Glad to help.

I'll be glad when D* gets all the kinks worked out with the new sat so they can start turning on the new channels.

I have the HD recorder HR20. How do you turn the audible beep on for the signal meter. I thought I had heard it on before, but I can't hear it now. The on-screen guide says to highlight the tuner, but I can't seem to do that.

cc362,
Everything you want to know about the HR20, over at:
http://www.dbstalk.com/

New D* HD sat is on, so new HD channels should be on soon. If you can view the ch 498 test channel, you're good to go. Details at this dbstalk thread (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=99799).

Thanks again, arxaw.
I called D* three different times requesting a tech to peak the dish and they refused to send anyone untill the channels were actually on. I tried to explain to them they didn't need to have 103b operational to peak the dish. They use 101 and 119 for that. They won't re-peak untill you actually lose a channel you have.
I thought about moving the dish untill I had no signal from anywhere, then call and say I can't get anything. But, I peaked the dish myself.
Nothing really changed with tilt and elevation adjustments. But, when I adjusted the azimuth everything when up. 103b transponders went from 40's to 90's. The other sats had a little better signal also.
I still don't see a picture on 498, just a gray screen. As many people are having the same problem, I don't think it's our equipment. Still a wait and see game for us, I guess.

498 is blank on my tv now, too. Glad you got the 103 peaked. 90s are good, so I would leave it as is. You got it as good or better than some of the so-called techs that do contract work for D* would've done.

I have found that I can go to 498 and turn the set off and on to make the message appear. I can also go to 498 and hit record and pause to make it show up. No idea why though.

cc362,
Please visit dbstalk.com and post your findings in the forum there. There's a thread in the Main Forum for DirecTV general discussion that is asking D* viewers for their help in isolating ch 498 problems.

Thanks! D* needs your help.

cc362,
Please visit dbstalk.com and post your findings in the forum there. There's a thread in the Main Forum for DirecTV general discussion that is asking D* viewers for their help in isolating ch 498 problems.

Thanks! D* needs your help.

lol, that's where I got the idea. They've posted like 15 million solutions. This is the one that worked for me so I thought I'd bring it back for the local folk.

I'd imagine this question gets asked a lot here, but I searched and couldn't find and answer. Has anyone been successful in getting a waiver from KSPR 33 to get an east coast ABC HD feed from D*? Or is the "address change" (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) the way to go?

Thanks!

- Nuke

(wink, wink, nudge, nudge)

D* HD test channels 9300 & 9301 are on again. The Smithsonian channel and maybe a few others should go live tomorrow. Many more to be added between now & end of October.

Discussion at dbstalk.com

What's up with this:
When watching KSFX at night using my OTA antenna through the D* box:
whenever they throw up the storm warning map, it goes to letterbox with sidebars, no HD anymore. Then when the map goes off, eventually it'll go back to widescreen again (not right away) untill they throw up the map again. Sometimes this is all evening. Very annoying. The other networks stay HD (widescreen) when they throw up there storm warning maps.
Also on the OTA on KSFX, it says "HD presented by Directv". Is KSFX not receiving they're feed directly from the network or is that something the D* box throws on there?

... on the OTA on KSFX, it says "HD presented by Directv". Is KSFX not receiving they're feed directly from the network or is that something the D* box throws on there?Where are you seeing that? At the beginning of a program or in the program guide?

If it's at the beginning of a program, D* is probably partially sponsoring the program.

Where are you seeing that? At the beginning of a program or in the program guide?

If it's at the beginning of a program, D* is probably partially sponsoring the program.

At the beginning of Bones last night I saw it. I wasn't paying attention when House started.
I was just curious about that. The switching back and forth from widescreen to standard is what's annoying though. Seems that could be fixed since it doesn't happen on the other channels.

What's up with this:
When watching KSFX at night using my OTA antenna through the D* box:
whenever they throw up the storm warning map, it goes to letterbox with sidebars, no HD anymore. Then when the map goes off, eventually it'll go back to widescreen again (not right away) untill they throw up the map again. Sometimes this is all evening. Very annoying. The other networks stay HD (widescreen) when they throw up there storm warning maps.
Also on the OTA on KSFX, it says "HD presented by Directv". Is KSFX not receiving they're feed directly from the network or is that something the D* box throws on there?

CBS and Fox do their HD differently. CBS affiliates use an external box called a "Logomotion II" to super a weather bug.

Fox uses a "splicer" that is integral to their satellite rack. At this time all that can be supered is a station ID/Logo that is loaded into the equipment as a static graphic file. This is under the control of Fox Network. They have been talking about an upgrade to allow supering of a weather bug and other external elements for some time, but they have delivered nothing so far.

