Perky young journalists, actors/actresses, and others with presentation skills & public-speaking skills are graduating all the time, and they would kill to make 50% of the salary of these "untouchables."

And it's exactly why journalism in this country stinks.

Perky young journalists, actors/actresses, and others with presentation skills & public-speaking skills are graduating all the time, and they would kill to make 50% of the salary of these "untouchables."

And it's exactly why journalism in this country stinks.

Amen.

Anyone know if and when WQED is moving back to VHF 13? Personally I hope they've reverse course on this decisions are going to stay on UHF 38 based on all the trouble with VHF channels.

Anyone know if and when WQED is moving back to VHF 13? Personally I hope they've reverse course on this decisions are going to stay on UHF 38 based on all the trouble with VHF channels.

From their most recent filing with the FCC:
WQED CEASED ANALOG BROADCASTING ON CHANNEL 13 ON APRIL 1, 2009. IN MID JUNE, WE WILL BEGIN REMOVING THE OLD TRANSMISSION LINE FROM THE TOWER. ONCE THAT IS DONE, WE WILL INSTALL NEW TRANSMISSION LINE ON THE TOWER. SIMULTANEOUSLY, WE WILL BE INSTALLING A NEW TRANSMITTER IN OUR TRANSMITTER BUILDING, WHICH WILL THEN BE CONNECTED TO THE NEW TRANSMISSION LINE. ONCE THAT IS DONE, WE WILL REMOVE OUR EXISTING ANALOG ANTENNA FROM THE T-BAR ON THE TOP OF OUR TOWER. WHEN THE EXISTING ANTENNA HAS BEEN REMOVED, WE WILL INSTALL A NEW ANTENNA IN ITS PLACE AND CONNECT IT TO THE NEW TRANSMISSION LINE. AT THAT POINT, WE WILL BEGIN PROGRAM TESTING.

THE TRANSMISSION LINE, TRANSMITTER, ANTENNA AND ALL OTHER ANCILLARY EQUIPMENT WILL BE DELIVERED TO THE SITE BY JULY 1, SO THERE WILL BE NO DELAYS (OTHER THAN WEATHER CONDITIONS) THAT WILL PREVENT US FROM COMPLETING THESE TASKS EXPEDITIOUSLY.

WQED-DT WILL CONTINUE BROADCASTING ON CHANNEL 38 UNTIL PROGRAM TESTING ON CHANNEL 13 IS COMPLETED. AT THAT TIME WE WILL CUT OVER TO CHANNEL 13. ALSO AT THAT TIME, WE WILL CUT OVER WQEX-DT FROM CHANNEL 26 TO CHANNEL 38. WE EXPECT TO COMPLETE THESE OPERATIONS BY AUGUST 18, 2009. ON DECEMBEER 9, 2008 WE WERE GRANTED SPECIAL TEMPORARY AUTHORITY TO CONTINUE OPERATION ON OUR PRE-TRANSITION CHANNEL UNTIL AUGUST 18, 2009 IN ORDER TO EFFECTUATE THIS PLAN.

Woah, if I read that correctly... the change is precisely one week away, August 18th.

I'll start crossing my fingers now. Maybe, just maybe I'll be able to get VHF-13 without having to rearrange and/or buy new antennas. ;)

Anyone know if and when WQED is moving back to VHF 13? Personally I hope they've reverse course on this decisions are going to stay on UHF 38 based on all the trouble with VHF channels.
At this point if they don't like channel 13 their only option would be to switch WQEX to 13 and keep WQED on 38.

That would be fine with me...it would keep WQEX from interfering with WBGN anyway.

Woah, if I read that correctly... the change is precisely one week away, August 18th.

They've said that same thing on their DTV transition program and in between programs. I didn't think they'd actually take until August 18 to get things ironed out.

I'm on the fringe of WQED's signal here in the Richland section of Johnstown, receive a 7o/30 most of the time...would be nice to get a steady picture for a change or maybe after the 18th,I may get zilch.. we'll soon see !

That would be fine with me...it would keep WQEX from interfering with WBGN anyway.

It will probably work out fine them moving,however I'd like them to stay on UHF also . I was scared when WPCW moved to 11, but their signal is booming for me once I put up a VHF combo antenna. Lately WQED's programming has not been great,I found better PBS programming on WNPB-33 .:eek:

Currently WQED is scrounging for every blessed dollar they can get to make up for a shortfall in the Governor's proposed budget of about a million dollars or more they would have received in state funds. Since WNPB is located in WV they probably are not facing the same type of budget problem.

So depending on how and when the budget mess in Harrisburg is finally resolved may determine how long it will be before QED's programming returns to more normal fare.

I'm on the fringe of WQED's signal here in the Richland section of Johnstown, receive a 7o/30 most of the time...would be nice to get a steady picture for a change or maybe after the 18th,I may get zilch.. we'll soon see !
If the FCC service map in to be believed the 25 kilowatts ERP WQED will use to broadcast on VHF 13 will penetrate further in to the Johnstown area than their current UHF signal on channel 38. :rolleyes:

I figure that since I get WPCW on CH11 without any problems I should have a fairly good chance of getting WQED at 47 miles out. I have never received anything on CH38 even during the same brief times that I have been able to receive CH22 & CH53. I for one am looking forward to this change.

I would think that WQED's biggest problem is their lower tower height. I imagine that if their channel 38 signal was at 1000 feet HAAT like the other signals in the market, it would cover just as well.

- Trip

Is there a rough timeline/schedule for getting the WTAE Oakland translator up and running?

Since WBGN signed on with a digital signal on UHF 16, I would pick it up, but the station never registered high enough for my converter boxes to decode anything. Still I would check on the station's signal every so often.

Several days ago, either due to WBGN boosting their transmitter power, or perhaps the atmospheric conditions, I was able to pick up the signal and my converters resolved it in to 59.1, etc. This lasted for all of a couple of hours before the signal faded back below the "cliff", and I got the infamous "No Signal" error on a blank screen. (I also think now it might be due to the fact that WBGN shares WQED's tower, and perhaps they did something with their broadcast antenna because of QED's up coming switch over.)

Since then the station pops in from time to time, mainly in the early morning (before 9 AM), or very late at night (after 10 PM). But even when it shows up, my converter boxes seem to have a very hard time decoding the signal, as usually I end-up looking at a wash of shifting colors on the screen, with only tiny bits of sound. This is the case on all 4 of their sub-channels. Yet the signal strength indicator shows a good enough signal level to produce a reasonably decent image and sound when I've received a similar signal level from other stations .

And then sometimes when I'm simply switching though channels and I hit 59.1, .2, .3, .4 with only a blank screen, the converter box will lose the PSIP staton ID information, and I end up with the box pointing to 16.1, etc. (WQEX's PSIP station ID of 16.1, is then shoehorned in between WBGN's UHF 16.1 and 16.2 channels.) I should point out I've very rarely seen this happen on any other stations' PSIP IDs that have been stored by my converter box.

I know Trip once commented to me on how the quality of a DTV station's broadcast signal can be as important (or more important) in being able to receive it than it's ERP. So I was wondering if anyone else who can pick up WBGN, is or has experienced anything I've described here?

And then sometimes when I'm simply switching though channels and I hit 59.1, .2, .3, .4 with only a blank screen, the converter box will lose the PSIP staton ID information, and I end up with the box pointing to 16.1, etc. (WQEX's PSIP station ID of 16.1, is then shoehorned in between WBGN's UHF 16.1 and 16.2 channels.) I should point out I've very rarely seen this happen on any other stations' PSIP IDs that have been stored by my converter box.

I know Trip once commented to me on how the quality of a DTV station's broadcast signal can be as important (or more important) in being able to receive it than it's ERP. So I was wondering if anyone else who can pick up WBGN, is or has experienced anything I've described here?

My Insignia converter box has no problem resolving RF 16 to 59-1, but my Samsung TV keeps it 16-1 so I end up with two 16-1s as you described. The set has no problem differentiating between WPCW and WPXI, but it is older and older receivers can have problems with PSIP if it is not set-up properly.

I'm not in the market, thus the query:

Per the FCC filing posted upthread by PA_MainyYak, did WQED complete its transition to RF-13 today? If so, what's the OTA signal like on the VHF facility?

I'm not in the market, thus the query:

Per the FCC filing posted upthread by PA_MainyYak, did WQED complete its transition to RF-13 today? If so, what's the OTA signal like on the VHF facility?

Nothing so far. Still on UHF 38

As of this time (4:45 PM) WQED is still broadcasting on UHF channel 38.

Perhaps they will switch over later this evening, like say around midnight.

It seems unlikely that they'd switch over during popular viewing hours, especially prime time. My guess would be midnight unless they're not strictly obligated to the date listed in the FCC filing.

Dave Kasperek (and anyone else who may know):

Your contributions to this forum are much appreciated Dave and I understand that responding to every query impinges on your time. But here goes anyway... :-)

Like so many now living in other parts of the country, I'm originally from Pittsburgh and old enough to remember both WIIC and WTAE (``Take T and C'') signing on. In the pre-cable era, with the terrain, getting solid reception on the Big Four (2, 4, 11 and 13) of that time was a challenge in Baldwin. Complicating things was that the direction of each transmitter site was different (less so with KDKA-TV and WIIC).

Here in Dallas, as is the case in many other markets, a common site emerged over time, making over-air-reception a lot easier. Here, it started with the ABC and CBS affiliates cooperating with the Hill Tower project, which evolved to the large farm at Cedar Hill, home of all of the TV sticks. Across the state, Philly has the Roxborough antenna farm.

What were the factors that prevented a joint project in the Pittsburgh area? I suppose that WTAE's spacing to Columbus would have added to the complexity of site location.

Of course, that ship has long sailed and in today's economy, it would be unthinkable. Even with the high cable/satellite penetration in the DMA, had there been an antenna farm, some of the problems associated with the DTV transition might have been eased.

I obviously can't answer for the other stations but WTAE did twice consider relocating to a more central location for digital operations. Both times the economics of renting space from someone else versus operating from a tower already fully paid for did not make sense. In a market where at least 92% of the viewers use cable or satellite, you cannot justify multi-million dollar investments that will never pay off.

Dave,

I'm scratching my head. Don't you mean 1 MW (1,000 kW) ERP on UHF-51?

Oops my mistake. Meant to type 1,000 KW ERP

Some people seem to think that elliptical polarization can improve reception in some areas without having such a sobering effect on the electric bill. If I may ask what are your thoughts on that as far as any practical application for WTAE assuming the FCC would approve such a power increase?

Sorry but I don't have a lot of thoughts on that subject. I can say there is discussion of alternative polarization methods now I'm aware of, but the issue is whether mobile reception could be improved. Mobile ATSC is under development and may become an additional revenue model for many broadcasters.

Is there a rough timeline/schedule for getting the WTAE Oakland translator up and running?

Should be up and running by mid-September.

We had hoped to have it going now, but manufacturing of Ch 13 antenna for WQED is a several weeks behind schedule, and because we're using the same antenna vendor and tower crew, both jobs are delayed.

....We had hoped to have it going now, but manufacturing of Ch 13 antenna for WQED is a several weeks behind schedule, and because we're using the same antenna vendor and tower crew, both jobs are delayed.
Well then that explains why I haven't seen any announcements on QED this evening about the switchover and/or the need to re-scan to pick up the station on it's new VHF channel. :rolleyes:

So it looks like QED won't be moving to the VHF band until sometime next month at the earliest.

Flipping around today, my TV scanned in 40-2 again. It is displaying color bars with the following message:

"Coming Soon To This Channel WPCB-TV40.2 The Bible Discovery Channel"

The PSIP IDs it as "BDC." We'll see if Cornerstone actually begins broadcasting this time.

I heard a message on WQED the other day that mid-October (dont remember the exact date) is when they're shooting for their transition back to VHF 13. I certainly hope their signal is better then than it currently is.

Normally my reception of WQED's digital signal has been great but as of about two weeks ago I'm getting some signal fluctuation and frequent dropouts, and my antenna is in the same position it's always been in. Have they cut their power back until they make the transition back to VHF? Or have they stopped maintaining their current antenna?

I caught WQED's FCC-DTV transition message this morning. It's the same one that has been running for months but they changed the date in the voice over from "...on or before August 18th" to "... on or before October 18th."

So I guess it all depends now on the construction crew working on their new tower will be able to finish it to make that date; or earlier with out any further delays. :rolleyes:

Did you guys catch the Steelers game? Did they render those graphics in SD and stick them in the HD feed? At times I couldn't read the 1 in the 1st & 10 and it looked like there were 0 yards to go.

Did you guys catch the Steelers game? Did they render those graphics in SD and stick them in the HD feed? At times I couldn't read the 1 in the 1st & 10 and it looked like there were 0 yards to go.

I wouldn't doubt it Chuck.

Did you ever watch their "HD" newscast.

What a pitiful way to say your newscast is now in high definition.

They don't even do the weather maps and graphics in HD!!!

Everything is done in SD except for the anchors.

I think they only have 1 HD camera.

KD is soooo far behind the other stations, they ought to be ashamed of themselves.

If there is one thing that can really benefit from HD and does not require expensive setups in terms of cameras, etc. that is the weather forecast.

I wouldn't doubt it Chuck.

Did you ever watch their "HD" newscast.

What a pitiful way to say your newscast is now in high definition.

They don't even do the weather maps and graphics in HD!!!

Everything is done in SD except for the anchors.

I think they only have 1 HD camera.

KD is soooo far behind the other stations, they ought to be ashamed of themselves.

I'm curious...how many years have you worked in television?

If there is one thing that can really benefit from HD and does not require expensive setups in terms of cameras, etc. that is the weather forecast.

How do you think those weather graphics are generated?

he's gotta be joking...no one needs the weather in HD...or the news for that matter.

Well really, nobody _needs_ any show in HD.

While I won't endorse his less than congenial tone, I agree that weather benefits from HD. News does as well. Detailed maps and HD on-location footage really do impart much more information.

For instance, during the severe storm a couple months ago, it was possible to see exactly where the storms and lightening were moving through. During some of the coverage, I could see my exact street on the map along with an approaching storm from littered with individually notated lightening strikes.

Or, when reporting on suspect arrests, it is possible to see the interaction of the officers, suspects, and bystanders. Facial expressions become discernible in all footage, not just head shots of the anchors.

Greetings:

Is anyone aware of changes to the encoding/broadcast technology to Channel 4.1’s audio portion of their broadcast of late?

I am asking as I’m at wits’ end:

after about 2 years of using the same setup for tuning OTA broadcast digital TV at the same location in Oakland, have in the last two weeks or so had difficulty tuning the audio portion of channel 4.1 OTA. Sometimes it tunes, more often that not it won’t. If the Panasonic DVD/VCR tuner is set to channel 4.1 when it boots, then it seems to lock on the station, but if I tune other channels then return to 4.1 it consistently delivers an excellent picture, and shows @ 91-94% signal strength rating but no audio.


So it isn’t thought that I’ve not done due diligence here before posting, the troubleshooting on my end includes the following, and the problem is consistent throughout:
• the same setup that’s worked for about two years of digital OTA reception is in use.
• even when I’m having problems with 4.1 audio, 4.2 “THIS TV” audio is clear, constant and re-tunable, as are digital 2, 11, 13, 19, 22, 40, 53, 59—including all subchannels.
• I’ve swapped coax wires to the antenna
• tried 3 different antenna setups
• left the Panasonic DVD/VCR tuner sit unplugged for a few hours to reset the device, and then reloaded the latest firmware trying to clear any ghosts in the machine.

I’m hoping I’m just seeing changes to the broadcast, and that these may be cleared up by the translator coming to Oakland soon...as my budget for hardware repair/replacement is lacking.

thanks

I'm curious...how many years have you worked in television?

I take this as a condescending question as I cannot take it any other way, but I'll try to answer it as best I can for you, Mr. Vidonic.

Simply put, I don't feel I need to have "worked in television" to have an opinion about it---nor do I feel that my statement was off base considering the investment I have made in equipment to watch it and from what I have seen with my own eyes the past few years in advancement of HD programming.

Analogously, I don't have children. But if I were to make the statement that little children shouldn't be running the streets at midnight would you feel that I am "unqualified" to comment on that too?

It's simply a statement based upon my personal feelings. That's what a "forum" is all about.

I only hope that is good enough for you.

I take this as a condescending question as I cannot take it any other way, but I'll try to answer it as best I can for you, Mr. Vidonic.

