I just got around to checking my recording of House MD on my MCE PC and it recorded perfect from WDKY-DT. I guess the splicer issue was fixed prior to the recording, which is good because I didn't even know it was 'down'. :)

Glad you didn't get caught off guard. Maybe the problem was that it wouldn't switch out of network mode???

Looks like Louisville is getting HD on Direct TV in 2008...

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=127160&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1084510&highlight=

The 11 local markets to receive HD programming from DIRECTV include:

-- Albany/Schenectady/Troy, N.Y. -- Paducah, Ky.
-- Cedar Rapids/Waterloo, Iowa -- Tucson, Ariz.
-- Flint/Saginaw/Bay City, Mich. -- Waco/Temple/Bryan, Texas
-- Lincoln/Hastings, Neb. -- Wichita/Hutchinson, Kan.
-- Louisville, Ky. -- Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pa.
-- Omaha, Neb.

Just wondering how come Paducah is on there, and not Lexington...

Looks like Louisville is getting HD on Direct TV in 2008...

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=127160&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1084510&highlight=

The 11 local markets to receive HD programming from DIRECTV include:

-- Albany/Schenectady/Troy, N.Y. -- Paducah, Ky.
-- Cedar Rapids/Waterloo, Iowa -- Tucson, Ariz.
-- Flint/Saginaw/Bay City, Mich. -- Waco/Temple/Bryan, Texas
-- Lincoln/Hastings, Neb. -- Wichita/Hutchinson, Kan.
-- Louisville, Ky. -- Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pa.
-- Omaha, Neb.

Just wondering how come Paducah is on there, and not Lexington...


That surprises me. Oh well, Glad I have OTA!

That surprises me. Oh well, Glad I have OTA!

Same here with OTA! I guess the Lexington population needs to increase before providers will give more serious attention to adding these channels in HD. Furthermore I wish TWC in Winchester had more to offer. I don't have their services for television (just broadband Internet), but last I checked, they still did not have every local affiliate available in HD (has that changed?).

ok, that kills me, lexington population needs to increase (whats with that bencjedi, have you not tried driving around here lately???)....the metro population alone is over 600,000...the lexington DMA (designated market area) serves over 1,000,000 and paducah....um well....is small in comparison to its dma barely a blip on the map....lexington is the 63rd largest dma in the nation out of hundreds....i would have to say that they are picking the largest cities in each state or largest dma then going with a smaller more rural area dma same way as what dish has done then they come back and start putting up the next largest dma and picking up the next more rural dma....if they only did lex & lvlle then people east of winchester...all sd and below richmond all sd....paducah kind of catches western ky and parts of tn and mo, and il so lvlle picks up where paducah leaves off west to east up till frankfort then lex takes over till u get to winchester and then you get it out of wva or va it's all an area coverage thing....but still kills me a little hole like paducah gets hd local b4 big metro like lex does....grrrrrrrr....i have dish neway....getting pretty po'ed at them with their hd line up.....directtv is leaving them in dust.....would switch if it wasnt so freakin expensive to buy dtv equipment....it would cost me $400 just to switch in equipment....and dish gives theirs away....

ok, that kills me, lexington population needs to increase (whats with that bencjedi, have you not tried driving around here lately???)....the metro population alone is over 600,000..

I was being sarcastic ;)
I've been on this forum a long time. I wasn't born yesterday. Decade+ Lexington resident! lol

Yeah, some things in life are illogical/not fair. Just glad I get all our local affiliates OTA. And I agree.. traffic in Lexington is painful, especially Man O War. The designer needs to be shot for the programming of the traffic lights. I swear I get stopped by each one sometimes (mostly). If they are not programmatically optimizable, then all the tax that gets sucked out of my Lexington-workplace paychecks should go to buying better traffic signals. :)

EDIT: Also shoot the engineers that designed parking at Hamburg Pavilion ;)

I have Insight with their HD package, however I'm not getting channel 906 and 924 which i believe is ESPN2HD - is this normal for their service or is my Digital box screwed?

I've tried restarting the box, unplugging the box for a while and then plugging it back in - still can't get those channels. Tells me to please wait - channel not available.

Hi guys,

I have lost the ability to receive WKYT 27-1 and WDKY 56-1 over the last couple of days. Is any one else having issues with these stations. I am on the north side of Richmond and normally do not have issues with these channels. I am using a Dish 622 receiver and it shows 0 signal for all of 27 HD channels and 0 signal for the 56-1 HD signal. I am getting full reception for 36, 18 and 46. I spent a half hour with Dish tech support to no avail. They think it is either the antennas or broadcast problem. I have been up in the attic adjusting the antennas but was unsuccessful. These channels just disappeared a couple of days ago. Any ideas? Thank you.

Hi guys,

I have lost the ability to receive WKYT 27-1 and WDKY 56-1 over the last couple of days. Is any one else having issues with these stations. I am on the north side of Richmond and normally do not have issues with these channels. I am using a Dish 622 receiver and it shows 0 signal for all of 27 HD channels and 0 signal for the 56-1 HD signal. I am getting full reception for 36, 18 and 46. I spent a half hour with Dish tech support to no avail. They think it is either the antennas or broadcast problem. I have been up in the attic adjusting the antennas but was unsuccessful. These channels just disappeared a couple of days ago. Any ideas? Thank you.

Sorry, not having any problems here in Morehead. I had a simular problem a couple of months ago and it turned out to be a bad end on a piece of coax. Good Luck,

Steve

I have lost the ability to receive WKYT 27-1 and WDKY 56-1 over the last couple of days. Is any one else having issues with these stations. I am on the north side of Richmond and normally do not have issues with these channels. I am using a Dish 622 receiver and it shows 0 signal for all of 27 HD channels and 0 signal for the 56-1 HD signal. I am getting full reception for 36, 18 and 46. I spent a half hour with Dish tech support to no avail. They think it is either the antennas or broadcast problem. I have been up in the attic adjusting the antennas but was unsuccessful. These channels just disappeared a couple of days ago. Any ideas? Thank you.

Fox 56 DT is at full power. Both channels you mention are VHF channels, so you might have a problem with your coax, antenna, or HDTV tuner. I would check the antenna first. The tallest tower you see at I-75 and exit 97 is WDKY, if you are north of Richmond, you live right under it. Best bet is an outdoor VHF-UHF combo antenna, but a good antenna in the attic should work. Also check your coax. When I worked in the MATV-SMATV business years ago, I found that UHF might "jump" across a small gap, like a short center conductor that does not make contact in a connector, but VHF is stopped dead. If you need help, call James Gray at 626-1072 or Danny Brantley at 278-1343. They are both antenna installers that know how to pick up Fox-56 DT.

Same here with OTA! I guess the Lexington population needs to increase before providers will give more serious attention to adding these channels in HD. Furthermore I wish TWC in Winchester had more to offer. I don't have their services for television (just broadband Internet), but last I checked, they still did not have every local affiliate available in HD (has that changed?).

maybe the satellite companies see how anti-growth some people in Lexington are, and maybe they are hedging their bets.... If you think Lexington is not anti-growth, check out the highway system in Columbus or Atlanta or any other city that sees major growth. The loop road always connects to the interstates, and one or two (or more) limited access roads run right through the middle of town. My obit will state "he died on Versailles road, when a semi truck that was traveling 70 mph struck the car he was driving legally" please build the roads already (sorry I'm off topic, just a little frustrated)

When I worked in the MATV-SMATV business years ago, I found that UHF might "jump" across a small gap, like a short center conductor that does not make contact in a connector, but VHF is stopped dead.


Thank you so much for that tip. It turns out it was a coax connector that had come partially loose. Both channels are back. Thanks again HDTV4usinky.

Thank you so much for that tip. It turns out it was a coax connector that had come partially loose. Both channels are back. Thanks again HDTV4usinky.

No Problem, but give some credit to Steve, he had you in the right direction :)

I have a few Delhi 5Y4S yagis I'll part with for $40 each, and I'll include a balun (matching transformer). They are new, but they are packed two to a box. If you only want one, it might not come with the box. I know the "big game" will be on Fox-56, along with a few BCS games, so if you know someone that must get the game in HD, please let them know. This price is below cost, I just need to get rid of them. Here's a link with the specs: http://www.wade-antenna.com/Wade/cutchannel.pdf

I might even deliver the antenna if it's not too far off my routine (Versailles, Lexington, Richmond, Frankfort) My number is 859-221-0824

Thanks in advance for helping me clean out some storage space.

^^^ Humm ... so you're the guy that bought up all of Stark's remaining stock. ;) :D

Looks like insight has added more HD channels... I see NFLHD (noted above), TBSHD (looks like mostly just up-converted stuff), DSCHD (ditto), Animal Planet HD, TLCHD, National Geographic HD (seems cool, never watched it much before), and HD on Demand, so you can get the pay per view movies in HD. I'm especially a fan of the last one although it seems a few dollars more than a movie from Blockbuster, it's easier than driving myself to the video store.

Hip, hip, hooray! $5 says my cable bill goes up for having the "HD Package".

I'm guessing this is all in preparation for the DirectTV HD market to come into town. Whatever the reason, competition = good.

:( TWC in Winchester / Sterling is a joke. We only get CBS & Fox in HD, and the rest of the lineup is bleak.

So I got a video decoder for my computer (HVR-950 on a vista machine) and I'm getting signal strength great for 3 locals. But WLEX doesn't come up on media center. (works fine with the Winpaugge program). Anyone know what's going on?

Thanks in advance!

Phil

I believe I may be seeing what thestaton was complaining about. I put a new little Sharp HDTV in at my parents in Paris. I couldn't find all the locals through the QAM tuner. I got kyt and fox and a bunch of KET's... Anyone know what you can get through QAM from TWC in Paris and the channels? Seems wierd you can get TBS and Disney but no TVQ or LEX. Maybe their tuner just didn't pick them up. My Sony is like that in Lexington.... you have to manually tune. I had to leave so I didn't get a chance to explore fully.
TIA

Magnavox

TWC has to add the extra 'HD' local channels to their cable system. Your parents TV should have an extra coax input for the OTA signals from an antenna to receive the local stations. They will have to select that input on their remote to get LEX, NBC and all the other local stations in HD. I've seen the new SHarp TVs that have this additional input feature.

In time I must assume all the analog signals on the TWC cable will be dropped for HD pragamming only, but for now we are getting a few HD channels free. My Toshiba is detecting a lot of HD signals that are encrypted so I dont know how much bandwidth they have left over to add extra stations without dropping others.

Here's the lineup for all stations for the Winchester area from Time Warner Cable. Of course none of the HD stations correspond with my QAM stations that I can receive for free some reason.

http://www.timewarnercable.com/CustomerService/CLU/TWCCLUs.ashx

Thanks...
I didn't see an extra coax input for OTA signal on the TV... I'll have to look at that to make sure. I picked one up with QAM hoping to not have them changing inputs and such. One of my TV's has a single input and I had to put a splitter on there to swap the signal, hopefully I won't have to do that...

Thanks again for the link. I'm going back down there this weekend and will take a set top antenna with me... Hopefully that will be strong enough.

Magnavox,

My bad. It's the Samsung TVs that have two coax inputs and not the Sharp. I visited my favorite hhgregg store in Lex and talked with those friendly and knowledgeable folks who stated that only the Samsung in the 38" to 19" category has the extra RF coax input. Most of the much larger HD flat screens have both inputs now. The Polaroid also has an extra coax but should be avoided as it has inferior sound and video. It's also made in China so if you accidental lick it you might get lead poisoning! :(

Does anyone have a good list of available clear QAM channels available on Insight in Lexington? I have a friend (Man O War & Boston Rd area) that got a brand new Sharp LCD HDTV at Christmas, but he can't get 18-1, 27-1, or any other HD on cable. However, the TV detected a bunch of digital channels up in the 90s, 100s, and 110s. All of these seem to be blank.

I, on the other hand, can receive all the networks (not CW) in clear QAM at my house (H'burg & Man O War) on a crappy Vizio.

Thanks.

Tonight's simulcast of the Patriots - Giants game illustrated just how awful WKYT's HD quality is. Flipping back and forth between the game on the NFL Network, WKYT, and WLEX, one could easily see more detail and sharpness in the NFL and WLEX broadcasts.

I've emailed WKYT about their HD PQ issues but they don't seem to be doing much about it. Obviously the conversion from CBS's 1080i to 720p is not happening properly. It seems like I read somewhere that their Harris HD equipment might be to blame.

Has anyone else tried to contact WKYT about this issue? It's a shame they are messing with CBS's great 1080i feed.

Tonight's simulcast of the Patriots - Giants game illustrated just how awful WKYT's HD quality is. Flipping back and forth between the game on the NFL Network, WKYT, and WLEX, one could easily see more detail and sharpness in the NFL and WLEX broadcasts.

I've emailed WKYT about their HD PQ issues but they don't seem to be doing much about it. Obviously the conversion from CBS's 1080i to 720p is not happening properly. It seems like I read somewhere that their Harris HD equipment might be to blame.

Has anyone else tried to contact WKYT about this issue? It's a shame they are messing with CBS's great 1080i feed.

Yeah,it has really gone downhill in the last year.
At least they went 5.1;WLEX still hasn't got their act together.

It seems like I read somewhere that their Harris HD equipment might be to blame.

You don't even have to go there. The problem (as it's always been) is that WKYT is trying to cram two HD channels into a space that's barely adequate for one.

Yeah,it has really gone downhill in the last year.
At least they went 5.1;WLEX still hasn't got their act together.

bradman
What are you talking about??? I see no stations on 5.1! And WLEX (18) has their act together with a full 1080i quality signal.

You don't even have to go there. The problem (as it's always been) is that WKYT is trying to cram two HD channels into a space that's barely adequate for one.

Anyone have any idea how they will provide the HD local feed to D*? Will it be the overcompressed/downconverted 720p version? I'd assume if that's what they are providing to cable than that's what D* will get as well.:mad:

I hope D* forgets to turn off my distant networks.

Anyone have any idea how they will provide the HD local feed to D*? Will it be the overcompressed/downconverted 720p version? I'd assume if that's what they are providing to cable than that's what D* will get as well.:mad:

I hope D* forgets to turn off my distant networks.

cpcat,

My guess is you'll get the 720p downconvert. Real shame that all the other locals are blowing away WKYT and they don't seem to care.

bradman
What are you talking about??? I see no stations on 5.1! And WLEX (18) has their act together with a full 1080i quality signal.

Roger,

WDKY, WKYT, and WTVQ all broadcast in DD 5.1 (I'm using Insight Cable).

Real shame that all the other locals are blowing away WKYT and they don't seem to care.

Of course they don't. As long as they have the UK sports contract locked up, they have a license to print money. Historically, in the analog days, they've always had the worse signal in the market and there's no reason to believe that they'll change now. Heck, I'm sure they could even spin it to where they're 'doing the most with DTV.' ;) :D

BTW, I've noticed that WKYT has managed to find the correct encoder settings on 27.2 to trigger the dreaded audio dropout/video glitch bug on SW V6.xx HR10-250's. So it looks like I'm back to WBKI after the break.

Ed,
Here's a list of the QAM channels on insight. I had the same problem with my Sony but they worked when I direct programmed them. Someone posted these for me a while ago...

The catch is that you can't use the OTA channel numbers -- Insight has them on different channels and there is no remapping in the Sony tuner. My current channel list is:
WLEXDT: 116.1
WDKYDT: 81.3
WKYTDT: 72.1
WTVQDT: 81.1
KET4: 72.6
KET3: 72.5
KET2: 72.4
KET1: 72.13
TUBE (now defunct): 81.5
WTVQ2: 81.4

Center conductor shrinkage is a problem when it's 15 degrees outside. If you loose WDKY, check your connectors for short center conductors. As mentioned in other posts, this is more of a problem with VHF than UHF.

KET HD is in 5.1 when available..otherwise its Dolby stereo.

Tonight's simulcast of the Patriots - Giants game illustrated just how awful WKYT's HD quality is. Flipping back and forth between the game on the NFL Network, WKYT, and WLEX, one could easily see more detail and sharpness in the NFL and WLEX broadcasts.

I've emailed WKYT about their HD PQ issues but they don't seem to be doing much about it. Obviously the conversion from CBS's 1080i to 720p is not happening properly. It seems like I read somewhere that their Harris HD equipment might be to blame.

Has anyone else tried to contact WKYT about this issue? It's a shame they are messing with CBS's great 1080i feed.

