines market that were listed as NCA [Negotiated Channel Arrangement] participants on Paxson-Des Moines’ Form 382 filed comments, denying that they had entered into an NCA with Paxson-Des Moines. Instead, they explained that Paxson-Des Moines had informed a number of stations by letter that it intended to elect Channel 29 for the post-transition operation of KFPX, and instructed them to return an acknowledgement form indicating whether or not the station objected to the channel election. The letter concluded by stating that failure to return the acknowledgement form would lead Paxson-Des Moines to 'presume that there is no objection' by the station. In reply, Paxson-Des Moines admits that it had not entered into an NCA with the stations listed on Schedule A of the FCC Form 382 it filed, and that only one of the stations returned a signed acknowledgement."

Also interesting was that WOI objected, saying it would be "adversely affected" by the selection of channel 29. Perhaps they, too, were considering it at one point as an alternative to 5 or 59. And yet, they chose 5 anyway.

Source: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-05-1619A1.pdf (KFPX is covered on page 4.)

UPDATE:

It appears KFPX (Ion) now has the go-ahead to build its digital transmitter near Alleman, where the other major stations are. Its Channel 39 analog transmitter is currently near Baxter in Jasper County and has no paired DT channel, so it must flash-cut on 39.

The proposed station is expected to broadcast at 1 MW at about 2,000 ft. above average terrain, but the proposed transmitter will have a directional pattern which appears to not favor Fort Dodge or Carroll, among other places in the western part of the market. (A .pdf of their proposed coverage map is here (http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getattachment_exh.cgi?exhibit_id=650693&formid=301&q_num=5440).)

great and in carroll i am still somewhat getting sioux city but kpth isn't the greatest.. oh well i guess KFPX isn't that big of a deal.

TiVo HD has the following added on Mediacom:

842: Discovery HD
843: TLC HD
844: Animal Planet HD
856: Fox News Channel HD (Currently not working)
857: HGTV HD
858: FOOD HD
860: FX HD
861: SPEED HD
863: Lifetime HD (Currently not working)

They also changed their analog lineup a bit. 02-Discovery is now 46. Other stations moved as well, but that one sticks out. Interesting that my Media Center is already running with the new data for the Guide (Win7).
EDIT: There's more good news for media center users. If you are currently going the unencrypted cable route (Clear QAM), you now have many of the family cable stations available in SD-digital. This appears to be an actual intentional plan, and it's a very nice feature for media center users who want more unencrypted channels as well as anyone on cable that has a newer TV with QAM tuning built in. If you can tuner QAM channels, you should now have a digital version of:
Animal Planet, Bravo, Discovery, ESPN(3 of them that I found), F ood Network, LMN, MTV, TLC, VH1 as well as all the locals (5.1, 5.2, 8.1, 8.2, 11.1, 11.2, 11.3, 13.1, 13.2, Fox-DT comes in at 86.4, 23.1, KDMI is in there somewhere too) and many others which I'm not going to try to list. You need to know a fair amount about media center in order to use QAM, but if you are using it you will now have a much broader selection of useful stations. It said in the Des Moines Register article (http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090602/BUSINESS/906020367/0/BUSINESS/Mediacom+increases+digital++HD+offerings+on+Iowa+lineup)that they are planning to add several HD channels to the unencrypted lineup as well. Probably the same ones listed in the above post from SnakeEyes.

KDMI update:

A search of the FCC database this morning turned up this:

http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1315818&Service=DT&Form_id=337&Facility_id=78915

According to the form, KDMI is seeking an extension until February of 2010 -- yes, that's what it says -- to construct their final channel 19 facility. Pappas says the final facility can't be completed due to "severe financial hardship" and unspecified "other reasons." They're also asking the FCC to keep specific details under wraps. But more than likely, they're going to have to shut the place down for a while after June 12, since they're prohibited by law from transmitting on channel 56 after that date.

This doesn't appear to affect sister station KCWI, which must flash-cut 23 to digital, so I suspect they'll probably just have to move their current CW/My multicast from KDMI to KCWI.

FNC HD is now live. Lifetime HD is the only one left to go live.

FNC HD is now live. Lifetime HD is the only one left to go live.
Are these with digital cable with a mediacom box, TiVo HD with cablecard, or are they unencrypted QAM? Also, what town, and if they're unencrypted can you list the actual channel number and/or virtual channel number? I see the unencrypted QAM SD channels, but nothing HD. I was looking late last night though, so they could have just been running SD material then. Thanks

TiVo HD with cablecard in Johnston. People on DSL Reports says they are not ClearQAM

Somebody asked this in the Cedar Rapids thread, so I figured I'd do this for Des Moines as well:

Analog Shutoff Times on June 12 (THIS FRIDAY !)


Already digital-only
KDMI (DT moving, if it can afford to; see post #3793 above)
KDSM
WHO

Early morning (before 6:00am Friday)
KDIN (DT may not move immediately)

Morning (6:01am-12:00 noon Friday)
None

Afternoon (12:01pm-6:00pm Friday)
KEFB (flash-cutting on analog channel)

Evening (6:01pm-11:59pm Friday)
KCCI (DT moving)
WOI (DT moving)
KCWI (flash-cutting on analog channel)
KFPX (flash-cutting on analog channel)

The "evening" ones, I suspect, will wait at least until primetime and their late local news is over, and probably until 11:59pm.

You'll have to re-scan for the stations which are flash-cutting or moving their DTs.

...KDMI (DT moving, if it can afford to; see post #3793 above)...

Could be they will continue KDMI's programming on KCWI's relocated DT stream...they're happily living together now on 56. I'll ask their CE.

Could be they will continue KDMI's programming on KCWI's relocated DT stream...they're happily living together now on 56. I'll ask their CE.

Found this on KCWI's web site:
http://www.kcwi23.com/blog.php

KCWI-TV and KDMI-TV will complete the DTV Conversion Process on June 12th

Television stations KCWI-TV and KDMI-TV will complete the digital conversion process on June 12 at 11:59:59 PM. The long awaited conversion will mean that KCWI will cease broadcasting on analog signal (channel 23) and begin broadcasting only on digital signal (channel 23.1). KDMI, the first digital-only broadcast station in the market, will switch from 56.1 to 19.1.

I talked to their chief yesterday, and the the KDMI programming will indeed be part of the 23 stream post-transition, until they can build the channel 19 facility.

11.x looks like it's made the switch early this morning. I can no longer receive it with any indoor antenna (of course).

It is running full scale on my outdoor antenna. I expect to see the same thing, only worse for 8 and 5 late tonight or early tomorrow.

Let the howling begin.:)

KCCI (8.x) says that they will make the move at Midnight tonight (Friday). I 'm guessing that means 11:59 p.m. (talked to them on the phone).

I've not heard anything about WOI (5.x)

PBS 11.x made the move sometime early this morning. Re-orienting and raising my indoor antenna about 10 feet is allowing me to receive 11.x quite strong with my indoor antenna

MANT940 (UHF ONLY ANTENNA, $35 at Wal-Mart). I have it oriented horizontally, with the front of the wedge pointing SE (from Ogden), sitting on top of a balcony railing (wood). Channel 11 is between 90 and 100% most of the time. Neither my RCA flat panel (preamped), nor a Phillips Plate/Rabbit Ear/Preamped would receive new 11 at 4 feet above floor level.

I doubt this antenna is going to work for Ch 5 (WOI) after this evening. It looks like it may work for 8, giving me solid signals for all UHF channels, and 80% or better for 13, 11 (currently), and hopefully Ch 8, late tonight.

None of my 3 indoor preamped antennas could receive Ch 11.x after they moved freq this morning, when those antennas were 4 feet above the ground.
I'm outside Ogden, about 27 miles from the transmitter complex with excellent HAAT, and no significant obstructions.

Signal Levels (Pre-Transition for 5.1 and 8.1)

ABC 5.1 6/6 Bars (RF 59)
CBS 8.1 6/6 Bars (RF 31)
PBS 11.1 6/6 Bars
NBC 13.1 6/6 Bars
FOX 17.1 5/6 Bars
CW 23.1 6/6 Bars
MY 56.1 6/6 Bars

Pretty amazing for a UHF only antenna at this distance and full summer vegetation conditions.

Philips MANT940, Indoor/Outdoor UHF Antenna. Horizontal, Narrow side of Wedge to Front. Height 14' (2nd floor Balcony rail), 27 miles to transmitters.

I'm using this antenna on a KWorld USB HDTV Tuner Stick into my AMD Dual Core 5600 centered computer.

I still doubt Ch 5.1 is going to cut it with this antenna (or any other indoor), but based on the numbers above, I think there is an excellent chance that Ch 8.1 may just make it, as it is less than 10% lower in frequency than Ch 11.1, as I recall.

Looks like everybody switched OK. From downtown DSM, I can see 5, 8, 11 23, and 39 just fine (of course 13 and 17, too). I see 39's four programs, and KDMI is appearing as 19-1 now (RF channel 23 for the time being.)

Sure is a lot of activity on most of the AVS forums tonight :D

Anyone seeing KEFB?

- Trip

No KEFB for me in Des Moines

DirecTV boxes are not picking up 19-1, 39-2, 39-3, and 39-4

Sitting in North Boone with houses surrounding me, I'm able to pick up 8, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23 with my set-top antenna (glorified rabbit ears). WOI didn't make the cut, but I expected as much.

hasan, good to hear the signals working as they are out in Ogden, I should be back with WOI once I get my "real" antenna installed.

Interesting one (or maybe I don't understand something).

I'm getting most everything (except WOI) on my D* box. I can get 11-2 and 11-3, but not 11-1. I get the "Searching for signal..." message. Does that even make sense???

Interesting one (or maybe I don't understand something).

I'm getting most everything (except WOI) on my D* box. I can get 11-2 and 11-3, but not 11-1. I get the "Searching for signal..." message. Does that even make sense???

I had that exact issue, just do a complete reset of the off air settings, then repeat initial setup.

FWIW, I am at my parents' place in Norwalk and can pick up 8, 11 13, 17, 23. 5 does not work at all. Oddly, signal for 8 is way higher than 11 and 13.

I had that exact issue, just do a complete reset of the off air settings, then repeat initial setup.

FWIW, I am at my parents' place in Norwalk and can pick up 8, 11 13, 17, 23. 5 does not work at all. Oddly, signal for 8 is way higher than 11 and 13.

OK, thanks. The really bizarre part is that if I check the signal on 11-1 it's in the 80s. I had done the reset on the OTA setting, just hadn't repeated initial setup. I'll give it a shot.

i have to manually set my Vista Media Center ATSC channels since MS and Zap 2 it (the guide ms uses) are incapable of doing such

i know that 13 is physically on 13.1 but what about the other Dsm channels?

thanks

i have vista 64bit a Hauppage 2250 dual atsc dual analog and a white RCA Flat antennae

All channels except WOI are coming in fine here in Pella. Neither my TV nor Win 7 MC will tune in WOI. Even if I manually tune the channel I get 0 signal strength. I have a Winegard MS-2000 which has been great for picking up all the DM stations as well as fox affiliates in Ottumwa and Cedar Rapids prior to the switch. I had my fingers crossed, but I guess I can live without WOI...

i have to manually set my Vista Media Center ATSC channels since MS and Zap 2 it (the guide ms uses) are incapable of doing such

i know that 13 is physically on 13.1 but what about the other Dsm channels?

thanks

i have vista 64bit a Hauppage 2250 dual atsc dual analog and a white RCA Flat antennae

5.x on RF 5
8.x on RF 8
11.x on RF 11
13.x on RF 13
17.x on RF 16
23.1 and 19.1 on RF 23
39.x on RF 39

Hope I didn't miss anyone. :D

I had that exact issue, just do a complete reset of the off air settings, then repeat initial setup.

Ditto on that...a complete erasure of the channel memory before rescanning seems to cure a lot of problems on many different TV's and STB's as well as Dish and DirectTV.

If you don't get 5, a good VHF/UHF Yagi mounted outdoors may be your only solution. Unfortunately, that's not an option for many.

5.x on RF 5
8.x on RF 8
11.x on RF 11
13.x on RF 13
17.x on RF 16
23.1 and 19.1 on RF 23
39.x on RF 39

Hope I didn't miss anyone. :D

http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/Welcome.aspx also has updated frequencies for channels in your area (just click "Choose an antenna" and enter your zip code).

Well, with the DTV transition KCCI went to a 100% Signal Strength to 73%. Still very usuable. WOI went to nothing. I don't know what they are going to do? Apply to move to a different channel? Sure makes sense why omaha's stations stayed in UHF..

Agreeing with what everyone else has said, WOI went to zero signal strength for me too and I live in West Des Moines and use an indoor loop right by the window. A few of the channels above 23 also disappeared but I didn't care about them. CBS is now 85%, NBC is 85%, FOX is 80%, PBS is 73% (way down), and 23 whatever it is called is 100% after some adjusting, no antennae location changes. Previously CBS and NBC were 99%, and FOX was 80% so FOX stayed the same. There doesn't seem to be any adjustment that will bring NBC and CBS back up to the high levels they were at a week ago. I did a complete delete of the locals and a rescan a few times.

So how does the digital transition actually help anyone? Seems strange that it would actually hurt those with antennas and force people toward cable or satellite as they lose channels like WOI. Why would WOI go to zero signal strength and not 50% or 60% and just be gone like this? How is WOI just gone?

I'm using a Dish Network 722 to tune them with an indoor RCA amplified antennae. Yes, I have the locals in HD from Dish, but liked to have them OTA also. More recording options that way. --THANKS!

http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/Welcome.aspx also has updated frequencies for channels in your area (just click "Choose an antenna" and enter your zip code).

Better yet, for actually seeing what a given site has for signal, is tvfool.com. Give that a shot, it gives a LOT more info that is pertinent about the local area and site conditions..

Agreeing with what everyone else has said, WOI went to zero signal strength for me too and I live in West Des Moines and use an indoor loop right by the window. A few of the channels above 23 also disappeared but I didn't care about them. CBS is now 85%, NBC is 85%, FOX is 80%, PBS is 73% (way down), and 23 whatever it is called is 100% after some adjusting, no antennae location changes. Previously CBS and NBC were 99%, and FOX was 80% so FOX stayed the same. There doesn't seem to be any adjustment that will bring NBC and CBS back up to the high levels they were at a week ago. I did a complete delete of the locals and a rescan a few times.

So how does the digital transition actually help anyone? Seems strange that it would actually hurt those with antennas and force people toward cable or satellite as they lose channels like WOI. Why would WOI go to zero signal strength and not 50% or 60% and just be gone like this? How is WOI just gone?