Simply put, I don't feel I need to have "worked in television" to have an opinion about it---nor do I feel that my statement was off base considering the investment I have made in equipment to watch it and from what I have seen with my own eyes the past few years in advancement of HD programming.

Analogously, I don't have children. But if I were to make the statement that little children shouldn't be running the streets at midnight would you feel that I am "unqualified" to comment on that too?

It's simply a statement based upon my personal feelings. That's what a "forum" is all about.

I only hope that is good enough for you.



But you throw out your opinions constantly based on facts you know nothing about.

Thanks for answering my question, sort of.
Remember, I own a $12,000 Honda Civic. If I go buy a 100K Porsche, it won't make me a better driver.

But you throw out your opinions constantly based on facts you know nothing about.

Thanks for answering my question, sort of.
Remember, I own a $12,000 Honda Civic. If I go buy a 100K Porsche, it won't make me a better driver.

I love it!!!

I throw out opinions based on "facts" I know nothing about. That's a howl.

What is this forum about if not for "opinions", Mr. Vidonic?

Maybe you can enlighten this forum with the "facts" that I know nothing about, Mr. Vidonic.

I'll go back to my original statement. KDKA television should be ashamed of itself for this pathetic attempt at a high-definition newscast.

Now (in particular) what is it about that statement that bothers you?

But you throw out your opinions constantly based on facts you know nothing about.

Thanks for answering my question, sort of.
Remember, I own a $12,000 Honda Civic. If I go buy a 100K Porsche, it won't make me a better driver.

As for the automobile comparison (which was a poor analogy), buying the 100K Porsche maybe won't make you a better driver, but it CERTAINLY would entitle you to an "opinion" of whether it's a better drive than the 12K Civic---now wouldn't it?

I love it!!!

I throw out opinions based on "facts" I know nothing about. That's a howl.

What is this forum about if not for "opinions", Mr. Vidonic?

Maybe you can enlighten this forum with the "facts" that I know nothing about, Mr. Vidonic.

I'll go back to my original statement. KDKA television should be ashamed of itself for this pathetic attempt at a high-definition newscast.

Now (in particular) what is it about that statement that bothers you?

You said you THINK they have 1 HD camera...do you know this as fact?
Can you tell what other elements of the newscast are HD? You said only the cameras are...can you back that up with fact?

You said you THINK they have 1 HD camera...do you know this as fact?
Can you tell what other elements of the newscast are HD? You said only the cameras are...can you back that up with fact?

These are the same questions that I am asking as a viewer.

I watch the newcasts myself and compare them with other stations that I have seen and wonder EXACTLY what you are asking.

Do they have more than one camera? If so, how are they using them? I haven't seen anything other than the anchor desk being shown in HD. Maybe a wider screen shot of the weather center looks HD but is it just the same camera panned out?

What other aspects of the newscasts are in HD? Maybe as I said before maybe YOU can enlighten us.

Weather graphics are not in HD are they? If they are, they look SD to me.

On-the-scene reports are not in HD are they? If they are, they look SD to me.

Special reports are not in HD are they? If they are, they look SD to me.

Sports reports and replays are not in HD are they? If they are, they look SD to me.

Other than the anchor desk, what is in HD Mr. Vidonic?

You seem to want to defend KDKA television by dismissing my credibility as a viewer to have an opinion of what I'm seeing, so here's your chance to really show this forum that I really don't know anything about HD television and I should just be happy with what I see.

We're waiting, Mr. Vidonic.

I am seeing the weirdest thing on Analog channel 59. At this moment, somehow, someone somewhere is rebroadcasting the feed from their DTVPal CECB. I can tell because I am seeing what looks like pixelation of a digital station and then it drops out and when it comes back up the DTVPal display that tells you what channel you're on, signal strength, etc coems up. The transmission is either very weak or far away as the picture, is snowy and for that reason I cant read exactly what channel it is trying to pick up.

I'd be interested to know if anyone else is seeing this. but I'm guessing most of you are asleep at this time, and if it's a tropo thing, it will be gone by the morning...or whenvewr whoever turns off their DTVPal.

EDIT: After posting this, I went back and watched Analog 59 for a bit more and found that it was actually broadcasting what we see on 59-1, only over analog. I believe WBGN is a low power station so that would make them continuing to broadcast on analog still legal. But are they really using a DTVPal to pick up their digital feed and then rebroadcasting that via Analog? To me that seems like extra/double work. Why not just broadcast on analog like they were doing before digital was around instead of re-broadcasting their digital feed?

These are the same questions that I am asking as a viewer.

I watch the newcasts myself and compare them with other stations that I have seen and wonder EXACTLY what you are asking.

Do they have more than one camera? If so, how are they using them? I haven't seen anything other than the anchor desk being shown in HD. Maybe a wider screen shot of the weather center looks HD but is it just the same camera panned out?

What other aspects of the newscasts are in HD? Maybe as I said before maybe YOU can enlighten us.

Weather graphics are not in HD are they? If they are, they look SD to me.

On-the-scene reports are not in HD are they? If they are, they look SD to me.

Special reports are not in HD are they? If they are, they look SD to me.

Sports reports and replays are not in HD are they? If they are, they look SD to me.

Other than the anchor desk, what is in HD Mr. Vidonic?

You seem to want to defend KDKA television by dismissing my credibility as a viewer to have an opinion of what I'm seeing, so here's your chance to really show this forum that I really don't know anything about HD television and I should just be happy with what I see.

We're waiting, Mr. Vidonic.

Enlighten you? You're the one that knows everything about television. You knew who should have been fired over FSN's outage for a Pens game - never mind he hadn't worked there in 2 years and you have no knowledge of FSN's signal path anyway.
You're the one that knew Sinclair got rid of HD equipment during bankruptcy - oh, that's right, they've not declared it.
You're the one that kept telling KD they should look to Steubenville stations to see how to do things.
I don't need to tell you any of the above stuff - you already know.

Wow, Mr. Vidonic. You're obviously half-reading my previous posts. Since you're only half-reading but drawing conclusions about what I said, I will set the record(s) straight. Anyone who doubts this can go back and read the postings themselves.

Enlighten you? You're the one that knows everything about television. You knew who should have been fired over FSN's outage for a Pens game - never mind he hadn't worked there in 2 years and you have no knowledge of FSN's signal path anyway.

You must be referring to this post made on the Pittsburgh, PA - Comcast forum on 3-1-09 by "ChuckZ". If you would have bothered to take the time to read on you would have found that my 3-5-09 posting clarified it was NOT me who suggested the firing and I only suggested that the person or persons responsible for the mess up at FSN should be held accountable.

In reference to the signal path issue, if you read the "Ken H" posting dated 3-3-09 on the same forum you'll see I made NO reference to the "signal-path" issue. "Ken H" decided to clarify that on his own in response to the firing of Mr. Goldstein at the FSN studios in Pittsburgh.

Nowhere in that forum did I suggest a firing of Mr. Goldstein nor did I make reference to the signal path for the FSN feed. You need to get the facts straight.

You're the one that knew Sinclair got rid of HD equipment during bankruptcy - oh, that's right, they've not declared it.

You obviously are reading my 7-18-09 post on this forum which was a response to "Raven654" about Sinclair and bankruptcy. That post was only an attempt at humor, which I addressed to you on this forum on 7-21-09. Following that post, "JK77" offered the link from The Baltimore Sun dealing with the Sinclair/bankruptcy issue.

At no time did I ever suggest that "Sinclair got rid of HD equipment during bankruptcy". I have no idea where you got that.

You're the one that kept telling KD they should look to Steubenville stations to see how to do things.

This was a posting made by myself on 5-6-09 on the Pittsburgh, PA - Comcast forum stating:

"Hey KDKA television ----------- Steubenville (WTOV) and Johnstown (WJAC) are producing and airing local HD newscasts.

Just to let you guys know!!!

Some local stations intend to keep up with the times!!!"

I didn't suggest that KDKA needed to look at Steubenville to learn how to "do things".

My point was simply if Steubenville and Johnstown can do it, why can't KDKA TV?

Anybody who read that could see what my point was.

I don't need to tell you any of the above stuff - you already know.

No, I was asking you for an explanation but you don't want to give one.

You obviously don't want to address the issue of KDKA TV and their attempt at an HD newscast but rather keep attacking me by half-reading and interpreting my previous posts.

That's OK, I got big shoulders, but don't put words in my mouth stating things that I didn't say and then criticize me about them.

Enough of the personal back and forth. Take it off line.

Greetings:

Is anyone aware of changes to the encoding/broadcast technology to Channel 4.1’s audio portion of their broadcast of late?

...thanks

OK, whatever was having a negative affect seems to have cleared itself up again...the symptoms continued for several more days, then the audio was intermittent, and the last few days seems to be back to being consistent w/ the good signal quality, and is retunable...amazing how I was convincing myself the equipment on my end must be going...

trust things will only get better once the additional translator is in place...

I'm not sure this is in the correction place but..

I'm having trouble configuring my W7MC to pick up all the channels through my AverMedia Duet tuner. I had no problems at home (Philadelphia Comcast) picking up all the channels (Air + Cable) I picked up through my Samsung LCDTV. At home I was able to pick up local HD channels as well. Now while I'm at school at Pitt, we have comcast in our apartment, with a digital box in the living room. However when I scan, it only picks up 12 channels, and when I go to manually add more, there's a only a handful more that are unlocked and available to add. Most of them are infomercial, etc channels.

Tell me if this makes any sense. I live in the Youngstown area and have been receiving WPXI for over a year without any drop outs. KDKA has been my second strongest signal coming out of Pittsburgh, but would drop out occasionally. WPXI has always been stronger. I recently disconnected everything, raised my antenna about 8 feet, reconnected everything, and subsequently lost WPXI. Absolutely no signal at all. KDKA is coming in at %94 strength.

My %94 KDKA signal strength is telling me I have no connection problems.
Did WPXI's tower fall down or catch on fire in the brief time that it took me to make the height adjustment? I'm lost on this one.:confused:

Tell me if this makes any sense. I live in the Youngstown area and have been receiving WPXI for over a year without any drop outs. KDKA has been my second strongest signal coming out of Pittsburgh, but would drop out occasionally. WPXI has always been stronger. I recently disconnected everything, raised my antenna about 8 feet, reconnected everything, and subsequently lost WPXI. Absolutely no signal at all. KDKA is coming in at %94 strength.

My %94 KDKA signal strength is telling me I have no connection problems.
Did WPXI's tower fall down or catch on fire in the brief time that it took me to make the height adjustment? I'm lost on this one.:confused:

Maybe you need to install a vertical crank on your antenna mast to raise it and lower it. :)

OK, I know, that's a stupid suggestion.

Did you check the antenna fool website to poll signals for your location?

Maybe by raising the antenna 8' you have subjected yourself to analog interference from (perhaps) a Canadian station on UHF channel 48?

...Just a thought...no guarantees that this is it.

Benji, my primary concern is KDKA so I can receive the Steelers games when our local CBS (WKBN) is broadcasting the browns. I'm gonna leave it how it is for now. WPXI is programmed in, so if I can get it then good, if not, I'm not going to worry about it until football season is over. Then I'll experiment with height.

It's just strange how the KDKA signal is so strong and I'm getting nothing for WPXI. My mind is officially boggled.:D I like your theory though.

BLAME CANADA:)

Is there any chance your roof...or whatever was below your antenna at its previous height was acting as a reflector of sorts for WPXI's signal?

Tell me if this makes any sense. I live in the Youngstown area and have been receiving WPXI for over a year without any drop outs. KDKA has been my second strongest signal coming out of Pittsburgh, but would drop out occasionally. WPXI has always been stronger. I recently disconnected everything, raised my antenna about 8 feet, reconnected everything, and subsequently lost WPXI. Absolutely no signal at all. KDKA is coming in at %94 strength.

My %94 KDKA signal strength is telling me I have no connection problems.
Did WPXI's tower fall down or catch on fire in the brief time that it took me to make the height adjustment? I'm lost on this one.:confused:


I live in the youngstown area but have always been able to recieve KDKA 24/7 but WPXI would come and go. Although I usualy allways get WPXI at night.
You might have been recieving channel 11 by a bounce or reflection and adjusting the antenna height changed that. One way to find out would be to put the antenna height back as before to see if that was really the cause. If you're really into ota then you can buy a field strengh meter to find the best place to place the antenna.
What type of antenna and setup do you have?

nwiser, I don't think the roof is an issue. However, now that I think about it, there are some trees that may come into play. But if they were blocking out WPXI I'm sure they would block out KDKA.

ajg, to give you a better idea, I'm in Vienna. I have a 40" boom length radio shack antenna with a radio shack amplifier mounted on a 4 foot mast on top of a 30 foot tower. The antenna was formerly mounted on the side of the tower about 25 feet high. That's as high as I would climb.:D I finally decided to bring the tower down (and destroy a pine tree during the process) to mount the antenna correctly so I could get some extra height and also take advantage of the rotator.

Today, just for kicks, I pointed towards Erie to program a few channels, and ended up picking up WPXI with a decent signal. Again, what's strange is that KDKA was getting a %99 signal this morning and I still couldn't get WPXI to come in while pointing in that direction. But it would come in while pointed towards Erie. I even got a very week signal for WPXI while pointed towards Cleveland. But again, nothing at all when I point towards Pittsburgh.

As I said before, I know it's not a problem with a connection. I have no problems picking up some Erie stations, all the major Cleveland stations (even the VHF WOIO and WJW), WTOV, and KDKA. WTAE came in weak and dropped out, as it always does. So I wasn't disappointed there.

What's also strange is that I can't receive WPGH. Usually it's not easy to get, but it will come in from time to time, much easier than WTAE would.

Are WPXI and WPGH related some how? I'm just having a really difficult time with these two.

I live in the youngstown area but have always been able to recieve KDKA 24/7 but WPXI would come and go. Although I usualy allways get WPXI at night.
You might have been recieving channel 11 by a bounce or reflection and adjusting the antenna height changed that. One way to find out would be to put the antenna height back as before to see if that was really the cause. If you're really into ota then you can buy a field strengh meter to find the best place to place the antenna.
What type of antenna and setup do you have?

KDKA has always been the strongest signal coming out of Pittsburgh for me, ever since I started using HD/digital signals about 3-4 years ago.

I live near New Wilmington, PA which is just due east of Youngstown, OH, and I use only an indoor amped up RCA antenna, and my reception via an LG LST-4200A at first, and now a Samsung 32A450 has been wonderful for OTA.

KDKA is always the strongest(need this for Steeler games since my local cable provider, TWC, has designated out market a Cleveland market since our cable comes out of their Hub in Akron, OH. F**KERS!!!) HD signal, with WPGH/FOX being next, although alot lower than KDKA. Although I still receive both in my analog package, TWC does not carry their HD signal, and I really like watching it that way. WPXI/NBC comes in about the same as WPGH, with it "occasionally" being even better than WPGH. All this with a indoor amped up RCA antenna.

Although, I will admit being where I am, and dealing with 2 different markets allows me to receive about 5-7 games a week of NFL footbal(this includes the national night games).

As long as ALL the Steeler games are included in that mix, I am happy.

nwiser, I don't think the roof is an issue. However, now that I think about it, there are some trees that may come into play. But if they were blocking out WPXI I'm sure they would block out KDKA.

ajg, to give you a better idea, I'm in Vienna. I have a 40" boom length radio shack antenna with a radio shack amplifier mounted on a 4 foot mast on top of a 30 foot tower. The antenna was formerly mounted on the side of the tower about 25 feet high. That's as high as I would climb.:D I finally decided to bring the tower down (and destroy a pine tree during the process) to mount the antenna correctly so I could get some extra height and also take advantage of the rotator.

Today, just for kicks, I pointed towards Erie to program a few channels, and ended up picking up WPXI with a decent signal. Again, what's strange is that KDKA was getting a %99 signal this morning and I still couldn't get WPXI to come in while pointing in that direction. But it would come in while pointed towards Erie. I even got a very week signal for WPXI while pointed towards Cleveland. But again, nothing at all when I point towards Pittsburgh.

As I said before, I know it's not a problem with a connection. I have no problems picking up some Erie stations, all the major Cleveland stations (even the VHF WOIO and WJW), WTOV, and KDKA. WTAE came in weak and dropped out, as it always does. So I wasn't disappointed there.

What's also strange is that I can't receive WPGH. Usually it's not easy to get, but it will come in from time to time, much easier than WTAE would.

Are WPXI and WPGH related some how? I'm just having a really difficult time with these two.