Yup! Got the following response today.

Steve:

Thanks for your message. We do appreciate hearing from our viewers.

Your observations are indeed correct. Because of contractual obligations with CBS and the CW network, we carry both in HD. In order to facilitate this, both are broadcast in 720P. This is simply a limitation in the number of digital bits allocated to HD broadcasting as set forth by the FCC.

We expect that in the near future, new advances in digital signal compression will continue to enhance our ability to deliver HD telecasts in increasingly better quality. The advances that have occurred in the last 18 months have been nothing short of stunning.

In the meantime, thanks for watching and letting us know what you think.

Regards,

Chas Callaway
VP Engineering
WKYT-TV/DT
chas@wkyt.com

I have a few Delhi 5Y4S yagis I'll part with for $40 each, and I'll include a balun (matching transformer). They are new, but they are packed two to a box. If you only want one, it might not come with the box. I know the "big game" will be on Fox-56, along with a few BCS games, so if you know someone that must get the game in HD, please let them know. This price is below cost, I just need to get rid of them.

I might even deliver the antenna if it's not too far off my routine (Versailles, Lexington, Richmond, Frankfort) My number is 859-221-0824

Thanks in advance for helping me clean out some storage space.

I NEED to watch the "big game" this coming Monday!! I don't have cable or satellite. Just a set of rabbit ears. I can pull in all of the local HD stations EXCEPT WDKY Fox! Will this thing you are selling allow me to pull in Fox? If so, do you still have them available? Is it something I can install myself? I am a SEVERE novice. I've never even heard of what you are selling. Please help if you can! Thanks in advance.

Because of contractual obligations with CBS and the CW network, we carry both in HD.I don't know what WKYT's contract says but WKRC-DT Cincinnati is also a CBS affiliate but they carry CBS at 1080i on 12-1 and CW in SD 480i on 12-2.

Either way, everything I've read has said that ATSC was designed for 1080i stations not to multicast, and that 720p stations could have one SD subchannel.

I am very interested in seeing how WKYT channels look, and how the data stream looks. If anyone out there would be willing to get me a transport stream recording (preferring the full stream, not just one subchannel) with CW and CBS HD programming present that I could analyze and watch please let me know.

I would be pissed if WKYT made CW standard definition. I know there's a compromise on CBS-HD with CW-HD, but degrading my favorite CW shows to SD would be a huge letdown for me. I'll take what we can get for HD, even if the bitrates are reduced on both subchannels. I can only get steady reception on WBKI-DT from Winchester late at night and by then there's nothing showing in HD. There's another positive aspect to WKYT's setup.. if you capture both CBS and CW shows, an hour show trimmed of commercials is usually 1.5 to 1.7GB, so you can fit two episodes of each series on a DVD+R single layer disc for playback in your MCE PC on your HDTV. I do it all the time. Quality sacrifice, but convenient nonetheless.

I am very interested in seeing how WKYT channels look, and how the data stream looks. If anyone out there would be willing to get me a transport stream recording (preferring the full stream, not just one subchannel) with CW and CBS HD programming present that I could analyze and watch please let me know.

Here's a sample from last night:
http://rapidshare.de/files/38206640/WKYT.Test.010308.ts.html

Not sure if HDTVToMPEG2 stripped the null packets out though.

See attached notice....

Effective at 20:00 1-6-08


William

Here's a sample from last night:
http://rapidshare.de/files/38206640/WKYT.Test.010308.ts.html

Not sure if HDTVToMPEG2 stripped the null packets out though.Thank you very much for taking the time to do that. I am able to watch the CBS HD feed but I don't think the CW feed made it through. When I analyze it I see two 4-5 Mbps video streams, which I don't think is correct. The stream must have been manipulated in some way as all the data is just not there.

Would you happen to have a method to save the raw stream, unaltered? Not sure what software you use to record, but when I record with BeyondTV the files it saves are the unaltered transport stream.

Thank you very much for taking the time to do that. I am able to watch the CBS HD feed but I don't think the CW feed made it through. When I analyze it I see two 4-5 Mbps video streams, which I don't think is correct. The stream must have been manipulated in some way as all the data is just not there.

Would you happen to have a method to save the raw stream, unaltered? Not sure what software you use to record, but when I record with BeyondTV the files it saves are the unaltered transport stream.


Yeah, I was afraid of that.. the HDTVtoMPEG2 app must have done that to the stream. My sample capture was 4GB and didn't think I should even attempt to post that, so I had cut that little piece out from a recording I had on-hand from last night using HDTVtoMPEG2.
The MyHD MDP-120 captures the raw TS, but I mucked with it to get you a smaller sample.

I'm recording something else at the moment, but will do a quick recording of WKYT-DT afterward (maybe just for 30 second duration). That way the captured file can remain untouched for you. I'll try to get you this sample later this evening.

Yup! Got the following response today.

Steve:

Thanks for your message. We do appreciate hearing from our viewers.

Your observations are indeed correct. Because of contractual obligations with CBS and the CW network, we carry both in HD. In order to facilitate this, both are broadcast in 720P. This is simply a limitation in the number of digital bits allocated to HD broadcasting as set forth by the FCC.

We expect that in the near future, new advances in digital signal compression will continue to enhance our ability to deliver HD telecasts in increasingly better quality. The advances that have occurred in the last 18 months have been nothing short of stunning.

In the meantime, thanks for watching and letting us know what you think.

Regards,

Chas Callaway
VP Engineering
WKYT-TV/DT
chas@wkyt.com

Steve,

Thanks so much for posting this. No wonder WKYT looks so horrible. Shoehorning two 720p channels into their stream has to lead to some pretty low bitrates for each channel.

Here's an unaltered 15 second sample of WKYT-DT during primetime tonight:

http://rapidshare.de/files/38211944/WKYT-DT.cap01.tp.html

See attached notice....

Effective at 20:00 1-6-08

Thanks for the update, I was wondering if the program guide data had gone wacky again.

Here's an unaltered 15 second sample of WKYT-DT during primetime tonight:

http://rapidshare.de/files/38211944/WKYT-DT.cap01.tp.htmlThanks... this one opened up better. I was more surprised than I thought I'd be though when I opened it up. Granted this is only a 15 second sample but here is what I saw:

Video:
WKYT-HD: 4.72 Mbps
CWKYT-HD: 6.46 Mbps
RADAR: 1.72 Mbps

Audio:
WKYT-HD: 394 kbps
CWKYT-HD: 394 kbps
RADAR: 99 kbps

NULL Packets: 5.50 Mbps

Then several small data streams which brings the total to ~19.4 Mbps

4.72 Mbps for CBS HD... wow. 5.5 Mbps of null packets... double wow.

The 15 seconds worth of video I watched looked OK, but it was also a drama with not much motion. Can't imagine what it must look like for a football or basketball game.

I really expected to see something more like 10 Mbps for CBS HD and 7 Mbps for CW HD, and didn't even realize there was a RADAR channel in there as well.

Weird how they are giving their primary CBS channel less bitrate (quality). That CW contract must be strict on that.

That's awful.:(

See attached notice....

Effective at 20:00 1-6-08


William

Had not seen anyone else mention this, but I am having a problem with the audio (no sound) on the new 46.3 on my Dish Network 622. Interestingly, my tuner in my Samsung set tunes it in just fine.

I deleted and added back the local channel (on the 622) but that did not help.

Can anyone else with a vip622 test out 46.3 (primetime - that was when I tried) and report back if they have any sound?

EDIT: also thought I would mention that it is hooked up via hdmi (622 to Samsung LCD)

Nevermind! It worked tonight. Strange but it has worked itself out.


Had not seen anyone else mention this, but I am having a problem with the audio (no sound) on the new 46.3 on my Dish Network 622. Interestingly, my tuner in my Samsung set tunes it in just fine.

I deleted and added back the local channel (on the 622) but that did not help.

Can anyone else with a vip622 test out 46.3 (primetime - that was when I tried) and report back if they have any sound?

EDIT: also thought I would mention that it is hooked up via hdmi (622 to Samsung LCD)

I NEED to watch the "big game" this coming Monday!! I don't have cable or satellite. Just a set of rabbit ears. I can pull in all of the local HD stations EXCEPT WDKY Fox! Will this thing you are selling allow me to pull in Fox? If so, do you still have them available? Is it something I can install myself? I am a SEVERE novice. I've never even heard of what you are selling. Please help if you can! Thanks in advance.

Yes I have several antennas left, yes it does better than anything you can buy locally to pick up WDKY, but I'm a day late :) The game sucked in off air HD at my house anyway. I'm hopeful it is this crazy weather, but someone needs to look at the Fox HD transmitter before the next big game!

Oh and if you are a Buckeye fan, you really didn't need HD. There isn't anything that's more black and white about what happened last night.

Had my first use of one of HDTV4usinky's antenna's last night. Have it set just right (attic, combined with other UHF outdoor antenna) to keep a pretty good signal (about 65% on 622 tuner) and enjoyed viewing the BCS game last night. Being new to WDKY-DT I was amazed/amused how such things as a clothes dryer alarm, ice dispenser, and other types of things can just briefly kill the signal.

I am new to OTA HDTV. I live in Georgetown and want to pick up the OTA HD channels with an antenna mounted in my attic. I understand FOX WDKY is tricky. Can someone try to explain exactly what I need to get hooked up? I watch a lot of sports, so FOX is pretty important to me. If it matters I am using 2 x D* HR20's as my receivers. Antennaweb says WDKY-DT is on channel 56.1 which sounds like it is UHF but I have seen others post that it is VHF. Please help me. I've tried to read through what I can in this 111 page thread, and now I'm even more confused. Thanks in advance.

check out www.antennaweb.org

You can enter your address and it will show you a map of where all the transmitters are located. WDKY antenna is near Clay's Ferry. Get that and the other locals are likely to follow.

I have a friend in Cynthiana that nailed it on the first try.
Another friend in the boonies (Sadieville) has the best of both worlds: he can get Lexington and Cincinnati channels.

good luck ! :)

I am new to OTA HDTV. I live in Georgetown and want to pick up the OTA HD channels with an antenna mounted in my attic. I understand FOX WDKY is tricky. Can someone try to explain exactly what I need to get hooked up? I watch a lot of sports, so FOX is pretty important to me. If it matters I am using 2 x D* HR20's as my receivers. Antennaweb says WDKY-DT is on channel 56.1 which sounds like it is UHF but I have seen others post that it is VHF. Please help me. I've tried to read through what I can in this 111 page thread, and now I'm even more confused. Thanks in advance.

FOX WDKY-DT is broadcasting on channel 4. Once you've scanned for digital signals you can call up the FOX station with 4.1 or 56.1. Since all the local stations are still broadcasting on their old analog stations they have to use a different channel to broadcast their digital signal. There is a code riding on the digital signal called a Virtual Channel that tells the TV the old channel number you used to expect the station to be on. FOX's Virtual channel is 56.1 so if you call that up on your TV then you'll get WDKY. When all the old analog channels stop transmitting they will probibly do away with the virtual channel and change their call sign to WDKY 4, WTVQ 40, WKYT 14 and so forth.

You might want to visit the web site www.TitanTV.com for more TV listings in your area and info on HDTV reception.

Had my first use of one of HDTV4usinky's antenna's last night. Have it set just right (attic, combined with other UHF outdoor antenna) to keep a pretty good signal (about 65% on 622 tuner) and enjoyed viewing the BCS game last night. Being new to WDKY-DT I was amazed/amused how such things as a clothes dryer alarm, ice dispenser, and other types of things can just briefly kill the signal. WDKY-DT broadcasts as you know on VHF channel 4. Lo-VHF channels (2-6) are very susceptible to interference and noise. When you're watching an analog channel on 2-6 and turn on an electric motor (blender, garage door opener, etc.) you may notice dots or lines on the screen. This same interference affects DTV reception on channels 2-6 only instead of dots or lines, you get signal drop outs, as the noise is too "loud" for the TV tuner to "hear" the TV signal over it.

Some things you can do to help:

1.) Ensure you have quality coax runs with the highest quality and well-shielded cable. Keep the cable runs away from electric wires and interference-causing devices.

2.) Get the antenna outside, far away from interference-causing devices (motors, electric blankets, even plasma TVs!). The attic is not as good a place for an antenna as it seems. The signal will be weakened from having to travel through the roof, and it also increases multi-path issues.

3.) Consider a mast mounted pre-amp, which can help the TV signal overcome any noise introduced later in the cable run. Note that if you're close to the DTV transmitting towers a pre-amp is probably not a good idea, and it also won't help overcome any interference received by the antenna itself (it will amplify the noise as well!).

When all the old analog channels stop transmitting they will probibly do away with the virtual channel and change their call sign to WDKY 4, WTVQ 40, WKYT 14 and so forth.Actually, the FCC wants stations to maintain their branding indefinitely after analog switch off. So, while WDKY-DT will continue to be broadcast on channel 4, they will maintain the channel 56 branding.

Some stations will move their DTV broadcasts to their old analog channel when they turn it off. For example, WKRC (here in Cincinnati) broadcasts analog on channel 12. Their digital channel is 31. After analog switch off next year they will move their digital channel to 12. I checked for WDKY and they are not moving their digital channel from 4 after analog switch off (of course this is subject to change). You can see a list of current TV stations in the US, which includes current digital and analog channels, as well as digital channel after analog shut off here:

http://www.dxfm.com/

Scroll down and click the DTV CHANNEL ELECTIONS link.

Thanks for the help. What kind of antenna should I get? A UHF/VHF yagi type antenna? How big?

Thanks for the help. What kind of antenna should I get? A UHF/VHF yagi type antenna? How big?I'm not an expert on the Lexington area, but based on some quick research it looks like you guys have digital stations on LO-VHF, HI-VHF, and UHF. For simplicity, you probably can't go wrong with a medium sized VHF/UHF combo. (something like this perhaps: http://www.winegard.com/offair/vhfuhf.htm ).

Also, go to www.tvfool.com and put in your address to see an estimate of your reception capabilities.

Again as I mentioned earlier, getting the antenna outside will help a lot, especially with the local FOX station on VHF 4.

Again as I mentioned earlier, getting the antenna outside will help a lot, especially with the local FOX station on VHF 4.

I would hold off on a preamp. A medium gain antenna like the 7080P or better should work well. Save a few bucks and try it without the preamp first. I have received WDKY in Flemingsburg, Lexington, and Versailles without a preamp.

98584

Attached is a photo of the WDKY transmitters. The one on the left is the analog UHF. As you can see it's pretty much brand new, and very capable of going digital. The little transmitter on the right is for HDTV channel 4. WDKY has viewers in Ohio that watch the digital, despite the fact that there is an analog ch 4 in Columbus. The channel 4 digital transmitter "gets out" much better than any UHF in the Lexington market, but it does suffer badly from impulse noise. WDKY will not be able to move the digital transmission to channel 56, that channel (along with all other tv channels above 51) is going away for homeland security needs. WDKY's parent company, Sinclair, is working with the FCC in order to relocate the digital channel to a vacated UHF location in the future (but don't hold your breath)

Yes I have several antennas left, yes it does better than anything you can buy locally to pick up WDKY, but I'm a day late :) The game sucked in off air HD at my house anyway. I'm hopeful it is this crazy weather, but someone needs to look at the Fox HD transmitter before the next big game!

Oh and if you are a Buckeye fan, you really didn't need HD. There isn't anything that's more black and white about what happened last night.
Thanks anyway. Yes, I'm a huge Buckeye fan. Grew up in Ohio and worked at OSU. The loss didn't hurt as bad as last year's. I guess we're getting used to it! Maybe next year we can make it to the title game again and get beat by Georgia! Argghhh!... At least this was a re-building season for the Buckeyes. They can't help it if the Big 10 has been down in recent years and that all of the teams ahead of them at the end of the regular season got beat. In my eyes, Monday night's game was a #1(LSU) playing a #6(Buckeyes). The Buckeyes were just not that good of a team, really. USC, Georgia and Missouri all have legitimate arguments to be ranked #1 or to have at least played for the national title. The Buckeyes were ranked #6 or #7 after the Michigan game. They didn't magically get better between the Michigan game and the LSU game. They should be better next year. At least we have basketball to look forward to. The Buckeyes are sneaking back into the top 25. They've only lost 3 games. Those were to ranked opponents. They've beaten one ranked opponent (Butler.) Ohio State is turning, if they haven't already, into a two-sport school. Just think the possibility of back-to-back-to-back-to-back national championship appearances in football and basketball. Granted, they haven't won any of those, but none the less. Most schools would GLADLY trade spots with Ohio State. Plus, Ohio State's schedule will be harder next season in football. Their third game is against USC in California! Also, the Big 10 looks to be back on track for next season. In the "way too soon" pre-season football poll, the Big 10 has 5 teams in the top 25. Just like the SEC.

sorry I brought it up :) I was an engineer for WSYX/WTTE for several years. I went to all the Buckeye football home games and stood on the sidelines. I even got paid overtime to do it :) Pun was intended with the "black & white" comment, I thought that you could push the guy with the ball out of bounds without getting flagged...... Anyway, if you want an antenna for the next "big game" on Fox, I have about 30 of the dang things I need to get rid of. Somehow I thought I could make money off them, but it hasn't worked out that way.

