Hi,

I'm in Nicholasville exploring the possibility of going the HDTV route. Any of you Adelphia HD subscribers? I'm assuming it's offered here in Jessamine County. The Adelphia website is useless, and I'm never thrilled to have to deal with the ladies down at the local Adelphia office.

Anyway, just looking for some advice about service and any tuner or TV recommendations you may have.

Thanks in advance,

Matt

I had Adelphia when I lived in Richmond, and I must warn you, the PQ is horrible! Their broadband is just as bad. It may have changed since I moved here to Lexington, but if you want HD I would recommend either going Directv or Dish Network. Some people differ opinions, but from first hand experience, Adelphia was a huge disappointment. Do your research. Choose what works for you.

As for your tv question. There are many types out there. What size are you looking at? What is your spending budget? List more details and we can certainly guide you in the right direction. I personally have a 52 inch RCA HDTV and I love it. However, I will be moving soon and I am looking into getting a plasma or LCD, so I will be selling mine soon. Just give more details on what you want.

I am royally pissed at WDKY for pre-empting The OC and Tru Calling for the Legends baseball game! Who the hell made that call? The OC was a new episode! Tru Calling was new also (unless you downloaded it several weeks ago from the Canada rips online).

Originally posted by BenCJedi
I am royally pissed at WDKY for pre-empting The OC and Tru Calling for the Legends baseball game! Who the hell made that call? The OC was a new episode! Tru Calling was new also (unless you downloaded it several weeks ago from the Canada rips online).

Ah come on now - at least we'll get to see 'em in glorious 4:3 SD on Saturday. :rolleyes: (so sayeth the TiVo anyway)

There's your "Localism" hard at work. All I can say, is that one of these days, WDRB is gonna be running 1000kW {insert evil grin here}

PS: Since the WDKY's analog move, I've been getting WHAS-DT (Ch55) fairly often.

Hey Brinkley, thanks for your reply!

I will certainly take your advice and look into DishNetwork and DirecTV for HD service. Just curious, about how much is the cost monthly for these providers?

As far as my budget, I'm thinking I'd like to find a TV for between $1000 and $2000 and somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 inches. I'm guessing I'll need to shell out about $200 for a tuner, right?

-Matt

I've asked this before but I'll ask it again. Anyone heard anything on ABC coming to Insight in HD? I've sent several emails to them with no replies.

I am a Directv sub, so I have no idea about Insight. Anybody out there who knows??

Originally posted by kyalumtwin
I've asked this before but I'll ask it again. Anyone heard anything on ABC coming to Insight in HD? I've sent several emails to them with no replies.
The folklore discussed on this list previously hasn't changed to my knowledge... I think Insight is ready to do this, WTVQ is ready to do this... but WTVQ's owning company (General Media I think...) won't allow this to occur... my understanding of the issue is that Insight is only interested in ABC-HD... however, General Media is requiring an all-or-nothing policy which required Insight to also carry any multicast channels ABC-DT provided in addition to ABC-HD. I'm assuming this is a business stalemate that isn't going to be resolved anytime soon... ABC-HD is only available via OTA in Lexington.

WLEX Update is posted here. (http://www.wlextv.com/Global/story.asp?S=1549052&nav=EQlxJSG5)

April 13, 2005

The building to house our new DTV transmitter is under construction. The transmitter and antenna are scheduled for delivery the end of May.

It's about time they gave an update. Time will tell if their time line will be correct.

Hello, I have searched this thread, but I have not been able to find out the information I need. I just bought a HDTV with a tuner and can't seem to pickup FOX HD ( I live by MOW and Todds Rd. ). Can someone tell me exactly what channel it is supposed to be on? So far I have found posts that mention 56.1, 4.1, and 4.3; none of which I seem to pick up anything on. Any other suggestions?

Thanks,
jImbEam

Originally posted by jImbEam
Hello, I have searched this thread, but I have not been able to find out the information I need. I just bought a HDTV with a tuner and can't seem to pickup FOX HD ( I live by MOW and Todds Rd. ). Can someone tell me exactly what channel it is supposed to be on? So far I have found posts that mention 56.1, 4.1, and 4.3; none of which I seem to pick up anything on. Any other suggestions?

Thanks,
jImbEam

WDKY-DT is on VHF channel 4. That is the physical channel you need to tune to. Depending on your receiver you might need to tune in the virtual channel which is 56.1. There is no such channel as 56.3. WDKY-DT has no subchannels.
I found it difficult receiving WDKY-DT from Reynold's Rd/Clays Mill area until I made this in the attic.

http://home.insightbb.com/~refuel/pics/HDTV/antenna/VHF_ch4_ant01.jpg

http://home.insightbb.com/~refuel/pics/HDTV/antenna/VHF_ch4_ant02.jpg

Sometimes the homebrew solutions are more effective than anything you can buy in the store.

Thanks for the response BenCJedi. I am using the built in tuner on my Sony Grand WEGA (KDF-50WE655). Anyone happen to know what channel I am supposed to pick it up on? I get "No Signal" on 56.1 and snow on 4. I guess I need to figure out this whole "the channel is really 56.1 but it shows up on 4" thing. I am not really sure what is going on there.

Unfortunately I live in an apartment and I am using one of the 'el cheapo $30 Radio Shack indoor antennas. If I knew exactly what channel it was supposed to be on I could try a little harder to get a signal.

FYI, I can pick up 27.1, 36.1, 46.4, and regular 56 fine.

jImbEam

I live in an apartment too.. just happen to have an attic with it. I forgot to mention that I am using an amp. It is similar to the one they sell at Lowes for around $30 (+25db). Brinkley has had success in an apartment as well with WDKY-DT using the ~$28 amplified RCA antenna sold at Wal-Mart, so you might try that. My Sony TV doesn't have the built in HD tuner, so I am not sure if it tunes first by physical channel and then remaps it to the virtual channel or how it really does it. Based on what you have said.. I suspect that, but if you are only getting snow at channel 4, I don't think the TV is trying to tune in that channel digitally.. seems to only be trying to tune it in analog-wise.

Yea my$28 amplified rabbit ears has been working pretty well. It took some time to lock onto the signal, but once I found the sweet spot, it was golden. I am hovering around 80% signal here lately. Now, if WDKY remembers to flip the "switch" on some programs we would enjoy more HD programming. ----Sorry BenCJedi about the luck on the "Mr Deeds" program the other night. :)

Originally posted by BenCJedi
WDKY-DT is on VHF channel 4. That is the physical channel you need to tune to. Depending on your receiver you might need to tune in the virtual channel which is 56.1. There is no such channel as 56.3.

The PSIP generator at WDKY seems to have gotten locked up again - it's stuck on 4.3. This could be a problem for certain receivers, or new receivers that have never scanned/stored WDKY before. Much to my amazement, both of my receivers are still decoding WDKY - which is a first for this situation.

HDTVChallenged, I am not sure exactly PSIP is, but from a few searches it seems to be, among other things, responsible for what number on your TV a channel shows up on. Since I just set my TV up a few weeks ago and I never had WDKY-DT working, do you think the problem they are having with PISP will keep me from receiving the channel?

Another thing, if my receiver does not detect the channel with an autoscan, will it be impossible to tune it in by manually tunning in the channel with the remote? I ask because I just did an autoscan and lost 36.1 until I moved my antenna and rescanned.

jImbEam

Originally posted by jImbEam
HDTVChallenged, I am not sure exactly PSIP is, but from a few searches it seems to be, among other things, responsible for what number on your TV a channel shows up on. Since I just set my TV up a few weeks ago and I never had WDKY-DT working, do you think the problem they are having with PISP will keep me from receiving the channel?


It's quite possible - it really depends on the receiver as well as the data.



Another thing, if my receiver does not detect the channel with an autoscan, will it be impossible to tune it in by manually tunning in the channel with the remote? I ask because I just did an autoscan and lost 36.1 until I moved my antenna and rescanned.


See above. One of my recievers will allow you tune manually using the physical RF channel (40 in the case of WTVQ,) the other one requires the channel to be "scanned."

Ok, I have done a bit of troubleshooting and found a few things. What I did was disconnect my antenna and auto scanned the channels so I lost all the saved information. I then went hunting to see if I could tune in the digital channels manually. I was able to find 26.1@40.3, 27.1@13.3, and 46.1@42.3. One interesting thing was once my tuner found one sub channel it displayed all of them in the "guide" menu.

This would lead me to assume I should be able to find 56.1@4.3 if I tune it manually? I am not getting anything, and I don't have any fancy % signal strength display with my TV, so I am going to see if I can borrow a better antenna today.

BTW, how come antennaweb.org does not list the fox digital channel? It lists the non-existent WLEX-DT...

jImbEam

The transmit channel is 4, the broadcast channel is 4.1, it is being received on this broadcast channel now. to receive channel 4.1 punch in 004 on your remote.

Anyone else lost Fox HD on Insight 772? Anyone know what's going on? TIA

Now I see why I am confused. :) HDTVChallenged says that WDKY is on 4.3, julian11 says it is on 4.1 but it should show up on 004. I am guessing that it would only "show up" on 4 if my tuner detected it.

Either way, I think I finally understand the whole channel vs. frequency assignment thing. Since I still don't get anything on 4, 4.1, or 4.3 so I think I need a better antenna.

BTW, I am currently using the 15-1880 from Radio Shack and it works better then the old antenna I was using. Just no FOX.

jImbEam

Originally posted by fuzzman99
I have had my Hitachi RPTV for a couple of weeks and I have noticed something that concerns me. It seems that the HD feed that I am receiving from Channel 27 from my antenna goes out of focus every now and then. I have only noticed this during the NCAA basketball games and I noticed it last night watching the Amazing Race. This doesn't mean that it isn't happening on other shows or channels, it just so happens that this has been most of my viewing on this TV. I would have to assume that this is a camera issue and not a TV, Tuner, or Antenna issue being that the feed is digital, but I just need some reassurance that the TV is okay. Unfortunately, there is no one else in my neighborhood watching HD and in particular from an antenna. Does anyone else see this problem?

Just to pipe in here, all live CBS HD sports feeds (NFL, College Basketball) that I have watched go out of focus for a few seconds every five minutes or so. Every NFL game I watched this past season did and every NCAA Tournament game did in March. Shows like Cold Case, Without a Trace and CSI stay in focus. It's weird.

Originally posted by jImbEam
Now I see why I am confused. :) HDTVChallenged says that WDKY is on 4.3, julian11 says it is on 4.1 but it should show up on 004. I am guessing that it would only "show up" on 4 if my tuner detected it.

The physical RF channel is Ch4. If the PSIP is working correctly, recievers should map WDKY to 56.1. *Some* receivers will be able to tune WDKY manually using the physical channel number (4.1.) *Some* receivers may not be able to decode the data at all.

The last time I checked (last night,) what I'm assuming to be the "static" PSIP channel mapping information is frozen at 4.3 with no "short identification" field set up.

I have no experience with the tuner built into your set, therefore it's impossible for me to predict how it will react to this "erroneous" data.

The lack of a signal strength/quality meter on your set is going to make troubleshooting extremely difficult - particularly so for WDKY. Until you know for sure that you have a usable 8VSB signal, all the talk about PSIP and virtual channels is moot.

HDTVChallenged, I found a signal strength indicator for my TV (Yay). Sony hid it under Applications > Diagnostics in the setup menu. I will mess with it tonight. It seems to only give information on x.y channels, never on plain x channels. It also reports the same information for the .y channels. I guess because they are all really the same channel.

Let me see if I understand you last post. Any 4.x channels are actually all sent on the frequency that is ch 4, the receiver can then take the multiple streams (if they exist) and then map them to other places like 4, 4.1, 4.3, or 56.1 using the PSIP data. But they are all really sent down on the same frequency. Is that correct?

jImbEam

Originally posted by jImbEam
Any 4.x channels are actually all sent on the frequency that is ch 4, the receiver can then take the multiple streams (if they exist) and then map them to other places like 4, 4.1, 4.3, or 56.1 using the PSIP data. But they are all really sent down on the same frequency. Is that correct?

Close enough :)

Well I moved my antenna everywhere I could within the reach of the cable and it did not budge the signal strength meter. I guess now is the time to do some research into antennas. Thanks for all your help in understanding this digital channel thing.

jImbEam

BenCjedi,

Tried your elcheapo folded dipole antenna. Works great -- getting 88 to 92 signal. No amp and around a 100 foot rg6 run to the basement. Sorry but I'm just closer than you -- I'm right at Clays Ferry. Tried the reflector element but didn't do a thing for the signal. Maybe I did something wrong with that. Tried rabbit ears but positioning was a nightmare. Think I also had to hop on one foot to get a lock with the ears.

Incidentally - Radio Shack had a combiner that work well for me. Shack #150-2586 a VHF low (ch 2-6) and UHF combiner. Now the pain - this item is a "Gold Series" So for this 3 dollar item I paid 12 buckaroos - ouch. Radio Electronics was closed and I did not want to wait.

Dave

DaveS

I am moving to Danville (zip 40422)and I am wondering what I would need to get OTA HDTV there. Is it possible to get the OTA HD from Lex? If so what channels would I be able to recieve and what kind of antenna would I need to get. I will prob get a Samsung SIR-T451. I want to put a antenna by my dish. Any ideas?

Originally posted by SNOOT
BenCjedi,

Tried your elcheapo folded dipole antenna. Works great -- getting 88 to 92 signal. No amp and around a 100 foot rg6 run to the basement. Sorry but I'm just closer than you -- I'm right at Clays Ferry. Tried the reflector element but didn't do a thing for the signal. Maybe I did something wrong with that. Tried rabbit ears but positioning was a nightmare. Think I also had to hop on one foot to get a lock with the ears.