I'm using a Dish Network 722 to tune them with an indoor RCA amplified antennae. Yes, I have the locals in HD from Dish, but liked to have them OTA also. More recording options that way. --THANKS!

I know that you are not that far from WOI's tower, but even still, indoor reports with VHF-HI have not been great, and WOI-DT is actually on RF channel 5 now, which is VHF-LO. Try putting your rabbitears all the way extended, with each side, parallel to the ground, not in the typical "V" that everyone is used. (TV is horizontally polarized, hence the way the antenna should set)

I know that you are not that far from WOI's tower, but even still, indoor reports with VHF-HI have not been great, and WOI-DT is actually on RF channel 5 now, which is VHF-LO. Try putting your rabbitears all the way extended, with each side, parallel to the ground, not in the typical "V" that everyone is used. (TV is horizontally polarized, hence the way the antenna should set)

Whoa, I thought they all went digital and UHF so there was no need for anything other than a UHF loop! No wonder I can't get WOI. I removed my rabbit ears thinking they were no longer needed for digital. Who else is VHF now? I still lost WOI with the rabbit ears attached but I guess I need schooling on how to still pick up a digital signal.

Whoa, I thought they all went digital and UHF so there was no need for anything other than a UHF loop! No wonder I can't get WOI. I removed my rabbit ears thinking they were no longer needed for digital. Who else is VHF now?

8, 11, 13.

- Trip

...There doesn't seem to be any adjustment that will bring NBC and CBS back up to the high levels they were at a week ago...

...tune them with an indoor RCA amplified antennae...

KCCI moved from 31 to 8, so seeing a change was likely there. WHO has been on 13 since February and didn't change anything Friday.

I've been finding amplified indoor antennas just don't do well with VHF. Try old-fashioned rabbit-ears...deploy them as described in previous posts. Also, if your rabbit-ears has an adjustment knob, be ready to use it.

8, 11, 13.

- Trip

8, 11, 13 are still rabbit ear signals? Why do I get them stronger from a loop antennae with nothing else? I unscrewed the long antennaes and removed them, suddenly 8 and 13 went to 85% from low 70's. Not trying to argue, just curious. No wonder WOI went away though.

I may not know the difference between UHF and VHF. I thought UHF was the loop and VHF was the antennae. Loop=UHF, VHF = rabbit ear. I could be backwards.

They're VHF, whatever you're using to receive them. I can't explain the voodoo that goes into receiving them on an indoor antenna. :D

- Trip

Agreeing with what everyone else has said, WOI went to zero signal strength for me too and I live in West Des Moines and use an indoor loop right by the window. A few of the channels above 23 also disappeared but I didn't care about them. CBS is now 85%, NBC is 85%, FOX is 80%, PBS is 73% (way down), and 23 whatever it is called is 100% after some adjusting, no antennae location changes. Previously CBS and NBC were 99%, and FOX was 80% so FOX stayed the same. There doesn't seem to be any adjustment that will bring NBC and CBS back up to the high levels they were at a week ago. I did a complete delete of the locals and a rescan a few times.

So how does the digital transition actually help anyone? Seems strange that it would actually hurt those with antennas and force people toward cable or satellite as they lose channels like WOI. Why would WOI go to zero signal strength and not 50% or 60% and just be gone like this? How is WOI just gone?

I'm using a Dish Network 722 to tune them with an indoor RCA amplified antennae. Yes, I have the locals in HD from Dish, but liked to have them OTA also. More recording options that way. --THANKS!

The digital transition itself needs to be separated from the change in frequencies. They are two different issues.

The change to digital was badly needed. We have been stuck with late 1940's technology (with all its inherent limits) since 1947. We now have all major networks providing not only a digital signal of obviously better quality than any analog we've ever seen, but also a High Definition signal much of the time that is nothing short of stunning.

If all the stations had stayed on UHF with high power (as they had been for over a year), we would all be smiling. I was able to receive all the stations at no less than 75% quality with an indoor antenna 24" off the ground, at a distance of 27 miles from the transmitter complex when all were on UHF.

With indoor antennas:

When 13 moved from 19 UHF to 13 VHF, many (but not all) lost 13.
When 8 and 11 moved from 31 and 50 respectively to 8 and 11, many more lost them. (but not all)
When 5 moved from 59 to 5, nearly everyone lost 5.

Several factors contribute to this loss:

1. Decreased antenna efficiency on the receive side.
2. Increased ambient noise on the lower frequencies.
3. Dramatic lowering of transmit power by the TV stations that is not made up by the decrease in path loss by lowering the transmit frequency.

Reports indicate that maintaining RF output levels of several hundred thousand watts was costing the TV stations an additional 10,000 to 15,000 dollars per month (over what it would cost to run VHF)

Because the laws of physics haven't changed, small indoor antennas are not particularly effective on VHF. It is impossible for them to be efficient, period.

Basically, the TV stations have opted to save money and expect that the TV consumer will put up the necessary receive antenna to do the job. Consumers have two choices: put up a good antenna, or change providers. (or for that matter, stop watching TV).

It is what it is. Apartment dwellers on the fringe are not going to receive Ch. 5 unless they are blind-dumb-lucky. Inefficient, indoor antennas only a few feet off the ground and in the immediate proximity of other electronic devices (read interfering/noise producing devices) are not going to do the job at least from Boone out toward Ogden (my test area).

I had a low noise preamped flat panel VHF/UHF RCA antenna that worked perfectly at 24" above ground for all stations prior to Feb 17. On that date, Ch. 13 became problematic, but I found a new sweet spot that let me receive it reliably.

On June 13th I lost 5, 8, 11 on this same setup.

On June 14th I raised my indoor antenna by 12 feet by putting it on the balcony railing. I also changed from the RCA flat panel to the UHF only Philips MANT940 (rotating it to horizontal, narrow side of wedge to the front.)

This resulted in all stations from Ch. 8 on up being at or near 100% signal quality. Channel 5 shows no signal whatsoever.

My medium sized Channel Master on the roof shows all stations !00% signal quality, including Ch. 5.

For people on the fringe of indoor service, there is only one solution:

Improve your antenna. Going outside, even with the smallest VHF/UHF combo Yagi (like the one sold at Wal-Mart for about $68) produces solid signals on all channels in the Boone/Ogden area. Further away, get a bigger antenna, and higher is better.

I'm old enough to remember when we all had outside antennas, and nearly everyone also had a TOWER! (living in Dubuque in the 50's and early 60's.) No one whined and sniveled about having to have an outside antenna. No one complained about drilling a silly hole. Apartment owners provided OTA antennas on the roof and the requisite splitters/distribution amps for their tenants. (this was before cable)

Basically, many have become spoiled. They forgot what it takes to do things right, and even when recalling same, some insist that they shouldn't have to make the effort. There ain't no free lunch.

The digital move was a good one. The TV stations moving frequencies was a financial decision, that may do more harm than good, but only time will tell.

We, as consumers, need get off our backsides, stop wringing our hands, and do what it takes. It ain't rocket science, and it isn't expensive....and some people are just out of luck, through no fault of their own. It was that way in the 50's and 60's, and it will be that way in the larger near future, as well.

If you can do something, do it. Whining about the transition isn't going to change a thing. (and I don't mean the OP was whining...I just hear a lot of it, from a lot of people, and it has begun to annoy me).

Saturday morning when I woke up of course and all the channels were messed up. So I went to rescan my LG and all the channels came in good except for 34 and 39 where the signals were very poor. So next I reset the off-air channels on the Directv box and then rescanned them. Doing this I could only get 8.13. and 17. So I switched the coax feeds form the LG and redid the Directv box and everything showed up (including 5) except for 39.1,34.1, and 23.1 which was 19.1. Just have to wait for Directv to get their act together. The difference in signals as that the original coax was hooked up to a Winegard SS-2000(UHF) and the other was a old Radioshack atenna(VHF-UHF) in the attic. So my nice relatively new Winegard is basically useless. Tried the Winegard on my audio receiver and it worked great. Thank goodness for putting in the old RS antenna 14 years ago.

Saturday morning when I woke up of course and all the channels were messed up. So I went to rescan my LG and all the channels came in good except for 34 and 39 where the signals were very poor. So next I reset the off-air channels on the Directv box and then rescanned them. Doing this I could only get 8.13. and 17. So I switched the coax feeds form the LG and redid the Directv box and everything showed up (including 5) except for 39.1,34.1, and 23.1 which was 19.1. Just have to wait for Directv to get their act together. The difference in signals as that the original coax was hooked up to a Winegard SS-2000(UHF) and the other was a old Radioshack atenna(VHF-UHF) in the attic. So my nice relatively new Winegard is basically useless. Tried the Winegard on my audio receiver and it worked great. Thank goodness for putting in the old RS antenna 14 years ago.

You don't mention which D* receiver you have, but the procedure for recovering your sat box's OTA channels is straightforward:

1. Menu > Setup > System Setup > Settings > Sat & Antenna > Antenna Setup > Reset Settings

Go through the full setup after the reset settings ( do the Initial Settings after you complete the Reset Settings)

This procedure clears out conflicting data and gives you a fresh start. I had to do it on all 4 of my D* receivers for them to work correctly on OTA, and so did everyone else having OTA issues on the dbstalk forums.

At this point, you will get all the channels that D* is currently supporting in their database of OTA channels. Depending on model, it may not be every channel. There are still some errors in the database used by D*.

If, after doing the full setup described above, you are missing a channel you think you should be getting, call the TV station and ask to speak to the engineer in charge. When you get this person, explain (very nicely) the problem you are having and ask them to contact Tribune Media with their current correct info. They may say they have already done that. At this point, mention that it appears that Tribune may have dropped the ball, and that a call from the TV station has solved problems like this before.

Many of us with D* boxes have been through this several times, and with the help of the local TV engineer, the problems have been solved. Contacting D* has not done any good in the past (in resolving frequency issues).

Saturday morning when I woke up of course and all the channels were messed up. So I went to rescan my LG and all the channels came in good except for 34 and 39 where the signals were very poor. So next I reset the off-air channels on the Directv box and then rescanned them. Doing this I could only get 8.13. and 17. So I switched the coax feeds form the LG and redid the Directv box and everything showed up (including 5) except for 39.1,34.1, and 23.1 which was 19.1. Just have to wait for Directv to get their act together. The difference in signals as that the original coax was hooked up to a Winegard SS-2000(UHF) and the other was a old Radioshack atenna(VHF-UHF) in the attic. So my nice relatively new Winegard is basically useless. Tried the Winegard on my audio receiver and it worked great. Thank goodness for putting in the old RS antenna 14 years ago.

You should join the Radio Shack antenna and the Winegard together (use the RS for VHF only and the Winegard for UHF only) with a Pico Micro UHF/VHF combiner, that may help you all the way around and use what you have at your arms length...

You should join the Radio Shack antenna and the Winegard together (use the RS for VHF only and the Winegard for UHF only) with a Pico Micro UHF/VHF combiner, that may help you all the way around and use what you have at your arms length...

The full reset and your suggestion should fill the bill, thanks for pointing that out!

The full reset and your suggestion should fill the bill, thanks for pointing that out!

I would appreciate it, if you reported back with your results!

I would appreciate it, if you reported back with your results!

That's the other poster, I was just complimenting you on catching the other potential problem (on the RF side) that I failed to address.

I don't have any problems with the D* boxes that aren't channel mapping based (D*'s database from Tribune has some errors and omissions in it.)

Sorry I didn't get back to this sooner but it has been a very bad day with work. Thanks gjvrieze for the suggestion about combing the two antennas. I just forgot that I could do that but I will have to get the combiner. I have both a HR-22(100) and a HR-20(700), they are acting identical. Good luck everyone with the conversion.

Aha! I finally found an indoor antenna that will receive 5.1/5.2. I put it in the same location (upstairs balcony wooden rail), that I had the Philips MANT940, which would not (and should not) receive LO-Band VHF.

The antenna is an RCA 1050. It is a linearly loaded dipole with two elements, one of which should be marginal for Lo-Band VHF and the other for Hi-Band VHF through UHF. It would not be acceptable without a low noise preamp. I took the preamp module of an RCA flat panel antenna and used it.

The antenna construction is unusual. It is a flexible wing (two wings joined in the middle), very thin, with what I would almost call wide printed circuit traces embedded in the thin flexible plastic wings. The only reason I considered even trying this antenna was the dual-frequency or dual-band construction.

I have been unable (until this antenna/preamp combo) to get 5.1/5.2.

Signal Levels:

5.1 3 or 4 out of 6
8.1 6/6
11.1 6/6
13.1 6/6
17.1 5/6
19.1 6/6
23.1 6/6

In the two hours I've been keeping an eye on 5.1, I have not seen a single pixellation or other signal interruption.

Now I can receive ABC on my Kworld USB HDTV Stick and Computer. I'm glad the unusual construction caught my eye, as I had earlier dismissed this antenna as nothing but a low-budget ($14.00) dipole. It is low budget, but the dual-band construction has something going for it. In this area (3 miles north of Ogden), the preamp is essential.

A combiner helps alot to blend UHF and VHF with minimal signal loss, weather you use 2 indoor or 2 outdoor antennas. Been using the same outdoor antenna setup for over 12 years. I use a radio shack VHF that looks alot like the wingaurd without the small UHF elements. Below the VHF, have a seperate UHF antenna mounted on same pole, with both leads going into a VHF/UHF combiner. Antennas are about 3 and 5 foot off the roof plane. Coax feeds 3 outlets without an in-line amp. Worked great for analog, works great for digital.

I live near the airport in Des Moines, on a small hill with no obstructions to the north. Signal reads as follows.

5.1 - 91%
8.1 - 95%
11.1 - 86%
13.1 - 93%
17.1 - 92%
19.1 - 98%
23.1 - 98%

I get nothing for 39.1 with a scan on 3 different devices, never got anything other than a very fuzzy picture with analog 39, but I never turned the UHF to the northeast to try for better as it would hurt my other channels.

Seems like I paid around $75 for both the antennas and combiner back then....money well spent.

A combiner helps alot to blend UHF and VHF with minimal signal loss, weather you use 2 indoor or 2 outdoor antennas. Been using the same outdoor antenna setup for over 12 years. I use a radio shack VHF that looks alot like the wingaurd without the small UHF elements. Below the VHF, have a seperate UHF antenna mounted on same pole, with both leads going into a VHF/UHF combiner. Antennas are about 3 and 5 foot off the roof plane. Coax feeds 3 outlets without an in-line amp. Worked great for analog, works great for digital.