Anyway, if you want an antenna for the next "big game" on Fox, I have about 30 of the dang things I need to get rid of. Somehow I thought I could make money off them, but it hasn't worked out that way.


Good thing I didn't cut up lots of wire to make wireloops for WDKY-DT to hawk-out to people. I see you don't need the competition. ;)

Nice ladder in your pic! I wouldn't be surprised if it is influencing the WDKY-DT signal also. Get that thing moved! lol

98584

Attached is a photo of the WDKY transmitters. The one on the left is the analog UHF. As you can see it's pretty much brand new, and very capable of going digital. The little transmitter on the right is for HDTV channel 4. WDKY has viewers in Ohio that watch the digital, despite the fact that there is an analog ch 4 in Columbus. The channel 4 digital transmitter "gets out" much better than any UHF in the Lexington market, but it does suffer badly from impulse noise. WDKY will not be able to move the digital transmission to channel 56, that channel (along with all other tv channels above 51) is going away for homeland security needs. WDKY's parent company, Sinclair, is working with the FCC in order to relocate the digital channel to a vacated UHF location in the future (but don't hold your breath)

Hmmmm.... I wonder what will happen to all those analog transmitters in 2009?

I hope that they move WDKY's digital channel to the UHF side soon!

Nice ladder in your pic! I wouldn't be surprised if it is influencing the WDKY-DT signal also. Get that thing moved! lol

I'm in the WDKY transmitter building at this very moment, and yes, they have the ladder properly stored :) Hey if any of you ever want a tour of the place, I can hook you up!

I'm in the WDKY transmitter building at this very moment, and yes, they have the ladder properly stored :) Hey if any of you ever want a tour of the place, I can hook you up!

That would be cool! I would enjoy that.

Anyone know if WDKY will be doing the news in HD soon since it is produced by WKYT?

Anyone know if WDKY will be doing the news in HD soon since it is produced by WKYT?

the magic 8 ball says "the answer to your question is not clear"

as far as a transmitter tour, we can do that dang near anytime you want. Like right now even.

the magic 8 ball says "the answer to your question is not clear"

as far as a transmitter tour, we can do that dang near anytime you want. Like right now even.

I rather be there than here at work. I don't get off until 5. :(

In the past I've mentioned the possibility of a tour/get together here at KET after hours..I personally have no issues as to a transmitter tour(since it would be close to WDKY anyway) but my management would have to okay it.

Our studio upgrade will be starting soon and that will tie up things here for over a year.

William

William

I would love to visit the KET transmitter. I've been to the KET studios on Cooper, and they are impressive to say the least. I'm looking at a house that's on the market that is across the interstate (and a bit south) from the WDKY & KET transmitters, and I'm wondering if I'll have reception issues if I buy something near there. It can't be as bad as Versailles with the channel 3 in L'ville to deal with.

I'm in the WDKY transmitter building at this very moment, and yes, they have the ladder properly stored :) Hey if any of you ever want a tour of the place, I can hook you up!

What does she look like? :D

I live about 5 miles South of the site and from my basement with no real antenna I can get signal on everyone but WLJC pretty easily.

William

I hope that they move WDKY's digital channel to the UHF side soon!

I like the way it cuts deep into the mountains on 4 ... I can't sniff any of the Lexington UHFs, but WDKY booms in.

I would be up for a group tour of both facilities, WDKY and KET.

I live off of Leestown Rd near Masterson Station. I've used three antennas (indoor) and am able to pick up the local ABC, NBC, PBS, and CBS stations. I know that FOX (WDKY) is being broadcast on VHF from Danville. Is there any hope for me to pick up WDKY-DT from here? For those of you who do get it, do you pretty much have to use an outdoor antenna?

The antennas I've tried are the Philips MANT940 (UHF), MANT510 (UHF/VHF) and an RCA antenna. The RCA was garbage so that's gone.

Btw, I am able to pick up the analog signal for WDKY just fine on my decade old TV.

Any help? Thanks.

fox's tower is out by KET's tower now it is no longer in danville!

Oh ok. I was misled by Antennaweb.org.

Weird because I am able to pick up 4 PBS channels (WKONDT1 thru 4).

elvineet,

Checkout antennaweb.org - plug in your address and it'll show you vectors to where all the HD channels are. Fox antenna is near Clay's Ferry. If you have a slightly "directional" antenna and point it in that direction, and can swoop in on Fox, the remaining channels should be relatively easy to get.

Good luck dude,

:cool:

elvineet,

Checkout antennaweb.org - plug in your address and it'll show you vectors to where all the HD channels are. Fox antenna is near Clay's Ferry. If you have a slightly "directional" antenna and point it in that direction, and can swoop in on Fox, the remaining channels should be relatively easy to get.



I've been trying to do exactly that. I've tried all kinds of locations within the house and simply cannot get Fox. Sucks. Damn VHF.

I'm fortunate enough to have an "unused" attic (stuff storage central). I have a big a@$ antenna up there and get Fox with a very strong signal (98 out of 100 per my Dish Network indicator).

Funny thing though - PBS transmitter (not antenna - sorry) is supposed to be same one. I only get a barely receiveable signal.

Are you a cable guy or satellite guy? If satellite guy, you can buy an antenna that can accessorize your dish - problem is, it too is directional. Depending on your vector to the locals, it may work for you.

I'm REALLY close to the big 3 (ABC, NBC, CBS), so it's not so bad picking up their drift (I'm in the Hamburg area).

For what it's worth, by LAW, if you need / have to put up an antenna, it's perfectly legal.

Let me know how it goes for you.

cheers,

K

Thanks for the helpful reply. Well, I've given up on picking up Fox with any indoor antenna. Could you give me some examples of antennas that I can use with my satellite dish? I have Dish Network.

Either way, I'm using a TV Tuner on a Mac to watch OTA DTV since I don't have a newer bigscreen TV. I'm only going to be living in this house for a few more months so hopefully wherever I move I will pick up better signal.

elviteen,

Funny you're "moving" because you reception sucks. :)

Terk has a "directional" HD antenna. PM me and I'll let you borrow mine. Not in use because of my BA antenna in the attic.

It's all about the brotherhood of HD, right?

Anyhoo . . . I've got other brothers at work that strive to get the free signal too. We can get there from here - - - together we stand, united we fall.

cheers,

K

fox's tower is out by KET's tower now it is no longer in danville!

LOL ... it never was in Danville.

Oh ok. I was misled by Antennaweb.org.

Weird because I am able to pick up 4 PBS channels (WKONDT1 thru 4).

Attached is an analysis for your general area.

WDKY is now at the same cluster as WKLE (KET) and should come in quite strong. Your only problem is that you must have an antenna set up for VHF. None of the UHF-only antennas will be able to get WDKY on channel 4.

For indoor antennas, VHF reception is usually handled by the "rabbit ears" part of the antenna. The tough thing about KDKY is that channel 4 has a pretty long wavelength. Long wavelength means the antenna elements must be long to pick it up well.

If you want to maximize the pickup of channel 4 with rabbit ears, you'll need to extend them out to a total length of about 92" (that's over 7 and a half feet) end-to-end when laid out horizontally, including the gap between them (this is the theoretically optimum layout). If you don't have enough room to extend that far horizontally, then you can angle them up by 45 degrees, but you'll need to extend each element by a couple more inches. This is probably near the maximum limit on the MANT510 rabbit ears.

Next, you'll want to rotate the antenna so that the antennas are perpendicular to the direction of the transmitter. In this case, WDKY is to the south-east, so this means the rabbit ears should be pointing south-west and north-east.

Since it sounds like you've already got the antenna, it wouldn't hurt to try this.

Of course, you're much more likely to get the channel if you can put the antenna higher up, like in the attic or on the roof.

Good luck!

Best regards,
Andy

Thanks for the helpful reply. Well, I've given up on picking up Fox with any indoor antenna. Could you give me some examples of antennas that I can use with my satellite dish? I have Dish Network.

I just tried out the STEALTHtenna from Channel Master at an undisclosed location near Chevy Chase, and it works well for WDKY. It is model 3010 and it's available at Radio Electronic (http://radioelectronics.com) on Skain Ave (behind the Herald Leader building) You should be able to mount it with your dish, but you might have to replace the dish mount to make it work

I also tried to receive signal using an older ATSC tuner off Alexandria Dr today, and had to use the 5Y4S to get WDKY. There was something interfering with the WDKY signal, maybe multipath that the old ATSC tuner is having issues with.

LOL ... it never was in Danville.

And the old WDKY tower was never removed. It is currently the second tallest structure in Central KY, but it's closer to the center of the Lancaster - Nicholasville - Harrodsburg triangle. Other than the blinking lights, it's no longer in use. As far as I know, there are only two towers in KY that are taller, the tallest is WAVE's, the second tallest is the new WDKY tower. Please jump in here if I'm wrong, it wouldn't be the first time :)

I just tried out the STEALTHtenna from Channel Master at an undisclosed location near Chevy Chase, and it works well for WDKY. It is model 3010 and it's available at Radio Electronic (http://radioelectronics.com) on Skain Ave (behind the Herald Leader building) You should be able to mount it with your dish, but you might have to replace the dish mount to make it work
.

HDTV4usinky,

Did you get the pre-amp 3038 for the Stealth? I found it to be an excellent signal booster and fits nicely in the Stealth antenna.

Look for "terk" antennas. I think the DTV44 is the snap on version, but for me, as the dish is pointed in one direction and the locals are in another, it wouldn't pick up a good signal. And being that FOX is in different direction from where I am, it makes matters more complicated. That's why antennaweb.org is helpful for figuring out in advance if it will work for you. You can also use google earth to find your location and orientation with respect to the locals. Oh yeah - Circuit City, Best Buy, etc., should have some offerings. I bought one locally, then returned it (neatly repackaged) after I found out the hard way.

Best of luck to you.

Did you get the pre-amp 3038 for the Stealth? I found it to be an excellent signal booster and fits nicely in the Stealth antenna.

We did not need the preamp, this was a test setup (as seen on TV) with a short coax run. If this makes the show, you will see it on Fox-56 "Beyond the Blueprints" this Sunday or next Sunday at 10am (I'm no sure if what they shoot this week airs this week). They were shooting a 3 minute segment about the ATSC tuner coupon program. the website is dtv2009.gov (http://dtv2009.gov) and the toll free number is 888-DTV-2009. The coupon expires 90 days after it is issued, so make sure you find someplace that is stocking the converters.

As I understand it the coupons will not be mailed unless stores in your area have the decoders in stock.

elviteen,

Terk has a "directional" HD antenna. PM me and I'll let you borrow mine. Not in use because of my BA antenna in the attic.

cheers,

K

Thanks so much for offering to let me borrow it. I think I'll just live without Fox for a little while because I want to get rid of Dish soon one way or another. They trapped me into their contract :(

Attached is an analysis for your general area.

WDKY is now at the same cluster as WKLE (KET) and should come in quite strong. Your only problem is that you must have an antenna set up for VHF. None of the UHF-only antennas will be able to get WDKY on channel 4.

For indoor antennas, VHF reception is usually handled by the "rabbit ears" part of the antenna. The tough thing about KDKY is that channel 4 has a pretty long wavelength. Long wavelength means the antenna elements must be long to pick it up well.

If you want to maximize the pickup of channel 4 with rabbit ears, you'll need to extend them out to a total length of about 92" (that's over 7 and a half feet) end-to-end when laid out horizontally, including the gap between them (this is the theoretically optimum layout). If you don't have enough room to extend that far horizontally, then you can angle them up by 45 degrees, but you'll need to extend each element by a couple more inches. This is probably near the maximum limit on the MANT510 rabbit ears.

Next, you'll want to rotate the antenna so that the antennas are perpendicular to the direction of the transmitter. In this case, WDKY is to the south-east, so this means the rabbit ears should be pointing south-west and north-east.

Since it sounds like you've already got the antenna, it wouldn't hurt to try this.



Andy,

Thanks so much for the wealth of information. I still have the MANT510 so I will try out your suggestions. Given my current setup, there is no way I can elevate the antenna without running some major wires.

Sorry if this has already been discussed. I could not find recent information on it.

Does Insight offer local stations in HD via QAM in Lexington?

For what it's worth, by LAW, if you need / have to put up an antenna, it's perfectly legal.

I believe you that there are no laws against putting up an antenna, but can't there by home owners association covenants against them? In 1992, I signed an HOA covenant that prevents me from installing a satelite dish.
There was a bunch of other stupid stuff in there too. I hate HOAs. They can take your house if you do not comply.

I believe you that there are no laws against putting up an antenna, but can't there by home owners association covenants against them? In 1992, I signed an HOA covenant that prevents me from installing a satelite dish.
There was a bunch of other stupid stuff in there too. I hate HOAs. They can take your house if you do not comply.

FCC basically said that these HOA covenant are illegal. There was a link in this forum to the FCC site that had the letter, may want to search here or there. Either way they HOA would lose that battle in court. Regards,

Chuck

http://www.fcc.gov/mb/facts/otard.html

I believe you that there are no laws against putting up an antenna, but can't there by home owners association covenants against them? In 1992, I signed an HOA covenant that prevents me from installing a satelite dish.
There was a bunch of other stupid stuff in there too. I hate HOAs. They can take your house if you do not comply.

I'd install a dish and a honkin' VIP-307 for the sole purpose of pissing these people off. You're entirely within your rights to do so.

I believe you that there are no laws against putting up an antenna, but can't there by home owners association covenants against them? In 1992, I signed an HOA covenant that prevents me from installing a satelite dish.
There was a bunch of other stupid stuff in there too. I hate HOAs. They can take your house if you do not comply.



From the FCC:

Q: Whose antenna restrictions are prohibited?

A: The rule applies to restrictions imposed by local governments, including zoning, land-use or building regulations; by homeowner, townhome, condominium or cooperative association rules, including deed restrictions, covenants, by-laws and similar restrictions; and by manufactured housing (mobile home) park owners and landlords, including lease restrictions. The rule only applies to restrictions on property where the viewer has an ownership or leasehold interest and exclusive use or control.

So you "can" screw the HOA, but you might end up in court anyway. I would suggest before going into a HOA, that you have an attorney review your contract, and line out the illegal restrictions. I would love to testify in court that you need an outdoor antenna to receive Fox-56 cleanly. maybe a class action against all HOA's with restrictions? I'm not an attorney, so I don't know if it would be worth it. Since you signed yours in 1992, you might want to bring it up in a HOA meeting that it is now illegal to restrict most outdoor antennas (I think otard limits dish antennas to 1 meter or so)

I think it's highly doubtful you'd end up in court. The FCC rule is also very clear that they can't do anything to you if are in alignment with the OTARD rule. If you own the house and the property, there is basically nothing they can do. They can request that you mount in a certain location, but even then the burden of proof is on them to show that acceptable reception for your desired signals is possible in that location, and in the meantime you can leave the antenna/dish where it is and they can not impose fines or any other sanctions.

Sorry if this has already been discussed. I could not find recent information on it.

Does Insight offer local stations in HD via QAM in Lexington?

Yes, I get all of the local stations OTA. Need a box to get anything else, though.

I'm a little confused as I try to get ch4 fox 56 in HD. Should my home made horizontal antenna be 83"or 92" tip to tip? I have seen it both ways. Any help would be appreciated.

I'm a little confused as I try to get ch4 fox 56 in HD. Should my home made horizontal antenna be 83"or 92" tip to tip? I have seen it both ways. Any help would be appreciated.