That is strange, just like for me I'm able to get WTOV 9 when I point the antenna towards Erie 24/7 but when I point it at WTOV I only get it at night. I use to have the antenna on a 40ft tower but I had to take it down last year. I remounted the UHF CM4228 only on a tripod on the roof because the channels I wanted are broadcasting on the uhf band now. But the 4228 does a pretty good job of bringing in the VHF 7 thru 13 band. If you check out TVFool you might be able to find out more about wpxi and wpgh, also I got some good info on antenna's and set ups from this site.

http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ISSUES/erecting_antenna.html

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29

KDKA has always been the strongest signal coming out of Pittsburgh for me, ever since I started using HD/digital signals about 3-4 years ago.

I live near New Wilmington, PA which is just due east of Youngstown, OH, and I use only an indoor amped up RCA antenna, and my reception via an LG LST-4200A at first, and now a Samsung 32A450 has been wonderful for OTA.

KDKA is always the strongest(need this for Steeler games since my local cable provider, TWC, has designated out market a Cleveland market since our cable comes out of their Hub in Akron, OH. F**KERS!!!) HD signal, with WPGH/FOX being next, although alot lower than KDKA. Although I still receive both in my analog package, TWC does not carry their HD signal, and I really like watching it that way. WPXI/NBC comes in about the same as WPGH, with it "occasionally" being even better than WPGH. All this with a indoor amped up RCA antenna.

Although, I will admit being where I am, and dealing with 2 different markets allows me to receive about 5-7 games a week of NFL footbal(this includes the national night games).

As long as ALL the Steeler games are included in that mix, I am happy.


I actually live in Hubbard, Oh which is about 5 miles NE of Youngstown. KDKA has always been the strongest signal for me also coming from Pittsburgh. I do recieve Cleveland with stronger signals but I get those stations in with my cable anyway. I'm really suprised that you can get Pittsburgh in with an indoor antenna. You should consider an outdoor antenna because you'll get more. There is a wpcw 19 in pittsburgh you might be able to get.

Are WPXI and WPGH related some how? I'm just having a really difficult time with these two.No, WPGH is directional so you don't get it's full power towards Youngstown. The WPXI tower is a little lower than the towers of KDKA and WPGH. WTAE's tower is located in a different area southeast of Pittsburgh.

Tell me if this makes any sense. I live in the Youngstown area and have been receiving WPXI for over a year without any drop outs. KDKA has been my second strongest signal coming out of Pittsburgh, but would drop out occasionally. WPXI has always been stronger. I recently disconnected everything, raised my antenna about 8 feet, reconnected everything, and subsequently lost WPXI. Absolutely no signal at all. KDKA is coming in at %94 strength.

My %94 KDKA signal strength is telling me I have no connection problems.
Did WPXI's tower fall down or catch on fire in the brief time that it took me to make the height adjustment? I'm lost on this one.:confused:

I've found this on more than one TV in my house - if you have any in-line amps, try to take them off to see what happens, then go from there. I've actually done better without the amps.

raised my antenna about 8 feet, reconnected everything, and subsequently lost WPXI. Absolutely no signal at all. KDKA is coming in at %94 strength.

It makes absolute sense. Reception is more voodoo than science. Somewhere in that extra eight feet, something somewhere around you is causing the signal to be different.

For example, I used to have my antenna on my back porch roof. When it was sitting there, it would get a solid lock on WPSU no matter where it was pointed. Probably due to reflections from something nearby. Now, with the antenna up on the roof, the antenna has to at least be sort of aimed at the transmitter.

Finding sweet spots in your reception can be hard. Somewhere in that eight feet of movement, you got out of your sweet spot for WPXI.

Since KDKA is my prime concern, I'm not going to change anything in order to get WPXI. I think meow meow is right. There are sweet spots and I have found a couple of them to get WPXI, but for now I'm not going to change any configurations if it interferes with my KDKA reception. It will be interesting to see what happens once the colder weather rolls around and the leaves fall off the trees.

STEELERSRULE, I can't believe you live in New Wilmington and are assigned Cleveland locals. That would anger me just a bit.:mad:

I am having a huge issue getting FOX (53.1) but I get everything else 2.1, 4.1, and 11.1.

I live on the 2nd Floor of an apartment building, so I cannot get an outdoor antenna. I currently have a non-powered Terk and have tried getting the RS UFO and a Phillips Powered Antenna. Both, werent as good as my non-powered Terk.

This is just driving me nuts. Most of what I watch is on Fox so I want to be able to record HD. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I am having a huge issue getting FOX (53.1) but I get everything else 2.1, 4.1, and 11.1.

I live on the 2nd Floor of an apartment building, so I cannot get an outdoor antenna. I currently have a non-powered Terk and have tried getting the RS UFO and a Phillips Powered Antenna. Both, werent as good as my non-powered Terk.

This is just driving me nuts. Most of what I watch is on Fox so I want to be able to record HD. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Even though I have an outdoor antenna I have fooled around allot with the rabbit ears. I've tried amplified and the cheep $5 one's bought at the dollar stores. I would do what I told a friend at work who lives in an apartment to do. I would buy a channel master 4221 uhf and put it behind the tv. It wouldn't cost much more than your terk and it will give you better reception. If you have a local hardware store near by, you might be able to get the old version. My friend did that and picked it up for 29.95. He lives in hermitage pa and picks up not only the youngstown locals but kdka and wpxi also. There is also a web site that tells you how to make one.

http://uhfhdtvantenna.blogspot.com/

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/762088/coat_hanger_hdtv_antenna_better_than_store_bought_amazing/

This is my first post on here after reading and reading and reading!

There is so much info on here.

I live North of Pittsburgh in zip code 15237.

I looked at the info for my area on antennaweb and tvfool and others. I get different results depending on which website that I type my info into.

So I figure the best answer is to ask people that live near me.

I read maybe 40 or so pages of this thread so far and I noticed that most people have indoor antennas.

If I'm going to try to get off the air channels I have no problem with putting some time and effort into it to get good results.

I was going to try out putting a high quality rooftop antenna up but I wanted to know if there is anyone on here in the Pittsburgh area that has done this and what channels that they were able to get?

Feel free to PM message as well.

Thanks

Jim

I was going to try out putting a high quality rooftop antenna up but I wanted to know if there is anyone on here in the Pittsburgh area that has done this and what channels that they were able to get?

I have an outdoor antenna and get 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 11, 13, 16, 19, 22, 40, and 53 forty miles from Pittsburgh.

I read maybe 40 or so pages of this thread so far and I noticed that most people have indoor antennas.

If I'm going to try to get off the air channels I have no problem with putting some time and effort into it to get good results.

I was going to try out putting a high quality rooftop antenna up but I wanted to know if there is anyone on here in the Pittsburgh area that has done this and what channels that they were able to get?Keep in mind that digital TV is an all-or-nothing kind of thing. With analog TV, indoor antennas could easily produce a theoretically watchable image, even if there was lots of snow/static and ghosting. Many people are finding that those same indoor antennas are not acceptable for digital TV viewing. Poor reception with digital TV means that you get a few seconds of perfect image between multi-minute long stretches of no image whatsoever.

You could easily try an indoor antenna first, why not? But my guess is that you'll need to put up a roof antenna.

This is my first post on here after reading and reading and reading!

There is so much info on here.

I live North of Pittsburgh in zip code 15237.

I looked at the info for my area on antennaweb and tvfool and others. I get different results depending on which website that I type my info into.

So I figure the best answer is to ask people that live near me.

I read maybe 40 or so pages of this thread so far and I noticed that most people have indoor antennas.

If I'm going to try to get off the air channels I have no problem with putting some time and effort into it to get good results.

I was going to try out putting a high quality rooftop antenna up but I wanted to know if there is anyone on here in the Pittsburgh area that has done this and what channels that they were able to get?

Feel free to PM message as well.

Thanks

Jim

The TV Fool tool can provide very good prediction if you use the GPS coords for your location instead of the street address.
This should give you a good baseline of information to make your decision.

I live North of Pittsburgh in zip code 15237.


Jim

I'm next door in 15044 on the wrong side of a hill...

I have a ClearStream4 mounted on a mast on the side of my deck with a ChannelMaster 7777 Pre-amp and I get 2, 4, 11, 13, 16, 19, 22, 40, and 53. The only channel that is sort of iffy right now is 19, since its VHF and the ClearStream4 is mainly designed to be a UHF antenna. I'll worry more about this when 13 makes the move to VHF.

My hunch is that with an outdoor antenna, roof mounted if you can, you'll get excellent reception.

Thank you JK77 dfiler PA_MainyYak and wallybarthman


It sounds like others in this area are able to get stations pretty well even without going all out with the rooftop setups...so that is great!

PA_MainyYak

I was not sure what my GPS coordinates were so I went to a site named gps visualizer and typed in my street address and zip code.

It gives you two options to figure out your coordinates Google and Yahoo. So I used both and got two different results! I even used the little crosshairs and put it in the spot on the map and it still gave two different longitude and latitude readings for Yahoo And Google!

The one from Yahoo looks great on tvfool and the one from Google looks worse....I think the one from Google must be the one they use on tvfool because it looked the same as when I typed my address into tvfool.

I just have to get some equipment together and put one up on my roof and see what get I guess!

Thanks for telling me about the GPS coordinates I would not have thought of trying that!

Jim

Thank you JK77 dfiler PA_MainyYak and wallybarthman


It sounds like others in this area are able to get stations pretty well even without going all out with the rooftop setups...so that is great!

PA_MainyYak

I was not sure what my GPS coordinates were so I went to a site named gps visualizer and typed in my street address and zip code.

It gives you two options to figure out your coordinates Google and Yahoo. So I used both and got two different results! I even used the little crosshairs and put it in the spot on the map and it still gave two different longitude and latitude readings for Yahoo And Google!

The one from Yahoo looks great on tvfool and the one from Google looks worse....I think the one from Google must be the one they use on tvfool because it looked the same as when I typed my address into tvfool.

I just have to get some equipment together and put one up on my roof and see what get I guess!

Thanks for telling me about the GPS coordinates I would not have thought of trying that!

Jim

FWIW, I use Google Earth to collect coords. Seems to be a higher degree (pun unintended) of accuracy. Best of luck in your quest for OTA reception.

I'm somewhat confused by this talk of coordinates...

TV Fool takes your address and converts it into coordinates, even displaying the exact, translated position on a street map. If that location depicted on the street map is relatively accurate, then there is little if anything to gain by using a 3rd party tool to do the address-to-coordinate translation. The exact same thing is happening no matter whether you let TV fool do it or use a different website to do it. I suppose it would be possible to get a few more feet of positional accuracy if you really worked at it, but I doubt that it would any effect whatsoever in the accuracy of calculated signal strength or relative-heading for each station.

The only exception I can think of would be if the location of a street is incorrectly mapped and that incorrect mapping made a big difference between representing the location as on a ridge or at the bottom of a value. But even then, the correct absolute location may not lead to accurate results. It is also dependent on the topo/elevation map being equally accurate.

Is there something I'm missing?

Thanks PA_MainyYak

dfiler

I know it does not make sense to me either.

I thought I would post the results so you could see the difference. Now keep in mind I typed the EXACT same address in for both and I get roughly the same results if I use the little cross hairs and put them where my house is.

Here is the result of taking the coordinates from Google and putting them in tvfool.

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d8ecd80a512e1ec

And here is the result of taking the Yahoo results and putting them into tvfool.

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d8ecdcd425c0cd0

See what you think! I hope I'm closer to the Yahoo one!


Jim

Very interesting!

Which of the two results is a closer match to when TV fool is provided a street address? Also, do you live close to an extreme elevation change such as a ridgeline or valley?

TV fool hides the last portion of the latitude and longitude. I assume this is for privacy reasons so that people can share their results without pinpointing their homes. With only the first few digits of the coordinates showing, they are exactly the same. The difference lies below the precision shown on the TV fool results.

To hazard a guess, I would think that using the street address lookup on TV fool would produce the most accurate reception data, even if it doesn't produce as accurate of coordinate data. This is based upon the assumption that tv fool's elevation and street maps are a closer match than the street map of another source combined with tv fool's elevation map. Another assumption is that the coordinate lookup is provided just for those people who live on an unmapped or incorrectly mapped street. Otherwise, the address lookup should be accurate to within 50 feet or less. That type of margin of error should be small relative to the resolution of the elevation map being used. As for the exact heading to each station, the error would have a non-measurable effect, probably less than .0001 degrees.

The exception would be for people who live at the top or bottom of a cliff, where a small change in location can have drastic effects on reception.

But then again, I could be completely wrong. My theories assume that the underlying systems are working correctly and logically. That could easily not be the case. ;)

Edit:

The "transmitter profile detail" graph was enlightening. Click on the channel 2 (kdka) row of each set of results. The first set of depicts you as being deeper in a valley than the second set of results. This is indicated on the very right side of each graph. The first graph places you in the shadow of a hill while the second graph does not.

Very interesting!

Which of the two results is a closer match to when TV fool is provided a street address? Also, do you live close to an extreme elevation change such as a ridgeline or valley?

TV fool hides the last portion of the latitude and longitude. I assume this is for privacy reasons so that people can share their results without pinpointing their homes. With only the first few digits of the coordinates showing, they are exactly the same. The difference lies below the precision shown on the TV fool results.

To hazard a guess, I would think that using the street address lookup on TV fool would produce the most accurate reception data, even if it doesn't produce as accurate of coordinate data. This is based upon the assumption that tv fool's elevation and street maps are a closer match than the street map of another source combined with tv fool's elevation map. Another assumption is that the coordinate lookup is provided just for those people who live on an unmapped or incorrectly mapped street. Otherwise, the address lookup should be accurate to within 50 feet or less. That type of margin of error should be small relative to the resolution of the elevation map being used. As for the exact heading to each station, the error would have a non-measurable effect, probably less than .0001 degrees.

The exception would be for people who live at the top or bottom of a cliff, where a small change in location can have drastic effects on reception.

But then again, I could be completely wrong. My theories assume that the underlying systems are working correctly and logically. That could easily not be the case. ;)

Edit:

The "transmitter profile detail" graph was enlightening. Click on the channel 2 (kdka) row of each set of results. The first set of depicts you as being deeper in a valley than the second set of results. This is indicated on the very right side of each graph. The first graph places you in the shadow of a hill while the second graph does not.


The street address coords are calculated at the curb. My house, for example is 15 feet above street level, with additional terrain obstacles that are close enough that moving 100 feet in any direction results in significantly different results.
My sister's house, in a more rural area, is located about a half mile east and 50 below the intersecting street where the address is calculated.
Obviously these situations do not apply to all locations, but in the hills and valleys of Pittsburgh, Johnstown and other places in western PA it can make a difference.

The exact address method in TVFool and other sites fails in more rural counties (like mine) where addresses don't exactly match up with the E911 grid system. The quickest way to get the best TVFool (the best predictor site) results is to use the "start maps" option. You can drag the receive location to the exact right place and adjust the antenna elevation before choosing the radar plot.

Ah... thanks for helping me understand.

It appears that I was stuck in an urban mindset, not fully considering how large properties would effect TV fool reception data. With a large property, the curb-side elevation could differ significantly from the elevation of the house or antenna. Now it all adds up!

Keep in mind that the final tweaking of location is getting beyond the accuracy of the terrain model. In my case, my house is downhill enough from halfway up the street (default location for address) that I no longer have line-of-sight to any station to the north (don't have LOS to the south in any case.) Consequently, antenna height has a big impact on my potential reception to the north, but makes little difference for southern stations.

You can judge if your receive location, antenna elevation, or both will have a big impact while still on the maps page of TVFool. Plot several stations on the map to see if signal strength is changing quickly over your location. If so, pay close attention to receiver location/height. The absolute value may not be terribly accurate, but the trend in reception predictions will be correct.

This is my first post on here after reading and reading and reading!

There is so much info on here.

I live North of Pittsburgh in zip code 15237.

I looked at the info for my area on antennaweb and tvfool and others. I get different results depending on which website that I type my info into.

So I figure the best answer is to ask people that live near me.

I read maybe 40 or so pages of this thread so far and I noticed that most people have indoor antennas.

If I'm going to try to get off the air channels I have no problem with putting some time and effort into it to get good results.

I was going to try out putting a high quality rooftop antenna up but I wanted to know if there is anyone on here in the Pittsburgh area that has done this and what channels that they were able to get?

Feel free to PM message as well.

