Just curious if anyone knows just what's going on (still) with 31-1 (Digital 30) the Pax station out of NYC.

It's been awhile since I've seen a picture on the station. Some nights the signal IS there....but it's dormant. Other nights I can't get any signal.

I've been real behind on my forum reading, but I didn't notice a post over in the Philly forum about UPN-57 out of Philly (WPSG-DT) going HD for select Phillies home games. Has anyone tuned in yet? I keep forgetting to check out the schedule to "see" a game in HD to compare it to WB-11 DT or FOX-DT doing the MLB games.

UPN 57 link (Scroll to bottom for HD info) : http://www.upn57.com/

Phils Sked: http://upn57.com/content/local_story_32953012_html

Looks like 7/1 is the next Phils home game.

From the NYC thread seems WNET is now on the combiner. Anyone have any luck picking it up?

Referencing this post on the NYC OTA thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5818206&&#post5818206) WNET-DT is live on 13-1:3 (61-1:3). Not sure if it's accessible in Central NJ now as I'm at work. I'll have to check later tonight.

With NFL training camp opening soon, I got this stupid idea in my head to see if I can pull in a CBS station from Philly or Hartford so that I can watch AFC games other than those of my beloved Jets. I read enviously about how you guys can pick up KYW (CBS) in Philly. Well, I'm further north here in Clifton, NJ.

Anyhoo...according to the 2150.com website, I am 77 miles from KYW. Being a newbie to the whole attic/rooftop antenna thing, my question is...is this at all possible? Before I go buying and returning antennas, is there even a remote chance of getting this to work, or am I out of range? Ideally I would like to put the antenna in the attic pointing out a window that happens to face Philly. Of course, there's a damn tree right across the street where it's pointing.

In any event, any thoughts, ideas, comments, verbal abuse you care to share would be appreciated! Thanks.

I think you'd need to go to the roof top to get that far.

I'm about 40 miles from philly and get everything with big numbers on my tuner. Only about another 10 miles from NYC (~50 miles from ESB if I recall) but there is a significant drop off in the signal strengths I get from my amplified 4228 in the attic. I think if I had to reach another 20 miles it would be ugly.

NJN having problems? The digital stations have been off/on for the last few days.

With NFL training camp opening soon, I got this stupid idea in my head to see if I can pull in a CBS station from Philly or Hartford so that I can watch AFC games other than those of my beloved Jets. I read enviously about how you guys can pick up KYW (CBS) in Philly. Well, I'm further north here in Clifton, NJ.

Anyhoo...according to the 2150.com website, I am 77 miles from KYW. Being a newbie to the whole attic/rooftop antenna thing, my question is...is this at all possible? Before I go buying and returning antennas, is there even a remote chance of getting this to work, or am I out of range? Ideally I would like to put the antenna in the attic pointing out a window that happens to face Philly. Of course, there's a damn tree right across the street where it's pointing.

In any event, any thoughts, ideas, comments, verbal abuse you care to share would be appreciated! Thanks.

KYW is the stongest OTA station out of Philadelphia and is the only one I get nuts on from my ChannelMaster antenna hanging in the attic. Easiest test is to see if anyone you know has an Silver Sensor to test with, then based on success try it with a beefier model....

Good luck !!

Yes, I am able to pick up WNBC-DT at a 100% strength on all of my STB's. What kind of an amp are you using? Is it a CM or Winegard? I have 2 CM 4228's with a CM UHF pre-amp on one and a Winegard VHF/UHF on the other and receive NBC-DT with no problems on both setups.

Long time, no speak....
Man, did you beef up your signal acquisition equipment, or what ???

I think I see windmill farms with less metal than your backyard !!

hi, i just want to ask if anyone uses a multiswith that can handle high def and has an antenna input, i have directv/comcast . tks

Long time, no speak....
Man, did you beef up your signal acquisition equipment, or what ???

I think I see windmill farms with less metal than your backyard !!

It has been awhile....seems like only yesterday I was bitching and moaning about not being able to see ANY HD but PBS and CBS :D

My how times have changed!

Is there any form of HDTV available here at all? Thank you for your answer.

Milford looks to be about 40 miles north of the towers in Phila. and at about 300 ft. elevation; so with the right equipment you should be able to get the Phila. digital stations transmitting HDTV. The Phila. local thread should have info. for you.

Milford looks to be about 40 miles north of the towers in Phila. and at about 300 ft. elevation; so with the right equipment you should be able to get the Phila. digital stations transmitting HDTV. The Phila. local thread should have info. for you.

Thank you. That's good and all, but my family usually watches New York channels as they follow the New York news if anything, so I'm also wondering if I can continue to get those channels...

if your on the worng side of the hill probably not. If you're on the top of hte hill probably.

Drive over to the sears and get a zenith silver sensor and give it a try. I suspect that wont be "enough" antenna for NY but it would allow you to cheaply get an idea of if it's impossible (if you get 0 on your tuners signal strenght meter then probbaly no antenna will work). If you get anything, even fleeting, on the silver sensor then getting an amp and/or a bigger antenna (channelmaster 4228) will probably work. If it's impossible then return the silver sensor to sears.

I'm in flemington and a NY type of guy too, but there is relaly no point except for Mets baseball to get NY HD locals over Philly HD locals. Anything HD is basically network programming so if it's HD on 2,4,7 its on 3,6,10 too. Nothign local including the news is HD except for mets home games.

So if you will get SD locals from cable or sat anyhow then there's little difference between the HD offerings from NY vs Philly.

Hi,
We live in Princeton and have Direct TV.
Unfortunately, we cant get any local HDTV broadcasts through them, so need to go Off Air.

Anyone in our are successfull pulling in Philly netorks?
They all show at 248degrees and ~40 miles away.

I was looking at a Square Shooter frm winegard....think i have a prayer?

thanks
eric

Merged.

Hi,
We live in Princeton and have Direct TV.
Unfortunately, we cant get any local HDTV broadcasts through them, so need to go Off Air.

Anyone in our are successfull pulling in Philly netorks?
They all show at 248degrees and ~40 miles away.

I was looking at a Square Shooter frm winegard....think i have a prayer?

thanks
eric

Well, you should be able to get local HD (Philly) from D* over the satellite (not OTA).

I believe all the philly network stations are O&O so you can get the NY feeds. WIth the exception of sports there really isn't any such thing as local HD.

that aside- you should be fine OTA. I'm in flemington and can get philly (with the exception of PBS- that seems to go in and out) with a silver sensor so anything fancier should be just fine.

Also FYI if you werent already aware, If you dont have an HD TiVo but only a plan HD STB from Directv they will be providing HD LIL of philly for the big 4 by years end with a box swap. So I wouldnt spent too much time and effort on an antenna myslef. Go over the sears or one of the big boxes at quakerbridge and get a silver sensor to try. If It doesnt work then you can return it and get something meatier like the square shooter or a Channelmaster, etc.

hi all...
1st, thanks!
i have a square shooter 2000 (amplified) and have it pointed at 240 degrees or so. I am somewhat on a hill. With this antenna hooked to my Panny Tu-hds20 (anyone remember this from 4 yrs ago?) I am able to pick up 10.1 (nbc) 3.1 (cbs) and 6.1 (abc). I can't get fox...any tips?
regarding D**, i dont have a tivo hd setup, just this panny. So i am not crazy, the local hd channels are not yet available...but will be by years end???
If i could only get in fox, i would be tempted to dump D** all-together and save $75/month.

any tips on getting 29.1?

regards
eric

Hi,
We live in Princeton and have Direct TV.
Unfortunately, we cant get any local HDTV broadcasts through them, so need to go Off Air.

Anyone in our are successfull pulling in Philly netorks?
They all show at 248degrees and ~40 miles away.

I was looking at a Square Shooter frm winegard....think i have a prayer?

thanks
eric

Not sure about the SquareShooter, but I am in Princeton too and have a ChannelMaster 4228 and the associated amplifier, and I get everything but Fox and the WB. I used to get the WB but don't now for some reason. Fox has always been impossible. Just note that antenna is very sensitive when aiming.

Someone told me that you can get all the major networks in HD from DirecTV tho?

I am in Somerset and I get all the HD local channels as part of my package except for the WB and channel PBS. I just checked and I am getting CBS, NBC, FOX and ABC. These channels show up in the 80 - 90 range on my sat box.

Does anyone have a Patmedia cable box? What is the model of the box? I'd like to know if the box supports a Firewire output.

Thanks for any help.

I believe all the philly network stations are O&O so you can get the NY feeds. WIth the exception of sports there really isn't any such thing as local HD.

that aside- you should be fine OTA. I'm in flemington and can get philly (with the exception of PBS- that seems to go in and out) with a silver sensor so anything fancier should be just fine.

Also FYI if you werent already aware, If you dont have an HD TiVo but only a plan HD STB from Directv they will be providing HD LIL of philly for the big 4 by years end with a box swap. So I wouldnt spent too much time and effort on an antenna myslef. Go over the sears or one of the big boxes at quakerbridge and get a silver sensor to try. If It doesnt work then you can return it and get something meatier like the square shooter or a Channelmaster, etc.

Hi, Michael. I stopped by today to see what antenna people are using in my area and I got lucky and saw that you live in Flemington too. I'm amazed that you've had luck with the silver sensor. That's great. I'm having DirecTV coming out on Saturday for the third time trying to hook me up with an HD dish. They are having LOS issues. They are supposedly bringing some special equipment other that their normal gear. I told DirecTV I'd have to leave them if I couldn't get HD through them. I called the main office back yesterday and told them that if the install didn't work this time, I'd stay with them if they'd throw in an antenna to get my HD as long as they still gave me the HD TiVo. They said they'd do it, but told me rather than cancel the order and reorder it with the antenna, that II could just call the local installer and tell them to add it. DirecTV would then credit me the extra cost. So hopefully later today I'll be calling the local installer to request that they bring an antenna with them on Saturday. I wasn't sure if they would give me an option on what antenna I get. I get NY local SD through them now and thought I'd try Philly on the antenna rather than NY for primetime HD. Sorry for the long message, but do you have any advice? Thanks for anything you can give.
BTW, I'm not in town and I do have trees around me.

Funny that you guys cant get Fox from philly. I just aim down that way and get everything accept the pbs (analog 12).

I'd say get the 4228 if you can- Silver sensor can be iffy and you need anything to be high- First floor no good for me, nothing second floor either, have to go into my attic to get enough height, but the 4228 seems to be the gold standard. I have one of them too- I cant get anything from NY with the silver sensor but can with the 4228. I'm in the townhouses behind shopright.

There's another guy here from Ringoes area that gets NY and Philly all from a silver sensor in his attic so I think we're in a good spot.

I'd say 4228 with an amp up on your roof should get you almost all of NY and Philly. (the pbs's seem to be tough- and some for some reason cant get fix out of Philly?)

Thanks, Michael. DirecTV said they don't deal in Channel Master. In fact, didn't even know what I was talking about with the 4228 - surprising. :| They said the best antenna they have only has a reach of 35 miles. I asked them why considering they do install where the do. No real answer. Thanks for the info though.

9/15 9pm on 58-5/50-5 and probably 52-5

Jakob Dylan and the Wallflowers. Sounds great. A whole lot of intense blues and reds though :p

Thanks, Michael. DirecTV said they don't deal in Channel Master. In fact, didn't even know what I was talking about with the 4228 - surprising. :| They said the best antenna they have only has a reach of 35 miles. I asked them why considering they do install where the do. No real answer. Thanks for the info though.

sorry didn't reply sooner.

I'd call retention and ask them if they will credit you the cost of a real antenna. If you're a little handy it's realluy no big deal at all. If not call a local antenna installer (sorry dont know any) and get a quote for a 4228 with a preamp wired to your multiswitch, then call retention and tell them that's how much to make you happy.

Maybe that would work?

OTA reception: I'm off I-195 near exit 16, I can see Greatr Adventure from my house. I used a D-net 811 as an OTA receiver using a 12 year old large VHF/UHF antenna in the attic with a distribution amp. It used to be pointed at NY until 9/11 and when broadband over cable became availabe, was unused until I got the 811. I aimed at Philly and got 3,6,10,17,23,29,35, 48,57,61, plus others I never watched. A friend in Manalapan just set up a HD system using his attic antenna with a new Phillips/Magnavox distribution amp aimed at NY. He gets digital 2,4,5,7,9,11, + others, I don't remember. My wife has more feelings for NY news so I re-aimed for NY and got digital 2,3,6,7,10,11,29,+ others. So on the backside of the antenna I'm getting 3,6,and 10 with almost the same signal strength as before! However, analog 2 is almost unwatchable which my wife's soaps are on. That means no back-up TV. D-29 is widescreen Fox, which 9-2 isn't. Sports are better HD! So I'll probably re-aim at philly and watch philly news.

This is probably pretty simple for you guys that know what your talking about...
I live in Cape May Court House, NJ 008210 5 miles away from the station i need
I have d* tv and get abc,cbs, and fox in hd, i only need nbc
i went on antennaweb and figured out it's only 5 miles away and broadcasts on UHF? only.
My question is should i get and indoor or outdoor antenna and if so which antenna?

tparsons,

If you're five miles away from the transmitter, you should be able to get good reception using an indoor antenna. Seems that the Zenith Silver Sensor gets good reviews around here. Of course, a lot depends on terrain, height, etc. I suggest that you get the antenna from a retailer that will let you return it if it doesn't work for you. By the way, isn't the NBC affiliate out of Philly owned and operated by the Network? If so, you should get the east coast feed of this from D* as well.

they denied my waiver

they denied my waiver

Would that be because of the NBC station out of Atlantic City is "your local" NBC station?? IIRC I sometimes get an NBC affiliate (Channel 40??) that comes up on my satellite receiver and IIRC it's located down in the AC next of the woods. I don't recall ever picking up a digital signal but it shows up on my Hughes E86 receiver now and then.

OK I got an Zenith UHF HDTV Antenna. Hooked it up in attic and got 93% signal on my directv reciever. The first picture is channel 40.0(i think analog) and the second is channel 40.1(HD i think) Whats wrong with the HD channel?

Just curious if anyone else in the area has noticed that they can now get PBS 13 out of NYC digitally on 13-1:3?!?

Started noticing a week or so ago that I was able to pick up 13-1:3 and last night I sat down to watch a nice documentary on WWII battleships on 13-1 (not HD but digitally it looked pretty nice).

Anyone ?!?!?

I purchased a house a year ago, the previous owner had installed a fairly large directional antenna with a winegard ap4700 preamp. I just recently got a hp 42 plasma pe400n edtv which has the tuners. I live in Brick, NJ 08723. From what I have been reading on this forum and by checking antennaweb I THINK I should be pulling in some signals. All I get are very snowy pictures, unwatchable. I have the coaxil cable going directly to my tv ant in. I use directv standard for normal viewing. I am looking for some help, am I doing something wrong? I tried turning the antenna every which but loose but only get snow or worse snow. Anyone in my area getting signals? Am I doing something wrong? Any help will be greatly appreciated from this frustrated OTA seeker.

I purchased a house a year ago, the previous owner had installed a fairly large directional antenna with a winegard ap4700 preamp. I just recently got a hp 42 plasma pe400n edtv which has the tuners. I live in Brick, NJ 08723. From what I have been reading on this forum and by checking antennaweb I THINK I should be pulling in some signals. All I get are very snowy pictures, unwatchable. I have the coaxil cable going directly to my tv ant in. I use directv standard for normal viewing. I am looking for some help, am I doing something wrong? I tried turning the antenna every which but loose but only get snow or worse snow. Anyone in my area getting signals? Am I doing something wrong? Any help will be greatly appreciated from this frustrated OTA seeker.

Check to see if your plasma has a signal strength indicator somewhere in the menus. You shouldn't be getting "snow" per se when you are trying to tune in digital TV/HDTV signals....it's either "there" (perfect movement in the picture) or stuttering/broken up (much like your D* signal in the rain/snow/ice).

Try 56-1 for CBS, 28-1 for NBC, 45-1 for ABC , 33-1 for WPIX and 38-1 for UPN.

That's how *most* receivers/tuners will allow you to tune int digital/HDTV signals until you do a channel scan to "pick up" the channels/signals in your area.

What's the manual say? Do you have to do a channel scan first? I'm not very familiar with HP TV's.

First off thanks for the reply. The HP plama is the same as the new Panasonic plasmas. When I do a channel scan, it goes through the analog channels which are snowy, then it goes through the digital signals and I get nothing, 0 signal on the meter. With that said, I assume the snowy channels ae the analog ones and are completely different then what I am looking for (digital). Now you say try 56-1, I don't see a way to enter 56-1, just whole channel numbers like 2, 3, 4, 56, etc... I'm sure I am doing something wrong as I am a total newb when it comes to this. The manuel says very little, I did a auto scan already and found no digital signals I guess.

Edited: Ok I manually entered all chanels to show in the scan. I also figuered out how to enter 56-1. I still have no digital signal/channels.

First off thanks for the reply. The HP plama is the same as the new Panasonic plasmas. When I do a channel scan, it goes through the analog channels which are snowy, then it goes through the digital signals and I get nothing, 0 signal on the meter. With that said, I assume the snowy channels ae the analog ones and are completely different then what I am looking for (digital). Now you say try 56-1, I don't see a way to enter 56-1, just whole channel numbers like 2, 3, 4, 56, etc... I'm sure I am doing something wrong as I am a total newb when it comes to this. The manuel says very little, I did a auto scan already and found no digital signals I guess.

Follow what Jaypb is saying. There should be a button on the remote to enter a dash, possibly right or left of the "0" key. anyway in regards to your antenna placement/direction try pointing the antenna towards trenton/philly.
CBS=3-1
ABC-6-1
NBC=10-1
FOX 29-1

I believe the numbers Jay gave you are for NY. Try starting with philly once you get those in swing the antenna 180 degrees and it should be pointing towards NY then. Your best bet is to try and tune in using "CBS" as it seems to be the strongest in our area. You should be able to hit around 90 on the signal meter.

When tuning in move/swing the antenna in small increments!

Are HD signals all -1? for instance 2 is analog, 2-1 is digital?

Are HD signals all -1? for instance 2 is analog, 2-1 is digital?