83" from end-to-end, such as wing-tip to wing-tip on an airplane. That's what is dumb about these HOA and neighborhood deed restrictions.. the fact they will put something like 'antennas limited to 24"'. Well that might not be enough from the orientation/distance of your house towards the broadcast tower to achieve a signal or stable one to lock on (and provide solid enjoyment for that particular station). Nothing is more annoying than getting a signal, but one not strong/stable enough to provide a constant picture without the audio dropping, and/or the macroblocking/glitchiness in picture. 83" is the optimal span to capture maximum wavelength of WDKY-DT on VHF channel 4. There's science behind it.

That's what is dumb about these HOA and neighborhood deed restrictions.. the fact they will put something like 'antennas limited to 24"'. They absolutely cannot put size limits on antennas (except dishes). If they are specifying a limit that is illegal and unenforceable and you can ignore it.

Due to the numbers of calls I receive, and the pressing nature of the "big game" I'm reposting this information:

I still have several Wade - Delhi channel 4 yagi antennas, perfect to pick up Fox-56. This antenna has 7.5 dBd gain on channel 4, that's over twice the gain of a cut dipole. It is also more directional than a dipole, which helps with multipath. I have been storing these for over two years, it's time to blow them out ( I'm doing my best salesman impersonation) I will sell these for below my cost, $40 if you pick them up. $50 delivered within 20 miles of Lexington. They are in a box that's 7'6" x 8.5" x 6". This is a big antenna that might not fit in an attic (see Wade website) Call my cell @ 221-0824, and I'll get it out to you! I'll even help give pointing pointers :) When these are gone, they are gone. You might be able to pick one up from Wade for $56 plus shipping, but I don't think they stock these anymore. They might make you one, but the game is Feb 3

http://www.wade-antenna.com/Wade/cutchannel.pdf

I have an attic antenna (9') and was getting around 70-74 signal strength for Fox56. Sometime last week, my signal strength dropped to 56-58 (unwatchable) for Fox56 (CBS, NBC, and ABC are pegged at 100 as usual). I went up into the attic and made sure everything was fine. I tried adjusting it to get better signal strength with no luck. My signal strength was great for months so, I am confused as to what could have caused it to go so bad for Fox56. Would the extra cold weather have anything to do with it? I haven't identified anything new around that would be interfering with it (nothing new in the attic and nothing new plugged into the walls). Any ideas?

Yes, I get all of the local stations OTA. Need a box to get anything else, though.

You mean QAM right? Cuz that's what I was asking about. I already get most local stations via OTA right now but I'm thinking about getting a QAM tuner.

I have an attic antenna (9') and was getting around 70-74 signal strength for Fox56. Sometime last week, my signal strength dropped to 56-58 (unwatchable) for Fox56 (CBS, NBC, and ABC are pegged at 100 as usual). I went up into the attic and made sure everything was fine. I tried adjusting it to get better signal strength with no luck. My signal strength was great for months so, I am confused as to what could have caused it to go so bad for Fox56. Would the extra cold weather have anything to do with it? I haven't identified anything new around that would be interfering with it (nothing new in the attic and nothing new plugged into the walls). Any ideas?

The same thing has happened to me recently (in the last 2 weeks), but only for my Media Center PC's tuner (which has the longest cable run of them all). It tuned Fox on Saturday (unexpectedly after not tuning them for a week) and now isn't tuning again. My antennas in the attic have sat static without movement and all the cabling is inside the house, so I wouldn't think the cable contracted due to the cold and shorted-out. I've not had an opportunity to check it out, but it is puzzling nonetheless especially since I know nothing was changed and I had loud and clear signal strength for a year now with this exact setup.

The possibility does exist that WDKY changed something, but that doesn't explain why all the other HD and DTV tuners in my house are not affected and happily continue to tune in WDKY-DT.

The possibility does exist that WDKY changed something, but that doesn't explain why all the other HD and DTV tuners in my house are not affected and happily continue to tune in WDKY-DT.
Nothing has change at WDKY, could there be a new multipath in town :) Some tuners have more difficulty with reflections and ingress. We could also have a distant analog interfering with the signal due to the weather conditions. This wireless bluetooth keyboard is giving me fits, is it a pattern?

Im confused. On a Directv receiver I am guessing that Fox 56-1 on the tuner is still pickuping up a sub channel on the analog 56 broadcast. How do I tune in Ch4?

WDKY is cutting over to new Automation today, things might be (and have been) choppy I've seen the news feed up live during the day, and beautiful Fox Network HD color bars with tone

Im confused. On a Directv receiver I am guessing that Fox 56-1 on the tuner is still pickuping up a sub channel on the analog 56 broadcast. How do I tune in Ch4?

56-1 is not a sub channel, it is the digital broadcast. The ATSC receiver uses the PSIP data to "brand" channel 4 as 56-1. Believe it or not, this is to make things less confusing.

Hopefully, it won't be much longer for Lexington. I don't get them, as I'm in the Lexington DMA (even though Lex OTA is almost impossible here and Knoxville is actually very doable).

Press release:

http://phoenix.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=127160&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1099245&highlight=

WDKY is cutting over to new Automation today, things might be (and have been) choppy I've seen the news feed up live during the day, and beautiful Fox Network HD color bars with tone



56-1 is not a sub channel, it is the digital broadcast. The ATSC receiver uses the PSIP data to "brand" channel 4 as 56-1. Believe it or not, this is to make things less confusing.

I'm a little supprised by this. I am getting 56-1 with a set of Rabbit ears behind the TV. I am 20 miles from all of the towers in Nicholasville. I can see the old 56 tower about two miles from my place. I believe its the one just north of Lake Herrington. I thought I must be getting something off of it.

I'm a little supprised by this. I am getting 56-1 with a set of Rabbit ears behind the TV. I am 20 miles from all of the towers in Nicholasville. I can see the old 56 tower about two miles from my place. I believe its the one just north of Lake Herrington. I thought I must be getting something off of it.

WDKY moved the transmitter to Clay's Ferry about 3 years ago. They broadcast the 2005 Super Bowl in HD from there, and the analog broadcast moved sometime in the spring of 2005 as well. The old tower does little more than support blinking lights. Since Danville is the WDKY city of license, a strong signal is directed your way to provide city grade signal. Rabbit ears should work almost everywhere in your direction, except for the noise issues. I suppose if you are in the country, and have a "quiet" house, rabbit ears would work great.

I have an attic antenna (9') and was getting around 70-74 signal strength for Fox56. Sometime last week, my signal strength dropped to 56-58 (unwatchable) for Fox56 (CBS, NBC, and ABC are pegged at 100 as usual). I went up into the attic and made sure everything was fine. I tried adjusting it to get better signal strength with no luck. My signal strength was great for months so, I am confused as to what could have caused it to go so bad for Fox56. Would the extra cold weather have anything to do with it? I haven't identified anything new around that would be interfering with it (nothing new in the attic and nothing new plugged into the walls). Any ideas?

So, after five days of having consistent 56-58 signal strength on Fox56, last night it was miraculously back to (better than) normal at 74-76. I did nothing the last couple of days. Either the fact that temperatures got a bit higher had something to do with it or WDKY did something or the elusive interference signal went away has somehow fixed the problem. Could I have a cable issue where the cold weather is messing with it (the cable run from the attic to the receiver)?

So, after five days of having consistent 56-58 signal strength on Fox56, last night it was miraculously back to (better than) normal at 74-76. I did nothing the last couple of days. Either the fact that temperatures got a bit higher had something to do with it or WDKY did something or the elusive interference signal went away has somehow fixed the problem. Could I have a cable issue where the cold weather is messing with it (the cable run from the attic to the receiver)?

If you have a cable problem, the cause is most likely suck out. The center conductor sucks out of the female fitting. This will cause loss of lower frequencies before higher freqs

I received yet another call today about the need to use an outdoor antenna to receive Fox-56. Let me ask a question of all of you. Instead of using a proper parabolic antenna pointed correctly at the dish or directv satellite, shouldn't I be able to stick a fork in the back of a satellite receiver and expect it to work? I don't understand why callers think that a TV should pick up a perfect WDKY HD signal with the wrong (uhf) or crappy (rabbit ears) antenna, when they understand perfectly well they need a dish pointed at a satellite to pick up a satellite signal. I can't grasp why installing an outdoor VHF antenna to receive a good VHF signal is so foreign to people.... just a thought :)

I can't grasp why installing an outdoor VHF antenna to receive a good VHF signal is so foreign to people.... just a thought :)

LOL ... true but considering that the Lexington market has been 100% UHF since ... well ... forever ... ;)

BTW, I can confirm that coverage in the community of license isn't quite as good from the new tower as it was from the old. I do need an outdoor VHF antenna to get a reliable (for low VHF) signal. From the old tower, a home made cut to channel 4, attic mounted dipole worked ok ... most of the time. ;)

Because until DTV Lexington was the largest UHF only market in the US. Most everyone knew that you needed a bowtie type antenna on the roof to watch TV. Unless you were near Louisville, Cincy, or Huntington, the use of an indoor antenna was a fuzzy image at best case.

So when can channel 4 become channel ummmm 46? 390 days or so? :)

So when can channel 4 become channel ummmm 46? 390 days or so? :)It looks like after analog shut off, WDKY-DT has elected/been assigned to remain on channel 4.

It looks like after analog shut off, WDKY-DT has elected/been assigned to remain on channel 4.

But here's the thinking.... There isn't much left on low V after the transition. Why wouldn't the government want to grab that spectrum just like they did with 700MHz and force everyone to high V or UHF? I can't see protecting channel 4 when there are only 4 in the entire country, including the one in Alaska.

Because until DTV Lexington was the largest UHF only market in the US. Most everyone knew that you needed a bowtie type antenna on the roof to watch TV. Unless you were near Louisville, Cincy, or Huntington, the use of an indoor antenna was a fuzzy image at best case.

I understand that people need educated on what it takes to receive the low-V What frustrates me is that when I try to provide the information, I get "I shouldn't have to have an outdoor antenna to get Fox, I want a waiver!" These same people understand and accept that they need a dish to pick up their satellite channels. I want a waiver for the satellite channels, I should get them all for free, just by plugging in my TV.

William, once I get moved you can call me when Clay's Ferry tower light alarm goes off. I can see your Clay's Ferry tower and WDKY's from my kitchen window. I know I can see every tier of the WDKY tower, and yours is closer...




These are my own opinions, they have nothing to do with WDKY Fox-56, Sinclair Broadcasting, or anyone else but me....

But here's the thinking.... There isn't much left on low V after the transition. Why wouldn't the government want to grab that spectrum just like they did with 700MHz and force everyone to high V or UHF? I can't see protecting channel 4 when there are only 4 in the entire country, including the one in Alaska.I'm still not quite sure why they didn't take the whole VHF band instead of the high channels from UHF band. It would be a lot easier for consumers to only have to deal with one type of antenna, plus UHF antennas are smaller which would make some people happier. I realize there are power bill savings for the stations that use VHF, and the high UHF channels would probably be more desirable by the companies bidding on the spectrum, but still...

Ed,
Here's a list of the QAM channels on insight. I had the same problem with my Sony but they worked when I direct programmed them. Someone posted these for me a while ago...

The catch is that you can't use the OTA channel numbers -- Insight has them on different channels and there is no remapping in the Sony tuner. My current channel list is:
WLEXDT: 116.1
WDKYDT: 81.3
WKYTDT: 72.1
WTVQDT: 81.1
KET4: 72.6
KET3: 72.5
KET2: 72.4
KET1: 72.13
TUBE (now defunct): 81.5
WTVQ2: 81.4

Hello all,

I just got a new Sharp Aquos tv and am having problems figuring out how to get the over the air HD signals. I returned an Olevia that was able to get them when I did the 18-1, 27-1, etc entry and figured that the Sharp would get them as well with just the coaxial from Insight running to the tv. I saw the above post and entered in 116.1 manually and...bam...there was WLEX in HD. I entered another manually and got another HD. But then, for some reason, every time I enter 116.1, it automatically reverts to 116.2.
81.3 reverts to 81.1 and so on.

Anybody out there with a Sharp Aquos figure this out? By the way, I do not have a cable box, only coaxial from wall.

Thanks.

I'm still not quite sure why they didn't take the whole VHF band instead of the high channels from UHF band.

I suspect that the same issues that plague DTV in the lo-VHF band would also plague the type of applications envisioned for the recovered UHF spectrum.

This (DTV transition) has never been about making life better or easier for the consumer/public ... any side effects that benefit the public are purely accidental. ;) :D

The effects of man-made noise on V low destroy any technical argument for staying on V low if you are concerned about OTA viewers.
The big reason to stay on V-lo is to save money at the station. V low means lowest power bill and smallest transmitter.

In fact I anticipate another compaction of spectrum once the analogs are gone and the FCC realizes the $ gained from the 700 MHz. auction.

As far as Ch 46 goes WAVE asked if we were going back to 46 about two years ago. We told them no.

WAVE had the choice of going back to 3 and declined.

Give 2 back to Ham radio, and make 3 and 4 the consumer channels( modulators,nintendo, etc), 5 and 6 can be added to the FM band..

William

I'm still not quite sure why they didn't take the whole VHF band instead of the high channels from UHF band. It would be a lot easier for consumers to only have to deal with one type of antenna, plus UHF antennas are smaller which would make some people happier. I realize there are power bill savings for the stations that use VHF, and the high UHF channels would probably be more desirable by the companies bidding on the spectrum, but still...

The power savings at low V are noticeable, but not considerable here in KY, especially with ESCIOT tubes (pardon the redundancy)

If I were guessing, I would place the cost of operating a two tube transmitter at $120K a year, $96,000 or so of that is electricity. Lets guess some more and say that WDKY serves 500,000 households. Maybe 15% or 75,000 receive WDKY off air. 120K/75K = $1.60 per household per year. Heck, let's go all out and call it $.14 a month. There's no excuse to stay on low V for cost savings is there? Still just my opinion :)

maybe someday move the channel 4 to Hazard where it could do some good.... I would love to see how all this ends up

I'm really liking William's idea, but it makes too much sense to happen in my lifetime

There is also the unlicensed white space devices issue ...

Will be interesting to see what happens with 2-6 ...

I wonder what makes more sense for any future auctioning of additional spectrum ... Repacking the core into something like ch 2~42 or 7~47 ..... or smaller if they can get all the stations to "fit" ...

Hello all,

I just got a new Sharp Aquos tv and am having problems figuring out how to get the over the air HD signals. I returned an Olevia that was able to get them when I did the 18-1, 27-1, etc entry and figured that the Sharp would get them as well with just the coaxial from Insight running to the tv. I saw the above post and entered in 116.1 manually and...bam...there was WLEX in HD. I entered another manually and got another HD. But then, for some reason, every time I enter 116.1, it automatically reverts to 116.2.
81.3 reverts to 81.1 and so on.

Anybody out there with a Sharp Aquos figure this out? By the way, I do not have a cable box, only coaxial from wall.

Thanks.

Matt, the 116 is the CABLE channel that your Sharp sees on it's QAM tuner. THe 116-1 is a virtual channel that the TV assigns to the subchannels that the QAM tuner sees. If you had done a scan after installing your TV then you may have seen different virtual channels assigned to some of the CABLE channels than what others are reporting.

As far as OTA (over the air) stations such as 18-1 and 27-1 and such, you would have to go into your setup screen on the TV and configure your rf coax input from cable to antenna. Then disconnect the cable going into the wall and hook up a rabbit ear antenna cable back in that jack. Do a scan and you should see 18-1 and a host of other DIGITAL stations. Keep in mind that 18-1 is a VIRTUAL channel and the signal is really coming in on channel 39 UHF. If you want more info on this subject, go to www.TitanTV.com for all the stations that are viewable in your area. OR give me an Email back if you are still confused about the situation.

As far as Ch 46 goes WAVE asked if we were going back to 46 about two years ago. We told them no.

WAVE had the choice of going back to 3 and declined.

Give 2 back to Ham radio, and make 3 and 4 the consumer channels( modulators,nintendo, etc), 5 and 6 can be added to the FM band..

William


Whatever happened to the idea of of WDKY going to channel 22 for their digital? Also, it would seem that there will also be slots open for 18, 36, and 27 soon.:)

Something in the 14-38 range would be my vote, otherwise I'll either have to get it from D* or keep turning to the south.

I wonder what makes more sense for any future auctioning of additional spectrum ... Repacking the core into something like ch 2~42 or 7~47 ..... or smaller if they can get all the stations to "fit" ...

I'd like 7-38. That makes it high band vhf plus "Band A" UHF which makes it easier to assemble an excellent long-distance reception system.