Thanks

Jim

I live in 15237, I have a DB-2 roof mounted w azimuth about 173. I get every station in Pittsburgh at 90+ on scale. Antennas Direct C-4 delivers same results maybe 1 or 2 pts higher per channel. I am going to try a custom cut yagi for Ch 51 this weekend as an experiment. At the end of the day, usually elevation wins...(at least in Western PA)

Thanks dfiler PA_Mainyyak Dave Loudin and Dave Kasperek

dfiler

The Google one is probably the one tvfool uses because it looks if not identical really close.

It is pretty hilly here. I grew up here so it seems normal to me but people that live in Ohio for instance consider the stuff I call a hill a mountain! So yeah it's pretty hilly.

I think tvfool cuts off the last digits for privacy I guess so you can post the results like I did.

I clicked in the KDKA link and I guess I understand it? The right side of the page is supposed to be where the KDKA transmitter is and the left is where I'm supposed to be at right?

Dave Loudin

I tried the maps option and guessed the best that I could where the antenna would be located at and it did make a little difference. It's maybe halfway between the google and yahoo estimates.

Dave Kasperek

It seems a lot of people have trouble picking up that channel reading through this thread.

I was thinking of trying the Winegard HD7694P but I still have not decided. I want to ask around a lot and look into it some more. Originally I was looking at the 8200u from Winegard but it's almost 15 feet long so I thought it would be a bit much.

Jim

...I was thinking of trying the Winegard HD7694P but I still have not decided. I want to ask around a lot and look into it some more. Originally I was looking at the 8200u from Winegard but it's almost 15 feet long so I thought it would be a bit much.
The 8200u is also wider because of the reception elements it has to cover the full VHF spectrum of the lower broadcast channels 2-6, FM, and upper channels 7-13. But after the DTV switchover the lower VHF broadcast channels have been mostly abandoned around here. (I think there are a couple of out of state LP DTV stations operating on VHF 5 and VHF 6 down in Maryland.)

And the HD7694 only covers the upper VHF broadcast channels and UHF channels 14-69 (anything higher than UHF 51 is now relegated to low-power analog broadcasting) which makes for a more compact design both in length and width (which gives it a smaller turning radius) than the "all-channel" 8200, but from a "reception mileage" rating, it might be a little on the small side.

So you might want to compromise on an HD7697P. It has a boom of 131" (vs. 168"), a max. width of 53" (vs. 110") and a turning radius of 81" (vs. 101") and with a "mileage" rating of 60 miles is just marginally less than the 8200's 65 mile rating.

And don't think that by sticking an amplifier on the 7694, it would make up for it. Amplifiers are only useful to overcome long cable runs, or for providing an input signal to multiple reception devices.

Jiminpitt: I, like some others on this forum,are having great success with the channelmaster 4200 model. I live in the Johnstown area [Richland], and had a 144'' V&U antenna for some years...took it down two years ago when I was not getting the distance[pull] with an antenna that size...[Did the checking out bit] and went with the 4200...have not been disappointed.It does not take up a lot of space,does pull in stations better that that huge unit I had before...and they are not expensive [about $45] ...they mount easyand weigh little, compared to those biggies. I receive ALL stations in Pitts.also State Collage PBS. Ch.9 Stub.AND Sometimes 27 out of Youngstown Oh. [this model may have been replaced by a newer version] check it out

Jiminpitt; That new model is the Channelmaster 4228 [checked out on the Forum]

After posting what I wrote above I went and looked at the TVFOOL links you posted in an earlier message. And from what I saw in all likelihood at your location the HD7694 would probably work great for you.

But even if true, if it was me, I would choose a HD7696P model just for the extra gain that it provides from having 41 active elements vs. the 28 elements in the smaller 7694. True the 7696 is larger with a 110" boom, 36" width, and TR of 71", vs. the 7694 with a 65" boom, 35" width, and TR of 46", but IMO no one can't benefit by having as much extra gain in an antenna, especially with all the terrain problems we have around here that can plague reception.

In any case one thing you will need is a rotator to point the antenna to pick up all the stations around you. The Channel Master 9521A is a good one to consider since it has a control unit that offers programmable antenna orientations for each TV channel station, and can be manual operated with the use of (most) handheld universal remote control.

OK, I have two cheap indoor antennas, one in family room and one in upstairs bedroom. I've always been able to get the digital channels for 2, 11, 13, 16, 19, 22 and 53. Nothing for digital 4.

Today I did a new scan on both TVs to see what is new.

On the downstairs TV all of a sudden channels 4-1 and 4-2 were coming in strong. I was hoping that it was due to them finally getting their repeat transmitter installed for the North Hills. However, the upstairs TV still does not get either station. Have they changed anything yet? If not, any guesses as to when they might do it?

Interesting, the family room TV won't get 19-1, but the bedrrom TV gets it fine. I'm guessing that the antenna on the family room may not do well with VHF (cheap $13 RCA).

Thanks SamVin upzdayam and Jrm01

Samvin

Thanks for the antenna suggestions. I still have not decided which one to get. We can get some high winds here at times so the really huge antennas concern me a little bit for that reason.

That was the rotor I was looking at the Channel Master 9521A. I was reading that they were having problems with some of the newer ones though. It was something like they were making the gears out of plastic and the motor in China or something like that. So I'm not sure if those problems are worked out or not but it sounded like the newer ones had some problems.

upzdayam

Thanks for the antenna recommendation.

I looked into the 4228 and it sounds like the new ones are different from what you have in the way that they are not as good.

Here is one opinion that I found.

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

It almost sounds like the new ones are totally different than the old ones performance wise.

Jrm01

That is great that you are getting channel 4!

What is on channel 4.2?

Jim

4.2 used to be a 24-hour weather channel, but just recently they converted to a channel called (I think) Play Pittsburgh. I haven't watched it much but it had cartoons and old movies on when I did. There is no guie info in the paper for it, but I think the guide is published on the WTAE website.

4.2 is the "this" network and shows mainly movies and programs affiliated with MGM.

Thanks JRM01 and nwiser


I would much rather had the weather channel!

I still have comcast so I'm clueless about off OTA broadcasts.

Is there any other OTA weather stations in our area?

Jim

Is there any other OTA weather stations in our area?

Not anymore since THIS Pittsburgh replaced Weather & Traffic Watch 4. There has been talk WPXI is planning on offering a local weather service on a subchannel.

OK, I have two cheap indoor antennas, one in family room and one in upstairs bedroom. I've always been able to get the digital channels for 2, 11, 13, 16, 19, 22 and 53. Nothing for digital 4.

Today I did a new scan on both TVs to see what is new.

On the downstairs TV all of a sudden channels 4-1 and 4-2 were coming in strong. I was hoping that it was due to them finally getting their repeat transmitter installed for the North Hills. However, the upstairs TV still does not get either station. Have they changed anything yet? If not, any guesses as to when they might do it?

Interesting, the family room TV won't get 19-1, but the bedrrom TV gets it fine. I'm guessing that the antenna on the family room may not do well with VHF (cheap $13 RCA).

Work on the WTAE "Squirrel Hill" translator was significantly delayed due to lack of tower crew availability. They are onsite now working (delayed just a bit more by recent wind and rain) but the repeater should be operating in a few more weeks. Otherwise no technical changes at WTAE to account for the sudden reception improvement. Could likely be atmospheric if you did not move your antenna(s)

Dave

Thought I was seeing things last night when there was no longer a 22-2 in any of my channel lists. Seems WPMY has followed sister Sinclair station WPGH in removing their SD simulcast that's been on the air since they yanked The Tube after January 1, 2007.

Is anyone noticing a flickering issue on WPXI-DT? I don't know if it's my tuner (Hauppauge HTPC card), my software or the signal.... 24fps content is just flickering like crazy, but not 30fps content. Is anyone else seeing this?

Is anyone noticing a flickering issue on WPXI-DT? I don't know if it's my tuner (Hauppauge HTPC card), my software or the signal.... 24fps content is just flickering like crazy, but not 30fps content. Is anyone else seeing this?
Unfortunately, 24fps tv does not currently exist. There is only 24fps blu-ray. Or perhaps you're reffering to attempted reverse telecine? That would be quite rare and error prone. If you've pulled that off, I'd be extremely interested. Some of the hd-DVD players could do that on dvds.

Unfortunately, 24fps tv does not currently exist. There is only 24fps blu-ray. Or perhaps you're reffering to attempted reverse telecine? That would be quite rare and error prone. If you've pulled that off, I'd be extremely interested. Some of the hd-DVD players could do that on dvds.

i'll just take that as a no.

allow me to clarify - i realize that no content is actually reaching my set, or tuner, for that matter, in 24fps. i was merely indicating that content that originates in 24fps (in this case, "the office," "community," and "parks and recreation," but not "saturday night live," which is shot in 30fps as opposed to 24, was flickering like crazy.

obviously the content arives as 60i. however, there are steps involved in getting it to 60i from 24p, which it is shot in, and then getting it from 60i to 60p. at some point in that processing chain - either at WPXI or in my tuner or in my video decoder, my video renderer, my video card output settings, my display's 3:3 inverse telecine or 3:2 inverse telecine (i tried both, both were flickering), something was inducing some crazy obnoxious flickering on WPXI last night.

it was only happening on WPXI - not on KDKA, regardless of whether content originated in 30fps or 24fps. which would make a person suspect that it was the broadcaster's fault. but i'm guessing nobody else receiving it OTA saw this phenomenon, so it's probably something in my HTPC.

Unfortunately, 24fps tv does not currently exist.

Unfortunately or fortunately? :-)
It is a very low frame rate and is usually used with 1080p to keep HW clock rate and RAM requirements reasonably low, isn't it?

The desire for 24fps isn't for the "24" but rather for the _native_ frame-rate that the video was originally captured at. Most high budget scripted shows are still shot at 24fps.

However, I'd always assumed that programming was converted to 30/60fps long before the actual broadcast. In this scenario, the original frame rate would never play a roll at local stations or perhaps not even at the national distribution level. Can anyone say for sure? When does the frame rate conversion take place?

Does anyone out there own (or knows anyone who owns) an LG 32LH20?

Here's the problem: One of WPXI's viewers is able to watch network programming and content coming from our servers on his TV. However, when programming originates from one of our control rooms, he loses audio and the screen reads "No Signal".

To make this just a little more complicated, this same control room is used for Fox 53's newscasts and this viewer can see it just fine when watching 53. Yes, the signal is converted to 720p at Fox while WPXI's signal is 1080i.

I'm trying to reach LG engineering to figure out what this set sees that it doesn't like, but its a tough nut to crack.

Any thoughts, suggestions, bright ideas? Email me dmorrison@wpxi.com

Does anyone out there own (or knows anyone who owns) an LG 32LH20?

Here's the problem: One of WPXI's viewers is able to watch network programming and content coming from our servers on his TV. However, when programming originates from one of our control rooms, he loses audio and the screen reads "No Signal".

To make this just a little more complicated, this same control room is used for Fox 53's newscasts and this viewer can see it just fine when watching 53. Yes, the signal is converted to 720p at Fox while WPXI's signal is 1080i.

I'm trying to reach LG engineering to figure out what this set sees that it doesn't like, but its a tough nut to crack.

Any thoughts, suggestions, bright ideas? Email me dmorrison@wpxi.com

was this reported last night? because, as i noted above, last night i was seeing some serious flickering from wpxi.

was this reported last night? because, as i noted above, last night i was seeing some serious flickering from wpxi.

No, this was reported earlier and not related to flickering. When did you see flickering? I was watching Leno from home last night and didn't notice anything. Also, I haven't heard this problem reported to anyone here at WPXI.

Dave Morrison
WPXI Engineering

No, this was reported earlier and not related to flickering. When did you see flickering? I was watching Leno from home last night and didn't notice anything. Also, I haven't heard this problem reported to anyone here at WPXI.

Dave Morrison
WPXI Engineering

i was just grasping at straws, probably. i think it's probably just my tuner. i saw a lot of flickering on 24fps content ("the office," "community," etc, but not leno or SNL) the other night, only on wpxi, but nobody else saw it apparently, so i'm guessing it's just me. weird it would just be the one channel though.

Does anyone out there own (or knows anyone who owns) an LG 32LH20?

Here's the problem: One of WPXI's viewers is able to watch network programming and content coming from our servers on his TV. However, when programming originates from one of our control rooms, he loses audio and the screen reads "No Signal".

To make this just a little more complicated, this same control room is used for Fox 53's newscasts and this viewer can see it just fine when watching 53. Yes, the signal is converted to 720p at Fox while WPXI's signal is 1080i.

I'm trying to reach LG engineering to figure out what this set sees that it doesn't like, but its a tough nut to crack.

Any thoughts, suggestions, bright ideas? Email me dmorrison@wpxi.com

Dave, you do know that the maximum resolution on this TV is 720 progressive. Don't know if that has anything to do with it but it may be a clue.

Dave -

I figured out the flickering issue. It's definitely my software, but according to Microsoft's techs, the flickering glitch only comes up when Media Center is playing back interlaced content that is improperly flagged (http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/p/64226/341305.aspx#341305). Which would explain why it would only happen on one channel and not others.

I don't know how much control you have over the network content, but if there's any way you can check to see if the 24fps content is properly flagged, you may want to take a look.

Dave -

I figured out the flickering issue. It's definitely my software, but according to Microsoft's techs, the flickering glitch only comes up when Media Center is playing back interlaced content that is improperly flagged (http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/p/64226/341305.aspx#341305). Which would explain why it would only happen on one channel and not others.

I don't know how much control you have over the network content, but if there's any way you can check to see if the 24fps content is properly flagged, you may want to take a look.

Thanks for all of the info. I clipped most of your posts and the link to the forum site and passed it along to NBC Engineering. I'll let you know what I learn.

Dave Morrison
WPXI Engineering

I heard a report of the same thing in the Raleigh thread. Hmm...

- Trip

Does anyone know whats going on with MyNetworkTV? for two weeks straight SmackDown has aired in 4:3.

Dave Kasperek, have you guys moved to 1080i for every broadcast program?

The Pitt game on Saturday wasn't very pretty with all of the interlaced picture artifacts (look at the ABC logo for instance). I thought you guys had made the switch to 1080i for studio newscasts only.

Dave -

I figured out the flickering issue. It's definitely my software, but according to Microsoft's techs, the flickering glitch only comes up when Media Center is playing back interlaced content that is improperly flagged (http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/p/64226/341305.aspx#341305). Which would explain why it would only happen on one channel and not others.

I don't know how much control you have over the network content, but if there's any way you can check to see if the 24fps content is properly flagged, you may want to take a look.

I received a brief reply from NBC about your issue: We are not sending flags in our HD-SDI stream that could account for this behaviour.

Dave Kasperek, have you guys moved to 1080i for every broadcast program?

The Pitt game on Saturday wasn't very pretty with all of the interlaced picture artifacts (look at the ABC logo for instance). I thought you guys had made the switch to 1080i for studio newscasts only.

We broadcast 1080i 24x7. It's really not practical to change line rate on the fly, on a program by program basis.

I agree the cross converted program feeds for a lot of these regional college games are not satisfactory. Hopefully the industry will settle on a ubiquitous line format we can all support. Until then we will have cross conversion artifacts from time to time.

Remember way back in the annals of broadcast history (4 months ago) NTSC was 525 all the time, every program, every TV set.
Dave

Dave K.,

Are these college games being shot in 1080p59.94 and downconverted in-camera (or externally) to 720p59.94? Are you receiving a 720p59.94 feed from the provider and then up-converting it to 1080i59.94? If the games are done locally at Heinz Field, is there any way for you guys to get the master feed and bypass all of the resolution conversions?

Is there a new estimate for WQED's change to RF-13 and for its companion of WQEX to light up RF-38 once vacated by by WQED?

We're now approaching the mid-October 2009 date for the switch, after having been deferred from August 2009.

Dave K.,

Are these college games being shot in 1080p59.94 and downconverted in-camera (or externally) to 720p59.94? Are you receiving a 720p59.94 feed from the provider and then up-converting it to 1080i59.94? If the games are done locally at Heinz Field, is there any way for you guys to get the master feed and bypass all of the resolution conversions?

Question 1- don't know, ESPN subcontracts the games to available independent mobile production facilities. Some of which are SD and some are HD and some might be 1080i cameras, others may be 720P.

Question 2- if it's an HD feed from ESPN it is fed 720P to us. We cross convert all their HD feeds to 1080i. (as we do for all ABC HD feeds)

Question 3- Irregardless of venue where their game feed originates, we never have an option to take "alternate ESPN feeds" Under contract we can only air the feed designated to us by the network.

Is WTAE testing some kind of translator (or operating one)?