Yes all digital channels are XX-1 some channels broadcast a sub channel under that XX-2

Eg NBC ny is channel 4 (analog)
NBCDT is 4-1
NBC Weather is 4-2

Follow what Jaypb is saying. There should be a button on the remote to enter a dash, possibly right or left of the "0" key. anyway in regards to your antenna placement/direction try pointing the antenna towards trenton/philly.
CBS=3-1
ABC-6-1
NBC=10-1
FOX 29-1

I believe the numbers Jay gave you are for NY. Try starting with philly once you get those in swing the antenna 180 degrees and it should be pointing towards NY then. Your best bet is to try and tune in using "CBS" as it seems to be the strongest in our area. You should be able to hit around 90 on the signal meter.

When tuning in move/swing the antenna in small increments!


Ah, crap! I didn't even think to ask which way the antenna was pointing!


Can you tell if your channel scan brings up ANY channels (analog/digital) when you do the scan? I've never futzed around with an internal tuner, just D* based HD tuners (which give me a choice of the analog/digital stations it picks up)

Can you get up on the roof to see if the antenna cable is actually connected to the antenna? Or check the wiring to see if there is a break/disconnect somewhere. You *should* be able to at least get an analog/UHF signal for one of the PBS stations I would think (50/52) which have transmitters in NJ. Not sure what other stations are close enough to you UHF wise to pick up.

I guess the other logical question would be: Is the antenna VHF only? Or are there UHF "elements" on it? You'd be able to try entering the analog variety to see what you get in that regard (2,4,5,7,11,13 or as webboy said the Philly stations--3,6,10,12 etc..)

A full channle scan brings up snowy analog channels and no digital channels. The antenna is uhf/vhf w. a bypass switch to the pre amp. I just tried again to aim it at 283 degrees and at 20 dgerees using a compass (NY and Phily according to antennaweb I think), but get nothing, no signal at all. You guys know any techs in the area who setup these systems?

A full channle scan brings up snowy analog channels and no digital channels. The antenna is uhf/vhf w. a bypass switch to the pre amp. I just tried again to aim it at 283 degrees and at 20 dgerees using a compass (NY and Phily according to antennaweb I think), but get nothing, no signal at all. You guys know any techs in the area who setup these systems?

If you know your model # try this part of the forum by using a search or posting a new thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=40

Maybe someone can point you in the right direction. AFA a tech, I (and most on the forum) put up their antennas themselves. I personally can't recommend anyone.

A pretty quick/easy/cheap way to test to see if it's your antenna/connection (which I think it probably is) or your TV is to run out to and look for an antenna called the "Silver Sensor". Circuit City and Sears used to carry them....but I think you'd probably only be able to find them on Ebay or Buy.com *used* to have them last time I looked ($25 shipping included):

http://www.zenith.com/sub_prod/product_Display.asp?cat=49&id=131

Circuity City/Best Buy carry a TERK that looks like this one:

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Terk-Indoor-HDTV-Antenna-HDTVi-/sem/rpsm/oid/91092/catOid/-15607/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

...but I can't vouch for any Terk products (Some have success, some don't). My point is, with an indoor set top antenna like this you SHOULD be able to pick up SOME SORT of digital locals....even analog for that matter....which would narrow your problem down to the rooftop antenna/cable/pre-amp connections.

Sorry.

You never said if you were trying for NY or Philly. If someone can help you aim, put the tv on analog cbs and have someone watch the tv while you slowly rotate the antenna to maximize the quality of the picture. If you're aiming at philly, switch to analog 17 or 29. They're at the same location (I believe) as the HD transmitters. That will show the quality of your UHF reception. I'm not sure what analog stations in NY to look for since I don't get any. If analog UHF comes in clear, you have a shot at HD, if not, then you have to improve your antenna reception.
HTH

I tried aiming at both NY and Phily to see if I could get either. All of my analog signals were snowy, not one of them were clear. My next step is to get a volt tester and see if the preamp is actually working. I can't imagine a larger antenna would help, as the antenna up there is pretty dam big. If members in Howell are getting signals, I should be able to get something since we are only talking about 10 miles difference. Getting this figuered out is becoming an obession, and I appreciate all the help here.

I'm in Brick and I get all the NY channels except NBC. I'm working on that one. And if the conditions are favorable I get a few out of Philly. Using a Channel Master 4228 with a Pre- amp and rotor. Sounds like a bad connection or bad amp

does anyone have any experience getting OTA DTV signals? what do you use? Thanks

I am in Edison, NJ can anybody recommend the best antenna for this location.I am in a townhouse and could mount it outside.I am looking for Channels in NJ/NY.

I'm in fords, right next to edison and have a hard time pulling in much of anything. My only chances are the new freedom tower's kick a$$ antenna and/or dishnetwork's proposed local hd. I'm not certain, but I think I have a Channel Master 4880 mounted to my roof pointing to nyc. $300 for it and it pulls in only marginally better than the zenith silver sensor indoor I had been using... YMMV

I am in Howell, NJ and pick up all NY and Philly HDTV channels using a Winegard 9095 UHF antenna and rotator.

I am in Edison, NJ can anybody recommend the best antenna for this location.I am in a townhouse and could mount it outside.I am looking for Channels in NJ/NY.
I used a Winegard PR4040 and preamp. I can get everything in NYC except WNBC. I put my Winegard in doors next to a window. You should be OK if you do it outdoor.

I used a Winegard PR4040 and preamp. I can get everything in NYC except WNBC. I put my Winegard in doors next to a window. You should be OK if you do it outdoor.

Thanks for Info,i bought an HDTV Amplified Outdoor antenna from Radio shack and kept it on the corner of the house.I am receiving all NY channels except 4.1 & 2.1.,are these channels beamed from the same place (empire state).I still have to install the antenna on top of the roof,but surpised why i am not able to receive 2.1 & 4.1 although i am getting other channels.

Is any of you receiving this channel.I am receiving 4 analog of NBC.

Thanks for Info,i bought an HDTV Amplified Outdoor antenna from Radio shack and kept it on the corner of the house.I am receiving all NY channels except 4.1 & 2.1.,are these channels beamed from the same place (empire state).I still have to install the antenna on top of the roof,but surpised why i am not able to receive 2.1 & 4.1 although i am getting other channels.

Is any of you receiving this channel.I am receiving 4 analog of NBC.
WNBC is from GE building (I think), all others are from the same place (ESB). WNBC is weaker than others in power. I can get CBS very well. You may want to re-aim.

WNBC is on the ESB

WNBC is from GE building (I think), all others are from the same place (ESB). WNBC is weaker than others in power. I can get CBS very well. You may want to re-aim.

I bought a DB4 antenna from Solid Signal,now i am able to get the following channels with good quality.
2.1,7.1,7.2,9.1,9.2,11.1,11.2,31.1,41.1,58.1-.5 but still not able to get WNBC.i have my antenna on first floor side and not installed on the roof top.Are you guys in Middlesex area getting WNBC at good signal ? Do you have the antenna on top of the roof with a amplifier.

I bought a DB4 antenna from Solid Signal,now i am able to get the following channels with good quality.
2.1,7.1,7.2,9.1,9.2,11.1,11.2,31.1,41.1,58.1-.5 but still not able to get WNBC.i have my antenna on first floor side and not installed on the roof top.Are you guys in Middlesex area getting WNBC at good signal ? Do you have the antenna on top of the roof with a amplifier.

Yes to the "on the roof with an amp" question. I receive 4-1,2,4 at a very high signal strength whereas with an inside antenna this wasn't remotely possible. What does your set top box list as a signal strength indicator for 4 (digital 28)?? Anywhere near a lock?

Good to see some activity on this thread. Rajnj, I am in East Brunswick. I get NBC reliably (and all the other majors) with a rooftop antenna (Channel Master, don't recall the model number) and a pre-amp.

Good to see some activity on this thread. Rajnj, I am in East Brunswick. I get NBC reliably (and all the other majors) with a rooftop antenna (Channel Master, don't recall the model number) and a pre-amp.

Activity (or lack thereof) is an understatement for this thread..... :D

Me thinks either EVERYONE in the area has conquered their crappy signals, TOTALLY went to D* or Cable local HD viewing.....or there are just no "new OTA HD entrants" into the game.

For me, I've pretty much conquered the OTA beast....with the exception of ocassional crappiness on 13-1:3.

Add to that the fact that it would be nice if the programming on the NJN HD subchannel matched the guides on my D* set top boxes.... :p

Good to see some activity on this thread. Rajnj, I am in East Brunswick. I get NBC reliably (and all the other majors) with a rooftop antenna (Channel Master, don't recall the model number) and a pre-amp.
What pre-amp do you have ? Did you buy it online or at store ? Are you pointing NY or Phily ? I am pointing NY.

Activity (or lack thereof) is an understatement for this thread..... :D

Me thinks either EVERYONE in the area has conquered their crappy signals, TOTALLY went to D* or Cable local HD viewing.....or there are just no "new OTA HD entrants" into the game.

For me, I've pretty much conquered the OTA beast....with the exception of ocassional crappiness on 13-1:3.

Add to that the fact that it would be nice if the programming on the NJN HD subchannel matched the guides on my D* set top boxes.... :p

Are you directing to NY or Phily ? How near are you to the stations ? I am around 30 miles with the antenna installed on the side of the house (First floor).I am planning to put on top in-case i get more channels.

Are you directing to NY or Phily ? How near are you to the stations ? I am around 30 miles with the antenna installed on the side of the house (First floor).I am planning to put on top in-case i get more channels.

Pointing towards NY currently but I have rotors on both of my ChannelMaster 4228 antennas. About 35 miles or so (IIRC) from the ESB and about 50 from the main antenna fields in Philly. When pointing towards Philly I was able to pick up ABC, CBS, UPN and NJN reliably. Fox and WB were hit and miss....and NBC was deader than a doornail. Not sure how my Philly reception is these days as I haven't rotated that way in what seems like ages.

Is this thing still on??? :rolleyes:

Anyone else notice they are receiving programming on 7-3? Seems to be a weather sub-channel (yeah, more multicasting!) that looks eerily similar to 4-2 :(

Also---anyone else using an RCA DTC-210 D* Set Top Box? Or, better yet, has anyone had any lockup issues when tuning 5-2 in lately? My RCA DTC-210 has locked up several times in the last few weeks when we've inadvertently tuned in 5-2....requiring real annoying reboots as well as unplugging blah, blah blah!

Hmm maybe you experts can help.

I'm in 08873 Somerset, in the townhouses near Quailbrook golf course.

I've had D* tv for a year and half, got addicted to the Tivo. I use Patriot Media for my internet, D* for my tv service.

Bought a Panny 43" plasma, so now I need to move to HD versions of the above.

D* has an HD DVR and I can move up to it. The cons of the deal are, 2 year commitment, $400 cost of the DVR, and no local HD channels through the dish. I'm absolutely clueless about the local channels/antenna stuff, but the wife wants to be able to Tivo ER in HD or it's a dealbreaker.

Patriot has an HD DVR I'm contemplating too, the installs are free and all kinds of promos going on. I'd lose access to NFL Sunday Ticket, which hurts but isn't fatal.

Big question is how much hassle am I looking at to try and go the D* route to cover the missing channels? I don't watch local news much, we're more the discovery/Bravo/ESPN/HBO watchers, outside ER and CSI.

Have to decide between swapping to Patriot or sticking with D* and climbing around on the roof pretty soon, the plasma's still in a box on the ground floor.


Thanks.
KF

I had an antenna installed on my roof for around $300 but due to my location (by woodbridge center mall) and the type of antenna used I didn't pick up much very dependable. I was pissed, but last week I upgraded to the Dishnetwork vip622 and their new hd package (previously we were just subscribing to the normal hdnet, discovery etc package) which included the locals in hd. i'm in heaven now because not only do I finally get my hd locals, but i can time shift them! ahhh, how awesome. the only thing missing is the awesome tivo gui, otherwise it's great. anyway, I'd say it's possible to have little to no trouble getting locals via ota, but I think you're further than me from nyc so you might need to try for the philly ones. check antennaweb.org and see what it says.

D* has an HD DVR and I can move up to it. The cons of the deal are, 2 year commitment, $400 cost of the DVR, and no local HD channels through the dish. I'm absolutely clueless about the local channels/antenna stuff, but the wife wants to be able to Tivo ER in HD or it's a dealbreaker.

Actually, if you are in the NYC DMR you CAN get the major locals in HD out of NYC (CBS, NBC, FOX, ABC) via your dish. There is some noticeable compression....but you CAN get them.

AFA putting up an OTA antenna, you could try and go that route on your own to pick up WOR and or WPIX/PBS out of the NYC/NJ area via rooftop/attic antenna. Or, since you are closer to Philly then I am, you *may* have a better chance of getting locals from Philly then NYC.

Couldn't hurt to try and run your own antenna up to the attic to pick up local channels via that route. But, at THE LEAST, you should be able to get the 4 major locals in HD out of NYC via your 3 LNB dish.

You could also try a silver sensor indoor antenna before trying any of that even. I actually picked up more with that than my roof mounted antenna. strange but depressingly true.

Hmm maybe you experts can help.

I'm in 08873 Somerset, in the townhouses near Quailbrook golf course.

I've had D* tv for a year and half, got addicted to the Tivo. I use Patriot Media for my internet, D* for my tv service.

Bought a Panny 43" plasma, so now I need to move to HD versions of the above.

D* has an HD DVR and I can move up to it. The cons of the deal are, 2 year commitment, $400 cost of the DVR, and no local HD channels through the dish. I'm absolutely clueless about the local channels/antenna stuff, but the wife wants to be able to Tivo ER in HD or it's a dealbreaker.

Patriot has an HD DVR I'm contemplating too, the installs are free and all kinds of promos going on. I'd lose access to NFL Sunday Ticket, which hurts but isn't fatal.

Big question is how much hassle am I looking at to try and go the D* route to cover the missing channels? I don't watch local news much, we're more the discovery/Bravo/ESPN/HBO watchers, outside ER and CSI.

Have to decide between swapping to Patriot or sticking with D* and climbing around on the roof pretty soon, the plasma's still in a box on the ground floor.


Thanks.
KF


D* is bailing on TiVo and likely will force you to swap from an HDTivo to their in house apparently sub par HD DVR at some point. Pretty annoying after you fork over $3-500 and commit to 2 yuears to know they might force you to their crappy think come fall for sunday ticket or something.

If It were me and your committment is over with D* I would try Patriot out- if they suck you can leave and go right back to D*. (if it makes you nitty- keep D* for a week overlap to be sure you can put up with the HD DVR patriot hands out.

Apparently TiVO will have a cablecard DVR out by year end that will allow you to have a Full Fledged Tivo with patriot (uinlike the stripped down Directv version we get now). So that's more to factor in as a plus for Patriot in my book.

Let us know what Patriot's dvr is like if you go that route. I'm trying to figure myslef if with all their deals lately if with all their deals lately if I should move to patriot now and wait for the tivo cablecard there rather than with Directv. I have an HD Tivo from Directv now so I'm content for the time being until the cablecard tivo comes out. At that point unless Directv has some compelling new stuff going on, I'm gone to patriot.

Good point. I'd LOVE a series 3 tivo, but for now I'll be happy to use the 622 on Dish. Maybe once my 18 month commitment is over I'll go the cablecard route with tivo. that would be perfect.

I'm avoiding any new committments like the plague. If Tivo can pull off a series 3 that will be mint. Also it looks like DISH and Directv both have POTENTIAL to kick butt for HD. WHo knows what the landscape looks like this time next year.

I'd actually grab a second HD Tivo from Directv if the committment was just a year, but 2 years at this point in time is just crazy in my head. I know realistically you can get out of it or sell your stuff or it will be so low after the prorate but it's just too much of a mind thing to get over...

Patriot is coming in next saturday to do installs.

If interested I'll update here with how it works out, or if someone points me to another forum that's more appropriate.

Ton of promos right now, 2 months free this, 1 month free DVR, 1 or 2 free months of HD+, free install, and since I own my equipment, bringing a $150 check.

Was interested in staying with D* and moving to HD, but the hassle and the commitment made the difference.

please share your experience with patriot - particularly with the HD DVR.

I'm trying to figure out if it has enough room. (and/or will a SATA drive plug right in and work- I'll get my own if adding one makes it worth while...)

Has ANYONE seen ANY Soundstage presentations on ANY of the PBS HD feeds lately? (I.e NJN-5 subchannels or 13-1 PBS-HD national feeds??)

For that matter has the NJN-5 subchannel had ANY HD presentations lately? I've been pretty much watching 13-1 exclusively for their HD content....and the NJN HD's (50-5, 52-5, 58-5) have been an afterthought (especially since I never check them anymore or don't set up any recordings via my HD TIVO off of those sub-channels.

I believe I watched Sound stage last week. NJN repeats the same program all week long. I think it's either 9 or 10 PM.

Has anyone tried the Zenith ZHDTV1 Silver Sensor HDTV Indoor UHF Antenna? Or any other indoor OAT antenna? I'm new here and would like to get the OTA antenna but not sure where to start. I'd prefer the Indoor antenna as supposed to outdoor.

I'm in Monroe, NJ (5 mins from NJ Turnpike ext 8A)

Thanks,
Govee

How about this one: Terk HDTVi Indoor VHF/UHF HDTV Antenna (HDTVi)? Anyone uses this to get NYC HDTV signals from Monroe, NJ or anywhere close by?

I believe I watched Sound stage last week. NJN repeats the same program all week long. I think it's either 9 or 10 PM.

I know my HD TIVO picks up the Soundstage in a wishlist search....but I only recall seeing the program listing....with NO HD indication in the show info. Was it truly in HD or just a "digital" presentation??

I've noticed the same thing with the "Austin City Limits" presentations on 13-1...they aren't "listed" as being HD on either my onscreen guide or on the HDTVMagazine daily programming listing I get.

:confused:

goveeman-

buy on or the other at a brick and morter store so you can return if they dont work.

I'm in flemington so cant give you monroe specifics, (I think i'm 38 from philly and 48miles from NYC for point of reference). I can get philly with the silver sensor in my attic. NY requires a cm4228. So if you are less than 38 miles might be worth trying.

How about this one: Terk HDTVi Indoor VHF/UHF HDTV Antenna (HDTVi)? Anyone uses this to get NYC HDTV signals from Monroe, NJ or anywhere close by?