Whatever happened to the idea of of WDKY going to channel 22 for their digital? Also, it would seem that there will also be slots open for 18, 36, and 27 soon.:)

Something in the 14-38 range would be my vote, otherwise I'll either have to get it from D* or keep turning to the south.

I must be in a 'hotspot' for WDKY here in Manchester. It comes through great most of the time, and at this point I still have a very unremarkable rig.

It seems everyone hates Channel 4 but me. The shame of it is that the people who benefit the most from 4's VHF-lo position and corresponding long reach (mountain viewers) are also the least likely to put up an antenna.

Even with a Wade/Delhi 5 element cut-channel 4 antenna I could never get WDKY here without some dropouts. WKYT is more consistent here with the y10 7-13 stack. One of the problems (in addition to impulse noise) with low band is the element size on the antenna becomes restrictive and the spacing required for stacking is prohibitive.

It's ugly and it wasn't up long, but here it is:

As I understand it the coupons will not be mailed unless stores in your area have the decoders in stock.

Doesn't seem to be any stores around here selling the converter boxes yet. Was going to get one for my sister so she cn watch the Kentucky Wildcats games. Anyone got any info on availability yet?

Whatever happened to the idea of of WDKY going to channel 22 for their digital?


Isn't there some sort of interference protection issue involved for that involving some portions of WUPX-DT 21 service area ?


I'd like 7-38.


I'd suspect a lot of stations would have to either go out of business or greatly reduce coverage area for them to all fit in that amount of space ...

If that were to happen though, It would probably be 7~36, since 37 is not used for TV, as those frequencies are used for radio astronomy ....

Anyway, what I was getting at was I'm not so sure the issue of "how well DTV works" for OTA on ch 2-6 would be a major concern vs. how much $ can be made by auctioning more spectrum .... And I don't think ch 2-6 would do as well at auction as say, ch 47~51 ....

I don't know, but If a lot of folks are using OTA DTV, then perhaps it becomes more of a "concern" for them ....

Also, do keep in mind 7-51 was going to be core, but several "interested parties"(certian broadcasters mostly) convinced FCC to add 2-6 into the core at the "last minute" so to speak (97~98 time frame) ... I don't know, but Perhaps it may have been better, overall, if they hadn't "convinced" them to do that ...


One of the problems (in addition to impulse noise) with low band is the element size on the antenna becomes restrictive and the spacing required for stacking is prohibitive.


I don't have it handy currently, but somewhere back in this thread I may have posted a link to a nic pic of a very pretty quad stack of channel 4 Yagi's (If I recall correctly, they were something like 10~15 element yagi's, yes 4 of them).... It was at a company site which put those sorts of arrays together for off-air reception of weak signals at distant cable headends .....

=====================================---------------


I must be in a 'hotspot' for WDKY here in Manchester. It comes through great most of the time, and at this point I still have a very unremarkable rig.

It seems everyone hates Channel 4 but me. The shame of it is that the people who benefit the most from 4's VHF-lo position and corresponding long reach (mountain viewers) are also the least likely to put up an antenna.

I'm with you. But, Unfortunetly, what "personally" works well for me, or what allows some folks down in the hollers to receive some sort of OTA TV probably isn't necessarily best overall+for all folks .... The issues already mentioned(various sorts of interference/noise that effects lo-VHF) are especially problematic for DTV on lo-VHF vs. getting some sort of analog lo-VHF reception, and I think especially in some cases for folks trying to use indoor antennas, as some of this "noise" is coming from various nearby household appliances ...

Isn't there some sort of interference protection issue involved for that involving some portions of WUPX-DT 21 service area ?

Maybe that was it. 22 would've been nice though.




I don't have it handy currently, but somewhere back in this thread I may have posted a link to a nic pic of a very pretty quad stack of channel 4 Yagi's (If I recall correctly, they were something like 10~15 element yagi's, yes 4 of them).... It was at a company site which put those sorts of arrays together for off-air reception of weak signals at distant cable headends .....



I should have said "restrictive and prohibitive for me"
:)

Maybe that was it. 22 would've been nice though.


Kinda hard to think about it, even looking at new Post-transistion table of allotments, regarding thinking about all the potential issues that might be involved, but off top of head(post-transistion), what about 9, 18, 27 or 36 ...

It is going to be very weird post analog shut off not seeing the analogs, and there not being any local or nearby signals on those channels I've been watching them on for about 40 years ...


I should have said "restrictive and prohibitive for me"
:)

Oh, I didn't mean it "like that" ... Just commenting on it as you mentioned a stacked array for Lo-VHF, and since you don't exactly see that sort of thing for receive antenna setups all that often, I just remembered the pic of it was cool looking ...

Maybe that was it. 22 would've been nice though.

I suspect DirecTV will have come to the rescue long before WDKY would be able to get the change paperwork pushed through. :) Until then we just soldier on, and hope that the atmospherics are kind enough to deliver WDRB from 76 miles out.

Kinda hard to think about it, even looking at new Post-transistion table of allotments, regarding thinking about all the potential issues that might be involved, but off top of head(post-transistion), what about 9, 18, 27 or 36 ...

It is going to be very weird post analog shut off not seeing the analogs, and there not being any local or nearby signals on those channels I've been watching them on for about 40 years ...



I'd be happy with 9,18,27,36. There's an analog LP 9 in London, KY although I guess the LP stations don't get as much priority.
For that matter, I'd rather the other three reverted back to their analog designations as well, but I digress.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but part of me will miss the analogs when they shut down. They sure make it easier to aim and keep your rotator accurate. Digital can be a little harder to fine-tune just using the signal meter.

Edit: NM, had box fall in attic and causing interference.

Even with a Wade/Delhi 5 element cut-channel 4 antenna I could never get WDKY here without some dropouts. WKYT is more consistent here with the y10 7-13 stack. One of the problems (in addition to impulse noise) with low band is the element size on the antenna becomes restrictive and the spacing required for stacking is prohibitive.

There is an issue with the age of the digital tuner. The latest chips do a much better job with noise than what was available just a couple years ago. Yes there is still an impulse issue, but....

I watch several hours of WDKY-DT daily from the Chevy Chase area. Granted, it's out of the corner of my eye, but using an outdoor Yagi right at a busy (and impulse noisy) intersection, I have not seen the noise problems with the newer tuners that I had with the old Sammy SIR-T150 that we used in the old days. I had the Sammy tuner at the house, and I must say most nights I watched WDKY in analog because the signal drops out too much, even with an outdoor Yagi antenna. My new Sammy LCD television does much better tuning in OTA, and when there is impulse it tends to be isolated on a small area of the screen instead of freezing up everything. Perfect, no, but it sure is better! Now that Time Warner carries WDKY-DT in Versailles, outdoor reception is a mute point for me. The Time Warner reception is flawless. The WDKY-DT OTA reception at Chevy Chase is flawless as well.

I suspect DirecTV will have come to the rescue long before WDKY would be able to get the change paperwork pushed through. Until then we just soldier on, and hope that the atmospherics are kind enough to deliver WDRB from 76 miles out.

I fully agree with you. But should we forget about the 75,000 households that don't use cable or satellite? I suppose my math left out the fact that most of the 75,000 viewers would be able to receive the WDKY-DT signal with the proper equipment. My thought is that the OTA viewers only have a dozen or so channels to choose from, so there's less competition for the advertising dollar in those households. I think it would be a mistake to discount those households, especially in a diary market.

There is an issue with the age of the digital tuner. The latest chips do a much better job with noise than what was available just a couple years ago. Yes there is still an impulse issue, but....

.


I'll admit I haven't tried it with my H20 or Samsung 260. The results were on the Hughes HTL-HD (4th gen LG) and the Lg lst3510a (3rd gen LG). Not sure if I'll go to the trouble though as I doubt it would make the difference necessary (constant drop outs improving to no drop outs?) to keep that antenna up and diplex/amp for low band.

Maybe I'll try it with LG's 6th gen when available.:)

Is anybody having reception issues tonight? My signal strength on WLEX and WTVQ (which are usually pretty good) have dropped to near nothing. I'm getting a decent signal from WKLE.

Just wondering if it's something in the air or if I need to check my alignment and all my connections...

I'll admit I haven't tried it with my H20 or Samsung 260. The results were on the Hughes HTL-HD (4th gen LG) and the Lg lst3510a (3rd gen LG). Not sure if I'll go to the trouble though as I doubt it would make the difference necessary (constant drop outs improving to no drop outs?) to keep that antenna up and diplex/amp for low band.

Maybe I'll try it with LG's 6th gen when available.:)

Might want to give it a shot. I just swapped my trusty Sylvania box for an H20, and it's made a tremendous difference.

Might want to give it a shot. I just swapped my trusty Sylvania box for an H20, and it's made a tremendous difference.

I'm a bit curious. What was the model number on that Sylvania box? Because I have two Sylvania tuners myself. They're both model #SRZ3000.

NashDigie signing off.

Ever heard the noise a 1156' tower makes in 50+ mph winds? Sounds like a jet taking off. WDKY might work on their STL today or tomorrow :)

Ever heard the noise a 1156' tower makes in 50+ mph winds? Sounds like a jet taking off. WDKY might work on their STL today or tomorrow :)

Power died at 9:21pm last night, right in the middle of "House" ... A year from now, I'm going to be missing my trusty battery operated 2.5" LCD.

I'm a bit curious. What was the model number on that Sylvania box? Because I have two Sylvania tuners myself. They're both model #SRZ3000.

NashDigie signing off.

It's the SRZ3000.

Was anyone having trouble getting WTVQ-DT/WLEX-DT this morning? Analog 36 was also off the air.

^^^ Seemed to be ok as of ~11am, but it wouldn't surprise me if they had some storm related issues earlier in the AM.

Any idea when DirecTV will have Lexington Locals in HD. They finally got them in Louisville today. Its been a long time coming, when will they start broadcasting lexington's?

Looking forward to this, as Just caught a promo(HD) on KETHD for this KY life special on Lincoln coming up in March :

http://www.ket.org/cgi-bin/tvschedules/episode.pl?nola=KKYLI+001427&cd=1&&framed=1&layout=popup

Any idea when DirecTV will have Lexington Locals in HD. They finally got them in Louisville today. Its been a long time coming, when will they start broadcasting lexington's?

My guess is we won't see Lexington locals in HD until DirecTV's new satellite is up and functional. If we are lucky Lexington locals could be in HD by this fall, but I wouldn't be surprised if they slip to early 09.

If you read Friday's paper there was a blurb in the business section about the converter boxes coming available FEB 18th to local retail stores nation wide. I've put in for a coupon for my sister who has the standard analog TV with just a coax cable input. THe site says the coupons will be sent out after the boxes are availble later this month. I'll let you guys know the cost and quality of converter after I get it.

Go to this link for more info. https://dtv2009.gov/

Roger

If you read Friday's paper there was a blurb in the business section about the converter boxes coming available FEB 18th to local retail stores nation wide. I've put in for a coupon for my sister who has the standard analog TV with just a coax cable input. THe site says the coupons will be sent out after the boxes are availble later this month. I'll let you guys know the cost and quality of converter after I get it.

Go to this link for more info. https://dtv2009.gov/

Roger

If you get cable TV at all,you don't need the box.It is for over the air TV only.

FYI TWC is not scrambling the digital basic channels they are available with a QAM tuner. The sound is cool even though the picture is 480i it is better than regular.

The converter boxes are in at Wal-Mart for $49! I'm waiting for my $40 coupon I sent in for a week ago from the government first. Hope that dont mean waiting 3 or 4 months!

Yes, I also saw the Magnavox converter boxes at Wal-Mart here in Winchester a week ago. This converter has no S-video output, only composite. I requested my coupons right after the ball dropped with Dick Clark (a minute after) on 1.1.08. ;) I'm at the beginning of #3000. If you apply for the coupons now, you're WAY up there in the hundred of thousands of requests. I expect my coupons should be mailed very soon (being at the top of the list and all).

I don't think the Magnavox box is the best converter box to get. I need to do some research (again), but the one you'll want is the one with the latest generation tuning chip (most tolerant to WDKY-DT on low band VHF) and s-video output for the most bang-for-the-buck (after coupon). I read somewhere that one of the gov't-approved boxes may have QAM tuning ability. If anyone can substantiate that and point out which one, that would be an extra handy thing. Others have pointed out to try to go with a converter box that is similar to a full-fledge HD-tunable version of the same box because it's not necessarily likely that the manufacturer will go through the trouble to modify the device code to exclude HD tuning, so with some soldering skills your DTV-only converter box could conceivably become a bonified high-def tuner. Using the 'beefy' model and removing connectors happens sometimes with electronics to produce lower models with less features. Furthermore the operating code may not even be modified in the DTV version of the tuner box. Time will tell if any hackers get their hands on a gov't-approved DTV converter box that can take such mods to become more functional. More research required on this angle too. :)

Yes, I also saw the Magnavox converter boxes at Wal-Mart here in Winchester a week ago. This converter has no S-video output, only composite. :)

Ben, the S-video is for 4801 mode only. I noticed the composite plugs too, but it does have the coax plug withch every analog TV has.

The box mentioned a TV guide. Both of my small flat screens do not even have that capability. Makes me want to go out and get one for myself! :)

I finally broke down and bought the new converter yesterday after deciding not to wait 3 to 6 months for the $40 off coupon. Here's what I found.

Box did contain an extra 3' coax cable. After intial setup it prompts you for an Autoscan. Took only 60 secs. Picture was excellent! For some reason PBS did not show up (DTV 42). Was using only a basic loop with rabbit ears from Wal-mart. Will try one with a Pre-Amp next.

The remote is very basic. TV needs to be on channel 3 or 4. Not too may buttons to deal with but wished there were more. No middle Select button, there's an 'OK' button off to the side.

To change picture size from Widescreen to Letterbox or Full you need to go into setup mode to change it.

There is a TV guide though it is rudementary. Guide display is a 3 line banner that shows 3 hours of viewing. You have to scroll down to see different show times.

All in all it's OK. Thinking of getting one for myself when my coupon comes in so it costs only $9 then. I'll pair it up with a small portable TV to put in bathroom so wife can watch her shows will soaking in tub! :)

Roger, at least there is a guide. :) The 32" LCD HDTV I have with the annoying tuner doesn't show more than the current hour and the next.. nor does it show the time for those 2 shows (would have been handy).

What's the return period at Wal-Mart? 30 days? 60 days? Whatever it is if your coupon shows up quickly, just buy the same receiver again with coupon and return it with the old receipt (that you didn't use a coupon with) to get your full coupon money back.

Thanks for the review. I'm going to keep reading about the other ones and hope the best one is widely available. Ideally I would like one that my series 1 TiVo can zap channels on, but not sure how that would work with the TiVo also doing the same for the satellite tuner. It'll be a sad day for my TiVo when it can no longer tune analog channels. Its days are numbered for locals (and I'm too cheap to pay for locals on the dish.. they are not available in HD anyhow from either satellite provider.. for some reason neither satellite company pays much attention to Lexington and our area at all.. not enough people watching TV this far east..lol).

Roger, at least there is a guide. :)
Ideally I would like one that my series 1 TiVo can zap channels on, but not sure how that would work with the TiVo also doing the same for the satellite tuner. It'll be a sad day for my TiVo when it can no longer tune analog channels. Its days are numbered for locals (and I'm too cheap to pay for locals on the dish.. they are not available in HD anyhow from either satellite provider.. for some reason neither satellite company pays much attention to Lexington and our area at all.. not enough people watching TV this far east..lol).


Ben have you seen the posts about the Polaroid DRA-01601A recorder with analog and digital OTA inputs? Only thing bad about it is that it puts out at only 480i. But it does have a 160 GB hard drive and you can pause live TV. It's on the AVS forum under Component Receivers I think. I've got one I bought from EBAY for only $75. It's got a few glitches that you can work around. But, I like it.

DRA-01601A: DVD Recorder with 160GB Hard Drive Info

Hello all. I just upgraded to dishHD and live out on the Jessamine/Fayette line on Harrodsburg Road in Lexington. I can pull 18.1, 36.1 and 36.2 with cheap rabbit ears but 27 and 56 do not come in at all. I would prefer to go attic so I need advice on something to get 27 and 56 from about 15 miles away.

Hello all. I just upgraded to dishHD and live out on the Jessamine/Fayette line on Harrodsburg Road in Lexington. I can pull 18.1, 36.1 and 36.2 with cheap rabbit ears but 27 and 56 do not come in at all. I would prefer to go attic so I need advice on something to get 27 and 56 from about 15 miles away.