I did a channel scan at around 5:30PM today and ended up with two 4.2 (THIS) channels...one whose signal strength matched up with 4.1 and the new/found one with waek/fluctuating signal strength. Kind of stange that I would get two 4.2's and not two 4.1's as well.

I also noticed that WWCP's (8.1) feed has an audio delay of a few seconds...as in the sound is not in sync with the picture.

I guess it could be the weather...kinda weird.

Is there a new estimate for WQED's change to RF-13 and for its companion of WQEX to light up RF-38 once vacated by by WQED?

We're now approaching the mid-October 2009 date for the switch, after having been deferred from August 2009.

"On or around October 17, 2009" is what their DTV PSAs have been saying.

I also noticed that WWCP's (8.1) feed has an audio delay of a few seconds...as in the sound is not in sync with the picture.

I noticed it too. Apparently it was a glitch from their end.

Is there a new estimate for WQED's change to RF-13 and for its companion of WQEX to light up RF-38 once vacated by by WQED?

We're now approaching the mid-October 2009 date for the switch, after having been deferred from August 2009.

QED's website days "before October 18". At the rate QED has been going, we'll see.

http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1338055&Service=DS&Form_id=911&Facility_id=41315

There's WQED telling the FCC it will be no earlier than October 22. That was filed earlier this week.

- Trip

Are they really going to want WQED on 13 and WQEX on 38? I wouldn't be surprised to see a swap requested down the road.

Can one of you engineers explain the premise of E-VSB? Is this only targeted for mobile devices?

There's WQED telling the FCC it will be no earlier than October 22. That was filed earlier this week.

Now QED is saying on air that it will move back to 13 "no later than November 18."

Are they really going to want WQED on 13 and WQEX on 38? I wouldn't be surprised to see a swap requested down the road.
Due to the lack of tower height and the Pittsburgh area hills their coverage probably will be much greater on 13 than 38. They also won't be a VHF orphan because of WPCW (19.1) on RF 11.

Since the past Thursday (Oct 15th) I have been seeing regular problems with 11.1 and 11.2. I first noticed the problem during Parks and Recreation sitcom, and has continued consistently every minute or so since then.

On both 11.1 and 11.2, there has been a regular and frequent brief video and/or audio glitches, similar to a poor reception issue but not identical.

This is not a reception issue -- my signal strength is incredibly strong (93 or higher consistently), and has been strong for the 1.5 years that I have gone OTA. I am using a very high rooftop antennas with clear line of sight (no trees or buildings anywhere near) -- separate antennas for UHF and VHF, neither amplified, Pico-Macom diplexer/combiner running into CAT6 wiring to a single CECB converter box. The setup has worked flawlessly and still does -- except for this nuisance WPXI issue that I started noticing on Thursday (although it may be started a day or two before, as I did not watch WPXI much those previous days).

I have troubleshooted this down to the point where I believe that it must be a WPXI issue, albeit possibly some obscure incompatibility with either of my 2 different converter boxes, a 1.5 year old TR40-CRA, and a brand-new 2nd generation DTVPAL PLUS (which, to my understanding, has a completely different tuner than the TR40CRA). In fact, the DTVPAL PLUS was still in the box and I just unpacked it today to troubleshoot this issue.

Thinking that maybe the signal was too strong, I also tried inserting a splitter into the line to drop the signal strength, which dropped it from the mid to high 90's down to the lower 80s, and the behavior was the same.

I also went to Radio Shack and bought a brand new diplexer/combiner, with identical results.

So, having eliminated every piece of equipment, tried attenuating the signal, and the fact that nothing had changed on my end and all other channels are receiving perfectly, it seems as though something must have changed at WPXI.

Any suggestions?

The most likely scenario is that something nearby is generating interferience or that the weather / solar conditions are creating problems. The signal strength meter just indicates that there is energy at that particular frequency. This could from nearly anything, including a neighbor's new appliance.

The glitches are 30-35 seconds apart like clockwork.

I've lately been having the same problems with Ch. 11...the video breaks up once per minute. I have this problem only with my DirecTV HR20 HD-DVR. The other unit is an HR21 + AM21 OTA tuner; it and a Panasonic HDTV's tuner have no problems. Roof antenna gives 100% signal strength.

On my CM-7000 CECB I too have that problem with WPXI and only WPXI...have for over a year now. It's annoying as heck. I dont think its the weather, as it hasnt stopped/changed as the seasons have changed, and I dont think its something from a neighbor nearby as it's unlikely that whatever would cause the interference would be running 24/7 (and the dropouts occur all the time from what I've seen).

I guess it could be some sort of multipath interference...though it was my understanding that of all the CECBs the CM-7000 was the one that type of thing should show up the least on.

On both 11.1 and 11.2, there has been a regular and frequent brief video and/or audio glitches, similar to a poor reception issue but not identical.

I've lately been having the same problems with Ch. 11...the video breaks up once per minute. I have this problem only with my DirecTV HR20 HD-DVR. The other unit is an HR21 + AM21 OTA tuner; it and a Panasonic HDTV's tuner have no problems. Roof antenna gives 100% signal strength.

On my CM-7000 CECB I too have that problem with WPXI and only WPXI...I guess it could be some sort of multipath interference...though it was my understanding that of all the CECBs the CM-7000 was the one that type of thing should show up the least on.

This is the first I've heard of the issue. However, I CAN tell you that I experience something similiar at my house with my Hitachi. I am high enough that I can use rabbit ears as an antenna. Believe it or not, I notice it the most on days when it is really windy outside. I had been wondering to myself if I were on the edge of a lobe and when the wind blows WPXI's antenna if it created a "dead zone" at my receive antenna.

daisydog6 - With your DirecTV gear, are you receiving the signal from WPXI or from DirecTV?

I wonder if we're dealing with signal nulls or something else.

Dave Morrison
WPXI Engineering

I receive from WPXI. Could it be some type of ATSC encoding problem? This just started a few days ago.

I receive from WPXI. Could it be some type of ATSC encoding problem? This just started a few days ago.

Last Thursday or Friday maybe? During any specific shows or all the time?

Dave Morrison
WPXI Engineering

Dave, I'm also experiencing short (~1 second) dropouts at the rate of about one per minute at my location in Salem, Ohio. According to TV Fool, I'm 54.3 miles from WPXI's transmitter. I'm using a DTVPal DVR and WPXI's signal strength is 95%. I'm receiving all of the other full service Pittsburgh stations just fine except for WTAE. WTAE is 70.3 miles from my location and only comes in when atmospheric conditions are favorable.

Hi Dave,

This is definitely a WPXI problem -- or something that has an incompatibility with some DTV chipsets. I tried hooking up an old fashioned bowtie antenna to a small 13-inch tv using both converter boxes (TR40CRA and new DTVPAL+) in a completely different part of my home, and the problem still remains. Certainly no multipath issue -- that is a red herring if anyone thinks that may be the cause.

It happens 24x7 now (as far as I can tell, as I did try recording different hours and they all had the glitches), and like I said, I noticed it last Thursday.

I tried to watch my PC clock last night while watching live 11.1 and/or 11.2, and it seems to reoccur at 30 to 35 second intervals, maybe 1 minute intervals max.

Again, I have no "close" neighbors (live on 1 acre of land), clear view to sky, and perfect signal strength, and more than 1.5 years of watching OTA DTV, so I am familiar with the technology involved and this looks like something changed on your end and is causing a glitch at a regular interval. Certainly it may only affect certain DTV chipsets, but enough people see the problem that it needs to be addressed. The problem did not exist a week ago.

BTW - I just came home, turned on the 10pm Jay Leno show, and it is still having the glitches.

(Sometimes the glitches are noticeable as audio only, sometimes video only, sometimes both). In all cases, it is regular enough to significantly detract from the viewing experience.

The problem did not exist a week ago.


it did for me.

however, it may have gotten worse in the last week which is why other people besdes me are finally noticing it. I say that because I switched over to watch Heroes tonight on WPXI using my Zenith CECB, and started noticing regular interval dropouts. This is the first time I've noticed it on my Zenith CECB, as opposed to my CM-7000 which I've noticed it on for over a year now.

Fortunately I still get WJAC so I switched to it and all was well. :)

Last Thursday or Friday maybe? During any specific shows or all the time?

Dave Morrison
WPXI Engineering
Dave,

All shows, all the time. Last Thursday or Friday would be right.

Thanks to all for alerting us to the digital glitches/hits, etc. We've been talking to some folks about the potential for cause this issue; it seems to have become wide-spread. With that, we're working to resolve the problem as we speak.

Please keep me updated here on the board to let me know if you see any changes. I wouldn't expect to see anything different until later on today or early tomorrow.

Dave Morrison
WPXI Engineering

Anyone know the status of the digital translators proposed for KDKA and WPCW? The Laurel Mountain translator above Ligonier for WPCW has a CP. Not sure about the KDKA translator there and the one proposed for Morgantown WV. Any word as to when the WPCW translator will hit the air and the status of the other two?

We had no glitches at all last night. Thank you for your prompt attention to this, Dave!

We had no glitches at all last night. Thank you for your prompt attention to this, Dave!

We believe that we found the source of the problem...now we have to make some corrections. Please keep an eye out and let me know if you see these glitches again. By the way, THANK YOU for the feedback!!!! It proved to be very useful!

Dave Morrison
WPXI Engineering

I would be curious to know what the problem was, if you're willing to share that information.

- Trip

The issue, whatever it is, is still there, but to a lesser degree. I cant see it in the picture/audio of my Zenith CECB anymore, unless I watch the signal meter (in which case I still see the signal dips at regular intervals). My CM-7000 still shows the dropouts via the picture/audio.

Thanks, Dave, the WPXI seems to be improved.

The problem was indirectly referred to in a completely different thread, and the symptoms were EXACTLY as I reported:

from:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1099071

-----
"Audio/Video dropouts every 30-32 seconds on certain channels.

The DTVPal DVR exhibits A/V dropouts every 30-32 seconds on some channels. This appears to be an incompatibility between the DTVPal DVR and the encoder and/or PSIP settings used by some broadcasters. This is not a common issue."
-----

That quote is from Known Issues #9, first post in the thread, regarding a product called the "DTVPAL DVR", which has similar "guts" to the boxes that I am using. My guess is that WPXI changed something regarding the PSIP.

Having read thousands of threads here on avsforum, it seems as though PSIP is the cause of MANY a/v glitches OTA.

Is WTAE testing some kind of translator (or operating one)?

I did a channel scan at around 5:30PM today and ended up with two 4.2 (THIS) channels...one whose signal strength matched up with 4.1 and the new/found one with waek/fluctuating signal strength. Kind of stange that I would get two 4.2's and not two 4.1's as well.

I also noticed that WWCP's (8.1) feed has an audio delay of a few seconds...as in the sound is not in sync with the picture.

I guess it could be the weather...kinda weird.

Yes we are presently testing a translator 8 PM to 11PM daily. You can tell you're receiving it if you get us on 4-3 and 4-4. Should be launched publicly within a week or so.

Having read thousands of threads here on avsforum, it seems as though PSIP is the cause of MANY a/v glitches OTA.

There is SO MUCH information in PSIP! If a station has someone who doesn't throughly understand PSIP, LOTS of things can get fouled up!

While keeping that in the back of your head, I have been working with a television manufacturer that seems to have several new and different size sets on the market with some REALLY SLOPPY CODE in their chipset. I wish I could say that they are eager to work with us, but I guess we wish for a lot of things don't we. Because of this one stupid brand, I've had to put in lots of extra hours into "fixing" a piece of equipment in our stream simply to satisfy bad code.

I look forward (not!) to more of this in the future as consumer television set prices go down and manufacturers rush their products to market.

Dave Morrison
WPXI Engineering.

Can one of you engineers explain the premise of E-VSB? Is this only targeted for mobile devices?

Chuck...I have to be honest and tell you that I am not that familiar with E-VSB other than reading a little about it here and there.

I can tell you that it was originally approved by the ATSC committee in 2004. This tells me that the technology is a little old. A-VSB is newer, and as of July 2008, has NOT been approved by ATSC.

Here is a link to some information on E-VSB http://broadcastengineering.com/news/evsb-performance-test-20060501/

I have another link that you might be interested in about ATSC-M/H (ATSC Mobile/Handheld). This is written in "geek"; even those with a limited technical background may find some tidbits of interesting information here: http://broadcastengineering.com/news/atsc-mh-basics-0315/

It seems to me that one of the biggest stumbling blocks when it comes to video on your cell phone or other mobile device is battery life. As things are built now, you will absolutely wipe out your battery! It's interesting to me that ATSC-M/H addresses the battery life issue. That being said, this really needs to be addressed by the cell phone and battery manufacturers as well.

Happy reading!

Dave Morrison
WPXI Engineering

Does anyone know what power output that WPCW ch 19 is running now? Are still at 2.5KW or did they move to 30KW?

WTAE is presently testing a translator on RF Ch 22. We'd appreciate learning zipcodes from AVS Forum members who successfully receive this. Should be on from now til at least 11PM Saturday night. You will know it's our translator if you get us on 4.3 and 4.4. Most neighborhoods north of Squirrel Hill, the Southside slopes, West End, Northside and surrounding river valley suburbs should get very good coverage now.

Does anyone know what power output that WPCW ch 19 is running now? Are still at 2.5KW or did they move to 30KW?

Tom, WPCW is at 30 kW. Its signal is strong here in Salem.

Tom, WPCW is at 30 kW. Its signal is strong here in Salem.


Thank You for the info.

WTAE is presently testing a translator on RF Ch 22. We'd appreciate learning zipcodes from AVS Forum members who successfully receive this. Should be on from now til at least 11PM Saturday night. You will know it's our translator if you get us on 4.3 and 4.4. Most neighborhoods north of Squirrel Hill, the Southside slopes, West End, Northside and surrounding river valley suburbs should get very good coverage now.

Dave:

Have been struggling to get WTAE's 4.1 and 4.2 with mixed results. The signal is mostly choppy if it's there at all, depending on atmospherics, with the signal meter reading maxing out at about 35 out of 100.

I am using a 20 db amplifier on an Archer VU-90 attic antenna pointed due south, right at your transmitter. This orientation makes channels 19 and 59 more difficult to pick up here, but allows limited WTAE viewing.

Tonight I'm getting your 4.3 and 4.4 with the signal meter fluctuating between 60 - 80 with no changes made to the antenna (yet).

I figure your signal should increase if I turn the antenna a bit more toward the southwest, which will help reception of the other Pittsburgh signals as well.

When do you go 24/7?

Thanks for the hard work!

Zip code 15014
approximate coordinates 40* 36' 34" N / 79* 44' 23" W
Antenna elevation about 910' MSL

Dave...

Amazingly, here in Somerset, PA I am getting a very watchable signal on your Channel 22 translator. I've never even had a whiff of a signal of your full power Channel 51, which I attribute to the terrain, even though your main TX site is closer to me.

The signal meter on my Dish Network VIP 722 ATSC reciever is a respectable 60-65 on your RF 22/4-3/4-4. Occasionally, say once every 10 minutes, I may get a break up in the video.

I get consistent signals in the mid to upper 70's from KDKA, WPXI, WPGH and WPMY. I get a signal in the low 70's from WQED and WQEX. I am using a ChannelMaster 4228 antenna. Zip code 15501.

One other note, I don't get a usable signal from WPCW (RF 11). Too bad they are not using a UHF frequency for that station's digital service!

WTAE is presently testing a translator on RF Ch 22. We'd appreciate learning zipcodes from AVS Forum members who successfully receive this. Should be on from now til at least 11PM Saturday night. You will know it's our translator if you get us on 4.3 and 4.4. Most neighborhoods north of Squirrel Hill, the Southside slopes, West End, Northside and surrounding river valley suburbs should get very good coverage now.

I'm in 15227 and was receiving it previously in accordance with the issue I reported last week of having two 4.2's. I'm not picking it up right this minute and I'm guessing its due to either the weather or the signal being shut off.

Any chance that any other stations besides KDKA will put a translator in Morgantown? (Morgantown is in the Pittsburgh DMA) I used to be able to sporadically get WTAE, but can't get that at all any more. I also can't get any of the Clarksburg stations (even though they are in a different DMA). Currently can only get WNPB, and I am going to assume once KDKA puts their translator on or near the same WNPB tower I will be able to get it well. But really missing WPXI and the other Pittsburgh stations.

WTAE is presently testing a translator on RF Ch 22. We'd appreciate learning zipcodes from AVS Forum members who successfully receive this. Should be on from now til at least 11PM Saturday night. You will know it's our translator if you get us on 4.3 and 4.4. Most neighborhoods north of Squirrel Hill, the Southside slopes, West End, Northside and surrounding river valley suburbs should get very good coverage now.
ZIPCODE 15641
I was able to pick up the translator Friday evening and the rest of the weekend, but by this morning the signal was gone.

