Yeah guys!

Haven't heard from anyone up in Smyth County. Just curious, anyone picking up good HD signals this far from the Tri-Cities? I'd really like to watch the Super Bowl in HD. No one around here knows enough to about it to have an inteligent conversation with. I can get a tuner at Johnson City, but I really would like one with the DVR option. Anyone know of a local place that stocks a good selection of equipment? I'd really like to find the LG LST-3410A. Circuit City's website lists it for $419, but it's not available!!!

Thanks,

Happy HDing


Dennis

Yeah guys!

Haven't heard from anyone up in Smyth County. Just curious, anyone picking up good HD signals this far from the Tri-Cities? I'd really like to watch the Super Bowl in HD. No one around here knows enough to about it to have an inteligent conversation with. I can get a tuner at Johnson City, but I really would like one with the DVR option. Anyone know of a local place that stocks a good selection of equipment? I'd really like to find the LG LST-3410A. Circuit City's website lists it for $419, but it's not available!!!

Thanks,

Happy HDing


Dennis
Dennis,
I would think you can get WKPT's HD signal over the air, but what are the cable guys doing with HD in Smyth County?

Cable's not an option. I live too far from the road. I'm a Dish subscriber. I've heard all the stuff there supposed to come out with today, but I'm looking to pull in the free stuff.

If anybody is in Wise VA and thinking about OTA digital from tricities, here are my results using a DB8, 25' mast, rotor, and a PA16 pre amp:
WKPT, WCYB, WJHL 80-90%.. WEMT comes in mid 60's to 70's consistently. If I hold my mouth just right WBXX out of knoxville comes in at 63-64% but nothing else from knoxville
Roanoke stations stick on 49% but wont come in.
Also get WETP, WSBN, and WLFG

Not bad results considering the terrain, I think.

I just got Charter HD from my 27" Samsung 4:3 HDTV and I have some questions about it.

1 how to a set the Picture Format ( Upcovert 1 , Upcovert 2, Pass Through or Fixed)?

Ps: I am wonder since I wear Glasses will I go blind if I sit 3 feet away from the screen?

I just got Charter HD from my 27" Samsung 4:3 HDTV and I have some questions about it.

1 how to a set the Picture Format ( Upcovert 1 , Upcovert 2, Pass Through or Fixed)?

Ps: I am wonder since I wear Glasses will I go blind if I sit 3 feet away from the screen?

Assuming it's a decent TV with a decent scaler, put it in Pass Through which will allow the TV to do the conversion.

If it's a CRT, try converting to 1080i which is probably Fixed (I assume you can set the resolution), you'll have to check the manual.

Thanks for the Reply ,but you a little to late, I already did the Follow stuff to my TV. First I went to Setup Wizard and select Standard 4:3. Second I notice the only resolution select was 1080i , So went to 480p Standard 4:3 and save it. third I went to the quick menu and select Pass Through and now my TV looks Great ( expect when upcovert 480i to 480p.


Ps: My TV is CRT but the problem was that everything was in one resolution 1080i even non-HD programs so I did the follow above and change all that. now I have two resoultions 480p for Non-HD Programs and 1080i for HD programs. While watch HD I make sure to set the TV to Widescreen mode.

Sounds like you're all set. Enjoy your TV.

New to the Area, I am in Abingdon without cable. So it appears, like I might now become a Dish guy. My question is..... Should I get the Dish package with locals? Will I be able to get the locals in HD with this option?

I need to find someone to come set this all up... I hope it dose not cost too much :(

Thanks,
- Scott

New to the Area, I am in Abingdon without cable. So it appears, like I might now become a Dish guy. My question is..... Should I get the Dish package with locals? Will I be able to get the locals in HD with this option?

I need to find someone to come set this all up... I hope it dose not cost too much :(

Thanks,
- Scott

Scott, check antennaweb.org and put in your address to get an idea of what channels you should get. My parents live on a hill near the airport on the TN side and pick up the locals w/ an outdoor antenna (the $99 Radio Shack one). During my formative yrs, we were able to pick up all the Carolina stations but cannot seem to get them now. Maybe w/ a rotor they could still get those channels. If you check previous posts, you will note that there are several VA and KY residents getting the Tri-City locals. I would think that w/ an outdoor antenna, you should be able to pick up the local HD OTA signals. Might try an indoor antenna first to see what happens as you can always return them. People have posted that outdoor antennae are hard to return as the store does not want to take a chance that you broke an element when setting it up. If you get lucky and pull in the Carolina stations (3, 4, and 13) then sit back and enjoy ACC football and basketball.

Brett

I am very interested in HD TV. I've read the post in this forum and have gained some knowledge although I have a long way to go. I would like to purchase a HD LCD or Plasma. My situation is as follows:

1. I live on a hill in Unicoi with other hills and trees around me. I have a 100% unobstructed clear view of Buffalo Mountain and the antennas on top.

2. Is there any way to determine if I can pick up HD channels from my location?

3. Do any HD channnels come off of Buffalo Mountain?

3. I could mount an antenna on a tree further up the hill if that would help reception, although I wonder how far away I could run a coax cable without loosing the signal.

4. If unable to receive HD channnels from an outdoor antenna would I be better off with COMCAST cable or a satellite such as DTV or DISH to receive HD?

Any inputs woud be greatly appreciated.

I am very interested in HD TV. I've read the post in this forum and have gained some knowledge although I have a long way to go. I would like to purchase a HD LCD or Plasma. My situation is as follows:

1. I live on a hill in Unicoi with other hills and trees around me. I have a 100% unobstructed clear view of Buffalo Mountain and the antennas on top.

2. Is there any way to determine if I can pick up HD channels from my location?

3. Do any HD channnels come off of Buffalo Mountain?

3. I could mount an antenna on a tree further up the hill if that would help reception, although I wonder how far away I could run a coax cable without loosing the signal.

4. If unable to receive HD channnels from an outdoor antenna would I be better off with COMCAST cable or a satellite such as DTV or DISH to receive HD?

Any inputs woud be greatly appreciated.

The towers are on Holston Mt. AFAIK.

OTA (over the air) digital TV including HDTV requires an ATSC tuner. This may already be incorporated into your TV if it is new or alternatively you may need to purchase an add-on set top box (STB). Many satellite STB's also contain ATSC tuners. For info on various choices, visit the HDTV reception hardware section of AVS. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=25

The signal for OTA (over the air) digital TV gets to your tuner in the traditional fashion via antenna/coax cable/antenna preamp. How much antenna, whether indoor or outdoor, and the need for a preamp depends on your location and distance to your local stations. The signals are broadcast over uhf/vhf just as they have been in the past and the technology is identical all the way up to the point of the HDTV tuner which is the only real difference.

Your local stations are currently broadcasting both analog (NTSC) and digital TV (ATSC) simultaneously as part of the so-called "digital transition". Last I heard, analog will shut down some time in 2009.

For a general idea of what antenna setup to use, go to http://www.antennaweb.org

Also, you can go to http://www.2150.com/broadcast/default.asp and put in your lat/longitude in decimal form for bearings/distances to your local stations. A link to find your magnetic variation from true north is also provided there.

Source to find your lat/longitude: http://terraserver.microsoft.com/

Also visit the OTA reception FAQ: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=611957

That should get you started. Once armed with the basic info, any further questions can be posted in the reception thread at http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8211150#post8211150 or here in the local thread.