Try the Channel Master CM 3010 Stealth antenna with preAmp package. Cost is about $70 but well worth it. You should also get PBS 46.1 and Qubo on 67.

Try the Channel Master CM 3010 Stealth antenna with preAmp package. Cost is about $70 but well worth it. You should also get PBS 46.1 and Qubo on 67.

I assume the preamp would be required due to the low VHF for 56?

Also when I run the coax of the antenna into my coax that comes into the house for the dish will I need to run it thru a duplexer and then split off inside to the antenna line?

I assume the preamp would be required due to the low VHF for 56?

Also when I run the coax of the antenna into my coax that comes into the house for the dish will I need to run it thru a duplexer and then split off inside to the antenna line?

The pre Amp is for all the channels. It will help boost the signals. You may not even need it. The Stealth is pretty strong as a stand alone antenna.

As far as the coax from the attic to the TV input I'm not savy on the duplexer part and doubt that it would work. When you used the rabbit ears, were you going into the DishHD receiver or another coax input on your TV?

I assume the preamp would be required due to the low VHF for 56?


The preamp should not be needed for the low-v. Radio Electronic on Skain Ave stocks a couple antennas including the stealth. Marvin Bartlet lives very near your location :)

The preamp should not be needed for the low-v. Radio Electronic on Skain Ave stocks a couple antennas including the stealth. Marvin Bartlet lives very near your location :)

I went ahead and ordered a Stealth online last night.

Yes Marvin lives a few streets over.

Has TWC released information about the possibility of any new HD channels? The line up right now is really pathetic.

Well I figured out how to split off the antenna wire with a splitter and diplexer on the outside as well as a splitter and diplxer on the inside. It worked like a charm.

Now I ordered a stealth off of the internet and it came but the internal PCB was broken so I had to send it back. They sent me another one today and I'll be damned if the PCB wasn't broken again. :mad:

I could not wait so I ran a outside coax to inside the garage and plugged it into the cheap inside antenna. It it currently working pretty good.

18-90%
27-72%
36-90%
56-77%

Edit Ket is now at 75%.

I am going to send the other broken Stealth back and then go an buy one locally.

Now I ordered a stealth off of the internet and it came but the internal PCB was broken so I had to send it back. They sent me another one today and I'll be damned if the PCB wasn't broken again. :mad:

I am going to send the other broken Stealth back and then go an buy one locally.

Booker, where site did you order those bad units from? I'd like to avoid sites that send out broken equipment myself. That's one of my pet peeves about K-Mart. Customers will break new purchases and take tham back to the store and the store employees will put damaged goods back on the shelf! I never buy anything now that has been opened before.

I bought it from solidsignal.com. The shipping box had a lot of damage on the 2nd one but the first one did not have any damage to the shipping box. It had to take a significant blow as the F connector which is attached to the PCB is push about an inch in.

Well I see what many have said about the WKYT signal. The UK/UT game was pretty good but when I switched to the CW for the IU/MSU game the HD picture was horrible.

I took HDTV4usinky's advice and went and bought a Stealth today from Radio Electronics. I investigated and noticed that a few years ago I had a dual tuner dish with 2 receivers not E* uses one receiver and diplexes it so I had an extra cable running and just put the antenna on my dish mount. Unfortunately it is on the wrong side of the house and I can get 18, 27 and 36 with >80% signal but 56 is about 50% with frequent drops and no lock for 46. I was trying to beat the rain and darkness so I did not have time to make and adjustments. The stealth seems like a keeper.

How much will the very cloudy skies effect the signal that I am getting?

Has anyone gotten their DTV converter box coupons in Central Kentucky? I applied a few minutes after midnight on 1/1/2008 and am in the middle of #3000, so I should be at the top of the list. Unfortunately I have not received my coupons, even though people are receiving them that are like like #70,000 and down. The closest I have seen on this forum is someone in Indiana receiving theirs. I wonder where mine are. I hope Winchester postal service people didn't lose them.

I received mine 3 weeks after I applied. Can't remember exactly when I applied for the 2 of them, but I'm sure they've been sitting on my desk for at least a month. Need one while waiting to receive yours?

cheers,

Karl

I received mine 3 weeks after I applied. Can't remember exactly when I applied for the 2 of them, but I'm sure they've been sitting on my desk for at least a month. Need one while waiting to receive yours?

cheers,

Karl

I get the feeling that mine are lost in the mail. My mail carrier has a history of delivering me my neighbor's mail quite frequently, so I suspect a random neighbor has my coupons. I've written to the program administrator to advise on what can be done.

Karl, these coupons (credit cards) are coded with your name on the magnetic stripe. It would be fraud for anyone to use them except you (unfortunately). I wouldn't want you to get busted. I'll go through the proper channels to see what they say. I have two old TVs I use regularly that I don't want to render inert in February 2009. I don't have sat or cable boxes, so they will be dead in the water. They also cannot accept output from my HDTV tuner card on my PC and even if they did, it would be extremely inconvenient to lug this PC to a TV every time I wanted to lay back on the easy chair in these rooms, so I'm actually someone who really needs the coupons. I was just reading that people are selling them on eBay and Craigslist. That seems risky to me given what data is contained on that stripe. I do appreciate your offer. I hope I am not screwed out of the coupons by our government.

Fraud? For a converter box? Thanks for the heads up - I had no idea.

No worries though, I'm sure you'll get your coupons.

Rumor has it that Wally World is already selling them for 45 bones (?) If that's the case, they're almost FREE after use of the coupons. :)

Fraud? For a converter box? Thanks for the heads up - I had no idea.

No worries though, I'm sure you'll get your coupons.

Rumor has it that Wally World is already selling them for 45 bones (?) If that's the case, they're almost FREE after use of the coupons. :)

It may actually be a good thing that my coupons have not shown yet (assuming when they do actually arrive they have a pushed-out expiration date). The good approved DTV box is the Maxmedia one because it has s-video which is the only input working on one of my older TVs (http://www.convertmy.tv/productInformation.html)

The Wally World Magnavox has multiple reports of poor ventilation and over-heating, so I think I'll pass on that one.

Just want my coupons and perplexed why I am one of the first to apply and still don't have them.

Here's what I'll expect to happen to Lexington OTA HDTV over the next couple months:

The coupons show up for all that apply

Converter boxes become readily available

Dish and DirecTV suddenly show an interest in retrans of local HD into local for Lexington

WDKY news goes HD (okay that was in the paper)

greatly stepped up DTV education by all stations (KET does an excellent job despite having less DTV education requirements than the commercial stations, KET deserves to be commended)

WDKY gets a UHF channel.... wishful thinking there :)

It could happen :)

I'm still waiting for my coupons.........

You say wishful thinking, I say expect it.

I know a number of years ago, WDKY tried to get their digital moved off of channel 4 and up to channel 22. This channel had been abandoned by WLEX-DT because it would interfere severely with WUPX-DT 21, and the FCC hadn't realized this. They wouldn't let WDKY move there for that reason.

I hear that Sinclair still wants to move off of VHF in Columbus at least, where they're on channel 13 like WKYT is. They asked the FCC to let them do that during the channel elections and they said no, and I wouldn't be surprised to see that one tried again.

While it's not a certainty, I still wouldn't be surprised to see it happen. Low-VHF is not the place to be, as my local PBS is finally figuring out.

- Trip

Here's what I'll expect to happen to Lexington OTA HDTV over the next couple months:

The coupons show up for all that apply

I'm still waiting for my coupons.........

Afraid not! :( I spoke with the program operators and they cannot legally reissue my lost-in-the-mail coupons. My ref # is 35XX (yes three thousand, five hundred something something). It's gov't BS because they cannot prove they actually sent them other than what their system shows. It angers me to see people selling their coupons on Craigslist and eBay when someone who needs them for their old TVs is losing out on an $80 discount these cheaters are getting. Life just isn't fair, but no one said it ever was. sigh

Here's what I'll expect to happen to


WDKY gets a UHF channel.... wishful thinking there :)

It could happen :)



That would be nice if they moved to the UHF side ;)
I finally got my coupons over the weekend... Took long enough!

so maybe I heard news about the Lexington market and I haven't seen it anywhere else yet but I wasn't told to keep it quiet but I think maybe I should and there must be other people that read this thread that have heard about it and they are keeping quiet and nothing is set in stone but maybe everyone needs a heads up and it's April fools day to boot.

Early DTV transition field tests are in the works

http://www.twice.com/article/CA6538981.html

Early DTV transition field tests are in the works

http://www.twice.com/article/CA6538981.html

Any testing to be going on around the Lexington market?

I can't say. Nothing is in stone. The FCC wants to test in several markets, but getting every broadcaster in any market to agree would take a minor miracle. Lexington would make a good test market for many reasons, maybe the best market in the country. And lets get the term "test" correct, it's an early analog shutdown for the entire market. It would not be a test for the market, it would be the real thing! The "test" part is what the FCC learns from the earlier shutdown date and applies to other markets.

It probably would be the best, what with WDKY on low-VHF 4 and WKYT on upper-VHF 13.

There are others that would be adequate, but Lexington certainly is the most diverse in that sense.

- Trip

It probably would be the best, what with WDKY on low-VHF 4 and WKYT on upper-VHF 13.

- Trip

Even better if you include WLJC-7 (channel 65 has been off the the air for awhile) and WYMT-12.

doesn't look like there will be an early analog cutoff test in Lexington, too many loose ends.

for some good news, it looks like WDKY is testing the news in HD

Howdy all. I live in Stanton. Ky. My TV is a Vizio VW32L. I can receive 16 digital channels perfect ( KET's, Morehead's, Lexington's and Beattyville ...all for one ...and that's WLEX. Despite trying 3 different outdoor antennas ( Radio Shack's Model: U-75R , Model: VU-90 XR , and currently and most satisfied with the Model: 15-1634 ) WLEX's signal will pixelate and freeze quite often...though at times it'll behave for a few hours during the week. I thought maybe it might be the tuner in the Vizio but I have a neighbor with a Sony HDTV and a friend in Estill with a Sharp HDTV and they both have the same problem I have. Would my wild guess that WLEX's broadcasting in 1080p have any effect on this issue ? ...appreciate any ideas and suggestions ...thanks !:)

Would my wild guess that WLEX's broadcasting in 1080p have any effect on this issue ? ...appreciate any ideas and suggestions ...thanks !:)

No OTA broadcaster is sending out 1080P (progressive). The max anyone uses is 1080i (1080 interlaced).

I do know the most-receptive antenna tested to get you UHF channel 39 (which is WLEX-DTV):. Check here:

http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/comparing.html

Best bets according to this chart are:
Channel Master 4228 8-Bay
AntennasDirect DB-8 8-Bay

Thank you BenCJedi .....yep you are correct ...I meant to enter 1080i but always thinking 1080p lol. I was thinking maybe since the other channels were broadcasting in the lower signals such as 720p and 480i etc without any problems that the 1080i signal took more muscle to pick up ...where could I find one of the antennas locally you suggested without having to order through the mail/internet ?

...and I have another question ...according to the " Experts " who I meet with at the local restaurant's " liar's table " :rolleyes: lol ...when the analog signal is finally phased out this coming February ...the digital signal strength will be increased cause all the power that was used before on the analog will be added to the digital signal...thus increasing the broadcasting range ......any truth to this ?

Would a Signal Amplifier help ? The UHF/VHF Omni Directional Antenna I'm currently using now works great pulling in the digital Beattyville which is opposite of the Digital Lexington and Morehead stations without having to turn the mast. Just WLEX wants to act up ...at times the picture will be normal but mostly it'll freeze and/or pixel. The antenna I'm using now came with a 20db in line signal booster which is connected to the TV...would another type of Signal Amplifier or maybe adding another one help ? Btw I also use the R6 cable and have it connected to a ground block. Thanks :)

...and I have another question ...according to the " Experts " who I meet with at the local restaurant's " liar's table " :rolleyes: lol ...when the analog signal is finally phased out this coming February ...the digital signal strength will be increased cause all the power that was used before on the analog will be added to the digital signal...thus increasing the broadcasting range ......any truth to this ?

Nope.

What may happen though is reception will improve due to less overcrowding of the airwaves (co-channels and adjacent channels competing). For example, WKYT's digital signal should improve in my area when the analog 13 from Asheville turns off. How much this helps will depend on your location. It should help those in fringe areas more.

WLOS-13's analog being silenced may do little or nothing to help you, since they're going to be moving their digital signal to channel 13 instead. There will still be a signal from Asheville, just a digital one instead of an analog one.

- Trip

Nope.

What may happen though is reception will improve due to less overcrowding of the airwaves (co-channels and adjacent channels competing). For example, WKYT's digital signal should improve in my area when the analog 13 from Asheville turns off. How much this helps will depend on your location. It should help those in fringe areas more.

Thank you cpcat ...your explanation sounds very logical...and I'll bring it to the floor during this afternoon's Liar's Table Meeting lol

WLOS-13's analog being silenced may do little or nothing to help you, since they're going to be moving their digital signal to channel 13 instead. There will still be a signal from Asheville, just a digital one instead of an analog one.

- Trip

It wouldn't likely make it usable for me in any case. The last I heard, the FCC had not given WLOS digital 13 and their final digital was in limbo.

WLOS-13's analog being silenced may do little or nothing to help you, since they're going to be moving their digital signal to channel 13 instead. There will still be a signal from Asheville, just a digital one instead of an analog one.

- Trip

I have not heard anything regarding digital stations being changed to the old analog stations. Are you just making an assumption that they would do this?

It wouldn't likely make it usable for me in any case. The last I heard, the FCC had not given WLOS digital 13 and their final digital was in limbo.

http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1233494&Service=TV&Form_id=387&Facility_id=56537

WLOS seems to think it's channel 13. That's their digital transitional report which states channel 13, and they've filed for a construction permit for channel 13, seen here:

http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1236180&Service=DT&Form_id=301&Facility_id=56537

I do see what you're saying, though, about the channel 13 election being "disapproved" but I'm not seeing any documentation that implies they're going to be anywhere but 13.

EDIT: Here's a PDF of the final FCC digital table of allocations, released last August. It notes WLOS on channel 13.

http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-07-138A2.pdf

- Trip

I have not heard anything regarding digital stations being changed to the old analog stations. Are you just making an assumption that they would do this?

Many stations will revert to their original analog channel for the final digital channel designation. For example, WBIR-10 in Knoxville has been digital 31 but will revert to digital 10 in Feb '09. WKPT-19 in Bristol has been broadcasting digital on 27 but will revert to 19 in Feb '09.

It seems that a majority of stations that were originally analog "high" vhf (7-13) will be reverting back for their digital and even many of those that were originally "low" vhf (2-6) will also revert back.

WKPT-19 in Bristol has been broadcasting digital on 27 but will revert to 19 in Feb '09.

Interesting note, WKPT originally told the FCC they wanted to revert to 19, but then asked the FCC to stay on 27 and the FCC has allowed them to do so.

Most low-VHF stations are not returning to their VHF frequencies. I think the total number of stations that will be on low-VHF after 02/17/09 is something like 42 but I'd have to count again.

- Trip

WLOS seems to think it's channel 13. That's their digital transitional report which states channel 13, and they've filed for a construction permit for channel 13, seen here:


I do see what you're saying, though, about the channel 13 election being "disapproved" but I'm not seeing any documentation that implies they're going to be anywhere but 13.

EDIT: Here's a PDF of the final FCC digital table of allocations, released last August. It notes WLOS on channel 13.

http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-07-138A2.pdf

- Trip

Thanks for the pdf. It's interesting that WKYT is indicated as having 3 percent interference. I'd assume that's from WLOS and I'll be part of that 3 percent. Way back when we first got cable TV the local system here carried both WKYT and WLOS. I'm in the Lexington DMA but because of terrain issues, etc. the signals are better from my south and east.

Interesting note, WKPT originally told the FCC they wanted to revert to 19, but then asked the FCC to stay on 27 and the FCC has allowed them to do so.


- Trip

That would actually be better for us here as we also have WB on 19 from Campbellsville. The FCC pdf link you gave indicates they'll (WKPT) revert back to 19 so they must have changed since then?

This link is to a more up-to-date table, which I missed when searching for the one I linked you. This one is from March, and it contains WKPT-DT on 27.

http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-08-72A2.pdf

- Trip

I do see what you're saying, though, about the channel 13 election being "disapproved" but I'm not seeing any documentation that implies they're going to be anywhere but 13.