Snoot.. science really does work! You just cut the right length of wire and find the optimal position. For me, finding that position was extremely difficult. I spent easily an intense week of looking followed by additional trial sessions throughout the first month (just in case I could find a better location). I put a ton of effort into the whole thing. Without that amp, I'd be a dead man. I dunno why WDKY-DT is weaker in my neck of the woods, but it is. I'm on a higher side of town, but for whatever reason signal is not as strong as anticipated. On the other hand I can get WTVQ-DT pretty solid (87%) and have read about some folks in the area having difficulty with that. We just need WLEX-DT to go live and I'll have all the major networks. It would be fantastic if the closest WB station would accomodate us, but I don't think it would happen. As for UPN, since they are a subchannel of WKYT-DT I can't see them going HD ever. It doesn't matter to me anyhow at this point since Enterprise is cancelled and that is all I watch from UPN anyhow. I just hope WLEX-DT won't take a whole lot of effort to pick up when they go live (and they better not mess up WTVQ-DT's signal in the process either).

Interesting observation tonight... whenever someone flips a light switch on or off in my apartment any of my digital stations I receive glitch-out (audio cuts out a second and the screen pixelates). I figured the glitches were caused by atmospheric things or interferance outside, not my own family flipping light switches on and off. Many a digital recording has been blemished by people in my household flipping light switches.. we all either sit int he dark or in the light from now on. NO ONE flips a switch in either position while I am recording HD from now on! :)

BenCJedi, Thats interesting -- do you have a "UPS" on your HTPC? Probably not possible but you could try plugging the HTPC into another outlet - but then again outlets even on the other side of the room are on the same circuit.

Yes.. I have a really big APC UPS on my PC and then smaller ones on the TiVo and Dishplayer DVRs. Everything is protected.

I read somewhere last night that low band VHF (like WDKY-DT) is very susceptible to interferance from this sort of stuff (flipping lights on and off). I just hadn't noticed the correlation til last night.

I am located in the Evansville market area, so receive KET via WKOH in Owensboro, but am posting here because I think William Smith with KET posts some here... Anyway, why is KET's feed of PBS-HD in 720p? I thought the PBS national feed was 1080i.

Originally posted by RMP in KY
I am located in the Evansville market area, so receive KET via WKOH in Owensboro, but am posting here because I think William Smith with KET posts some here... Anyway, why is KET's feed of PBS-HD in 720p? I thought the PBS national feed was 1080i.

They cram in upwards of 6 subchannels (quantity over quality) and I imagine it is more 'doable' to do the main feed at 720P. Personally I would prefer higher quality than compromising all the bitrate by cramming in so many subchannels, but I'm a quality freak.

Originally posted by mothergoose45
I am moving to Danville (zip 40422)and I am wondering what I would need to get OTA HDTV there. Is it possible to get the OTA HD from Lex?

Yes ... and if you're on the high side of town, you can probably get WAVE and WLKY consistantly from Louisville as well (with a proper rooftop antenna rig such as a CM4228 + pre-amp.) I'm betting that WDRB, WFTE and WHAS will start showing up consistantly once they get up to full power.

Results may vary, but a decent VHF/UHF combo antenna (Channel Master 3017 or 3018) would probably get all the Lexington/Richmond stations without much hassle. A rotor may be useful at times since there is about a 30-40 degree azimuth difference between the WLEX/WTVQ/WKYT cluster and the WDKY/WKLE sites from here.

BenCJedi, Yep - didn't think of the rf noise from the arc of the contacts in the switch. Antenna must be right above you. Possibly inexpensive switches. You could try a better quality switch on a known offender I suppose. Don't know -- just a thought. I have not noticed this with mine. Although - I have not gone around switching things off and on while observing the pic. I suppose if someone up on the second floor close to the antenna began switching lights off and on I would experience this as well.

DaveS

Originally posted by SNOOT
BenCJedi, Yep - didn't think of the rf noise from the arc of the contacts in the switch. Antenna must be right above you. Possibly inexpensive switches. You could try a better quality switch on a known offender I suppose. Don't know -- just a thought. I have not noticed this with mine. Although - I have not gone around switching things off and on while observing the pic. I suppose if someone up on the second floor close to the antenna began switching lights off and on I would experience this as well.

DaveS

My antennas are directly above (two floors up) in the attic. I have identified two switches and the microwave in the kitchen that can cause glitches consistantly. I suspect my neighbors can also induce interferance since we're in the same building structure and wiring is shared. At times I know no one was flipping switches or using the microwave I have seen my picture glitch for a sec. I don't think there is anything I can do to stop my neighbors from using the conveniences of modern lighting. :)

HAHA....everytime the compressor in my fridge kicks on i get the break ups. Same thing with my microwave.

Originally posted by BenCJedi
They cram in upwards of 6 subchannels (quantity over quality) and I imagine it is more 'doable' to do the main feed at 720P. Personally I would prefer higher quality than compromising all the bitrate by cramming in so many subchannels, but I'm a quality freak.

KET1 and KET2 have to stay active 24/7 ( they feed the analog transmitters and cable head ends). During Primetime we switch out KET3-6 and add the HD feed on KET4 in the remaining bandwidth. I've run it in 1080i and 720p and 720p looks the better of the two at the same bitrate. Most of the material on the PBS-HD feed is upconverted from SD widescreen..

quote:Originally posted by SNOOT
BenCJedi, Yep - didn't think of the rf noise from the arc of the contacts in the switch. Antenna must be right above you. Possibly inexpensive switches. You could try a better quality switch on a known offender I suppose. Don't know -- just a thought. I have not noticed this with mine. Although - I have not gone around switching things off and on while observing the pic. I suppose if someone up on the second floor close to the antenna began switching lights off and on I would experience this as well.

DaveS



My antennas are directly above (two floors up) in the attic. I have identified two switches and the microwave in the kitchen that can cause glitches consistantly. I suspect my neighbors can also induce interferance since we're in the same building structure and wiring is shared. At times I know no one was flipping switches or using the microwave I have seen my picture glitch for a sec. I don't think there is anything I can do to stop my neighbors from using the conveniences of modern lighting.



Yep -- I guess the only thing to do is to encase the antenna in a copper shield and grounded. That'll stop the noise. :D :D :D :D

Read something somewhere that July 1 is the deadline for the big 4 networks from the top 100 DMA's to bring their ATSC to 'high power'.

Does anyone know if this will make any difference for us? (Other than 18, of course). Are 27,36,or 56 less than high power now?

Originally posted by Gruber22
Read something somewhere that July 1 is the deadline for the big 4 networks from the top 100 DMA's to bring their ATSC to 'high power'.

Does anyone know if this will make any difference for us? (Other than 18, of course). Are 27,36,or 56 less than high power now?

36 is currently still at low power so in addition to 18 being actually "on" 36 should improve in coverage as well. The others are already at full power.

Thanks!

What's the deal with no audio on 56-1?

Originally posted by HDTivoKY
What's the deal with no audio on 56-1?

I'm watching Spiderman in HD on 56-1 right now and I have audio. Hmmm

Still no audio on 56-1 for me...audio works fine on all other OTA digital and Sat HD channels. Off to investigate.........

Originally posted by HDTivoKY
Still no audio on 56-1 for me...audio works fine on all other OTA digital and Sat HD channels. Off to investigate.........

Yeah ... looks like another PSIP issue (or more precisely a conflict between the PSIP and the guide data). My E86 is finding the audio pid ok ... nada on the Tivo. I might try a restart in the morning.

Update:

I tried restarting, rescanning, dumping the guide data, etc and still no audio on 56.1. To me, it looks like the latest PSIP update broke something on our Tivo's. They did change something within the past couple of days as the short id went from WDKY to WDKY-HD. It looks like time to call or e-mail the station.

I had my Dish 921 on WDKY while Friends was on and didn't have a problem with audio. I watched CSI from the night before that I recorded and when I went back to live tv I noticed I didn't have any sound during Spiderman. Didn't really bother with since I was going to watch JAG and it was coming in fine. I will check tonight when I get home and see if I still have a problem.

I have audio when I tune the tivo to 4-1 but not on 56-1. Has anyone called WDKY yet?

Sounds like the PSIP is wrong (audio is not tagged/or not listed) in the TVCT.

Seperate topic..

I ran into folks from Sinclair Corperate in Las Vegas..

They are now aware of the reception issues with both the digital and analog signals..

Originally posted by William Smith
Seperate topic..

I ran into folks from Sinclair Corperate in Las Vegas..

They are now aware of the reception issues with both the digital and analog signals..

I jumped through hoops to get a solid WDKY-DT signal in my apartment. I hope they don't go messing that up on me now. On the flipside when they moved the analog transmitter, reception got ALOT worse for me for their analog channel, but I could care less about that now with the digital.

I also had to go to Richmond this morning and saw the WDKY-DT tower for the first time. I assume it is the one farther away from the interstate. Anyway it was so foggy out I couldn't see the top of either tower. Bummer.

The point is you shouldn't have had that many problems...if they fx it your reception should get better..

Everyone on here thinks they are the only viewer....

Yes their tower is the farthest east of the two.

Originally posted by William Smith
The point is you shouldn't have had that many problems...if they fx it your reception should get better..

Everyone on here thinks they are the only viewer....

Yes their tower is the farthest east of the two.

Sorry William.. I did not mean to sound all selfish. It was a learning experience to find and make the best of the sweet spot I needed for reliable reception for WDKY-DT. I learned how finicky these things can be. I realize changes are made for the greater good. I was just reflecting on the frustration finding the signal and making it stable to begin with. You're right..maybe there was something WDKY could have done to make it easier for all of us at the start. I wouldn't look forward to going through such great lengths to find a good signal for them again, but if I had to I would. As an end user, one just wishes it was all 'plug and play' so something as simple as enjoying TV wouldn't be a difficult setup process. With WLEX-DT coming up, hopefully it won't be such a challenge for anyone in the area.

Originally posted by HDTivoKY
I have audio when I tune the tivo to 4-1 but not on 56-1. Has anyone called WDKY yet?

Looks like they fixed the audio issue this afternoon ... before I had a chance to call.

Originally posted by BenCJedi
On the flipside when they moved the analog transmitter, reception got ALOT worse for me for their analog channel,

It looks terrible on D*'s LiL ... I wonder if D* has re-aimed the reception antenna at their POP yet.

I'm using a Dish 921 HD DVR. Seem to be getting a cream of the crop on everything EXCEPT Fox. Not sure how this correlates to signal strengths I've seen posted here, but I'm getting this:
WKYT - 125
WTVQ - 110
KET - 99
all those religious channels - 75
Fox - nada !

Is the Fox antenna in a dramatically different location?
Or . . . were they having broadcast issues yesterday (around 4 PM)?

Other question - instead of a rotor, can I use a splitter the cable going to my ChannelMaster 3018 and put another antenna on it (basically creating a diversity effect)?

I've taken advice from someone here (I think it was William) who told me that to have a chance at WKYT I'd need a very high front to back ratio. One of my problems I believe has been co-channel interference from analog 13 WLOS in Asheville (I can get both Bristol and Asheville stations on most days down here, likely due to favorable topography). I've tried a single Antennacraft Y10 7-13 as well as the Funke psp 1922 singly but without success. I then got the idea that I could suspend another stack below my current Triax Band A stack using aluminum tubing. I've tried both the psp 1922 and the Y10 7-13 in a horizontal stack and tried various spacing between them. Combiner used is the Lindsay LS2A-V. Interestingly, the Y10 7-13 stack consistently performed the best in my location for WKYT. Spacing is currently 83 inches horizontally and 45 vertical up to the UHF section. I now can watch WKYT most of the time in the morning, after sunset and on rainy/cloudy days. Mostly during midday through the afternoon on sunny days it breaks up constantly. I get pretty poor reception on analog 27, 36,18 even with the Band A stack so it's obvious the terrain is pretty tough for me between here and there.

I also had a 5 element cut channel 4 for WDKY up for awhile but with somewhat less success and I felt it was probably too much wind load overall so I've taken it down (for now).

Originally posted by karlito1
I'm using a Dish 921 HD DVR. Seem to be getting a cream of the crop on everything EXCEPT Fox. Not sure how this correlates to signal strengths I've seen posted here, but I'm getting this:
WKYT - 125
WTVQ - 110
KET - 99
all those religious channels - 75
Fox - nada !

Is the Fox antenna in a dramatically different location?
Or . . . were they having broadcast issues yesterday (around 4 PM)?

Other question - instead of a rotor, can I use a splitter the cable going to my ChannelMaster 3018 and put another antenna on it (basically creating a diversity effect)?

With the recent PSIP problems they've been having that could be the culprit (your receiver may not be able to recognize the channel). That should be plenty of antenna and you shouldn't need a preamp that close in (could even hurt by amplifying multipath). For precise bearing to the towers in our area go to http://www.2150.com/broadcast/default.asp and punch in your exact coordinates. An easy site for your coordinates is http://terraserver.microsoft.com/. Our magnetic variation is usually around -4.

As far as combining antennas, it depends on what channels you are talking about. Separating vhf/uhf is easy as is low band (2-6) from high/uhf (7 and up). The problem is that KET and WDKY are both at Clay's Ferry (42 and 4) so the simplest thing is probably half way between (if it works) or a rotor.

Humm ... This being the second afternoon in a row that WTVQ-DT has been off the air, I wonder if there is some significant construction going on ... like perhaps raising a new digital antenna (or two.)

Anyone here have a Samsung T451?

Originally posted by William Smith
Anyone here have a Samsung T451?

Not me, but I do still have a problem in tuning KET-DT with the MyHD MDP-120 HDTV tuner/capture card I had mentioned to you awhile back. The tuning is very slow. I can click through WKYT-DT subchannels quickly, but the KET-DT subchannels take around 5-10seconds to switch from one to another (or from another channel TO KET-DT or AWAY from KET-DT to another channel).

I did a new channel scan last night and although KET-DT is about 80% signal for me, the tuning discovery scan did not pick up on ch42. I had to manually add in the channel for it to populate the subchannels in my channel grid.

I know you have tried to get with Cliff Watson before on this slow tuning issue with the MyHD cards. I think at last mention you were changing the channel tables broadcast at KET-DT. Unfortunately that didn't have any affect for me with this card with the new channel scan. The behavior is as slow as previously. If I'm up to speed on your settings.. KET-DT uses a revolving table where you can cut out subchannels here and there to dedicate more bitrate for improved quality on other subchannels when needbe? It sounds like you have some fancy dynamic setup to allow this to happen. I am hoping maybe now that I have rebuilt my channel list after the change you made, I would be able to present something to Cliff to see if the MyHD developers would figure out a fix. What are your thoughts? I'd probably watch KET-DT more if it were not for the obscenely snow tuning. I resort to a favorite channels list and exclude you guys entirely to keep my channel surfing speedy, but don't really like that KET-DT is missing from that list.