Normally I have what I call my "sweet" spot where I point my old outdoor CM antenna and get good decent reception fairly consistantly on all the PGH stations except for WPCB [40.1 - UHF 50], but as a trade off I get WTOV [9.1, 9.2 - VHF 9] instead. :cool:

In the sweet spot WTAE's main signal usually comes in above 50 % or more on my Zenith 901 converter box. (I've seen it go as high as 70 % at times in the sweet spot.) By swinging my antenna more to the south I can always get a better signal level, but doing so usually means sacrificing my reception of the other PGH stations.

At times I do have some reception problems mostly depending on weather conditions, or time of day, and normally WTAE suffers the most because of it's lower signal level unless I move my antenna. So usually I simply put up with the occasional sound drop outs and pixel smears.

Now this weekend while watching WTAE I was getting a 50 to 60 % signal level on the main signal. The translator though was giving me a signal level about 10 points higher in the 60 to 70 % range.

Also this weekend I noted some of these problems on 4.1 and 4.2, but flipping to either 4.3 / 4.4 on the translator gave me a cleaner picture and audio. So even that little 10 point boast in signal was a BIG improvement in my enjoyment of TEA's programs. :)

----
By the way, is there a reason to put the translator's virtual channel assigments on 4.3 / 4.4 and not 4.1/4.2? I know it won't present a problem on my Zenith converter boxes since during the summer I picked up another station I think was in Ohio that also used 4.1 and 4.2 due to a strong tropo condition. The box simply interlaced the two stations virtual channels, placing the Ohio station ahead of WTEA since they broadcast on a lower channel [VHF 10].

ZIPCODE 15641

...By the way, is there a reason to put the translator's virtual channel assigments on 4.3 / 4.4 and not 4.1/4.2? I know it won't present a problem on my Zenith converter boxes since during the summer I picked up another station I think was in Ohio that also used 4.1 and 4.2 due to a strong tropo condition. The box simply interlaced the two stations virtual channels, placing the Ohio station ahead of WTEA since they broadcast on a lower channel [VHF 10].

We can't be certain how every single brand of TV Tuner and Converter Box would handle 2 sets of 4-1 and 4-2 signals. Other broadcasters launching DTV Repeaters (and there aren't a lot of them!) have taken this same approach, erring on the side of caution. Also, it makes it quite clear which signal you are receiving better, and so make an informed choice.

Thank you for your report. We ran the translator until 11 PM Sunday . We will continue limited test operations all this week from at least 8PM to 11:35 PM TFN.

Dave

Dave...

Amazingly, here in Somerset, PA I am getting a very watchable signal on your Channel 22 translator. I've never even had a whiff of a signal of your full power Channel 51, which I attribute to the terrain, even though your main TX site is closer to me.

The signal meter on my Dish Network VIP 722 ATSC reciever is a respectable 60-65 on your RF 22/4-3/4-4. Occasionally, say once every 10 minutes, I may get a break up in the video.

I get consistent signals in the mid to upper 70's from KDKA, WPXI, WPGH and WPMY. I get a signal in the low 70's from WQED and WQEX. I am using a ChannelMaster 4228 antenna. Zip code 15501.


I expect you are in a null in Somerset from our main signal. I am glad to hear you get us that well on 22 since it's less than 9KW ERP!!

Dave

Dave:

Have been struggling to get WTAE's 4.1 and 4.2 with mixed results. The signal is mostly choppy if it's there at all, depending on atmospherics, with the signal meter reading maxing out at about 35 out of 100.

I am using a 20 db amplifier on an Archer VU-90 attic antenna pointed due south, right at your transmitter. This orientation makes channels 19 and 59 more difficult to pick up here, but allows limited WTAE viewing.

Tonight I'm getting your 4.3 and 4.4 with the signal meter fluctuating between 60 - 80 with no changes made to the antenna (yet).

I figure your signal should increase if I turn the antenna a bit more toward the southwest, which will help reception of the other Pittsburgh signals as well.

When do you go 24/7?

Thanks for the hard work!

Zip code 15014
approximate coordinates 40* 36' 34" N / 79* 44' 23" W
Antenna elevation about 910' MSL

Thanks for the report. We'll go 24x7 as soon as WQED complete's their antenna work. It's a tower crew safety issue we have to respect in the meantime. I hope we are running full time in a week or so, meantime we will broadcast in Prime Time hours since the crews won't work in the dark.

Dave

Hello everybody, I'm new here and I just wanted to say that there is a ton of great information on this website. I've spent hours reading on here and Everybody seems very helpful.

I do have a question to ask. I live in 43953 and until last week I've been able to pick up wpgh 53 at around 40-50% signal strength out of 100. Now I can barely lock onto the signal. I find this odd because their sister station is coming in between 70-80% signal strength. I know their towers are basically in the same location and they should be operating at around the same power level. So, I guess my question is, is anybody else is having this issue? And does anybody know if WPGH is operating at full power?

I should mention that I have a channel Master 3016 30 feet above the ground and a 15db signal booster.

Thanks in advance

Yes, they are at 1000KW

If they are at full power as channel 22 is any idea why I get such poor reception on 53?

I'm in 15227 and was receiving it previously in accordance with the issue I reported last week of having two 4.2's. I'm not picking it up right this minute and I'm guessing its due to either the weather or the signal being shut off.
Thanks for your report - Dave

Thanks for your report - Dave



WPGH signal is always weaker than ch 22 and I am not sure why.

WPGH signal is always weaker than ch 22 and I am not sure why.


Is there a question there?

The question is Why is WPGH weaker than channel 22? They both are broadcasting at the same power level and their towers are in the same place.

If they are at full power as channel 22 is any idea why I get such poor reception on 53?
My understanding is WPGH and WPMY actually have one tower that the two stations share. They both broadcast at the current FCC maximum that a full-power UHF DTV station is allowed - 1000 kw ERP. However both stations use a directional pattern which directs their power more-or-less in opposite directions.

Here's WPMY's directional pattern which is more to the south west.
http://www.rabbitears.info/oddsandends.php?request=ant_pat&ant_id=43259&rotation=0&erp=1000

And here's WPGH's pattern which is more to the east.
http://www.rabbitears.info/oddsandends.php?request=ant_pat&ant_id=45946&rotation=0&erp=1000

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These plots are from the RabbitEars website.
You can check out http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?mktid=29 for further information on all the broadcast stations in the Pittsburgh market.

Thanks for the info. Now it makes sense to me.

Obligatory reminder: you can use TVFool.com to help answer questions like this. Tips for best accuracy: use the "Start maps" options to check that your address input maps to your location accurately. From the maps results, you can drag the receive location pointer to exactly the right place (plus be sure to use the right antenna height). After choosing "make radar plot" one of the things you'll get is a table of stations ordered by decreasing signal stregnth.

Obligatory reminder: you can use TVFool.com to help answer questions like this. Tips for best accuracy: use the "Start maps" options to check that your address input maps to your location accurately. From the maps results, you can drag the receive location pointer to exactly the right place (plus be sure to use the right antenna height). After choosing "make radar plot" one of the things you'll get is a table of stations ordered by decreasing signal stregnth.

I know what you're saying, however, tvfool.com didn't give me the answer I was looking for. SamVin's answer directing me to rabbitears.com was what I was looking for. I knew the signal was weaker where I live, however, I didn't know why.

Has WQED made the switch to 13 ? It's comming over here in Johnstown [Richland area] with a big 68 .. that's 30 more than normal for me.... no more break-ups ! Even with Tropos the most I got was a 45 ....

Has WQED made the switch to 13 ? It's comming over here in Johnstown [Richland area] with a big 68 .. that's 30 more than normal for me.... no more break-ups !

Just checked 13 last night and no signal, although they do have 20 more days until they move the date again :D.

Jeff: just checked WQED signal 3:30 PM ..It dropped somewhat now reads 58- 60. Still coming in better than the high 30's I was getting before. May have somthing to do with leaves falling off the trees! tho no trees in my direct path...just distant mountains

WQED was off and on all day today. I didnt know if today was the day they were gonna transition or not but they kept coming back on 38 after 5 or 10 minutes, so maybe it was just wind...or maybe they were moving their old antenna and cables around to make room for the new one?

WQED-HD just locked in on 13 with about 3/4 of a signal with my Insignia box. On my Samsung set, it is registering 7/10 bars where 38 would maybe at most come in at 3/10 bars.

Not sure if this is a test as 38 is still active or they will simulcast like WWCP did just after they moved back to 8 until it's time to move WQEX.

I just rescanned and picked up doubles on all three 13s. I can't tell which is which. Signal strength is the same on both.

I just rescanned and picked up doubles on all three 13s. I can't tell which is which. Signal strength is the same on both.

I scanned today and am getting doubles as well.

I have a ClearStream4 which is a UHF antenna that is VHF capable, and am getting 100% Signal Quality with 78% Signal Strength off of 13 while I am getting 100%/100% with 38.

Edit - I am now receiving both channels at 100/100

Nothing at all on either 13 or 38 in my part of Greene County. :(

was wondering if someone could help i have a radioshack outdoor antenna looks like a mini dish i have been having trouble with getting vhf channels first once wwcp channel 8 went back to 8 i lost it (although i learned they lowered their power so that might be the case) 19 i only get once in a while now with people saying they have been getting signal on 13 i havent been getting any was wondering if anyone knew what techinically might be wrong

was wondering if someone could help i have a radioshack outdoor antenna looks like a mini dish i have been having trouble with getting vhf channels first once wwcp channel 8 went back to 8 i lost it (although i learned they lowered their power so that might be the case) 19 i only get once in a while now with people saying they have been getting signal on 13 i haven't been getting any was wondering if anyone knew what technically might be wrong

Sounds like you have a UHF antenna.
You'll need an antenna that also picks up VHF (for 8 [8.1], 11 [19.1], and 13 [13.1])

was wondering if someone could help i have a radioshack outdoor antenna looks like a mini dish i have been having trouble with getting vhf channels first once wwcp channel 8 went back to 8 i lost it (although i learned they lowered their power so that might be the case) 19 i only get once in a while now with people saying they have been getting signal on 13 i havent been getting any was wondering if anyone knew what techinically might be wrong

Go back to Radio Shack and pick up an HBU-22 (cat # 15-278) or an HBU-33 (Cat # 15-279) - depending on how far away your towers are and how your antenna is mounted.

A TVfool plot for your exact location is necessary for a more accurate estimate of your needs.

was wondering if someone could help i have a radioshack outdoor antenna looks like a mini dish i have been having trouble with getting vhf channels first once wwcp channel 8 went back to 8 i lost it (although i learned they lowered their power so that might be the case) 19 i only get once in a while now with people saying they have been getting signal on 13 i havent been getting any was wondering if anyone knew what techinically might be wrong

Hooviebaby, sorry to say that those small circular antennas aren't very good at picking up VHF. I don't know where you live, but I have a larger VHF antenna, and I also lost channel 8 when they switched back. I was getting a very strong signal from them on UHF, but now it only comes in choppy on overcast days.

ty everyone for all your help forgot to say im about 23 miles away from pittsburgh in northeastern allegheny county i will go to radioshack and pick up one of the antnnas u suggested cause seems like your right doesnt pick up vhf very well:)

anyone know when is WQED going to shut off their UHF feed completely and go solely on their VHF-hi feed?

they have been saying the switch would happen no later then november 18th that would be my guess thats why im trying to get another anntena to get vhf better

The lighting up of RF-13 by WQED has piqued my interest. I'm an old high school classmate of WQED Director/Producer Rick Sebak so that gives you an idea of how old I am and how long I've been away from the tri-state area.

Just how well did the DTV transition work out in that terrain-challenged part of the world? From what I recall of the long-ago past in the South Hills, WTAE was always hard to get even with an outdoor antenna. In contrast, both WSTV (now WTOV) and WTRF came in quite well. We also got WJAC (``Serving Millions from Atop the Alleghenies'') regularly but not with the strength of the two Wheeling-Steubenville stations.

I realize that cable penetration in Pittsburgh is much higher than it is here in the Dallas-Ft. Worth market, so perhaps OTA viewing is limited. But for those dauntless antenna users, how are the stations coming in nowadays in Six-burgh?

The lighting up of RF-13 by WQED has piqued my interest. I'm an old high school classmate of WQED Director/Producer Rick Sebak so that gives you an idea of how old I am and how long I've been away from the tri-state area.

Just how well did the DTV transition work out in that terrain-challenged part of the world? From what I recall of the long-ago past in the South Hills, WTAE was always hard to get even with an outdoor antenna. In contrast, both WSTV (now WTOV) and WTRF came in quite well. We also got WJAC (``Serving Millions from Atop the Alleghenies'') regularly but not with the strength of the two Wheeling-Steubenville stations.

I realize that cable penetration in Pittsburgh is much higher than it is here in the Dallas-Ft. Worth market, so perhaps OTA viewing is limited. But for those dauntless antenna users, how are the stations coming in nowadays in Six-burgh?

With a mast-mounted ClearStream4 (on my deck) plus a ChannelMaster 7777 Pre-Amp I'm able to pull in 2, 4, 11, 13, 16, 19, 22, 40, and 53. The only shaky ones are 16 and 19 but they still lock in fine - just not as strong as the others. I'm in Northern Allegheny county on the backside of a hill as well.

Thought some of you folks might be interested in this. Antenna work at WQED. Information from ham operator AB3L:

WQED has been getting their new HD antenna installed near my work. I have never seen this type of replacement done before. The other antenna on the tower was done about two years ago but with a Carson air lift. One of the guys doing the work this month said that Carson wouldn't come back to this location for some reason so up went the pole.
The contractor was Vertical Technology out of Hagerstown. They were there for about five weeks getting it rigged up and working around weather. At one point when they got the pole up for a look they found that the "T" on top was deflecting so a set of support legs had to be fabbed up which added more time. It was neat to follow the cable runs and pulley installations up there at 640 feet to get the pole up there. At one point the guys had to climb down to the bottom of the pole to steer the antenna safely around as it went down. I can't imagine how the hell you can do that but my respect goes out to them. Free and easy...


Larger and Additional Images; & Original REF: http://amfone.net/Amforum/index.php?topic=21841.0

Thought some of you folks might be interested in this. Antenna work at WQED.

Thanks for the update and the tower pix. That's one heck of a big Gin Pole!

Dave Morrison (W3WX)
WPXI Engineering

SCARY!! :eek: :eek:

I was totally shaking in my booties and trying not to, um, crap my pants, when I climbed up on the roof of my ranch style house a little over a year ago to check on my aging TV antenna and do a little temp repair work. When I finished and got my feet back on the ground I collapsed in to a lawn chair and sat like that for several long minutes while I waited for my heart to get back to beating more or less normally.

I could never imagine working out in the open at such a height above the ground. Those guys doing that must have nerves of steel. :cool: (Or else use industrial strength anti-anxiety medication :rolleyes: :D)

The lighting up of RF-13 by WQED has piqued my interest. I'm an old high school classmate of WQED Director/Producer Rick Sebak so that gives you an idea of how old I am and how long I've been away from the tri-state area.

Just how well did the DTV transition work out in that terrain-challenged part of the world? From what I recall of the long-ago past in the South Hills, WTAE was always hard to get even with an outdoor antenna. In contrast, both WSTV (now WTOV) and WTRF came in quite well. We also got WJAC (``Serving Millions from Atop the Alleghenies'') regularly but not with the strength of the two Wheeling-Steubenville stations.

I realize that cable penetration in Pittsburgh is much higher than it is here in the Dallas-Ft. Worth market, so perhaps OTA viewing is limited. But for those dauntless antenna users, how are the stations coming in nowadays in Six-burgh?
I can't answer for everyone, but for me I would have to say that with my old CM Crossfire antenna I can receive every DTV PGH station that I was getting when they were broadcasting in analog, only with much better picture and sound (usually).

And in fact I've even picked up a new one or two, like WBGN [UHF 16; 59.1 -59.4], a low power independent.

I even discovered I could receive WWCP [VHF 8, 8.1, 8.2] again last week. I had totally lost their DTV broadcast after they transitioned in March from the UHF band back to their old analog VHF channel. While I don't think they raised their broadcast power level, they may have done somethings to improve their signal and that lets my Zenith DTT 901 lock on to it. (I'm of the opinion that's also why WBGN's reception, which had been spotty, seems to be much better and consist now too.)

