So we have weather again and must surrender screen space to the weather bugs. Last night Fox was shrinking the HD picture and then putting some of their weather crap over the smaller picture!

What gives? They've shrunk the picture and now have a bunch of black space around it. Why not put all the info there? If you're still going to take away the picture, don't make it smaller.

So we have weather again and must surrender screen space to the weather bugs. Last night Fox was shrinking the HD picture and then putting some of their weather crap over the smaller picture!

What gives? They've shrunk the picture and now have a bunch of black space around it. Why not put all the info there? If you're still going to take away the picture, don't make it smaller.


From what I understand, the Fox splicer system at present won't allow their affiliates to pass through the HD picture and overlay weather graphics.

KARK, KATV, and KTHV all had bugs running even with the HD picture, but the bugs were in the 4x3 safe zone (for the Analog cable, non-HD sat, and converter box viewers). I ended up watching The Office on KTVE (NBC--El Dorado) because there were no storms in or around their viewing area.

...Until this morning :)

From what I understand, the Fox splicer system at present won't allow their affiliates to pass through the HD picture and overlay weather graphics.

KARK, KATV, and KTHV all had bugs running even with the HD picture, but the bugs were in the 4x3 safe zone (for the Analog cable, non-HD sat, and converter box viewers).Yeah, but they're not shrinking the picture. Sometimes it seems as if the broadcasters think that the sole purpose of HD is to enable them to load up the screen with anything but program content. CNN puts so much crap up on their screen, sheesh!

I hope Fox is moving towards fixing the problem.

Speaking of crap on the screen...Ive found myself removing channels from my guide when they repeatedly show animated in your face adverts along the bottom. It is so totally annoying, Ill turn off the program in most cases.

At the current rate things are going, TV will be internet based, and local stations will go the way of dinosaurs, and in your face cable/sat channels will wither away and die.

I wish I could find statistics of movie channel subs 10 yrs ago, and compare it to todays netflix mail/online subs. Old shows are already available on Hulu. Its just a matter of time until we can sub to individual channels via internet. People are really tired of the ever increasing bill for 300 channel systems they might only watch 10 channels of. At some point those popular channels like ESPN will realize they could get $10 a month from an internet sub vs pennies per sub on a cable system.

Then those in your face, 30 commercials per hour TBS clones will fold.

...
At the current rate things are going, TV will be internet based, and local stations will go the way of dinosaurs, and in your face cable/sat channels will wither away and die....

Honestly, I hope the 'net doesn't become "Television" in a way: the walled gardens (DMA's, territorial restrictions), etc. That's already happened though with some services, some websites block access if your IP address isn't "domestic".

Cable (and I'm including Sat) IMHO is a dinosaur. When true high-speed access becomes universal, the need for the damn tiering will go away and that customers will be able to buy only the channels they want and need.

Ala Carte is the future, but will the "cable" industry wake up and realize or just force feed its viewers the same "content" (God, I HATE that term) of reality shows, stale movies, sitcoms, over the same channels over, and over and more annoying popup promos.

ATSC is already outdated--its mpeg2 video encoding is going to result in a few years of revisiting the standard. I think this may be the last stand of local television as we know it. I don't think in 10-15 years that broadcasters will still be using the current ATSC standard, but something based on mpeg4 (or higher) or that OTA television will be phased out in stages. The CW and MyNetwork TV are on borrowed time, and NBC is on the ropes, perhaps a return of a new Big Three (through consolidation) is in the cards--Fox, ABC, CBS--as OTA winds down.

How bout them hogs Dave:D Hope we beat Auburn.



Looking good so far


Petrino's offense > Malzan's offense so far
I hope the D keeps it up and we win going away :D

ATSC is already outdated--its mpeg2 video encoding is going to result in a few years of revisiting the standard. I think this may be the last stand of local television as we know it. I don't think in 10-15 years that broadcasters will still be using the current ATSC standard, but something based on mpeg4 (or higher) or that OTA television will be phased out in stages.

Actually, Mpeg4 (I believe H.264 w/AC3) was added to the ATSC spec about a year or so ago, but not early enough for the broadcasters or tv manufacturers to incorporate prior to the analog shutoff. Whether anyone will ever use it is going to be the question. It will now be the same problem Directv has, there are so many Mpeg2 systems out there, they cant make a total mpeg4 transition. Directv is in a better situation there, as at least, all thier HD offerings are mpeg4 only (with three exceptions which are still simulcast). As they add more channels, people will slowly convert over. I dont see OTA ever making use of Mpeg4. Viewers just wont tolerate having to buy yet another TV after just losing analog.

For those of you without DVRs or OTA rigs to pick up neighboring PBS affiliates, you didn't miss much on the Nova episode. I understand the PRINCIPAL of the thing - but man, LOL, it sucked. Boring, even for Nova.

We turned it off less than halfway in.... NOT due to politics.

It seemed to me more of a Masterpiece theatre episode, than Nova. I enjoyed it though. Well done.

...I dont see OTA ever making use of Mpeg4...Isn't the new ATSC mobile standard mpeg4?

Yes, but the maximum resolution is 480i or worse.

- Trip

E"S all the way past channel 6 to 107.5FM from Mexico. Unusual off-season E's event underway....

(now back to our normal postings)

Yes, but the maximum resolution is 480i or worse.True. But the point was (or is), it is mpeg4.

True. But the point was (or is), it is mpeg4.
Yes, Here is the scoop:
http://www.atsc.org/standards/candidate_standards.php

WASHINGTON, D.C., September 15, 2008 - The Advanced Television Systems Committee, Inc. has approved and published A/72 which details the methodology to utilize Advanced Video Coding (AVC) within an ATSC DTV transmission. AVC which was developed by the ITU-T Video Coding Experts Group together with the ISO/IEC Moving Picture Experts Group is also known as H.264 and MPEG-4 Part 10. The A/72 Standard defines constraints with respect to AVC, compression format restraints, low delay and still picture modes, and bit stream specifications. In addition it specifies how CEA-708 closed captions are to be carried in an AVC bitstream. The new standard is in two parts, Part 1 is titled “Video System and Characteristics of AVC in the ATSC Digital Television System," and "Part 2 “AVC Video Transport Subsystem Characteristics."

"AVC compression provides increased efficiency and flexibility", said ATSC President Mark Richer. "The new standard will be especially important for those countries which have not yet implemented digital television. AVC will also be used with standards in development such as ATSC-M/H for mobile and handheld applications and ATSC-NRT for non-real-time delivery of programming."
Source: http://www.atsc.org/communications/press/2008-09-15-A72-publication.php

I was aware of a "mobile standard" being added to ATSC, but honestly unaware it was mpeg4.

Kinda like when all the cows are out of the barn before the gates are closed. Besides, with so many stations in love with VHF, I don't see many implementations of the mobile standard (outside of some cell-phones/ carriers and a new generation of portable TV's).

I just recorded Hubbles Amazing Rescue on NOVA, but have a question. PBS-HD uses a SR of 30000, divided into two 1920x1080i streams. My max encoding rate at that resolution is 13MB/s, or roughly 5.5GB/hour. I cant fit that onto a Data DVD, so I was curious, I have the option to turn on Variable Bit rate, and can adjust the capture max bitrate lower. Given a SR of 30000, assuming 15000 per program stream, how high a bitrate would I need to capture all the original, without adding unnessessary bits? The default recording bitrate I believe is 10MB/s. Anyone know how to convert Symbol Rate to bitrate?

I just noticed AETN was showing last weeks Darwin episode (in some weird aspect ratio to boot), instead of this weeks NEW Nova episode. Who runs that station? They need to implement drug testing, cuz it seems someone there is using.

Ok, just started watching 11-2 for news....I don't hear that annoying buzz, but now I DO hear that air conditioner return that Alison told me was the cause, so I know thats BS as far as the buzz is concerned.

...I just noticed AETN was showing last weeks Darwin episode (in some weird aspect ratio to boot).... Who runs that station?
Lights are on - nobody home....

I just noticed AETN was showing last weeks Darwin episode (in some weird aspect ratio to boot), instead of this weeks NEW Nova episode. Who runs that station? They need to implement drug testing, cuz it seems someone there is using.

I didn't even bother tuning in AETN on Tuesday, I attempted to pick up WMAO Greenwood MS for the "fresh" episode of Nova but of course the conditions made that fringe signal too weak to decode here. Watched a quarter and half of Arkansas State @ ULM on ESPN2 before that became a joke.

The next nearest non-AETN public broadcaster is KLTM Monroe LA, channel 13 (actual, not remapped) and its underpowered, and the transmitter is south of Monroe so its not an option for me.

Thought you had the capability of watching PBS on KU band. Dont you have a BUD receiver?

Thought you had the capability of watching PBS on KU band. Dont you have a BUD receiver?

Not at the present...Most of my house, yard is surrounded by trees except for an large opening in the north side (great for LR OTA, useless for sat). I had get my E* dish installed very close to the road right-of-way because of the large trees.

Sorry for the late reply...its been nuts @ work last few days.

Texas vs Oklahoma is on KARZ in HD with Dolby D.

fly

Edit: On second take the Dolby sounds all messed up. Missing center channel maybe?

PBS-HD on C Band
AMC1 4100-V-14028- 3/4

Now you big dish folks can watch Nova during a rainstorm.
(Source: Ricks Satellite forum)

Texas vs Oklahoma is on KARZ in HD with Dolby D.

fly

Edit: On second take the Dolby sounds all messed up. Missing center channel maybe?