Sorry your still having trouble , I thought we had resolved this..,

The tables are not changing. They stay the same regardless of the number of programs in the stream.

I just closed the interval on them to make the unit send them more frequently..

I have tried numerous times to talk to those folks and have offered them transport stream samples to work from but they thumb their noses at me..

Our signal has been cleared by at least 4 manufacturers as being proper so I have a lot of confidence in the stream.

If your equipment manufacturer wants to talk to me I'm more than willing to work with them just like I have everyone else...

The BBTI Air2PC cards we have tune the signal just fine and work well with the MythTV system.

Originally posted by William Smith
Sorry your still having trouble , I thought we had resolved this..,

Yeah.. that's my fault. When we were discussing this I wasn't very busy. A bunch of bad stuff happened to me and I got distracted (at work and then later at home with my equipment - failing harddrives). Didn't mean to bring up the issue with MyHD and then not give back any feedback right away.


The tables are not changing. They stay the same regardless of the number of programs in the stream.

I just closed the interval on them to make the unit send them more frequently..


I'm starting to understand the technical things a little better with DTV transmission. So basically the subchannel containers persist always and you can alter quality settings in the broadcast without changing any of this channel structure.


I have tried numerous times to talk to those folks and have offered them transport stream samples to work from but they thumb their noses at me..

Our signal has been cleared by at least 4 manufacturers as being proper so I have a lot of confidence in the stream.

If your equipment manufacturer wants to talk to me I'm more than willing to work with them just like I have everyone else...

The BBTI Air2PC cards we have tune the signal just fine and work well with the MythTV system.

The odd part is that Cliff has gone well beyond being helpful for lots of folks with circumstances like this. I could intervene and record some streams for them. I'm pretty sure other folks had slow tuning elsewhere with other broadcasters and the M.I.T. developers fixed whatever causes it. I just gotta get some attention for us here. I'll check my PMs.. Cliff may have made the last move asking if I saw any change after your changes. I'll try to coordinate this again so MyHD cards will be happier to work with KET-DT programming.

Hey guys. I haven't posted here in quite some time, after WDKY got their digital signal up and running. Sorry to hear so many have had trouble with it, as I've had it fine the first day without having to touch a thing.

Anyhow, I know the tentative date for WLEX to get their digital signal going with WTVQ's tower was in June. After 5 months, is this still looking possible? Or has the date been pushed back? I was surprised to not really see any talk about this in the last couple of months in this thread. What word do we have on it?

Originally posted by blurredvision
I was surprised to not really see any talk about this in the last couple of months in this thread. What word do we have on it?

All I know is what WLEX has posted here (http://www.wlextv.com/Global/story.asp?S=1549052&nav=EQlxJSG5) . We are approaching the "end of May," so perhaps Mr. Powell will update the status soon.

Anyone else having trouble with WTVQ 36? I haven't been able to receive it since yesterday afternoon.

Originally posted by HDTivoKY
Anyone else having trouble with WTVQ 36? I haven't been able to receive it since yesterday afternoon.

The digital transmitter has been off the air this morning, but they were up and running last night.

This is actually potentially good news as they may be working on WLEX and/or full power issues. OTOH, they could just be painting or fixing storm damage.

Originally posted by HDTivoKY
Anyone else having trouble with WTVQ 36? I haven't been able to receive it since yesterday afternoon.

Something was definitely going on with their broadcast last night. I had a high 92% signal and towards the end of The Muppet's Wizard of OZ, the screen was completely broken up garbage with audio cutting in and out. It was very similar to rain fade on the sat dish, only it wasn't raining last night. I thought I heard distant thunder, so maybe there was a storm cloud around the WTVQ-DT transmitter last night. I currently have 0% signal for them. Hopefully some work is being done today to get WLEX-DT ready.

WVTQ is back up and running again...let's hope WLEX's construction was the cause and we see some activity on channel 39 soon

I currently have 0% signal for WTVQ-DT. Anyone else? It's 7:53pm and was hoping to see Adam Sandler's Waterboy in HDTV tonight.

Looks like WTVQ-DT is back

I currently have 0% signal for WTVQ-DT. Anyone else? It's 7:53pm and was hoping to see Adam Sandler's Waterboy in HDTV tonight.

LOL ... I was wonder how long it would take for somebody to chime in. They have been off air most of the day and most of the afternoon for the past two days. But I suppose folks with real jobs might not have noticed. ;)

Anyway, looks like something has been going on out there - anybody up for a spy trip? :D

LOL ... I was wonder how long it would take for somebody to chime in. They have been off air most of the day and most of the afternoon for the past two days. But I suppose folks with real jobs might not have noticed. ;)

Anyway, looks like something has been going on out there - anybody up for a spy trip? :D

I drove by the tower this morning. I couldn't see any new iron around, but I did notice a crane behind WTVQ's building near the tower.

I drove by the tower this morning. I couldn't see any new iron around, but I did notice a crane behind WTVQ's building near the tower.

Humm ... The DT is off the air again this morning ...

Latest WLEX update here (http://www.wlextv.com/Global/story.asp?S=1549052&nav=EQlxJSG5) .

Does anyone else have this showing for their digital OTA on WTQV right now at 9:08pm? I just called the station and the guy said they would try to fix it.

Does anyone else have this showing for their digital OTA on WTQV right now at 9:08pm? I just called the station and the guy said they would try to fix it.

Yep.

Yep.

I think those are the block types used for Nintendo 8-bit video games.. that might be part of Mario's foot.

Does anyone out there have any info as to whether Adelphia in Georgetown offers HD? And if so, couple of questions:

Which local digital channels do they carry?
What HD hardware (receivers) do they use?
What other HD channels do they offer?


I'm trying to help out a friend of mine. Thanks.

Does anyone out there have any info as to whether Adelphia in Georgetown offers HD? And if so, couple of questions:

Which local digital channels do they carry?
What HD hardware (receivers) do they use?
What other HD channels do they offer?


I'm trying to help out a friend of mine. Thanks.

Their website shows these HD channels for Georgetown:
702
WKYT HD WKYT (High Definition) Broadcast HD (High Definition)
750
HD HBO HBO HD HBO HD (High Definition)
751
HD SHOWTIME Showtime HD Showtime HD (High Definition)
752
HD STARZ Starz HD Starz HD (High Definition)
753
HD CINEMAX Cinemax HD Cinemax HD (High Definition)
770
HD NET HD NET HD PLUS TIER
771
HDN MOVIES HD NET MOVIES HD PLUS TIER
772
ESPN HD ESPN HD HD PLUS TIER
774
INHD1 iNDemand HD HD PLUS TIER
775
INHD2 iNDemand HD 2 HD PLUS TIER
776
DISC HD Discovery HD HD PLUS TIER


Not really sure what boxes they use. They list quite afew on their site.

Thank you! I messed around on their site for quite a while and couldn't get any info except that HD may be available in your area.

Interesting. So they only have KYT for local channels.

But it's a start. I'm pretty sure they didn't even offer any HD a year ago.

Is anyone getting 36-1 to come in tonight? I'm not getting any kind of a signal. Also having bad audio with 27-1, but not 27-2.

Is anyone getting 36-1 to come in tonight? I'm not getting any kind of a signal. Also having bad audio with 27-1, but not 27-2.

No signal for me on WTVQ-DT either tonight! Guess they never fixed it since last night when I called. I don't have sprites on the screen tonight either.

According to lex18.com, Tuesday was the day their transmitter was delivered. Since they are co-locating at WTVQ's tower, I'm guessing this is why we saw no 36-1 last night.

As for the audio troubles of 27-1, who knows?

According to lex18.com, Tuesday was the day their transmitter was delivered. Since they are co-locating at WTVQ's tower, I'm guessing this is why we saw no 36-1 last night.

That's a definate possibility, although there are other possibilities that may or may not be related to the WLEX project.

I only watched a couple of minutes of NCIS last night, but as I remember that particular episode had audio problems during the first run too. Unfortunately, I don't remember if I watched it on WLKY or WKYT the first time.

Man.. I am really getting disappointed in WTVQ lately. I was at a wedding and am just reviewing my recording of Lilo and Stich from tonight. They've had their equipment mess up before with the weave pattern. I'd of complained if I were home when this was airing. I'm just really disappointed.. I love capturing the Disney HD movies. :(

http://home.insightbb.com/~refuel/pics/HDTV/Lilo.Stitch.ABC-FU.jpg

Man.. I am really getting disappointed in WTVQ lately. I was at a wedding and am just reviewing my recording of Lilo and Stich from tonight.

Even more disturbing is that apparently nobody bothered to call the station (including me ;) ) WHAS has been coming in fairly well for me during primetime and late-night, and happened to be on the ball last night. I guess flipping my A/B switch and the changing channels was easier and quicker than "harassing" WTVQ. :D

As I recall, WTVQ had the same problem with Lilo & Stich the last time it aired. To be fair, this is the first major screwup in quite a while for WTVQ (that I can recall anyway.)

Even more disturbing is that apparently nobody bothered to call the station (including me ;) ) WHAS has been coming in fairly well for me during primetime and late-night, and happened to be on the ball last night. I guess flipping my A/B switch and the changing channels was easier and quicker than "harassing" WTVQ. :D

As I recall, WTVQ had the same problem with Lilo & Stich the last time it aired. To be fair, this is the first major screwup in quite a while for WTVQ (that I can recall anyway.)

Actually not.. the same weave error pattern happened during their recent airing of Forrest Gump and also I think it was The Waterboy (or maybe not.. I know I complained somewhere online about WTVQ screwing up recently again with the weave)

Was down around MOW Blvd today and took a few minutes to check out WTVQ's tower. Didn't really seen anything that looked new or in-progress construction.

Has anyone heard anything new on the status of WLEX-DT?

I would have thought David Powell would have posted another updated to lex18.com after June 8 when the transmitter was scheduled to arrive (unless he's devoting all of his time to getting things running) At least WDKY occasionally ran stories about their tower construction during the process.

Actually not.. the same weave error pattern happened during their recent airing of Forrest Gump and also I think it was The Waterboy (or maybe not.. )

Humm ... must be the b-team ... I usually pass on OTA movies, so it would be pure luck if I were to catch an incident on an ABC movie night.

Was down around MOW Blvd today and took a few minutes to check out WTVQ's tower. Didn't really seen anything that looked new or in-progress construction.

Has anyone heard anything new on the status of WLEX-DT?.

Well I don't know what's going on, but WTVQ-DT has been off the air during the mornings and afternoon an awful lot over the past two months.

... including this morning, apparently

http://wlextv.com/Global/story.asp?S=1549052&nav=EQlxJSG5

wow!! why can't wlex get their act together...... so frustrating.

wow!! why can't wlex get their act together...... so frustrating.

There's nothing really unexpected in the last update ...

There's nothing really unexpected in the last update ...

I'm still surprised it takes this long to get everything up & going. It seems like they've been promising dates and pushing them back for a while now...

I'm still surprised it takes this long to get everything up & going. It seems like they've been promising dates and pushing them back for a while now...

Yeah it's a bit frustrating, but 95% of the delays were due to FCC issues and resolving a conflict with another station on ch39 in southern IN/OH. Things have actually moved at a reasonable pace (compared to other stations in the region) since the construction permit was finally issued. As I recall, WLEX never commited to any thing before "summer" a/o 2nd quarter 2005. They actually have at least a year from the time the CP was issued to start operating - so in that sense they are still several months "ahead" of the game.

Then again, since I discovered that I can get WAVE-DT without too much trouble, the WLEX delay has become "non-critical". YMMV

Where I work, we do lots of work for WTVQ with regards to their signage, and this past Friday I was able to speak to one of the editors as he waited on us to finish one of their vehicles. I asked him if he knew how things were going with the WLEX install, and he said it looked like they were finishing up, but he really didn't know anything about it. Just his perception of things.

Too bad WLEX won't seem to be ready by Independence Day. Would be kinda neat to see Fireworks in HD:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=553730

Just wondering. I got a new software update for my dish receiver and was wondering if this could have dorked it up before I troubleshoot.

WDKY is down on my HDTivo as well.

WDKY is up for me at 6:42pm. How bout you guys now?

I wouldn't count them out quite yet. I noticed yesterday (06/27) that *something* came up on channel 39 with a PSIP ID of "WTVQ-HD". Were the WLEX engineers testing using a data stream from WTVQ? There was no activity on the channel today, but I'll keep watching.

We switched from cable to DirecTV the first year SpeedVision carried the 24 hours of Lemans.
For local stations, we installed Radio Shack's UHF-only corner reflector in the attic on a rotor at that time.
Our house is near a sink hole in Stonewall, surrounded on three sides by trees twice as
tall as the house, so it was disappointing but not really surprising that local reception
was accompanied by strong ghosting, regardless of antenna direction.

We got a Samsung SIR-TS360 from DirecTV last year, were disappointed by its
poor reception of local digital broadcasts and even more by its inability
to be controlled by TiVo. We got an HR10-250 this year and are pleased
that it can record more than one show at a time, but disappointed with
local digital reception no better than Samsung's, contrary to AVS reports.
The HR10-250 has a signal strength indicator that actually works,
but it does not receive analog channels available by satellite
(As others have noted, video quality of local stations via satellite can be poor,
particularly for FOX).

Impressed by positive comments in AVS, we ordered Channel Master's 4228.
It fit our attic rotor with less than 6 inches vertical clearance,
and we were pleased to discover that it not only eliminated
ghosts on analog broadcasts but also yielded a single orientation
for all local UHF digital stations, as well as channel 13, without breakup.

At the same time, we ordered Antennacraft's 5-2-6 for channel 4.
A cut-to-length twinlead folded dipole delivered only enough signal
to indicate an optimal orientation and occasionally identify 56-3,
while the 5-2-6 even aimed backwards delivered enough signal for only occasion dropouts.