Can someone explain to me why Charter doesn't offer Fox in High Definition? I'm getting tired of having to watch Football on analog Fox channel 10 every day, when every other cable company in the area offers them in HD, on Fox. What gives?

Can someone explain to me why Charter doesn't offer Fox in High Definition? I'm getting tired of having to watch Football on analog Fox channel 10 every day, when every other cable company in the area offers them in HD, on Fox. What gives?

Sorry, you'll get no sympathy here. :) My Charter offers zero HDTV.

Every thought about OTA?

D* with ST?

OTA isn't an option for me really.

I am very interested in HD TV. I've read the post in this forum and have gained some knowledge although I have a long way to go. I would like to purchase a HD LCD or Plasma. My situation is as follows:

1. I live on a hill in Unicoi with other hills and trees around me. I have a 100% unobstructed clear view of Buffalo Mountain and the antennas on top.

2. Is there any way to determine if I can pick up HD channels from my location?

3. Do any HD channnels come off of Buffalo Mountain?

3. I could mount an antenna on a tree further up the hill if that would help reception, although I wonder how far away I could run a coax cable without loosing the signal.

4. If unable to receive HD channnels from an outdoor antenna would I be better off with COMCAST cable or a satellite such as DTV or DISH to receive HD?

Any inputs woud be greatly appreciated.

Ridgerunner, you got some pretty steep and high hills around there as I used to run cross- country meets up there. I'm a thinkin that you should be able to get all the local HD signals and possibly the Carolina stations too. We used to be able to get all the analog Carolina stations back in my younger days (on a hill near the airport) but they do not come in clear anymore. Needless to say my parents are not picking up the Carolina HD signals. someone from Morristown posted that he could get them. good luck.

brett

well I living in Johnson City , but somehow because of the area i'am unable to get HD channels from Charter . I also can't get digtial SD channles cause charter doesn't ship digtal cable boxes to my area. OTA is out of the question because the Apartment I live in doesn't allow outdoor antennas on the roof.

edit: charter is also the only cable company that can provide service to my area.

Does anyone know if Charter or Comcast offers unencrypted QAM channels for the local HD affliliates in this area? Most of my HD viewing is on these channels, and it would be nice if I didn't have to pay such a premium for them.

Charter does offer ABC, NBC, CBS and PBS, but not Fox in HD...also, they are carrying TNT HD, Universal HD and Cinemax HD unencrypted, at least for right now...

Charter does offer ABC, NBC, CBS and PBS, but not Fox in HD...also, they are carrying TNT HD, Universal HD and Cinemax HD unencrypted, at least for right now...

I know they carry them in HD, but do they carry them unencrypted so a TV with a QAM tuner could pick them up with just a basic package subscription?

I know they carry them in HD, but do they carry them unencrypted so a TV with a QAM tuner could pick them up with just a basic package subscription?


They do indeed carry them unencrypted, except for Cinemax HD, which has just within the last couple of weeks been encrypted and is now unavailable without a cable box or cable card.

Anyone having problems w/ mainitaining the Ch 11 HD signal? I was trying to watch the ball games in HD but the signal kept dropping out and had to revert to the analog CH 11. My dad said that the signal drops out on windy days and high humidity. They get better reception at night. It seemed that the signal dropped out more often when the wind was whipping around but it seemed not to affect 11-2 or -3 or the other HD locals.

Brett

Can anyone get this local hd channel. I know it is on 39-1 but I can pick up everything but that channel. I know it is not my antenna because I have been able to pick it up before and it came in great. Are they broadcasting full time?

Anyone having problems w/ mainitaining the Ch 11 HD signal? I was trying to watch the ball games in HD but the signal kept dropping out and had to revert to the analog CH 11. My dad said that the signal drops out on windy days and high humidity. They get better reception at night. It seemed that the signal dropped out more often when the wind was whipping around but it seemed not to affect 11-2 or -3 or the other HD locals.

Brett
Yes my 11-1 will drop out from time to time .

Can anyone get this local hd channel. I know it is on 39-1 but I can pick up everything but that channel. I know it is not my antenna because I have been able to pick it up before and it came in great. Are they broadcasting full time?

I get WEMT-DT here, but it's not very consistent and breaks up frequently. It seems like the signal used to be better but that's hard to say with changing conditions, etc.

As far as WJHL, it does seem to be the most inconsisent signal of the three on Roan mountain IMO.

WJHL is the most consistent signal I get. The picture is stunning!!!

Can someone explain to me why Charter doesn't offer Fox in High Definition? I'm getting tired of having to watch Football on analog Fox channel 10 every day, when every other cable company in the area offers them in HD, on Fox. What gives?

I don't know why, but of course I would love it. I keep saying if it happens I'll finally start watching "24". We use Charter Cable here in Kingsport, and right now we have 14 HD channels...ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, HDNet, HDNetMovies, Discover HD Theater, Universal HD, TNTHD, ESPN HD, ESPN2 HD, HBO, Showtime, and Cinemax. Same for you?

We recently acquired the TIVO Series 3, upgraded it with an external hard drive, and have about 98 HD hours capacity. Life is good!

Can anyone get this local hd channel. I know it is on 39-1 but I can pick up everything but that channel. I know it is not my antenna because I have been able to pick it up before and it came in great. Are they broadcasting full time?

Get an indoor or outdoor antenna and get all the network HD channels. I have my parents set up with an external HD tuner and outdoor antenna. They get all networks in HD but PBS. If they had a rotator they would be able to get a couple of the PBS stations. They could not get one of the local analog signals but the HD signal comes in fine. Now they just need to get an HDTV so that they can enjoy the full HD signal. The down converted HD signal is still better than the analog.

Brett

Charter added two new HD channels today! MTVHD and StarzHD. That brings my total to 16 HD channels. Life is really good!

Is anyone able to pick up Comcast's local HD channels without having to get a box from them? If so, what channels are you getting?

Thanks! :)

Are all of the HD channels that Charter is "broadcasting" done in 16:9 ratio?

Is anyone able to pick up Comcast's local HD channels without having to get a box from them? If so, what channels are you getting?

Thanks! :)

Just did a scan and got the Tennis Channel on 82.7 on a friend's TV. He has a Westy that picked up everything so he is getting a bunch of blank channels. Would like to see a channel line-up too. I will update this post if we surf thru the rest of the channels.

Brett

I have Charter regular expanded basic cable TV and Charter HighSpeed Internet. Each comes into my house as separate lines. The TV signal is then amplified and put through an eight-way splitter before being sent throughout the house. The cable line just goes straight to my modem and then my router.

I have a HD-ready Olevia LCD and wanted to try to see some HD content. Bought the fairly new Samsung set-top box. I tried plugging the set-top box: 1) directly to a splitter prior to going to the modem, 2) directly to the incoming HS internet cable, and 3) directly to the cable TV signal via the eight way splitter. I do get the regular cable over the cable-TV cord, but have not received ANY HD (according to my Samsung) from any of the three set-ups above.

Supposedly, you don't need a charter box to pick up HD content, right?

Any ideas on where I should go next? Really would like to see HD programming!

I have Charter regular expanded basic cable TV and Charter HighSpeed Internet. Each comes into my house as separate lines. The TV signal is then amplified and put through an eight-way splitter before being sent throughout the house.