I live near the airport in Des Moines, on a small hill with no obstructions to the north. Signal reads as follows.

5.1 - 91%
8.1 - 95%
11.1 - 86%
13.1 - 93%
17.1 - 92%
19.1 - 98%
23.1 - 98%

I get nothing for 39.1 with a scan on 3 different devices, never got anything other than a very fuzzy picture with analog 39, but I never turned the UHF to the northeast to try for better as it would hurt my other channels.

Seems like I paid around $75 for both the antennas and combiner back then....money well spent.

That's a very nice setup, and very solid signals. Congrats on your efforts (even if they are old efforts):).

I have very good elevation around here (both in terms of HAAT and ASL (1135')), and with a medium sized CM VHF/UHF combo, I'm seeing 100% on virtually all the channels you list. We come again, to the bottom line (for indoor fringe locations): an outside antenna (even quite small) can make a problematic situation literally disappear.

Quite a number of folks in the Boone area are having problems with their full sized antennas even in the attic. I don't know if it is the result of aluminum backed insulation bags, metalized shingles, or what, but they are having a very difficult time. The same people, if they put up what could only be described as a tiny combo vhf/uhf antenna, are getting all the channels, (including 5.x), with no difficulty whatsoever. (or they could simply save their money, and move the antenna outside)

The very small combo antenna (RCA) being sold at Wal-Mart for 68 bucks has solved their problem. I would recommend it or something like it, but not necessarily from Wally World. I think one could get a much better deal from SolidSignal.com for the same or similar antenna, and for the same 68 dollars, they could get a significantly larger antenna.

Thanks for posting your antenna, location and signal levels. It may be of help to others having problems since the frequency/power changes.

Are any of you guys experiencing this scenario? Apparently for some people, just doing the auto rescan of a DTV receiver fails to get it to lock in on the new VHF DTV channels, if that tuner had previously locked to those channels when they were UHF. Of course, for many people it is a VHF antenna reception problem, pure and simple, but in some situations where antenna problems are mostly ruled out, it's as if a software bug in the tuner fails to clear prior channel settings, like it's supposed to when you run an autoscan. A factory reset can do the trick, of course, but not every viewer is able to find that in their menus. But, I'm hearing from reputable sources that one rescan with the antenna completely disconnected, followed by a second rescan with the antenna hooked back up again will do the trick on some units. If anybody on this thread has experienced that, I would appreciate your feedback, along with any info you might have on type/make/model of receiver. I have yet to have encountered this situation in person, but am hearing a lot of anecdotes to this effect. And it's hard to confirm whether this is happening over the phone when you've got callers who can't tell the top of their remote control from the bottom. :eek:

Thanks, folks!

Are any of you guys experiencing this scenario? Apparently for some people, just doing the auto rescan of a DTV receiver fails to get it to lock in on the new VHF DTV channels, if that tuner had previously locked to those channels when they were UHF. Of course, for many people it is a VHF antenna reception problem, pure and simple, but in some situations where antenna problems are mostly ruled out, it's as if a software bug in the tuner fails to clear prior channel settings, like it's supposed to when you run an autoscan. A factory reset can do the trick, of course, but not every viewer is able to find that in their menus. But, I'm hearing from reputable sources that one rescan with the antenna completely disconnected, followed by a second rescan with the antenna hooked back up again will do the trick on some units. If anybody on this thread has experienced that, I would appreciate your feedback, along with any info you might have on type/make/model of receiver. I have yet to have encountered this situation in person, but am hearing a lot of anecdotes to this effect. And it's hard to confirm whether this is happening over the phone when you've got callers who can't tell the top of their remote control from the bottom. :eek:

Thanks, folks!

What I found out with all of my DTV OTA tuners was that I had to do a full reset...start from scratch, before all channels appeared at their proper frequency. Just redoing the initial setup is not sufficient. The database remains corrupted (as your post may have noted).

But, I'm hearing from reputable sources that one rescan with the antenna completely disconnected, followed by a second rescan with the antenna hooked back up again will do the trick on some units.:eek:

Apparently one of those "reputable sources" is the FCC, which issued this press release Monday:

http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-291403A1.pdf

As for getting Des Moines, I just got back from a relative's house in Ames and gave it a shot. The Silver Sensor I got for those stations -- back in the day when they were all UHF -- got 8 and 13 somewhat OK, but the TV wouldn't even acknowledge that 5 existed. A standard-issue Radio Shack antenna with the rabbit ears and a loop in the middle solved that issue, and it was also getting the UHF stations OK.

I'm near Newton, so it's a good 30 miles NW to the transmitters, and I'm using indoor antennas to boot (a nothing-special Terk and an old Rat Shack piece o' dreck)--but at least they're pointing straight out the living room window at the transmitters. Got home late Sun. night and recanned the Sharp LCD and the DTV Pal CECB. As usual, the two didn't pick up all the same channels. The Pal got KCCI--just barely--but not WOI. Oddly enough, it got a solid lock on KFXA in Cedar Rapids. Go figure. No dice on 'CCI or WOI on the TV. I moved the TV's antenna up about 2-1/2 feet, recanned, and >>wallah!<< WOI and KCCI came in well enough to maintain a pixellation-free lock on both signals.....at least in clear weather.

The Pal went wonky and assigned bogus frequency numbers in the 70s to all the channels that had changed to a different physical frequency on 6/12. As many AVS commenters have observed, it isn't the best CECB out there, but I suspect zeroing it back to factory settings and doing a clean scan will get the correct channel numbers assigned.

So except for a few minor bumps, my "transition" has been pretty smooth. Actually, I'd been watching digital exclusively for more than a year, so my only concern was whether I'd lose any channels. Overall, digital subchannels have added a little more variety to the OTA offerings from DSM, but I gotta say they remind me of the old Springsteen song, "57 Channels and Nuthin' On"...... (Very annoying was KDIN's move a few months ago to all kids programming on 11.2 and elimination of repeats of prime-time stuff between 11.1 and 11.2. Sigh.)

To get a better, all-weather lock on WOI, 'CCI, and FOX 17 and get the telescoping antennas out of the living room, however, I'm kind of thinking of mounting an outdoor antenna under the eave of the house, sorta like a satellite dish (I don't go on roofs).

Des Moines:

23-1 and 19-1 are dark as of 6:00 p.m.

I'm guessing a transmitter problem. All TV's showing same absence of signal (3 different antennas)

KCWI/KDMI...transmitter problem. Ion pump, I believe (CWilde will know what that is :).)

My recollection is they have only one transmitter cabinet set up for digital...their other cabinets are awaiting retrofit from analog service to DT. Hopefully Mike can dig some spare parts from the other cabinets and get going.

That's a very nice setup, and very solid signals. Congrats on your efforts (even if they are old efforts):).

I have very good elevation around here (both in terms of HAAT and ASL (1135')), and with a medium sized CM VHF/UHF combo, I'm seeing 100% on virtually all the channels you list. We come again, to the bottom line (for indoor fringe locations): an outside antenna (even quite small) can make a problematic situation literally disappear.

Quite a number of folks in the Boone area are having problems with their full sized antennas even in the attic. I don't know if it is the result of aluminum backed insulation bags, metalized shingles, or what, but they are having a very difficult time. The same people, if they put up what could only be described as a tiny combo vhf/uhf antenna, are getting all the channels, (including 5.x), with no difficulty whatsoever. (or they could simply save their money, and move the antenna outside)

The very small combo antenna (RCA) being sold at Wal-Mart for 68 bucks has solved their problem. I would recommend it or something like it, but not necessarily from Wally World. I think one could get a much better deal from SolidSignal.com for the same or similar antenna, and for the same 68 dollars, they could get a significantly larger antenna.

Thanks for posting your antenna, location and signal levels. It may be of help to others having problems since the frequency/power changes.


I never had good results with an attic antenna setup, I tried that before going with an outdoor pole mount, there would always be one channel that had a ghosting problem or weak signal. Asphalt shingles do not pass TV signals very well, might as well stick with rabbit ears, a wall or window can pass signal better than the roof can, in many cases.

Wanted to mention also, those UHF/VHF combiners are sold as indoor types with seamed plastic case, or heavy duty sealed metal case for outdoor use. I bought the cheaper indoor type but modified it for outdoor use. I made my termanal and coax connections, put a plactic baggie over it and wrapped it up in electrical tape. Then I gave it a nice coat of roofing tar, it is still working fine 12 years later.

My original outdoor setup was mounted on the smaller type pole, for a mast I used a larger metal vent pipe on the roof, and mounted the small pole to the larger pole with a couple of U clamp bolts, tightening them just enough so the small pipe started to bend to the shape of the larger pipe just a little bit. That works OK if your antenna height is low.

Later I drilled a hole in the roof and put in a sat pole with flashing, so all my antennas and satellite dish share the same roost now. If you do that, get the pole level so you can set up your dish right. And make sure the bottom of the pole in your attic sits on a cross board with another board nailed on top of that one with a hole drilled into it the size of your pole. This board will be your guide that you can move to get the pole level. Have the pole come thru the roof at the edge of a truss, and put a U bolt thru the truss by drilling a couple small holes thru it. Secure it at the bottom too, where it inserts into the board with the hole you drilled into it that matches your pipe size. Drill a hole in the side of that board and into the pipe, then put a screw into it. Then your pole will never turn and you will have a super solid mount. You can also use the pipe to feed all your cables thru into your attic, just pre drill a smaller hole in the lower cross board that your pole rests on, and feed them thru there. Make sure to put the correct sized flashing for your pipe so your roof won't leak. And at the top of the pole where your wires feed in, cake that with gutter calking when you get done.

Does'nt that sound like an easy and fun way to make your antenna mount ? lol

KCWI/KDMI...transmitter problem. Ion pump, I believe (CWilde will know what that is :).)

My recollection is they have only one transmitter cabinet set up for digital...their other cabinets are awaiting retrofit from analog service to DT. Hopefully Mike can dig some spare parts from the other cabinets and get going.

They're back.

They're back.

...and at what appears to be full strength. Not that I watch either one much, but I do use them as a propagation monitor.

Did a "double-rescan" on the DTVPal last night: disconnected the antenna, deleted the old channels, scanned so it picked up nothing, then rescanned with the antenna hooked up. All channels are now present and accounted for, with their proper frequency numbers assigned. Despite weather that I wouldn't consider optimal, WOI and KCCI were coming in just fine.

Did anyone else catch any DX last night? Around 8PM , just for the heck of it I hooked up my INDOOR Radio Shack antenna (my wife calls it the Enterprise).I did a scan, and to my surprise, I was recieving KIMT 3 from Mason City, and KAAL 6 from Austin MN.! I live about 45 NW of Des Moines, actually a lot of normally fringe stations were coming in. I watched for about 4 hours before going to bed, anyway thought both of those were good catches. Mike

Anyone seeing KEFB?

- Trip

Are these guys on the air or not? My grandmother misses this channel. I stopped by her place in Ames today to make sure all was well with her converter box, and this was the only thing missing. I saw no signal on 34, and my understanding was that they were remaining on 34. A rescan didn't pick up anything new.

She also said "that channel eight two" is just "weather all the time." Yeah, Grandma...that's kind of the point!

Are these guys on the air or not? My grandmother misses this channel. I stopped by her place in Ames today to make sure all was well with her converter box, and this was the only thing missing. I saw no signal on 34, and my understanding was that they were remaining on 34. A rescan didn't pick up anything new.

She also said "that channel eight two" is just "weather all the time." Yeah, Grandma...that's kind of the point!

I don't think so. I've scanned with 4 different receivers on 3 different antennas (two of which are outside and high) and no go.

I didn't get either 34 or 39 when I was in Ames last Monday. Every other area station was fine after I added the VHF rabbit ears to the set-up I had over there.

34 analog was always snowy for me, though. 39 analog was OK even from the site near Baxter, and should be even better if they have in fact moved to Alleman. (Not that I spent much time actually watching either channel.)

KDMI (19.1) now appears to an amalgam of This TV and My Network. This TV's lineup is from the MGM/UA library (the stuff NOT owned by Turner/Warner), which also includes some Orion and ZIV-TV titles.

I couldn't find a schedule at KCWI's website. Try Zap2it.com. After establishing your provider, click on KDMIDT, then click View Entire Week to see a five-day schedule.

While looking at KCWI's website last week, they had something posted about replacing America One on with "programming from the MGM library", in other words This TV. Since KWWL also carries This on a subchannel, you can look at their schedule since they are identical nationwide, other than for the prime time hours when KDMI will break away from This.

I didn't get either 34 or 39 when I was in Ames last Monday. Every other area station was fine after I added the VHF rabbit ears to the set-up I had over there.

34 analog was always snowy for me, though. 39 analog was OK even from the site near Baxter, and should be even better if they have in fact moved to Alleman. (Not that I spent much time actually watching either channel.)

39 won't be moving to Alleman any time soon.

I get 39 without much trouble at home...but no 34.

I just added a Channel Master CM 7777 Antenna Mounted Preamp to my RCA ANT1050 (Flat Batwing, $14 Wal-Mart) on the balcony rail (wood). The Noise Figure of this preamp is around 2 dB, which is excellent for a TV preamp.

I am now getting (Ch 5.1) 4 bars out of 6 on my HDTV Tuner Stick at a distance of 27 miles (Ogden). Using two other preamps (much cheaper), I was getting 3 out of 6 bars. One preamp was the $24 cheapie at Wal-Mart, which worked well, considering it has a specified 5 dB Noise Figure (which isn't that great)

All the other locals are 6 out of 6 bars, except 17.1, which is 5/6.

Before going out and spending a bunch of money on a "special" set of Rabbit Ears, you might try this cheap Batwing with a preamp. It outperforms every other antenna sold at Wal-Mart, or any other electronics store in the area (aside from a real TV antenna (outside yagi/lp)

This is if you need Lo-Band VHF coverage. If you don't, then I've found the Philips MANT940 to be excellent from Ch 8.1 on up. Just be sure to mount it horizontally, narrow wedge forward, and don't use the included coax (it's rubbish).

http://www.northpine.com/broadcast/


IOWA:


My Network TV affiliate KDMI/19.1 (Des Moines) is now carrying ThisTV instead of AmericaOne in the hours outside of MNT programming.

KDMI is actually not currently on the air, but is a remapped subchannel of sister station KCWI-TV/23 (Ames-Des Moines).