A Channel Master 0264DSB head amplifier acquisition was less successful.
It brought in local analog UHF stations with better video quality than DirecTV,
but delivered channel 13 not at all. The 0264 has one 300 ohm input for UHF
while evidently thoroughly filtering out all VHF. Meanwhile, the low band VHF Antennacraft
connected to the 0264's VHF 300 ohm input evidently has no sensitivity at 211 mHz.
This was frustrating, since WKYT-DT had been the most consistent local digital station
with the original Radio Shack UHF corner reflector.

Consequently, we removed the preamp and are using a 75 ohm coupler/splitter with
transformers and about 40 feet of RG-6 to feed an old Radio Shack 15-1167 distribution
amplifier, which had previously been installed 12 ft from the antenna, but
digital reception became less fussy with it at the far end of the coax.
Another unexpected effect was how much signal degradation was caused by
10 feet of twisted 300 ohm twinlead horizontally leading from the VHF antenna
to the coupler; replacing it with RG-6 while moving the balun back to the antenna
raised signal strengths, particularly for channel 13.

We will probably eventually get an 0068 preamp, with combined UHF/VHF 75 ohm input,
in hopes of improving signals for WKLE-DT and WTVQ-DT without compromising WKYT-DT

We switched from cable to DirecTV the first year SpeedVision carried the 24 hours of Lemans.
For local stations, we installed Radio Shack's UHF-only corner reflector in the attic on a rotor at that time.
Our house is near a sink hole in Stonewall, surrounded on three sides by trees twice as
tall as the house, so it was disappointing but not really surprising that local reception
was accompanied by strong ghosting, regardless of antenna direction.

We got a Samsung SIR-TS360 from DirecTV last year, were disappointed by its
poor reception of local digital broadcasts and even more by its inability
to be controlled by TiVo. We got an HR10-250 this year and are pleased
that it can record more than one show at a time, but disappointed with
local digital reception no better than Samsung's, contrary to AVS reports.
The HR10-250 has a signal strength indicator that actually works,
but it does not receive analog channels available by satellite
(As others have noted, video quality of local stations via satellite can be poor,
particularly for FOX).

Impressed by positive comments in AVS, we ordered Channel Master's 4228.
It fit our attic rotor with less than 6 inches vertical clearance,
and we were pleased to discover that it not only eliminated
ghosts on analog broadcasts but also yielded a single orientation
for all local UHF digital stations, as well as channel 13, without breakup.

At the same time, we ordered Antennacraft's 5-2-6 for channel 4.
A cut-to-length twinlead folded dipole delivered only enough signal
to indicate an optimal orientation and occasionally identify 56-3,
while the 5-2-6 even aimed backwards delivered enough signal for only occasion dropouts.

A Channel Master 0264DSB head amplifier acquisition was less successful.
It brought in local analog UHF stations with better video quality than DirecTV,
but delivered channel 13 not at all. The 0264 has one 300 ohm input for UHF
while evidently thoroughly filtering out all VHF. Meanwhile, the low band VHF Antennacraft
connected to the 0264's VHF 300 ohm input evidently has no sensitivity at 211 mHz.
This was frustrating, since WKYT-DT had been the most consistent local digital station
with the original Radio Shack UHF corner reflector.

Consequently, we removed the preamp and are using a 75 ohm coupler/splitter with
transformers and about 40 feet of RG-6 to feed an old Radio Shack 15-1167 distribution
amplifier, which had previously been installed 12 ft from the antenna, but
digital reception became less fussy with it at the far end of the coax.
Another unexpected effect was how much signal degradation was caused by
10 feet of twisted 300 ohm twinlead horizontally leading from the VHF antenna
to the coupler; replacing it with RG-6 while moving the balun back to the antenna
raised signal strengths, particularly for channel 13.

We will probably eventually get an 0068 preamp, with combined UHF/VHF 75 ohm input,
in hopes of improving signals for WKLE-DT and WTVQ-DT without compromising WKYT-DT

Assuming Stonewall's in Lexington, don't use a preamp. It won't likely help and may overload or amplify multipath in the attic. At most, you may need a distribution amp such as the CM 3042 available at Lowe's. I'd try without altogether first depending on the number of sets you are feeding. The RS one you have may be fine, although I've never used it. Lowe's has a liberal return policy so you might try the CM one as well. FYI the difference is distribution amps are much less prone to overload and lower gain with higher output capability, while preamps are lower noise, higher gain and more susceptible to overload from strong signals.

Use a HI-LO combiner to combine the 4228 and the lo band antenna. The Hi-lo combiner divides between lo band and hi band/uhf . This will allow you to continue to use the 4228 for channel 13 while preventing multipath between the two antennas. Available from PICO : http://www.picomacom.com/specs/pico/C/C24.pdf

Here's an email I got from Dave Powel , engineer for WLEX 18 on the status of the upgrade to HD in Lexington for WLEX NBC (ATSC 39) (July 5th e-mail)
.....

The antenna is to go up this week. The transmitter is supposed to have AC power this week and is scheduled to be aligned next week. Once that's done we'll be on (we hope!).

The current WTVQ-DT is at about 450' on their tower with about 40 KW. We'll be at 908' on that tower with 475 KW, so if you get WTVQ now... Actually, WTVQ-DT will go on high power the same time we will, into the same antenna, but with only 370 KW.

...we'll be 1080i...


Dave

Fantastic! Finally someone is going to do 1080i here!! WKYT-DT used to be 1080i, but in order to squeeze in UPN, they went to the 720P format. 1080i looks better to me on my HDTV, so it'll be nice to have that signal in native mode. Looking forward to see WTVQ-DT go up in power and be accompanied by WLEX-DT! Maybe with WTVQ-DT going up in power, I can find a happier medium to maybe get a better lock on WKET-DT or PAX.

Fantastic! Finally someone is going to do 1080i here!! WKYT-DT used to be 1080i, but in order to squeeze in UPN, they went to the 720P format. 1080i looks better to me on my HDTV, so it'll be nice to have that signal in native mode.

... Humm .... well let's wait and see what (if anything) else WLEX puts up along with the 1080i subchannel. ;)

I'm still waiting for WDRB to power up to their 1MW limit ... :D

My question is how long will it take WLEX and Insight to work out a deal so that WLEX-DT will be available on cable? I'm hoping they will do a deal quickly so as to put some pressure on the ABC affiliate (first to broadcast HD, last to provide access to Insight customers.... grr....).

My question is how long will it take WLEX and Insight to work out a deal so that WLEX-DT will be available on cable? I'm hoping they will do a deal quickly so as to put some pressure on the ABC affiliate (first to broadcast HD, last to provide access to Insight customers.... grr....).
What,s wrong with OTA?

Drove by WTVQ's tower around noon today and saw that they were lifting a platform up behind the tower. It looks like it was up around 75 feet or so.

I noticed WTVQ-DT's power level was lower than normal just before 8pm today (~25%). Now I am back to the usual 75%. It's not stormy or anything, so I assume some work was done today possibly coinciding with prepping WLEX-DT to go online? Also WTVQ-DT is suppossed to go full power soon also, right?

Assuming Stonewall's in Lexington, don't use a preamp. It won't likely help and may overload or amplify multipath in the attic. At most, you may need a distribution amp such as the CM 3042 available at Lowe's. I'd try without altogether first depending on the number of sets you are feeding. The RS one you have may be fine, although I've never used it. Lowe's has a liberal return policy so you might try the CM one as well. FYI the difference is distribution amps are much less prone to overload and lower gain with higher output capability, while preamps are lower noise, higher gain and more susceptible to overload from strong signals.

Use a HI-LO combiner to combine the 4228 and the lo band antenna. The Hi-lo combiner divides between lo band and hi band/uhf . This will allow you to continue to use the 4228 for channel 13 while preventing multipath between the two antennas. Available from PICO : http://www.picomacom.com/specs/pico/C/C24.pdf

Thanks for the reply. Actually, except for losing channel 13,
the 0264DSB preamp yielded by far the best reception ever received here
(in Lexington, south of New Circle, west of Nicholasville Rd).
CM's preamps are claimed to resist overload,
and signals strengths as reported by the HR10-250 are not huge:
80-84 for channel 4, 69-71 for channel 13, 63-71 for channel 40 and 71-76 for channel 42

I cannot find a combiner at PICO (or elsewhere) that splits between VHF low band and UHF + VHF high band.
PICO's HLSJ evidently does not handle UHF;
we would want one that passes 50-88mHz on one side and 175-800mHz on the other.
Our distribution amp is feeds 4 TV tuners (5 if one considers that the HR10-250 has two behind one connector)

Thanks for the reply. Actually, except for losing channel 13,
the 0264DSB preamp yielded by far the best reception ever received here
(in Lexington, south of New Circle, west of Nicholasville Rd).
CM's preamps are claimed to resist overload,
and signals strengths as reported by the HR10-250 are not huge:
80-84 for channel 4, 69-71 for channel 13, 63-71 for channel 40 and 71-76 for channel 42

I cannot find a combiner at PICO (or elsewhere) that splits between VHF low band and UHF + VHF high band.
PICO's HLSJ evidently does not handle UHF;
we would want one that passes 50-88mHz on one side and 175-800mHz on the other.
Our distribution amp is feeds 4 TV tuners (5 if one considers that the HR10-250 has two behind one connector)

The HLSJ does exactly that. It only has one crossover point. Trust me, I have three of them.

Glad you're doing well with the amp. That one's lower gain than the 7777 and should be more immune to overload. I've used the 7777 as an in-line amp and the overload is noticeable mainly as distortion in the analogs. On the digital side, as long as the signal is clean to begin with it may not be as noticeable if it's not too severe. It might be interesting for you to try the CM 3042 to see if there's a difference as Lowe's has a liberal return policy.

I noticed WTVQ-DT's power level was lower than normal just before 8pm today (~25%). Now I am back to the usual 75%. It's not stormy or anything, so I assume some work was done today possibly coinciding with prepping WLEX-DT to go online? Also WTVQ-DT is suppossed to go full power soon also, right?

I think WTVQ has been delayed due to WLEX. Yes, they should both be at full power right now. I'm assuming both have been in contact with the FCC to prevent losing their interference protection.

My question is how long will it take WLEX and Insight to work out a deal so that WLEX-DT will be available on cable? I'm hoping they will do a deal quickly so as to put some pressure on the ABC affiliate (first to broadcast HD, last to provide access to Insight customers.... grr....).


I'm nearly 100% sure that Insight already has a signed agreement with WLEX to carry the DT channel.

Anyone notice a sharp increase in signal strength for WDKY 56-1? I usually get around 60-65% and today is more like 85%. Don't know if its the atmospheric conditions or they cranked up the power

Anyone notice a sharp increase in signal strength for WDKY 56-1? I usually get around 60-65% and today is more like 85%. Don't know if its the atmospheric conditions or they cranked up the power

I'm hitting 64% more than normal today also. Could be favorable signal due to Hurricane Dennis and whatever it does to mix up the atmosphere.

Anyone notice a sharp increase in signal strength for WDKY 56-1? I usually get around 60-65% and today is more like 85%. Don't know if its the atmospheric conditions or they cranked up the power

There was strong tropo over the area Saturday night and Sunday morning ... The flea powered WDRB and WFTE digitals were coming in strong at 76mi. Not so much from the Cincy/Dayton direction though ....

FWIW, I've always had wide variations in the signal "strength" from WDKY depending on time of day, seasons, etc, etc

I'm nearly 100% sure that Insight already has a signed agreement with WLEX to carry the DT channel.

That was my understanding also ... and I'd bet WTVQ will continue to play "hardball" until the analog transmitters are shut off.

The HD transmitter was scheduled for alignment this week as a prelude for 18 to go digital. I wonder if this weather has delayed that or if they still are scheduled to go online this week?

J11,
I have yet to see any signal activity on Ch39 ... If there is still work to be done on the tower, I'm sure the weather is/will be a factor.

J11,
I have yet to see any signal activity on Ch39 ... If there is still work to be done on the tower, I'm sure the weather is/will be a factor. Thanks, I was kind of afraid "Dennis" would be a delay factor.

Drove by WTVQ's tower around noon today and saw that they were lifting a platform up behind the tower. It looks like it was up around 75 feet or so.


The platform is still at about the same height on tower when I noticed last week. I haven't seen it move any since last Thursday.

I received an e-mail this morning from Dave Powell of WLEX regarding when they will on the air, it looks like maybe this Monday! 7/18/05. He said they hoped to be on the air on Monday with digital channel 39. But if not Monday, sometime next week seems very likely!!

just to let the group know i am one of the newest members of Elan tech support and i have AVS forum to thank for giving me the knowledge.
with the info i have gained from here it gave me the edge to get on board with this fine local company.
i am still learning the whole smart home stuff but in time i will be up to speed!

Congrats demonspawn...I'm at Square D (who used to own Elan)...it's a good company with innovative product...wish we still owned it

As for LEX next week...I can't wait. I miss watching their news every day (swore off of them when they didn't go digital before 56 did).

My brother says that when WLEX goes digital next week, that the news broadcasts will be in HD. He tells me that they spent the extra money for all the best equipment when they upgraded their facilities a couple of years ago.

Any truth to this? I do enjoy WLEX news the most, and would be great to see that nice radar in HD with Meck getting overly excited anytime a red-spot rolls into the area :D.

WLEX bought new equipment about two years before they built the new studio. It was an SD digital plant. I don't know if they have upgraded since then.

Local news in HD would be an awesome surprise but I wouldn't count on it when O&O stations in NY and LA aren't even doing it yet.

Local news in HD would be an awesome surprise but I wouldn't count on it when O&O stations in NY and LA aren't even doing it yet.

That would totally be cool if they were a front runner for HD news after being so behind even getting on the digital wave (through no fault of their own). I have heard stories of newscasters being very nervous about their news going to HD because viewers will more easily notice superficial flaws in their appearance. How vain!