I was going to comment on the terrible picture quality, and pixellation, thinking KARZ was doing some downrezzing or something, but I checked the ABC satellite feed, and it looks like crap too. Must be using some backup production trucks or something. The uplink has plenty of bandwidth for a full 720p signal. Dont know whats up with that.

Sickening!!!!
that's all that can be said about the foul smell that came over my TV from Gainseville, Floriduh

Sickening!!!!
that's all that can be said about the foul smell that came over my TV from Gainseville, Floriduh

What part, the ref's who threw 15 yard penalty flags when no penalties occured, or the kicker that couldnt hit the broad side of a barn from 10 yards?

What part, the ref's who threw 15 yard penalty flags when no penalties occured, or the kicker that couldnt hit the broad side of a barn from 10 yards?

both!!!
Tejada couldn't hit sand if he fell off a camel
plus Mallet's poor passes to wide open receivers
oh well I think we've just the last loss in 2009

Well, just turned on the TV and flipped past 11-2. Sad to say that the audio on the news I caught was jacked up another 15dB at least.....AGAIN. I thought they had fixed it, but I guess they haven't. Its sad when a "leader" in areas around here has their crap so screwed up like they do on the mic's and the general volume of newscasts. Guess they just don't give a flying rats ...

Just found this from a few days ago on TUAW.com

http://www.tuaw.com/2009/10/17/the-future-of-tv-on-your-iphone-is-atsc-mobile-dtv/

NOVA - Lizard Kings (should be on AETN sometime before it snows) was awesome tonight. Excellent HD photography. Dont miss it, when/if they ever show it. I finessed the bitrate to get the H.264/AAC audio transport stream under 4.7GB, so the episodes would fit on a DVD, if anyone wants to come burn a copy on weekends, just hollar. The previous years episodes are all about 5.2GB, so would need a dual-layer DVD. I also have all the Nature episodes archived in HD.

Well, just set up my movers connection with DirecTV for Tuesday morning. Scored a free SD DVR from them for my son's room and a swap out of this H20 for hopefully something that is MRV compatible.

I asked them if there was any way to guarantee that I get a SWM and she said no, but she put a note on the order saying that I will need one. I told her that there wasn't any chance of putting in 3 more lines into the house. :) She understood, but could only put a note on there so the tech will have a SWM when he comes over.

Got 5 free months of Premier and the rest of the NFL package too. Just have to remember to get that taken off the account before we get charged for it. If they would just include DVR and HD fees in the $109 they charge for Premier, we would have that instead of the Plus HD DVR package. I was told by another rep today that there is a chance that new packages will be coming out next year and maybe they will bundle the DVR and HD fees into it later on. I hope thats going to happen.

I have free lifetime DVR service, so the HD fee is all I pay extra. Called to cancel HD Extras and Sports Pak for the winter, since nothing is on them in the winter time, and the CSR told me I could keep BOTH of em, and get Starz, Encore, and a couple other channels for $5 more a month :) Oh well, I was actually going to swap Sports Pak for Starz anyway, so that worked out. Amazing the deals you can get if you snag the right CSR. Im already getting free Showtime and TMC from a complaint I made last month about them cutting out the MLB Extra Innings preview channel to make space for Sunday Ticket, and they gave me 6 months of free Game Lounge for my anniversary. Almost Premier package, for $80.

I have free lifetime DVR service, so the HD fee is all I pay extra. Called to cancel HD Extras and Sports Pak for the winter, since nothing is on them in the winter time, and the CSR told me I could keep BOTH of em, and get Starz, Encore, and a couple other channels for $5 more a month :) Oh well, I was actually going to swap Sports Pak for Starz anyway, so that worked out. Amazing the deals you can get if you snag the right CSR. Im already getting free Showtime and TMC from a complaint I made last month about them cutting out the MLB Extra Innings preview channel to make space for Sunday Ticket, and they gave me 6 months of free Game Lounge for my anniversary. Almost Premier package, for $80.
There's all kinds of other stuff on the HD Extra's. Isn't Smithsonian and HD Theater and stuff like that on it? Oh yeah, MGM HD too. I don't know how you managed to got the free DVR. Must be nice. Never heard anything about that. I guess the free movie channels you got for $5 was a special deal for bitching. :)

Yeah, they already took off my sports pack. When they bumped me up to the "free" premier, they made my HD go away for some reason. I had to call back up to get the HD put back on. Now what I owe is $10 more than it should be. I don't know what to do about it. I guess just leave it alone. Probably isn't hurting anything. Might be only for this one month.

I wouldn't want the Game Lounge. I haven't seen anything on there that I would want to play. :)

Well, after baseball season is over, there is basically nothing on sports pak that isnt blacked out. So many people cancel it in the winter, they decided to offer a special "Sports Pak + Starz" package for $17.99, or $5 more than just the sports pak. Then he reminded me I would lose "ESPN Classic" since it was now in the sports pak. I reminded him I dont watch "SD" channels anyway :)

I wonder what the odds are of my getting an R22 when the DirecTV guy installs the new stuff. I am finding they might not be doing that anymore as the R22 was discontinued. I just am hoping for the R22 cause it can do the HD stuff. But anyway, if I get an R15 or 16, I guess it will be fine. My son doesn't HAVE to have HD. As long as it supports a SWM and will do MRV, I will be fine. :)

snip .... Anyone know how to convert Symbol Rate to bitrate? ....snip

Been a while since this question but thought I would chime in just in case you still would like to know.

QPSK symbol rates are 2 bits per symbol while VSB and 8PSK are 3 bits per symbol.

dmatch

So, would this be accurate assuming they are not using statmuxing:

Example 1: PBSHD
Symbol Rate = 30000 for two channel = 15000 per channel / 2 (QPSK) = 7000 bits/sec? I would then need 7Kb/s record rate to capture all possible bits without any degredation?

Example 2: ESPN Feeds
Symbol Rate - 27270 for one channel = 27270 per channel /2 (QPSK) = 13635 bit/sec. I would then need 13.5 (my max) record rate to capture all possible bits?

The factor of 2 for QPSK is multiplied X the symbol rate to get the bit rate. 15000 X 2 gives a bit rate of 30000.

BTW, KTWN-DT is back on the air with 3 channels of test patterns and 1 with actual programming.

dmatch

Ok, thanks. Then there is no way I can come close to recording the max bitrate of the transponder, since 13MB/s is my max. I get so confused between MB/S, Mb/S, Kb, KB... :)

KSPR-DT 19 ("33-1"), Springfield's 1,000kW ABC affiliate, begins local news in HD from their new studio on Sunday, 11/1 at 10PM.

KSPR-DT 19 ("33-1"), Springfield's 1,000kW ABC affiliate, begins local news broadcasts from their new studio on Sunday, 11/1 at 10PM.

Hopefully, there'll be good tropo from the NW that night :D

Tonight's two week delayed Nova telecast about the mission to repair the Hubble Telescope was botched by AETN's morans.


Its a 4x3 SDTV recording of the show, which is cropped to display as "16x9".

Sorry AETN, I'm beyond frosted about this. Shouldn't the viewers that pay to support shows like Nova get all the value out of this? Kinda like paying for a ribeye and getting hamburger.

ps...the AETN VHF channel from El Dorado (KETZ) won't even decode here tonight, its pixelating badly. I tried them first, then went to KETS.

AETN is showing the current weeks Nova episodes in HD at midnight now, on the weekends... Go figure.

AETN is showing the current weeks Nova episodes in HD at midnight now, on the weekends... Go figure.

*sigh*

I doubt though that in this economic climate that any pol would support breaking up AETN and allowing UALR, ASU, and UA-Fayetteville to take over Public broadcasting...but since this won't happen anyway and I'm thinking out loud, here is a scenario...

Let KAFT go to UAF or merge with Ozarks Public Television in Springfield MO.
Let KEMV and KTEJ go to ASU
Let KETS to UALR

The wildcards are KETG and KETZ. Perhaps they could be part of the KETS-UALR network or go as a seperate "South Arkansas Public Television" and be based out of El Dorado, or Magnolia. The later SAPT could be problemsome since there would be fundraising issues.

Just because its "Public" television, does that mean a state entity MUST be the one to run it? Could a few rich philanthropists get hold of it? Id hate to see the University system run it. Look how long it took them to run Frank Broyles out, and he is still around everywhere UAF is. Its the good old boy they put in charge of it recently thats running it into the ground. I just hope PBS doesnt make their national feed go away. At least everyone in Pulaski Co with Comcast can watch PBS directly. Now if DirecTv would get off their ass and do the same...

Just because its "Public" television, does that mean a state entity MUST be the one to run it? Could a few rich philanthropists get hold of it? Id hate to see the University system run it. Look how long it took them to run Frank Broyles out, and he is still around everywhere UAF is. Its the good old boy they put in charge of it recently thats running it into the ground. I just hope PBS doesnt make their national feed go away. At least everyone in Pulaski Co with Comcast can watch PBS directly. Now if DirecTv would get off their ass and do the same...

KAFT or KETS *could* go under the WKNO model....the Memphis public TV station is operated as a non-profit foundation independent from the State Of Tennessee or a state university (although U of M has provided space for them previously). But many smaller states operate under the AETN/MPB/OETA/LPB model (some with a companion Public Radio Network) while others operate regional or statewide networks under the auspacies of the University systems (such as Ozarks Public TV, UNC-TV in North Carolina).