Not sure how I missed this post....especially since it's right above/below 2 of mine.... :rolleyes:

I'm in Monroe but more towards Spotswood/Helmetta...and I have 2 separate CM4228 rooftop antennas with pre-amps. I never tried an attic mount antenna....but I *did* utilize a Silver Sensor antenna that I hooked up right on top of my set(s)....and I *was* able to pick up a few of the NJN PBS stations as well as CBS out of Philly and NYC IIRC. Beyond that I didn't try to glean anymore locals...but you have to keep in mind that I'm also going back a good 2-3 years with this info....when the NYC OTA market was in disarray...and I BELIEVE signal strengths are higher now from the ESB (for example).

I can't speak for the Terk antenna...but if you go to Buy.com and look up "SILVER SENSOR" you'll see it's at a pretty good price. A co-worker of mine just bought one (he lives in SI) and he's going to try it out to see if he can get OTA locals at his location without putting up a rooftop/attic mount antenna.

The other thing about where I am (in particular actually it's _THE_ most important factor IMHO) is the fact that my *location* is only about 10 feet above sea level....which is pretty sad/sorry. Not sure what your ASL is over by the TPKE but for me, being in a ranch, an attic mount and/or an indoor STB antenna just wasn't going to cut it.

I know my HD TIVO picks up the Soundstage in a wishlist search....but I only recall seeing the program listing....with NO HD indication in the show info. Was it truly in HD or just a "digital" presentation??

I've noticed the same thing with the "Austin City Limits" presentations on 13-1...they aren't "listed" as being HD on either my onscreen guide or on the HDTVMagazine daily programming listing I get.

:confused:
I think I just saw it last night at 11 PM. channel 58-5

Not sure how I missed this post....especially since it's right above/below 2 of mine.... :rolleyes:

I'm in Monroe but more towards Spotswood/Helmetta...and I have 2 separate CM4228 rooftop antennas with pre-amps. I never tried an attic mount antenna....but I *did* utilize a Silver Sensor antenna that I hooked up right on top of my set(s)....and I *was* able to pick up a few of the NJN PBS stations as well as CBS out of Philly and NYC IIRC. Beyond that I didn't try to glean anymore locals...but you have to keep in mind that I'm also going back a good 2-3 years with this info....when the NYC OTA market was in disarray...and I BELIEVE signal strengths are higher now from the ESB (for example).

I can't speak for the Terk antenna...but if you go to Buy.com and look up "SILVER SENSOR" you'll see it's at a pretty good price. A co-worker of mine just bought one (he lives in SI) and he's going to try it out to see if he can get OTA locals at his location without putting up a rooftop/attic mount antenna.

The other thing about where I am (in particular actually it's _THE_ most important factor IMHO) is the fact that my *location* is only about 10 feet above sea level....which is pretty sad/sorry. Not sure what your ASL is over by the TPKE but for me, being in a ranch, an attic mount and/or an indoor STB antenna just wasn't going to cut it.
I lived in a condo near Edison. I put a Winegard PR4400 and a pre-amp near the window facing ESB. I can pick up everything except WNBC and WNET.

I think I just saw it last night at 11 PM. channel 58-5


Did you on screen guide *list* it in HD? I just happened to check the schedule for this evening....and all of my D* receivers show it on at 11pm on the NJN "-5" subchannels...but all show NO HD designation. For ANY shows at ALL on the "-5" subchannel. Did NJN-HD revert to just a "digital" airing of ALL shows on the HD subchannel recently? Or is the guide info wrong on my D* receivers????

I'll have to make a mental note to try and watch tonight.

Did you on screen guide *list* it in HD? I just happened to check the schedule for this evening....and all of my D* receivers show it on at 11pm on the NJN "-5" subchannels...but all show NO HD designation. For ANY shows at ALL on the "-5" subchannel. Did NJN-HD revert to just a "digital" airing of ALL shows on the HD subchannel recently? Or is the guide info wrong on my D* receivers????

I'll have to make a mental note to try and watch tonight.
My screen guide from E* showed no info. I am sure it's HD. The PQ is excellent.

My screen guide from E* showed no info. I am sure it's HD. The PQ is excellent.

And of course, once again I slept right through it all...... :p

I got off my arse, went to NJN's schedule....and found the following. Me thinks that what you wasn't HD....just a *digital* presentation. Check out the following:

http://www.njn.net/digital/schedule.html?display_date=2006-03-22&display_time=19:30:00&feeds=13560,13568,13572,13365&

Check out EVERY showing on the -5 subchannel....all the way up to Soundstage at 10pm. There is a [D] next to each program....same [D] that is next to the -1,-2,-4 channel listings....which to me means digital.

I guess I won't know till I see it, but I'm starting to think that NJN is just presenting DIGITAL presentations and NOT HD anymore.

I'll see if I can fire off an e-mail and get a response. There used to be someone on this thread who WORKED for NJN. You still out there ?!?!?!?
:confused:

OK. Let me know what you think.

OK. Let me know what you think.

I'm watching it/TIVO'ing it now. Certainly looks HD (except for the odd macroblocking here and there that I see in intense lighting shots---but again, 50-1,50-3 and 50-5 are all multicasting at the same time). The intro screenshot said "Presented in High Definition"....yet, again, my onscreen guide says NOTHING about it being in HD and the NJN website says nothing about "HD", just notating a "D" next to the show (for what I assumed was DIGITAL). ****See my link to the NJN site above***

Also, the daily programming OTA channel guide that I receive via e-mail (Believe it's from HDTV magazine) NEVER shows ANY HD programming ....so *maybe* NJN needs to update their programming info with whomever it is that handles the on-screen listings (Tribune Co???).

Actually, I sent an e-mail to NJN's listener services a few days ago. I'll have to check and see if I received a response regarding whether or not the '-5' subchannels are in HD or just digital (ala WLIW out in Long Island).

I'll post when I can (i.e. when I remember to..... :rolleyes: )

58-5 broadcast in HD from 8 PM to 12 PM. Same program everyday. Change only once a week.

I checked my e-mail yesterday and noticed I had received a response from the e-mail I sent to NJN's audience services dept:

We offer four digital program service channels. They are: NJN-1 Simulcast (24 hours) - It features a simulcast of the programming seen
on NJN's regular broadcast channel. NJN-3 Annenberg Channel (12am to
midnight - 8 pm) It features an extraordinary range of teacher professional development and instructional programs. NJN-4 Jersey Vision (24 hours) - It
features all locally-produced programs. NJN-5 (24 hours a day) - It features a
combination of NJN's own HDTV productions and special wide-screen and
HDTV presentations distributed by PBS and other program sources.

We no longer carry PBS Kids or NJN You.

So, basically, we have a number of HDTV channels and you should be able
to get them over the air. Get back to me if you have further questions.

So, while he says that NJN-5 DOES present shows in HD, he also says its a 24 hr a day channel (which I *think* we all know it's not) ....and he also says that NJN "basically has a number of HDTV channels" (which again, we know they do not) As per my conversations with other folks (i.e friends/family/best buy associates etc...), the definition of DIGITAL and HD gets merged/meshed/confused....and that's where my "bone of contention" lies. Are these simply DIGITAL broadcasts OR are they REAL HD broadcasts on the -5 subchannel ?!?!?

I'm only questioning this because NONE of my D* receivers shows ANY programming on the -5 subchannel listed as HD....AND the daily programming e-mail I get from www.hdtvmagazine.com shows/lists NO HD programming on the NJN -5 subchannel EVER!

As EVERYONE has seen before, www.titantv.com and the like have been wrong before with their HD listings....but for DirecTV to have a WHOLE CHANNEL's HD broadcasts wrong on a 24/7 basis....well, in that case either SOMEONE is asleep at the wheel, or NO ONE is watching the "-5" subchannels requesting that it be corrected/addressed :eek:

For those who are viewing on something OTHER than a D* or OTA setup (i.e Comcast, Cablevision, Patriot HD)---does your provider's onscreen guide show the "-5" subchannels as "HD" when (i.e) Soundstage is on??? As I mentioned a few posts earlier, even the NJN website itself only puts a "[D]" next to the -5 subchannel shows NOT an "HD" logo (ala 13-1 and most all HD channels).

Not trying to be a PITA (since it doesn't seem like many on this thread even WATCH) the NJN -5 subchannel.....just trying to get a definitive answer :o

Patriot is coming in next saturday to do installs.

If interested I'll update here with how it works out, or if someone points me to another forum that's more appropriate.

Ton of promos right now, 2 months free this, 1 month free DVR, 1 or 2 free months of HD+, free install, and since I own my equipment, bringing a $150 check.

Was interested in staying with D* and moving to HD, but the hassle and the commitment made the difference.

any feedback on the patriot HD DVR?

I am currently a Comcast customer, but I am so fed up with their lack of HD programming(no ESPN2HD, TNT-HD, etc) that I am just thinking of cancelling their service if I am able to get the broacast networks in HD... I'd like to know if anyone around here has any experience getting the HD OTA here in Iselin. IN addition, I was wondering what is a good indoor antenna that I could use for this purpose.

I am currently a Comcast customer, but I am so fed up with their lack of HD programming(no ESPN2HD, TNT-HD, etc) that I am just thinking of cancelling their service if I am able to get the broacast networks in HD... I'd like to know if anyone around here has any experience getting the HD OTA here in Iselin. IN addition, I was wondering what is a good indoor antenna that I could use for this purpose.

TravelFan1, I am pretty close to you in East Brunswick. I get all the networks out of New York consistently. I get WNET-DT (13-1) as well. I am using an outdoor antenna - a ChannelMaster UHF only antenna, with a preamp.

I have no experience with an indoor antenna. Seems that people around here have had good results with the Zenith Silver Sensor.

I live in Annandale near Clinton. I have 2 directv H20 receivers and a 5LNB dish but for OTA I have a 91XG antenna in the attic pointed at Philly through a side wall (no asphalt shingles.) There is also an amplifier so that when I split the OTA signal to the two boxes, there is no loss. Presently I have my choice of CBS, NBC, ABC in HD on about three different channels but I would like to find a PBS station in HD and that just doesn't seem possible. Since upgrading to MPEG4 equipment,PQ seems a whole bunch better to me. Years ago I had Comcast cable and Patriot Media for hispeed cable modem. Both of these firms can rot in hell in my view as they never , ever got anything right and were a total PITA to deal with. directv has been pretty awful company to deal for upgrades or repairs but at least the service seems to work most of the time. So unless I'm missing something, I can receive the all the directv satellite HD stations but no PBS.
Does anyone have an idea how I accomplish this?

I live in Annandale near Clinton. I have 2 directv H20 receivers and a 5LNB dish but for OTA I have a 91XG antenna in the attic pointed at Philly through a side wall (no asphalt shingles.) There is also an amplifier so that when I split the OTA signal to the two boxes, there is no loss. Presently I have my choice of CBS, NBC, ABC in HD on about three different channels but I would like to find a PBS station in HD and that just doesn't seem possible. Since upgrading to MPEG4 equipment,PQ seems a whole bunch better to me. Years ago I had Comcast cable and Patriot Media for hispeed cable modem. Both of these firms can rot in hell in my view as they never , ever got anything right and were a total PITA to deal with. directv has been pretty awful company to deal for upgrades or repairs but at least the service seems to work most of the time. So unless I'm missing something, I can receive the all the directv satellite HD stations but no PBS.
Does anyone have an idea how I accomplish this?

Digital 43 is out of the Philly area IIRC. Think it's analog Channel 52? You can't even get a whiff of that with your antenna aimed at Philly? The other PBS stations that you *may* be able to get are Digital 8 (Analog 58) out of New Brunswick---which is towards NYC for you and Digital 51 (Analog 50) out of Montclair. The Digital 8 NJN PBS is obiviously a VHF signal, so if that OTA antenna you have isn't VHF rated, you *may* have issues picking that station up.

From the "How Far HD/OTA HD in the Central NJ Market Has Come" files...something I've been meaning to mention for a few months:

Everytime I go into a Home Depot or Lowes in my area I now see at least 5-6 different types of rooftop/set top antennas on the shelves. Compared to Feb 2003 when I started my quest to hop into the HD pool this is 4-5 more than I can remember seeing at the time! Now both stores fully stock the prized "HD antennas" (Marketing, packaging and buzzwords are everything these days eh?? :rolleyes: ) that everyone is looking for.

Accessories as well: Component cables. HDMI cables. Brackets and connectors. Coaxial (the good stuff RG-6 and quad shielded stuff). Optical Audio Cables. Multi function remotes (quasi One for All's). You name it. It's on the shelf.

Progress sure is something eh?? :p

I live in Annandale near Clinton. I have 2 directv H20 receivers and a 5LNB dish but for OTA I have a 91XG antenna in the attic pointed at Philly through a side wall (no asphalt shingles.) There is also an amplifier so that when I split the OTA signal to the two boxes, there is no loss. Presently I have my choice of CBS, NBC, ABC in HD on about three different channels but I would like to find a PBS station in HD and that just doesn't seem possible. Since upgrading to MPEG4 equipment,PQ seems a whole bunch better to me. Years ago I had Comcast cable and Patriot Media for hispeed cable modem. Both of these firms can rot in hell in my view as they never , ever got anything right and were a total PITA to deal with. directv has been pretty awful company to deal for upgrades or repairs but at least the service seems to work most of the time. So unless I'm missing something, I can receive the all the directv satellite HD stations but no PBS.
Does anyone have an idea how I accomplish this?


I have the same problem- in flemington. Have my antenna in the attic so getting NYC/montclair isn't realistic. So I'm aimed at Philly- cant get philly PBS or any of the NJN's to come in locked when getting a good signal from philly. What I did once by accident but havent had time to do on purpose for keeps is- since all the HD from Philly is uhf anyhow- get a preamp that has sepearte UHF and VHF inputs (mine has a switch to do that.)- than connect the uhf to the antenna aimed to philly than get a vhf antenna to aim at new brunswick for channel 8 NJN. I happened to have a cheappy terk bar antenna from maybe 8-10 years ago from when i lived in monmouth county and DBS didn't have locals. It's a POS antenna but it was good enough to get channel 8 out of NB from Flemington. AS the crow flies, I'd guess you are only a bit farther to channels 8's transmitter than I.

deleted

TravelFan1, I am pretty close to you in East Brunswick. I get all the networks out of New York consistently. I get WNET-DT (13-1) as well. I am using an outdoor antenna - a ChannelMaster UHF only antenna, with a preamp.

I have no experience with an indoor antenna. Seems that people around here have had good results with the Zenith Silver Sensor.
Just to let you all know. I tried the Zenith Silver HDTV antenna and, for me, it is not an option. I tried to set it up on several different places in my condo but the only channel I could get was the analog 58, not a single digital channel.

Unfortunatelly, I will have to return it to Amazon and have Comcrap service to be able to watch TV :-( Oh well, hopefully before 2020 FiosTV will come around...

Hey everyone, Im new to the forum but needed some help. I already have a rooftop antenna on my house in branchburg from the previous owners. It is still up there, but its disconnected. I have directv for my TV service right now. When I first moved into the house, I remember watching TV through the use of the antenna when we first moved in and it got incredible reception out of NY. (No trees in front of my house and a clear LOS to NY-im about 45-50 miles from NYC.)

Anyway, Im going to purchase a sony 50a10 and was thinking about hooking up the antena again for some OTA reception.The thing is, I dont feel confident enough in my abilties to get up on the peak of the house where the antenna is.( Im deathly afraid of heights.) Do any of you recommend any installers in my area that would come out to just run some new cable wire from the antenna? I would need it set up properly, obviously. Any ideas?

I just bought an HDTV yesterday, and I went to Circuit City to grab the Terk HDTVi today.

I can barely get anything. I pick up some BBC channel and a few NJN channels.

I live in Hamilton, right outside of Trenton - right in the middle of 195/295/rt1 and 130. I know it's pretty far in either direction to get NY or Philly channels, so I might be a bit out of luck.

I'm going to return the HDTVi tomorrow and order an HDTVa from Amazon. I don't know if that will change anything. For my area might I not be able to use indoor antennas, and have to resort to putting one on the roof?

I just bought an HDTV yesterday, and I went to Circuit City to grab the Terk HDTVi today.

I can barely get anything. I pick up some BBC channel and a few NJN channels.

I live in Hamilton, right outside of Trenton - right in the middle of 195/295/rt1 and 130. I know it's pretty far in either direction to get NY or Philly channels, so I might be a bit out of luck.

I'm going to return the HDTVi tomorrow and order an HDTVa from Amazon. I don't know if that will change anything. For my area might I not be able to use indoor antennas, and have to resort to putting one on the roof?

You may want to try a smaller outdoor model and use it indoor. A DB4 could do it for you.

I live in West Windsor. I'm using an attic mounted DB-8 and a Wineguard pre amp. I get good reception from NY and better reception from Phil.

Well I actually returned the HDTVi and bought the Zenith ZHDTV1.

It does get some better reception, but it still perplexes me. I can get 2 NBC's from Philly now, but no Fox or WB/UPN/CW (whatever it is).

I do have an amp coming for it so maybe that'll do the trick. Although, I'm only getting about 36% signal on those NBC channels as it is.

The Zenith amp i got did nothing to improve the signal, which is disappointing. I'll play with it again today before I send it back.

I managed to watch an hour of NBC last night (the Treasure Hunters finale) with no problems, although the signal was still only 35% at it's strongest. And I've pointed at Philly and NYC and managed to pick up NBC looking at Philly, and ABC, CBS, NBC, and CW pointing at NY. I've never managed to get Fox yet, what's up with that? Although I did notice that on the analog channels I got better reception with Fox if I pointed towards my ceiling..

I'm going to try a few more things but I might just give up. I wanted to do this so I can watch HDTV when I'm around since my TiVo can't record it from the dish. But if I'm going to have to go all out with roof-mounted antenna's I think I'll just get HD from the dish and save up for the series 3 TiVo which should be out soon..

I live in flemington and use a channel master 4228 in my attic and i can get philly easily. You're closer so it should be fine for you. NY for me is very tough and you are further so likely you would need a rooftop for NYC. But attic should work for you for philly...

Sorry if this is annoying, but I'm not going to read all 71 pages of this topic. >_>
Could someone tell me what the current situation is? Which channels are usually picked up by people in Central Jersey, and which aren't?