Supposedly, you don't need a charter box to pick up HD content, right?

Any ideas on where I should go next? Really would like to see HD programming!

Is the 8-way splitter amplified? There may be enough signal loss to prevent the HD channels from showing. I shorted out the cable line to my HDTV and could not get the HD channels even tho the std channels still came thru.

Brett

Yes, the line is amplified prior to entering the 8-way splitter (which is not amplified).

This is why I am a Dish sub now, instead of with Charter...

Under FCC regulations, a cable system can't downgrade a station's signal without that station's permission, i.e., if the station broadcasts in hd, then the cable company must send out the signal in hd. Also, while a cable system doesn't have to carry any local digital station, if they do so, then it has to be provided in the system's basic service tier, without the need for a cable box. See http://www.fcc.gov/mb/engineering/digital.html for more details.

Hi, there. I'm glad I found this forum ... this is exactly the type of information I've been searching for. I hope you guys can help me out.

I live in Southwest VA and have Time Warner digital cable. I recently purchased a new HDTV and hoped to receive the HD channels from local broadcasters. I went to the cable office hoping to switch my regular digital box for the HD set top receiver and they refused to let me do so.

Time Warner does broadcast several channels in HD here (i.e. HBO, SHO, Discovery, etc.) but those channels require the HD receiver and are only available if you agree to pay for the extra HD channels. I explained to the individual at the cable office that I didn't want the extra HD channels; I only want to receive the HD programming broadcast on the networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, etc), since according to the Time Warner website, that service is offered free of charge. The response I got was, "Oh, we don't have the technology to broadcast those channels in HD."

I was confused. If they can carry HD channels that are available for an extra monthly fee, why can't the broadcast the local HD channels? Do they just not want to give out boxes to people who don't want to purchase the extra channels?

Since then, I've done research. I've consulted ABC, CBS, and NBC directly and have found that the stations that are offered here, do broadcast in HD. WKPT (ABC), WCYB (NBC), and WDBJ7 (CBS) all broadcast HD programming.

So, at this point, I'm not sure what to do. Any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated! I need to see my new tv in all its HD glory! =)

Have you tried an antenna to see if you can get the local HD signals OTA? The OTA signals are superior to the compressed signals that the cable companies offer.

Brett

I was confused. If they can carry HD channels that are available for an extra monthly fee, why can't the broadcast the local HD channels? Do they just not want to give out boxes to people who don't want to purchase the extra channels?

Since then, I've done research. I've consulted ABC, CBS, and NBC directly and have found that the stations that are offered here, do broadcast in HD. WKPT (ABC), WCYB (NBC), and WDBJ7 (CBS) all broadcast HD programming.

So, at this point, I'm not sure what to do. Any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated! I need to see my new tv in all its HD glory! =)

Sounds like to me you need to get their HD cable box and pay for the regular digital tier. That should allow you the HD networks although they'll be able to charge you for the box. Alternatively, you could buy a QAM tuner and see what you can tune, but there's no law against the cable co. scrambling even the network HD channels.

Finally, you could go for OTA channels. This will require an antenna and an ATSC tuner.

Finally Charter added Fox in HD in Kingsport! Just in time for the big game!!! I hope they aren't doing this just for the Super Bowl and will take it back off after Sunday.

Go Pats!

Finally Charter added Fox in HD in Kingsport! Just in time for the big game!!! I hope they aren't doing this just for the Super Bowl and will take it back off after Sunday.

You must have missed all the ads on WCYB and Fox. This is just for one day only. The ad says they are in negotiations to add Fox but they went ahead and let Charter carry it for the Superbowl and the House episode afterwards.

In fact, the Fox 10 pm newscast mentioned it last night and they also pointed out that you can get 39 in HD all the time with an antenna as well.

I wonder if anyone else has this problem-
My sound amp is set to automatically detect the sound format of OTA signals. I'm close to downtown in JC and pick up all the local channels really well, even PBS from VA. BUT WKPT never seems to have a surround signal, just two-channel Dolby Digital. Can anyone get a 5.1 signal from WKPT OTA? Do they even broadcast in surround? Thanks!

Does anyone know (or can you point me to) the transmitter power before and after the 2009 switch over for the tri-cities channels? WKPT, WCYB, WJHL, WEMT, and WMSY?

If I'm not mistaken- and I'm pretty sure I'm not- the transmitters are in the same places as the current ones. So if you're picking up the analog signal, you'll pick up the digital signal without having to change the position of your antenna. I'm in-town in Johnson City, and my antenna is pointed NNE, I think. I pick up all the analog and digital signals, and I get the digital signals stronger than the analog. The transmitters are on Holston Mountain, in Greeneville (I think)- and I'm not sure where the PBS transmitter is, but I'm sure it's in VA.

If I'm not mistaken- and I'm pretty sure I'm not- the transmitters are in the same places as the current ones. So if you're picking up the analog signal, you'll pick up the digital signal without having to change the position of your antenna. I'm in-town in Johnson City, and my antenna is pointed NNE, I think. I pick up all the analog and digital signals, and I get the digital signals stronger than the analog. The transmitters are on Holston Mountain, in Greeneville (I think)- and I'm not sure where the PBS transmitter is, but I'm sure it's in VA.

scyscyscy is correct about the analog and digital transmitters being at the same location. Here's the Transmitter Map via Google Earth using a File from TVFool.com . This shows where all of them are located within the Tri Cities, TN/VA DMA (doesn't include translators or low power stations; too many to include here). WJHL's transmitter is located at the same location as WKPT's. Hope this helps!

Does anyone know (or can you point me to) the transmitter power before and after the 2009 switch over for the tri-cities channels? WKPT, WCYB, WJHL, WEMT, and WMSY?

According to TVFool.com....

Power is in kW
WCYB 8.83 on ch. 5 (currently 182.5 on ch. 28)
WEMT 44.83 on ch. 38 (no change from current)
WMSY 100.00 on ch. 42 (no change from current)
WKPT 68.08 on ch. 19 (currently is 84.14 on ch. 27)
WJHL 22.24 on ch. 11 (currently is 1000.0 on ch. 58)

I think the main reason for the big power dropoff on Feb. 12, 2009 is that most of them are going back to their "old" channel and need less power at those frequencies. They are required to cover a certain area so if you get them now you just need to rescan them after the switchover.

Just a note, WKPT has requested to stay on channel 27 after all. It was approved in the last FCC R&O.

To make sure you'll be able to receive WCYB on channel 5, make sure you have relatively clean reception of their analog signal. If not, you'll need to acquire an antenna that will deliver such reception.

- Trip

WOW! :eek::eek: Thanks everyone for all the spot-on information. Y'all saved me several emails back and forth to each of the stations. I especially like the tvfool.com site. That is a dream site for anyone serious about all the OTA DTV stuff! I love it! More than I could have asked.

The internet is truly invaluable. Where else could an amateur get "the signal strength from each of the broadcasts analyzed for your location using 3D propagation modeling algorithms"...for free!!!:cool::cool::cool:

Curt

I think the main reason for the big power dropoff on Feb. 12, 2009 is that most of them are going back to their "old" channel and need less power at those frequencies. They are required to cover a certain area so if you get them now you just need to rescan them after the switchover.