The good ol' boy system in AR is too widespread to allow independently operated public TV I'm afraid.

...Let KAFT [snip] merge with Ozarks Public Television in Springfield MO.Hmm, good idea. A nice OPT translator for the parts of NWA that can't receive it.

They'd change the calls to KOZA (inline with KOZK/KOZJ), move it to UHF and fix the damned aspect ratio mess that aetn has managed to FUBAR for so many months.

Let 'em take over KEMV while they're at it and move it to a real UHF channel.

:)

Sounds like you have it best up there in Eureka Springs Sam. At least you have a choice.
KETS (cant schedule, cant get aspect ratio right, totally piss poor operation) and VHF to boot
KARK Good technically, good news but has a totally religious slant. Ok if you like feel good stories.
KATV Good technically, news is geared toward oldsters, just cant get into it. Excellent sports coverage tho.
KTHV Good video, audio has low level hum, cant watch the news when my woofer is vibrating.
KLRT Good technically, news is first rate, but conflicts with prime time programming I want to watch
KASN Never watch it
KARZ Good technically, but what is its purpose? I expected them to carry NBCs sports channel, but so far, it just seems like KWBF with a few changes. Maybe it IS KWBF/ Hmmmm.

Sounds like you have it best up there in Eureka Springs Sam. At least you have a choice.
KETS (cant schedule, cant get aspect ratio right, totally piss poor operation) and VHF to boot
KARK Good technically, good news but has a totally religious slant. Ok if you like feel good stories.
KATV Good technically, news is geared toward oldsters, just cant get into it. Excellent sports coverage tho.
KTHV Good video, audio has low level hum, cant watch the news when my woofer is vibrating.
KLRT Good technically, news is first rate, but conflicts with prime time programming I want to watch
KASN Never watch it
KARZ Good technically, but what is its purpose? I expected them to carry NBCs sports channel, but so far, it just seems like KWBF with a few changes. Maybe it IS KWBF/ Hmmmm.

(okay my takes....just be warned ;) )

KARK: I pretty much agree for the most part, but they can get more out of less than most stations.

KTHV: there is a strong Bob Jones U connection with GM Larry Audas and reporter Ashley Blackstone being grads that uber-conservative college. Morning show has taken a dive post BJ Sams/Robyn Richardson. THV2 needs updated weather clips especially on weekends. News and weather are a perishable product and it doesn't need to be "turning green in the counter".

I seldom watch KARZ and even less of KASN. KARZ's saving grace is the 7pm newscast. Why not a 7am newscast? The CW's programming has been a huge joke. IMHO the WB and UPN were better as seperate networks. MY Network was a joke from day one---not sure of what original programming that outfit has on anymore.

As for KLRT, they really do need a morning local newscast (7-9am). That is a huge gap, and would be excellent counterprogramming. Most larger FOX affiliates and all the O&O stations have local news in the morning.

KATV has made huge technical strides this year (thanks Allenf) but are still a work in progress in the programming dept. I don't watch Oprah, but getting that show + WOF/Jeopardy shown locally in HD would be a huge step. Newscasts still dominated by crime blotter, unless during sweeps and its then silly stuff.

KVTN and KKAP are a waste of good RF and spectrum IMHO

KETS/AETN is hopeless. WWRHD. Time to clean house, but present Governor isn't going to make waves...too many appointments on AETC still from Huckabee era

Example

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd141/johnt_bobcat/AntennaTrick.jpg

Setup

Step 1 Get a VHF Dipole Antenna. From Radio Shack! $10 or online!
http://rsk.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pRS1C-2159925w345.jpg
Step 2 Get a pole, or antenna mount, or anything else you can think of to use to mount it.
Step 3 Duck tape antenna to pole with antenna dipoles horizontal pulled out about 14 inches.
Step 4 Run a coaxial cable inside house to Digital TV or converter box.
____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ______

Antenna Trick Facts / Tips

- Will pickup VHF up to 55 miles, no joke!!!!
- Will pickup UHF!
- Only works if you live inside a local TV stations coverage area under non Tropospheric Ducting Weather.
- No Amp Needed
- Depending on your location you may need to fully extend dipoles.
- Will pickup VHF & UHF outside normal coverage area during strong Tropospheric Ducting Weather.
- VHF will not work during lightning.
____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ______

Tips For Viewers Best Reception

- Have a good VHF/UHF Outdoor Antenna
- Use RG 6 Quad Shield Coaxial Cable. Cable lenght as short as possible!!!!
- Use a HDTV, Digital TV or Dish DTV Pal Plus or Zenith Converter Box if you can live with lower quality TV! But not bad since analog signals are gone for full power TV.
____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ______

Fringe Viewer Info

- Point Antenna in exact location facing transmitter. (Use Compass and TV Fool If No rotor)
- Fringe Viewers are pretty much screwed!!!
- Pray for Tropospheric Ducting Weather!!!
- If your reception is little to none try an AMP get one with high VHF/UHF gain, and a low noise figure.
- Install FM Trap in between Antenna and AMP. If AMP doesn't have FM Trap on it.
____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ______

Recommended Tips / suggestions for TV broadcasters Not already doing so!!!

- Think about Over The Air Viewers!
- Do whats best for All Viewers!
- Avoid VHF!!!
- Pick a UHF channel in the range from 14-51. That is not used by a nearby station!
- 1000 kW power
- 2000 FT transmitter tower

These recommendations will increase their coverage areas to the fullest as possible!
____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ______

Things That Screw Up VHF

- Lightning!
- Sometimes the city backhoe going up the street! (Depending on your location.)
- Certain Vehicles going Up the Street, Hwy, or road! (Depending on your location.)
- Running a vacuum, drill, or mixer!
- Turning on and off a light switch!
- Pulling the chain on a ceiling fan!
____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ______

Digital vs. Analog

- Digital has better picture and sound than Analog.
- Digital UHF signal is stronger than Analog UHF signal.
- Analog VHF signal was better than Digital VHF signal.

____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ______

AMP Facts

- Amps amplify not just the signal but other unwanted garbage.
- If your plan to use an AMP get one with high VHF/UHF gain, and a low noise figure.
- Install FM Trap in between Antenna and AMP. If AMP doesn't have FM Trap on it.
- Old Radio Shack Amps only works for Analog which is Low Power Analog now!
____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ______

Useful Websites

FCC TV Database
http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?state=AR&call=&arn=&city=Little+Rock&chan=&cha2=69&serv=&type=0&facid=&list=1&dist=&dlat2=&mlat2=&slat2=&dlon2=&mlon2=&slon2=&size=9

FCC Engineering Maps
http://www.fcc.gov/mb/engineering/maps/

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

REC Broadcast Query (Just Type In Callsign)
http://cdbs.recnet.com/fmq.php?facid=&call=KYTV&ccode=1&latd=&lond=&city=&state=&country=US&zip=&party=&party_type=LICEN&jaws=0

Rabbit Ears
http://rabbitears.info/market.php?mktid=71

Tropospheric Weather Conditions
http://www.dxinfocentre.com/tropo.html

UTC Time Converter
http://hurricanes.noaa.gov/zulu-utc.html

Meters to Feet
http://www.unitconversion.org/length/meters-to-foots-us-survey-conversion.html
KM to Miles
http://www.unitconversion.org/length/kilometers-to-miles-us-survey-conversion.html
____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ______

Duct tape really helps reception during tropospheric ducting conditions.

Duct tape really helps reception during tropospheric ducting conditions.

You had me laughing so hard, I almost choked!

We had no reception on KARK's HD and analog channels on Conway Corporation tonight.

HD Local News & weather lookin' good up here in the hills, on KSPR.
http://i35.tinypic.com/2zq9bmd.jpg

Wow, arent we special. HD newscasts AND a PBS station that can show NOVA at 7pm. We cant even get the hum out of the audio down here in the sticks.

I wonder what the odds are of my getting an R22 when the DirecTV guy installs the new stuff. I am finding they might not be doing that anymore as the R22 was discontinued. I just am hoping for the R22 cause it can do the HD stuff. But anyway, if I get an R15 or 16, I guess it will be fine. My son doesn't HAVE to have HD. As long as it supports a SWM and will do MRV, I will be fine. :)

Well, just as an update to my DirecTV movers connection install. I am "borrowing" someones wifi to do this. My Comcrap Internet should be installed Thursday morning.

I got the SWM LNB with the new dish. The guy was nice as could be. Put in an 8-port splitter "just in case I wanted to add more IRD's in the future". :)

The DVR for my son's room is an R16-300 I believe. SD, NO ethernet port so NO MRV for me STILL, still has an RF port if you wanna hook it up to an old tv with just the coax connection.

My H20-100 swapout for an H21 or better didn't make it on the work order. Kinda expected that, so I didn't bitch too much about it. I kinda gave up on getting something done about that a long long time ago. Maybe I will just go out and buy the damn receivers myself in the future to get MRV like I want.

Oh, and the installer had NO idea what MRV is. I joked with him about playing dumb, but he really had no idea about it. All in all it took him about 3 1/2 hours to get it all done.....IN THE RAIN! He even got me pretty decent meter readings. Most of the numbers are in the low 90's. The SWM meter page (not really sure what good its for really) are all in the upper 90's. They are like 97 to 99 for the most part. So, I think I am good in most rain showers. If it gets bad enough so it goes out, I don't think I need to be watchin TV. :)

So, anyway, I am up and going with TV. It was installed last Tuesday I think even before we were officially closed on the house. In fact, if I remember right, we went and closed on it a couple hours after the install was done. For only being in here a week, we have done quite a bit of unpacking. Just have a few things here and there left to be done. Just need to get Internet going and finish setting up my equipment the way I want it and I'll be good.