I'm in the southern most part of what some would call Central Jersey- about 8 miles south of Trenton. I have a attic antenna aimed at Philadelphia, and get the below list. I tried aiming toward NYC when I first installed in 2002, but no go. Haven't tried since. --hourglass

3.01 KYW-DT (CBS)

6.01 WPVI-HD (ABC) Local News in HD!!
6.02 WPVI-SD
6.03 WPVI-WX (Weather)

10.01 WCAU-DT (NBC) Ocassionaly lost ilike right now.
10.02 WX-PLUS (Weather) Ocassionally lost like right now

12.01 WHYY-1 PBS
12.02 PBS
12.03 PBS

17.01 WPHL-D1 (WB)
17.02 WPHL-D2 Tube Music Channel

23.01 WNJS-DT PBS
23.0X up to 4 subchannels depending upon programming

29.01 WTXFDT (FOX) sometimes listed as 42.03

57.01 WPSG-DT (UPN)

Also get PAX and a non-English channel.

Sorry if this is annoying, but I'm not going to read all 71 pages of this topic. >_>
Could someone tell me what the current situation is? Which channels are usually picked up by people in Central Jersey, and which aren't?

short answer:

it depends...

Depending on where you are you may be able to get everything from NY, Philly, or withing NJ. Depends on your particulars.

If you want to go cheap and simple- then go by a silver sensor for like $40 at sears and try that out. IF you want to be more agressive and get everythign possible get a CM 4228 and you should be able to get most everything properly aiming it.

Hey guys, moving back to Jersey (Hoboken) after being down here in Raleigh for about a year. The south just isnt my cup of tea. lol.

Anyway, does anyone have a list of the QAM channel numbers for OTA broadcast. My TV has a QAM tuner and I plan on just plugging it into the wall and getting the QAM HD channels for the first few months until we get all settled in.

Thanks

Hey guys, moving back to Jersey (Hoboken) after being down here in Raleigh for about a year. The south just isnt my cup of tea. lol.

Anyway, does anyone have a list of the QAM channel numbers for OTA broadcast. My TV has a QAM tuner and I plan on just plugging it into the wall and getting the QAM HD channels for the first few months until we get all settled in.

Thanks

no idea but i belive my brother in law has cablevision in hoboken if that helps you at all...

I'm getting some weird behavior with WNJS (all subchannels)... if I watch it, I get regular pauses every few seconds. I thought these were just signal dropouts, but if I record it and play it back, it looks fine. It's like the station isn't quite keeping up with its own frame rate. Anyone else having similar issues?

I'd like to get an antenna that will work to pick up OTA in Freehold. I saw mention of a Silver Sensor working to pick up a lot of channels but when I looked that up on Amazon I got three different brands. I picked up a cheap HDTV-ready/digital amplified antenna (25dB) at Big Lots similar to an ANT-401 but it picked up no digital and only one analog - an NJN with a ton of noise. Advice on what to get and where to place it - I'm looking at trying for an indoor antenna.

Techgal, the Silver Sensor seems to get accolades as being the best of the indoor antennae. I believe it is available under several brand names, Zenith being one of them.

Thanks but where do I place it? By the TV on the 2nd floor or in my attic? Just curious.

Thanks but where do I place it? By the TV on the 2nd floor or in my attic? Just curious.

BTW---if you're curious www.buy.com has the Zenith branded Silver Sensor antenna:

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?loc=111&sku=90113670

I bought mine a few years ago at Circuit City when they actually carried/stocked them...and then I ordered another one at buy.com....yet for the life of me I have NO CLUE as to where BOTH of them are at this moment...... :confused:

Also----AFA placement....obviously the higher the better. And, depending on how high above sea level you are will affect what you can get with this antenna and without a pre-amp.

IIRC, where I am in Monroe Township put me ~25 miles or so as the crow flies from the NYC antennas. I tried the Silver Sensor out a few times in my ranch (one level) home and was able to pick up (IIRC) WCBS-DT (2-1) with the antenna on a table in my living room the last time I tried....but I didn't attempt to try and glean any other stations as I only did it as a temporary test when I hooked up a new TV with an internal tuner.

I've also tried the Silver Sensor on my roof when attempting to diagnose a cable/line problem with my current rooftop antennas. I was able to get more stations up on the roof with the silver sensor than having it in the house/at ground level when I tested it up there on that occassion. When I tried using the SS in my basement I picked up nothing. Nada. Zilch. Too low in the scheme of things to get ANY stations at that height/sublevel.

So..IMHO and in my unscientific/uneducated/untechnical opinion....when using the silver sensor where WE are out in Central NJ...the higher the better (i.e/rooftop/attic/eave mount). The higher your homes' LOCATION (WRT sea level) the better. If your TV is on the 2nd floor....the better off you'll be then on the 1st floor. (IIRC, my location is ~18 feet above sea level....which is ridiculous compared to the surrounding towns/areas in Middlesex County!)

Having said ALL THAT....I found the SS to be a great tool in diagnosing problems...as well as for having the ability to loan it out to friends so they could "see" what HD was all about by just using their new TVs internal tuners BEFORE they decided if it was all "worth it" to contract with/order DirecTV/Comcast/Time Warner/Echostar to "Get" a full HD package.

If you search back through this thread I'm sure I detailed/documented my Silver Sensor usage here...the trials and tribulations and such..... :D

Hope I didn't confuse/bore you.... :p

Forgot to mention that over the weekend I noticed that I had a solid signal on WMBC-DT (18-1)....not sure how long it's "been there", but when I tuned in over the weekend it was a block of infomercials (kind of like PAX 31):

http://www.wmbctv.com/index.html

Now that I've switched over ALL of my HD receivers to HD TIVO'S I've found it much more tedious/annoying to play around and find digital signals than it used to be when I had my original Hughes E86 receivers. I rarely move my antennas around and scan for anything new/distant that 'wasn't there' a day/few days before.

Guess it just goes to show how much easier it is NOW to get digital signals/HD pictures than it was just a scant few years ago :)

One thing I AM kind of annoyed about is that there's no longer any HD loops playing on 50-5/52-5...unlike in 2003/2004 before the NJN's switched over their HD feeds/channels to a part time slate of "programming".

No more "flyovers" in Italy or Ireland or other distant places.... :rolleyes:

...
I bought mine a few years ago at Circuit City when they actually carried/stocked them...

CC up in somervill carries the phillips brand so it's worth checking CC if there is one nearby for anyone looking for a fast silversensor fix.

I just picked up my second one there the other day. I got the first one I had years back from sears (zenith branded one).

Height sure is HUGE

I have a 2 story house here in flemington. Philly is pretty easy for me, but to get NY it's all about height. Literally raising it just a foot in my attic can get me another 10pts on my tuner's 1-100 meter.

I'm getting some weird behavior with WNJS (all subchannels)... if I watch it, I get regular pauses every few seconds. I thought these were just signal dropouts, but if I record it and play it back, it looks fine. It's like the station isn't quite keeping up with its own frame rate. Anyone else having similar issues?

Should be ok now - their PSIP was totally hanging my Sony DHG-HDD250, and causing a similar behavior to what you were seeing on my Motorola HDT-101 (piece of junk, but useful for verifying odd station behavior.) I called their engineering department and left a message describing the problem. By this evening it was fixed, though oddly they never returned my call.

it seems the guide info for NJN is alway's wrong.

I have a tivo which gets it's guide data from tribune.

It might just be the few times I've looked at somethign on their channels that they have been wrong, but literally I think all 3-4 times I've recorded something the guide info was totally wrong.

They're loosing a viewer at this point becasue everythign seems so wrong that i dont bother to ever record from or tune to their channels. If I don't ever watch, I'm certainly not going to be inclined to help them with funding...


is it just me?

it seems the guide info for NJN is alway's wrong.

I have a tivo which gets it's guide data from tribune.

It might just be the few times I've looked at somethign on their channels that they have been wrong, but literally I think all 3-4 times I've recorded something the guide info was totally wrong.

They're loosing a viewer at this point becasue everythign seems so wrong that i dont bother to ever record from or tune to their channels. If I don't ever watch, I'm certainly not going to be inclined to help them with funding...


is it just me?

For me, with my HDTIVO, I've become more of a 13-1 HD viewer if only because their HD guide info "shows up" in a daily e-mail I get from HDTV Magazine that shows what shows are on my local OTA channels "in HD". They NEVER list ANY shows for the NJN's as being "HD"....and I'm not sure if the HD TIVO even picks up/shows the "-5" NJN subchannel programming as being "in HD".

I'll have to check when I get home....but, for me, in my case, I set my local PBS HD viewing by the daily e-mail I get from HDTV Magazine. I never even bother to tune past the 50/52/58 channels anymore.... :(

I was really surprised when I turned on WOR channel 9 last night and they had ESPN HD feed of the Giants game. looked great...I don't remember seeing this before, has it?

Thanks, Tony

For me, with my HDTIVO, I've become more of a 13-1 HD viewer if only because their HD guide info "shows up" in a daily e-mail I get from HDTV Magazine that shows what shows are on my local OTA channels "in HD". They NEVER list ANY shows for the NJN's as being "HD"....and I'm not sure if the HD TIVO even picks up/shows the "-5" NJN subchannel programming as being "in HD".

I'll have to check when I get home....but, for me, in my case, I set my local PBS HD viewing by the daily e-mail I get from HDTV Magazine. I never even bother to tune past the 50/52/58 channels anymore.... :(

since i moved to cable and i can get 13 in HD- that's basically all i bother with myself.

I *THINK* some of the stuff on one of the NJN channels is HD- but the few shows I've tried to tivo never show up correctly (NOVA is one example)

Anyone have the QAM channel numbers for Comcast South Plainfield area? Thanks

After 10 years, finally had it with E* because of their new HD-DVR policy. I am now planning to switch to Patriot Media in Princeton - about the same monthly cost, but no $200 up front, no 18 month lease contract requirement. Can anyone give me a reason not to do this?

After 10 years, finally had it with E* because of their new HD-DVR policy. I am now planning to switch to Patriot Media in Princeton - about the same monthly cost, but no $200 up front, no 18 month lease contract requirement. Can anyone give me a reason not to do this?


Patriot kicks butt.

I'm not real found of their HD DVR- I'm a tivo guy myself. But if you get triple play they take $50 off your monthly bill the first year which happens to just about cover the TIvo Series3 DVR's street price.

I'm in flemington.

I just switched form Directv with embarq(formerly sprint) DSL and local phone with an old grandfathered ATT unlimited calling plan to patriots triple play. They have the big 4 in HD (like directv and i think dish?) plus CW, WNET, and NJN. There HD national channels add a bunch that Directv doesn't have (starz, cinemax, wealth, inhd, inhd2). They have both the YES network and the mets's RSN in HD.

THe broadband is literally 10 times faster then the DSL sprint has here.

The phone is a phone- nothing more nothign less then sprints local with ATT unlimited- not much you can do there.

I bought the tivo series 3 for HD and an tivo S2dt (daul tuner sd), and I already had a tivo dvd-r with lifetime also connected. SO I have to pay for 6.95/month for each of the new tivo's.

My bill is like $8 less amonth then the old way (sprint just rips you off)- But I also get teh $50 off a month the first year.

They are a small mom and pop place. Sometimes it gets annoying- they are still learning about cablecards as an example. But the cool part of that is you can get help if you need it. Their VP of operations email is on their website and he will personally respond. I had an issue with my cablecard install and I emailed him around 2pm one day. He had someone call me back at around 4pm to tell me they were on it and would get me fixed up the next morning. The next day they fixed it. That NIGHT the guy emailed me from his blackberry to check on me and make sure I was taken care of.

Thanks for detailed reply, michaelk. This afternoon I learned from nosing around that Verizon Fios should be offering cable in my neighborhood by year end. Since I already have and am happy with Fios for internet, and since the Fios cable will cost less, think I will hold out for that.

Thanks for detailed reply, michaelk. This afternoon I learned from nosing around that Verizon Fios should be offering cable in my neighborhood by year end. Since I already have and am happy with Fios for internet, and since the Fios cable will cost less, think I will hold out for that.


FIOS sure seems to be the holy grail. UNfortunately for me no verizon so i'm stuck with cable.

Good luck.

Seems verizon is in the midst of a mandated waiting period after the statewide franchise law was passed over the summer. They supposedly plan to lunch video in between 100 and 200 towns sometime between november and december. I'd guess if you have FIOS boradabnd in your area already then you would get first crack.

lucky dog....
:p

Hi Folks,
Anyone getting WNET 13.1 channel from central jersey? I live in Dayton
South Brunswick. I used to get WHYY 12.1 from philly, now for some crazy reason they
decided to move from uhf 55 to uhf 50 and drop their power from 87Kw to 50Kw.

I no longer get whyy (PBS). If I can get WNET I will move my antenna towards NYC.

I've had no luck in flemington. But there's a million variables so if you have the time then might be owrh the effort...

Patriot kicks butt.



I just switched from Patriot broadband to Sprint (Embarq)'s DSL. Its slower, but you don't really notice with normal usage, and it seems to work consistently (unlike my experience with Patiot).

The TV service is grossly overpriced. I've downgraded to the "bare bones/legally required" level of basic cable service (local broadcast channels only) and I'm watching this thread to see if OTA HDTV is a possibility. Verizon FIOS sounds great... but I'm stuck with Sprint/Embarq and Patriot here in Somerset.

My cable bill with Patriot was at one time $130... (digital cable, HBO, and broadband). $30 more than I used to pay for the same thing with TWC back in my NYC days.

Ideally -- I could pick up a HD Tivo and a HDTV OTA tuner and be set... but sounds like OTA HD isn't sorted out, and inconsistent even in the best of locations. Being exactly 50 miles from either Philly or NYC, I'm in a bit of a HD no-mans-land for now.

Any luck picking up all HD stations (Philly / NYC) among those in the Franklin Park / Griggstown NJ area? Needs to be seemless for the wife (if I miss even one Law & Order I'm hosed).

JW

I just switched from Patriot broadband to Sprint (Embarq)'s DSL. Its slower, but you don't really notice with normal usage, and it seems to work consistently (unlike my experience with Patiot).

The TV service is grossly overpriced. I've downgraded to the "bare bones/legally required" level of basic cable service (local broadcast channels only) and I'm watching this thread to see if OTA HDTV is a possibility. Verizon FIOS sounds great... but I'm stuck with Sprint/Embarq and Patriot here in Somerset.

My cable bill with Patriot was at one time $130... (digital cable, HBO, and broadband). $30 more than I used to pay for the same thing with TWC back in my NYC days.

Ideally -- I could pick up a HD Tivo and a HDTV OTA tuner and be set... but sounds like OTA HD isn't sorted out, and inconsistent even in the best of locations. Being exactly 50 miles from either Philly or NYC, I'm in a bit of a HD no-mans-land for now.

Any luck picking up all HD stations (Philly / NYC) among those in the Franklin Park / Griggstown NJ area? Needs to be seemless for the wife (if I miss even one Law & Order I'm hosed).

JW

glad you have had good experience with embarq- I had them for around 4 years fro DSL- they were alrgight but not perfect by far- every now and again my connection would lock up and I'd have to reset the modem (it was an OLD modem- so if it's the modem then newer ones shouldn't have problems). Twice I had problems over the years and it took them literally weeks both times to figure it out. But overall they weren't terrible.

I enjoy the speed with patriot- but like you say the DSL isn't pathetic or anything- fine for normal surfing and email. If Tivo ever figures out a video download sservice though it might be a big difference.

Cable TV definately costs a pile more- seems you almost have to get the triple play package to not get beat on pricing.

As far as OTA- philly has been up and running rock solid for years. NYC seems rock solid too from what I read (I aim my antenna to philly since I'm closer so dont have real world experience regularly with NYC.). IF you can get an antenna on your roof I think you should be fine. For gigle before you spend any large time and effort- just try a silver sensor- you might get lucky. There's a guy early in this thread in Ringoes (south of me here in Flmeington so farther from NYC) who can get philly or NYC well with a silver sensor. Myself I can get philly but not NY. Get yourself a good preamp too. You'll need it no matter what.

If the silver sensor inside doesn't work then a channel master 4228 on your roof likely will get you just fine. I can get philly without even a preamp on my 4228 in my attic- not high levels but it comes in- the preamp just puts the icing on it. So I'm very impressed with the 4228.

I've had the 4228 in my attic with a preamp aimed at philly for about 3 years now- first with a HD Directivo and for the past month or so with a series 3 tivo. With both Directv and Cable- I use the OTA feeds of the networks becasue I find them to be so rock solid. I have never missed a recording because of an OTA problem in all that time.

So I'd certainly give it a go for OTA HD.

If I could get the YES network alla carte someplace then I think i might dump paytv all together becasue of the options OTA.

I'm trying to decide if I need a CableCard slot in my first HDTV. I don't care for PPV or on-demand. With Patriot Media cable, can I get most stuff with a QAM tuner or will I need a CableCard?

Thanks.

the OTA digital channels (currently cbs, nbc, abc, CW(11), fox, NJN, and PBS (13)) are unscrambled- so you should be able to pick them up without a cablecard. I'm not 100% positive but I think without a cablecard they will even map via the PSIP data (if the station provides it to patriot) to the correct channels. But if they don't map, you'll need to dig through hundreds of qam channels to find them.

Analog will come right in- that's everything eblow 100.

If you want anything above 100- SD (leven just 'digital basic like discovery kids' or anything premium like the movie channels) or any HD (either in the "plus" pak or premiums- then you'll need the cablecard as it's all nailed with copy protection.

the music channels are not copy protected so you can get those too i suppose.

I forget the numbers off the top of my head but if I recall it's a buck for the card and then 2.50 or 3.50 for an "additional digital outlet fee" if I remember my bill correctly... so it's in teh ballpark of $5 a month.

But you still can not get ppv or VOD as the standard for 2-way digital ready tv's is still not implemented. So your TV probably isn't 2-way and even if it was patriot isn't ready on their end. Cablecard just gets you regular digital channels that aren't in the clear (which is basically only reboradcast local channels.)

Thanks MichaelK, that's great info. I'm mostly interested in the OTA channels, but don't want to wrestle with an antenna, so I can probably go with direct cable QAM signal. I'm zeroing in on a TV with a CableCard slot anyway, so I'll have options, but I feel much better informed now. Thanks again.