KDMI-DT had operated as a digital-only station on channel 56

but had to leave that channel on June 12 because it is one of the channels discontinued as part of the digital transition (52-69).



KDMI-DT has chosen to move to channel 19, WHO-DT's old channel, but is not yet ready to begin broadcasts. (6/24/2009)


http://www.northpine.com/broadcast/

The HD encoder for KDSM failed this morning. 17-2 is still available, and most cable and dish providers have fallen back to that SD signal to feed their systems. I'm not aware of an ETA for repair.

I have a LARGE antenna (UHF, VHF) in my attic, I hooked up an amplifier to it the other day and it did not seem to help. I am only getting about 62% signal strength. I live in Urbandale so I assume I am close enough to the tower for good reception. I also believe that I have it pointed in the correct direction. Should I stop messing with it and just hook it up outside? I have one layer of shingles also.

My Network TV affiliate KDMI/19.1 (Des Moines) is now carrying ThisTV instead of AmericaOne in the hours outside of MNT programming.

Well, so much for getting to watch the CFL this year. They've abandoned me as a viewer. I liked AmericaOne, and there's no way I can pick up the broadcast from Marshalltown.

I have a LARGE antenna (UHF, VHF) in my attic, I hooked up an amplifier to it the other day and it did not seem to help. I am only getting about 62% signal strength. I live in Urbandale so I assume I am close enough to the tower for good reception. I also believe that I have it pointed in the correct direction. Should I stop messing with it and just hook it up outside? I have one layer of shingles also.

Yeah, put it on the roof and point it NE, if you have a METAL vent pipe that comes off the roof line a couple feet, you can try U-bolts to join the 2 pipes together. Otherwise get a mount/mast that bolts to the roof, preferably into a truss or cross stud so it's solid. Put it near one end or the other if you have a gable type roof, then feed the cable in thru the eve board after you drill your half inch hole, 3/4 inch if the cable already has the connector end attached. You can buy a rubber cap to feed onto the cable and cover the hole after you calk it. Bet you will be alot happier with the large antenna you bought after you get it up there. Make sure to get it at least 3 foot above the roof line or the roof will interfere with the way the antenna collects the signal. And don't put it up any higher than you have to, those one inch diameter antenna mount poles are not all that strong, and you don't want lightning to hit it.

I installed a Winegard HD 7210P antenna last night to replace my UHF only antenna. Now I get all the Allemon channels at 90%+ and the 39xxxx channels at 69% even though the antenna is not pointed right for them . I live in Indianola, about 30 miles from the tower. My signal is split 4 times (3tv's and 1 FM radio) with no pre-amp. I'm pleased with my purchase. Phil

I have a LARGE antenna (UHF, VHF) in my attic, I hooked up an amplifier to it the other day and it did not seem to help. I am only getting about 62% signal strength. I live in Urbandale so I assume I am close enough to the tower for good reception. I also believe that I have it pointed in the correct direction. Should I stop messing with it and just hook it up outside? I have one layer of shingles also.

Go outside, the difference is astounding. I would be surprised if you didn't get full scale signals on nearly all channels, assuming your coax cable and connections are ok.

I'm 27 miles NW of Alleman, and I get full scale signals across the board, save one channel (17.1 is 8/10), with nothing more than a medium sized Channel Master.

Did a "double-rescan" on the DTVPal last night: disconnected the antenna, deleted the old channels, scanned so it picked up nothing, then rescanned with the antenna hooked up. All channels are now present and accounted for, with their proper frequency numbers assigned. Despite weather that I wouldn't consider optimal, WOI and KCCI were coming in just fine.


doswonk... are you getting any PSIP data in the guide on your DTVPAL for WHO or WOI? I've got the OTA DTVPAL DVR and the last few days I've had "No Information" for these channels. All the others populate well in the guide. Anyone else with different hadward receive PSIP or Info data for these channels?

Hi All,

I am hoping someone can help me out. Recently I have lost all signal from 5,8,11 and 13. The only one I am still getting a signal for is 17, which is almost full strength. I figured I needed a new antenna, so I went out and bought the following from Radioshack.

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2348191

I live on the north side of Grimes, and I would think I am close enough to get full strength reception. After installing that antenna, and taking it up on the roof, pointing it NE, I got NO change in signal. Not a difference from the cheap rabbit ears I was using. How can this be? Did I not buy the appropriate antenna? Any help would be appreciated as I am really missing my locals! :)

Thanks,
Ron

Hi All,

I am hoping someone can help me out. Recently I have lost all signal from 5,8,11 and 13. The only one I am still getting a signal for is 17, which is almost full strength. I figured I needed a new antenna, so I went out and bought the following from Radioshack.

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2348191

I live on the north side of Grimes, and I would think I am close enough to get full strength reception. After installing that antenna, and taking it up on the roof, pointing it NE, I got NO change in signal. Not a difference from the cheap rabbit ears I was using. How can this be? Did I not buy the appropriate antenna? Any help would be appreciated as I am really missing my locals! :)


Thanks,
Ron

Have you re-scanned for the channels' new frequencies?

5/8/11/19 all changed. If you haven't re-scanned you won't get them.

I'm not impressed by the antenna...it is not exactly large enough to do a good job on Lo-band VHF (Ch 5), and may not be all that good on 8 and 11. It should (physically with an internal preamp) be good enough for 13 and above.

Instead of spending nearly 90 bucks for a compromise antenna of questionable design, why not get a real antenna for about 60% of what you paid for the Radio Shack antenna? Get a Channel Master or Winegard medium sized VHF/UHF combo yagi/lp (in other words, of traditional design), and use that. It will easily outperform the RS antenna for less money.

Look at solidsignal.com and you can see several antennas in the same price range that should do the job nicely.

doswonk... are you getting any PSIP data in the guide on your DTVPAL for WHO or WOI? I've got the OTA DTVPAL DVR and the last few days I've had "No Information" for these channels. All the others populate well in the guide. Anyone else with different hadward receive PSIP or Info data for these channels?

WHO has PSIP tonight...haven't checked WOI (can't pick them up!...I really need to change my OTA antenna setup, which is not much more than a paper clip).

Nice to see 17-1 back in operation today. When I got up this morning 17-1 was showing Fox color bars...I guess without a local HD encoder, the Fox bit-splicer was tossing network on-the-air full-time. It's all good now, though.

I am still not having any luck with channel 5. I live in Pella - 45 miles away. I have the Radio Shack 15-1892 (Enterprise) Indoor antenna that has picked up all the channels great for the last 2 years in crystal clear HD. It still gets me 8 and up (but with lower signal strength than before), but it doesn't find channel 5 no matter how many times I try to rescan, "double scan", etc.

I tried out the small outdoor antenna from Radio Shack (DA-5200) on my back deck that faces the towers and is about 10 feet above ground, and I'm on a hill, so I have a decent line of sight. If I moved the TV to the sunroom and ran the cable directly from the DA-5200 to the TV then I could pick up channel 5 (about 50% signal strength), but by the time I ran the cable all throughout the house, I couldn't pick up any channels at all.

My wife does not want a large outdoor antenna on the roof. Are there any other options available that you guys can think of? Thank you for any help.

If you can get it right at the antenna with 50% or better you should be able to use a good low noise preamp to offset the line loss and get it all the way to your TV. The channel master 7777 was an old model number that comes to mind. There are others as well.

I am still not having any luck with channel 5. I live in Pella - 45 miles away. I have the Radio Shack 15-1892 (Enterprise) Indoor antenna that has picked up all the channels great for the last 2 years in crystal clear HD. It still gets me 8 and up (but with lower signal strength than before), but it doesn't find channel 5 no matter how many times I try to rescan, "double scan", etc.

I tried out the small outdoor antenna from Radio Shack (DA-5200) on my back deck that faces the towers and is about 10 feet above ground, and I'm on a hill, so I have a decent line of sight. If I moved the TV to the sunroom and ran the cable directly from the DA-5200 to the TV then I could pick up channel 5 (about 50% signal strength), but by the time I ran the cable all throughout the house, I couldn't pick up any channels at all.

My wife does not want a large outdoor antenna on the roof. Are there any other options available that you guys can think of? Thank you for any help.

Get a channel master CM 7777 antenna mounted preamp and put it outside at the antenna. (That's assuming the RS antenna isn't powered...if so, you can't do things this way).

Basically, you need more sensitivity. There are 3 ways to get it:

1. Better antenna
2. Lower feedline losses
3. Lower overall system noise figure (low noise amp at the antenna)

You might get by using the CM 7777 as your distribution amp, before your splitter. Like this:

ANT > Main Feedline > CM 7777 > Splitter > TVs

(Make sure that the RS antenna, if powered is isolated from the CM 7777) In this case, it would look like this:

ANT < Main Feedline > RS Power Inserter > CM 7777 > Splitters > TVs.

I installed a Winegard HD 7210P antenna last night to replace my UHF only antenna. Now I get all the Allemon channels at 90%+ and the 39xxxx channels at 69% even though the antenna is not pointed right for them . I live in Indianola, about 30 miles from the tower. My signal is split 4 times (3tv's and 1 FM radio) with no pre-amp. I'm pleased with my purchase. Phil

Thanks for posting, since you are getting 69% out of the 39.xx channels in Indianola and are pointed straight north (I assumed), then I should be getting 39 near the airport in Des Moines with some adjustment. I went up on the roof with my trusty 11 mm wrench and loosened up the UHF and went for a NE position to see what happened. It did not hurt my other UHF channels as much as I thought. I lossed 2% of signal strength for 17, 19 and 23.

However, with a clean scan on 3 units for channel 39xxxx, the Panasonic DMR-EZ27 that I take my readings from now gives signal of 78%. This unit will not take 39.5 and 39.6 and the convertor box I use for the kitchen TV won't get them either, but my Bravia can pick those up. Sure am happy to finally have all the channels, thanks for your input.

Not to get to off topic, has anyone been getting some DX the last week or so? Last night with a non-amplified GE loop antenna, facing South, I recieved WDAF Fox 4 from Kansas City, WQAD 8 from Moline, KIMT from Mason City, KAAL from Rochester, and KYIN Iowa PBS (CH. 24)Mason City ,I think. I live over by Marshalltown. Its a heck of a way to get my 'locals'! There were many more channels right on the verge of coming in according to my signal meter. As great as this is I still cant get any VHF-LOW (I know its because of the indoor antenna)-----no WOI! And i am only 30-35 miles away! Sorry to ramble, but this has become an extension of my radio hobby! Mike

Not to get to off topic, has anyone been getting some DX the last week or so? Last night with a non-amplified GE loop antenna, facing South, I recieved WDAF Fox 4 from Kansas City, WQAD 8 from Moline, KIMT from Mason City, KAAL from Rochester, and KYIN Iowa PBS (CH. 24)Mason City ,I think. I live over by Marshalltown. Its a heck of a way to get my 'locals'! There were many more channels right on the verge of coming in according to my signal meter. As great as this is I still cant get any VHF-LOW (I know its because of the indoor antenna)-----no WOI! And i am only 30-35 miles away! Sorry to ramble, but this has become an extension of my radio hobby! Mike

Yes, I was getting a few skip channels yesterday when I did my re-scan, and was worried that the atmosphere was giving me a little better signal on 39 than it would under normal conditions. After the front moved thru today, I no longer can get 39, even after the re-positioning I did yesterday for my outdoor UHF. Was getting 78% but now getting 71%, just enough lower to bump it off air for all three units. Can't turn the antenna any more to the east because of a tree. Guess I could get a line amp if I was losing out on 5.2, but just for channel 39........naw, I can take the loss, lol.

Some things I noticed about our channels, for weather 13.2 is superior to 8.2 because they show the current wind speed and direction and update local city temperatures more often. The only thing better with 8.2 is the vipir radar. 17.2 is a total waste, why dont they put fox news on there ?

Anyone having problems with KCCI? We live on 8th Street in West Des Moines. Before the switch the only channel we ever had problems with was WOI 5. Channel 8 was always great. But after the transition we have only been able to receive it on Directv. I have deleted the channels and rescanned several times. The Directv receiver shows them on the list of channels that should be there but they are unmarked showing they were not found during the scan. But channel 5 comes in at 85 % strength now with 13 at 90-95% and 17 in the 80s. I just don't understand how all the other channels can come in almost perfectly but nothing on 8. Thanks for any advice.

17.2 is a total waste, why dont they put fox news on there ?Cable companies pay Fox News Channel a certain amount per subscriber, which is part of the network's business model. They're not going to let a Fox affiliate carry it free-to-air.

I don't know why KDSM does a 17.2 SD-only feed of itself. It's just something a lot of Sinclair stations (including KGAN-CBS 2 out here) do -- kind of like how they used to stretch SD content on their .1 channels until recently. Perhaps they meant the .2 as an SD feed for cable, although I remember KDSM sacrificed it during the brief time when they carried the now-defunct Tube Music Network.

I don't know why KDSM does a 17.2 SD-only feed of itself. It's just something a lot of Sinclair stations (including KGAN-CBS 2 out here) do -- kind of like how they used to stretch SD content on their .1 channels until recently. Perhaps they meant the .2 as an SD feed for cable, although I remember KDSM sacrificed it during the brief time when they carried the now-defunct Tube Music Network.

It does seem completely pointless. Any device capable of tuning 17.1 can display it, even if it's only being displayed in SD, so why bother with a duplicate SD feed?

They did use .2 a few times for Iowa basketball (which was SD to begin with) while running American Idol in HD on the .1 side, but this was pre-Big Ten Network.

Anyone having problems with KCCI? We live on 8th Street in West Des Moines. Before the switch the only channel we ever had problems with was WOI 5. Channel 8 was always great. But after the transition we have only been able to receive it on Directv. I have deleted the channels and rescanned several times. The Directv receiver shows them on the list of channels that should be there but they are unmarked showing they were not found during the scan. But channel 5 comes in at 85 % strength now with 13 at 90-95% and 17 in the 80s. I just don't understand how all the other channels can come in almost perfectly but nothing on 8. Thanks for any advice.

That's odd that you would get 5 but not 8. Try the antenna with a different reciever and see if it does the same thing. If your using an outdoor, look to see if any of the elements are broken, especially the middle ones. As I recall, 8th st in WDM slopes downhill as you get into Valley Junction. If you have alot of uphill to the north, that is going to hurt your signal. You might need a bigger antenna.

Im still trying to figure out my strange signal problem with 39. Last night the signal increased back up to 78% and was getting a good picture, today it's back down to 71%. Perhaps the tree to the east of me has something to do with it, with the leaves folding up at night and letting more signal thru, just a theory. I dont get signal fluctuation like that on any other channels.