I grew up on ACC basketball because we could get the Carolina stations (3, 4, and 13). If they go back to the old channels, then I wonder if my parents could pick up the digital feed? For some reason, the analog channels do not come in as strong as they did in the 70's and 80's. I guess it could be due to the direction of the antenna. My dad has it adjusted to get max out the local signals.

Brett

You must have missed all the ads on WCYB and Fox. This is just for one day only. The ad says they are in negotiations to add Fox but they went ahead and let Charter carry it for the Superbowl and the House episode afterwards.

In fact, the Fox 10 pm newscast mentioned it last night and they also pointed out that you can get 39 in HD all the time with an antenna as well.

Three months later and we are still waiting for their "negotiations" to work out. And here we sit still without Fox in HD. At this point you have to put all the blame on WEMT. Every other station had been able to work out an agreement with Charter long ago.
I think I'm going to boycott WEMT until it lets Charter carry its HD signal. Who is with me? There is nothing that great on Fox right now anyway. I can live without American Idol and Prison Break and 24 won't be back for a while. I'm not that much of a NASCAR fan, but if anyone is you can watch it in HD on HDNet a few days after the race.

You're helping to prove WEMT's point.
Charter's position is that the signal is "free over the air" so they shouldn't have to pay for it. The fact that you haven't taken advantage of this fact actually increases the premium on the channel.

Put up an antenna and enjoy Fox.

You're helping to prove WEMT's point.
Charter's position is that the signal is "free over the air" so they shouldn't have to pay for it. The fact that you haven't taken advantage of this fact actually increases the premium on the channel.


Well now you have brought up an ongoing war between cable companies and OTA stations. As I understand it, traditionally cable companies have not been charged subscription fees to carry local network stations, but now some of those channels are asking why they shouldn't get money from consumers through cable companies, especially for their HD signal. They want a piece of the pie, the billions of dollars networks like ESPN ($2.90 per subscriber per month) charge cable companies.

You can't really blame them for wanting to make more money, but all I know is that WEMT is the only one not on Charter.


Put up an antenna and enjoy Fox.


OK, good advice. Actually I did try that a year or so ago, but didn't have much success. I tried an indoor antenna and couldn't even get a sniff of 39.1. Obviously I was using the wrong antenna. I live in an apartment, I can't put an expensive outdoor antenna on the roof. What would you, or anyone else, recommend I use? I live in Ridgefields in Kingsport and could only get one or two HD signals. I'll admit I don't know much about HD antennas. Any help would be most appreciated.

OK, good advice. Actually I did try that a year or so ago, but didn't have much success. I tried an indoor antenna and couldn't even get a sniff of 39.1. Obviously I was using the wrong antenna. I live in an apartment, I can't put an expensive outdoor antenna on the roof. What would you, or anyone else, recommend I use? I live in Ridgefields in Kingsport and could only get one or two HD signals. I'll admit I don't know much about HD antennas. Any help would be most appreciated.

I'd try an indoor Silver Sensor first. You might even put it on your balcony depending on which way it faces.

Next would be the CM 4221 outdoors on the balcony if possible. Alternatively, you could put it in a room with good exposure to the direction of the signal. WCYB will switch to channel 5 in Feb. so this may require another antenna.

Here are your generic tvfool results for Kingsport. If you put in your coordinates (look at a site such as terraserver.com for these) you'll get more accurate results:

My brother and sister-in-law lives over by Warriors Path in Kingsport and they get the FOX station with a $19.95 UHF Radio Shack antenna mounted on their bottom floor porch.

I'd try an indoor Silver Sensor first. You might even put it on your balcony depending on which way it faces.

Next would be the CM 4221 outdoors on the balcony if possible. Alternatively, you could put it in a room with good exposure to the direction of the signal. WCYB will switch to channel 5 in Feb. so this may require another antenna.

Here are your generic tvfool results for Kingsport. If you put in your coordinates (look at a site such as terraserver.com for these) you'll get more accurate results:

OK apparently there are more than one model of the Silver Sensor antenna. There is one at circuit city which has rabbit ears, I think this is the one I used before with no luck, and there is one on amazon that looks totally different.

Which one were you talking about?

Here are the links to the two I am talking about.
Circuit City (http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Philips-Silver-Sensor-Amplified-Indoor-HDTV-Antenna-PHDTV3/sem/rpsm/oid/158313/catOid/-12886/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do) and Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Philips-PHDTV1-Silver-Digital-Antenna/dp/B0007XDI54******sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1208292025&sr=1-1).

This:

http://www.amazon.com/Philips-PHDTV1-Silver-Digital-Antenna/dp/B0007XDI54

Here are your generic tvfool results for Kingsport. If you put in your coordinates (look at a site such as terraserver.com for these) you'll get more accurate results:

OK here are the results for my specific address. It shows WEMT as a very weak signal. What would you suggest I do after looking at these results?

OK here are the results for my specific address. It shows WEMT as a very weak signal. What would you suggest I do after looking at these results?

Hmm. That looks pretty tough. You must be physically blocked by terrain. I might still try the SS. Get plenty of RG6 so you can try multiple locations with it. If you can get a lock on the signal at all it would be worth pursuing with a bigger antenna. Try non-intuitive aiming as well. You might be able to catch a bounced signal (doubtful though). If not, in your situation in an apartment, it just may not be doable.

Luckily WEMT will significantly boost their signal in February so you might can get it then.

As for signal bounces, that's how I get the Knoxville stations from where I live. Knoxville is SSW from here and I can get them best pointing WNW and getting a bounce off of a mountain. The funny thing is I can get WEMT with the antenna pointed that way as well, even if the antenna is sitting on the ground with my house between it and the tower.

You might want to move it around and see what you can get, if you can.

I'd try an indoor Silver Sensor first. You might even put it on your balcony depending on which way it faces.


OK well I tried the Silver Sensor with no luck. I tried different locations and positions and it can't find any signal at all for WEMT, not even 1%.
Is there anyone that has had any luck at all getting WEMT in Kingsport?

I have searched this thread and only saw a couple of brief blips about WCYB-DT migrating back to channel 5 after February. First, I thought this would not be permissable -- I thought the FCC was requiring stations to totally abandon low band VHF (2-6) and the extreme upper band of UHF (50 or 51 - up). The low band VHF signals are rather prone to summertime atmospheric conditions, so even if the FCC is allowing it (and apparently they are) I personally would not want to chance the digital-signal-destroying interference and stay where I am (or move to something higher than channel 5).

Just wondering...

Eric

There will be stations on low band unfortunately. WCYB is one and another is WDKY FOX in Danville KY (digital 4).
IMO it's a mistake for WCYB. They blow my doors off now on 28 at 110 miles....

Actually, WDKY applied to move to channel 46 last week. We'll see if they get it.

Low VHF digitals suck. I wish everyone in the market the best of luck with WCYB-DT.

- Trip

I do understand that low VHF signals do "bend" over the terrain better and WCYB covers a pretty mountainous area, but when you consider they are going to be sending the signal out at a whopping 8.8 KW of power then it is obvious that they are just being cheap.