Is anyone getting 13.1? Reception in my area has always been iffy...but now I haven't gotten it in over 2 weeks.

has anything happened to NBC-10 out of philly? Haven't tuned to it in a while and for the last couple of weeks, noticed signal strength is too low to pick up. I just rescanned (haven't done it in months) and am now getting 5.1 and 5.2, which were MIA before. Haven't moved the antenna or anything.

I'm still getting 10.1 fine from philly- I'm in Flemington...

Hey guys,

I just installed a UHF antenna this weekend so I can receive OTA HD using my htpc with digital tuner card.

I live in the Trenton area and get all the channels that checkhd listed but channel WHYY-DT 12.1

My question is channels KYW-DT 3.1, WCAU-DT 10.1 and WPSG-DT 57.1 come in but they are not smooth, the video is jerky. I have tried turning the antenna left and right and tried a different tuner card but get the same results.

Any suggestions? I am using a 30db UHF preamp on my antenna as well.

Thanks!

My other question is:

Is Channel 12 down? (PBS in Wilmington, DE WHYY-DT)

My antenna is aimed at 260 degrees but i get nothing...

Does the DT card have a signal strength meter? Use it as you orient the antennae to maximize the signal. Higher is also better. Where did you mount the antenna?

It is on the top of a 10foot mast that is mounted on the top/side of my house

I checked the signal strength and it is low for just that channel which is weird because it is listed at 260 degrees. All of the other stations at 260 degrees come in with 98% signal strength.

My other question is:

Is Channel 12 down? (PBS in Wilmington, DE WHYY-DT)

My antenna is aimed at 260 degrees but i get nothing...


channel 12 recently changed channel assignments- if I recall they went from being broadcast on channel 55 to channel 50. Not all the guide data people have picked up the change- try to manually tune it instead of trying for 12-1 scan around the 50's (it's a bitch becasue if you try for 50-1 then your tuner will find NJN if it can see that).

Also even when it was up and my guide data was correct- even though they share the antenna location with the philly stations- they have their signal tweaked to throw most of it's power towards DE for obvious reasons. Being the opposite side of the tower from DE it's tougher up here. Here in flemington 12-1 is right on the cusp for me- I always get everythign philly 24/7/365 perfect but 12-1 is 50/50.

It is on the top of a 10foot mast that is mounted on the top/side of my house

I checked the signal strength and it is low for just that channel which is weird because it is listed at 260 degrees. All of the other stations at 260 degrees come in with 98% signal strength.


as I thought- they are aiming their signal towards DE.

the big tv transmitters dont necessarily send out a big round uniform signal they can aim they to a degree sort of like a light bulb can throw off light all around or they can add a reflector to creat a spot light, a flood light, or just a flat mirror to double the light light on one side..

if you search around the stations submit a pattern to the FCC for how there antenna will work. Some are prefectily round centered on the antenna, others are lopsided or maybe like figure eights or all sorts of strange patterns.


It's sort of like lighting up your living room- you can put a big lamp in the middle of the floor or you can put a light in the corner that aims out of a light on a wall to cover the whole room.

Michaelk,

Thanks for the info it is greatly appreciated!

Should I be able to pick up all of the local channels with a UHF antenna?

Should I be able to pick up all of the local channels with a UHF antenna?


basically all the NY and Philly ATSC channels are on UHF. The only VHF channel off the top of my head is the NJN in New Brunswick. But the NJN from montclair and trenton and camden are on UHF if i recall correctly...

For all of you who may not already know, we are trying to mount a campaign over on the Philly OTA thread regarding the problem with WHYY -

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9604749&&#post9604749

I live in central NJ, but ended up on that Philly thread because there are a LOT of folks in the immediate Philly area who are also not getting WHYY since the switch to ch 50 from ch 55. So jump on over there and read up on it and send some emails to WHYY and let them know how you feel about all this. In my humble opinion, they have not been entirely candid with complainers. They apparently just chose to switch to 50 as some sort of a nod to the FCC, and also voluntarily reduced their signal and changed the pattern as well -- thereby depriving the signal to many of their loyal viewers. Basically, it sucks.

So get involved and send some emails. And copy everybody on your emails, as I did on mine.

The squeaky wheel always gets the grease.

I'm not positive but isn;t channel 55 the channel that qaulcom bought for cellphone tv broadcast? If I remember correctly once the analog shutdown comes then channel 55 accross the whole country goes to qualcomm. BUT many smaller stations are moving sooner becasue qaulcomm throws them a few million. Wouldn't be out of the question that they tossed a pbs station a few million and the station "volunteered" to vacate 55 a couple years early. (particularly in a large market close to NY where i beleive version and qaulcomm plan to roll out the mobil cell phone tv very soon...)

Looks like whyy may have sold us out...

I'm not positive but isn;t channel 55 the channel that qaulcom bought for cellphone tv broadcast? If I remember correctly once the analog shutdown comes then channel 55 accross the whole country goes to qualcomm. BUT many smaller stations are moving sooner becasue qaulcomm throws them a few million. Wouldn't be out of the question that they tossed a pbs station a few million and the station "volunteered" to vacate 55 a couple years early. (particularly in a large market close to NY where i beleive version and qaulcomm plan to roll out the mobil cell phone tv very soon...)

Looks like whyy may have sold us out...
Ya, that's what we've now learned. You can go check out the Philly thread and read all about it.

I'm curious about your reception. I think you said you're currently getting 12.1 on a 50/50 basis? I'm up by the Bridgewater Commons Mall, so I'm another 20 miles away, but I'd be interested in knowing if you are still getting WHYY (on ch 50 now) at your location -- at least some of the time. I'm getting no signal at all here, although I get analog 12 very well.

Anybody else on this forum able to get NYC stations on my side of the "mountain"? I have the hills/mountains just close by going toward NYC and they block me from everything out of NYC, Secaucus, etc. I do get a couple of stations who have their antennas are up by Paterson, but that's it.

Thanks

i can get ananlog 12 fine OTA and used to get 12.1 (on 55) 50/50. Bt 12.1 on channel 50 is non existant for me now. To be honest though I'm not sure if it's the mapping in my tivo or if it just is invisible. Since I couldn't get it all the time anyway, i'm reluctant to start fiddling with my tivo in an attempt to make sure it maps properly.

i can get ananlog 12 fine OTA and used to get 12.1 (on 55) 50/50. Bt 12.1 on channel 50 is non existant for me now. To be honest though I'm not sure if it's the mapping in my tivo or if it just is invisible. Since I couldn't get it all the time anyway, i'm reluctant to start fiddling with my tivo in an attempt to make sure it maps properly.
Here's the current broadcast pattern for ch 50 -

http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/polarplot?temp=71166&rotate=0.00&p0=0.530&p10=0.460&p20=0.380&p30=0.330&p40=0.310&p50=0.310&p60=0.330&p70=0.380&p80=0.420&p90=0.450&p100=0.460&p110=0.470&p120=0.480&p130=0.480&p140=0.480&p150=0.500&p160=0.550&p170=0.650&p180=0.750&p190=0.850&p200=0.950&p210=0.980&p220=1.000&p230=1.000&p240=1.000&p250=1.000&p260=1.000&p270=0.980&p280=0.920&p290=0.820&p300=0.710&p310=0.620&p320=0.580&p330=0.580&p340=0.580&p350=0.560&p360=0.530&

as opposed to the old pattern for ch 55 -

http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/polarplot?temp=46345&rotate=0.00&p0=0.259&p10=0.271&p20=0.324&p30=0.451&p40=0.597&p50=0.710&p60=0.810&p70=0.908&p80=0.972&p90=0.997&p100=1.000&p110=0.979&p120=0.909&p130=0.828&p140=0.773&p150=0.745&p160=0.729&p170=0.751&p180=0.787&p190=0.835&p200=0.898&p210=0.958&p220=0.988&p230=1.000&p240=0.972&p250=0.913&p260=0.806&p270=0.704&p280=0.590&p290=0.450&p300=0.329&p310=0.274&p320=0.254&p330=0.284&p340=0.305&p350=0.284&p360=0.259&

I hope those links work for you. If they do, you can see how they've just about completely eliminated the signal sent our way. Plus, they lowered the power on ch 50 from what it was on 55. So we got a double whammy -- they lowered the power significantly and then sent almost none of that lower power our way.

I doubt you can get anything at this point. I've been advised that this is how it's going to be until they finally switch to their final digital channel, which will be ch 12. And that's not going to be until Feb '09 -- or maybe later than that if the deadline gets pushed back.

I guess the only good news is that when they finally do go fully digital on ch 12, we will most probably be able to receive their signal.

In the meantime, I've turned toward Allentown and ch 39. Do you get that? If so, are you getting programming on 39-4?

I can get allentown but I have a tivo so i dont like to move my antenna - so I'm aimed at philly on a regular basis.

I wish there was a simple way to combine many differnt channels from many directions/antenna's. You can get a jointenna to add a channel (or a patch of channels)- but where I am (and probably you too)- if i could combine various frequencies from 3-4 antenna's I could get a boat load of channels- Philly/trenton/camden, allentown, New Brunswick, NYC/Paterson - but there's no simple way to combine all those various that I can find....

I can get allentown but I have a tivo so i dont like to move my antenna - so I'm aimed at philly on a regular basis.
I wish there was a simple way to combine many differnt channels from many directions/antenna's. You can get a jointenna to add a channel (or a patch of channels)- but where I am (and probably you too)- if i could combine various frequencies from 3-4 antenna's I could get a boat load of channels- Philly/trenton/camden, allentown, New Brunswick, NYC/Paterson - but there's no simple way to combine all those various that I can find....

Thanks for the feedback. I guess I'll just post a general plea for anyone who is tuned into WLVT to let me know whether or not they are indeed getting any programming on 39-4.

I don't know anything about TiVo, but it sounds like it's just a digital tuner and hard drive recorder kinda thing. I am tuning with a Voom satellite box which scans for local channels and adds any that it finds. Turning the antenna in a new direction, where the Voom finds new channels, results in it simply adding those channels while still keeping all other channels previously found. So even if you can't get reception from a particular channel (because you've turned your antenna), it's still there to tune to and receive later when you turn your antenna back. So moving the antenna isn't any big deal.

Reference my post immediatly above -

Is anybody out there receiving the programming that's (supposedly) being broadcast on WLVT ch 39-4 out of Allentown/Bethlehem?

I get their programming on subchannels 39-1 and 39-3, but nothing on 39-4.

WLVT broadcasts its digital channels on RF 62, so these channels could also be known as 62-1, 62-3 and 62-4.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Update: 6:41PM> I just noticed that the programming I'm receiving on 39-3 is not what is listed on either Zap2it or on the ch 39 website. My 39-3 programming is identical to 39-1 programming. While these two substations have identical programming at certain times, they also differ at times (like now). So obviously I'm not getting 39-3 programming either. I thought I was, but I guess I'm just getting a duplicate of 39-1 programming. Still no response to my email to WLVT on this.

Hello... I'm in the East Brunswick, NJ area (actual is 08872) and am trying to figure out the best antenna to get for OTA. According to antennaweb, everything I currently want to receive is in the UHF band. In order to receive ABC and NBC, I wind up in the blue-uhf arena, which is a Medium Directional w/pre-amp. Everything I want is also at 57 degrees and most stations are just barely under 30 miles away.

Just in case it matters, this will be used on a D* HD Tivo receiver (dual tuners).

Would someone mind recommending some makes and models for this purpose? Thanks!

Hello... I'm in the East Brunswick, NJ area (actual is 08872) and am trying to figure out the best antenna to get for OTA. According to antennaweb, everything I currently want to receive is in the UHF band. In order to receive ABC and NBC, I wind up in the blue-uhf arena, which is a Medium Directional w/pre-amp. Everything I want is also at 57 degrees and most stations are just barely under 30 miles away.

Just in case it matters, this will be used on a D* HD Tivo receiver (dual tuners).

Would someone mind recommending some makes and models for this purpose? Thanks!

Skrige01,

I'm in Monroe (on the Spotswood border) and I currently have a pair of roof mounted CM4228 antenna's (ChannelMaster) paired with Channel Master pre-amps (if you search on my user name in this thread you'll find the model #'s that I'm using---it's been so damn long I can't recall the #'s!!!)

Here's a site to use to look at the CM4228:

http://www.starkelectronic.com/cmant.htm

The higher you mount the antenna the better---my trials and tribulations with regard to height are on this thread from day 1 (I live in a ranch style -1 level-home, with an average height above sea level of 16 feet IIRC from my past perusings through maps online). Depending on where you are in EB you may not even need a pre-amp---but for me, I did....or at least when I mounted the antennas in 2003/2004 I needed them.

You should be able to pick up not only NYC locals but Philly as well...so you may want to think about investing in a remote control rotor (again, I have CM rotors) so you can rotate the antenna from facing NYC to facing the Philly area. There are also a few NJN PBS networks at various locations around the NJ area (i.e you can pick 1 or so up facing NYC and another 1 or 2 facing the Philly/PA area).

Man I'm rattling crap off....I haven't really been on the thread because *most* of my OTA woes have been solved since 2003 when I started this thread! More KW's and better transmissions from the NYC area pretty much took care of that for me over the last few years.

FWIW, I too have the D* Tivo's and the tuners in them are pretty good for picking up NYC locals....much better than the original D* HD receiver tuners I had in ancient times (Hughes E86 receivers that ran hotter than grandma's stove top!)

If you don't want to order the CM4228's, I'd recommend going to Radio Shack (in the EB mall?) and seeing if they have the UHF only antenna that looks like the CM Crossfire....IIRC, it used to be about 24.99 or so. That may work for you depending on how high your house is, where you are mounting it and whether or not you have any trees/structures in your way to deal with.

Jaypb,

Thanks for the very quick response! It's a two story house, so I'd guess it's maybe 30 feet high at the top of the roof where the antenna will be mounted. There's really nothing in the way to obstruct the signal. I'll be checking out the CM4228, but I think I'll forgo the rotor, since I don't see me watching any of those other PBS channels.

You mention that you have 2 antennas... how come?

Thanks again for the input!

before you run out for a 4228- I would seriously go to circuit city or sears and get a 25 dollar silver sensor. You can pick it up right now and play instantly instead of having to wait for an internet place to ship you the 4228. I'm in flemington which is about 40 miles to Philly and 48 to NYC. I can get philly fine with it in my attic, NYC is a bit tougher. I also have a 4228 in the attic that I got to try and get NY and it did a bit better but still no love for NY. So for the money and size, and ease of driving to the store to pick it up I have to vote for the silver sensor.

IF that doesn't work, then you can return the silver sensor and get the 4288. I got mine from solidsignal.com I dont think you can get that in a brick and mortar anyplace around here.


Probably need a pre-amp either way. I have a channel master (one of the 77 series). Others seem to do fine with radio shack one's too.

A rotor might be nice for aiming if you get the 4228- it is a hassle to run up and down the stairs to my attic to adjust- but for day to day use with the tivo its worthless (I hade the HR10-250 till I bailed on DIrectv and got the Series 3 in the fall) the tivo can't control the thing so it assumes you get all the channels all the time and you wind up getting blank recordings if the antenna is aimed the wrong way.

One way you can pick up an NJN-pbs is one of them is on channel 8- it's either the new brunswick one (really piscataway I think?) or the trenton one. But if you get the right pre-amp it will have an input for vhf and a seperate one for uhf. You hook the silver sensor or 4228 to the uhf port aimed at NYC and then get a vhf and aim it at channel 8 while connecting it to the vhf port. PBS has some neat stuff but NJN SUCKS and is too stuipid to give Tribune the right guide data for like any of their 5 subchannels so the tivo is always recording shows that don't match the tivo's info. Real lovely when you try to record curious George for your kids and it instead picks up an erotic art of neolithic french village special.

:-D


I can get NJN ATSC and NTSC with my Series 3 and I never bother to record anything on the ATSC NJN becsue of the lazy guide data.

Last bit- if you dont need 9 or 11 specifically for sports then you might want to experiment with aimming at philly (dont know where the Yankees and Mets are over the air from this year) . You can probably get all the Philly locals on the antenna and then what Directv gives you from NY on the sats- you can double dip.

Jaypb,

Thanks for the very quick response! It's a two story house, so I'd guess it's maybe 30 feet high at the top of the roof where the antenna will be mounted. There's really nothing in the way to obstruct the signal. I'll be checking out the CM4228, but I think I'll forgo the rotor, since I don't see me watching any of those other PBS channels.

You mention that you have 2 antennas... how come?

Thanks again for the input!

I have 2 different antenna setups because I'm a glutton for punishment.... :D

Actually, 1 antenna feeds 2 HD sets and the 2nd one I put up feeds another 2 sets. I The antennas are on opposite ends of the house and I really didn't feel like messing with running an additional 2 sets of RG-6 either across the roof (after having to split the signal---which would potentially further degrade what, at the time I had been very spotty reception for a few of the NYC locals---back in 2003) or inside the house and up to their respective rooms! So, while my kitchen was being redone I decided to just install another 4228 and run the wiring.

In addition, just to show you how odd these OTA setups can be (in my case, as I said I'm almost in a fishbowl compared to the surrounding area according to average sea level terrain maps and I have some nasty trees around me) the original 4228 setup CAN NOT get PBS13 HD out of NYC...but 2nd setup, which is at a LOWER height than the original, CAN get a rock solid signal on PBS13HD. That, IMHO, says A LOT for the good old "sweet spot" moniker!

before you run out for a 4228- I would seriously go to circuit city or sears and get a 25 dollar silver sensor. You can pick it up right now and play instantly instead of having to wait for an internet place to ship you the 4228. I'm in flemington which is about 40 miles to Philly and 48 to NYC. I can get philly fine with it in my attic, NYC is a bit tougher. I also have a 4228 in the attic that I got to try and get NY and it did a bit better but still no love for NY. So for the money and size, and ease of driving to the store to pick it up I have to vote for the silver sensor.


Oh yeah! I forgot about the good ole' Silver Sensor....or Philips model...or Zenith...or whatever it is now called at CC/BB/Sears. I tried a Silver Sensor in my setups quiet a few times (and I'm sure it's documented on this thread somewhere) but for me, based on all my height/obstruction issues, it wasn't really a final option/solution. But it is helpful as a starting point no doubt!


Probably need a pre-amp either way. I have a channel master (one of the 77 series). Others seem to do fine with radio shack one's too.


The CM pre-amp I have is UHF only....but I think the other antenna setup I have utilizes a preamp that a Winegard UHF/VHF combo.