17.2 is a total waste

I agree. They need to pick up America One. Or something. Otherwise, just save the bitrate for HD and drop the subchannel completely.

I agree. They need to pick up America One. Or something. Otherwise, just save the bitrate for HD and drop the subchannel completely.

No bandwidth would be saved through such an action. The Fox splicer controls available bandwidth.

Removing the subchannel does not add any extra bandwidth to the HD.

- Trip

It does seem completely pointless. Any device capable of tuning 17.1 can display it, even if it's only being displayed in SD, so why bother with a duplicate SD feed?

The reason is to give cable/satellite companies a feed that uses letterbox for 16:9 programming, but not for 4:3 programming. Otherwise, the options for SD channels are to center-cut the 16:9 feed, cutting out parts of the action, or to letterbox the 16:9 feed, which results in a postage stamp effect during 4:3 programming (black bars on all four sides).

@ Jon Ellis
Ok, that would explain why KDIN-SD on my MediaCom feed is the HD with the pillars clipping the sides... and why their bug is cut in half as well.

Cable companies pay Fox News Channel a certain amount per subscriber, which is part of the network's business model. They're not going to let a Fox affiliate carry it free-to-air.

Too bad they can't carry Fox News, I think a sub channel with news and political discussion would be a nice addition, it could be MSNBC with channel 13, or CNN would be nice but they are not affiliated with any of the networks. Seems like the goal of a news channel should be "Getting the word out" and increasing their audience. I think daddy war bucks (Cheney) and friends at Fox News would want some more coverage these days. Especially since this state has some political influence when election time comes around. Licking up the subscriber money might be more important to them, but can't see how it would hurt them that much to let affiliates carry them. They're a news channel for cripes sakes, they could make more money from the ads if they had more people watching. And I would assume they could still stick it to the cable and sat companies to some degree.

doswonk... are you getting any PSIP data in the guide on your DTVPAL for WHO or WOI? I've got the OTA DTVPAL DVR and the last few days I've had "No Information" for these channels.

Now that you mention it.....neither my 'Pal nor my TV (Sharp) is picking up PSIP data for WOI. Don't know about WHO. I've gotten used to the box or the TV telling me what I'm watching--or will be when commercials end. I don't use the data for setting up recordings or anything, so PSIP is just kind of a minor convenience.

Sorry to interrupt the thread - but I just moved back to Des Moines with my wife and we are setting up our new house and considering not going with mediacom cable and trying instead the OTA signal for hdtv. So basically I'm looking for opinions from those out there in DSM that use the over the air signals and what your opinions are about it, quality, etc. I've forever been a cable subscriber and mediacom has a decent deal right now - but we are getting a Samsung plasma that has a digital converter built in and we rarely watch any other channels than the nbc, cbs, fox, abc lineup.

So again opinions on is it worth it, signal quality, attennas, etc. And thank you soo much for the input!!!:)

Sorry to interrupt the thread - but I just moved back to Des Moines with my wife and we are setting up our new house and considering not going with mediacom cable and trying instead the OTA signal for hdtv. So basically I'm looking for opinions from those out there in DSM that use the over the air signals and what your opinions are about it, quality, etc. I've forever been a cable subscriber and mediacom has a decent deal right now - but we are getting a Samsung plasma that has a digital converter built in and we rarely watch any other channels than the nbc, cbs, fox, abc lineup.

So again opinions on is it worth it, signal quality, attennas, etc. And thank you soo much for the input!!!:)

Beldave,

I'm the same way in that 95% of what we watched were from the major networks. We made the switch to 100% OTA 3 years ago and have been very happy we did it. The only thing I miss is an occassional game on ESPN and I can't justify the monthly cable or sat fees just to get it.

Quality wise, I just use a set of cheap rabbit ears for all digital stations. Currently we pick up 5-1, 5-2 (ABC), 8-1, 8-2 (CBS), 11-1, 11-2, 11-3 (PBS), 13-1, 13-2(NBC), 17-1, 17-2 (FOX), 19-1, and 34-1. Picture quality is great with most prime time shows being in high def and very seldom do I drop below 85% signal strength or have breakups or loose a picture. We are pretty close to the towers however and depending on your tuner strength and where you live you might want to invest in a nice antenna.

There is also now a non subscription based OTA dual tunner high definition DVR that retails for $249 from dishdepot.com or DTVPAL.com. This is an excellent option if you want to get a DVR for OTA and avoid monthly fees from cable or SAT.

Good Luck

Unless you want to watch Monday Night Football . . . :(

Sorry to interrupt the thread - but I just moved back to Des Moines with my wife and we are setting up our new house and considering not going with mediacom cable and trying instead the OTA signal for hdtv. So basically I'm looking for opinions from those out there in DSM that use the over the air signals and what your opinions are about it, quality, etc. I've forever been a cable subscriber and mediacom has a decent deal right now - but we are getting a Samsung plasma that has a digital converter built in and we rarely watch any other channels than the nbc, cbs, fox, abc lineup.

So again opinions on is it worth it, signal quality, attennas, etc. And thank you soo much for the input!!!:)

If you want to avoid losing video when someone walks around the room, and OTA is going to be your primary way of watching TV, I suggest getting a small outdoor antenna like the RCA at most Wal-Marts. It has a flange mount (along with the ability to mount to a pole), that can be put on the side of a house. Just make sure that you can point the antenna at Alleman without shooting through the house or roof. The antenna is very small (for a "real" antenna), about 40" long.

You can probably get a better antenna from solidsignal.com for the same money ($68), but the flange mount is pretty versatile and makes having to climb on a roof a non-issue.

I'm pulling all locals (except 39) from Waukee with an indoor rabbit ears/loop with gain control (Cornet from C. Crane). Works just fine. I had the Phillips MANT originally, but this thing just destroys it.

My upstairs TV, a Phillips LCD, actually scans for new signals on its own when it's shut off, and has in the past couple of weeks added KIMT, WOWT, and KFXA to my channel list. There's also an analog home shopping channel still operating on...41, I think...

While I've never seen a picture on KIMT or WOWT, I actually watched "Family Guy" on KFXA one night last week. It broke up once in awhile, but was overall watchable. Hasn't been since.

But the locals haven't been a problem except in heavy weather...and even then 8 for some reason comes though like a champ.

Try an antenna. If worst case scenario happens, you can always call a cable or satellite provider after trying.

For what it's worth:

The Cedar Rapids Gazette's website is reporting that Sinclair Broadcast Group -- parent company of KDSM -- now admits it may have to file for bankruptcy:

http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090714/BUSINESS/707149942/1004

(It should be noted that the Gazette owns the ABC affiliate in Cedar Rapids, while Sinclair owns the CBS affiliate and most of the Fox station's assets. It should also be noted that Sinclair isn't the only company with Iowa stations that's in trouble. The Davenport NBC affiliate -- owned by Young Broadcasting -- was nearly auctioned off Tuesday, and Pappas' Fox stations in Sioux City and Omaha have been sold to a group largely controlled by their creditors.)

Hasan; Thank you for turning me on to the RCA 1050. My son lives in Polk City near the towers and now gets all the channels including 5++ and 39++++ with the antenna just laying behind the TV. Had a more expensive indoor antenna advertized as UHF/VHF that wouldnt get those. I'm tempted to get one to try on FM. Has anyone used one for that? Phil

Hasan; Thank you for turning me on to the RCA 1050. My son lives in Polk City near the towers and now gets all the channels including 5++ and 39++++ with the antenna just laying behind the TV. Had a more expensive indoor antenna advertized as UHF/VHF that wouldnt get those. I'm tempted to get one to try on FM. Has anyone used one for that? Phil

Glad it worked for ya! It is an amazing little performer, especially with a preamp. I use it for my USB HD Stick on the computer and am quite pleased with it. My serious watching is with outdoor antennas, which produce a full scale signal on all channels.

I see no reason it wouldn't work for FM, given TV channel 5 is now on 77 MHz, and all the other channels are higher. Of course, FM stations aren't running a ton of power in every case, but I sure would give it a try. Get it at Wally World, and you can return it if it doesn't do the job for you.

Caveat: if you put it too near your TV or other electronics it's going to pick up a LOT of noise, so get it as far away from other sources of noise as you can.

I want to put in a plug for a great antenna. I live in Ames in a one story ranch house with two huge oak trees very close to the house and directly between me and the transmitters. I put a Winegard HD 7015 in the attic and the reception is beautiful--even on WOI.

I'm not sure how much of an issue this is going to be for you, but you DO have a Channel 5, so ...

Low-band FCC note:

The FCC issued a notice today (.pdf (http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-09-60A1.pdf)) seeking comment on interference rules for broadband over power lines (BPL).

Based on the notice, it does NOT appear the FCC will reconsider an earlier decision to allow BPL to operate in a wide swath of bandwidth ranging from 1.7 MHz to 80 MHz -- a range which includes TV channels 2 through 5. The commission WILL, however, reconsider its method for measuring BPL emissions, and it will release staff studies which had previously been redacted.

The commission issued today's notice in response to an appeals court decision in a lawsuit by amateur radio operators, who could also be affected by BPL.

"The court stated that the Commission failed to satisfy the notice and comment requirements of the APA [Administrative Procedure Act] by redacting staff studies on which it relied in promulgating the rule and by failing to make a reasoned explanation for its choice of the extrapolation factor for measuring Access BPL emissions," the commission wrote. "Accordingly, the court directed that, on remand, the Commission make the unredacted staff studies part of the rulemaking record and provide an opportunity for notice and comment."

(Originally posted by dline in "The official final DTV Table Of Allotments/channel change thread")

I agree. They need to pick up America One. Or something.

you are right. BTW you guys are lucky in des moines,

at least you have a ION network there and also RTN


in Omaha, we get neither. we BTW just got This TV on 42.2 here (which replaced America One

at least you have a ION network there and also RTN

Well, kind of... LOL. The only reason I can get RTN, ABC, and ION is because the complex I live in just started offering free family basic cable through Mediacom. Otherwise it's really spotty when I try to watch the 5's or 39's through my D* H20's off-air tuner. If only I could put up an outdoor antenna. :(

Beldave,

I'm the same way in that 95% of what we watched were from the major networks. We made the switch to 100% OTA 3 years ago and have been very happy we did it. The only thing I miss is an occassional game on ESPN and I can't justify the monthly cable or sat fees just to get it.

Quality wise, I just use a set of cheap rabbit ears for all digital stations. Currently we pick up 5-1, 5-2 (ABC), 8-1, 8-2 (CBS), 11-1, 11-2, 11-3 (PBS), 13-1, 13-2(NBC), 17-1, 17-2 (FOX), 19-1, and 34-1. Picture quality is great with most prime time shows being in high def and very seldom do I drop below 85% signal strength or have breakups or loose a picture. We are pretty close to the towers however and depending on your tuner strength and where you live you might want to invest in a nice antenna.

There is also now a non subscription based OTA dual tunner high definition DVR that retails for $249 from dishdepot.com or DTVPAL.com. This is an excellent option if you want to get a DVR for OTA and avoid monthly fees from cable or SAT.

Good Luck

From the CNET Review of this DVR box:

"Works more like a VCR than a modern DVR; bland user interface; lacks the polish of TiVo HD or Dish's own HD DVRs; terrible warranty and return policy; troubling online reports of crashing and freezing.

...and Dish's nonexistent return policy makes it a real gamble."

Caveat Emptor!

you are right. BTW you guys are lucky in des moines,

at least you have a ION network there and also RTN


in Omaha, we get neither. we BTW just got This TV on 42.2 here (which replaced America One

Can we trade? I'd gladly give up ION if we could have Universal Sports like you lucky ducks in Omaha! :D

Of topic, but if your a soccer fan... Mediacom has joined DirecTV/DISH in passing along the free preview of mun2 so that fans can watch the US/Mexico match at 3pm today.

I'm pulling an absolutely perfect picture of KETV 7.1 (and 7.2) Omaha tonight in Waukee with nothing more than my indoor rabbit ears/loop. Wasn't trying...just stumbled upon it.

Also getting three different IPTV stations (the usual KDIN, plus KTIN and KSIN).

It's the little things that amuse me.

JUST IN: WOI-TV (ABC5) seeks UHF "fill-in" translator

Filing (http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1326634&Service=LD&Form_id=346&Facility_id=8661) indicates the translator would broadcast on Channel 50 at 3.2 kW from the Des Moines metro area.

A map (https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getattachment_exh.cgi?exhibit_id=782357&formid=346&q_num=5110) submitted with the application suggests the translator could reach all of Polk and most of Warren counties, as well as portions of Boone, Story, Dallas, Jasper, Warren and Marion counties. (It does not appear that its signal will reach Ames.)

"Station WOI has received numerous complaints from viewers in the area to be covered by the proposed translator of difficulties with reception of the station's post-transition digital signal," the application says. "These viewers were able to get good reception of the station's pre-transition analog signal, and the licensee believes that the proposed translator will help to alleviate these digital reception issues."

JUST IN: WOI-TV (ABC5) seeks UHF "fill-in" translator

Filing (http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1326634&Service=LD&Form_id=346&Facility_id=8661) indicates the translator would broadcast on Channel 50 at 3.2 kW from the Des Moines metro area.

A map (https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getattachment_exh.cgi?exhibit_id=782357&formid=346&q_num=5110) submitted with the application suggests the translator could reach all of Polk and most of Warren counties, as well as portions of Boone, Story, Dallas, Jasper, Warren and Marion counties. (It does not appear that its signal will reach Ames.)

"Station WOI has received numerous complaints from viewers in the area to be covered by the proposed translator of difficulties with reception of the station's post-transition digital signal," the application says. "These viewers were able to get good reception of the station's pre-transition analog signal, and the licensee believes that the proposed translator will help to alleviate these digital reception issues."


This is a good idea, WOI signal is weak. Even here on the south side you can't get it with a cheap pair of rabbit ears. One of my friends lives on the 3rd floor of an appartment building close to Southridge and he can't get a steady signal for WOI. At least the old analog signals could be viewed with a crappy pair of rabbit ears even if you were within 25 miles of the transmitter. So far I'm not impressed with all the little bugs in the digital signals, the blips, drop outs and glitches kind of remind me of the way TV was in the 1970's. Sure, the picture is more crisp with better detail when it's working, but it still goes down way more often than analog did over the last 20 years. KCCI seems to be the best at maintaining signal quality, all the rest are still a little buggy. Hope WOI will carry RTN on their new UHF channel, if it happens.