Anyway, gonna get off this persons wifi now. Thought I would pop on here long enough to give an update.

Wow, arent we special. HD newscasts AND a PBS station that can show NOVA at 7pm. We cant even get the hum out of the audio down here in the sticks.It's nice to have 24 OTA channels in the middle of BFE. :)

Yea, I used to live 30 miles southwest of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I can relate (Milwaukee, 4,6,10,12,18,24,36,42, Chicago 2,5,7,9,44, and a few more, Rockford 13, Madison 3,21,27, South Bend 22, Quad Cities 8. And that was in 1972 before there was FOX :)

It's nice to have 24 OTA channels in the middle of BFE. :)
And STILL nothing on. LOL

I liked it better in the old days, before cable. There were the big 3 networks of course, with a lot more money to use to create real good programming, then there was PBS. But almost every large market (and I could pick up 3 of em) had several independent stations (WGN was a biggie) which usually transmitted on UHF (almost unheard of back then), and played LOTS of movies and off beat fare. I remember watching WSNS channel 44 from Chicago on Friday nights, they had a bogie man host, and showed horror flicks. The antennas back in the day had some serious metal, and it was a status symbol to have the biggest and baddest channel master or Winegard on the roof.

Just saw an advert for DirecTv touting 99.9% signal reliability, in response to cables claim of rain outages. Well, I ran 99.9% through the calculator, and that is 44 minutes per month of outage. Hopefully not during Prime Time :)

I liked it better in the old days, before cable. There were the big 3 networks of course, with a lot more money to use to create real good programming, then there was PBS. But almost every large market (and I could pick up 3 of em) had several independent stations (WGN was a biggie) which usually transmitted on UHF (almost unheard of back then), and played LOTS of movies and off beat fare. I remember watching WSNS channel 44 from Chicago on Friday nights, they had a bogie man host, and showed horror flicks. The antennas back in the day had some serious metal, and it was a status symbol to have the biggest and baddest channel master or Winegard on the roof.

Well, I grew up in the sticks of southern Arkansas, and didn't have nearly that many channels (more like 3 :) ) but I actually agree with you. We've got more channels than we could possibly watch, and not really a lot worth watching on many of them. This is coming from someone who works in cable, too, well at least I will for the next month. I am seriously considering going back to OTA after that.

And STILL nothing on. LOLNever said there was. :)

Well, I am back online now. Only problem is that the installer didn't put in a splitter that will allow me to power the other outlets in the house (if I ever decided to do so), so I only have the one outlet going now. Guess I will try to figure out a good splitter that will let the modem sync up and get the cable going into a TV that does ClearQAM. I did plug it into my TV real quick after install and apparently the national PBS HD that was there before is gone either that or the TV didn't grab it.

KSPR decoding downstate AR with 12:35am replay of 10pm news...and it is in HD and looking good.

Ok, gotta a little problem I am hoping you guys know the answer to. In this new house I have Coleman 92003 cable run throughout. This is a link to the site... http://www.colemancable.com/CatalogProducts.asp?nProductsID=478. It's most of the way down and is in the RG6 Dual-Shield CATV Coax Cables area.

I am wanting to find some F connector compression ends for it, but monoprice.com only has "standard", Tri-shield, and Quad-shielded versions. I tried asking their technical support people if the standard is the same thing as dual shield and the guy said no. When I look at the end of a cut piece of coax, I see the same kinda cable I have always seen with the aluminum braid, the white dielectric, and the copper core.

Now, is that what would be considered "standard"? Or what kinda compression connector do I need to use on this kinda cable? The stupid electricians who put the cable through the house and put the ends on as well used those piece of crap twist on ones that you get from Radio Shack. I don't think they are doing a very good job and I want to replace them.

Hell, even the DirecTV and Comcast guys insisted on cutting those connectors off and putting their compression fittings on it. I figure, if those guys are willing to go through the extra work of taking off one guys crap to put on theirs, there must be something wrong with the twist on ones.

So, anyway, if you can give me some insight on this I would greatly appreciate it. Heh, and maybe if you have a compression tool and some fittings I can bum off of you, that would be even better. ;)

Go to the dbstalk.com DirecTv installation forum, and ask them what the DirecTv standard compression connector is, and where the installers get them, brand name, whatever. If DirecTv's spec connector fit on your cable, then thats the same one you want to order. Ive seen it mentioned several times, but dont remember, so maybe just a search would turn up the brand/part number.

I also seem to recall someone saying the quad connectors will fit any RG6 type coax, but not all other compression connectors will fit Quad Sheild.

Ive never used them, although I should, Ive always used the crimp on type, with the o-ring seal inside, and never had any problems, but compression is the way to go for sure, for a permanent installation.

Go to the dbstalk.com DirecTv installation forum, and ask them what the DirecTv standard compression connector is, and where the installers get them, brand name, whatever. If DirecTv's spec connector fit on your cable, then thats the same one you want to order. Ive seen it mentioned several times, but dont remember, so maybe just a search would turn up the brand/part number.

I also seem to recall someone saying the quad connectors will fit any RG6 type coax, but not all other compression connectors will fit Quad Sheild.

Ive never used them, although I should, Ive always used the crimp on type, with the o-ring seal inside, and never had any problems, but compression is the way to go for sure, for a permanent installation.
Ok, so you are in agreement with me about the twist on's being crap? :)

And a quad core connector will size down to fit a dual-core coax you think? Interesting. I didn't know what would happen, just figured that it might be a little loose or something.

Looks like this is the DirecTV approved ones http://www.sadoun.com/Sat/Products/Perfect/PPC-EX.htm

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?p=2252513#post2252513

Ok, so you are in agreement with me about the twist on's being crap? :)



Yea, they are crap but I actually use them for temporary runs. My H21-200 actually has one on it right now cuz Im to lazy to pull everything away from the wall to get back there to install a good one. As long as its inside, and TIGHT, it will work fine. Problem is, they get loose as the receiver, cable, whatever is moved and gradually start having problems.

Does that mean you have a compression tool too? :) (I bet you see where I am going with this. hehehe)

No, I have a CRIMPING tool, Ive never used compression connectors. Ive always balked at buying the tool, since I never do that much coax work.

Oh, well, if its any consolation, I have found a bunch of the compression tools for around $19. Couple of them are on monoprice.com. Guess they work well.

Next summer I might just buy one, and a roll of coax, and rewire all my satellite dishes. I tree limb fell in the last wind front, and bent the last 4 VHF-LO elements on my Quantum down at a 45 degree angle. Pissed me off, since I had siliconed EVERY rivet and contact point on it, trying to make it last a long time, since they arent made anymore. Now, Im going to have to take it down, and try to fabricate 4 replacement elements for it, and since I dont have a rivet gun, Ill have to figure out how to use stainless steel bolts through the boom (which is actually part of the feed system). I dont even know where to find gold alodized aluminum tubing in the same weight as the bent ones.

Harbor Freight has compression tools cheap. And they work well. They're certainly not on par with something cable sat guys use every day, but for occasional use, they are worth the small price.

Cool, Ill check that out. Home Depot wanted like $50 or $60 for a kit, and I wasnt gonna pay that.

Harbor Freight has compression tools cheap. And they work well. They're certainly not on par with something cable sat guys use every day, but for occasional use, they are worth the small price.
I looked at Harbor Freights website. It was like $2 cheaper than Monoprice.com was for pretty much the same thing. Given I know and trust Monoprice, I would recommend buying from them first.

The whole reason I started this F connector bit was because, since I am paying for it, I thought it might be nice to have connections on coax that won't hurt me if I want to split the signal once for Internet and at least once more for TV. Well, I have an older splitter that is supposedly 3.5dB on each of the two ports. It seemed to work fairly well in my wiring closet until this morning when I looked at my router next to me and see that it wasn't connected fully to the Internet. I guess my splitter might be old or something and I should get a new one. Do they degrade over time or something? I don't know if the ones Comcast will give you are decent enough for the job or not, but at least its free and I should try it. I don't know if anyone else here does any splitting like I am wanting to do or not, but I thought it might be worth a shot posting.

All 2 way splitters are 3.5, since thats the loss from halving the signal (3db) plus insertion loss (.5db). What you need to look at is the frequency range. You want 2 or 3 GHz splitters. The internet data is high up in the spectrum. Digital TV in the middle, analog channels at the lower frequencies. I Directv spec SWiM splitter would be OK for cable internet. Im using a Rat Shack gold 2 way high freq splitter with no loss as well.

Well, I don't know the exact frequency that the cable modems work on, but I do know that the splitter I was using is 5-1000MHz, so that might be part of the problem. It's funny how it worked fine for a little while, then lost sync. I wonder why it would do that. Seems odd.

I found a 4-way splitter on Monoprice (http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10422&cs_id=1042206&p_id=2871&seq=1&format=2) that is 5-2400MHz and people report having success with a cable modem as well as digital cable boxes, so that may work for me. It's only like $3.54, so it might be worth the cost of shipping.

You would be better served using a two way splitter to cable modem on one leg, and a three way splitter on the other leg, as you dont want to lose that extra signal on the cable modem, but Im sure it would work. just might be a tad slower. Havent tested that configuration.