I have noticed that DirecTV has an error with the program guide for channel 46-4 (KET) from 8 to 11PM every night! This is when they broadcast PBS HD, they don’t have accurate guide information? Does anybody know if this is a DirecTV problem or does KET just broadcast incorrect guide info with this station? Who do we need to complain to in order to fix this problem? I find this very troubling when trying to record some the cool programs on PBS HD with my HR10-250 TIVO. By accident, I found out that I can use the channel guide for channel 15-4 since it shows what is actually on 46-4.

As a side note, the program guide list the following KET digital stations as Lexington station: 38-1 WKMR, 35-1 WKHA, 29-1 WKSO, and 23-1 WKZT !!! None of which are Lexington (right?)

If your using the OTA guide information, we build that locally based on the information PBS supplies us for the PBS HD feed. I have no idea where DirectTV gets their data. The other stations are listed due to the fact they are in the Lexington DMA. The fact that 15-4 shows DirectTV has the correct information somewhere.

On a seperate issue, drove by TVQ tonight and it looks like they and LEX are close..

I have no idea where DirectTV gets their data. The other stations are listed due to the fact they are in the Lexington DMA. The fact that 15-4 shows DirectTV has the correct information somewhere.

William,

I believe D* gets their program guide data from Tribune (zap2it) who in turn relies on local stations to feed them the data. Somewhere the wires are getting crossed up. 15-4 is correct (so are 68-1 and 68-2) but 15-1 shows "HDTV Demonstration" 24/7, completely missing the normal KET1 schedule. Unfortunately, I think this problem will have to be addressed individually for each of the 16 transmitters as I don't think Tribune's software is smart enough to figure out that 15 of them are just clones.

WLEX bought new equipment about two years before they built the new studio. It was an SD digital plant. I don't know if they have upgraded since then.
I'm not quite sure where my brother got this info, but he sounded pretty damn confident that he knew what he was talking about. He is not affiliated with any of the stations around town, nor is he in the business. I would ask him, but he's gone camping this weekend, and by the time I see him again we'll probably have WLEX up and running to check it out ourselves.

Not saying your wrong either but if they did upgrade to HD they would have had to scrap several hundred thousand dollars worth of virtually new equipment. (given their reluctance to do digital at all this is not in character with the current owners).

It was a lot different when I worked there under Gay-Bell ( local owners).

Has anyone noticed the signal strength of WTVQ 36-1 (D 40) has gotten stronger sometime yesterday (Saturday). I am very close to Lexington so it hard for me to know if its gotten stronger since I am normally around 85-90% strength, but ever since sometime yesterday, it has been pegged at 95%. Does anybody else think WTVQ-D is at full strength now? WLEX-D and WTVQ-D use the same tower and the engineer at WLEX said that "WTVQ would go to full power (370kW) where before full power they were only 40kW and this would occur the same time WLEX-D would start up." Since the engineer at WLEX believes WLEX-D would probably transmit tomorrow 7/17 for the first time, it would be a very good sign that this is indeed true, if WTVQ has gone to full strength this weekend!!

Has anyone noticed the signal strength of WTVQ 36-1 (D 40) has gotten stronger sometime yesterday (Saturday). I am very close to Lexington so it hard for me to know if its gotten stronger since I am normally around 85-90% strength, but ever since sometime yesterday, it has been pegged at 95%. Does anybody else think WTVQ-D is at full strength now? WLEX-D and WTVQ-D use the same tower and the engineer at WLEX said that "WTVQ would go to full power (370kW) where before full power they were only 40kW and this would occur the same time WLEX-D would start up." Since the engineer at WLEX believes WLEX-D would probably transmit tomorrow 7/17 for the first time, it would be a very good sign that this is indeed true, if WTVQ has gone to full strength this weekend!!

I noticed yesterday morning that my signal strength was 80-85%, but not getting a picture when the british open started. A little later it was showing 100% with a picture. It has been at 100% since. I'm usually at 85%. Don't know if this latest bout of weather is causing any of it.

Not saying your wrong either but if they did upgrade to HD they would have had to scrap several hundred thousand dollars worth of virtually new equipment. (given their reluctance to do digital at all this is not in character with the current owners).

It was a lot different when I worked there under Gay-Bell ( local owners).
Ya, I know you're not saying I'm wrong, but you are most likely correct :). There is no reason to scrap the massive investments into the new equipment.

Sadly William, I'll believe you over my brother on this topic any day of the week. :D

What is up with WTVQ's image quality for standard digital? On my CRT-Projection TV, the image quality has always been a little on the blurry side and dark and dull. (not terrible by any stretch, but sub-par compared to FOX or CBS's SD.) When I watch their SD, I normally watch them on my analog tuner since their SD looks poor! (for instance, I am watching the British Open today using analog my tuner instead of SD) Do they just have a cheap analog to digital converter or just have it tuned badly? Also every now and then their SD has a little jump to it, my Tivo revealed that this jump is associated with some timing thing where they jump back in time a fraction of a second. This complaint does not apply to WTVQ's HD which is very nice, LOST and Monday Night Football and others are beautiful to watch, but their SD PQ is sub-standard.

100% signal here on WTVQ-DT! Not a single blip for WLEX-DT yet. That's physical channel 39, right?
Even better for me.. WTVQ-DT is actually now 87% signal on my homebrew wireloop I made for FOX. That means I can turn my tabletop antenna to optimize for WKET-DT which is hard for me to tune in my current situation.

William,

I believe D* gets their program guide data from Tribune (zap2it) who in turn relies on local stations to feed them the data. Somewhere the wires are getting crossed up. 15-4 is correct (so are 68-1 and 68-2) but 15-1 shows "HDTV Demonstration" 24/7, completely missing the normal KET1 schedule. Unfortunately, I think this problem will have to be addressed individually for each of the 16 transmitters as I don't think Tribune's software is smart enough to figure out that 15 of them are just clones.


William, is there any chance somebody at KET can contact Tribune (Zap2it) and correct the guide error for 46-4 for PBS HD 8 to 11PM every night? I've had my HDTV for 1 year now, and this error has existed for 1 year with nobody taking ownership of fixing this problem. I would guess there are 1000s of people in greater Lexington with HD DirecTV that suffer with this same problem.

Thanks in advance if this is possible.

Just wanted to comment on the WTVQ increase power thing, and wanted to report that I am getting 100% with no problems. Previously, I'd get 80% to 90% at all times. Looks like the signal is coming in stronger nowadays.

Just wanted to comment on the WTVQ increase power thing, and wanted to report that I am getting 100% with no problems. Previously, I'd get 80% to 90% at all times. Looks like the signal is coming in stronger nowadays.

Yes I've noticed WTVQ-DT was stronger this morning ... but then again, so is WKLE-DT (both in the 90% range on the E86.) Normally, both run in the 65-75% range off that particular antenna/azimuth/pre-amp/receiver configuration. In short, it may be a bit premature to "celebrate." :)

EDIT: Then again ... I just ran a little test using my RF attenuator and WTVQ stayed at 95-100% even at full "choke" while WKLE dropped off as expected. ... Interesting :)

Yes I've noticed WTVQ-DT was stronger this morning ... but then again, so is WKLE-DT (both in the 90% range on the E86.) Normally, both run in the 65-75% range off that particular antenna/azimuth/pre-amp/receiver configuration. In short, it may be a bit premature to "celebrate." :)

I disagree it has anything to do with atmospheric conditions, I think WTVQ increased their power yesterday, I think the black screen they were broadcasting yesterday morning had something to do with the increased power getting turned on.

I checked the lex locals just now and this is what I got for signal strength :

Digital chan / signal
4 / 89 Typical with some fluctuation
13 / 92 Typical with some fluctuation
42 / 88 Typical with some fluctuation
40 / 95 Very non typical no fluctuation, pegged at 95

Reception seems typical except of 40 (WTVQ-D)

My HR10-250 receiver always seems to give me lower signal compared to other HD receivers I have had in the past, so a 95 signal is close to perfect and there are no fluctuations. WTVQ is now the most powerful Lexington station and they will hold that title until tomorrow when WLEX comes on line.

I check signal strength about every day and I am confident WTVQ's signal has increased. (if I had collected data I think a T test would statistically prove me right! :-) I live close to Lexington and have an antenna on my roof with a rotor so my Lexington signal’s have traditionally very slight variation, the increase to WTVQ is a step change for me. I rotated the antenna around 360 and I get a very good signal in most directions now, again this is a change since WTVQ tended to be more directionally sensitive then say WKYT. (13 digital)

I turned my antenna in the direction of Louisville and checked NBC (WAVE) 3-1 (digital 47) and only got a signal of 30 to 40, which for my setup is a little below average, therefore I further conclude WTVQ signal has been increased since reception is nothing great today. On a good day I will get a signal of 85 from WAVE 3 out of Louisville, on an average day I get 40 to 50.

And those of us in the community are all seeing the change...

HDTVChallenged, blurredvision, BenCJedi, nuts4scuba and myself have all noted the strong signal from WTVQ that just increased, which is because they have just increased the power of transmission from 40 kW to 370kw. (I could be wrong, but data suggests that has happened) It would be interesting to hear from people further away say Louisville or Cincinnati who may be getting WTVQ in for the first time.

I can register signal on WTVQ here now where usually I can't even see any signal except during ducting/enhancement. I have a local lp on analog channel 39 which interferes (also will obviously interfere with LEX as well).

WKYT's signal seems about usual for this time of day ( both analog and digital) as do the other analogs from Lex.

William, is there any chance somebody at KET can contact Tribune (Zap2it) and correct the guide error for 46-4 for PBS HD 8 to 11PM every night? I've had my HDTV for 1 year now, and this error has existed for 1 year with nobody taking ownership of fixing this problem. I would guess there are 1000s of people in greater Lexington with HD DirecTV that suffer with this same problem.

Thanks in advance if this is possible.

This is the first I've heard of the problem, I'll start on it tomorrow when I get in.

This is the first I've heard of the problem, I'll start on it tomorrow when I get in.

For those of us in western Kentucky's central time zone, can something be done about KET's schedule being an hour off on DirectTV?

Everyone check 39 and look !

A little more detail for those of us at work please

Everyone check 39 and look !

I'm at work right now. How's your signal?

OK ... I see you don't like surprises :)

WLEX is up and running. Has 39.1, 39.2, 39.3

Great 2 sub channels

OK ... I see you don't like surprises :)

WLEX is up and running. Has 39.1, 39.2, 39.3

They are running programming on the subchannels? Any idea what? I hope they don't down rez the HD channel like WKYT did.

Update ... O well... I must have caught them testing .... it is off the air as of 11:03 am...

So keep on the look out for it... testing time! I did not get a read on signal strength before they when off... but did not see any drop outs...



39.1 was 18 programing ...looked like SD :(
39.2 was a duplicate of 39.1
39.3 was weather

Update ... O well... I must have caught them testing .... it is off the air as of 11:03 am...

So keep on the look out for it... testing time! I did not get a read on signal strength before they when off... but did not see any drop outs...

39.1 was 18 programing ...looked like SD :(
39.2 was a duplicate of 39.1
39.3 was weather

Signal quality/strength was pegged at 100% on my E86 meter. 39-1 was showing a stretched 4:3->16:9 picture (presumably an upconvert on the presumably 1080i subchannel) ...

... It's (or was) alive ...

What is up with WTVQ's image quality for standard digital? On my CRT-Projection TV, the image quality has always been a little on the blurry side and dark and dull. (not terrible by any stretch, but sub-par compared to FOX or CBS's SD.)

Yeah the "calibration" seems a bit off there. In addition to your observations, I've noticed a lack of the color "red" in the matrix on the upconverted programming. It's kind of like watching TV through a blue/green sea. If your really observant, you can also see analog hum-bars working their way into the digital picture at times.

Channel 18 is up and running again at 2.20PM. I am getting a signal strength readout of 95 with my little Radio shack indoor antenna.

Signal has been up for quite a while now...maybe they are finished testing. Now on to the next issue...how long before zap2it (tribune) updates their guide info so the HDTivo can remap and pull guide data for 18-1?

I know, I know...I'm never happy.

lol

EDIT: It appears that 18-3 was shut off..maybe they aren't planning on using it anytime soon. While I understand the flexibility a sub-channel offers (e.g. UK ballgames, etc), I hope they will come to their senses and not sacrifice quality for quantity.

Heh .. ya spoke too soon, the original 3 sub channels are back now. And that stretched upconvert on 18-1 has got to go.

Anyway - the newscast said they were "officially on the air" as of 1:30pm. They also said it (digital) would not be available on cable right away, but they "hope to be on soon." They also said NBC HD programs "including the Tonight Show" will be available ...

On the down side, 18-2 is in the barely watchable category and even the upconverts on 18-1 are showing signs of blocking/pixelization - They're gonna have to do better than this to win my eyeballs back from WAVE-DT ... Granted this is only hour 4 of digital operations :)

I'm getting a .3 subchannel map on my MyHD HD tuner card that looks like this. Subchannels are evil.. they take away from the available bitrate that could be used on a single channel.

I'm getting a .3 subchannel map on my MyHD HD tuner card that looks like this. Subchannels are evil.. they take away from the available bitrate that could be used on a single channel.

You guys are right...I spoke too soon about 18-3. Just what we needed...a third station sucking up bandwidth to show us weather radar. Isn't that what the internet is for?? haha

As for picture quality, it's still way too early to tell....I'll give them the benefit of the doubt for a while so they have time to tweak. But, if they can't pull it off I'm still set with WAVE and/or WNBC on Directv.

UPDATE: A couple of interesting comments at the end of the 6pm newscast. In reference to earlier questions about whether or not WLEX local programming would be HD....Kevin Christopher commented "very soon you'll be able to see us in HD...warts and all." Either that means he's clueless about what technology WLEX has/doesn't have..or they are planning local HD programming. Also, Bill Meck teased the Maxtrack Radar subchannel and commented it was there "for the time being." Let the speculation begin...