Still only able to view 39 at night with my outdoor tree-scope to the east. Sometimes like to catch Theodore Tugboat on 39.2 at 11PM, really need to get my sat subbed again before winter.

My sources tell me the proposed WOI channel 50 translator antenna will be on top of the Financial Center building in downtown Des Moines.

I haven't talked to their chief, but I would assume they already have the transmitter...the low power Harris solid-state rig they first used for channel 59.

My sources tell me the proposed WOI channel 50 translator antenna will be on top of the Financial Center building in downtown Des Moines.

I haven't talked to their chief, but I would assume they already have the transmitter...the low power Harris solid-state rig they first used for channel 59.I just ran the lat-longs through the USGS National Map site -- it almost looks like it'll be atop 801 Grand.

I seem to remember that the first channel 59 transmitter they used operated at 500 watts (not kW -- it was 500 watts), so I hope they can get more juice out of it and put out 3.2 kW ERP like they say they're going to.

TiVo told me there was a guide update today for Mediacom. BigTen HD on 834. Nothing there yet though.

I just ran the lat-longs through the USGS National Map site -- it almost looks like it'll be atop 801 Grand.

I seem to remember that the first channel 59 transmitter they used operated at 500 watts (not kW -- it was 500 watts), so I hope they can get more juice out of it and put out 3.2 kW ERP like they say they're going to.

I haven't seen that transmitter for awhile, but it was a cute little beastie. :D

WOI already has a 2Ghz ENG microwave site on Financial Center, so I wouldn't be surprised they would use it for a translator.

Another post-last-call update:

Trip says WOI now seeks a special temporary authorization for 28.5 kW for its main Channel 5 transmitter at Alleman. Here's the app:

http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1326625&Service=DS&Form_id=911&Facility_id=8661

I just ran the lat-longs through the USGS National Map site -- it almost looks like it'll be atop 801 Grand.

I seem to remember that the first channel 59 transmitter they used operated at 500 watts (not kW -- it was 500 watts), so I hope they can get more juice out of it and put out 3.2 kW ERP like they say they're going to.

500 watts should be more than enough power to make 3.2kW ERP, as ERP is as much a function of antenna gain as transmitter power.

As I recall, their original signal was 0.5 kW ERP on channel 59.

- Trip

1. Channel Number:
50

2. Translator Input Channel No. : 5

3. Primary station proposed to be rebroadcast:
Facility Identifier Call Sign City State Channel
8661 WOI-DT AMES IA 5

4. Antenna Location Coordinates: (NAD 27)
Latitude:
Degrees 41 Minutes 35 Seconds 15 North South

Longitude:
Degrees 93 Minutes 37 Seconds 43 West East

5. Antenna Structure Registration Number:
Not Applicable [Exhibit 10] Notification filed with FAA

6. Antenna Location Site Elevation Above Mean Sea Level: 251.2 meters

7. Overall Tower Height Above Ground Level: 198.7 meters

8. Height of Radiation Center Above Ground Level: 196.9 meters

9. Maximum Effective Radiated Power (ERP): 3.2 kW

10. Transmitter Output Power: 0.5 kW



"Flew" into the coordinates with Google Earth, and "x" marks the spot on top of the Financial Center.

I copied the data from their app for this reason: Their tower height above ground would seem to indicate a rather tall tower that would need to be installed on top of the Financial Center. IIRC, that building is only about 26 stories, so I'm guesstimating it's maybe 100 meters tall. Antenna height in the data above is 198.7 meters.

I can't believe Citadel would spring for an extra 90 - 100 meter tower ... Ooops, forgot to look at exhibit 10, which speaks about the antenna being mounted atop a 6.1 meter pole.

Maybe they are referring to the 801 Grand building, though I can't imagine Principal agreeing to mount a mast atop the peak of its pyramid-like roof.

"Flew" into the coordinates with Google Earth, and "x" marks the spot on top of the Financial Center.

I copied the data from their app for this reason: Their tower height above ground would seem to indicate a rather tall tower that would need to be installed on top of the Financial Center. IIRC, that building is only about 26 stories, so I'm guesstimating it's maybe 100 meters tall. Antenna height in the data above is 198.7 meters.

I can't believe Citadel would spring for a 90 - 100 meter tower to be built on the Financial Center.I just tried Google Maps with those coordinates and got 801 Grand again. :rolleyes:

If that's the case, that building is 45 stories and, according to Wikipedia, 192m tall -- which would mean putting a structure 6 to 7 meters tall on it. But I can't imagine them doing that, either.

I just ran it in Google Earth and it took me to 801 Grand. I used 3D buildings and it told me, not that I have any familiarity with buildings in Des Moines. I'm not quite that insane. ;)

A 5 meter structure sounds very reasonable as you have to mount an antenna on something.

- Trip

I just tried Google Maps with those coordinates and got 801 Grand again. :rolleyes:

If that's the case, that building is 45 stories and, according to Wikipedia, 192m tall -- which would mean putting a structure 6 to 7 meters tall on it. But I can't imagine them doing that, either.

Me neither...but I guess stranger things have happened. ;)

Me neither...but I guess stranger things have happened. ;)

I can say that most UHF low power antennas are between 15-20ft long from reading the info Die Electric has on their site. So 5-6 meters is not unbelievable...

I can say that most UHF low power antennas are between 15-20ft long from reading the info Die Electric has on their site. So 5-6 meters is not unbelievable...

The six-meter pole is fine. What would be unbelievable is WOI's parent company springing for rent on 801 Grand! :D

So I'm guessing if they put it on the financial center, 801 Grand and any other taller buildings would block or reflect the signal. Would areas blocked by the line of sight transmission from the financial center recieve a weak signal ? Would the signal reflection off the taller buildings cause any reception problems on digital like it would for analog ? IE would some recievers get confused if they pick up a double image in areas close to downtown? If it's clear to the south from the financial center, thats the part of town that would need the new/old UHF signal the most.

Used to live on DM's south side, and 801 Grand is the one building you could see from almost anywhere if not blocked by trees. Plus it plays with light better than about any other building I've ever seen. It can look totally different depending on the time of day/angle of the sun. I.M. Pei rocks!

All right, time to get this down out of the visible waves.:D A six foot pole on top of 801 wouldn't destroy the aesthetics of the peaked roof line. It would do a great job covering the south side, I think. Wonder how the copper roof would affect the signal?

Ruan Center might have been easier, but then I think there's a LOT of RF up there. The LPTV on channel 4 ALWAYS had audio interference from some sort of two-way service. (I was part of the target mkt for channel 4: people who had antennas, and where the azimuth for Alleman and Ruan was the same. One mile wide, 5 miles long. All of Little Italy and all those pizza joints up and down SW 9th. Not one ad from any of 'em!)

WOI-DT's original request for higher power on channel 5 apparently has been shot down by the FCC. They are now requesting 13.9 kw.

The tallest structures I can think of on the south side would be the water tower on Indianola and Park, but the elevator on SE 64th over by Avon Lake might be the tallest I can think of. Might be a good spot to cover the south side, Carlisle and Indianola. Would'nt be much interference out there, but coverage for the northwest part of DSM would be a little less. Does the north side need a UHF boost up there being so much closer to Alleman?

UPDATE:

The Channel 50 replacement translator sought by WOI now comes up as "granted" in an overnight FCC database search.

WOI-DT's original request for higher power on channel 5 apparently has been shot down by the FCC. They are now requesting 13.9 kw.For what it's worth, here's what they say in Exhibit 21 (https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getattachment_exh.cgi?exhibit_id=787150&formid=911&q_num=5200) of this new application:

"The Station seeks authorization to operate with an ERP of 13.9 kW. As explained in the attached engineering statement, this power increase is not expected to fully resolve the problem, but will alleviate it. The requested ERP is the highest power level that the Station can achieve with its existing equipment."

The 28.5 kW request is still listed as "accepted for filing," so it's possible they may be seeking a stop-gap power hike until the commission rules on the 28.5 kW request.

For what it's worth, here's what they say in Exhibit 21 (https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getattachment_exh.cgi?exhibit_id=787150&formid=911&q_num=5200) of this new application:

"The Station seeks authorization to operate with an ERP of 13.9 kW. As explained in the attached engineering statement, this power increase is not expected to fully resolve the problem, but will alleviate it. The requested ERP is the highest power level that the Station can achieve with its existing equipment."

The 28.5 kW request is still listed as "accepted for filing," so it's possible they may be seeking a stop-gap power hike until the commission rules on the 28.5 kW request.

Yes, that sounds right. Still, 28.5 kw or even 100 kw during a thunderstorm won't help them.

Yes, that sounds right. Still, 28.5 kw or even 100 kw during a thunderstorm won't help them.

I really want the 28.5kW ERP for WOI, I had hopes that that would make them a frequent DX up here in Rochester, MN area.

But ya, I highly doubt that will VHF impulse noise.

I just tried Google Maps with those coordinates and got 801 Grand again. :rolleyes:

If that's the case, that building is 45 stories and, according to Wikipedia, 192m tall -- which would mean putting a structure 6 to 7 meters tall on it. But I can't imagine them doing that, either.

I follow some of the people over at Channel 5 on Twitter, and one of them confirmed that the UHF translator will be on 801. I didn't ask about the tower itself, mostly cause I didn't think about it at the time.

Does anyone have an idea how long it will take WOI to get the translator up? Mike

By the way, I am pulling in KIMT Mason City, and KAAL Rochester this morning, with nothing more than a UHF loop stuck in my window (live in a ranch---so its first floor). No break ups at all, been watching for over an hour. I live in Southern Marshall co. Ia.. I can get them after about 5pm at night sometimes also. I know its comparing apples(VHF-Low) to oranges(UHF), but I STILL cannot get WOI. I have satellite, so this is mainly a DX hobby for me----thats why no roof antenna, yet! Mike

By the way, I am pulling in KIMT Mason City, and KAAL Rochester this morning, with nothing more than a UHF loop stuck in my window (live in a ranch---so its first floor). No break ups at all, been watching for over an hour. I live in Southern Marshall co. Ia.. I can get them after about 5pm at night sometimes also. I know its comparing apples(VHF-Low) to oranges(UHF), but I STILL cannot get WOI. I have satellite, so this is mainly a DX hobby for me----thats why no roof antenna, yet! Mike

With your tuner, do you have a way to see which signal of KAAL's you are getting? They are running DT-33 West of Austin, and DT-36 in Grand Meadow currently.
I would expect that you are getting DT-33 and KIMT is much closer then the rest of the Austin/Mason City/Rochester market.

Actually, it has been showing up as 36. And KIMT as 42 (before it converts them to channels 3 and 6). This is actually on 2 different tvs, one hooked up to a Zenith 911 DTT901, and the other a 42" LG (built in tuner, which actually seems to be quite good, but slower to read the signal).

You guys might laugh, but this is done with a GE Futura HT24763 antenna in my window. I picked it up at Target a long time ago on clearence, for less than 5$. I was losing some signal since I was splitting between both sets. So

here is the part where people can laugh ,(really, cause its hard to beleive), I had one of those as seen on tv ClearVue amps. put it in line right at the antenna, and suddenly my signals were all stronger, AND some marginal ones were watchable!


Truly this is just another hobby for me DXing these signals. Mike

Actually, it has been showing up as 36. And KIMT as 42 (before it converts them to channels 3 and 6). This is actually on 2 different tvs, one hooked up to a Zenith 911 DTT901, and the other a 42" LG (built in tuner, which actually seems to be quite good, but slower to read the signal).

You guys might laugh, but this is done with a GE Futura HT24763 antenna in my window. I picked it up at Target a long time ago on clearence, for less than 5$. I was losing some signal since I was splitting between both sets. So

here is the part where people can laugh ,(really, cause its hard to beleive), I had one of those as seen on tv ClearVue amps. put it in line right at the antenna, and suddenly my signals were all stronger, AND some marginal ones were watchable!


Truly this is just another hobby for me DXing these signals. Mike

Ah, 36 is a bit further from you then 33, that surprises me. I would try for RF channel 20 (KSMQ remaps to 15.x), 46 (KXLT remaps to 47.1), and 18 (KYIN remaps to 24.x)
KSMQ, KXLT, and KAAL-DT-36 all share a tower near Grand Meadow, MN.

Thank you for that information! I actually have picked up KYIN twice, it was watchable for several hours (10pm-2am), also the FOX affliate out of Lacrosse (Madison?) on the same night.
Maybe you could answer another question (or 2)? I am a little new to the TV aspect of DXing (kind of a scanner and radio guy, until now). Question 1 would be----are there two towers for the KAAL 33 and 36 signal then? And if so (question#2), are there other stations on the 2nd tower I could shoot for?

This is becoming one of my favorite hobbies! Thanks for any help or suggestions, Mike

Thank you for that information! I actually have picked up KYIN twice, it was watchable for several hours (10pm-2am), also the FOX affliate out of Lacrosse (Madison?) on the same night.
WLAX (RF channel 17, remaps to 25) Goes by Fox 25/48 on air, as they also run the EXACT same programing on WEUX......

Maybe you could answer another question (or 2)? I am a little new to the TV aspect of DXing (kind of a scanner and radio guy, until now). Question 1 would be----are there two towers for the KAAL 33 and 36 signal then? And if so (question#2), are there other stations on the 2nd tower I could shoot for?

This is becoming one of my favorite hobbies! Thanks for any help or suggestions, Mike
What happened with KAAL is that they are broke and wanted to cover Rochester much better (largest city by a large margin in our area) and they bought out(or leased) the KTTC pre-transition antenna, xmtr, and tower space for DT-36) KAAL has been at full power on DT-33 (224kW) for years from their own tower (http://s151.photobucket.com/albums/s129/gjvrieze/KAAL%20KIMT%20KSMQ/?action=view&current=KAAL-TVKAAL-DTKAUS-FMEastside.jpg) about 10 miles West of Austin, which is where KAUS-FM (99.9MHz) and analog channel 6 have came from for eons....

This is a very fun hobby and there is nothing like pulling far away signals in. (I have DXed Des Monies a few times from the hole that is Rochester) I just moved out of town and up high now, so your market should be a common DX in the summer now) I have some other cool pictures on my Photobucket (http://s151.photobucket.com/albums/s129/gjvrieze/) account if you are interested!