What took me some time to get use to was the cliff effect as I "tour around the dial". In analog, I could get some signal from stations like WWCP or WTAJ even when my antenna wasn't turned to optimally pick them up. Now all I get is a black screen with a floating "no signal" message box unless I turn the antenna.

And now some PGH stations are installing translators to provide better coverage in those areas with reception problems. So far, WTAE [4.x] seems to be the first to have one operating part time on an experimental basis. But with the QED's tower being completed, it shouldn't be long for it to go to full-time operation.

So I would have to answer that while cable and sat are fairly predominate around this area, the stations haven't forgotten the OTA viewers, and generally I'm more than pleased with the DTV transition.

wanted to let everyone know i got a different antenna and i am now getting 13 on 13 and 38 only channels im having trouble with is 22 and 59 with 59 dont have too much on anyways i am pleased with the results ty to everyone who helped me

Like you HB, I'm located in the same general direction from Pittsburgh but much further out, so your reception problem with WPMY [UHF 42, 22.1] doesn't surprise me what with the station directing most of it's 1000 kw ERP broadcast signal in a direction opposite to you.

Now if the new antenna you got is a directional type (and an HBU-xx is) then you might need to turn the antenna a bit in one direction or the other and not directly at the stations tower to find a strong enough signal for your TV to lock on to WPMY.

You see, whenever I rotate my antenna from due south to due west I'll pick up a strong WPMY signal and then it will drop down making the program disappear. Meanwhile WPGH [UHF 43, 53.1) which transmits from the same tower, and directs the majority of it's signal in our direction, comes in perfectly no matter how my antenna is pointed. I suspect whatever signal I'm getting from WPMY comes to me by reflecting off some distant objects.

So I hope when you put up your new antenna you thought to included a rotor to turn it as you may need to experiment a bit to find those spots where WPMY's signal is the strongest for good reception.

I just got word from my sister from South Buffalo Twp, in Armstrong County. She was previously unable to get digital channels 4-1 and 4-2 on RF 51, even though she's using a large 160-mile-range antenna that used to pick up analog stations from as far away as Youngstown, Wheeling, Stuebenville, Altoona, occassionally Erie, and rarely Cleveland.

She's watching the Steelers at Denver on RF 22 with a good strong signal now. Thanks WTAE.:)

I realize that cable penetration in Pittsburgh is much higher than it is here in the Dallas-Ft. Worth market, so perhaps OTA viewing is limited. But for those dauntless antenna users, how are the stations coming in nowadays in Six-burgh?

I live 40 miles southeast of the city near the Chestnut Ridge, and get all of the Pittsburgh stations except WQEX-16 which comes in off and on like WBGN-59.

As for the outlying stations, I still get WWCP-8 and WTOV-9. WJAC-6 and WTAJ-10 were the two stations that I lost, but I can now get a watchable picture from WPSU-3.

I live 40 miles southeast of the city near the Chestnut Ridge, and get all of the Pittsburgh stations except WQEX-16 which comes in off and on like WBGN-59.
Unless you're really in to shopping from home you aren't missing much on WQEX, but after the 18th your reception problem will most likely disappear when the station moves from UHF channel 26 to 38 and significantly increases the power of it's signal.


As for the outlying stations, I still get WWCP-8 and WTOV-9. WJAC-6 and WTAJ-10 were the two stations that I lost, but I can now get a watchable picture from WPSU-3.
Regarding the disappearance of my reception problem with WWCP [VHF 8, 8.1, 8..2] I think I spoke to soon in my previous post about it. I tried tuning it in the other night to watch something on it I wanted to see by rotating my antenna to pick the signal up and while at first I was getting a good picture and sound it wasn't more than 20 minutes until the signal began to vary all over the map thus making the program unviewable. :mad: Given my location from their transmitter, and the fact I easily can receive WTOV [VHF 9, 9.1, 9.2], which is much further away, I shouldn't have these problems with WWCP. Well, perhaps someday they might do something to fix it. *Sigh*

Regarding the disappearance of my reception problem with WWCP [VHF 8, 8.1, 8..2] I think I spoke to soon in my previous post about it. I tried tuning it in the other night to watch something on it I wanted to see by rotating my antenna to pick the signal up and while at first I was getting a good picture and sound it wasn't more than 20 minutes until the signal began to vary all over the map thus making the program unviewable. :mad: Given my location from their transmitter, and the fact I easily can receive WTOV [VHF 9, 9.1, 9.2], which is much further away, I shouldn't have these problems with WWCP. Well, perhaps someday they might do something to fix it. *Sigh*

I realize that the Pittsburgh DMA is more compact than the sprawl of Dallas-Ft. Worth and that Zone I is a different animal than Zone II, where stations are permitted much higher transmitting antenna elevations.

That being said, do you think that the terrain of the tri-state is one of those few regions better suited to VHF as opposed to UHF? For instance, you can get WWCP (albeit with disruptions) but if it were a U with an equivalent power/height, would it even come in at all?

Well, before when WWCP [8.1, 8.2] was still broadcasting in analog on VHF 8 they also were operating a DTV transmitter on UHF 29 and that signal was so strong I was easily picking it up even when my VHF/UHF antenna was pointed towards Pittsburgh. But that might have been because they were putting out a UHF signal at 1000 kw ERP. Then last March they ceased analog broadcasting and shifted their DTV operation to use their previous VHF channel, and that's when my reception problems started.

And while their current transmitter tower is a bit higher than the one they used while operating in the UHF band their current broadcast power in the VHF band is a measly 9-1/2 kw ERP, which is even less than the 14 kw ERP that WBGN [UHF 16, 59.1-59.4] uses and it's only licensed as a low power digital station.

Now the other VHF stations in the region, WTRF [7.1-7.3], WTOV [9.1, 9.2], WPCW [VHF 11, 19.1] and soon WQED [13.1-13.3] all operate in the 20 to 30 kw range. And with the sole exception of WTRF (which has always been a fringe reception station to me even in analog) my reception of all these other VHF stations presents no problem whatsoever.

So it is my view that as a full power commercially licensed DTV station, WWCP needs to ask the FCC to approve increasing their broadcast power to about the same level as the rest of the other VHF stations. IMO it is the only thing that would really correct these reception problems with their VHF signal.

UHF 29 was quite a bit more stable for me to receive than VHF 8 is now. I can still lock it (at 60mi), but I actually have to pay attention when I turn the rotator.

Unless you're really in to shopping from home you aren't missing much on WQEX, but after the 18th your reception problem will most likely disappear when the station moves from UHF channel 26 to 38 and significantly increases the power of it's signal.

When I've be able to get it, I just kept going to either 13 or 19. Although, it makes for a good reference for any tropo occurring.

She's watching the Steelers at Denver on RF 22 with a good strong signal now. Thanks WTAE.:)

I did a scan last night and also found the new 4.3 and 4.4 WTAE channels. The signal is good so now we have channel 4 in southern Butler county again!

[, I just kept going to either 13 or 19. Although, it makes for a good reference for any tropo occurring.[/QUOTE]

Good time for tropo's may be Monday the 16th [ Morning]

Is anyone else having a lot of trouble receiving 11-1 via the DirecTV AM21 Off-Air tuner? It comes in fine on my converter box and my built-in TV tuner, but the AM21 can barely lock it in, and when it does it doesn't last.

got home a little after midnight and saw they finished their conversion 16 is on 38 now also i am now able to get all the channels except for 59 which im not worried about i get 19 and 13 very nicely just a sidenote i have dish network and right now 13 and 16 is not on because of them switching around so much for not having to worry about digitial conversion if u got them haha :D also almost forgot ty again to everyone for all their technical advice i found out the round antenna in geral is good to pick up vhf i just had one that was defective nevertheless im grateful to all the replies i got

I am getting WQEX a bit better now than when it was on 26.

Anyone else having problems getting WBGN to assign to 59-1 properly instead of 16-1? While on all my other digital tuners it does ok, on my CM-7000 CECBs it doesnt seem to want to assign WBGN to 59-1. Instead it leaves them at 16-1,2,3,4, and then when WQEX is picked up, it's assigned to 16-1, overwriting WBGN's primary 16-1. I would at least think it would give two 16-1's...but it doesnt.

Since WBGN has no program guide data, is it safe to assume they're not doing their PSIP data correctly and that could be causing my CM-7000's to not reassign it to the virtual 59-1, etc? Or are my CM-7000's the problem...since all my other digital tuners seem to do ok assigning all channels involved to their proper virtual channels?

Anyone else having problems getting WBGN to assign to 59-1 properly instead of 16-1? While on all my other digital tuners it does ok, on my CM-7000 CECBs it doesnt seem to want to assign WBGN to 59-1. Instead it leaves them at 16-1,2,3,4, and then when WQEX is picked up, it's assigned to 16-1, overwriting WBGN's primary 16-1. I would at least think it would give two 16-1's...but it doesnt.

My Samsung DLP from 2006 doesn't call it 59-1/-2/-3/-4 either; however, it will list two 16-1s with WBGN's four channels lacking any identification. The Insignia box purchased in 2008 has no problems differentiating between RF 16 and virtual 16.

A datapoint from Regents Square (15221):

KDKA is coming in nicely on 13 (finally). I was worried that my UHF antenna (CM-4221) would have difficulty with it as a high VHF channel. Turns out, no problem at all.

WTAE's new repeater is providing great signal quality for 4-3 and 4-4 (channel 22). I receive them at almost exactly the same strength and quality as 4-1 and 4-2 (51). Looks like I may be able do away with the dedicated antenna I have pointed directly at WTAE's tower. That would free up some room to point an antenna at Johnstown to get 8-1 and 8-2 instead. (Once I finish building a channel 8 specific VHF antenna) It used to come in perfectly before they switched back to 8 after the analog switch-off.

All in all, the recent changes have worked out great for me in Regents Square. To all those involved, thanks for all the hard work!

The following stations come in perfectly without any glitches at all.
KDKA (CBS)
WTAE (ABC)
This Pgh
WPXI (NBC)
RTN
WQED 1,2,3 (PBS)
WPCW (CW)
MyTV
WPGH (Fox)

Not so perfect:
WBGN (Indie) -- momentary dropouts a few times a minute

This is with an attic mounted CM-4221 pointed NNW and a homemade uhf antenna pointed at WTAE.

Edit: Further testing shows that my oldest ATSC tuner can't pull in 4.3 and 4.4 on 22. It's a Zenith HDV-420 and was a first generation tuner that doesn't do so well on weak signals. My newers tuners lock on and are glitch free. Sounds like a good excuse to buy a new stand-alone tuner for my home theater projector. (If such things still exist)

is an yone else having trouble getting wbgn in its been off all day dont know if its my setup or if something is wrong at there end

is an yone else having trouble getting wbgn in its been off all day dont know if its my setup or if something is wrong at there end

You may want to recheck your setup. I know WBGN was working fine for me yesterday morning, and I checked again this morning and it still looks normal.

Anyone else having trouble pulling in QED since the frequency changeover. I noticed it was gone about a week ago, and haven't been able to get it back since. I've rescanned on multipe TVs as well as through my HTPC. None of them have been able to pull it in. I'm using a Radioshack 15-1880 ant. which has dual UHF/VHF capability and also plugged in a straight set of rabbit ears. Nothing has worked.

Any suggestions? I've been running ATSC OTA for a few years now with no major issues... until now. All of the other channels (2,4,11,16,53) are coming in strong. Thx in advance for the help.

Anyone else having trouble pulling in QED since the frequency changeover. I noticed it was gone about a week ago, and haven't been able to get it back since. I've rescanned on multipe TVs as well as through my HTPC. None of them have been able to pull it in. I'm using a Radioshack 15-1880 ant. which has dual UHF/VHF capability and also plugged in a straight set of rabbit ears. Nothing has worked.

Any suggestions? I've been running ATSC OTA for a few years now with no major issues... until now. All of the other channels (2,4,11,16,53) are coming in strong. Thx in advance for the help.

Ah... are you getting channel 19? You're getting all UHF channels but the two VHF Hi channels you're not getting. It may ultimately be your antenna that is at fault.

m4mica,

QED/QEX has essentially disappeared for me, too, since the switchover. They need a power boost....It was difficult for me to receive the old 13 analog years ago, too. I could pull in 38, but had to have my antenna pointed 'just so.'

My antenna is the Radio Shack 190 model (the largest V/UHF they sold)...it's been up for about 4 years now. Since the leaves have fallen, my overall reception is WORSE. My reception of KDKA is bordering lost. Too many hills and trees to fight with other than get a 40' tower installed. That's not in my budget for a LONG, LONG time.

I'll miss the Neighborhood Channel most. :(

If I spin my antenna, I can get most of the W Va stations (5, 12, 10)...but I'll miss 13.

You are not alone. :D

i found out the source of th eproblem why i wasnt getting wbgn it was the cable is there a particular type of cable that should be used for the digitial channels

Ah... are you getting channel 19? You're getting all UHF channels but the two VHF Hi channels you're not getting. It may ultimately be your antenna that is at fault.

Yup, 19 comes in fine. signal strength is pretty low, around 67%. I'll try repositioning the VHF antennae and see if it helps. It's a shame, we never watch 16, but it coming in great on the old 38.

THIS IS THE TYPE CABLE MOST USE http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10216

i found out the source of th eproblem why i wasnt getting wbgn it was the cable is there a particular type of cable that should be used for the digitial channelsI suspect that you had RG59 coaxial cabling rather than RG6 or RG6-QuadShield. They look nearly identical except that RG59 cable is slightly skinnier. RG59 used to be the standard for coax in the home. With the advent of cable and satellite, pretty much everyone switched to using RG6. RG59 is still around and should still be used in some scenarios, just not for broadcast, satellite, FiOS or cable TV.

If you need to buy more of it, the store upzdayzm linked to is good. I've ordered from MonoPrice a few times myself.

ty for helping me again i bought rg6 now its alot better:D

Between the cold this morning, and a huge approaching storm front to the south, did anyone else notice a fairly strong tropo effect this morning? :rolleyes:

Even with my antenna pointed in a non-optimal direction, I was able to receive a fairly strong WFMJ/WBCB [UHF 20, 21.1, 21.2] for the better part of this morning; and WTRF [VHF 7, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3] was also coming in plenty strong too until well past 11 AM, when the 50-60% signal I had started varying and making it difficult for my CB to stay locked on it.

-----
BTW what is it with WTRF? There is no programing information in the EPG on any of their sub-channels, and their broadcast clock is either running very fast, or it is still set to DST. (Plus the audio on 7.2 *still* has this weird echo effect making it sound like everyone is speaking in to a plastic tube. :()

Okay, so I know WTRF isn't a large station, but as a (3-way:rolleyes:) network affiliate, one would think they would have a station engineer who was cognizant of these kind of things.

obviously i'm a little late to the party on this but i just rescanned today to find that i now get wtae-dt 4.3 and 4.4... just in time for pitt-cincy. it's a festivus miracle!

getting 100% signal strength with a multidirectional (disc style) roof antenna in lawrenceville (15201), where i previously got NOTHING from 4.1 and 4.2. no guide information for either channel in win7 MCE, so i had to manually map the 4.1 and 4.2 info to 4.3 and 4.4, respectively. rock solid reception. this is really a breath of fresh air. it's great that WTAE is finally taking good care of viewers on this side of the mountain.

A couple of minor random thoughts...

A check of my tuner's signal strength meter shows 4.1 at 100%, and 4.3 at 50% with my current antenna orientation up here in southern Butler County.

I love watching the weekly reruns of "Baa Baa Black Sheep" Sunday nights on RTV. However, it is quite frustrating when they don't seem to care what episodes they throw up on that channel. To wit, last weekend marked at least the third time in recent memory when they ran the episode with Kent McCord (of Adam-12 fame) guest starring as an ace that was shot down and brainwashed as a POW. It had been shown only a few weeks earlier. Rob Owen addressed a similar query in the P-G, stating that sometimes only certain episodes (and not the entire lot) of a program are released for syndication. And I know that this is RTV's fault, not the local affiliate, as WJAC and WTOV run the same Black Sheep episodes.