Hopefully 18.3 is only there temporarily. The subchannels kill the picture quality for sports. 27 and, now, 36 both tend to get extremely blurry at times during ball games to the point that the on screen scoreboard/graphics are too blurry to even read. I didn't notice this on 27 until they added UPN and on 36 until they added their radar. I do know that this is a local issue, because last year during NFL, the same games on DirecTv did not blur. I emailed 27's engineers a while back and they acted like they didn't know what I was talking about. Has anybody else noticed this? It's almost a let down to invite people over to watch a game in HD if it's going to be so blurry. Hopefully 18 won't join the likes of 27 and 36 and sacrifice HD picture quality to "be cool" and play around with subchannel radars.

Now we can hold WLEX-DT up to it (xvid avi) (http://s94980196.onlinehome.us/8602/HDTV/WLEX-DT.Digital.Annoucement071805.zip)

Not everyone has the internet and during a storm I would much rather have live radar.

Spoke with Dave this afternoon and they are up full time and at full power as is WTVQ -DT.

Not everyone has the internet and during a storm I would much rather have live radar.

I can live with the radar, it's the other 480i channel (18.2) and the stretching on 18.1 that are bugging me ... Something is going to have to give, either one of those 480i channels is going or the 1080i is going to 720p. We haven't even gotten to the first HD program yet ...

Not everyone has the internet and during a storm I would much rather have live radar.

Spoke with Dave this afternoon and they are up full time and at full power as is WTVQ -DT.

You have a wide choice: WKYT-DT, WLEX-DT and WTVQ-DT. I guess that should cover every possible viewer in Central Kentucky, which isn't a bad thing, but we don't need to see a whole lot of detail in the radar map.. it's fine to look like a crappy Real media streaming video file. :) Or what would be useful.. primetime TV gets the most bitrate and degrades the other subchannels in real time. After primetime the bitrate gets spread back out to the other subchannels. Is a realtime automatic quality adjustment setting a possibility with DTV/HDTV?

So when is the first NBC HD program going to show? Titantv.com doesn't have WLEX-DT for me yet.

I just spent about 15 minutes moving my antennas in the attic around. My MyHD card has an input for two. Here's how my signals look (avg) on each antenna:

Homebew Wireloop with Channel Master 3044
WDKY-DT 58%
WLEX-DT 75%
WTVQ-DT 100%
WKYT-DT 100%
KET-DT 0%
WUPX-DT 28%

Emerson Tabletop with MCM Electronics UHF/VHF amp (http://mcm.newark.com/NewarkWebCommerce/mcm/en_US/endecaSearch/partDetail.jsp?SKU=33-290&N=0)
WDKY-DT 9%
WLEX-DT 32%
WTVQ-DT 81%
WKYT-DT 100%
KET-DT 93% (all time high record for me)
WUPX-DT 58%

I find it amusing that WTVQ-DT works much better on the tabletop antenna, yet WLEX-DT works much better on the wireloop. The other way around is horrible. Both antennas are on the same tower. I guess the different power and antenna height is responsible.

My cheap homebrew wireloop with the CM3044 is the better antenna. Those following this thread know I about tested the heck out of placement to satisfy using antennas solely in the attic in my apartment and getting the maximum signal afforded to me. I'm happy with WTVQ-DT going up in power. It allowed me to move my tabletop antenna around and pick up KET-DT reliably. I still have the slow tuning issue with my card and switching subchannels on KET-DT, but don't fault William for leading the pack in DTV/HD functions. The manufacturer of my tuner card would have to revamp the software entirely to make tuning efficienct for them. I can see why they won't do that for one station out of many in the US. Hopefully digital standards in functionality continue to grow so manufacturers will design with those features in mind. I'd actually like a different HD tuner card for another PC.

Anyhow.. the only real OTA HD provider we're missing is WB. I am getting channel 34 analog WB in really clear today. I'll check the Louisville thread and hopefully find out where they are at. I'd like to watch Smallville in HD.

WLEX is Live as we speak!!!
i have a great signal here in frankfort

If anyone is interested NBC will be airing the trailer on the upcoming movie "King Kong immediately following Fear Factor at 8:59-9:02. in HD.














F

I cannot get WLEX-DT to show up on my guide (Hughes HTL-HD). I have reset the box, but it still does not show up. The only thing I can think of is the on screen guide, for some reason, list a low-power analog station out of Corbin on channel 39, which is preventing the decoder from recognizing WLEX-DT. Any ideas? I live inside New Circle and receive all other local DT signals just fine.

I cannot get WLEX-DT to show up on my guide (Hughes HTL-HD). I have reset the box, but it still does not show up. The only thing I can think of is the on screen guide, for some reason, list a low-power analog station out of Corbin on channel 39, which is preventing the decoder from recognizing WLEX-DT. Any ideas? I live inside New Circle and receive all other local DT signals just fine.

Can you move your antenna around? I noticed one of my antennas can get the necessary info for my MyHD card to assign channel names + grab the .3 subchannel, but my other antenna cannot 'hang in there' long enough for it to know about anything more than the primary subchannel or its name. I suspect you need enough signal for long enough for your tuner to map/name.

I cannot get WLEX-DT to show up on my guide (Hughes HTL-HD). I have reset the box, but it still does not show up. The only thing I can think of is the on screen guide, for some reason, list a low-power analog station out of Corbin on channel 39, which is preventing the decoder from recognizing WLEX-DT. Any ideas? I live inside New Circle and receive all other local DT signals just fine.


You won't see Corbin, Is your reciver set to take guide data from OTA or Direct TV?
make sure the guide is set for the OTA signal and re-scan to pick up the channels. I doubt that Direct has listed WLEX-DT as on the air at this time.

I need more info on the program guide problems:

1. Provider and if your taking LIL package.

2. Are the guides for the analog stations correct?

3. Your location and the station listed in your program guide

4. Are you using off-air guide data mixed with satellite?

5. Are the KET1-4 listings correct and if not whats wrong?

I rescanned this afternoon to add 18.1, etc to my channel guide, but I lost WDKY. It's not picking it up at all, when I've had no problem getting it since it went on air in Jan/Feb. Anyone else having issues with it tonight?

I just got it working. It looks like 18-1 is showing a stretched picture right now.

:) Way to go WLEX! Finally!!! :)

Here is what I am getting for Lexington locals tonight:

Network/ digital station / signal

KET / 42 / 85
ABC / 40 / 95
NBC / 39 / 88 :)
CBS / 13 / 92
FOX / 04 / 84


Looks like presently ABC is best, then CBS, while NBC signal strength is 3rd. Hmm... This is surprising since NBC was supposed to be broadcasting 908' on that tower with 475 kW, while WTVQ-DT will be at 370 kW at 450 feet on the same tower. One would think that if WLEX is broadcasting higher on the tower with more power than WTVQ, then WLEX should have a stronger signal, but WTVQ has the stronger signal. I wonder if WLEX isn't actually at full power as advertised? Are other people also getting WTVQ with a stronger signal than WLEX? Or is it just my location?

Are other people also getting WTVQ with a stronger signal than WLEX? Or is it just my location?

Depends on which antenna/amp combination I am using with my HD tuner card. One antenna is more favorable for one than the other. I think I have the best possible reception to get as many SD/HD channels possible off the air in an attic in Lexington. Unless I go crazy putting aluminum foil on various walls/ceiling parts in the attic to try to deflect and refract signal in more favorable strengths. :) I swear my assembledge of cymbals in the room below is the most influencing factor in my reception. Unfortunately I don't have any other area in my apartment to set them up.

I need more info on the program guide problems:

1. Provider and if your taking LIL package.

2. Are the guides for the analog stations correct?

3. Your location and the station listed in your program guide

4. Are you using off-air guide data mixed with satellite?

5. Are the KET1-4 listings correct and if not whats wrong?

William, thanks for following up on this! :)

1. DirecTV , LIL is that local? I do take local package, but problem is with OTA
2. My receiver HR10-250 has no analog stations in the guide
3. Lexington KY is my location, 46-1 through 46-6 listed,
4. YES my off-air (OTA) guide data is mixed with satellite
5. For channel (OTA) 46-4 program data is incorrect from 8 to 11PM every night (it doesn't list any PBS HD stuff, that is actually broadcasted, the programs that are listed from 8 to 11PM are incorrect) Please fix it so that the HD programs (8 to 11PM) on 46-4 are listed in the guide correctly

PS why do some KET stations in other cities have an HD station that Loops 24 hours a day, while 46-4 in lexington only broadcasts HD from 8 to 11PM :mad:

Thanks!!

LIL is local into local...

On your receiver does it have a setting to "use off-air guides" the older Direct TV units had this setting..
The only KET station that carries the PBS-HD feed full time is our Ch 68 DTV compainion station on RF 38 in Lousiville.

LIL is local into local...

On your receiver does it have a setting to "use off-air guides" the older Direct TV units had this setting.

The HR10-250 a.k.a. the HD-TiVo does not have an option to use the off-air (PSIP guide data.) Although it does appear to pick up program parental rating info if it is there.

If I recall correctly (in addition to the errors already noted), the Morehead station (38) guide data was showing "PBS-HD loop" 24/7 on the KET4 slot. It's only the digital stations that appear to be having the errors. The LiL data and the analog data are ok (at least for WKLE, WKMJ and WKPC.) I'll poke around and try to come up with more specifics when I'm not so groggy.

:) Way to go WLEX! Finally!!! :)

... while WTVQ-DT will be at 370 kW at 450 feet on the same tower.

Now if WLEX can just keep their NBC-HD receiver working for more than 30 minutes :(

PS: At the FCC, the WTVQ antenna height is listed as 276.7 meters (~908ft) AGL; WLEX = 277.6 meters (~911ft) AGL

Thank you for your interest in TitanTV and for taking the time to write in.
We are in the process of updating our records so that TitanTV will
accurately reflect the status of WLEX-DT.

Best regards,

Christie Remley
Ima Titan
TitanTV Team

Cool! Like 'Challenged says.. if they can keep their HD running, we'll be in business.

Cool! Like 'Challenged says.. if they can keep their HD running, we'll be in business.

They need to get rid of subchannel 2. I think that would help them out.

William,

Here's the nearly complete preliminary DirecTV program guide issue(s) report:

WKLE-DT:
46-1 and 46-2 are ok
46-3 shows "sign off" for all hours
46-4 shows the Annenburg schedule 24/7 (the PBS-HD programs are missing)

WKSO-DT(29-?) and WKZT-DT(23-?) have the same issues as WKLE-DT

-------------

WKPC-DT:
15-1 shows "HDTV Demonstation" 24/7 (no KET1 schedule at all)
15-2 is OK
15-3 shows "sign off" for all hours
15-4 is correct. The PBS-HD schedule is integrated in with the Annenburg sched. :)

-------------

WKMJ-DT:
68-1 and 68-2 are both correct :)

-------------

WKMR-DT
38-1 and 38-2 are OK
38-3 shows "sign off" for all hours
38-4 shows "PBS HD Loop" for all hours

-------------

WKHA-DT:
35-1 is ok
There is no data at all for 35-2 or 35-4
35-3 shows "sign off" for all hours

-------------

The LiL data and analog guide data for WKLE, WKPC and WKMJ are ok, I haven't checked the data for the other analogs yet. The above stations are the only stations that show up in my two zipcodes.

WLEX's official press release is out and it looks like three channels are here to stay. So much for picture quality.

http://www.lex18.com/Global/story.asp?S=3611766

Here's my email of questions to Dave Powell last night:

Congratulations!!

The giant monkey is now off of WLEX’s back! Thanks for the heads up about today being the day! I have some questions if you have time to answer.

1) Are you at full power of 475 kW? I am getting about an 89% signal 6:30PM (HR10-250 receiver) with my roof top antenna in Masterson Station, but I noticed this weekend that ABC must have gone to full power since I saw a definite increase in their signal to a rock solid 95% with no fluctuations, it seems that WLEX signal is not as strong, so I was wondering if you haven‘t gone to full power yet? (I thought you were going to be stronger than WTVQ)

2) Also I am surprised that you went with stretch for upconverted 18-1, so far, I don’t know of any other HD stations that do this. (I prefer to watch it stretched myself) Is this the long term plan? If you do put bars, I prefer you pick grey so as not to burn my TV screen, what are your thoughts on this subject?

3) There are rumors that WLEX local news will be in HD, if so, is that true, and when would you expect that to be. Are you going to broadcast in true widescreen (not stretched) or true HD for the local news? And if so, WHEN? The anchor, Kevin Christopher, made the comment in the nightly news “pretty soon you will be able to see us warts in all, in Hi-Def”

4) The digital picture for your up converted 18-1 suffers from a little pixilation, are you going through any further optimization. (looks much like my DirecTV picture of your channel) Any chance this will improve? (You don’t look quite as good as WAVE- 3 in Louisville digital, is that equipment or just tuning?)

5) Any idea how long before zap2it (tribune) updates their guide info so the Tivo / directv can remap and pull guide data for 18-1?

6) What are your future plans for the sub-channels?

Thanks!

Chris

Here's Dave's response to my email, to his credit, he really took time to answer all of the questions thouroughly
Sent: Tuesday, July 19, 2005 10:01 AM
To: Chris
Subject: Re: WLEX-DT

Okay Chris, here goes...

The network signal went to pieces at 9:29 for reasons we don't yet know, probably the NBC satellite receiver that had never been used before. We have a lot of adjusting to do on the encoding.

1. We are at our 475 KW, making us the most powerful digital station in central Kentucky. WTVQ went to their 370 KW Friday or Saturday. I get about the same signal strength at my house past the prison, both totally solid, but tonight I'll put my spectrum analyzer on it for real numbers from my yagi antenna pointed that way.

2. I really like the expanded 4:3 picture. Our origination is digital all the way through the plant (like no one else in town), and we look really sharp on our graphics in the news. It's just a menu option on our encoder.

3. After reading your email I sent this to our staff:

Clearing up a little confusion...

The only High-Definition we will be airing in the foreseeable future is what is provided by NBC. No markets near our size have made the massive investment to originate HD, including Cincinnati and Louisville. This would necessitate replacement of almost all our technical equipment.

4. We're going to be trimming adjustments a long time. The encoder (10" high and $300,000) has 40 pages of setups. We're getting input from lots of folks, including our friends at WAVE. (Didn't know anyone here gets WAVE-DT. That's in Indiana!)