Looks like it was originally disapproved+they(WLOS) got an interference conflict notice from FCC(there is first round conflict status on the "disapproved" one). There is no evidence I'm aware of however that would seem to suggest(or not) whether or not interference to portions of WKYT service area may have been any sort of issue of concern involved.

In any case, the interference conflict involving their channel 13 election was apparently later solved in the first round as per this app from them(requires a PDF reader to open), which WAS approved (for ch 13) by FCC on 10/4/05 :

http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101077708&formid=383&fac_num=56537

Although, oddly enough, the "schedule B" portion of the form doesn't appear to be filled out, it just says they've solved the issue ..

Would a Signal Amplifier help ?
{snip}
The antenna I'm using now came with a 20db in line signal booster which is connected to the TV

No ... In fact I may I be so bold as to suggest that the signal amplifier you are using now, is probably what's causing the trouble. Piling on will only make matters worse.

No ... In fact I may I be so bold as to suggest that the signal amplifier you are using now, is probably what's causing the trouble. Piling on will only make matters worse.

Thank you for the response ...well ...I disconnected the signal amplifier and rescanned the channels ....and lost all but Moreheads 67-1, 67-2, 67-3, 67-4 ...so I connected it back and got all 16 channels back I had before...except of course WLEX will still pixel and freeze every few minutes ...yesterday afternoon though I was watching a hockey game on WLEX it was clear sailing for around 30 minutes till the problem showed up again. I made sure all the cable connections were tight and secured and the outside connections are wrapped with a weather boot and tape.

The two previous antennas I tried were directional and had no signal amplifier and experience the same problem with them....even after attempts of trying to make a pin point connection to WLEX by turning the mast and using a compass ..my friends in Estill County btw also have the same problem I have with WLEX ...all the rest of the channels comes in loud and clear ( they're also able to pick up Ch 57 out of Hazard which I'm not able to ) ....anyhoo lol ....I got to reading the link that Trip in VA has posted and noticed what's listed under Interference for WLEX is 3.5 ..I have it copied and pasted right below ...( btw Trip in VA ...good job on your new web site ! )

73203 KY LEXINGTON 18 39 475 286 70206 380203 842339 19494 830 3.5


Reckon possible too much interference ?..or at least enough of it to mess up WLEX's signal ? ...I have DISH which I'm able to watch WLEX but it's sure nice to watch it in glorious OTA HD instead lol....also like to get around in dropping the local channels package and save me $5.00 a month lol...Also .....during Friday evening storms when my DISH lost it's signal not once did I lost or had any interference watching WKYT .....or any of the other channels via the antenna...but of course WLEX was still screwy.

Thanks for any further suggestions ...and be sure to bring some wood back inside and keep the stove hot ...Winter's making a encore lol.

The two previous antennas I tried were directional and had no signal amplifier and experience the same problem with them....

What were those two antennas and what exactly are you using now? How long is your RG6 down lead?

edit: Ok I see what they are.

You can't disconnect the amplifier on the antenna as it is inside the antenna itself. All you did was remove power so that really doesn't tell you much.

I'd echo the previous recc. for the CM 4221 or 4228. Your problem may be you'll lose WDKY but assuming you have success with the uhf channels you should be able to use either a lo/hi or uhf/vhf combiner to get WDKY/vhf as necessary.

Reckon possible too much interference ?..or at least enough of it to mess up WLEX's signal ? .

Well ... if WLEX is messed up then in theory, WTVQ should be also. Same broadcast antenna/tower. It is possible that you could be getting co-channel interference from SW OH ... there is another station on Ch39 in that direction and you may be just far enough from Lexington for it to be a factor.

Thank you for the response ...well ...I disconnected the signal amplifier and rescanned the channels ....and lost all but Moreheads 67-1, 67-2, 67-3, 67-4 ...

You can't disconnect the amplifier on the antenna as it is inside the antenna itself. All you did was remove power so that really doesn't tell you much.
Yes, by disconnecting the power from the amplifier, you actually make it WORSE than if you had no amplifier at all. Many/most amps are not designed to pass the signal through unamplified when they don't have power.

Thank you for the responses ...

Yes, by disconnecting the power from the amplifier, you actually make it WORSE than if you had no amplifier at all. Many/most amps are not designed to pass the signal through unamplified when they don't have power.

Reckon I need to clarify ...I disconnected and removed the amplifier and connected the antenna cable straight into the TV...was able to pick up the Morehead station and sub channels only ...

...and I'm running close to 75 feet of cable from antenna to the TV ...

Oringinally Posted by HDTVChallenged
Well ... if WLEX is messed up then in theory, WTVQ should be also. Same broadcast antenna/tower. It is possible that you could be getting co-channel interference from SW OH ... there is another station on Ch39 in that direction and you may be just far enough from Lexington for it to be a factor.

....and yep ...WTVQ has never gave me a problem ...same deal with my friends in Estill ...I dunno ...mysteries such as this keeps me trying till I do find a fix ...it's what keeps me from rusting away lol ...for the pure heck of it I'm borrowing a Radio Shack Model: 15-2507 TV/HDTV/VCR/FM Antenna-Mounted High-Gain Signal Amplifier from my brother this weekend ( he's still waiting on his coupons ) and see what happens ...thanks again :)

Thank you for the responses ...



Reckon I need to clarify ...I disconnected and removed the amplifier and connected the antenna cable straight into the TV...was able to pick up the Morehead station and sub channels only ...





You only removed the power inserter, not the amplifier. The amplifier is inside the antenna and you'd have to open the antenna up and physically reroute the connection to bypass it. Not that I'd do that necessarily.:)

When you remove the power from an amp without taking it out of the signal path it becomes an attenuator.

Thank you cpat ...I didn't know the amp was built into the antenna itself ...if I knew that before hand I wouldn't have bought it ...makes me skittish if the amp goes out then I'll be stuck with a $79 worth of junk ...well I decided to return the antenna ( under Radio Shack's 30 day return policy ) and reinstall one of the previous two I own...and wait it out till Feb.'09 and see where the dust settles before making anymore major changes. Reckon being able to at least enjoy the extra 3 KET channels that DISH does not provide for the time being is good enough ...I took a strong liking to KETKY.

....and has anybody had any problems with WDKY (56-1) Friday evening ? The signal was broken up and at times nothing showed but blue screen . This morning the channel is working fine ...

I reinstalled my Radio Shack 40" Boom Length, 17 Elements Outdoor Antenna for UHF-Only Model: U-75R ...WLEX works best using this one than the other two I tried but still tends to pixel and freeze. I was pleasantly surprised though that this time installing it I was able to pick up WLJC Beattyville ...which I know broadcast on VHF Ch. 7 ..and the antenna is pointed completely opposite of WLJC's tower ...didn't think a UHF-Only antenna would do that lol ...but I'm tickled ..

During my travels this morning a kindly older gentleman gave me a antenna he was using for his FM radio and occasional TV watching. He couldn't remember all what channels he did watch but he did get some out of Lexington...I'm trying to ID if it's VHF ...if so...next weekend I'll try and mount it on another pole and run a UHF/VHF combiner from both antennas to a single line to my TV...see if it'll pick up WDKY 56-1. Hope the image attachemnt of the antenna shows up lol. Thank You

That looks like an FM antenna. It may do ok for WDKY (channel 4) especially at your distance. If so, you could combine that with a CM 4221 or CM 4228 using a HLSJ and I'll bet you will be set.

An HLSJ separates low band (2-6) from 7-69. This way you'd get WDKY off the FM antenna and the rest from the other.

You might also get WKYT on the FM antenna but that would be a stretch. If that were the case you could use a UVSJ instead.

You can also use your amplified RS antenna for WDKY (if that was working already) and the 4221/4228 for the rest. The lo port of the HLSJ passes DC power so it should work fine. The UVSJ also passes DC on the vhf side so that would also work for both WDKY and WKYT.

HLSJ/UVSJ:http://www.picomacom.com/specs/pico/C/C24.pdf

Thank You cpcat,

I already returned the Radio Shack amplified antenna yesterday lol

I'm currently using a Radio Shack 40" Boom Length, 17 Elements Outdoor Antenna for UHF-Only Model: U-75R . As before when I first had this antenna installed..and pointing in only one direction .. I'm picking up Morehead and it's sub channels, WKYT, WTVQ, KET and all their sub channels ...also with the same antenna I'm picking up WLJC Beattyville ...which is Ch 65-1 but it's digital channel is 7 which is on the back side of where the antenna is pointing. All channels comes in loud and clear all for WLEX still ...though it comes in and looks beautiful that pix elation and freezing is aggravating. All I need now is to try that old FM antenna and see if it'll pick up WDKY.

I'm thinking of installing that 80" Boom Length, 32-Element Antenna
Model: VU-90 XR again ...which picked up WDKY ...but suffered the same fate with WLEX as wit the others when I had it installed before ...and use the old FM antenna try and pick up WLJC with.

Anybody could help me to where I could find a HLSJ locally ...and also one of the Channel Master's 4221 or 4228 ? ...I'd like to try one of those antennas cause I seen a few in this area folks are using .I figure Lexington or maybe Winchester would have a source for these but none of the bigger name brand stores ( Walmart,Lowes,Best Buy etc ) carries the Channel Masters. I despise ordering large items by mail lol...due to a couple of previous attempts at trying to return a product......btw I have asked 4 different owners of those 4221/4228 or similar flat antennas and not a soul could remember where they bought 'em at lol ....well 2 of them said the antennas where already installed when they moved there ...Thank You

btw I have asked 4 different owners of those 4221/4228 or similar flat antennas and not a soul could remember where they bought 'em at lol

If you have a local ACE Hardware store, you might get lucky. Mine usually has a small supply of the 4221's ... Lowes used to carry them back in the 90's, but I thing they've stopped carrying ChannelMaster.

If you have a local ACE Hardware store, you might get lucky. Mine usually has a small supply of the 4221's ... Lowes used to carry them back in the 90's, but I thing they've stopped carrying ChannelMaster.

Well ....did some online searching and seen where True Value is a seller of Channel Master products...I called my local True Value and they did not have any antennas in stock ..but they could order one for me ... (typical of Stanton ...2 weeks from anywhere lol )...have to wait till Monday though for that to happen cause the employee I was talking to could not open up the computer catalog ...so she asked if I could call back or show up when the owner is there ....think I'll go for the 4221 ...read where it's has a coverage range of 45 degrees compared to the 4228's 25 degrees ...or does that make a big difference ? lol ..........ya'll have a good Sunday :)

btw I have asked 4 different owners of those 4221/4228 or similar flat antennas and not a soul could remember where they bought 'em at lol ....well 2 of them said the antennas where already installed when they moved there ...Thank You

Try RadioElectronics on Skaine ave in downtown Lex for the antennas. Alternatively online:
http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=ANC4228

The HLSJ I'd just order online.
http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=HLSJ

Both the 4221 and the 4228 should do fine for 13 and 7 (WKYT and WLJC). Try the FM antenna for WDKY with the HLSJ to combine the two. The FM antenna would attach to the lo port, the 4228 to the hi port, and the downlead to your TV to the common port.

Try RadioElectronics on Skaine ave in downtown Lex for the antennas. Alternatively online:
http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=ANC4228

The HLSJ I'd just order online.
http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=HLSJ

Both the 4221 and the 4228 should do fine for 13 and 7 (WKYT and WLJC). Try the FM antenna for WDKY with the HLSJ to combine the two. The FM antenna would attach to the lo port, the 4228 to the hi port, and the downlead to your TV to the common port.

Thank you for info cpcat :) .I ordered a HLSJ last night with the 2nd Day delivery ...this Saturday gonna try it out with the FM antenna and the RS Model: U-75R I'm using now...a fellow employee told me today I should lower my antenna ( it's 20 foot high mounted on the end of the house, sticking right over the peak of the roof ) ..he was having trouble with break ups and such on 3 channels till he dropped his antenna a foot ...so I lowered mine a foot soon as I came home from work and ...well .....WLEX has been playing for 3 hours so far without a freeze :)....it still pixels at times but not near as much as before ...later in the week I'm lowering the antenna another foot and see what happens ....just ticker around with it ....thanks for your help :)

WDKY is having issues (again) with the digital exciter. A "rental" exciter will be installed shortly. I would hold off on troubleshooting WDKY reception problems for a couple days.

WDKY is having issues (again) with the digital exciter. A "rental" exciter will be installed shortly. I would hold off on troubleshooting WDKY reception problems for a couple days.

Thanks for the heads up :) ...hopefully this weekend the problem will be fixed on WDKY's end .......hopefully the weather cooperates also lol ..

My son lives behind Walmart in Winchester,KY and he now owns a digital converter box ...what indoor VHF/UHF antenna would be recommended for him to be able to pick up Lexington and Morehead stations ? ...he's using a older set of rabbit ears but it's a VHS only ...all he needs now is to pick WDKY ......thank you

Thanks for the heads up :) ...hopefully this weekend the problem will be fixed on WDKY's end .......hopefully the weather cooperates also lol ..

My son lives behind Walmart in Winchester,KY and he now owns a digital converter box ...what indoor VHF/UHF antenna would be recommended for him to be able to pick up Lexington and Morehead stations ? ...he's using a older set of rabbit ears but it's a VHS only ...all he needs now is to pick WDKY ......thank you

He must be my neighbor. I live in the same area and am using just a piece of 83" wire (loop) attached to a Channel Master 7777 pre-amp for VHF (in the attic)..perfect WDKY signal (excluding the recent 'exciter' issue). VHF is what your son has, but the rabbit ears don't extend 83" from tip-to-tip and that's the problem. WDKY-DT is on low VHF, so for best signal for that frequency the antenna needs to span much wider than standard rabbit ears are capable of. I had pictures of my homebrew antenna, but can't find them. Envision flat brown coax from Radio Shack with a cut on one side so that there are two open sections... these are attached to a balun transformer which is connected to the Channel master pre-amp and from there the signal is fed into a 4-way Channel Master distribution amp. The flat coax is pinned to a long piece of wood for positioning in the attic. It's a very simple, inexpensive do-it-yourself antenna, but I have found nothing better commercially available that can beat this setup for WDKY-DT.

ditto what Ben posted. I would make sure the modulator on the stb is set to ch 3 not 4. I've had more luck in the attic or outside, less local interference

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/24/technology/personaltech/24basics.html?pagewanted=1&8dpc&_r=1

Thanks BenCJedi & HDTV4usinky ..I passed the info to my son ...right now he's trying a Philips Mant510 but so far only able to pick up 18-1, 27-1 and 36-1 and their subs ...I gave him a 20 foot cable to try so he'll be able to try it in different parts of the room. I found a thick flat TV cable ...would I need to cut the cable in two 41.5 inch lengths and connect both sections to the balun ? I'm scroungin' around for a pre-amp I might be able to buy really cheap from a co worker.

While he was visiting I had him lower my antenna another 6 inches and ...WLEX is even doing better :) ...not one single freeze in over 3 hours ..a bit of pixelation now and then but it's the best I seen it yet .

....and cpcat .have to receive your HLSJ yet ? ...I ordered mine Sunday night with 2nd day delivery ...as of yet Solid Signal has not posted any " shipped " info ......thanks :)

(WDKY) Sinclair still has work to do to complete its DTV conversion; it wants to maximize transmission power in a few markets and switch three VHF assignments for DTV to UHF channels if possible. So it will be looking at transmission equipment such as filters and antennas.:):):):):):):)

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6546067.html

Also from that article, if Media General kept WTVQ, they would of eventually made their newscast in HD. Maybe their new owners will?

would I need to cut the cable in two 41.5 inch lengths and connect both sections to the balun

Ideally, you would use the 300 ohm twinlead as one 83" piece with the wire on both ends twisted together. In the middle you would cut one side of the twinlead and insert the balun. Check out this website:

http://www.wfu.edu/~matthews/misc/dipole.html

Ideally, you would use the 300 ohm twinlead as one 83" piece with the wire on both ends twisted together. In the middle you would cut one side of the twinlead and insert the balun. Check out this website:

http://www.wfu.edu/~matthews/misc/dipole.html

Thank you. I fixed one up for WDKY in my shop ...soldered and mounted on a thin length of trim board ...even found a old balun and solder it to the antenna also .....anxious to see how it'll work out once my son picks it up and installs it . ...the rain has made my roof to slick to experiment with my own antenna today lol.