A rotor might be nice for aiming if you get the 4228- it is a hassle to run up and down the stairs to my attic to adjust- but for day to day use with the tivo its worthless (I hade the HR10-250 till I bailed on DIrectv and got the Series 3 in the fall) the tivo can't control the thing so it assumes you get all the channels all the time and you wind up getting blank recordings if the antenna is aimed the wrong way.


For those with outdoor/rooftop setups, after a windy couple of days like the last few, your antenna tends to be a little "off"....or at least mine was before I put the rotor up. The beauty of the rotor is that you can just hit a "+" or a "-" on the remote and voila, you're back at 100% signal strength and pin pointed in the right direction.


One way you can pick up an NJN-pbs is one of them is on channel 8- it's either the new brunswick one (really piscataway I think?) or the trenton one. But if you get the right pre-amp it will have an input for vhf and a seperate one for uhf. You hook the silver sensor or 4228 to the uhf port aimed at NYC and then get a vhf and aim it at channel 8 while connecting it to the vhf port. PBS has some neat stuff but NJN SUCKS and is too stuipid to give Tribune the right guide data for like any of their 5 subchannels so the tivo is always recording shows that don't match the tivo's info. Real lovely when you try to record curious George for your kids and it instead picks up an erotic art of neolithic french village special.


I've given up trying to TIVO ANYTHING off of PBS 50/52/58 on their "HD feeds" (*-5) quite honestly because the Guide Data that I see on my TV screen DOES NOT state "HD"! On PBS13's HD feed most if not all HD presentations say "HD" in the onscreen programming guide/info bar. I HAVE NOT seen that with any of my D* set top boxes for the NJN PBS's in years!

I remember I contacted someone via e-mail from NJN a few years ago and they assured me that what was being shown on the -5 subchannels was indeed HD...and that he didn't know why my D* guides didn't "show" it as being in HD. I believe I asked if he could look into the discrepancy with the Tribune Corp (??) but I don't believe he never got back to me....and contacting D* was useless.

And, when I have tooled by a 50-5 or 52-5 or 58-5 presentation, it sure doesn't look HD. Now, I'm not sure if that's because it's bit starved or there are too many sub-channels on at once or if it's really NOT HD...but I honestly haven't tuned in to a show on the NJN PBS HD subchannel since they got rid of the beloved "HD LOOPS" that used to run...and were a source of fascination as well as a way to keep the wife happy since there wasn't much for us to "see" OTA at the time out where we are because I could only pick up CBS out of NYC reliably (~2003) and CBS/UPN/PBS out of NJ/Philly (again ~2003) because of the destruction of the WTC as well as low power issues with some/most OTA signals.

So....I ask....whatever happened to the NJN PBS HD loops that used to run at night? Where did they go? The scenic flyovers from Italy and such?


Last bit- if you dont need 9 or 11 specifically for sports then you might want to experiment with aimming at philly (dont know where the Yankees and Mets are over the air from this year) . You can probably get all the Philly locals on the antenna and then what Directv gives you from NY on the sats- you can double dip.

Interestingly, IIRC, UPN out of Philly had a few HD OTA telecasts last year correct? I know they also did a few spring training games from Florida on UPN57. And, I think I just read that Fox said they are going to do baseball In HD (http://www.hdtvok.com/2007/02/12/most-mlb-on-fox-in-hd-this-year/) this year....so theoretically, you *may* be able to pick up a different game on Fox29 than you'll see on Fox5 out of NYC.

Does WB17 carry any Sixers games? I can remember back when I lived in Staten Island as a kid I used to be able to get some watchable Sixers games from UHF 17.

You can also pick up some different College FB games on ABC during the football season as well as some different basketball games on either CBS or ABC during college season. And now that March Madness is coming, you'll probably get some different basketball games on CBS when March rolls around....

Just a thought......

...

Interestingly, IIRC, UPN out of Philly had a few HD OTA telecasts last year correct? I know they also did a few spring training games from Florida on UPN57. And, I think I just read that Fox said they are going to do baseball In HD (http://www.hdtvok.com/2007/02/12/most-mlb-on-fox-in-hd-this-year/) this year....so theoretically, you *may* be able to pick up a different game on Fox29 than you'll see on Fox5 out of NYC.

Does WB17 carry any Sixers games? I can remember back when I lived in Staten Island as a kid I used to be able to get some watchable Sixers games from UHF 17.

You can also pick up some different College FB games on ABC during the football season as well as some different basketball games on either CBS or ABC during college season. And now that March Madness is coming, you'll probably get some different basketball games on CBS when March rolls around....

Just a thought......


NJN guide data SUCKS!

About sports- I'm mostly a Baseball and Football fan so that's all I can speak too, but for sure at times there are differnt games on from Philly then NY. When I had Directv I would try to record off the OTA philly stations becasue the quality was a bit better. I'm a NY fan so there were times when the NY team wasn't on in Philly so I'd have to pick up the NY station off Directv. So it sure does happen.

I was in Lowe's on Rte 9 in Old Bridge last week and noticed that ALL of the Channel Master reception equipment was on sale. From mounts to guy wiring to rotors to antennas....EVERYTHING was marked down pretty heavily (Yellow stickers---clearance items?).

The remote controlled Channelmaster rotor was marked down to somewhere around $54. I think the regular price was around $90. They had a few VHF/UHF pre-amps as well in the $25 range. They had masts and rotor cables as well. Pretty much EVERYTHING with a Channelmaster logo/label on it was marked down in the 40-50% range.

I was in the Lowes on Rte 18 in East Brunswick today and they had hardly ANY Channelmaster parts/accessories....but I don't know if it's because they had them last week and sold them all.

YMMV.....

This is for people living in Piscataway, South Plainfield. I got the Terk amplified HDTV Indoor antenna ($59 at PC Richardson's in Rt 1, Edison store). The store people were discouraging me... saying that I will have to return it.. I said that I still will take a chance.. ( I am 26 miles away from the NY towers). I pointed towards the New York feeds in my second floor apt and getting 33 digital and 24 analogue channels. Most of the analogue ones are not that watchable.. however the digital ones are totally different story. Only channel which is not that reliable and consistent is WNET 13.1 and 13.2.. However.. little callibration gets me that.. I am also getting all the NJN channel (including the HD).. whose orientations are not 74 degree north.. from my location.... I was initially thinking of trying the Philips/Zenith Slver Sensor/PHDVD1.. but none of the nearby store have it in stock right now.. I couldn't wait further.. after getting the delivery of my Olevia 537h.. I am outrightly satisfied with the OTA.. am not using the vhf dipole of the antenna though.. so can't comment on the vhf reception.. I am not using the TV55.. I am using the HDTVa antenna pro model.. which looks exactly like the Zenith Silver Sensor.. except with the booster and the VHF dipole

This is for people living in Piscataway, South Plainfield. I got the Terk amplified HDTV Indoor antenna ($59 at PC Richardson's in Rt 1, Edison store). The store people were discouraging me... saying that I will have to return it.. I said that I still will take a chance.. ( I am 26 miles away from the NY towers). I pointed towards the New York feeds in my second floor apt and getting 33 digital and 24 analogue channels. Most of the analogue ones are not that watchable.. however the digital ones are totally different story. Only channel which is not that reliable and consistent is WNET 13.1 and 13.2.. However.. little callibration gets me that.. I am also getting all the NJN channel (including the HD).. whose orientations are not 74 degree north.. from my location.... I was initially thinking of trying the Philips/Zenith Slver Sensor/PHDVD1.. but none of the nearby store have it in stock right now.. I couldn't wait further.. after getting the delivery of my Olevia 537h.. I am outrightly satisfied with the OTA.. am not using the vhf dipole of the antenna though.. so can't comment on the vhf reception.. I am not using the TV55.. I am using the HDTVa antenna pro model.. which looks exactly like the Zenith Silver Sensor.. except with the booster and the VHF dipole
kousikb:

just curious, have you tried the hdtva without the amplifier attached (is this even possible to do?...would it work this way?). I am asking because I was thinking of trying the terk hdtvi, which appears to be exactly the same antenna, without the add-on amplifier (I may be wrong on this point....it is possible that there is some other difference between the two....but I am willing to hear anyone's input on this). Ultimately, I may consider adding a separate amplifier to the hdtvi.

Also, have you by chance tried aiming the hdtva down to philly? Just curious to see if it can pick up anything there?

by the way, as of yesterday, the Phillips PHDTV1 antenna was in stock at the CC in East Brunswick (Rt. 18).

AnthonyR: I tried without the amplification, that was the first thing I tried, to see whether I'd need amplification or not.. and to decide whether I'd go for the philips one. Both the antennas are similar in design. I got only four channels, all of them are NJN (probably from New Brunswick). I didn't try aiming at philly, I was always trying towards NYC. Antennaweb didn't say anything about the philly orientaion. I will check the philly thread to see whether I have a shot on that.

PS: Just checked now.. was watching the NBC Good Morning America with full blast HD. I switched off the booster keeping the direction same. The picture froze. May be the philips one is good as a non amplified unit. haven't given it a try.. so I really can't say anything about it..

AnthonyR: I tried without the amplification, that was the first thing I tried, to see whether I'd need amplification or not.. and to decide whether I'd go for the philips one. Both the antennas are similar in design. I got only four channels, all of them are NJN (probably from New Brunswick). I didn't try aiming at philly, I was always trying towards NYC. Antennaweb didn't say anything about the philly orientaion. I will check the philly thread to see whether I have a shot on that.

PS: Just checked now.. was watching the NBC Good Morning America with full blast HD. I switched off the booster keeping the direction same. The picture froze. May be the philips one is good as a non amplified unit. haven't given it a try.. so I really can't say anything about it..


you might have a shot at philly. I'm in flemington and can easily get philly with an unamplfied silver sensor in my attic.

You might be 10 more miles as the crow flies but with the amp it could be a wash. I've seem posts that from Long Branch, Philly is possible with an amp.

Hey guys. Are there any cheap antennas I can use?
The tv I want to get has a qam tuner as well as a astc tuner. Will I be able to get channels like tnt or yes, msg, basically cable channels for free with the qam with an antenna in this area?
I have cablevision of monmouth

you can't get any "cable" channels for free with an antenna.

For free on an antenna you can get the "normal boradcast" chanels in HD (cbs, nbc, fox, my, pbs, etc). Many stations also have "cable replacement channels" for free as sub channels. There are 24 hour news, weather, and music video channels in the sub channels (but not the "cable versions" instead of CNN or FOX news there is abc's newsnow, instead of the weather channel their is NBC's weatherplus, no mtv but intstead "the tube"). PBS has pbs kids, etc.

You MIGHT be able to connect your cable wire to the QAM input on your tv and get some "free cable" channels- for the most part though those consist of the rebroadcast channels above. You might occaionsly get lucky and your head end might have something like TNT for "free" but YES, MSG, HBO, Etc are all going to be encrypted so you will need to pay for them via cablebox or cablecard.

For those free antenna channels - try a silver sensor (in it's many incarnations) that works great for many.

Thanks a lot I will look into it. Io is just too expensive otherwise I would take the hd package from there.

if you aren't avers to cable phone and you already have or wouldn't mind cable interent then trible play is rather economical (at least for the first year...)

already have phone and internet. Io is $50 a month, right? or would triple play work for me with those 2 already?

already have phone and internet. Io is $50 a month, right? or would triple play work for me with those 2 already?

generally as a "new triple play" customer they will give you all three for 99 bucks.

But to be honest you should call them. I'm not a cablevision expert or even a customer of theirs for that matter.

I am getting ready to Go to Our Little house in Manasquan NJ wher we Have Cablevision of Wall Township N.J. even though I went for Comcasts insistance of Needing a Box to receive ANY HD Channels, here in PA I get all the Local Channels including 3 Great PBS Channels in HD/Digital After Using My SONYs Built In Tuner to Scan Off My Comcast Anaolg Cable Line. I also Get quite a Few Bonus Basic HD Channels Like TNT and a Music Video Channel. I also Get all the Digital Music Channels, A&E, Animal Planet, Bravo and a Few Others in their Better quailty Digital Signal in the upper 80's. My question is this. Does Anyone Out there who Has CableVison Know if I will be able to do this On their Cable system Because I do Not want a Box Happy with Standard Cable which is Paid for By Our Tennent on the 1st Floor. I am Planning On Buying the 37" Panasonic Plasma with Both digital Tuners on Sale at Boscovs for Under a Grand. But No sense if CableVision Scrambles the Network Channels in High Def. Thanks..

would this thread include OTA HD channel lineup for Atlantic County NJ (AC, Ventnor, Margate) where can i find this info. I recently connected a new tv with ATSC/QAM tuner and picked up a ton of decimal point chans which I assume are OTA HD and want to know what they are. Where can one find this info.

Comcast is the cable provider and its in a highrise condo building so HD antenna must be on the roof (cable is free to all residents as amenity and prob part of condo fees)

anyway to use a better connection then coax without paying comcast per mo. for an HD box? Even just a converter box one could buy themself which takes the coax input and has an hdmi output to tv. it doenst have to change chans or have any other features. anything like this exist??

Since your TV has a QAM tuner, you can directly connect to your TV's "Digital Antenna In" coaxial input. Once there, put your TV into its digital tuner and do a digital cable scan. :)

Here in New Britain, CT (southwest of Hartford), I get five of our locals in HD when available...all without a cable converter: presently ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC and CW. Our local PBS station provides a cable-only HD feed to Comcast (no over-the-air digital for this station yet).

Shorebreaker,

See attached image for analysis details. Longer bars indicate stronger signals.



My interpretation:

- The strongest signals (one with a green background) are probably good enough to be received using an indoor antenna like the Silver Sensor (known under many names like the Zenith ZHDTV1, Philips PM-HDTV1, or Terk HDTVi).

- The Philadelphia channels are pretty far away (58 miles) and they're very slightly blocked by some minor terrain blockage (1Edge under signal path column indicates single edge diffraction, as opposed to LOS, or line-of-sight). The signal strength from these channels is still very good, but you'll need a good roof-mounted antenna to get them. All the digital channels are currently in the UHF band, but I believe that WPVI will be moving to channel 6 (VHF-Lo) in February 2009. In the short term, you should get good results with a Channel Master 4228 or AntennasDirect XG91 pointed at Philadelphia. However, you may need to add a VHF antenna (like the Winegard HD4053P) in the future when WPVI changes to channel 6.

- WMGM, from Wildwood, should be coming in quite strong. The CM 4228 and AD XG91 are highly directional antennas, so you might not get WMGM while you have the antenna pointed at Philadelphia, but maybe you don't need to. You should be able to pick up WCAU to get NBC from Philadelphia instead of having to get WMGM. BTW, it looks like someone entered a typo into the FCC database creating an extra entry for WMGM-TD (instead of WMGM-DT).

- Other stations, like WWSI, W45CP, and WQAV are also nearby and strong. However, since they come from different directions, the directional antennas might not get them while being pointed at Philadelphia. You have the option of adding an antenna rotator to get these channels or alternatively combine multiple antennas to get the channels simultaneously. You'll have to decide if these additional channels are worth the added complexity of the antenna setup.



Trees can block some of the signal and cause multipath interference, at times. However, I believe the CM 4228 or AD XG91 have enough gain and directionality to give you a pretty good signal-to-noise margin to cope with those effects.

If you add a rotator, you should be able to get all the Philadelphia and local broadcasts pretty easily, but not all at the same time. This might pose a problem if you want to do unattended DVR/VCR/PC recordings.

If you install multiple antennas and combine their outputs, you'll be able to get all the channels simultaneously (good for recordings and general convenience), but these are usually more complicated to set up correctly and you'll be more vulnerable to interference sources (mostly multipath).



My suggestion is to start with the simplest/cheapest thing first and see if you like the results. Antenna reception takes quite a bit of trial-and-error, so be prepared to return products to the store if you don't like the results.



I hope this helps!



Best regards,
Andy

Looks like NJ people are more ready to pay the cable guys/dish people.. this thread is not as active as the NY OTA one..

Looks like NJ people are more ready to pay the cable guys/dish people.. this thread is not as active as the NY OTA one..

While I pay D* for my pay TV service, I also have my OTA antennas set up to feed my 5 HDTV's for local content. For that matter, the ONLY local channels I watch on all of my sets are the OTA HD feeds. One of my favorite OTA channels is 13-1....which I can only get on one of my rooftop setups. The other antenna (which ironically is HIGHER on a mast than the one that CAN get 13-1) has never been able to lock onto 13-1 at a high enough signal strength.....giving PERFECT credence to the logic of a "sweet spot" and that "higher isn't always better"! The area between my antennas and the NYC digital antennas is obstructed with LOTS of foliage and trees.....so I'm fighting mother nature 24/7, 365.

Ever since I switched to my HD-Tivos (and recently a D* HD-DVR) I haven't played around with rotating towards Philly....only because I haven't had the need to see any programming from Philly....that I couldn't get from NYC (which was the MAIN reason why I started pointing towards Philly back in 2003).

I'm quite certain that as the digital deadline starts to crawl closer, this thread will heat up again. Having said that, I'm STILL the ONLY PERSON that I know of who utilizes an OTA setup to supplement his HD viewing. EVERY other person I know with an HD set relies SOLELY on a pay provider (cable/satellite) for their local HD feeds...but having said that, they also weren't playing this OTA HD game at the same time I started (early 2003) . Also, living in Central NJ (as this thread has shown) doesn't always make it easy to *get* NYC feeds or Philly feeds because of our locations. distance from NYC as well as terrain issues for some folks (myself included)....whereas the NYC thread folks are at least physically closer to the transmitters.

I'm babbling now....but I'm still reading any/every post on this thread....as well as the NYC thread. :D

You're not alone, i only receive HD OTA, all the NYC channels. I do not subscribe to digital cable.

Bob
Somerset, NJ (aka Franklin Township)

Ocean County, NJ

so, D*tv said they cant get reception here :(
I hate comcast, so i dont want to pay them a dollar more than i have to.

Right now i have the $15 basic cable (2-23)

In HD, I get ABC, NBC, PBS, FOX, CW11, The Tube, a bunch of News and weather

For $60 a month, they will come and take the filter off the pole to give me 2-98.

MY QUESTION: Will I get anymore HD channels? Or do you think I got what I will get?