I live on on the border of Church Hill / Mt. Carmel and am trying to decide which antenna to purchase. My house is in Bays View Subdivision off fox ave and i can see the tops of most mountains around us into greene and washington counties with no trees or anything blocking my view towards any of the directions of the transmit towers in bristol, jc and greeneville. I am going away from charter to dishnetwork simply for the huge price difference. I want to receive all the local hd channels with out having to move the antenna with a rotator as the dish box i am getting supports dvr OTA and it will be a pain to have to move it all the time. I am around 30-35 miles from all the antenna's based on antennaweb.org and tv fool. I was thinking of buying an -- antennas Direct - Multidirectional Outdoor HDTV Antenna Model: DB4 from the best buy website. I was going to mount on the outside of the house and point it towards J.C. which is in the middle of all the towers i want to receive from according to tvfool. My wife doesn't want a huge antenna if we can avoid it, but i have told her i might not be able to. i was also looking at a wineguard 7210 from newegg.com but am unsure if i would need a rotator with it. I tried an indoor antenna and cannot see any dtv channels with it so it is going back tomorrow. If the DB4 wont work would the DB8 work any better. Also with the DB4 is it as simply as running a 50-75ft coax from the antenna to the box or would i need a pre amp with that distance. I have read about six hours about antenna's and such and should have known the indoor wouldnt work (wishful thinking). Any help is greatly appreciated.

FYI-anyone living in Church Hill can chalk up an indoor antenna as mine would not receive anything on a Samsung 4661 LCD TV with the built in tuner.
bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8408476&type=product&id=1183160363349

WCYB can only cover 82% of the market on channel 28, even if the effective radiated power were increased to a million watts. This is due to the terrain features of this area and a UHF channel. Returning to VHF channel 5 with 7.1kW of average DTV power will more than replicate the existing analog coverage area and exceed the 95% FCC requirement. Note that Nashville and Memphis stations are also returning to channel 5. The latest generation of receiver chips have overcome ghosting and terrestrial interference issues. Analog or digital....it's still RF!

If that's true, it's true in theory only. The problem is defining "coverage". Low band digital is notoriously prone to intermittent breakups due to interference and if "coverage" is defined as breakup-free reception then its likely to be much less. Where the analog signal was "watchable" even with some ghosting, etc., digital is rendered "unwatchable" very quickly unless you have breakup-free reception.

The latest generation of chips are better, I agree, but cannot overcome the electrical noise issues that come with low-VHF. Every lightning strike between me and WBRA-DT 3 (or within 50 miles in any direction) causes the signal to completely break up and drop out, assuming the signal's even decoding that day. Even with a dedicated low-VHF antenna, the signal spends about 50% of its time completely undecodable, whereas all the UHF digitals max out the signal meter.

Enjoy WCYB-DT while it lasts.

- Trip

Consulting engineers agree that channel 5 is the lowest VHF channel that should be used for DTV and can handle the noise issues. They proved that in the early Charlotte DTV testing back in the late 90's. That's why nationwide over 20 stations will return to channel 5. Some other markets that wanted to come back cannot because of station interference issues. WCYB is concerned with the audience and advertisers within the Tri Cities DMA market and not outside markets or viewers that are miles away. It is also important to note that 90% of all the Tri Cities viewers get all their signals from cable and satellite, leaving only 10% of over the air viewers. The WCYB-DT signal will hit all the cable headends, DISH, and DIRECT TV. Yes, strong lightning affects lower VHF channels. Heavy rains affect satellite and microwave signals too. It's always been that way! With an antenna elevation near 4,600 ft ASL, the Tri Cities viewers will not have a problem. Come back in Feb., 2009, WCYB-DT will be there with a beautiful picture!

My count is 14 stations. And KCWX wants off of channel 5.

Don't try to use a vacuum cleaner, shredder, door bell, blender, or anything else with an electric motor while watching WCYB-DT 5. All will trash the signal and make it break up.

The engineers I've talked to ruled out channels 5 and 6 for DTV use on that reason alone, forgetting everything else.

10% of 330,000 potential viewers in your DMA is 33,000 viewers. How many of those will have trouble with it? How many of the other 297,000 have TVs not connected to cable and satellite who will be unable to hold the WCYB-DT 5 signal? Are the cable and satellite companies going to be fed with fiber? If not, what keeps lightning and electrical interference from trashing their feeds as well?

I appreciate the reasoning of the terrain issues and whatnot, but I'm of the belief that the negatives of low-VHF far outweigh the positives. While heavy rain affects satellite and microwave, I've never had it affect UHF signals. I have, however, had every lightning strike within 50 miles impact my low-VHF digital signal and make the station I want to watch be completely unwatchable.

I don't like knowing that others will have to suffer with reception issues due to low-VHF the way I have. For that reason, I wish you and the rest of the viewers of future low-VHF stations (such as WCYB-DT 5) the best of luck. You'll be needing it.

- Trip

I love WDKY-DT on 4, and I'm looking forward to WCYB-DT on 5.

I understand the issues some have with such assignments, but for those of us deep in the mountains the VHF stations are a godsend.

A couple of days ago my TiVo added WEMTDT (Channel 710) to my lineup when Charter did it's major rearranging of channels. There is no signal on it, so I'm wondering if it's a mistake or if Charter is finally going to carry Fox HD when it when it adds the pathetic offering of a few new HD channels on Oct. 30. Anyone heard anything?

No, but that would be welcome news. I just moved to Kingsport last week from Asheville, where we had almost 30 HD channels from Charter there.

looks like several new HD channels were added today, but still no FOX. :(

Connected TV to Direct TV Converter Box TR 40CRA and Radio Shack HDTV Antenna Model DA-5200; Reception in Gray TN is 90% +. Receive WCYB, WJHL, WKPT and WEMT Digital Channels including WB, WJHL WX, WAPK and WOPI. Very pleased with reception!

FOXHD finally on Charter channel 710!!!

Happy New Year.

FOXHD finally on Charter channel 710!!!

Happy New Year.

Wow, I will have to check this out when I get home from work. When Charter had its big lineup change in October, my TiVo added 710, so I was hoping TiVo knew something we didn't. I wish it would have starting working last night when I checked it to watch the Orange Bowl.

I wouldnt be to excited about this. Im just guessing but if you will remember in Feb of last year they added FOXHD for the super bowl. It was only for that weekend and was removed after it. Im thinking the only reason it is done if for the BCS college games. I hope that i am wrong and it should have been added a long time ago permantly but dont get to excited you may just be disappointed. :mad:

I'm keeping my OTA antenna just in case that FOXHD disappears again.

I wouldnt be to excited about this. Im just guessing but if you will remember in Feb of last year they added FOXHD for the super bowl. It was only for that weekend and was removed after it. Im thinking the only reason it is done if for the BCS college games. I hope that i am wrong and it should have been added a long time ago permantly but dont get to excited you may just be disappointed. :mad:

Yeah I remember that. But there was an announcement made that it was a one-time deal just for the Super Bowl, and that they were working on a deal for sometime last year. Hopefully this is the result of that. It's only taken them five years.

Hopefully they will keep it. The fox39 website has been under construction for weeks so no info there

Dont hold me to this but i was told by a friend at Charter that this was a permanent thing. He said he should know for sure monday but that it appears to be for good. I still wouldnt hold my breath we are talking about Charter ya know :) They let there workers know about as much as there customers so i will try and post monday what i find out.

Talked to a charter installer yesterday and he said he thought the Fox HD addition was permanent.

OK, looks like WEMT-HD is here to stay. That or Charter is playing a really cruel trick on its customers.
All I have to say is: it's about damn time! It only took five years for the two of them to work out an agreement.
Now I'm going to go sell some body parts so I can afford my cable bill. Thanks for the new round of rate hikes, Charter.