See my replies in the Rochester thread. And thank you for the information.It came in handy this morning. I dont want to hijack the DM tread! :)


Still curious though does anyone know when WOI will have their UHF channel on line? Thanks, Mike

*bump*

Can we trade? I'd gladly give up ION if we could have Universal Sports like you lucky ducks in Omaha! :D



I wish. some of us here in omaha wish we had ION or telemundo on broadcast instead of Universal sports

See my replies in the Rochester thread. And thank you for the information.It came in handy this morning. I dont want to hijack the DM tread! :)


Still curious though does anyone know when WOI will have their UHF channel on line? Thanks, Mike

I'll ask their CE the next time I talk to him.

UPDATE FROM KCCI:

KCCI has applied for a UHF fill-in translator.

The proposed translator would transmit 15 kW on UHF channel 31 from what appears to be the KCCI tower site at Alleman. As with the future WOI translator, this new translator is geared toward viewers with indoor antennas who no longer get digital channel 8.

The big difference is, this one will be more powerful and won't be in the middle of town ... it'll be near the midpoint between Ames and Des Moines.

https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getattachment_exh.cgi?exhibit_id=791784&formid=346&q_num=5110

Having compared, in the recent past, news coverage of Ames between KCCI and WOI, I'd say KCCI did a better job than WOI. And WOI's COL is Ames.

Looks like the same story with the fill-in translators. WOI's LD on 50 should pound DM, but leave Ames with the same ol' stinko el cinco.

(In a more just world, WOI-TV would have been folded into Iowa Public Television, or just left the heck alone. But no, Branstad and all of his UI cronies back in the 80's and 90's couldn't stand the fact that ISU had a commercial TV license. I bleed black and old gold as a UI alum, but what was done to WOI-TV was just plain wrong.)

News just in from the situation room at CNN......Wolf Blitzer got spanked bad today on Jeopardy, by of all people......Andy Richter from Conan O"Brien. Wolf got a whole -4600 to Andy's +38,000 but they spotted him up to +1000 so he could finish the game, LOL. I thought news people were supposta be smart, and comic sidekicks not so smart.

Hey, when is FOX network gonna start putting out a national news broadcast every night like the other broadcast networks ? Fox makes more money than CBS, NBC or ABC, and they like to cut down the other network newscasts on their FOX news subscription channel. Thats lame, time for FOX to step up.

It could've been worse for WOI-TV. Branstad tried to get the IPTV studios included in the sale.

Needless to say, any concerns that KCCI or WHO-TV had that WOI might become competitive in the market have not been realized.

No reason for a public university to be owning and paying to run a TV station. Branstad's move was right. The WOI quality both on air and transmission-wise is closer to it's competitors now than it was when it looked like a public access channel while being run by ISU.

At least WOI can put out their own local news program 3 or 4 times a day, better than Fox. Hopefully they won't have anymore electrocutions with the news van, they lost alot of face with that incident after the ISU switch. I watch WOI news sometimes, and catch stories that 8 or 13 did not cover. They could be better but at least they don't pay WHO to produce a newscast for them, lol. Don't know why they got rid of Betty Lou when they made the switch, it was a good childrens program. Used to watch it at 11:30 AM to see Felix the Cat and Tales from the Riverbank. Was disappointed to see that 39.2 took Theodore Tugboat off the 11 PM slot a couple weeks ago, glad I got to see most of the episodes. Not a kid anymore but I'm a sucker for a talking oil rig.

No reason for a public university to be owning and paying to run a TV station. Branstad's move was right. The WOI quality both on air and transmission-wise is closer to it's competitors now than it was when it looked like a public access channel while being run by ISU.

Respectfully, I partially disagree. KOMU (http://www.komu.com) in Columbia, MO is operated by the University of Missouri as a self funded teaching labratory for the Journalism Department at MU. The students shoot, edit and produce all of the newscasts on the NBC affiliate. (The last in the nation, I believe). There is no better way to get real life experience than doing what is expected in the real world.

I stayed at Super8 in Marshalltown last Sat night. MediaCom had the worst PQ that I have seen in a long time. I thought it might be just our room, but the breakfast nook TV was just as bad. Is MediaCom poor everywhere in Marshalltown?

No reason for a public university to be owning and paying to run a TV station. Branstad's move was right. The WOI quality both on air and transmission-wise is closer to it's competitors now than it was when it looked like a public access channel while being run by ISU.Of course it looks "closer to its competitors" now that they're all digital. Channel 5 suffered from certain kinds of interference in the analog world as well. 8, 11 and 13 just didn't have quite the same issues. 5 also suffered severely in some cable houses with the air signal bleeding into the cable if anything was loose.

Neither issue went away in February of 1994, and its not as if they haven't had issues since. It was just a little over four years ago that this thread was abuzz about them being on an STA digital signal most of us couldn't get.

I'm not going to get into a rant here; the sale happened 15 years ago, and I have to give the current owners credit for sticking with a fairly full schedule of newscasts and for taking the lead on major broadcasting topics, and their people do seem to try. However, the facts are this: The station was making money then; ISU was not "paying to run a TV station." It produced fairly good newscasts then. The sale brought in only $14 million, an amount that I'm sure has been cut from ISU's budget many times over by now, only they now don't have a TV station to sell to fix it. And the mere act of getting the station off campus and out of Ames was nowhere near the silver bullet that the Des Moines Register's TV writers were making it out to be.

I e-mailed to find out what the plans are for KCWI (23) for DirecTV in HD. Here's the response. Seems kinda bogus to me.

"We would love to but it is not our decision; rather, it is completely up
to DirecTV who they carry. I encourage you to contact them and request
that they begin picking up our feed on their HD package.

Thank you, Nicole"

What do you all think?

Maybe DirecTV doesn't want to pay the carriage fees for KCWI's HD (and that's just a guess on my part) but more likely is that it's a DirecTV decision. For example, there are a few small markets such as Ottumwa-Kirksville that still don't have ANY satellite distribution.

To answer Bobs question about Marshalltown------yes Mediacom is that bad here. I switched to satellite a couple of years ago because of it. I refuse to pay even more money for HD, so I use an antenna for OTA reception. Mike

Of course it looks "closer to its competitors" now that they're all digital. Channel 5 suffered from certain kinds of interference in the analog world as well. 8, 11 and 13 just didn't have quite the same issues. 5 also suffered severely in some cable houses with the air signal bleeding into the cable if anything was loose.

In Ankeny, aka Overload City, not only was cinko stinko on cabled TVs, but also ocho, eleven and thirteen, too. (Sorry, I only can count up to "nueve.")

...the sale (of WOI-TV) happened 15 years ago, and I have to give the current owners credit for sticking with a fairly full schedule of newscasts and for taking the lead on major broadcasting topics, and their people do seem to try. However, the facts are this: The station was making money then; ISU was not "paying to run a TV station." It produced fairly good newscasts then. The sale brought in only $14 million, an amount that I'm sure has been cut from ISU's budget many times over by now, only they now don't have a TV station to sell to fix it. And the mere act of getting the station off campus and out of Ames was nowhere near the silver bullet that the Des Moines Register's TV writers were making it out to be.

The first-string anchors on 5 are as good as any in the market. It's too bad they aren't given the resources to adequately compete. Time now for me to indulge myself not in Fantasy Football, but rather Central Iowa Fantasy TV Czar:

1. Like the nuclear bomb* from which WOI-TV was born, it's time to nuke channel 5 out of existance.

A. Meredith decides it's time to have a TV property in its home town, buys KDMI/KCWI. KDMI grabs the ABC affiliation, becoming ABC-19.

B. KCWI is spun off to the ISU Alumni Association, moves to its city of license, on campus, and becomes a commercially operated, self-funding student-run laboratory that concentrates on the Central Iowa News Triangle: Fort Dodge-Ames-Marshalltown. Guaranteed to come in last in the ratings, but it's underserved. Plus there would be little competition for ad dollars.

2. Whoever is responsible for KCCI's promotional style should be figuratively shot, drawn and quartered. (I'm aiming for a bloodless coup, here. Can't be literal ;-)

3. "Disposition of John Bachman" or "Disarming the DM News Anchor Tanning War"

A. Bachman replaces smug Kevin Cooney on KCCI. Cooney becomes chief smug, rather mug-washer at his brother's tavern.

B. Bachman retires and enters a Lutheran seminary. Becomes a minister, returns to DM, and promptly engages in a tanning war with Father Frank Chiodo.

(*In Neal Harl's book "The Rise and Fall of WOI-TV," it is strongly suggested that the funds to build WOI-TV (and FM) came from Iowa State's role in enriching uranium for the Manhattan Project during WWII.)

iowegian3, that has to be the most comical post I have read on here! Maybe you should get into comedy (maybe you already are:D?). The tanning part has me still laughing, my cheeks actually hurt! Anyway, nice post, Mike

Well, Mike if you knew how much trouble I had putting that post on...1st time the site crashed on me, had to retype then 2nd time modem locked up. Luckily I copied it on Notepad and went to bed, finally putting it on this morning.

Anyway, this joint goes to great lengths in order to please...thanks

iowegian3, I liked that post. I wouldn't go so far as to nuke channel 5, though.

I am somewhat surprised, given Pappas' troubles and WOI's position, that we haven't heard from Meredith. I believe I read somewhere, some time ago, that Meredith was focusing on larger markets, and indeed all but two of their markets are #36 and above (Flint, MI and Springfield, MA are the exceptions.)

They must have their reasons, but it would be nice to hear those words "locally owned" from another Iowa station. As of right now, the only major network station in Iowa that applies to is KCRG-TV9.

I e-mailed to find out what the plans are for KCWI (23) for DirecTV in HD. Here's the response. Seems kinda bogus to me.

"We would love to but it is not our decision; rather, it is completely up
to DirecTV who they carry. I encourage you to contact them and request
that they begin picking up our feed on their HD package."

Actually, it's not bogus. DirecTV (and DISH Network) get to pick and choose which channels they carry in HD. Since the CW is the #6 broadcast network, they do not carry it in HD in all markets. It could be an issue of limited bandwidth on the spotbeam that carries Des Moines locals.

Also, on the other recent topic, if WOI-TV were to disappear for whatever reason, ABC might end up on a subchannel of KCCI or WHO. They might prefer to hook up with a station that is already a news and ratings leader in the market rather than a startup. It has happened to FOX in several markets (Marquette, Michigan, and several places in Montana - and it apparently almost happened in Lincoln until Pappas stepped up its game).

Also, on the other recent topic, if WOI-TV were to disappear for whatever reason, ABC might end up on a subchannel of KCCI or WHO. They might prefer to hook up with a station that is already a news and ratings leader in the market rather than a startup. It has happened to FOX in several markets (Marquette, Michigan, and several places in Montana - and it apparently almost happened in Lincoln until Pappas stepped up its game).That could happen, but Des Moines has more options than those smaller markets, which didn't have enough stations for six networks to begin with. (We have five; the CW station here becomes a My affiliate at 9pm.) Some barely had enough for four if that, and I remember reading on your site about Marquette losing its Fox outlet due to the Equity Broadcasting crash-and-burn.

The former Marquette FOX affiliate still exists, however. It now carries MyNetworkTV and ThisTV, while FOX moved to a subchannel of the NBC affiliate. In Montana, the new owners actually returned the licenses of the former FOX affilaites and just put FOX on a subchannel of their own stations.

I guess my point is that a full-power license no longer guarantees a major network affiliation. The networks want to have strong affiliates, whether they're on the primary channel or not. Cable/satellite will carry a subchannel it has a big-4 affiliation.

Anyone else have problems with channel 8 tonight. My HD Homerun stopped tuning channel 8 correctly. It used to identify it as 8-8-1 and now it identifies it as 8-0-1.
I had to rescan to get it to see the channel again.

I also have a myHD card and it will tune the channel while scanning for channels but will not add it to the channel list anymore.
Is channel 8 doing something non-standard with their PID now?

I had a similar problem with Channel 8 last night. It worked just fine on Thrusday, but failed to record through the HDHomerun/MythTV. The odd thing is that I could watch it live though MythTV, but the recording didn't have any data. All other channels worked just fine. Someone on the HDHomerun IRC channel mentioned it was the station's PSIP that was out.

For me, channel 8 shows up with '0' as the station information through the HDHomerun command line status:
Tuner 1: ch=auto:8 lock=8vsb ss=100 snq=99 seq=100 bps=19394080 pps=0
1: 0
2: 0
tsid=0x391

Channel 13 looks normal:
Tuner 1: ch=auto:13 lock=8vsb ss=100 snq=100 seq=100 bps=19394080 pps=0
3: 13.1 WHO-DT
4: 13.2 WHO-DT2
tsid=0x395

I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed the issue...I also hope it is an easy fix and someone with the power to fix it noticed it as well.

-- Update - A very helpful person on the MythTV forum helped me find the solution for my issue.
Read here if you have MythTV (http://www.mythtvtalk.com/forum/general/12013-can-watch-but-not-record-specific-channel.html#post47872)
Now my setup should hopefully be immune to this type of change...

My channel 8 quit working last week as well. I have 100% signal but the tuner will show "NO TV SIGNAL AVAILABLE" I'm using Windows Media center and a usb tuner to an indoor antenna. All other local channels work fine.


How do you fix this in WMC?

I'm having the exact same problem with channel 8 using Windows Media Center. Can't watch it or record it. But, if I switch off WMC and fire up my digital converter box, I can watch channel 8 just fine. Anybody have any idea how I can fix this?

KCCI.com reported today that its over-the-air signal had technical problems, which have now been resolved.

They posted this just before 11am this morning:
http://www.kcci.com/news/21148576/detail.html

Am I missing something or is mynetworktv around here no more?

Am I missing something or is mynetworktv around here no more?Last I checked, KDMI changed their bug from "my" to "this" most of the day when they run ThisTV programming, much as the Eastern Iowa CW station changes its bug from CW to "my KWKB" after 9 p.m., when they become my. I haven't heard anything to suggest KDMI had dropped my, but anything can happen.

There's also the possiblity that KDMI finally got its actual channel 19 transmitter up and running -- at last report, they were still hitching a ride on KCWI-23's signal. When they finally do get that transmitter going, OTA viewers will need to re-scan. However, KDMI still has a request pending for an extension until February 2010 due to Pappas' financial issues.

Anyone else having issues with 809 on mediacom not broadcasting?

KCWI HD channel has been giving me the "this channel should be avalilable shortly" for the last three days?

Same here.

Talked to WOI-TV's chief today about their UHF translator application.

They are on the Financial Center.

They are reusing their original Harris Ranger transmitter for the translator, retuned to channel 50.

They hope to be up and running before the end of the month.