My local True Value and the one in Winchester ( Bridges and Lane ) do not carry or can't even order me a CM 4221 or CM4228. I decided to call around some of the TV repair and related shops in Winchester and Mt Sterling asking what types of antennas they might have ....know what ? ...if any it's only rabbit ears ~?~ ...just like all the local hardware and other stores around Stanton ..I asked each business if they must work for folks like me in the boondocks for them to be carrying such a item and ...well the generic answer I got was " Well ..what we do sell gets brought back " ...I did drove to Lowes in Mt. Sterling and they have some large out door Philips brand antenna's but not one with VHF ...I asked the dept manager about 'em and he was pretty good knowing a bit but had no clue that WKYT, WDKY and WLJC are broadcasted in the VHF range on the digital band ..which explained to him why he had 4 of the very largest antennas returned to the store cause the costumers HDTV's would not pick up them channels ...it seems to me that nobody running a television shop or selling TV products around here has any idea about how this DTV transition works lol ...anyway ...if anybody going to sell product they need to know what they're selling ...and have the knowledge to know what to keep in stock and what to toss out instead of it collecting dust on the shelves ...no wonder the economy is sputtering ....well that's my gripe lol .......ya'll have a good weekend !

Thank you. I fixed one up for WDKY in my shop ...soldered and mounted on a thin length of trim board ...even found a old balun and solder it to the antenna also .....anxious to see how it'll work out once my son picks it up and installs it . ...the rain has made my roof to slick to experiment with my own antenna today lol.


Like I said, I live right around the corner from your son and the wireloop, like what you created is working great for me. I have it mounted on the north side of my house in the attic and it still works great. Granted I have it going through the Channel Master 7777 pre-amp too. By itself I do remember getting some reception though (enough for a lock of WDKY). I use the pre-amp with a Winegard PR8800 too, so I get the best of VHF and UHF in my setup.

I have my converter box coupons, they showed up yesterday in the mail. I went out to Wal Mart and picked up a box, I'll get another somewhere else. The Wal Mart in Richmond stocks UHF-VHF antennas for $80 that include all mounting hardware and 100 feet of RG6. I don't need an antenna to pick up WDKY, but I'm about 4500' from the transmitter LOS. I was interested to see what Wal Mart carried, and was surprised to see a decent UHF-VHF antenna on the shelf.

I have my converter box coupons, they showed up yesterday in the mail. I went out to Wal Mart and picked up a box, I'll get another somewhere else. The Wal Mart in Richmond stocks UHF-VHF antennas for $80 that include all mounting hardware and 100 feet of RG6. I don't need an antenna to pick up WDKY, but I'm about 4500' from the transmitter LOS. I was interested to see what Wal Mart carried, and was surprised to see a decent UHF-VHF antenna on the shelf.

HDTV4usinky, you did not mention the manufacturer of that antenna at WalMart.

I also have my coupon but could not get the converter box at the Winchester store as they were sold out. I had purchased one for full price a month ago for my sister and bought a powered rabbit ears antenna and found it lacking in usability (lol, is that a word?). The gain knob on the Philips preamp rabbit ears would draw in hard to pick up stations, but would have to be turned down for closer stations. Too much trouble. I took it back and purchased a cheap set of unpowered rabbit ears with the loop and it works fine for all stations if it's placed right in the room with the loop facing Lexington.

i'm pretty sure that this Philips combo was the antenna they had on hand:

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5000835

a powered rabbit ears antenna and found it lacking in usability (lol, is that a word?). The gain knob on the Philips preamp rabbit ears would draw in hard to pick up stations, but would have to be turned down for closer stations. Too much trouble.

I predict that there's going to be a lot of people that get suckered into buying these kinds of noise generators ... frustration, malaise and urban legends of the "evils of digital TV" are sure to follow ... thus handing cable wins even more customers. ;)

i'm pretty sure that this Philips combo was the antenna they had on hand:

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5000835

Yeah, that rig is very similiar to my large Channel Master antenna. The only problem I experience with it is that during high winds the antenna will oscilate from side to side causing the picture to pixilate.

I'm thinking about ordering a Channel Master 7777 pre-amp from Warren Electronics http://www.warrenelectronics.com/antennas/7777.htm ..has anybody did business with them before and if so how was their service ? ....thanks

I went through Solidsignal for my CM7777. No problems with them

Well lol ...I went ahead and ordered me two of the Channel Master 7777's ( one for myself and one for my son ) ...I figured for the price of around $119 for both ( including shipping ) was a good bargain. I had to call first to find out the shipping charge ( varies on how far they have to ship via Fed Ex ) and they have plenty in stock also.

My HLSJ finally came in today ..after 11 days when I ordered it 2nd day Delivery lol ...hopefully the weather will let me install it this weekend along with the Fm antenna so maybe I'll pick up WDKY's digital signal.....btw ...WDKY's analog signal is coming in crystal clear ...according the Info Menu it's broadcasting in 480i SD ..does that sound right ? ...

Okay...we didn't even pretend we was going to install the FM antenna and the Radio Shack Model U-75R perfectly this morning...the weather was too nice to be working lol...but using the HLSJ ( with the FM antenna connected to the VHF/Lo and the U-75R connected to the VHF/Hi ) ...WDKY's digital signal is trying to come in ..after one minor turn of the mast I got it down to around where it's solid for a couple seconds and then the picture breaks up ...or as my grand daughter said " It's stutterin' Papaw " lol ...but I'll wait till next week when I'm on vacation to bother doing anymore adjusting or anything else to that matter concerning the antennas..

.a question ..I mounted the FM around 6 feet off from the side of the U-R75 ...figured that was the way to go ...but my brother insist the FM antenna should be mounted above the U-R75 at least 4 feet ...is this correct ? ...

...another question ...I noticed by viewing the pictures of the CM7777 I ordered online (should be delivered this week) that it had a VHF Separate Input and a UHF or Combined Input ...so would I connect the FM antenna to the VHF Separate Input ( and remove the HSLC ) and connect the UHF U-R75 antenna to the UHF or Combined Input ?

Any suggestions would be grateful as in the pass ...thanks and hope you're enjoying this wonderful Sunday weather :)

...another question ...I noticed by viewing the pictures of the CM7777 I ordered online (should be delivered this week) that it had a VHF Separate Input and a UHF or Combined Input ...so would I connect the FM antenna to the VHF Separate Input ( and remove the HSLC ) and connect the UHF U-R75 antenna to the UHF or Combined Input ?

It depends on which antenna you want to pull in WDKY (Ch13) ... if you want to use the FM antenna for Ch13 then remove the HSLC and use the separate inputs on the 7777, if you want to use the RS UHF for Ch13 then leave the HSLC in and use the combined input on the 7777. You'll probably want to try it both ways to see which give the better result (I'm guessing the FM would work better for Ch13.)

As for the stacking, the VHF/FM should be highest to avoid interaction with the roof of your house.

I'd try both and see which works better. If there's no difference, put the larger/heavier antenna lower on the mast. Spacing probably needs to be at least 60 inches for low band and 48 inches for high band vhf. Uhf generally requires about 36 inches. Depending on the situation, you might get away with closer spacing.

Personally, I've always ended up putting my uhf over my vhf section. This is more from a practical standpoint due to size/windload issues as well as the fact that the uhf is on the rotator.

Thank you HDTVChallenged & cpcat ...reckon I'll ask my brother to shimmy up the roof again this weekend and we'll see what will work best lol ..btw ...I'm skeered of heights so that's why my brother's involved lol.

.and I have to say a good word for Warren Electronics ...I ordered my CM 7777 ( well two units total ) May 2nd very late in the day ...and the package was on my door step when I came home from work today ! ...think I'll do any future electronics business with them for now on..

..and ...I noticed the last two mornings around 3am ( when I wake up to get ready for work ..well at least to show up for it anyway lol ) that WDKY ( CH 56-1/VHF CH 4 ) and WLJC ( CH 65-1/VHF CH 7 ) both came in perfect ! ...during the day hours they were stuttering since my most recent antenna changes ...reckon it's due to FM interference ? ...if so ...then more likely the FM trap on the CM7777 would take care of that problem ? ...anyway ...we'll be finding out what works and what doesn't this Saturday .....thanks again guys :)

I'm confused about something. I am going to London KY this weekend to help my brother set up his old antenna. He stopped using it about 10 years ago but wants to use it again now that everything is going digital. However, both antennaweb and tvfool say he will no longer get the Lexington stations. I looked up the maximum allowed power for digital stations and the Lexington stations are nowhere near the max level. Are they operating at their full licensed power? Will we just be wasting our time? I measured the distance to the broadcast towers and the range is 49 to 60 miles.

I noticed last time that with a Terk HDTVa, if I took it outside I could get WDKY and the digital tuner paused at channel 12 (WKYT) but didn't decode it. I suspect I will have little trouble getting those two stations with the larger antenna, but it seems a shame to not be able to get WLEX and WTVQ as well. Especially since, I can get their analog signals with this little antenna. They are weak and fade a lot but they are there. Is anyone from the London area on here and if so, what kinds of issues have you had with the digital transmissions from the Lexington stations?

Try plugging your data into this site:

http://www.tvfool.com

AntennaWeb is EXTREMELY conservative about what you will receive. Most of the time it leaves off stations you should be able to receive.

- Trip

What is the recommended antenna for these stations?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v413/rusty_nail2/Radar-All.jpg

I'm confused about something. I am going to London KY this weekend to help my brother set up his old antenna. He stopped using it about 10 years ago but wants to use it again now that everything is going digital. However, both antennaweb and tvfool say he will no longer get the Lexington stations. I looked up the maximum allowed power for digital stations and the Lexington stations are nowhere near the max level. Are they operating at their full licensed power? Will we just be wasting our time? I measured the distance to the broadcast towers and the range is 49 to 60 miles.

I noticed last time that with a Terk HDTVa, if I took it outside I could get WDKY and the digital tuner paused at channel 12 (WKYT) but didn't decode it. I suspect I will have little trouble getting those two stations with the larger antenna, but it seems a shame to not be able to get WLEX and WTVQ as well. Especially since, I can get their analog signals with this little antenna. They are weak and fade a lot but they are there. Is anyone from the London area on here and if so, what kinds of issues have you had with the digital transmissions from the Lexington stations?

The Lexington digitals, with the exception of WDKY, just don't get down here very well.

That 12 you're smelling is actually WYMT-TV (CBS) out of Hazard. With a little height, you should get it and WDKY-TV (FOX) on 4 with ease.

Have you thought about the Tennessee stations? Post-transition, you could get an NBC from Knoxville on 10 or from Johnson City on 5, depending on your setup. I think we in the mountains, for the most part, are SOL as far as ABC is concerned.

The Lord blessed us with a beautiful Saturday for us to do some major experimenting on my antenna installation ( and catch up on a ton of backed up yard work lol ) ...as in the attached photo of my set up you can view the FM antenna on top of the mast ( connected to the Separate VHF plug on the CM7777)and the UHF right below it ( connected to the UHF Combined plug on the CM7777).....and right underneath the eve of the roof you might noticed the CM7777 installed. I wasn't able to use the VHF/Hi/Lo splitter no matter how I installed it ...I'll ether lose WKYT or WDKY ..but without it I'm able to receive both stations loud and clear as with all the other Lexington channels and Moreheads without installing it.

I know the UHF is pretty close to the roof line but we found out the signals picked up the best right where it lays.

One minor drawback is that I have to move the UHF antenna
toward the right at least even with the edge of the roof line to pick up WLJC ( 65-1, digital 7 ) which btw is will be pointing almost completely opposite of WLJC's tower...but leaving it in that position WLEX's signal will begin to pixelate ...all the other stations will still pull through perfectly.

So my friends ...that's how it'll stay till after the digital transition has completed in February of 2009 ...I strongly think " they " are still working out the bugs and who knows what changes will take effect till then...we just happen to have a chat with old friend yesterday we haven't seen in years and he said he had to change his antenna set up twice over the time since the Lexington stations started broadcasting digital.

....if anybody has any suggestions after viewing this photo please suggest as ya'll have helped me tremendously before and I thank you all. :)

One minor drawback is that I have to move the UHF antenna
toward the right at least even with the edge of the roof line to pick up WLJC ( 65-1, digital 7 ) which btw is will be pointing almost completely opposite of WLJC's tower...but leaving it in that position WLEX's signal will begin to pixelate ...all the other stations will still pull through perfectly.

:)

Great work.:)

I'm assuming you have the internal switches on the CM7777 "separate" and FM trap "in". Assuming so, you are getting all the vhf (2-13) off the top antenna so repositioning the uhf shouldn't effect WJLC unless there's interaction b/w the two antennas.

Thank you cpcat ..

Yep ...got both switches set as you stated ...we did move the bottom UHF antenna by itself and that alone did effect WLJC's signal ...we ran out of cable or we would've raised the top FM antenna another foot or so ...and we just had some high winds go through here and much to my delight ....the antenna's are still where I left them lol ...and only had a few minor pixelating on WLEX and WKYT during the storm also ...

The Lexington digitals, with the exception of WDKY, just don't get down here very well.

That 12 you're smelling is actually WYMT-TV (CBS) out of Hazard. With a little height, you should get it and WDKY-TV (FOX) on 4 with ease.

Have you thought about the Tennessee stations? Post-transition, you could get an NBC from Knoxville on 10 or from Johnson City on 5, depending on your setup. I think we in the mountains, for the most part, are SOL as far as ABC is concerned.

Yes, I had thought about the Knoxville stations as I used to I watch them when I was growing up down there but according to my calculations, they are at least 85 miles away from the farm. Plus, we always felt like we were missing out local news and information back then.

After visiting this weekend, I realized that my brother's antenna is pretty old and he had moved it down lower on his mast years ago. He also put a new roof on his house with lots of metal and the antenna is only a foot away from it in some parts.

As it is now, he got the religious broadcasters, ION, and WDKY. The signal strength on the others all hovered at about 33% and the tuner paused at each one but couldn't decode it. We did not try for Knoxville as he would have had to completely take the antenna down and then put it back up. He plans to move the antenna back up higher this weekend, tho.

I was a little concerned about getting WLEX as the Greenville TN station (WEMT) uses that frequency for it's analog broadcasts. We can often pick that up with just a UHF loop. But, it didn't cause any problems as far as I can tell since the antenna was pointed completely away from it. If I had the time and money, I'm sure we could get a lot of stations but aside from ordering the new Winegard 8200U to the tune of $170, I'm not sure what to do.

It seems odd that the hinterlands should be so overlooked in the new transition, which is why I asked about the power. Where I live now, some of the stations are at full power 1000kw (digital 34) and cover a smaller geographic market, while the Lexington stations are at the most, 475kw (digital 39) and cover a much larger geographic market. That's why I wonder if that will change post transition.

It seems odd that the hinterlands should be so overlooked in the new transition, which is why I asked about the power. Where I live now, some of the stations are at full power 1000kw (digital 34) and cover a smaller geographic market, while the Lexington stations are at the most, 475kw (digital 39) and cover a much larger geographic market. That's why I wonder if that will change post transition.

I been wondering that myself ...if the stations are conserving power ($) splitting the cost between both analog and digital ...and then throw both hamsters into the digital wheel running full speed after transition ?

The difference between 500KW and 1000KW is the same difference between 1 watt and 2 watts ...

Either are Only a 3db difference ...

Also, digital power is measured as average, analog is measured as peak ...

Also, it takes much, much less signal to achieve perfect DTV reception than it does to achieve anywhere near acceptable analog reception ....

The difference between 500KW and 1000KW is the same difference between 1 watt and 2 watts ...

Either are Only a 3db difference ...

Also, digital power is measured as average, analog is measured as peak ...

Also, it takes much, much less signal to achieve perfect DTV reception than it does to achieve anywhere near acceptable analog reception ....

Well the ratio is the same but only 3db difference? Really?

In fringe areas, that can be very significant. It might have made a difference for us.

That may be the case but what good is the transition to digital if it ultimately causes you to lose stations you used to receive. It seems like a counter intuitive move to make.

Don't get me wrong, I love my reception where I live. I get about 48 digital channels with my antenna at the moment. But down on the farm in Kentucky, it makes no sense to lose the few channels you used to get only to have to pay a satellite provider to get back what used to be free. Why bother with set top boxes if you are going to have to buy service anyway?

I may have to invest in that Winegard 8200 and Research Communications preamp after all.