Is there any upcoming agreement between DirecTV and Tri-Cities stations for broadcasting their signals in HD? Apparently, WCYB/WEMT/CW4 did agree today for a carriage agreement, as CYB and company were threatening to not allow D* to even carry SD signals w/out a carriage fee.

Does this new agreement allow D* to carry HD feeds as well?

After looking at my signal analysis, is there any hope for me to pick up locals like WCYB, WJHL, etc. I live in Ft Blackmore (about 10 miles outside Gate City) If there is a chance what antenna would be recommedned? Thank for all/any help you can give.

After looking at my signal analysis, is there any hope for me to pick up locals like WCYB, WJHL, etc. I live in Ft Blackmore (about 10 miles outside Gate City) If there is a chance what antenna would be recommedned? Thank for all/any help you can give.

You might want to check the coordinates again... that location is in North Carolina. I tried just Fort Blackmore for the location (no house address) and here is what I get for the post-transition stations....

Ft. Blackmore (http://www.lmunet.edu/athletics/Stuff/Radar-Digital2.png)

You should pick up WJHL and WCYB pretty easily, especially when they go back to VHF in February. WEMT and WKPT should come in pretty easily as well, along with WLFG out of Abingdon. Unless you live along Big Stoney Creek I'd bet you could even get WYMT out of Hazard.

And since you are pretty much directly under WSBN's tower (located up on High Knob) if you can't get that station you might as well give up. :p

The House has defeated a bill to delay by four months the Feb. 17 transition from analog to digital television, the Associated Press reports. The Senate has already passed the bill unanimously.

The vote was 258 in favor and 168 against, but two-thirds was needed for the measure to pass.

Looks like the idiots who have set on their lazy butts may be in the dark! Good for them!

The House has defeated a bill to delay by four months the Feb. 17 transition from analog to digital television, the Associated Press reports. The Senate has already passed the bill unanimously.

The vote was 258 in favor and 168 against, but two-thirds was needed for the measure to pass.

Looks like the idiots who have set on their lazy butts may be in the dark! Good for them!

Amen. This is ridiculous. Wasn't this already delayed several years from the original target date?

If anyone is not aware of the transition, they must have been living in a cave and don't watch television anyway. There has been more than ample time for anyone to make any changes needed. And I am sick of having to watch the warning scrolls.

Of course no one in this forum will have any problems. lol

Is there any upcoming agreement between DirecTV and Tri-Cities stations for broadcasting their signals in HD? Apparently, WCYB/WEMT/CW4 did agree today for a carriage agreement, as CYB and company were threatening to not allow D* to even carry SD signals w/out a carriage fee.

Does this new agreement allow D* to carry HD feeds as well?

I flipped on the TV this morning and unless I'm crazy it looks like WCYB NBC is in HD. The ABC affiliate WKPT is not in HD. I cannot tell about WEMT Fox since their currently running an infomercial which was shot in SD.

A SuperBowl treat?

I was right, everything except ABC is now in HD!

http://dtv.client.shareholder.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=362058

I was right, everything except ABC is now in HD!

http://dtv.client.shareholder.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=362058

This can only be bad news for Charter. I'm sure that is one reason why people are holding off from getting a dish around here. I know it was one of the reasons I haven't gotten rid of Charter yet. That and my TiVo series 3 doesn't work with DirecTV. But no ABC? I have to have ABC HD for Lost.

For anyone that has Direct TV, how much is it a month for a decent HD package, and how are its DVRs these days?

The different packages and such are on the DirecTV web site, and I won't even try to go through all the options. I know that right now due to a promotion I received, I'm paying about $80 a month. That gives me almost every channel DirecTV carries. During football season that also included Sunday Ticket. That wasn't the normal price though, which would have put that package around $100 or more a month.

The above also includes two DVRs. When I went HD, I had to lose my DirecTV Tivo DVRs. I'm pleased to say that the adjustment to their non-Tivo DVRs has been pretty smooth. Elements of the interface aren't as nice, but they work and work well.

Sweet! I've been waiting for this. Unfortunately WKPT is the one channel that I was really hoping for. I have been getting the New York NBC and FOX HD channels so I really didn't care for that much about not having WCYB & WEMT. I can barely get WKPT over the air.

How do you get the New York channels? I am stuck with nothing at my place... I have dish locals, but would love some network HD :)

How do you get the New York channels? I am stuck with nothing at my place... I have dish locals, but would love some network HD :)

Back when the Tri-Cities didn't get any HD Locals from Directv, I applied for DNS (Distant Network Service). Your local stations have to agree to it. Only WCYB & WEMT agreed to allow me to use the New York stations.

Finally, DirecTV has all the locals in HD except WKPT 19 ABC. I live in Hansonville and can't get WKPT ota. Does anyone know where the transmitter is? Antennaweb.org shows it being in the same place as WCYB and WJHL, but I pick those 2 up strong with my rooftop antenna. I can't pick up WKPT at all. Thanks

Their tower location is the same as WJHL but their power source consists of a hamster running on a wheel connected to a generator. That is why their signal only reaches four or five miles away. Apparently they are too cheap to buy a second hamster.

:D

WKPT has plenty of power. There's likely some other factor at work if WKPT is a problem. I get it fine here at 110 miles. WCYB as well. WJHL is a little tougher probably due to it's transmitter position relative to me compared to the others. 58 UHF probably propagates a little less than lower UHF as well.

Yeah I have noticed WKPT's HD signal is hard to pick up also in Kingsport. But this is the same people whose news department was so bad that it had to fold. I miss WKPT news, it provided a lot of entertainment.
WJHL and WCYB have no problems, and WEMT is impossible, at least where I live.
But since WEMT is now on Charter, I don't really care. By the way, I don't think it's a coincidence that Charter suddenly added WEMT just a few weeks before DirectTV did.

I saw something interesting on a Dish Network forum earlier today.
http://www.satelliteguys.us/dish-network-forum/163749-satelliteguys-live-recap-dish-retailer-chat-2-4-09-a.html#post1690663

It states that the Tri-Cities local HD channels will be available on February 25th.

Dish Network recently activated a new satellite (Ceil2) which has the capability to add HD local channels many local markets.

Can you believe the delay until June? I thought I heard WJHL will only be digital on 02/17, they are pulling the plug on their analog signal. Did anyone else hear this?

I live 41 miles from the WKPT tower and of the big three(WJHL,WCYB,WKPT) it's always been the toughest for me to lock in. WJHL is problematic at times but not as much as WKPT.

What type of antenna are you using?

I've been checking WKPT for the last several days and they are barely a blip now. Something has changed and I suspect they are at reduced power for some reason. Their analog signal seems much weaker as well. That could explain some of the problems seen here recently.

I've been checking WKPT for the last several days and they are barely a blip now. Something has changed and I suspect they are at reduced power for some reason. Their analog signal seems much weaker as well. That could explain some of the problems seen here recently.

http://www.wkpttv.com/
"between now and June 12 some viewers may notice that WKPT-TV's analog transmission on UHF channel 19 is at lower power than in the past."

Is BTES, in Bristol Tennessee, the local utility that offers TV, Internet, and Phone, ever going to offer more HD channels? No HD channels have been added since the spring and my calls to them for more channels seem to be falling on deaf ears. Anyone with any info?