5. Beats me! We get our data from ProximityTV (to whom we provide our schedule), probably the biggest provider, and it's available to anyone.

6. Future plans... We like having 18-2 as it is, so we can deliver WLEX to cable systems down in the mountains. We'll do more with weather on 18-3, but don't know exactly what yet. It's set use only 1.5 MB/s of our 19.39 total, and movement is not pretty. (WKYT sets only 0.8 MB/s for theirs.)

The baby is born. Now we have to get it potty trained.

Dave

Boy did they get taken to the cleaners..

Our HD encoder was $40K, each SD was $22K and the muxes were about $30K.

Mux control was $21K.

All I can say is thank the RF propagation gods for WAVE-DT ... and I never thought I'd type that ... ;) :D

OTOH, there's nothing like some decent power output on UHF to combat the lightning induced glitches :D WTVQ and WLEX were nearly flawless this afternoon, while WKYT and WDKY signals were getting hammered.

Now if WLEX can just keep their NBC-HD receiver working for more than 30 minutes :(

PS: At the FCC, the WTVQ antenna height is listed as 276.7 meters (~908ft) AGL; WLEX = 277.6 meters (~911ft) AGL

They are using the same antenna and combining the stations.

I got to see all of 30 seconds of Jay Leno in HD on WLEX-DT just now! It was phenomenal! It glitched out and they went back to standard def though. I hope they figure out the HD soon as I am unable to pick up WAVE-DT from my location. Last summer I had like 30 minutes of tropo enhancement and could pick them up during the men's diving on the Olympics. It didn't last long. I have not been able to pick them up since. I have faith Dave Powell will get the HD working right. He seems very 'into' the tech at the station.

Getting solid reception of WLEX-DT 39(azimuth 180 - 107 Miles) up here 40 miles North of Cincinnati tonight via a bit of "tropo" ..... I'm 12 miles from WKOI-DT 39(Azimuth 247) Tower, BTW ...

For a bit of a comparision - I'm currently Getting only a occasional signal lock just a few frames of video every now and then from WTVQ-DT 40, however -- the CCI/noise situation from WRCX-LP 40 Dayton(azimuth 43 - 12 miles) may be a bit more of an issue than the weak signal I get through terrain shielding and lots of trees from WKOI-DT's current STA(sends ~2KW ERP in my direction) .... Anyways, from what I can tell it seems they are getting out very well, and that WTVQ-DT's signal has defintely improved as well (WDKY-DT+WUPX-DT Is what I see the most from Central KY ...)

Notice that WLEX-DT has switched between SD+HD for Tonight Show a few times so far, stretched SD currently at 11:43pm EDT ...

Screenshot of WLEX-DT's "stretched" SD attached -- Glad they finally made it to air+are putting out a fine signal, but IMO -- it should be a sin to alter AR ...

They are using the same antenna and combining the stations.

I thought somebody (probably you) had mentioned that before. I noticed that an update to the WTVQ CP was posted on the FCC site. It appears that both WTVQ and WLEX DTs are at least 20dB over the noise threshold here. My cheapo RF attenuator has no effect on the signal strength/quality readings even at full attenuation, which is a first for a UHF station.

BTW, I finally did get around to checking the D* guide data for all 7 of the KET analog stations that I listed above and everything looked ok.

Screenshot of WLEX-DT's "stretched" SD attached -- Glad they finally made it to air+are putting out a fine signal, but IMO -- it should be a sin to alter AR ...

The stretched picture gives me a headache ...

I cannot get WLEX-DT to show up on my guide (Hughes HTL-HD). I have reset the box, but it still does not show up. The only thing I can think of is the on screen guide, for some reason, list a low-power analog station out of Corbin on channel 39, which is preventing the decoder from recognizing WLEX-DT. Any ideas? I live inside New Circle and receive all other local DT signals just fine.


I'm also unable to add the new channel to the guide. :( I have a Samsung HD box with an OTA to pick up the local channels in HD.

I'm also unable to add the new channel to the guide. :( I have a Samsung HD box with an OTA to pick up the local channels in HD.

Did you guys try doing a 'local channel scan'?

D* is not transmitting any guide data for WLEX-DT yet.

I got to see all of 30 seconds of Jay Leno in HD on WLEX-DT just now! It was phenomenal! ... I have faith Dave Powell will get the HD working right. He seems very 'into' the tech at the station.

It looks like they got most of the network HD issues hammered out last night, but I haven't seen a DD5.1 light yet.

... And before anyone asks, yes I did do a bit of A/B comparing between WAVE-DT and WLEX-DT during HD programming. Much to my amazement, there were few obvious differences (other than the audio EQ and mixing.) However, it should be noted that WAVE-DT is also multicasting a 480i channel, and I wouldn't be surprised if the 1080i sub channels were getting similar bandwidth allocations. The PQ during musical act at end of "Conan" last night was quite awful on both stations - there's nothing like confetti and strobes ... :D

Did you guys try doing a 'local channel scan'?

D* is not transmitting any guide data for WLEX-DT yet.


I'm not sure that I have a scan capability other than through the Directv guide. I'm trying to contact the guy that installed the OTA. Thanks for your reply.

I'm not sure that I have a scan capability other than through the Directv guide. I'm trying to contact the guy that installed the OTA. Thanks for your reply.

I'm not familiar with your specific receiver, however, there should be a menu selection somewhere under the "setup" a/o "installation" that will "scan" all channels to find any digital stations that are not in the D* guide. .... Stand by while I go check at DirecTV.com for specifics. ....

Edit: OK - After a brief skim of the manual, my first guess would be to try "Setup" then "Channel Scan" from the menu.

The manual seems a bit weak in this area. ...

Edit: OK - After a brief skim of the manual, my first guess would be to try "Setup" then "Channel Scan" from the menu.

The manual seems a bit weak in this area. ...

Yes, the manual leaves a lot to be desired. I think my model is TIR-T351. I did try a scan thru Setup but didn't have any luck getting the channel added. I'll look through the manual again. Thanks.

Don't have much of a shot in Corbin at either DT 39 or 40 due to the LP analog 39 here.... I can barely register a signal from WTVQ, nothing (obviously) at all on digital 39. Analog 40 is a black/white adjacent channel bleed-over of LP 39.

It's strange the FCC would allow this as the Lexington stations have always been our traditional "local" channels.

WKYT is usually pretty consistent. I guess I'll have to await the analog cutoff to see.

For anyone having trouble getting 18 to show up on their onscreen guide, I was able to get it by going to the set up screen and manually adding channel 39. 18.1, 18.2 and 18.3 showed up on the guide immediately.

WLEX is definitely figuring out the equipment. Leno looked even better than this capture shows (downsized 50%). SOme graininess in the backdrop, but I did notice the .3 subchannel definitely has less bitrate going to it now also.

http://s94980196.onlinehome.us/8602/HDTV/NBC-DT.Leno.jpg

I was finally able to add the WLEX channels to my guide. I was using the wrong kind of 'scan' in the setup menu! :D

Yes, the manual leaves a lot to be desired. I think my model is TIR-T351. .

LOL ... Well that would explain part of the problem, seeing how I thought you were talking about a Hughes HTL-HD like the other fellow ... Glad you got it working anyway.

It helps us would be helpers if you tell us what ATSC receiver (make and model number) you are using. These beasts tend to have their little quirks. :D

Looks like WLEX-DT is still messing around. I caught them pillar boxing. The bad thing is they are able to overlay storm warnings over not only local upconverts, but network HD. Kiss watching logo-free DTV/HDTV bye bye.

http://s94980196.onlinehome.us/8602/HDTV/WLEX.-DTVPillared.&.StormLogo.jpg

http://s94980196.onlinehome.us/8602/HDTV/WLEX.-HDTVPillared.&.StormLogo.jpg

I also caught them stretch and overlay the storm warning over itself. Around here, the storm warnings are pretty much on the analog versions perpetually. Hope the other affiliates don't get thios capability.

http://s94980196.onlinehome.us/8602/HDTV/WLEX.-DTVPillared.&.DoubleStormLogo.jpg

Also just noticed during Leno when they want to run a crawl they drop out of HD. :(

I also caught them stretch and overlay the storm warning over itself. Around here, the storm warnings are pretty much on the analog versions perpetually.

Yep ... WLEX is particularly obnoxious about it too, with almost a 1/3 of the screen obliterated by opaque overlays.

That having been said, it looks like WLEX has hit the ground running.

Has anyone else been missing audio on KET4 in HD mode the past couple of days?

Has anyone else been missing audio on KET4 in HD mode the past couple of days?



Yep, Audio has been missing on WCVN 54-4 KET 4 the last few days. They also join PBS HD a couple minutes late as well.

They also join PBS HD a couple minutes late as well.

Yeah apparently their station ID is a bit of a kludge right now, and the timing is a bit off to boot ...

Its the PBS receiver dropping audio, ( It never does it when I'm there).

If you notice problems with the HD feed, call the main number 859-258-7000 and ask for the East Control point at Morehead. They will take it from there. If you notice when it goes bad email me direct at wsmith@ket.org with the date and time so I can chase it down.

Its the PBS receiver dropping audio, ( It never does it when I'm there). .

Ok ... thanks for getting on it. It looks like it was back up around 10pm Tues.

Is anybody else not getting 36-1 WTVQ-D in tonight? I check my signal strength I am getting 95%, but nothing is on the channel??

not getting WTVQ here in Georgetown either (even though signal levels are fine).

Also, 18-1 just crapped out 90 seconds into Crossing Jordan.

Is anybody else not getting 36-1 WTVQ-D in tonight? I check my signal strength I am getting 95%, but nothing is on the channel??

I've noticed an apparent lack of any PSIP (basic channel mapping) info on a couple of occasions this week ...

:eek:
Is the problem with 36-1 WTVQ not on the air only limited to people with HD Tivos (HR10-250)? Are there people out there that are getting this station in? Keep in mind when I go to the signal strength I am getting 95, but nothing is on? Please let me know if anybody is getting this station in now? HDTVChallenged, I don't understand the point of your response? Do you get the channel in?
:eek:

I have a MyHD card in my PC and WTVQ-DT is not showing a picture for me either. The signal is weird. I get between 0 and 100%. It's bouncing everywhere in between but no picture/sound. I normally have around 78% signal with my tabletop antenna pointed in a direction that pulls in the best of every other channel (otherwise I could get close to 100% on WTVQ-DT all the time).

Without a minimal amout of PSIP info, your receiver cannot decode the data stream, even if the signal strength is 100%.

As of this posting, I have normal "strength" and PSIP info but no programming on either 36-1 or 36-2. Neither the TiVo nor the E86 is getting any programming.

On the bright side of life, it appears that WDRB-DT is finally up to "full" strength this morning. (Unless there is some wacky tropo that's enhancing CH49 and killing everything else.) Those of us on the west side of the DMA, with constant VHF-lo troubles may be interested. :)

Edit: re: WTVQ There was some talk awhile back about upgrading/swapping equipment to solve the "Checkerboard" HD encoder lockups during ABC-HD programming. Perhaps this is what's going on. Of course, it's just a "local" phone call for some of you folks ;) :)

Edit: re: WTVQ There was some talk awhile back about upgrading/swapping equipment to solve the "Checkerboard" HD encoder lockups during ABC-HD programming. Perhaps this is what's going on. Of course, it's just a "local" phone call for some of you folks ;) :)

They (WTVQ) got all defensive the last time I told them they were checker-boarding (weave-pattern). I hope they are fixing it though. I heard an equipment upgrade was necessary to fix it, but in the short term they could have easily took out a video cable and inserted it back in a jack to fix it (but it's not like they have someone watching their DTV/HD programming during primetime to do this) ;)

I did call WTVQ this morning. Since it wasn't M-F, 8 to 5, it wasn't their normal business hours, I did reach someone in the news room, and he didn't know (or even seem to care :eek: ) whether WTVQ digital was on the air or not. He said I would have to talk to engineering, but he didn't tell me how to contact them since he was in a hurry to go.

I noticed the signal strength of WLEX has increased in the last week, not sure when, or if it correlated with WTVQ going down. I wonder if WLEX could somehow be interfering with WTVQ's signal, probably just a coincidence . Has anyone else noticed WLEX's signal is stronger today then it was like a week ago? I am not sure when it got stronger, but the first few weeks of WLEX-HD I was getting a signal of 87 to 88 consistent, now its up to 95 rock solid.

By pure luck, I caught about 30secs of actual programming at around 10:15am this morning, then it quit again with the no PSIP data condition. A few minutes later they ran a 'HDTV has arrived' promo spot on the analog channel. :rolleyes:

Bizarre ... maybe they've got rats chewing at the wiring :D ... or maybe just a locked up PSIP generator.

E-mail to Dave:

WLEX is looking good, your standard digital has improved since week 1, and finally it looks better than what I get from DirecTV locals. (Any chance for further improvements, can you do the news in true wide screen), I read somewhere that your cameras were widescreen capable. It looks like you have your HD working without glitches for the last several days. Also, sometime within the last week, it looks like your signal has increased, the first two weeks I was getting a signal around 87, now the signal of WLEX-HD is rock solid 95. Did you do something to the power or signal to improve that? Any idea what’s up with WTVQ? They have been broadcasting a signal of 95, but I don’t get any video our sound since Friday, nothing all weekend?

Thanks,
Chris


Dave's Response
Chris,

We had one component in the NTSC path that wasn't digital, and although it didn't make a difference on the analog signal, we bypassed it for the digital path. A permanent replacement is on order.

We're at the market-highest 475 KW and have been since I turned it on July 18.

All our studio and field cameras can do widescreen, and I had planned to use that ability. The more I investigated, the more discouraged I became. The problem is in doing the 16:9 and maintaining quality on the main 4:3 path. We'd have to do everything in 16:9, including graphics and older video (adding curtains to the sides). With most sources (not the cameras) if we take the middle part of the picture for the 4:3 path, the resolution will be inadequate. We're still looking, but I asked all four manufacturers of the conversion hardware, and not one knows of any station doing widescreen SD. The only people using the widescreen from SD cameras are upconverting them for HD stations.