I wonder if they will carry RTV on their new translater channel? Guess they would use 50.1 and 50.2 for the new channel numbers, or perhaps 5.3 and 5.4 ?

Probably 5-1 and 5-2.

- Trip

That wouldn't cause conflicts for the people in the area that can pull in 5.1 and 5.2 on the other frequency? Sorry, have to admit that confuses me a little bit... but I'm easy to confuse anyway.
:rolleyes:

Most translators or stations on multiple frequencies do not do anything different as far as mapping is concerned.

Some tuners don't handle it well, but most of them are fine with it.

- Trip

I believe FCC rules require translators to pass through the PSIP data from the primary station, so the channel numbers would be the same. In order to identify it as a different channel number they may have to convert the status to low-power, which would require the installation of a separate EAS unit.

So, is this translator even going to help those of us in Ames who can't pick up 5? I understand that this will be on a better frequency, but the fact that it's just a low power translator tells me that it's only going to serve the Des Moines metro.

I find it quite funny (read: irritating) that their COL is Ames, yet most of us here in Ames can't even pick up any type of signal from them (and I have a fairly decent antenna that works for all other stations).

Yes, it used to be one of their taglines was "WOI-TV, Ames - Des Moines. ABC for Central Iowa." Perhaps they need to change that to "ABC for Des Moines if you're lucky, and those willing to pay to watch subpar programming with abysmal picture quality."

So, is this translator even going to help those of us in Ames who can't pick up 5? I understand that this will be on a better frequency, but the fact that it's just a low power translator tells me that it's only going to serve the Des Moines metro.

I find it quite funny (read: irritating) that their COL is Ames, yet most of us here in Ames can't even pick up any type of signal from them (and I have a fairly decent antenna that works for all other stations).From the records I've seen, no, the signal from this Channel 50 translator does not appear to reach Ames. The thinking appears to be that Des Moines is more at risk because there are a lot more indoor antennas and more interference sources, while those viewers farther out are more likely to have a rooftop antenna. Yes, Ames has those issues too, but it doesn't have as many of the high-rises and many of the apartment dwellers are on cable anyway. You can literally see the Alleman towers from quite a few places in town.

The place where I stay when I visit central Iowa is a single-family house in Ames. It gets Channel 5 OK with an indoor antenna, but it does require a fully outstretched set of rabbit ears. A UHF antenna (I was using a Silver Sensor there before the transition) gets me nothing on 5.

Talked to WOI-TV's chief today about their UHF translator application.

They are on the Financial Center.

They are reusing their original Harris Ranger transmitter for the translator, retuned to channel 50.

They hope to be up and running before the end of the month.The lat-longs still point me to the 801 Grand building, but I guess it goes where it goes.

In case you haven't heard, IPTV is getting hammered.

In response to the state budget cut, the network is proposing to eliminate a total of eight positions and go back to signing its transmitters off from midnight to 6 a.m. nightly.

To make matters worse, the network admits that these cuts will likely make it eligible for less matching money from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the engineer for a local Fox affiliate noted in the Cedar Rapids thread that turning the transmitters off and on daily could be hard on the transmitters' IOTs, which aren't cheap to replace.

The Des Moines Register posted budget-cutting plans for state departments here (http://www.desmoinesregister.com/assets/pdf/D21449211021.PDF), with IPTV's cuts beginning on page 53.

It won't be too much longer before Branstad sells it off. ;)

djbrettb the solution to your problem is simple and inexpensive. Yes, I live in Ames also. Mount a Winegard HD 7015 in your attic. Aim it straight south. You will get crystal clear reception on all the Des Moines stations.

Has anyone else (in the Ames/Story County area or elsewhere) lost a lot of their digital channels on MediaCom the past 24 hours? Now the only local digital HD I can get off my tv's tuner (I don't have a box and just basic Family since it's free and I have DirecTV anyway) is 23-1. I lost 5-1, 5-2, 8-1, 8-2, 11-1, 11-2, 11-3, 13-1, 13-2, and 86-4 (17-1) as well as the digital SD counterparts. Do have the analogs... but they look horrendous.

Edit: I still have 23-1 though...

All is well in Urbandale. Well concerning the HDTV that is!

Same situation as you, no box, just the QAM channels. I've actually been pulling "digital" versions of all channels for the past month or two :)

Well, that's one of the oddities, I guess. I still have all the digital versions of the other channels... It's just that the locals all disappeared (SD and HD digital with the exception of 23-1), along with Connections (88-4, 88-12, 88-14) and my local public access (113-4).
Oh well, hooked up the Terk TV 50 again to watch the High School Scoreboard on 13-2.

djbrettb the solution to your problem is simple and inexpensive. Yes, I live in Ames also. Mount a Winegard HD 7015 in your attic. Aim it straight south. You will get crystal clear reception on all the Des Moines stations.

I'm in an apartment and don't have an attic. However, I am on the top floor and my unit is on the south end of the building, so I could put this antenna in the top of a closet, but it seems a little big?

In case you haven't heard, IPTV is getting hammered.

In response to the state budget cut, the network is proposing to eliminate a total of eight positions and go back to signing its transmitters off from midnight to 6 a.m. nightly...

... turning the transmitters off and on daily could be hard on the transmitters' IOTs, which aren't cheap to replace...

When IPTV tried doing this the last time, their old analog transmitters began disintegrating. I was told repair costs far exceeded any savings in electricity.

You probably noticed back in the day that WOI left its analog transmitter on all night with a slide up when they weren't presenting any programming. Thermal cycling and the stress of inrush currents at startup can be really hard on any transmitter, and they were just trying to preserve their old beast.

IPTV is barely holding it own as it is, almost everyday they have a couple hour stretch with picture and sound cutting in and out. Guess they won't be getting any better equipment any time soon, kind of a bummer.

13 is still having problems with Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune every now and then. I would also like to suggest they do some color adjustments with the camera they use for the close up shots of John Bachman, he always looks alittle too green.

23, turn the sound down a little please, your too loud.

13 is still having problems with Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune every now and then.

Always wondered about this. Wheel actually seems to trip up at the exact same time (beginning of winner's round) every day.

23, turn the sound down a little please, your too loud.

Absolutely.

Always wondered about this. Wheel actually seems to trip up at the exact same time (beginning of winner's round) every day..

It used to trip up right as the final quick-puzzle started. As Pat spun the wheel, it'd glitch up.

It used to trip up right as the final quick-puzzle started. As Pat spun the wheel, it'd glitch up.

Exactly. What gives? :D

When IPTV tried doing this the last time, their old analog transmitters began disintegrating. I was told repair costs far exceeded any savings in electricity.

You probably noticed back in the day that WOI left its analog transmitter on all night with a slide up when they weren't presenting any programming. Thermal cycling and the stress of inrush currents at startup can be really hard on any transmitter, and they were just trying to preserve their old beast.

Wouldn't it be easier/safer for the transmitter just to run the station logo slide from 12AM to 6AM? Or would "broadcasting" that require them to have an engineer on duty and partially defeat the purpose of shutting down at night?

BTW, I live Newton-wards, and WOI and Fox 17 are my two "problem" stations. WOI comes in--just--on an indoor antenna pointing out a window toward the transmitter, but it can be dicey. I fiddled with the antenna to get Fox properly on Friday night, then reset it for WOI, only to come home on Sunday night and find a garbled, macro-blocked, unwatchable Desperate Housewives on the DVR!

Wouldn't it be easier/safer for the transmitter just to run the station logo slide from 12AM to 6AM? Or would "broadcasting" that require them to have an engineer on duty and partially defeat the purpose of shutting down at night?

IPTV wants to save electricity, which means going completely off-the-air. They will probably set their tube transmitters to a "standby" position, using just enough power to keep the IOT's somewhat warm. The VHF sites use solid-state transmitters and they just go off.

WOI's channel 50 translator is on the air.

The one receiver I've viewed it on has two 5-1's and two 5-2's in the guide now, and doesn't seem confused...one of them uses RF channel 5 and the other 50. No prob.

On my Panasonic DMR-EZ27 the new translator channels show up as 50.1 and 50.2, signal strength is good here close to the airport. Here is what I get from all channels tonight.

50 - 94%
39 - 74%
23 - 97%
19 - 97%
17 - 92%
13 - 93%
11 - 87%
08 - 98%
05 - 91%

The minimum signal strength needed with this unit is 73% to maintain a steady picture.

I still get do not get any signal from the translator (50), I get about 40-50% signal on ch.5 though. Is there any hope in Marshall county for ch. 5? I do not have an outdoor antenna, but have a couple of decent indoor antennas in the window. I recieve 2,7,8,9,11,13,17,19,23,28,32,39,and 48! But no channel 5, just how low power is channel 50? I have satellite, but enjoy DXing. Mike

I still get do not get any signal from the translator (50), I get about 40-50% signal on ch.5 though. Is there any hope in Marshall county for ch. 5? I do not have an outdoor antenna, but have a couple of decent indoor antennas in the window. I recieve 2,7,8,9,11,13,17,19,23,28,32,39,and 48! But no channel 5, just how low power is channel 50? I have satellite, but enjoy DXing. Mike

You probably won't be picking up the translator with an indoor antenna in Marshall County...it's only a few kilowatts.

If you can't put up a Yagi and are stuck with indoor antennas, try fully extending those rabbit-ear rods and fold them out as flat as you can. I also hope your window faces west. :)

I still get do not get any signal from the translator (50), I get about 40-50% signal on ch.5 though. Is there any hope in Marshall county for ch. 5? I do not have an outdoor antenna, but have a couple of decent indoor antennas in the window. I recieve 2,7,8,9,11,13,17,19,23,28,32,39,and 48! But no channel 5, just how low power is channel 50? I have satellite, but enjoy DXing. Mike

I'm not getting anything on 50 as well. I am almost line of site with 801 Grand (northern warren county) .

grich, actually the windows are North and South------so I have that going for me also. :mad:I can actually live without ch.5 (I can watch ABC on KCRG), but I really like RTV! I can watch RTV on KWWL 7.3, but, naturally, that is my weakest signal. I really think, this is a case of VHF-Low just not being suited to digital. I actually get KIMT CH.3 Mason City (and I am in Southern Marshall county) more reliably then WOI! I guess that is part of the challenge of DXing. Mike

I'm not getting anything on 50 as well. I am almost line of site with 801 Grand (northern warren county) .

Jeez, would think you could get something on 50. Someone posted a coverage map a few pages back and noticed Indianola was at the edge of the signal range. The map indicates a 20-25 mile range, might be a stretch but not here, Adam-12 coming up next and RTV is looking good. Wish they would show Hawaii Five-O.

If it wasn't for "This TV" on 19 and RTV, would have to get my sat re-subbed. Been enjoying the 60s and 70s exploitation flicks and stargate SG1 on KDMI, they lay on the commercials pretty thick but still enjoy the programming.

There is a free channel on C-band called "AmericanLife TV" that I hope gets picked up for digital sub channels at some point. They show Bob Newhart, MTM, Lou Grant, Trapper John MD, WKRP, Lost in Space, Hill St Blues. Almost wish I had a BUD dish so I could pick it up on 105 W, but think you need a 4DTV reciever to get it.... I don't want to go there.

if i use my old uhf antenna, i can get WOI. Or, if i use the regular rabbit ear and hold onto the antenna, i can get WOI (50)


grich, actually the windows are North and South------so I have that going for me also. :mad:I can actually live without ch.5 (I can watch ABC on KCRG), but I really like RTV! I can watch RTV on KWWL 7.3, but, naturally, that is my weakest signal. I really think, this is a case of VHF-Low just not being suited to digital. I actually get KIMT CH.3 Mason City (and I am in Southern Marshall county) more reliably then WOI! I guess that is part of the challenge of DXing. Mike

Does anyone know if KCCI is still planning on using a translator, channel 31 I think. If so, how soon? Any other VHF stations in Iowa planning on moving, or using translators in the UHF band?

I posted this in the CR forum also. Today I picked up an AUVIO 3.5 inch handheld digital/analog TV. $99.99, my local Radio Shack had 2 of them, they just came out today. I must say, I am impressed, lots of features in the menus. Does very well on UHF, and considering my location ok on VHF. Anyone living in the city (I am 55 miles from DSM, and a good 65 miles from CR) would have no problem with VHF. Anyway nice little TV. sku# 16-972 for anyone interested. As I said on the CR forum, I do not work for RS, just thought I would let people know about it. Mike

Looks like that their translator (50.1) has picked up some power, so we're able to finally receive decent signal with indoors antenna. I figured it is translator, not the original tower because when navigating to 50.1 TV set goes automatically to 5.1.

Looks like the CR market will have 2 HD newscasts by mid-2010 (KCRG and KWWL). What's the latest on KCCI and WHO? I know they went to 16:9 broadcasts several months ago and they looked great, but when are they taking the next big step to full HD?

Register online report: No Mediacom-Sinclair (KDSM) retrans deal today

Sinclair and Mediacom, of course, each have their own spin on what this means.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20091228/NEWS/91228026/1001/Cable-TV-flap-Sinclair-Mediacom-fail-to-come-to-agreement

Looks like the CR market will have 2 HD newscasts by mid-2010 (KCRG and KWWL). What's the latest on KCCI and WHO? I know they went to 16:9 broadcasts several months ago and they looked great, but when are they taking the next big step to full HD?
When one of the two stations' general sales managers can be fooled into thinking there's going to be increased sales revenue as a direct result of the upgrade. And not one minute before.

The other station will suddenly find the money to follow suit 30-60 days later.

WOI will follow within a year after that, but nobody will notice for another two years.

When one of the two stations' general sales managers can be fooled into thinking there's going to be increased sales revenue as a direct result of the upgrade. And not one minute before.

The other station will suddenly find the money to follow suit 30-60 days later.

WOI will follow within a year after that, but nobody will notice for another two years.You can also figure in the life cycle of whatever equipment they're using. If there's stuff at any station that's nearing the end of its useful life, it could be a good sign. Who wants to replace it with equipment that'll be obsolete if "that other station" gets HD gear? I mean, even WOI claims to be broadcasting Entertainment Tonight in HD, and I don't know whether the CTN Cyclone/Hawkeye men's basketball game was HD there on ABC5, but it WAS HD on KCRG.

I detect a small increase in 50.1, up from 94% last month to 96% tonight. Anyone noticed lots of blips and dropouts on channel 13 over the last couple weeks ?

mofford, I have also noticed the slight drop outs on WHO. Mostly the last 2-3 weeks. I just thought it might be my distance (about 45-50 miles). Although never had them before. Mike