You would be better served using a two way splitter to cable modem on one leg, and a three way splitter on the other leg, as you dont want to lose that extra signal on the cable modem, but Im sure it would work. just might be a tad slower. Havent tested that configuration.
Ok, this then. :) http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10422&cs_id=1042206&p_id=2872&seq=1&format=2

Here is comcasts cable internet setup, may vary by location:

RF Parameters
Downstream
Freq/Power: 729.000 MHz 1 dBmV
Signal to Noise Ratio: 37 dB
Modulation: QAM256

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Upstream
Freq/Power: 37.008 MHz 36 dBmV
Channel Type: DOCSIS 1.x (TDMA)

Symbol Rate: 2560 kSym/sec

Modulation: QAM16

-

So, It appears Comcast uses the channel(s) directly above the analog channels for its cable internet, and channels below channel 2, and puts its digital channels above that, so the 5-2GHz splitter should do you OK.

Also see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_cable_television_frequencies

I looked at Harbor Freights website. It was like $2 cheaper than Monoprice.com was for pretty much the same thing. Given I know and trust Monoprice, I would recommend buying from them first.
Yeah, but you can walk into Harbor Freight and buy locally.

Here is comcasts cable internet setup, may vary by location:

RF Parameters
Downstream
Freq/Power: 729.000 MHz 1 dBmV
Signal to Noise Ratio: 37 dB
Modulation: QAM256

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Upstream
Freq/Power: 37.008 MHz 36 dBmV
Channel Type: DOCSIS 1.x (TDMA)

Symbol Rate: 2560 kSym/sec

Modulation: QAM16

-

So, It appears Comcast uses the channel(s) directly above the analog channels for its cable internet, and channels below channel 2, and puts its digital channels above that, so the 5-2GHz splitter should do you OK.

Also see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_cable_television_frequencies
Well, by that logic, given what you found, I could use the 5-1GHz splitter I am currently using and be fine as well. So, if thats the case, I don't know what the deal is. Do they go bad after a while? This one I have is several years old.

Well, by that logic, given what you found, I could use the 5-1GHz splitter I am currently using and be fine as well. So, if thats the case, I don't know what the deal is. Do they go bad after a while? This one I have is several years old.

Never heard of it, but capacitors dry out over time and change value, so I guess its possible. The reason to use 2 GHz is just headroom, and the higher quality components to acheive it.

Yeah, but you can walk into Harbor Freight and buy locally.
Yeah, but I know Monoprice's quality on all their products and I know I can trust them. Plus, it's only a couple bucks more and I am almost guaranteed to find something else I need or want from them and can trust their customer service on top of the quality of the items.

Harbor Freight might be local, but they still carry a lot of low priced, low quality junk and the stores have a general flea market feel to them. There really has never seemed to be any real confidence placed behind what they sell when I go in there. It's just a bunch of crap they ordered and put out for sale and the people I have spoken to in there haven't known their ass from a hole in the ground generally. I don't know if you know what a Savers is (basically a garage sale store where the buyers go around to garage sales and salvation army stores and the sort, buy the crap from there, and put it all for sale in their stores), but that's what it kinda feels like when purchasing from there. I could be wrong, but that's just the feeling I have gotten the few times I have gone in there.

I know the feel of a store is a bit nit picky, but the atmosphere of the buying environment goes a long way to earning my business. That's kind of the reason I haven't been in a K-Mart in like 15 or more years. Last time I was in one, it was the one on Rodney Parham, and it just felt really weird in a way I can't explain. I just feel more comfortable in a Wal-Mart, so that's where I would rather go. :) If it is a part I need fairly quickly and doesn't cost a whole bunch, I will go in to Harbor Freight. But if it's something I can hold off on for a few days, I will go that route no matter where it's from. I am sure you are the same way about some stuff. ;)

Curtis Vance is guilty, and KATV did an awesome tribute to Anne Pressly on their 6pm newscast. Very Very well done.
They covered a couple minutes of the trial outcome, and a good 5X that on Anne.

Piazza Boots Reporter From Courtroom for Texting
http://www.katv.com/news/stories/1109/677189.html

Stoopid reporter.

You know, this is something that occurred to me the other day. I was trying to go up University, but it was blocked off between 12th street and right around the Sears area on the northbound side. Couldn't tell what was going on, but it made traffic a nightmare around there with the cops not letting people through.

Now, here's where my thoughts come into play. Instead of every newscast reporting on someone getting stabbed or shot, some place getting robbed, someone running over someone, or stuff like that that really has NO impact on my life, why couldn't they send out a truck to do a quick piece on what was going on that was so bad to divert traffic and back up the interstate like they did? That surely is more "relevant to me and my family" (as KARK likes to say in their news) than having to hear about which s.o.b. shot this one and all that.

I mean, if I knew the people I might give a crap if some crime had occurred against them, but only maybe. If things are going around the town and affect me and a bunch of other people like a traffic incident, that surely would be more "relevant" than any of this crime crap that I could give a rats ass less about. I am just saying that it would be nice if the news stations would stop with the whole "if it bleeds it leads" mentality and get on with reporting news that actually matters to people. That's what Court TV, Law & Order shows, and all those Judge Whoever shows are good for, right? Let the blood lusting people go to those sources for their "news".

Anyway, that's my $0.02 worth. It is worth even less than that in the current economy, but what are you gonna do. :)

Curtis Vance is guilty, and KATV did an awesome tribute to Anne Pressly on their 6pm newscast. Very Very well done.
They covered a couple minutes of the trial outcome, and a good 5X that on Anne.

Glad to see justice has been served. Hopefully he gets the death penalty, he is living trash who doesn't deserve the air he breathes.

It won't bring her back but it may bring some kind of closure for her family.

Steve, it was probably just the long line of people from the Health Dept trying to get swine flu shots, and blocking Univeristy :) I totally avoid any contact with the roadways around UALR unless I have a job AT UALR.

Now to get back on topic: Im getting KTAL from Texarkana on 15 (6-1), but not getting even a blip on ch 13. Is AETN Gurdon off the air?

Steve, it was probably just the long line of people from the Health Dept trying to get swine flu shots, and blocking Univeristy :) I totally avoid any contact with the roadways around UALR unless I have a job AT UALR.

Now to get back on topic: Im getting KTAL from Texarkana on 15 (6-1), but not getting even a blip on ch 13. Is AETN Gurdon off the air?
Nope, nothing at all like that. There was absolutely nothing on University until the north side of the 630 bridge. Apparently, from the brief glimpses I could get, something happened with some dirt or something like that. Probably part of the new wall fell down off the golf course. And all of this was well north of UALR.

On the main topic: I have ClearQAM Comcast hooked up to my TV, but the only HD channel I have been able to get is 3-1 which is AETN/KETS, but the channel is labeled as PBS-HD even though there is a huge AETN bug in the bottom left. I am guessing that those stupid ass traps they put in the line are blocking out the ClearQAM frequencies that I am supposed to be getting by law in the clear.

I get PBS-HD off my internet cable, but its up on one of the higher channels, forget now, since I dont watch it, just plugged it into my Aquos to make sure the QAM tuner worked.

Yeah, so did I back at the old house. I am fairly certain its because of those stupid filters since I am only paying for the limited basic. It's not like I even wanna watch their crap. I pay enough for DirecTV, this is just for backup. PBS-HD was 103-8 if I remember correctly. I will give it a few more weeks to ensure that whatever supervisor that's supposed to come look at it does. I figure after that, I can pull the filters and be done with them.

OK, he's been sentenced, get back to the show already.

It's good that nobody from comscat reads this forum (yeah, right).

It's good that nobody from comscat reads this forum (yeah, right).

I know at least one person from Comcast reads and participates on this forum . . . Me! However, I am just a lowly commercial producer in the local ad sales area, and I don't have any interaction with the folks over on the tech side. I'll only be employed here for about two and half more weeks anyway, so I really don't have control over the complaints. Not only that, I live outside of Comcast's coverage area, so I'm stuck with the even worse Charter service!

So, it turns out that there is something wrong with the cable run from the amp over to where my wire connects up to their splitter by the curb. The upstream dBmV is really high for some reason. It's at like 55.2dBmV when it should be quite a bit lower than that. It's fine at the start, but when it gets to me its not. I guess they might have nicked the cable or have a bad splitter thing or something.

What this all means is that when I try to put my splitter in the line, it kills my cable modem after a few hours. Not real sure if its the splitter itself or not, so I got the Comcrap guy to give me a new 2-way one while he was here. I haven't tried putting it in the line yet. I may wait until the maintenance tech comes out on Monday to fix the line before I do that. Just kinda frustrating to be paying for something that doesn't work like the TV part even though I don't watch it.

Oh well, at least they narrowed down the issue.

I was really hoping when Verizon bought out Alltel, they would start running FIOS here, but I guess not. That is the one service I would be tempted to drop DirecTv to get. Glad they got your problem narrowed down at least.

Oh hell yeah, I'd drop directv for FiOS real quick. I just want it for the Internet part. They have amazing speeds. Right now the best we can hope for is like 50Mbps from Comcrap. I doubt anyone around here could afford it though. Comcrap really needs to lower their broadband rates. They are ridiculous right now.