<snip>I love watching the weekly reruns of "Baa Baa Black Sheep" Sunday nights on RTV. However, it is quite frustrating when they don't seem to care what episodes they throw up on that channel. To wit, last weekend marked at least the third time in recent memory when they ran the episode with Kent McCord (of Adam-12 fame) guest starring as an ace that was shot down and brainwashed as a POW. It had been shown only a few weeks earlier. Rob Owen addressed a similar query in the P-G, stating that sometimes only certain episodes (and not the entire lot) of a program are released for syndication. And I know that this is RTV's fault, not the local affiliate, as WJAC and WTOV run the same Black Sheep episodes.
That same problem has been going on with "Battlestar Galactica" (1980's version) also shown on the weekends on RTV/RTN. They have been repeating the same dozen or so episodes from the series for the whole of the past year. Yet last year they (RTV) were showing the series episodes from the very beginning. Then they ran in to financial trouble very late last year and that's when the problem started. For the most of Dec 08 and well in to Jan 09, I can't tell you how often they showed the 2 part episode of Apollo and Starbuck leading a group of prisoners on a suicide mission to take out an energy gun on some ice planet, so the Galactica and the rest of the fleet could fly past with out being blown up. But from my viewpoint it was like every weekend with out a break. :mad:

And as far as I can tell, these are not the only weekend shows they have been doing that with as I think they have been doing the same with "Ohara, US Treasury" shown on WTOV's [VHF 9, 9.1, 9.2] RTN sub-channel on Sunday night.

So I'm not sure what the problem is, but it seems to be mostly with certain series programmed for weekend showings where they have been running the same stuff over and over. :confused:

hey everyone was wondering if anyone knows if wtae is building a tower near johnstown to cover that area and if it was approved by the fcc reason i asked is because i emailed channel 8 about losing them they said i live in the pittsburgh market and they cant boost their signal ty for all who reply

hey everyone was wondering if anyone knows if wtae is building a tower near johnstown to cover that area and if it was approved by the fcc reason i asked is because i emailed channel 8 about losing them they said i live in the pittsburgh market and they cant boost their signal ty for all who reply

No they are not, at this time. WTAE has recently activated a ch 22 translator located on the WQED tower in Oakland. Depending on your location, you might be able to pull in that signal.

KDKA and WPCW have applied for translators to serve Johnstown (The CW's Construction Permit has been approved, KD's is still pending).

No they are not, at this time. WTAE has recently activated a ch 22 translator located on the WQED tower in Oakland. Depending on your location, you might be able to pull in that signal.

KDKA and WPCW have applied for translators to serve Johnstown (The CW's Construction Permit has been approved, KD's is still pending).

oh ok ty for your response your right was just curious i get 4-1 and 4-2 great just rather have 23 be my station dont like 4 to much:(

Anyone else having trouble pulling in QED since the frequency changeover. I noticed it was gone about a week ago, and haven't been able to get it back since. I've rescanned on multipe TVs as well as through my HTPC. None of them have been able to pull it in. I'm using a Radioshack 15-1880 ant. which has dual UHF/VHF capability and also plugged in a straight set of rabbit ears. Nothing has worked.

Any suggestions? I've been running ATSC OTA for a few years now with no major issues... until now. All of the other channels (2,4,11,16,53) are coming in strong. Thx in advance for the help.


I'm having the same problem. QED use to be one of my strongest stations, now I can only get it on one TV. What is odd is I actually get a decent signal strength, yet the picture keeps breaking up. Not sure if this a multi-path problem or not. I'm not sure what posessed some of these stations to make the switch back to VHF. I had the same problem with WWCP. It use to come in perfectly when it was on UHF. Now that they moved back to channel 8 I don't even register a signal. Really disappointing as they usually run different football games than WPGH on Sundays.

I'm having the same problem. QED use to be one of my strongest stations, now I can only get it on one TV. What is odd is I actually get a decent signal strength, yet the picture keeps breaking up. Not sure if this a multi-path problem or not. I'm not sure what posessed some of these stations to make the switch back to VHF. I had the same problem with WWCP. It use to come in perfectly when it was on UHF. Now that they moved back to channel 8 I don't even register a signal. Really disappointing as they usually run different football games than WPGH on Sundays.

Same problem since they went to VHF.

I have the same problem. On UHF 38, WQED frequently would give me a signal reading in the 70-75 percent range on my Dish Network VIP722 receiver with signal loss a very rare occurance. Now on VHF, I get a similar signal range but the dropouts are far more frequent. It's very annoying. The FCC should move everyone to UHF and be done with it. Why they didn't do that in the first place is beyond me.

Has WTAE done something to 4.3 and 4.4? They were coming in fine until last weekend. Pretty much disappeared since then.

I've had the exact opposite result with WQED. I rarely if ever pulled it in when they were on 38. Now that they have moved back to 13, it is in 24/7.

Maybe if they ran 1,000 kW when they were on 38, I would have a different opinion.

I'm not sure what posessed some of these stations to make the switch back to VHF. I had the same problem with WWCP. It use to come in perfectly when it was on UHF. Now that they moved back to channel 8 I don't even register a signal. Really disappointing as they usually run different football games than WPGH on Sundays.
The problem with WWCP is that they're short spaced with both WGAL 8 Lancaster and WTOV 9 Steubenville. They had to know that moving from RF 29 back to 8 would cost them actual coverage not just to the west but in their own market as well. For whatever reason (possibly lower power bills) they did so anyway. OTOH WQED never had the tower height nor the 1 MW that WWCP had on 29 so their situation is entirely different. If someone wants to donate the funds for WQED to put up a 900 foot tower maybe they would consider switching WQEX to 13 and WQED back to RF 38.

Any chance that any other stations besides KDKA will put a translator in Morgantown? (Morgantown is in the Pittsburgh DMA) I used to be able to sporadically get WTAE, but can't get that at all any more. I also can't get any of the Clarksburg stations (even though they are in a different DMA). Currently can only get WNPB, and I am going to assume once KDKA puts their translator on or near the same WNPB tower I will be able to get it well. But really missing WPXI and the other Pittsburgh stations.
WPXI is planning one for nearby Uniontown but it may be difficult to receive towards Morgantown. With the population of that area both WPGH and WTAE should also consider it. Considering the success of their current translator and the fact that Hearst has applied for no less than six fill-in translators for WGAL, it seems one should definitely be considered for WTAE in the Morgantown and/or Uniontown area.

That would be great. I have looked at the proposed coverage maps for WPXI, and it appears that Morgantown may be able to get it, but will have to see once they actually get the tower up and operational. I think if they put everything where the WNPB Tower is it should cover the whole southwestern PA and North central WV quite well.

Hi - my Sony HDD 250 has been working fine. It's just not showing guide data for WTAE-DT. I think it might be a TVGOS issue. Just checked the guide on my Mits WD-Y95, and the data is missing for WTAE on 4.1 here in Pittsburgh. Is there a fix for this? Do I need to stop the feed of 4.1 and 4.2 and turn on 4.3 and 4.4 in the guide in order for the guide to populate data for channel 4? I't been this way for at least a week. Thanks.

Santa left a shiny new Sony KDL-26L5000 under the Christmas tree this year...and an Eagle Aspen DB2! I'm in Wexford and my room, where I put everything, is on the second story of a house on top of a hill.

I had a lot of trouble getting WQED and WPCW to show up, but being that they're VHF I couldn't really expect that much. UHF performance was just fine, though. I think the highlight of my DB2 testing was when I had picked up the antenna and was waving it around just to see what I could get. In one particular position, I was able to pick up WNEO. Pretty nifty!

I decided to pick up a Radio shack budget antenna to see if it would do a better job picking up WQED and WPCW. After a little bit of monkeying around, to my surprise, this little antenna actually does a better job overall than the DB2! I'm picking up all the local networks plus WFMJ and WBCB. Not a bad investment! I'm literally stunned at the picture quality I can pull in for free from a $12 antenna.

Of course, being a perfectionist, I may shop around to see if there are any other indoor antennas that would give me better reception. You can never have too many channels! :P

Still, WNEO and WFMJ from the Youngstown market? Not bad for an indoor antenna!

happy new year to everyone had 2 questions first i cant seem to get 22 anymore was wondering if they lowered their signal also on channel 40.2 its been saying they are doing testing has anyone by chance contacted them and see when it will return to normal picture and sound

I had a lot of trouble getting WQED and WPCW to show up, but being that they're VHF I couldn't really expect that much. UHF performance was just fine, though. I think the highlight of my DB2 testing was when I had picked up the antenna and was waving it around just to see what I could get. In one particular position, I was able to pick up WNEO. Pretty nifty!


I have yet to have ever seen WQED since they went digital on UHF or back to VHF. WPCW disappeared in late November and has been missing in action since then. KDKA gets a bit "iffy" at times but is now better than it was earlier last year. WPCW was actually my strongest Pittsburgh station before it vanished. My VHF antenna is working properly as I can get CH8 and have no problems with CH12 out of Clarksburg WV. Being that it's a VHF-HI I am sometimes amazed when I sometimes get CH5 out of Clarksburg and CH4 out of Pittsburgh using it.

Still, WNEO and WFMJ from the Youngstown market? Not bad for an indoor antenna!

I have yet to have ever seen WQED since they went digital on UHF or back to VHF. WPCW disappeared in late November and has been missing in action since then. KDKA gets a bit "iffy" at times but is now better than it was earlier last year. WPCW was actually my strongest Pittsburgh station before it vanished. My VHF antenna is working properly as I can get CH8 and have no problems with CH12 out of Clarksburg WV. Being that it's a VHF-HI I am sometimes amazed when I sometimes get CH5 out of Clarksburg and CH4 out of Pittsburgh using it.

Bob,

Post the URL for your exact address report from TVFool.com (http://www.tvfool.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29). Your address will not be posted publicly. The report will help determine which stations should be available to you. For example, click HERE (http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3db32b63fec74baf) to view the TV Fool report for my exact address.

It sounds like you need to upgrade your antenna system. For UHF high band, try an Antennas Direct 91XG (aka XG91). For VHF high band, try a Winegard YA-1713. Of course, the antennas will need to be mounted outdoors as high as possible. If you're not within 25 miles of a TV transmitter, use a Channel Master 7777 preamplifier, and make sure the FM trap is engaged. You'd also benefit from a rotator.

I'm about 55 miles from Pittsburgh and receive all of the full power stations except WTAE. WTAE's transmitter is 70 miles from my location. The rest are 55 miles or less. I use the above listed setup with one exception. I'm using an older style Channel Master 4228 instead of a 91XG. The new style 4228 is not as sensitive as the older 4228.

Bob,

Post the URL for your exact address report from TVFool.com (http://www.tvfool.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29). Your address will not be posted publicly. The report will help determine which stations should be available to you. For example, click HERE (http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3db32b63fec74baf) to view the TV Fool report for my exact address.

It sounds like you need to upgrade your antenna system. For UHF high band, try an Antennas Direct 91XG (aka XG91). For VHF high band, try a Winegard YA-1713. Of course, the antennas will need to be mounted outdoors as high as possible. If you're not within 25 miles of a TV transmitter, use a Channel Master 7777 preamplifier, and make sure the FM trap is engaged. You'd also benefit from a rotator.

I'm about 55 miles from Pittsburgh and receive all of the full power stations except WTAE. WTAE's transmitter is 70 miles from my location. The rest are 55 miles or less. I use the above listed setup with one exception. I'm using an older style Channel Master 4228 instead of a 91XG. The new style 4228 is not as sensitive as the older 4228.

Hi salemtubes,

I'm the exception for TV fool because I have a ridge 1,000 feet due north of me and 125 feet higher than my tower base that runs east to west. For some reason TV fool does not seem to consider this in the analysis especially looking northwest. My antenna system consists of Stacked CM4228's (early version) at 42 feet with CM0264DSB's CDE Ham III rotor. All 3GHZ coax. Pico CHC16U/860 UHF headend combiner/amplifier.
Before digital came along I was able to get CH's 2,4,5,6,7,8,9,11,12,13,and 24 with a maximum of 10-20% snow/sparkles. Now I need a dedicated receiver per channel fed into a combiner otherwise there is not enough signal to split between two TV sets. I then assign each receiver an analog UHF channel for distribution between the two TV's. The only signal that makes it through the combiner is CH33 which is 15 miles away.
My TV fool data: http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3db32bb654d2e68a

Hi salemtubes,

I'm the exception for TV fool because I have a ridge 1,000 feet due north of me and 125 feet higher than my tower base that runs east to west. For some reason TV fool does not seem to consider this in the analysis especially looking northwest. My antenna system consists of Stacked CM4228's (early version) at 42 feet with CM0264DSB's CDE Ham III rotor. All 3GHZ coax. Pico CHC16U/860 UHF headend combiner/amplifier.
Before digital came along I was able to get CH's 2,4,5,6,7,8,9,11,12,13,and 24 with a maximum of 10-20% snow/sparkles. Now I need a dedicated receiver per channel fed into a combiner otherwise there is not enough signal to split between two TV sets. I then assign each receiver an analog UHF channel for distribution between the two TV's. The only signal that makes it through the combiner is CH33 which is 15 miles away.
My TV fool data: http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3db32bb654d2e68a

Nice setup! You're in a tough spot.

I live in Carnegie and just have a cheap antenna hooked up to my girlfriend's 32" Vizio in her bedroom. We have FIOS in the two other rooms, but there are no cable hook-ups in the bedroom, she gets KDKA, WPXI, WQED, MyTV, CW, WPGH and like 59.1-4

She doesn't get WTAE. She's on the second floor, near a window. Now I was reading directions to another antennna and it said you shouldn't fully extend the arms to get certain channels (ie UHF, I believe). How many channels should you be able to pick up?

I live in Carnegie and just have a cheap antenna hooked up to my girlfriend's 32" Vizio in her bedroom. We have FIOS in the two other rooms, but there are no cable hook-ups in the bedroom, she gets KDKA, WPXI, WQED, MyTV, CW, WPGH and like 59.1-4

She doesn't get WTAE. She's on the second floor, near a window. Now I was reading directions to another antennna and it said you shouldn't fully extend the arms to get certain channels (ie UHF, I believe). How many channels should you be able to pick up?
You probably should go to tvfool.com and put your address in. WTAE may however be a problem at your Carnegie location with an indoor antenna. WQEX 16.1 should be receivable since you already get WQED and WBGN (59.1-4) but you may not be interested in ShopNBC. WTOV 9.1-2 is also a possibility but except for newscasts is pretty much the same as WPXI. There is also the Christian station WPCB for local digital antenna TV. Another slight possibility is WWCP (Fox,ABC) out of Johnstown except you seem to have trouble getting stations coming from the East.

MAKE YOUR OWN OTA ANTENNA I DID AND IT WORKS GREAT

.youtube.com/watch?v=EWQhlmJTMzw I LIVE IN UNIONTOWN AND I GET ALL PITTSBURGH CHANNELS

Of course put the www in

Ok

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWQhlmJTMzw

I built one of these and its alot better than the cheap wal mart things under 5 bucks you have your antenna let me know what ya all think now you must follow my instructions to a t

There are a lot of too-small bowtie antennas out there thanks to that youtube video. PLEASE use the dimensions indicated here (http://www.frontiernet.net/~mclapp/Antennas/diagrams.html) for best performance, including actual positive gain for ch. 13.

Things look good for tropos on Sat. morning and into sunday morning.Good time for anyone wishing to do some re-scanning of their units.See what you may bring in on the western end of the state.These may only be good up to the noon hours on these two days.

Is anyone else having issues on 11-1/11-2? All my other signals are coming in just fine but 11-1 is out completely on my AM21 and coming in low on my built-in tuners. It was fine last night.

Here's something interesting...

Up and until a the storm hit last week I had my ClearStream4 aimed just to the right (I'm to the northeast of the city) of WPXI's tower and with all tuners reporting 100% signal strength.

During the storm WPXI dropped out completely on my AM21's but also dropped in signal strength on my other tuners - to the point where I could barely tune it in.

Thinking it might be something else I took the antenna down and discovered that I had a loose connection from one of the bows. I tightened it up and put it back in place. Now I can get WPXI in but the signal is still not strong - and aiming directly at WPXI's tower is where I get my lowest reported signal strength for WPXI.

Is there any logical explanation for this?

With the all the blizzard coverage last week, did anyone else notice how poorly screen space was used. It seems that production tools and/or philosophy haven't kept up with the times. I've attached an example screenshot of the madness that WPXI is engaging in. The screenshot doesn't represent a rare occurrence, it's pretty much what WPXI looked like for days on end.

There are so many colored borders, scrolling banners, text overlays, etc, that the actual broadcast video occupies only 10% of the screen. Complete madness!

Am I off my rocker or is this really absurd as it appears? (see attached screenshot)

lol, and the madness continues. Apparently this is how WPXI plans to broadcast its news on a regular basis. Attached is a screenshot from this morning. Once again, nearly the entire screen is wasted!