I receive only OTA HD, that is I did, until a few weeks ago. All of a sudden, my accurian tuner stopped receiving anything-all the channels had next to no signal strength. Thinking my distribution amp in the attic died, I took it out and hooked up a two way splitter. Some analog signals are better, some are worse. I'm trying to figure out if the accurian died or get another amp. BTW, my antenna is in the attic, a large UHF/VHF/FM bought from Lafayette Radio in Lawrenceville in 1992. I only use Cablevision for internet access.

Somerset, NJ

I'm probably going to go with Dish Network in the next few days.

I'm a Rangers fan and Patriot doesn't offer MSG in HD, and with Direct TV I'd have to buy the whole Center Ice package to get MSG in HD.

Question is, should I spend the money on an antenna to get my FREE local channels (am I even close enough to get NYC channels?)
And also deal with the hassel of installing it myself, not to mention having a dish and an antenna on a small balcany in an apartment.
Or is it more worth it just to pay the extra $5/month to ad local to my dish package?

With an indoor Silver Sensor in Somerset near Easton Ave, I can get all of the NYC HD channels *except* for NBC. I used to be able to get NBC with a weaker signal strength than all the others, but now I don't get it at all.

any idea why?
Are others in this area getting NBC-HD OTA?

Amy

Well it turns out Dish Network doesn't offer MSG in HD either...probably not until 1st quarter of 08.

To think I almost ordered the installation after the first guy I talked with over there earlier in the week told me I would get MSG in HD if I got the HD package.

Anyway, problem solved Direct TV is my only option, and they include local in all their packages.

comcast bought patriot so MSG might get added shortly if htat's your only reason for moving to DIrectv.

With an indoor Silver Sensor in Somerset near Easton Ave, I can get all of the NYC HD channels *except* for NBC. I used to be able to get NBC with a weaker signal strength than all the others, but now I don't get it at all.

any idea why?
Are others in this area getting NBC-HD OTA?

Amy

Although I am little closer to NYC (I think by 3-4 miles).. then Easton Ave, Somerset, I get NBC HD and all its subchannels. I don't get the 13.x (Thirteen HD/PBS NYC from Newark) now a days. I use the amplified version of the silver sensor (Terk HDTVa)
Hope this helps.

comcast bought patriot so MSG might get added shortly if htat's your only reason for moving to DIrectv.It will be at least a few months, possibly up to a year before Comcast completely takes over. Preseason starts in just a little over a week. Yeah hockey is my only sport and I'm a Rangers fan, so no MSG HD = deal breaker.

Does Comcast have Versus in HD too?

Okay, Southeastern-ish monmouth county, but I'm kinda in a "rut" as in a small valley that encompasses part of my town. Everyone around me has cable/sattelite, so I can't reference them for antenna suggestions.

Currently, I have a VHF-only (Now, at least. The end of the UHF part wouldn't fit in the attic, and has been cut off.) antenna pointed at NYC. It's in an attic, but there is a big metal air-conditioner (and the rest of the house) between the antenna and north. That receives NY analog okay. There's also a UHF-only antenna pointed at Philly. (I'm about 40 from NY and 60 from philly). I get decent UHF Philly reception. I can 100% of the time get WNJT-DT, and then the others poke in occaisionally (nights, mornings).

So, through the incoherency of my post, I need an antenna suggestion. I'm in just about the suckiest spot in town, but I know that I should be able to defy antennaweb and go for more DT's. I've been looking at the 91XG, but since I just discovered that plans the FCC's making to re-remap a bunch of our stations, it may appear that a 4228 may come in more handy?

More constraints: I would prefer it not be on the roof ('cuz that thing is STEEP!!!), and also because I'll need two of whatever I get (and if it's the 4228, I hear that thing's a big sail). I do have some (big) trees around me, and a small airport somewhat nearby (tho I hear it might be closing). I am able to use a different attic space. A bit cramped, but with enough room to put a few antennas, maybe. I'll be using a 7775 (or two) and combining the signal using a regular splitter (right?).

What do you guys suggest?

poly-p man

Sorry if this is in the wrong place, or anything like that. Also, sorry if it's a bit incoherent... I'm tired ;) An elevation profile from here to ESB is attached, as well as my Antenna web, and that of two other houses across town (not too far away).

I'd get the 4228 with an amp and keep your fingers crossed.

I have that in my attic and I'm about 40 from philly and 50 from NY (give or take).

Philly i can get great, NY is so so.

height really seems to matter a lot- just moveing the antenaa a foot or 2 up or down seems to make a big difference where I am.

Has anyone from the Woodbridge / Port Reading area gotten any Philly signals? Just curious.

With an indoor Silver Sensor in Somerset near Easton Ave, I can get all of the NYC HD channels *except* for NBC. I used to be able to get NBC with a weaker signal strength than all the others, but now I don't get it at all.

any idea why?
Are others in this area getting NBC-HD OTA?

Amy

My understanding is that WNBC-DT was formerly being broadcast off of the GE building in Rock Center until sometime in late 2004 (and that the signal was very "iffY"). I've heard that now NBC is broadcasting its signal from the Empire State Building on some sort of "shared" antenna with the other networks (and that the signal can still have some problems). That said, I moved my Silver Sensor up into the attic above my garage, and I get NBC fine now (along with the other networks) without any dropouts. If possible, try moving your antenna to a higher location (it worked for me).

Has anyone from the Woodbridge / Port Reading area gotten any Philly signals? Just curious.

Not sure about that particular area, but I've tried to get Philly with my indoor Silver Sensor (from Sayreville...not too far from you), and the results weren't that good (lots of signal dropouts, freezing, etc.)...probably would be much better if it were outside (I know that some others in this thread have had success with Philly...but I'm not sure how close they are to your area).

My understanding is that WNBC-DT was formerly being broadcast off of the GE building in Rock Center until sometime in late 2004 (and that the signal was very "iffY"). I've heard that now NBC is broadcasting its signal from the Empire State Building on some sort of "shared" antenna with the other networks (and that the signal can still have some problems). That said, I moved my Silver Sensor up into the attic above my garage, and I get NBC fine now (along with the other networks) without any dropouts. If possible, try moving your antenna to a higher location (it worked for me).
I get WABC-DT the best of all the NYC digital stations from here in CNJ 36 miles from the Empire State Building. I can't get WNBC-DT at all but that is with the indoor Terk antenna on my roof during a test. I am ordering the 91XB so I should not have a problem with it getting all of the local digital stations.

I'm in Piscataway and I get WCBS the strongest. I also get FOX, ABC, My9, Univision and NJN channels. I can never get WNBC, WNET and have trouble with CW11. I'm on a first floor condo with an amplified antenna. I guess I'm lucky I can get some channels.

My understanding is that WNBC-DT was formerly being broadcast off of the GE building in Rock Center until sometime in late 2004 (and that the signal was very "iffY"). I've heard that now NBC is broadcasting its signal from the Empire State Building on some sort of "shared" antenna with the other networks (and that the signal can still have some problems). That said, I moved my Silver Sensor up into the attic above my garage, and I get NBC fine now (along with the other networks) without any dropouts. If possible, try moving your antenna to a higher location (it worked for me).
You could be blocked from picking up WNBC because of a LPTV channel in Philly on channel 28. Looking at analog channels, see if you can see a signal on channel 28. It doesn't take much analog signal to knock out a weak DTV signal. A more directional antenna might help.

I'm in Piscataway and I get WCBS the strongest. I also get FOX, ABC, My9, Univision and NJN channels. I can never get WNBC, WNET and have trouble with CW11. I'm on a first floor condo with an amplified antenna. I guess I'm lucky I can get some channels.
Do you have cable? If your TV have a QAM tuner then you can pick up digital signals from your cable. Get the basic cable. I think it's less than $10 a month. You get all OTAs plus WNET. No NJN. You can use your antenna for that. I am in Edison. I have basic Cablevision for about $9 a month(before tax).

Is anyone else having progressively more and more trouble receiving ABC 7.1 in central NJ?

I have a 120" Radio Shack antenna with a rotor and a Channel Master 7777 mast mounted amp. I generally am able to get CBS 2.1, NBC 4.1, FOX 5.1, WOR 9.1, CW 11.1, and PBS 13.1 pretty reliably with my antenna rotor at what reads about 80 deg from north.

Lately whenever there's the least bit of bad weather moving through, I end up having to turn my antenna as much as 15 deg farther north to get 7.1 at all. The strange part is that, under normal conditions that position is almost totally incapable of getting 7.1...like sometimes as bad as 20% signal. It just doesn't make sense.

Part of the problem seems to be a tendency for the signal strength to jump around. It's been my experience that nothing will screw up reception like that. Even the LG tuners in the HD-5500 cards in my MythTV system (which are awesome tuners by the way) have big problems when the strength is very inconsistent. This all seems to be a fairly recent issue, and given how well other stations behave with my system, I have little reason to think it's a problem on my end.

Anyone aware of any changes that may have taken place with ABC in NY lately? Do they broadcast from the combiner or somewhere else?

Thanks!
Tom

I think I figured out what was going on. When I try an antenna position a good bit farther south (around 100 degrees from north) I get 7.1 fine and all my other stations get a high signal strength as well. I have a feeling that my antenna may have moved slightly in the rotor and may actually be reading as much as 20 degrees off on the control.

Tom

I think I figured out what was going on. When I try an antenna position a good bit farther south (around 100 degrees from north) I get 7.1 fine and all my other stations get a high signal strength as well. I have a feeling that my antenna may have moved slightly in the rotor and may actually be reading as much as 20 degrees off on the control.

Tom

Happens to my rotor all the time. I have the remote controlled one (Channelmaster maybe)?....I actually have TWO different setups...and the degree markings have been off since probably the 2nd week I put the darn things up there!

I *think* there was a way to reset the thing to "0" or something along those lines to make it accurate again....but I'd have to pull the manual out to figure that one out....

Marlboro,NJ
Well, after 2 months of being blown off by Directv , I finally get an installer & he tells me I have no line of sight for HD with Directv. My daughter watches Sprout,m exclusive to Directv & Comcast.
I refuse to pay cablevision & Fios isn't available.
I'd like to purchase an antenna to get OTA HD's. Anyone know of any installers/shops to get me hooked up.

Came across this in another thread, but figured it would be helpful for some folks here in light of the questions about lack of signal strength in certain areas:

http://www.tvfool.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=80

Came across this in another thread, but figured it would be helpful for some folks here in light of the questions about lack of signal strength in certain areas:

http://www.tvfool.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=80

That's great! Just curious though...I can't find anything that actually explains specifically what the color coding indicates. Is that explained anywhere? Thanks again!

Tom

Michaelk,

I'm also in Flemington and just picked up a Samsung LCD. It is in my basement and I currently receive about 7 HD channels through PatMedia expanded basic cable (I have not yet subscribed to the HD package). Do you think I will be able to get any OTA HD channels with a silver sensor or the equlivent in my basement? Will I have to place it in my attic? Thanks.

i have a question on digital cable. i am in flemington nj with patroit media. i have basic cable. my pc has a analog tuner card. i was looking to upgrade to the hauppauge 1800. with the digital tuner..
i called the cable company to upgrade to digital and they told me all there stations are analog.. except for the hd digital service. they offer digital and hd digital so i questioned the associate on the phone what about ther digital sevice she replied once more all is analog..
so i asked about 2,4,5,7,9, are the digital she replied no..
so you offer no unencrypted hd station to me.he replied you are correct..

does anyone know if this is true? i would hate to spend and replace my card if i cannot get true digital..
thanks

i have a question on digital cable. i am in flemington nj with patroit media. i have basic cable. my pc has a analog tuner card. i was looking to upgrade to the hauppauge 1800. with the digital tuner..
i called the cable company to upgrade to digital and they told me all there stations are analog.. except for the hd digital service. they offer digital and hd digital so i questioned the associate on the phone what about ther digital sevice she replied once more all is analog..
so i asked about 2,4,5,7,9, are the digital she replied no..
so you offer no unencrypted hd station to me.he replied you are correct..


does anyone know if this is true? i would hate to spend and replace my card if i cannot get true digital..
thanks

borndumb,

I have PatMedia basic analog cable (no cable box). My HDTV has a QAM tuner and I get 2,4,5,7,9 & 11 in HD. They clearly do not encrypt those channels. However, they do not always broadcast in HD but usually do during the peak viewing times (weekend days and weekday nights). The rep was mistaken or lied to you. I do not know anything about the hauppauge 1800 so can't help you there.

nyyfanatik,

thanks.the tuner supports digital and analog signals..also supports QAM so i will assume it can pick up those stations too since your in flemington
that was my main concern before ordering.
how do you know its true digital coming in?
does the tv tell the signal of the broadcast?

i do most of my recording during peak time but the card i have now is low on resolution . my picture is grainy when blown up. i am hoping the new card and digital will help this.

borndumb,

My TV tells me the signal type, i.e. 1080i or 720p.

Greetings. Just wanted to give my reception report. I'm in 08837 on the 2nd floor of an apartment complex near the Menlo Park Mall. I'm using an Autumnwave OnAir GT USB as my source. I initially had it hooked up thru QAM via Cablevison, but was getting intermittent stuttering on all the digital channels. It appeared that the signal was fluctuating above and below the acceptable range for the GT. Trying different suggestions that I read didn't solve the problem.

Since Cablevision for the most part only carries the broadcast channels via QAM, I decided to give OTA a shot. Checking both Antennaweb and TVFool showed that I was about 23 miles away from the ESB. With the antenna that came with the OnAir GT only picked up WXTV and WFUT but couldn’t lock on the signal. I wasn’t expecting much with the built-in antenna from this distance anyway.

Researching antennas, I decided to give the Model: 15-1868 from Radio Shack a try, knowing that I could return it easily. It didn’t do much better, only picking up WNYW.

I had thought about picking up the PHDTV1 from Phillips but with it being only UHF, I’d have problems in a year when some of the stations revert back to VHF. I had also read about the MANT510 from Phillips, but like with most other antennas, I had read mixed reviews. I figured with my distance from the antennas, I would need an amplified one.

I decide to pick one up from Electronics Expo after seeing it heavily discounted on their web page. Picked it up yesterday after and hooked it up and to my surprise, with the amplification, and after moving it around a bunch of times I’ve pickup up all the digital channels of 2,4,5,7,9,11,25,41,47,52,58 and 68. I was unable to get a lock onto 13 but that doesn’t surprise me since I’ve read that others have had trouble as well and maybe that will change in a year when they revert back to VHF. I was also unable to get a lock onto 31 but I’m not concerned since I don’t watch them anyway. I must also say that there are tall trees in the same direction so I wonder if that will come into play once the leaves start growing again. I was surprised that the antenna detected 3 out of Philly but the signal was too weak to get a lock but, who knows maybe that will be a possibility down the road.

I must also say that I wasn’t able to get all the stations in the same position. I did have to move it around a bit. The box says that the antenna is rated for up to 20 miles so I’m a few miles over the recommended range and still getting a very strong signal on most of the channels. The only thing that worries me is that some have reported that this antenna will lose its signal strength after a certain amount of use. IOW, there are 5 LED lights on the unit, signifying power level. Some have said that this will move on it's own without the user touching the unit to the point of rendering it unusable. I've only had it for a day and haven't seen that happen so we'll see what happens.


Hopefully, this helps those of you who are in similar situations make a better decision on what to do. As with everything, YMMW.

Update: Today, I tried to get 31 and this time I was able to lock it in, so the only one left that I can't lock in is 13.

Studio, in my experience, today was a good day for reception. I find that on cold clear dry days my OTA antennas provide much better lock than at other times. So you may find that 31 goes in or out depending upon the weather.

My experience based on tree leaves is not as great. I've only had my HDTVs for one spring/fall cycle. That said, the one with its antenna on the first floor of the house, I thought, lost signal strength when the leaves showed up. And I think gained strength back in the fall when they fell. The TV with its antenna on the 2nd floor is above our trees and wasn't affected (at least that was my perception).

i have a question on digital cable. i am in flemington nj with patroit media. i have basic cable. my pc has a analog tuner card. i was looking to upgrade to the hauppauge 1800. with the digital tuner..
i called the cable company to upgrade to digital and they told me all there stations are analog.. except for the hd digital service. they offer digital and hd digital so i questioned the associate on the phone what about ther digital sevice she replied once more all is analog..
so i asked about 2,4,5,7,9, are the digital she replied no..
so you offer no unencrypted hd station to me.he replied you are correct..

does anyone know if this is true? i would hate to spend and replace my card if i cannot get true digital..
thanks
Doesn't this sort of crap just kill ya? Even patriots own website clearly says this:

If you have an "HD-capable" or "HD-ready" TV set, get ready to watch local broadcast channels like NBC, FOX, NJN, CBS and ABC at no additional cost. Plus, for a small monthly cost, our HD Plus offers...


In other words those stations are clear QAM and can be received with an ordinary digital tuner. I was looking into this the other day for my brother (who has patriot). I had seen several posts on dslreports indicating partiot basic subscribers were able to get the local networks and PBS on non-Patriot digital tuners. Yet the people you talk to tell you otherwise. I guess you could write it off to ignorance on the part of the person you talked to...but isn't it interesting that the ignorance of cable company employees always errs on the side of selling you something?

My in laws currently receive analog stations using a combination antenna. They had a Comcast salesmen come to their door and, among other things, say that in February 2009 their antenna would become "useless". They knew from talking to me (I use only OTA digital stations on a three tuner MythTV system) that this was false. How many people have you heard whose cable company has told them the feds are making them go all digital (also patently false)? Wouldn't you think that the feds (who are spending a lot of tax dollars trying to inform the public about the switch to broadcast DTV with public service announcements and dtvanswers.com) would be a bit concerned with cable companies mis-informing people for their own benefit?

What really kills me is that some cable companies are in fact encrypting local HD stations, and claim that the "must carry" and "in the clear" rules only apply to the analog stations. Apparently there's a great deal of debate on this, and I haven't even heard of anyone getting a clear answer from the FCC.

It all makes me really glad I don't go within miles of any of em.

Sorry for the OT rant...carry on :D

Tom

i have my new tuner card which is WinTV-HVR-1600 and it give me many different frequencies for QAM. does anyone know any of these for my local area?
flemington nj. using patriot media..

i am trying to tune it.so far i am only finding cw11 and many music station...
thanks mike

I'm a Clinton, NJ Patriot Media subscriber.