And you thought you were having a bad day: http://www.katv.com/news/stories/1109/677940.html

Damn. There goes their proposed power upgrade to 1,000kW.

http://www.kfsm.com/news/kfsm-news-nwa-satellite-truck-lost-in-river,0,1411223.story
http://www.kfsm.com/media/alternatethumbnails/story/2009-11/50459994-12143756-400300.JPG (http://www.kfsm.com/news/kfsm-news-nwa-satellite-truck-lost-in-river,0,1411223.story)

Hope they had insurance. I recall a couple years ago, a news outlet in Milwaukee, Wi drove their truck out onto the lake in winter to cover a story on ice fishing, and the truck broke through a soft spot and sank. The comments left on KFSMs site had me laughing....Got some funny one liners there.

BTW, if anyone cares, Hogs Vs Trojans, G17 KU 12100 V 29270 HD

I'm sure you'll all collectively sigh at my noobness but I need some help. I live in 72211. My desire: KETS. I made an indoor antenna that works amazingly well for NBC, CBS, FOX, and ABC. But not PBS. I installed a Winegard 7000R compact yagi antenna (I know, should have gone bigger) and it gives me about 50% KETS. I can watch it, but there are occasional quick dropouts. My questions: 1. Is a preamp/booster the same thing? 2. Will one increase my signal enough for a strong KETS signal? 3. Which one would you all recommend?

I apologize if you've beaten this topic to death, but I looked over a couple dozen pages, then my eyes went crossed. I'd appreciate any pointers.

PS. NOVA last night was beautiful, I'm thrilled to even have the reception I do.

You need to point it at Redfield, ar to get KETS.

Every since I moved to 72210 from 72211 I have come to the realization that the entire damn 72211 zip code must be just way way too close to Shinall to get OTA reception very well. It just seems like the mountain just overwhelms receiving equipment in that area. Over here in 72210 I am having a lot easier time getting stuff. Or at least I think I am. Maybe its just that I have gotten a little better at doing it. :)

Thanks guys. It's pointed straight at redfield, 150' from north, just wanted a boost of about 10%-20%. Is this possible? @steveken: Rabbit ears were fine but the signal seemed unstable--sometimes jumping between 95%-15%--and the rooftop was overkill. The homemade, six coat hanger antenna is strong and steady for ~6 mi away.

I never could get my home made antenna to work very well. could have just been my half assed stuff I was using. I had to go to walmart and buy a Philips MANT910 to get all the channels real well. This was over off Kanis/Bowman area.

LRNate,
You may be getting impulse noise or FM radio interference that commonly plagues VHF reception. Try an FM trap to see if the problem goes away.

If you're close to Shinall, an amp may overamplify the noise problem or the signal going to your tuner and make reception worse.

A "booster" is just another name for an amp. A "preamp" is an amp that is installed on the antenna mast, before the signal goes into the house. Hence the name "pre-amp." It is nearly always the best type of amp to use.

VHF sucks for OTA DTV broadcasting but KETS/AETN doesn't care. They gave away a perfectly good UHF channel (47) they were assigned for the DTV transition.

I betting its interference also, since that Winegard antenna he is using should be pulling in KETS real well. Its fairly powerful around town. Shouldnt be needing a pre-amp for it. Its got 5 db gain on ch 7. Are you using new coax LRNATE, or old stuff? How long a run of coax?

Great info guys, thanks. I'm glad you suggested the trap--I was about to jump on a preamp. The coax is from a previous dish, already up there, and is probably 5-6 years old. There's about thirty feet of it, but I could clean it up to twenty. Goes straight to the tv, not split.

Thanks for the suggestions.

LRNate: Give me your signal readings on each of the LR channels, as well as channel 18 and 26 (if you get a signal at all on those). And not to suggest you are dumb or anything, but you do have the small element end of the antenna pointed at 150 degrees, correct? Check the coax end outside to make sure its not corroded, and if it is using crimped on connectors you might want to consider replacing the outside coax connect with a compression connector, being that old. Any water getting under the crimp could cause the coax shield to rust, making your ground connect bad, and allowing interference in.

Me, dumb? Why are all my channels snowy? Kidding. As long as I can get KETS with the outdoor, I can get all others on my indoor. But my outdoor right now has ch 4 with a jumpy 20-60%, ch 7 is 93%, 11 is 67%, nothing on 16, and 38 is 68%. I have nothing on ch 18 or 26 (which ones are those?). They are compressed except for one at the house. If the cabling is a likely culprit I can scrub it with a wire brush or replace it. But the antenna itself should be sufficient?

I checked out your antenna on Solid Signal, and it should be more than adequate, unless you are pointing it into the side of a hill. If you are pointed at Redfield, I would expect your other channels to be jumpy or missing completely, so thats good. Ch 38 is on the same tower as KETS, so it should be solid. What receiver are you getting these readings off of? Some read lower than others. 38 reading 68% seems a little low to me. It should be 90 or better on most meters if you are pointed at Redfield. I would definantly look at your coax connector (and if you are using a balun to convert the 300 ohm antenna to 75 ohm coax, check that the two wires are not twisted, and not laying on, or contacting any metal). If you still cannot get it to work, post a plot of your signal levels for your exact address (you can omit the address in the printout) from www.tvfool.com, so I can check the gain of your antenna vs the loss of your system to see if its working the way it should be.

No receiver- directly to the TV. The strength meter is built in. There are a few hills around, but we're still talking LR here (close to Walmart). I'm using the balun transformer included with the antenna, no surprises there, but I'll make sure that coax connection is off the antenna. It's dark when I get home, but this weekend I'll double check the connections, stick an fm filter on it, and if necessary replace the coaxial, and post my results. Thanks davenlr, your suggestions and advice are appreciated.

Type your address in here, http://www.tvfool.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=90then click on KETS ch 7 button. It will show you a google map with KETS's coverage at your house. If you are in one of the blue or purple spots there, you might need to increase your antenna height, or get a higher gain antenna. Any other color, you should get fine with the antenna you are using. Be looking forward to hearing what your results are this weekend. I hate standard time myself. Should be light when I get off work, not when Im trying to grab a snooze before getting up in the morning :)

Dave, he is in the same exact area I used to live in.

Nate, I used to live on Point West Cove. I HAD to get that Philips MANT910 antenna and put it outside for me to get all the stations. That was about all the wife would let me get. LOL That was just me though. Like I said, I didn't have much luck with the home made job and didn't have the money to spring on a Winegard or anything like that. Those are just too big for the wife to tolerate, especially since we had DirecTV anyway. The OTA junk was just fooling around for me. :)

The biggest thing that is hurting you around there is the multipath from the mountain. I figured that out a long time ago. That's why you have to just keep putzing with it until you find that sweet spot with your antenna. You *should* be able to get KETS there no problem, its just finding that perfect spot to get it. Azimuth AND elevation of your antenna will more than likely make a big difference. When I got it, my antenna was kinda cockeyed a little bit, but it worked.

I know these guys say you don't need an amp and that an amp really should screw it up, but in my case the amp in the antenna I put outside was the only thing that actually helped get the signals in. That whole Point West area over there is just really screwy. :)

As he will see if he pulls up the KETS coverage map overlay for his address. He is using an outside antenna with 5db gain on channel 7. That is far and above anything the MANT is capable of. While a CM7777 might help him, its seems overkill, since he is only using this antenna for this one channel.

By the way, that guy that lived over there that I gave my MANT to, never got on again to report how it worked out for him in his apartment, and didnt reply to any of my emails, so I dont know whats up with that. Thought I was trying to be helpful. In any case, Im not going to recommend a UHF only antenna to someone trying to pick up VHF, especially if it costs him money. He has a good antenna, it should work. Might just need to move it around a little as you suggest. Im pretty convinced the old coax might also be a problem. I dont think they were using compression connectors back 6 yrs ago for DISH. If anything, a channel 7 bandpass filter would be his best bet, since he is only trying to get that one channel. Those are still available I believe.

With all the hills & valleys in that area, the antenna may well be sitting right in a dead spot for KETS 7. Moving the antenna up, down, left or right a foot or two may solve the problem. Or there may be a problem with the balun, coax or connectors. Or FM/impulse noise interference.

At that distance and with the antenna being used, amplification should not be needed. With so many TV stations in that area, a CM7777 may overload the tuner.

Yeah, I know its above what the MANT is supposedly capable of, but the amazing thing is that it works very well. I don't get it either. I guess its just dumb luck really. And I wasn't trying to say go buy a MANT at all. Just saying that is what worked for me for a really low price. I just needed one for outside and everything else was just too darned expensive. All I am saying is that, even though it is labeled as UHF only, it will work on VHF too somehow. Again, probably just lucky.

In any case, I definitely wouldn't put anything like a CM7777 on his. That definitely would overload the tuner like Sam said.

Kinda sucks that that guy you lent that antenna to disappeared. Oh well, maybe that means its working for him and he has no more need for us. LOL

I'm sure you'll all collectively sigh at my noobness but I need some help. I live in 72211. My desire: KETS. I made an indoor antenna that works amazingly well for NBC, CBS, FOX, and ABC. But not PBS. I installed a Winegard 7000R compact yagi antenna (I know, should have gone bigger) and it gives me about 50% KETS. I can watch it, but there are occasional quick dropouts. My questions: 1. Is a preamp/booster the same thing? 2. Will one increase my signal enough for a strong KETS signal? 3. Which one would you all recommend?


Sorry for the late response, and I know that Dave, Sam, and Steven have chimed in.

Preamps: They are a Godsend in rural areas away from the transmitters, but they won't make a signal magically appear out of nowhere. They will help lock a weak signal that is on the "bubble" and overcome the receiver's noise floor, but the amps will also overload your tuner close to the transmitters. Things have gotten better since the analogs are gone as overload goes, I used to get a very weak image of KASN-analog occasionally on channel 23 back in the day 39 miles from the transmitter.