Charter adds NGHD and USA HD to the lineup.

Does anyone know if WCYB-DT has cut back on their power? For the last few days I can only get the signal if I hit a certain "sweet spot" and even then it only locks in for a few seconds at a time. Usually WCYB is the strongest/easiest to pick up station... i.e. I can move the antenna 20-30 degrees either side of a line pointing to the tower and it comes in. I'm at the extreme western end of Lee County so even a minor change in power is the difference in getting a signal or not. I don't think the leaves coming out has anything to do with it because this antenna has been in place for almost two years with no problems (apart from the usual weather-related interference) until now.

Thanks!

Anyone else notice anything going on with WKPT's HD signal the past few days? I noticed it Sunday during the NBA game, the image quality looked horrible and no way it was HD. My TiVo said it was 480i. It looked like it was SD that had been cropped to 16x9. Same thing tonight with Nightline. Anyone know if WKPT is having issues?

Ok I was right. WKPT e-mailed me back and said Sunday morning its HD encoder went out. It's fixed now.

Good to know. I really missed the HD feed for the finale of DWTS. We don't watch ABC on Wednesday, but glad it's back in HD.

Charter just add MLBHD to the lineup

Charter just add MLBHD to the lineup

Now all we need is Fox Sports, FX, Travel Channel, SPEED, VERSUS, Spike, Sci-Fi, etc., etc. Charter is still lagging way behind. I am very close to just going to a dish.

How did the DTV switches go today?

They don't start until 12:30 when WJHL turns off their analog and moves the digital from 58 to 11. WKPT, WEMT and WCYB won't stop analog until 11:59 pm. The PBS stations have been digital only since February.

I use to live in Bristol and worked for WCYB. Are they HD with their local news yet?

I use to live in Bristol and worked for WCYB. Are they HD with their local news yet?

That will be the day.

I have a feeling they won't do HD News until WJHL does. And vice versa. And neither one will want to go first. :)

Speaking of WCYB I lost the signal, anybody else? I haven't had the antenna hooked up in about 2 months and even did a rescan but no luck.

WCYB switched back to VHF 5 in case you weren't aware. This will require an antenna for low band VHF. Rabbit ears might work if you are close in.

WCYB switched back to VHF 5 in case you weren't aware. This will require an antenna for low band VHF. Rabbit ears might work if you are close in.

I was afraid that's what it was, thanks for the reply. Did any of the knoxville stations change?

I was afraid that's what it was, thanks for the reply. Did any of the knoxville stations change?

WBIR (10) and WBXX (20) went back to their old numbers.

Can you get WJHL on 11?

Can you get WJHL on 11?

I can. It's better at night but still with dropouts. I get a better signal now with DT11 than I did with DT58.

WBIR (10) and WBXX (20) went back to their old numbers.

Can you get WJHL on 11?

I can get 11 WJHL and 19 WKPT no problems, just not 5.

The Tropo must have been crazy high last night as I could get 39 WEMT in almost any direction.

I got 10.2 and 10.3, and idea why no 10.1?

I can get 11 WJHL and 19 WKPT no problems, just not 5.

The Tropo must have been crazy high last night as I could get 39 WEMT in almost any direction.

I got 10.2 and 10.3, and idea why no 10.1?

Maybe WCYB set up jammers just outside Morristown to make sure you can only watch NBC programming on their station? :rolleyes:

And there is no 10.3 unless they added it this morning and didn't advertise. :)

Maybe WCYB set up jammers just outside Morristown to make sure you can only watch NBC programming on their station? :rolleyes:

And there is no 10.3 unless they added it this morning and didn't advertise. :)

I don't live outside of Morristown:p I was hoping I would still get 5 after the change but I guess not.

I didn't think there was a 10.3 either but that's how my TV is showing it now! 10.2 is the weather and 10.3 seems to be regular NBC, for now.

Is channel 6 WATE VHF now? That's the only Knoxville channel I couldn't get last night that I wanted.

WATE is DT26.

I don't live outside of Morristown:p I was hoping I would still get 5 after the change but I guess not.

I didn't think there was a 10.3 either but that's how my TV is showing it now! 10.2 is the weather and 10.3 seems to be regular NBC, for now.

Is channel 6 WATE VHF now? That's the only Knoxville channel I couldn't get last night that I wanted.

WATE is on UHF. I know it could be picked up in Kingsport before June 12 and they've been at that channel (26) since they turned on the DT signal.

Actually, I know for a fact they upped their power on June 12 because my aunt just north of Surgoinsville (in Stanley Valley) can get it now and she couldn't get the digital before. And she has a small outdoor VHF/UHF antenna (with no other amplification and a near-100 foot run) outside above her house that's pointed toward Johnson City!

She just has this antenna and a converter box. Prior to June 12 show could only get WETP (2) digitally and 5,6,8 (barely),11 and 39 (barely) with this setup. I went to her house on June 13 ready to help her buy and install a new antenna and didn't need to as she now gets 2,5,6,11 and 39 easily and also 7 (WMAK) out of Knoxville but that has a lot of dropout. I told her we could try to tweak the antenna a bit to pull in 19 47 but she said she was fine with what she is getting now.

I was just curious about WATE because everything I was getting last night from Knoxville was going straight thru my house, like I said the tropo was really high last night as I'm usually not able to do that. I've gotten WATE before, just wondered if there had been any changes to WATE.

I'm in Surgoinsville too, I hate that WCYB changed.

I was just curious about WATE because everything I was getting last night from Knoxville was going straight thru my house, like I said the tropo was really high last night as I'm usually not able to do that. I've gotten WATE before, just wondered if there had been any changes to WATE.

I'm in Surgoinsville too, I hate that WCYB changed.

Looks like WCYB is listening to the complaints as they have applied to up their power from 7.1kw to 29.9kw. If that gets approved, apart from blowing up some peoples' amplifiers because it is so strong it will also be picked up a LOT further out than now.

Current coverage map (http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service-area?x=DT1231401.html)
Predicted coverage map at 29.9kw (http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service-area?x=DS1319027.html)

I live in Piney Flats and my WCYB signal is 100 and my WJHL signal is ZERO.

I live in Piney Flats and my WCYB signal is 100 and my WJHL signal is ZERO.

Just a thought but I ran into issues with WJHL in that my D* receiver was "thinking" it was still on DT58. Even when I rescanned it would recognize the channel (DT11) but would not allow viewing of it. I actually had to erase everything, re-enter a different zip (other than what would be a local zip for WJHL), then rescan and finally it worked.

thanks CPKAt. That worked I get around a 79 now. I am good to go. Oh my siganl strength is 100 for 5, 100 for 39 and 11 and 18 is 79. Not too bad.

aunt and uncle live in church hill................ have charter.......what channels (HD) are in the clear on charter...............no box...........currently trying to get them off the charter train to go to Direct.

aunt and uncle live in church hill................ have charter.......what channels (HD) are in the clear on charter...............no box...........currently trying to get them off the charter train to go to Direct.

They change all the time:
http://www.silicondust.com/hdhomerun/lineup_web/US:37642#lineup_358548

WCYB increases power but still no reception in Gray since relocating at Digital Switch in June.