I have my Panasonic Plasma hooked directly into the coax cable (bypassing my digital converter box) which gave me access to the "Basic" HD Channels.

A couple days ago, however, I lost all of the HD channels with the exception of NBC and a PBS.

I called PatMedia but they indicated that they've made no changes at all.

Is another else experiencing any issues related to HD channels (again, without a converter box)?

Thanks-

I'm a Clinton, NJ Patriot Media subscriber.

I have my Panasonic Plasma hooked directly into the coax cable (bypassing my digital converter box) which gave me access to the "Basic" HD Channels.

A couple days ago, however, I lost all of the HD channels with the exception of NBC and a PBS.

I called PatMedia but they indicated that they've made no changes at all.

Is another else experiencing any issues related to HD channels (again, without a converter box)?

Thanks-

I don't actually have cable at all...but that definitely doesn't make sense at all. I wonder if they made some sort of change the person you spoke to isn't aware of. Maybe you should try rescanning the digital stations.

I've seen some posts on the patriot forum on dslreports indicating that they change frequencies fairly often....possibly to get people to use their hardware...who knows.

Tom

For those who aren't aware, several of the NY digital stations will be changing frequencies after the 2/2009 switch to digital. From a post on the NY OTA topic:

WABC-DT is giving up 45 and will go to 7.

WPIX-DT is giving up 33 to will go to 11. But, WCBS-DT has to leave 56, and will be moving to the then vacated 33.

WNET-DT has to give up 61, and will be moving to 13.

I was aware of that, but hadn't much thought about what that does. I hadn't had any reason to check out antennaweb.org in a long time, and I did so the other day. They're now showing multiple occurrences of stations (before the cutover and after) where it's appropriate. It appears that those changes will make some big improvements to reception on those stations in central NJ. Try your zip code and see...very cool.

Of course however, this change really sucks for those who assumed that all they needed was a UHF antenna. If I wasn't still tuning analog VHF stations I would have fallen into that trap for sure.

Tom

^^^ This was the reason why I decided to buy the MANT510 instead of the PHDTV1.

The only thing I'm wondering about is why WWOR-DT is staying on 38 and not moving back to 9.

I'm a Clinton, NJ Patriot Media subscriber.

I have my Panasonic Plasma hooked directly into the coax cable (bypassing my digital converter box) which gave me access to the "Basic" HD Channels.

A couple days ago, however, I lost all of the HD channels with the exception of NBC and a PBS.

I called PatMedia but they indicated that they've made no changes at all.

Is another else experiencing any issues related to HD channels (again, without a converter box)?

Thanks-

Yes, I ran into the same issue. Patriot Media moved all the other basic HD channels on Monday, IIRC to 104, 105 and 106. As tld suggested you should try rescanning.

Bob

Yes, I ran into the same issue. Patriot Media moved all the other basic HD channels on Monday, IIRC to 104, 105 and 106. As tld suggested you should try rescanning.

Bob


Thanks. That was the issue after all even though a Pat Media CSR insisted that they didn't move anything.

Annoying experience which seems to be the norm with Patriot Media of late.

I've been waiting for Cable Cards or an HDMI PVR for 2 months now - still no dice.

Unacceptable ... and it's going to push me to subscribe to Dish soon-

I am in Marlboro NJ (about half a mile west of the 520 & 79 intersection) and have not been able to get WNBC-DT OTA on our new HDTV (but I do get CBS-DT, ABC-DT, Fox plus a handful of public DTV channels). I am using a Radio Shack VU-110XR antenna mounted in the attic above our 2nd floor and without amplifier.

Any suggestion (especially from folks in Marlboro or vicinity areas) on how I can improve the DTV signal reception would be greatly appreciated.

patriot apparently officially becomes comcast in the next couple weeks.

Not sure if that's good or bad.

with patriot I've been able to get a hold of VP's and the head engineer at times. Doubt that will happen with comcast. But maybe their customer service will be better.

I am in Marlboro NJ (about half a mile west of the 520 & 79 intersection) and have not been able to get WNBC-DT OTA on our new HDTV (but I do get CBS-DT, ABC-DT, Fox plus a handful of public DTV channels). I am using a Radio Shack VU-110XR antenna mounted in the attic above our 2nd floor and without amplifier.

Any suggestion (especially from folks in Marlboro or vicinity areas) on how I can improve the DTV signal reception would be greatly appreciated.

maybe try an amp. I'm in flemington now but I used to live off 79 in matawan by Charlie Browns- was down in a depression and an amp made a difference with analog (this was way back when you needed an antenna for ANANLOG locals with directv- so not sure how about ATSC- but worth a shoot especially if you get one from someplace that takes returns easily)


NBC seems to be hit of miss for many reading the new york thread.

comcast in trenton NJ mercer county is looking terrible as of late, anyone seeing degrading HD here in mercer county?

there's posts all over that comcast as a whole is moving from 2 HD channels per qam slot to 3 and that quality is suffering on many different systems becasue of it.

I think a few people forgot that this is an OTA thread.

the problem is- the mods apparently wont allow a NJ cable thread to exist. So people are forced to post here or in other inappropriate places for NJ cable isssues. Look at the

Check out the thread in the HD programming area about the next HD channel for comcast. At times it seems to be like 80% talk about the various comcast systems in NJ and what channels they may or may not have.

it's like everything else and people just think NJ is a big suburb of either NYC or Philly

check out the thread index list- this thread is listed under NYC or Philly. If you go state by state list, like every state and DC is listed but not NJ. This thread just gets indexed under New York State or Pennsylvania.

Since we dont have a DMA of our own, we aren't apparently permitted to have out own place for cable questions. SO they need to get mixed in to a bunch of irrelevent other threads.

it's like everything else and people just think NJ is a big suburb of either NYC or Philly



Hell, even many of us that live in this state think that. I'm surprised this thread even exists because of that.

Hell, even many of us that live in this state think that. I'm surprised this thread even exists because of that.

...hence the reason I started the thread 400 years ago :)

Way, way, WAY back when, (early 2003?) I couldn't believe that there was no thread devoted to "my" area---the NYC thread existed....the Philly thread existed.....but because of 9/11 the aspect of OTA was pretty limited out of NYC because of the low(er) power temporary transmitters at the time.

So I turned my antenna towards Philly....but because of my location (low ASL, trees, single story home) I had issues getting channels that people in the Philly thread had NO problems getting....so I figured why not start a thread about the Central NJ area...and lo and behold there were dozens of folks in the same boat as me. I'm ok with the cable talk...if only because it allows me to talk to my neighbors (who don't have D* or use OTA antennas) and have a common ground....

I'm right in the center of Somerset County and can pick up Phily and NY, so I've always been glad this thread exits...it's definitely a unique situation as compared to the NY OTA thread for example.

Here's an odd one...something I notice from time to time:

My usual ideal antenna position for picking up NY digital stations is about 82 degrees from north, which is pretty close to what I would expect to be about right for where I am. On occasion for some odd reason, at that position, I start having serious problems with Fox 5.1 and to a lesser extent with ABC 7.1.

When that happens I find that, if I turn to about 97 degrees off north (just south of due east) they come in perfectly. The only down side to this is that often that setting makes it impossible for me to pick up PBS 13.1.

I ran into this yesterday. This time however I'm still getting PBS 13.1 at the 97 degree setting. Strange stuff...I've confirmed that my antenna hasn't moved and, when set to due north, it is in fact pointing due north. Stranger still is the manner in which this situation seems to come and go. Anyone else ever have anything like that?

Tom

How is it in the other direction(s) with Philadelphia/Wilmington?

My usual ideal antenna position for picking up NY digital stations is about 82 degrees from north, which is pretty close to what I would expect to be about right for where I am. On occasion for some odd reason, at that position, I start having serious problems with Fox 5.1 and to a lesser extent with ABC 7.1.

When that happens I find that, if I turn to about 97 degrees off north (just south of due east) they come in perfectly. The only down side to this is that often that setting makes it impossible for me to pick up PBS 13.1.

I ran into this yesterday. This time however I'm still getting PBS 13.1 at the 97 degree setting. Strange stuff...I've confirmed that my antenna hasn't moved and, when set to due north, it is in fact pointing due north. Stranger still is the manner in which this situation seems to come and go. Anyone else ever have anything like that?

Tom

Hmm... 44 and 45... sounds like certain weather conditions may be making WVIA 44 analog and WOLF-DT 45 from Scranton interfere with your digital reception. It would also explain why WNET-DT is stronger at those times.

A good way to check would be to watch for analog signals on channels 16 and 22. How's WCBS-DT during those times? WOLF 56 analog is also on that channel. I'd expect it to see some interference as well, but the higher power might be compensating for it.

- Trip

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the analog transmitter of channel 16 (Scranton, PA) was destroyed by icy conditions and/or other winter weather?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the analog transmitter of channel 16 (Scranton, PA) was destroyed by icy conditions and/or other winter weather?

Good point, I forgot. They're operating at very low power on analog.

Just look for analog 22 then.

- Trip

Hmm... 44 and 45... sounds like certain weather conditions may be making WVIA 44 analog and WOLF-DT 45 from Scranton interfere with your digital reception. It would also explain why WNET-DT is stronger at those times.

A good way to check would be to watch for analog signals on channels 16 and 22. How's WCBS-DT during those times? WOLF 56 analog is also on that channel. I'd expect it to see some interference as well, but the higher power might be compensating for it.

- Trip

CBS is always close to 100% strength and works great. I'll check out analog 22. Thanks!

Tom

I haven't been able to test this much as the interference on Fox hasn't been too bad. None the less, I have seen the snow on analog 22 occasionally roll as though something was creeping through, so that may in fact be it. If so that's awesome news, as it'll go away in '09.

For how I've left my antenna at the 97 degree setting. Although that doesn't make sense, as NY is obviously more NE from me, that setting at the moment gets better signal strength and noise on all channels except 13.1, which is still (at least at the moment) coming in fine with about 66 percent signal compared to the high 70s it gets at 82 degrees.

I was looking at the streadsheet posted here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=12890633#post12890633

I just hope my interference isn't possibly from MWVN digital 44 out of Atlantic City, as that's one that won't go away in '09.

Tom

I'm on the border of union/middlesex counties, just using the radio shack remote control indoor antenna & a samsung tv. I have comcast, but I have a compulsion to see what I can get ota. My first tv was a westinghouse, and it named the channels like this:

2.1 wcbs-hd 1080i (56)
4.1 wnbc-dt 1080i (28)
4.2 wx plus
4.4 wnbc4.4
5.1 wnyw-dt 720p (44)
5.2 wwor-dt
7.1 wabc-hd 720p (45)
7.2 wabc+
7.3 wabcnow
9.1 wwor dt 720p (38)
9.2 wnyw dt
11.1 thecw11 1080i (33)
11.2 cw11sd
25.1 wnye1 (24)
25.2 wnye2
31.1 ion (30)
31.2 qubo
31.3 ionlife
31.4 worship
41.1 wxtv dt (40)
47.1 wnju dt (36)
58.1 wnjb-dt (8)
58.3 njn-3
58.4 njn-4
58.5 njn-hd 1080i (8) prime time only
63.1 wmbc-d1 (18)
63.2 wmbc-d2
63.3 wmbc-d3
63.4 wmbc-d4
68.1 wfut-dt (53)

I can't get wnet-dt 13.1 (61) and these other 2, even though they're on antennaweb in my area:

66.1 wfme-dt (29)
43.1 wnjt-dt (43)

I'm on the border of union/middlesex counties, just using the radio shack remote control indoor antenna & a samsung tv. I have comcast, but I have a compulsion to see what I can get ota. My first tv was a westinghouse, and it named the channels like this:



I am in Berkeley Heights and have a lot of trouble with the NYC channels with an outdoor antenna and amp. What town are you in?

I am in Berkeley Heights and have a lot of trouble with the NYC channels with an outdoor antenna and amp. What town are you in?

Clark. The uhf antenna has to be at just the right angle for each channel.

Clark. The uhf antenna has to be at just the right angle for each channel.

I put a UHF antenna on the roof just for kicks (already have dish and Comcast basic). Unfortunately, although I am probably at almost the high point in the county, I have lots of trees and a hospital (which is just a little higher) in a direct line between me and the Empire State Building. Oh well, don't really need OTA, but just like to play and experment:)

Just thought I'd revise this thread and raise a question.
Since they started work on the combiner on the ESB my reception of NYC stations here in north Mercer county has been extremely poor. WCBS, which used to be the strongest and most reliable signal (NY or Philly), has dissappeared completely along with WABC & FOX5. The only positive note is a slight improvement in the usually weak signal of WNBC lately (maybe they are boosting transmitter power for the olympics?). Does anyone know if this situation is just temporary or is this all that we can expect for the great digital switch-over in February? So far these so-called transmitter "improvements" are a dismal failure - at least here in central NJ.

Just thought I'd revise this thread and raise a question.
So far these so-called transmitter "improvements" are a dismal failure - at least here in central NJ.

Or here in Western Union County. I was wondering what happened to the OTA channels we used to have. I don't watch them on a regular basis so I was a little surprised when I started getting "no signal" messages on my Dish 622 for the NYC OTA channels.

I've been have the same experience for the past few weeks. CBS used to be my strongest station. I haven't received it in quit awhile.

CBS used to be the strongest -never had a problem receiving it - now its no signal. NBC was previously the weakest signal, often dropping out. It hasn't changed but CBS is no longer "old reliable"

I'm in Union County and I have completely lost ABC. I was thinking that there was a change to a signal that doesn't work with my existing anntenna configuation (unpowered rabbit ears) and thought that perhaps i need a newer one but sounds like there may not be a solution. I don't have cable and depent on my OTA TV.

I'm in Union County and I have completely lost ABC. I was thinking that there was a change to a signal that doesn't work with my existing anntenna configuation (unpowered rabbit ears) and thought that perhaps i need a newer one but sounds like there may not be a solution. I don't have cable and depent on my OTA TV.

I'm in Berkeley Heights and if I swing my outside antenna around to the South I can get a signal--but not a reliable one.

Here in Marlboro I got a brief glimpse of NBC HD for a couple of days last week while watching the Olympics, but now it's gone again.

I can get 4 5 7 8 (njn) 9 & 11 in union county, nj, no cbs. 13 I can only dream of until february.

CBS used to be the strongest -never had a problem receiving it - now its no signal. NBC was previously the weakest signal, often dropping out. It hasn't changed but CBS is no longer "old reliable"

I live in Sussex county (northwest corner of the state) and I get WCBS-DT but you are right it is unreliable. This morning it was stronger than ever, but watching the DNC on it, it is dropping out from time to time.

Could just be weather.

I am located 48.5 miles northwest of NYC and my path is 2edge diffraction.

I am at certral NJ. I can get all of major networks except WCBS-DT and WABC-DT. Checked anatennaweb.org, both WCBS-DT and WABC-DT have the same distance and direction as WPIX-DT. I can get very good signal from WPIX-DT.

Does anyone know what the problem is?

thanks.

I get CBS fine with about 88% signal strength, however I used to get close to 100% all the time, almost no matter how I pointed my antenna.

As I posted above, for some time now I've left my rotor pointing at almost 100% off north even though about 83% should be ideal for where I am (dead center of Somerset County).

In February CBS will be moving from 56 to 33...maybe that will make a difference. I just hope that that and all the other frequency changes (ABC moving from 45 to 7, WPIX moving from 33 to 11, and WNET moving from 61 to 13) don't create any problems, such as forcing me to move my antenna for specific stations...that'd screw up my current three-tuner-at-a-time mythtv recording royally.

I think that, in theory, those moves should be an improvement. I hope so anyway.

As far as why CBS is weaker, I can't imagine what changed.

Tom

though it is still weak but I can watch it without any dropping off. WCBS-DT still the weakest station, don't know why.

As the originator of this thread, I can harken back to the days where I used to have to fight to pick up anything beyond CBS-DT out of NYC...so I would rotate towards Philly. It was totally hit and miss to get WCAU-DT and WPVI-DT from Philly...with WPSG-DT being a reliable station...but WPHL-DT being hit or miss.

Now, a full 5 years later, I recently tried to rotate my antennas towards Philly to pick up WCAU-DT (NBC) so I could tune in the Redskins-Jags game last week because the Giants-Pats was on on WNBC-DT. I couldn't even get a SNIFF of WCAU-DT....which was much similar to my experiences in the "good old days".

No sniffage on WPVI-DT either...nor WPHL-DT. I didn't get around to looking for WPSG-DT....but I was just curious if anyone else has seen a drop in signal strengths from Philly (like most have seen in NJ with the NYC OTA stations). For me, the only thing I've "lost" in the last few months is WNET-DT (13) but that was fringe for me to begin with.

I was also ASSUMING my reception of Philly would be better in 2008 if only because the tuners in my D* HD receiver are MUCH more advanced than the D* OTA tuner I had in pre-2005 (Hughes E-86---a super heated unit that would overheat and kill the OTA signal on occasion)

I have pre-amps on both of my CM4228 rooftop antennas...rotors on both...but my issue is I'm in a one level home...and my height above sea level is only about 30 feet or so....so nature is working against me.

This site will tell you your "areas" elevation:

http://www.earthtools.org/

So....anyone else utilizing OTA from Philly on a consistent basis?

Jay, I am in Belle Mead (So. Somerset Co.) using an interior amplified RCA loop antenna (I think about 20 dB of gain) about 5 ft off the floor in a second floor room near a west facing exterior wall. I consistently get Philly channels 3, 6, 10, 17, 29, and 57. I can also consistently get the NJN 52 channels, and a bunch of others who's location I don't know. When the weather is good I can usually get at least 1 or 2 of the NYC channels. Most likely are 2, 5, or 7. Less frequently 9 and 11. Never 4 or 13. Rotating doesn't do much, but moving the antenna 10 inches can have a major impact. I have one sweet spot above my sock drawer ;-}.

I have a 2nd antenna on a TV on the 1st floor. An amplified (10 dB) Radio Shack loop feeding another (RCA 10 dB) line amp (it helps). Antenna is about 6.5 ft above the floor and rotatable. It is less reliable than the 2nd floor setup, and I have to rotate the antenna to optimize the signal level for each channel. But doing that I can usually get the same Philly stations I listed above. I have to do less work in the winter (leaves are off a tree in the signal path...is that an issue?).