Antenna: I took a look at the Winegard 7000R...it should work for you, there is some directivity (good for the odd-duck KETS 7) but unless you are "DXing" the big gun antennas are overkill in Little Rock. That said, the 7000R is designed to include the low-VHF channels which are no longer used in Little Rock--sadly LR still has the 2 VHF highbanders (4 here if I count KETZ and KETG).

Location, Location: That is important. I have several hot and dead spots at my domicile. I found one that I could shoot through a clear spot and no trees within a 1/4-1/3 mile from me to aim at Little Rock. Everything that is "full power" from Shinall Mtn (even KKAP which I never watch) locks most of the time 24/7.

Coax: Good RG6 with compression connectors rocks. Once I discovered compression connectors, I replaced all of my old crimp-style ones with compession. There is less likelyhood to get moisture in the coax.

We've lived on the north side of the hump from Point West for about 1 1/2 yrs, and the cable was already there so it might not be that old, but I'll replace it anyway. I mounted the antenna on a 6ft mast on the house. When I can get up there i'll check all connections and stick the filter on it, grab a compass to get it to the exact degree, if nothing i'll lower it a bit, then replace the coax, then finally I'll try the preamp. Most evenings the reception is decent with no dropouts, but last night it started pixellating every ten secs or so--enough to drive me nuts--just a little more signal and I can finally cancel my dish locals.

I'm still alive guys......still alive and kicking here in Yellco:D

Hey Arkyman, I was afraid you fell of the edge of your DMA.
How's reception these days?


... Most evenings the reception is decent with no dropouts, but last night it started pixellating every ten secs or so--enough to drive me nuts...Damned VHF.

If your TVFool's correct, your reception should be a piece-o-cake. I think there may be something physically wrong somewhere (coax, connectors, etc.), or you've got some hellacious RF interference going on.

What type of tuner are you using?

It's going straight to my tv. That's good news that it should be working--now I just have to figure it out. The tvfool also changed KETS to yellow once I dropped the elevation four feet. So we'll see. Thanks for all the suggestions everyone.

If you do order a preamp, make sure it is a Channel Master 7777, and also order a Ch 7 JOIN-TENNA. It will allow you to pass JUST channel 7, so the other channels will not overload your amplifier. Be looking forward to your reception report, and PLEASE dont buy coax at radio shack :) Their stuff sucks. There is a satellite installer on Markham street just east of the 430 overpass in the same parking lot as the BBQ place. They can make you a good quality cable to length with the compression connectors already on it, if you dont feel like buying the tools to do your own. Sorry I dont remember the name, but its where I buy all my DirecTv dishes and LNBs at. Nice people.

Ok...so the jointenna is like a channel trap. I just ordered one. I'll try that first without preamp. Ran by Radio Shack last night looking for fm traps but no success. I wonder, should I assume my coax is in good enough shape if I can pull in ~95% KATV? If none of this works I'll replace cable and grab preamp.

Also, one curiosity question: Since the first one worked so well, I'm about to build a cleaner indoor antenna (that's not out of scrap wood) and was wondering if it would make any difference to add a few more whiskers to the design. Is there such a thing as a 5- or 6-bay antenna? I've only seen 4 bays or groupings of 4 bays.

Dave is it Custom Satellite?

2, 4 or 8 bays. The problem with adding whiskers, is it changes the feedpoint impedance from the optimum 300 ohm, causing one whisker to cancel out another, and so forth. You almost need computer modeling software to keep the impedance close to 300 ohms (or 75).

The jointenna is a special bandpass filter. It does two things. It has two imputs, and one output. One input passes all the channels from 2 through 59 EXCEPT the channel its designed for, in this case, channel 7. The other input filters ALL channels EXCEPT channel 7. It then combines the input from channel 7, and the input without channel 7. This allows you to use it two ways. With ONLY the channel 7 antenna connected, it ONLY passes channel 7, and nothing else. With a channel 7 antenna on the channel 7 input, and another antenna on the other input, it combines the channel 7 only antenna with the other main all channel antenna, without the two of them interfering with each other. You can use it at the channel 7 antenna outside (and use a 75 terminator resistor on the other input) to feed just channel 7 down the coax, or you can put it behind your TV and hook your homemade antenna to the main input, and the channel 7 antenna on the roof to the channel 7 input. It will then act as a filter for everything coming in from your outside antenna except channel 7, FM, and everything else.

Try the coax you have first, see how it works.

[QUOTE=arxaw;17552991]Hey Arkyman, I was afraid you fell of the edge of your DMA.
How's reception these days?


I still get good reception on most of my channels. Getting 5.1 again..put my Pr9032 back up with the Winegard Amp (UHF). Havent forgotten about you and the 4228.....but I have not made any trips that way in a long time.

Thanks Dave, I'll just make another 4 bay this weekend. I should receive the jointenna in a week and will post my results. Should be fun to mess with. It will at least act as a nice combiner. I'm starting to feel like Ahab chasing the whale here. It will be mine!

You think its bad now, you should have been trying when they were using channel 5 at low power :)

LRNate, FM traps are available at solidsignal.com

The satellite dealer where you can get good coax is Custom Satellite on W. Markham.
501 221-DISH
http://i46.tinypic.com/34xg6y9.jpg

Arkyman, no problem. Whenever you plan a trip, just give me a holler.
-- Sam

Interesting...I just mounted a Winegard HD6010 on my roof, and used the FREE 50' of RG59!!! with no connectors that Summit Source included with the antenna (what a joke) to connect the antenna to my Insignia HD Radio Tuner. Since all I had was crimp on RG6 connectors, I just brute forced them on temporarily.

In any case, I was unable to pick up the oldies station east of me, in Des Arc on it. Of course, it only comes in barely full quieting with the quantum and a 7777 preamp, so no surprise there. What was a surprise, was picking up http://www.kbcnradio.com/ from Harrison full quieting on it. It picks up something on just about every frequency, although most are very noisy. Will make for fun DXing anyway. All the HD radio stations in Little Rock come in full scale. Tom-FM, which hasnt had any song/artist info on their HD2 channel since I got the receiver, tonight doesnt even have the HD2 channel on...After trying to tune it in for about 10 seconds, the receiver reverts to the HD1 Tom-FM main channel. Wish they would fix that, I love Tom-FM HD2.

Anyways, happy Turkey Week.

Interesting...I just mounted a Winegard HD6010 on my roof, and used the FREE 50' of RG59!!! with no connectors that Summit Source included with the antenna (what a joke) to connect the antenna to my Insignia HD Radio Tuner. Since all I had was crimp on RG6 connectors, I just brute forced them on temporarily.

In any case, I was unable to pick up the oldies station east of me, in Des Arc on it. Of course, it only comes in barely full quieting with the quantum and a 7777 preamp, so no surprise there. What was a surprise, was picking up http://www.kbcnradio.com/ from Harrison full quieting on it. It picks up something on just about every frequency, although most are very noisy. Will make for fun DXing anyway. All the HD radio stations in Little Rock come in full scale. Tom-FM, which hasnt had any song/artist info on their HD2 channel since I got the receiver, tonight doesnt even have the HD2 channel on...After trying to tune it in for about 10 seconds, the receiver reverts to the HD1 Tom-FM main channel. Wish they would fix that, I love Tom-FM HD2.

Anyways, happy Turkey Week.

Actually KBCN 104.3 is in Marshall (http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service-area?x=FM149471.html), per their COL....that is a monster signal (coverage maps on the FCC site for FM are *very* conservative), I can pull it in here as is the case now (its weak though) on the Sangean HDT-1/and ragged, past-its-prime RatShack VU190. You also should be able to hear KZLE 93.1 Batesville (http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service-area?x=FM657275.html), at least on the Quantum. For oldies, you could also try KWAK-FM 105.5 Stuttgart (http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service-area?x=FM107871.html)...I've picked that up in the car in Pine Bluff, but can't here because of KWRF-FM in Warren also on 105.5. You're biggest issue will be adjacent-channel interference, especially from the "HD"/IBOC stations that will make 88.9, 89.3, 94.7, 95.1, 95.5, 95.9, 99.3, 99.7, 100.1, 100.5, 101.9, 102.3, 104.9, 105.3, 106.5, and 106.9 useless in Central AR for "DX".

For those unaware and as a public service ;) , its only a week, and two days--December 1 @ 9:00pm before the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show (http://www.cbs.com/specials/victorias_secret/) airs on CBS which will likely be censored by KTHV. Perhaps there will be monster tropo that night from Fort Smith (http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service-area?x=DS612723.html) or Memphis (http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service-area?x=DS598628.html), I'd hate to have to settle for hit or miss standard def from WXVT Greenville MS as a last resort.

Dave, did summit charge you their extra "package handling fee" ?
Talk about a joke. It's how they get their prices low, inflate the shipping fee and add a handling fee.

Haley, good luck getting VS on an alternate channel. Just don't look for cbs KOLR 10 to come wafting in. I can rarely even watch them here without impulse noise breakups. :rolleyes:

I've always wanted to listen to one of those HD radios. I guess just to see what it sounds like. I just haven't ever known anyone that has a receiver and I am not going to spend the money on one without ever hearing it. :) I guess I might be able to go into Best Buy to hear it or something, but it might be hard to discern anything special about it with all the rap and booming bass that usually accompanies that area. How much is a cheap HD radio? Are they reasonable?