In an HD station everything that handles video has to be replaced, and since the uncompressed HD data stream is 1485 MB/s, nothing is inexpensive. The nearest station to us is probably Charlotte (not Louisville, Cincy, Memphis, ...).

All of us except KET use the same encoder, about 9" high and $300,000 (with 40 pages of setup options!). WTVQ's failed Thursday night, but they've been leaving the transmitter on.

Dave

WTVQ-DT is working! Hopefully they show The 6th Sense in HD tonight

Dave's Response
Chris,



We're at the market-highest 475 KW and have been since I turned it on July 18.

Dave
[/B]

Although true, a little misleading as WKYT is transmitting VHF. I can get WKYT down here. No luck with WLEX yet. My local LP 39 is in the way. :(

A Quick reference note..

WLEX -DT is only 10dB above WKLE-DT..and less than 3dB above WTVQ-DT.

A two way splitter has 3dB of loss...

I would like to determine the distance WLEX can be received vs WKLE.. to verify the radio horizon calculations.

A Quick reference note..

WLEX -DT is only 10dB above WKLE-DT..and less than 3dB above WTVQ-DT.

A two way splitter has 3dB of loss...

I would like to determine the distance WLEX can be received vs WKLE.. to verify the radio horizon calculations.

I can tell you WKLE-DT is a no-go here. Can usually get a register on the signal meter but barely. I think I'd have a shot at WLEX-DT but as I said above, the LP 39 is in the way.

WTVQ-DT I've gotten intermittently with a little tropo enhancement. I think it would improve should LP 39 analog go away as well.

WKYT-DT is spotty in the day and usually solid after sunset.

WDKY-DT I gave up on. It was too fussy and low band just didn't seem worth it for only one channel.

WTVQ-DT is dead again ... They really need to figure out who keeps tripping over the cables :)

Looks like WDRB-DT went back to flea power yesterday evening, too.

------------

William,
If it helps your comparisons any, I can usually get WAVE-DT and WLKY-DT 24/7 with a bit of signal fade in the afternoon. I'm right on the edge of the digital cliff @76mi. WKPC-DT comes in fairly often with a bit of tropo enhancement in the evenings.

Based on the FCC maps, I am 10 and 11 miles beyond the predicted 41dBU contours for WAVE-DT and WLKY-DT, respectively, and 22 miles beyond the 41dBU contour for WKPC-DT.

I get WTVQ, WLEX, WKYT, WKLE all at 92% or above. I get WUPX around 60% or so. I am able to get 2 other KETs, on freq. 14 and 44 at around 70% or so with one of those HDTVi antennas from terk, and those aren't very close. But I have yet to find an antenna that will get me WDKY at over 15%. I live around Boston Rd/ManOWar, with a clear view in all directions. Anyone have any good suggestions for a low band VHF antenna that will allow me to finally get WDKY? As you can see I get everything else just fine with my cheap Terk TV3 with the amplifier turned off, so I'm not looking to replace what is already working great. I would like to tuck it away in the attic or the closest (exterior wall on second floor) where I have the existing antenna. Thanks.

I get WTVQ, WLEX, WKYT, WKLE all at 92% or above. I get WUPX around 60% or so. I am able to get 2 other KETs, on freq. 14 and 44 at around 70% or so with one of those HDTVi antennas from terk, and those aren't very close. But I have yet to find an antenna that will get me WDKY at over 15%. I live around Boston Rd/ManOWar, with a clear view in all directions. Anyone have any good suggestions for a low band VHF antenna that will allow me to finally get WDKY? As you can see I get everything else just fine with my cheap Terk TV3 with the amplifier turned off, so I'm not looking to replace what is already working great. I would like to tuck it away in the attic or the closest (exterior wall on second floor) where I have the existing antenna. Thanks.

What have you tried so far other than the Terk?

You can make a channel 4 dipole from twinlead and pvc. See http://www.wfu.edu/~matthews/misc/dipole.html
and
http://www.kyes.com/antenna/rabbitear.html

That would be for starters. WDKY seems problematic for many even in the immediate Lex. area. I had some success with it down here using a Wade 5 element cut channel 4 (7.5db gain) outdoors but it was just too much load overall on my installation for only one channel (and it was still inconsistent) so I took it down.

Combine your low band antenna with the other via a hi/lo diplexer. Pico makes a good one: http://www.picomacom.com/specs/pico/C/C24.pdf
This will allow you to continue to use your current antenna for uhf and high band vhf with a separate low band antenna.

If the dipole doesn't work and you want to try my cut-channel 4, PM me.

Here's a pic of a ch. 4 dipole I made as well as the cut channel 4 installed outside (very top).

Has anyone had any luck yet getting WLEX-DT guide to show up from Directv on the HD-Tivo??

Has anyone had any luck yet getting WLEX-DT guide to show up from Directv on the HD-Tivo??

Zap2it doesn't have it so DTV doesn't have it to send. Best bet is to email zap2it and ask them to add it already.

WKYT-DT dropped the ball tonight. I was looking forward to Deep Impact being show in HD as the CBS network webpage indicated it would be. Instead WKYT showed it in standard definition. What a letdown! I emailed them. I hope others also contact our locals in the event they are suppossed to be showing HD, but don't.

Juppers I too resorted to making my own dipole for WDKY-DT like cpcat's. I live very close to where you are. Here's what I made and pinned up in my attic. The reflectors and director you see consist of grounding wire and an 18" cymbal. I get around 50% signal for WDKY-DT with this configuration. It's still not really too stable for perfection, but the best I could come up with. I easily monkey'd around with antennas for a month including placement everywhere possible to get a lock on WDKY-DT.

http://home.insightbb.com/~refuel/pics/HDTV/antenna/VHF_ch4_ant01.jpg

http://home.insightbb.com/~refuel/pics/HDTV/antenna/VHF_ch4_ant02.jpg

EDIT: I rescind my statement about WKYT-DT and Deep Impact not being in HD. I guess it wasn't in HD for anyone:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=567131

Has anyone had any luck yet getting WLEX-DT guide to show up from Directv on the HD-Tivo??

Nope ... nothing has trickled out yet on either my Tivo or the e86. OTOH, I've noticed WAVE-DT finally has 24/7 schedule data.

DirecTV program guide data for WLEX-DT(s) is starting to fill in. Depending on your receiver, you may need to do some tinkering in the setup menus to get them added in to your guide.

DirecTV program guide data for WLEX-DT(s) is starting to fill in. Depending on your receiver, you may need to do some tinkering in the setup menus to get them added in to your guide.

They may be sending OTA guide info, but if your receiver grabs it from the satellite, like the HR10-250 or e86, it still isn't there.

EDIT:
Or they actually are now and I'm an idiot that didn't have those in my favorite list yet. :) I do now have the guide data on a HR10-250.

Well I've decided to bite the bullet and switch from D* to Adelphia service in Richmond. Had it hooked up this morning, and had to go to work as soon as the installer left, but initial impressions were that Adelphia's HD offering looked MUCH better than D*'s. Plus, by moving over, I only lost UniversalHD (which sucked), and gained inHD and inHD2, two channels I wanted.

It's also very nice to have everything (HD and DVR) on the same box now. With D*, I had to switch inputs/boxes, so I didn't watch as much HD as I probably should have to justify the price. Now I've got open reign to all channels.

Only downside? Richmond Adelphia only offers WKYT in HD, and their box does not allow for an OTA connection, so I'm still holding on to my D* HD box to watch locals in HD. Not too big a deal, because they only HD I watch on those channels are sports anyhow.

I'll update more once I get to use the service a bit more, but as of right now, I'm happy. Reason for the switch? I was paying $72 for D* (due to TiVo, 2 extra receivers, HD package), $60 for Adelphia cable, and $50 for Bellsouth phone which I never use, only to make D* happy with a landline. From leaving D*, cutting off the phone (using my cell exclusively now), and getting a discount now for my internet, I'm currently saving $30 for the next 3 months, and that's with all 4 premiums from Adelphia. After 3 months, the bill goes up $20, so at that time I'll decide on cutting off premiums and saving a few more dollars.

I use InsightBB for Internet and E* + OTA for TV programming. It would seem to cost me a bundle to get an HD-capable DVR receiver from E* ($549), so I stick with my MyHD MDP-120 (http://www.digitalconnection.com/products/video/mdp120.asp) for OTA HD. I mostly watch network television in HD anyway. I don't switch to D* or Insight for standard def TV because 1) it costs more than I am paying now 2) wouldn't be able to get distant networks that sometimes come in handy when my two DVRs are busy and I have a third channel I want to record. For anything else I miss on TV, the Internet sure does come in handy, especially since I am able to play back to my TV through my PC (or use my Philips DVP642 DVD player (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000204SWE/qid=1123626451/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-0585626-2060756?v=glance&s=electronics&n=507846) in the bedroom). So I have all bases covered for about $90/month (phone is cell-only-household and about 75% reimburseable through my job). Insight keeps trying to get me to add TV service to my account. Seems every 2 weeks they hook a paper thing around my front door knob to add TV. That satellite dish out front must really be irking them. I'm still amazed the one time I couldn't pay my Insight bill on time (3 days late), they sent out an independant guy to clip my cables coming into the apartment (and I had been a paying customer consistantly for 5 years). I know people they haven't paid their Insight bills in 3 months and no one shut them off or clipped their cables.

Ok I broke down and got D* HD, the guy they sent was clueless on HD. My wife was there so she didn't know. She could tell he was clueless and said to change the work order becasue she didn't want him putting up the antenna he brought. He hooked up the HD receiver and only connected the S-video. That's over.

I tried messing around with picking up locals, I live in Danville. I used rabbit ears and picked up CBS. Then I found an old antenna about 4-5ft tall with about 8 bars that bend out about 2 1/2 ft and put it on my back porch for giggles. I picked up ABC,NBC,CBS at about 90%, but PAX, UPN and I believe another couples channels were only about 30%. That said my questions are:

1) When the channels showed up on my H10 receiver they said 18-1, 18-2, 36-1,36-2 etc. but all on this board the standard 18 and 36 channels etc are not referenced for HD. Does it sound like my antenna is only VHF picking up VHF channels? Even thought the networks appeard HD like picture?

2) Is anyone having success picking up the std networks including Fox in Danville without using a gaudy big antenna?

3) Does anyon recommend an affordable antenna to put up to get these locals in HD.

Thanks

3) Does anyon recommend an affordable antenna to put up to get these locals in HD.

1) Channel Master 3018 (was available at Lowes in Lexington awhile back)
2) RadioShack VU-90 XR.

Did something happen to WDKY recently?

I use to receive all 4 major networks at 100+ (Dish 921 receiver) -- starting Sunday I noticed that WDKY was (at best) in the 70s range, and corrupting like crazy.

I messed around with my antenna some tonight (small non-powered Terk, the $49.99 piece from Best Buy that has been working perfectly since about Jan up until now) and now I can't get a glimmer of Fox to save my life.

I'm almost wondering if it is a 921 issue (2 firmware updates in a week, and it's been flaky as sin since the 1st one) -- but thought I'd ask others if they'd ran into any issues.

Thanks

WDKY-DT: About the same signal I always get, but then again I have alot of metal around me and my signal is never quite stable. I did notice quite a bit of glitching more than usual tonight. The signal strength didn't change, but the picture would freeze a second. It happens regularly for me, but it appeared more than normal for me tonight.

WDKY-DT: About the same signal I always get, but then again I have alot of metal around me and my signal is never quite stable. I did notice quite a bit of glitching more than usual tonight. The signal strength didn't change, but the picture would freeze a second. It happens regularly for me, but it appeared more than normal for me tonight.

I checked my WDKY signal, I get a signal strength about 85 with a peak of 90, which is typical for my setup. I did notice glitching earlier tonight, but that was due to electrical interference of thunderstorms, this station is extremely sensitive to electrical interference, it seems like if there is a thunderstorm within a 100 miles (not an exaggeration!) they will have periodic signal problems due to lightning!! Heck this station is so sensitive to electrical discharge, when I open a can a cat food and my cat gets excited and thinks, "yum yum!" the electrical interference from his brain will even cause signal dropout of wdky! If you shuffle your feet on the carpet in the winter and touch a doorknob, the electric discharge will interfere with WDKY's signal probably for a 10 block radius. Okay maybe I exaggerate , but gosh they (WDKY) are quite sensitive to electrical interference! I think I read somewhere it has something to do with being channel 4 VHF.

I think I read somewhere it has something to do with being channel 4 VHF.

Oh yea, you can say that again.

Oh yea, you can say that again.

Yeah I read low band VHF has turned out to be bad for DTV/HDTV. It's too easy for interference to screw it up. I wonder if WDKY wants to try to get a higher channel number or are the channel assignments set in stone now?

I think because they're low band vhf and their current analog is out-of-core they could have waited until the second round of channel election to try for another channel but they didn't. According to the FCC site they're approved for 4 as their final.

Heck this station is so sensitive to electrical discharge, when I open a can a cat food and my cat gets excited and thinks, "yum yum!" the electrical interference from his brain will even cause signal dropout of wdky! If you shuffle your feet on the carpet in the winter and touch a doorknob, the electric discharge will interfere with WDKY's signal probably for a 10 block radius. .

LOL :)

I think because they're low band vhf and their current analog is out-of-core they could have waited until the second round of channel election to try for another channel but they didn't. According to the FCC site they're approved for 4 as their final.

That could always change at some point in the future. I suspect it's a case of 'a VHF-lo assignment in hand is worth 2 UHFs in the wind,' especially since they've already built out the plant.

Furthermore, I'm sure (despite Sinclair's saber rattling) that they will ultimately rely on the 90-95% cable/satellite penetration in our DMA to take care of the problem.

Geez, with that thinking, why not just blow up the antenna and put it all out over fiber?

That sure leaves out all those poor souls getting their analog signals OTA that everyone is saying is holding up the analog shutoff (sarcasm).

So the more profitable model for WDKY's income is over satellite and cable to provide their signal to the masses? Who cares about the people that like to buy the equipment to pick up the signal for free, eh? If the signal breaks up due to T-storms, it doesn't matter.. not enough OTA viewers to affect advertising, right?