Oh, I'm sure they'll have to spend more money before they finally admit to themselves they made a mistake by reverting back to low band vhf.:rolleyes:

I emailed their CE a couple of years ago gushing about how great the uhf 28 signal was doing at the time (and how sure I was that reverting to vhf 5 would be a mistake). Not that it did any good.

Why don't they switch back to UHF?

WJHL has requested an increase in power from 25.5 kW up to 34.5 kW.

- Trip

WJHL has requested an increase in power from 25.5 kW up to 34.5 kW.

- Trip

Looks like they're still trying to play catch-up to WCYB.... :p

Looks like they're still trying to play catch-up to WCYB.... :p

:confused:

I'm assuming this was tongue-in-cheek.

:confused:

I'm assuming this was tongue-in-cheek.

It was, but having worked at a station that is a perennial #2 in the market I've seen first hand how they copied everything the #1 does to try to move up to the top spot. WJHL doesn't do this much, but it's funny how WCYB went for a big power increase and now WJHL follows suit. Might be for different reasons but still the timing is interesting. :)

The way WJHL talked about mobile DTV during the transition in June I bet this has something to do with that. I wonder if anyone will even be able to get a decent signal since they are on 11.

I see. Perspective from the local market environment.

From my perspective here, WCYB is already "way behind" being on lo vhf.

just wondering...I use to live in Bristol. Is the 12p SEC game in HD on WCYB?

just wondering...I use to live in Bristol. Is the 12p SEC game in HD on WCYB?

It is except when they run weather information over the screen.

just wondered if they were able to pick up the HD Feed. I use to work at WCYB, so I am interested in what they are doing.

just wondering...I use to live in Bristol. Is the 12p SEC game in HD on WCYB?

I thought CBS carried the SEC?

I thought CBS carried the SEC?

WCYB carries the syndicated SEC Network (a.k.a. ESPN) game during football season.

Greetings to all,

Got a question about the SEC football network. Next week's game between UT and UGA is on the SEC network. With the Presidents Cup on NBC, it looks like the football will be moved to WENT (Fox). How strong is that signal? Some friends and I will be in Boone, NC that weekend. Can we pick up WENT or are we out of luck? thanks for any help...

Greetings to all,

Got a question about the SEC football network. Next week's game between UT and UGA is on the SEC network. With the Presidents Cup on CBS, it looks like the football will be moved to WENT (Fox). How strong is that signal? Some friends and I will be in Boone, NC that weekend. Can we pick up WENT or are we out of luck? thanks for any help...

You can probably pick up WEMT better than you can WCYB in Boone.... but WEMT usually carries the Raycom Sports ACC games.

So either WCYB is moving the UT-UG game to the CW4 channel (5.2) or they are flip-flopping and showing the UT game on WEMT so that it can be shown in HD.

From looking at the D* website, I am now thinking it might be on WAXN (64.1). Is it possible that is correct?

If you're depending on OTA reception of WAXN, don't. They're at low power for the next few weeks due to "catastrophic failure" of the transmission line.

- Trip

When I was in Blowing Rock a few years ago, we had a large combo antenna and were picking up mostly Charlotte stations. We might have been getting a snowy pic from Greenville/Spartanburg IIRC. I doubt you'll get WEMT from across the "divide" unless you are way up there in elevation.

Cable subscribers in Greeneville have been forutunate to get HD channels on standard cable for several months. Running a channel scan will find bunches of HD channels such as all of the locals, plus what seems to be all of the non-premium channels in HD(ESPN, TNT, HGTV, etc.)

During the past few days, ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, and TBS HS are all gone. Any ideas if this is permanent? Are customers that are paying for the HD package missing these channels as well?

The HD package is terribly overpriced, and may be time to call DirecTV.

Comcast in J.C./Grey recently stopped carrying HD cable channels in the clear as well. All that is left is the major networks. Hope they add them back, or may be off to Dish.

If you're depending on OTA reception of WAXN, don't. They're at low power for the next few weeks due to "catastrophic failure" of the transmission line.

- Trip

If you have a good rooftop antenna setup, you might be able to get WAXN (and WSOC) from their translator near Valdese. It displays as channel 6; it transmits on channel 42, if your tuner is capable of manual tuning. Reception around Boone may be spotty, but toward Deep Gap and Blowing Rock looks better according to this FCC map:

http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service-area?x=LD1315918.html

I bought an antennacraft y5-2-6 so I could recieve WCYB-5. I also have a CM4228 and a CM7777, I'm having a hard time combining the antennas on the same mast and keeping the channels that I could already get. What am I doing wrong? The VHF should go on top correct?

I bought an antennacraft y5-2-6 so I could recieve WCYB-5. I also have a CM4228 and a CM7777, I'm having a hard time combining the antennas on the same mast and keeping the channels that I could already get. What am I doing wrong? The VHF should go on top correct?


I'd put the vhf below. You need about 48 inches separation minimum and 60 would be better between the two antennas. Make sure the vhf goes to the "vhf" input on the 7777, the 4228 to the "uhf/combined" input. Make sure the internal switches on the 7777 are set for "separate" and FM trap "in".

Thanks Cpcat, I've tried that but now can't get WJHL-11, I could before with just the 4228 although it wasn't always great. Any ideas on how to get WJHL too with this setup?

Ahh. The cm7777 is filtering out the hi vhf (channel 11) from the 4228 through the uhf input.

You need to use an HLSJ. Attach the 4228 to the hi port and the 2-6 antenna to the low port. Then take the common output from the HLSJ to the uhf/combined input on the 7777. In this case, the internal switches should be at "combined" and FM trap "in".

The HLSJ will pass 2-6 on the lo input and 7-69 on the hi input.

HLSJ:
http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?p=HLSJ

Alternatively, you could set it up as before but get a wide band 2-13 vhf antenna.

Got a nice surprise when I tuned into Jeopardy on my TiVo tonight on WCYB. It was in HD. It looks like WCYB is the first station in the Tri-Cities that has acquired the equipment necessary to record and broadcast in HD. Looked great, too.
I wonder who will be the first to start broadcasting its news in HD.

Got a nice surprise when I tuned into Jeopardy on my TiVo tonight on WCYB. It was in HD. It looks like WCYB is the first station in the Tri-Cities that has acquired the equipment necessary to record and broadcast in HD. Looked great, too.
I wonder who will be the first to start broadcasting its news in HD.

Yeah, it looked great. I would bet WCYB is the first to do HD News as well. I missed it, but I assume Wheel was HD as well?

Yeah, it looked great. I would bet WCYB is the first to do HD News as well. I missed it, but I assume Wheel was HD as well?

Yes, it was.

Problem with local NBC HD channel via Charter basic cable.
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I receive my digital HD channels directly from Charter Coax cable. No cable box, no receiver, etc. I receive the following major HD channels: ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC.

I have four HD Ready TV's:
- Three of these TV's receive all four HD broadcasts with no problems
- One of my TV's (KDL-46Z4100) detects the NBC channel, but there is no picture. When I turn to the NBC channel (102.2) on this TV it says "Audio Only".

I have tried to rescan the digital channels, but the NBC channel always comes back as "Audio Only" on this TV.

Also, this TV is gettnig a good strong signal so I don't think that is the issue. It's almost as if the NBC channel is sending out a code or something that is telling my TV that it is "audio only". Perhaps my other TV's are not even looking for this code.

Any ideas or suggestions?

Thanks,