There's a portable unit for $50, it's an Insignia.

I got my Sony XDR-S3HD for about $80 on eBay and even if you don't like IBOC, it has an AMAZING analog tuner too. Took it up on Poor Mountain right under the tower of 200 kW of WSLQ-FM and it managed to hear FM signals where other radios just splattered.

- Trip

Yeah, $50 is just a bit too much. Maybe $25 or $30, but not $50. Oh well, maybe they will drop eventually. As much as I dislike local radio, I don't know if I would even wanna keep it very long if there is as much car dealership ads on HD as there is on regular. If they don't have near as many car commercials, then it might not be so bad. Seems like the ad execs around here only call car dealerships for ads.

What is IBOC? I don't know much about this stuff, so I am not familiar with the different terminologies.

IBOC is the name for HD Radio that contains a huge lie about its sound quality. :)

(IBOC = In-Band On-Channel. Some would debate whether or not that acronym is true either.)

- Trip

Ok, shows how much less I know than before. Huge lie about its sound quality??? And that IBOC doesn't make much sense either.

There's nothing "HD" about "HD Radio." It's just the name they chose to make it sound better than it is.

The sound quality on IBOC radio can be pretty bad. They're limited to either 96 kbps or 112 kbps (most are the former) and so with a single stream it sounds okay, but multicasting takes its toll pretty quickly. (AM Radio is even worse, I'm told, though I haven't heard it first-hand.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:FM_spectrum_IBOC.png

This picture should help explain what IBOC means. The main audio carrier is in the middle, and on the left and right sides you see the digital signals. They're supposed to be "in-band on-channel" digital signals. You can see from the picture that it's really not very true.

- Trip

I feel I should clarify my statements more.

IBOC proponents like to claim that FM digital has "CD-quality sound" and AM digital has "FM-quality sound." Everything I've heard about AM digital disagrees with that statement. On FM, this might be true for limited multicasts. My personal example is the local NPR station. 89.1-1 gets 48 kbps and it sounds pretty good. Maybe slightly better than the FM, though nothing to write home about. 89.1-2 gets 32 kbps, but is all talk, so there's not a whole lot to hear. 89.1-3, however, gets 16 kbps and airs alternative music. It sounds pretty bad.

- Trip

SAM: No, they didnt charge me anything extra, just the standard $11 shipping UPS which arrived in two days. Give me a couple REALLY strong FM stations in Springfield to look for.

Steveken: None of the HD Radio stations I have listened to have any ads on the HD2 channel so far. As Trip says, sound quality is NOT any different than a good quality FM tuner provides. On Tom-FM, when it kicks from analog to digital, you actually can hear a sound quality increase (better treble, tighter bass), but on the rest of them, I actually cannot hear much of anything different about the sound. HD stands for hybrid digital, not high definition. I got my tuner at Best Buy for $140. The Sony trip has is the most highly recommended tuner, however, they do NOT sell it in Arkansas, and I did not feel like ordering it off Amazon. AM HD Radio is only available here on KARN and only during the daytime. It does sound good (for talk radio), with none of the whistles and static normally heard.

Haley: Thanks for the DX targets, will try them out this afternoon. Yea, after I posted that report, I found out "Harrison's" station was really in Marshall, and I know how high up THOSE hills are.

Haley, good luck getting VS on an alternate channel. Just don't look for cbs KOLR 10 to come wafting in. I can rarely even watch them here without impulse noise breakups. :rolleyes:

Channel 10 is occupied here with one of AETN's veehacheff transmitters (KETZ El Dorado). The Monore LA CBS station is also VHF (KNOE RF 8) and far,far out of range here, and Sheveport's CBS affiliate (KSLA RF 17) for a UHF'er is woefully underpowered compared to its major (and also UHF) competitors.

That leaves WXVT (in SDTV), followed by KFSM, and WREG as possible primary "VSDX" targets :D

For those unaware and as a public service ;) , its only a week, and two days--December 1 @ 9:00pm before the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show (http://www.cbs.com/specials/victorias_secret/) airs on CBS which will likely be censored by KTHV. Perhaps there will be monster tropo that night from Fort Smith (http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service-area?x=DS612723.html) or Memphis (http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service-area?x=DS598628.html), I'd hate to have to settle for hit or miss standard def from WXVT Greenville MS as a last resort.

Get your AMPS ready, a check on all the TV Guide sites show NONE of the LR stations will be carrying VSFS this year, again. Its telethon time (and Big Ugly Dish time).

Give me a couple REALLY strong FM stations in Springfield to look for.

KTXR 101.3 (provided that 500W KZTS 101.1 hasn't increased power yet). Most of the rest are close to or on the same frequencies as the locals in LR metro.

Get your AMPS ready, a check on all the TV Guide sites show NONE of the LR stations will be carrying VSFS this year, again. Its telethon time (and Big Ugly Dish time).

Or just wait until Dec. 9th when the CW will rebroadcast it, just like they usually do. AFAIK KASN hasn't pre-empted it in the past.

Or just wait until Dec. 9th when the CW will rebroadcast it, just like they usually do. AFAIK KASN hasn't pre-empted it in the past.

KASN used to air the CBS feed *and* the one by UPN and later The CW when they carried it a week later. But KASN didn't carry the CBS feed in 2008 (only the week-delayed CW airing). I checked TitanTV and cannot see any listings past Dec 5. However, I did see what KTHV is using as their fill in programming....


Operation Smile (Paid)
KTHVDT - 11.1 - Tue, 12/01, 9:00 PM 1 hr

View Additional Airings (http://www.titantv.com/airings/MS8769880/Operation-Smile-Paid.aspx?scheduleid=724990264&channel=12&stationid=4199&psipid=590&contenttype=2&major=11&minor=1&hdcapable=1&context=4404ef76-e0af-4ff2-808a-c17af3c8cdb3)

Until they get the HD bugs ironed out, I will listen to the stations online. I just got a Sanyo R227 wifi radio & I can hear 14,000+ stations. Pretty good sound quality actually. Lots better than AM & way many more choices. Pretty neat little rig.

I wanted to get something so I could hear my favorite Dallas stations while visiting my folks in Hot Springs Village - hopefully moving to the Village in a couple of years.

Until they get the HD bugs ironed out, I will listen to the stations online. I just got a Sanyo R227 wifi radio & I can hear 14,000+ stations. Pretty good sound quality actually. Lots better than AM & way many more choices. Pretty neat little rig.

I wanted to get something so I could hear my favorite Dallas stations while visiting my folks in Hot Springs Village - hopefully moving to the Village in a couple of years.

On those devices, can you update the station lists with software/another pc or do you have to settle for the stations that are preloaded? Since I've gotten DSL, I seldom listen to my XM radio in the house save for a couple of the exclusive talk services (*NOT* Howard Stern BTW, whom I blame much of the problems on SIRIUS/xm on)

I also would be interested in a mini-review of the Sanyo R227. Personally, I didnt even know such a wireless device existed, and if its commercial/subscription free, Id be very interested.

I have a XM docking station in the house, but found that tuning it in online with the computer sounds better, and I get some channels on the computer that for some reason, the XM radio wont tune...

Nevermind...found it: http://us.sanyo.com/Internet-Radio/Internet-Radio-R227
It uses a database like DirecTv's OTA tuner.

http://i49.tinypic.com/34zgg1k.jpgFirst skip of the winter 2009-2010 logged here today...for those in that sub-hobby.

Are you sure that's not just KY3 firing up their pirate analog station again? LOL

Seriously though, what channel was it?

Are you sure that's not just KY3 firing up their pirate analog station again? LOL

Seriously though, what channel was it?

A unid channel 2 from Mexico. One of the Televista stable of networks airing a telenovella (soap opera). Skip was very weak today, but should improve as the winter solstice approaches. A sure sign of that starting to build is the CB radio/10m ham radio bands starting to skip...50Mhz ham radio (6m) lies just below the low veehacheff tv channels

Here is a good site to check for real-time observed propagation--its ham radio spots but the 50mhz and 144 mhz spots are good indicators

http://www.vhfdx.net/spots/map.php?Lan=E&Frec=50&Map=NA&mycall=&myloc=&freq=&prop=

Havent heard much skip on CB lately (I have one in my work truck). Actually, not even close to as much as I would expect in this part of the solar cycle. I fired up my ham radio today (Butternut all band vertical, chain link fence as a ground plane :) and found out my antenna tuners switches and buttons all need a heavy dose of tuner cleaner ! Tried to make a contact with Curcau? in the Caribbean on 40M. He was 5/9+20, and with 100W out, I couldnt get him.. Oh well.

Keep me informed on the skip though, this weekend, I am going to attempt to repair the rear element on the quantum. The other two bent element are not as bad as I thought, and a little heat should allow them to bend back close to original positions.

The Sanyo wifi radio has 8 preset buttons for stuff you use daily. You can also setup your favorite stations with a Reciva.com acct (no fee.) You add the radio's id # to your acct & your stations magically appear as a My Stuff folder on your radio & you can update any time you want with more stations. It takes a little getting used to, with a slight buffer delay while the station loads. But it is really a great idea, I can go to sleep listening to a station in Istanbul or Rio De Janeiro if I want. It is strange not hearing distant AM stations fade. I setup mostly talk stations around the nation since that is a great cure for insomnia. A nice perk is the ability to listen to mp3's on my home network.

Only gripe is the display light is a bit too bright for overnight use, even at lowest setting. But a snip of window tint will calm it down.