In other words there is no way for Fox stations to super a bug over HD. Reverting to SD (upconverted) is the only way to get a weather bug on the air.

Have you ever seen a weather bug on KSPR-HD or KYTV-HD?

The last time I saw KYTV-HD during weather warnings, the weather bug was over the commercials, but went away when they went to HD. I'm not sure KOZK has a weather bug, and KSPR-HD OTA doesn't exist. I'll take a Look at KSPR-HD on Mediacom next time we have bad weather.

I'm not sure KOZK has a weather bug, and KSPR-HD OTA doesn't exist.
No weather bugs at OPT. Tornado warnings go out via EAS crawl + audio replacement (including on HD) but that's it.

So if I am getting the "searching for signal" on the new HD channels, i guess i have a problem?

i do get that on channel 499 or 498.

i have reset my receiver.

do i need to go out and start messing with my dish?

So if I am getting the "searching for signal" on the new HD channels, i guess i have a problem?

i do get that on channel 499 or 498.

i have reset my receiver.

do i need to go out and start messing with my dish?

IF you have everything shown at http://directv.com/hdcheck :

1. Make sure your signal strengths on the 103b sat transponders is at least mid 70s or higher for all xpndrs (except those marked N/A). If signal strength is good:

2. Login to your DirecTV.com account and click on Customer Service | Troubleshooting | Refresh your services. That will send a "rehit" of programming to your receiver(s).

For more threads dealing with D* reception problems, go to http://dbstalk.com

Has anyone heard anything about Dish or DirectTV offering Springfield local channels in HD? Regarding DirectTV, on this page (http://www.dbstalk.com/hr20/html/DTV_LIL_CITY.html#S) at dbstalk, it says that they are "Announced", and on this page (http://www.dbstalk.com/hr20/html/DTV_LIL_DMA.html) it says "Late 2007".

I read that Dish Network is at capacity for HD locals. DirecTV has Springfield HD on their list, but they probably won't offer them until 2 things happen:
1. The next DirecTV satellite (D-11) gets launched at the end of '07 or early '08.
2. KSPR-DT gets on the air full power/HD.

I liked the way KY3 done the weather bug last night on Jay Leno. It remained in HD but the weather bug was only in the 4:3 area of the picture, but still we had HD.Seems like they have improved the HD picture as well.

I agree the weather bug was very well done last night.

HD locals will be nice but since I get OTA through my E* receiver anyways I'm perfectly fine on the local front.

Now if they would just get USA,SCIFI, and TBS like D* did.

I think we will always get a better picture OTA than off satellite even when our locals go up. It will give us more tuners to record from when they do go up though,that will help when 2 or 3 shows are on at the same time you want to see.

It will be nice to get these other channels dish, but I guess I can wait as I know we will get them sometime. I have all the HD I have time to watch now, but we always want more.

I will be glad when we get 33.

I liked the way KY3 done the weather bug last night on Jay Leno. It remained in HD but the weather bug was only in the 4:3 area of the picture, but still we had HD.Seems like they have improved the HD picture as well.


Yeah, I think KY3 finally fixed their HD picture problems. Are they not multicasting anymore? I've been watching Heroes and the Office and the usual pixelation isn't there when the camera moves fast. It also looks clearer than normal.

Where's all the whiners that have posted about this so much? Do you still think it is a bad picture or have they actually done something to improve it?

...Do you still think it is a bad picture or have they actually done something to improve it?I quit watching NBC on KY3, and only watch WNBC-DT.

Anyone else having jumpy video on CBS lately? I still get the occasional audio pop, but the video has been really jumpy during the football games for me.

CBS HD has been a little jumpy for me. I found by pointing my silver sensor directly up I get much better signal across the board. So that helped some. But even with signals at 95 to 100 I still get the occasional jitter or audio pop every so often. But it's much less often than before! At least it's watchable now:)

Hey everybody.
Does anyone know if Mediacom offers any of the local digital stations over QAM. It's really difficult for me to get a clear signal for any of the stations here (I live north of Springfield). I read another post that said they are able to get a couple of stations over QAM in Cabool with Mediacom, so I should hope that I could get it in Springfield.

Thanks for the help.

Hey everybody.
Does anyone know if Mediacom offers any of the local digital stations over QAM. It's really difficult for me to get a clear signal for any of the stations here (I live north of Springfield). I read another post that said they are able to get a couple of stations over QAM in Cabool with Mediacom, so I should hope that I could get it in Springfield.

Thanks for the help.
Yep! They are all there in clear QAM. I have a new set that has an integrated NTSC/ATSC/QAM tuner. I hooked it up to Mediacom (in Springfield), and got 3-1 (KYTV-HD), 3-2 (weather), 21-2 (KOZK-HD Stream), 33-1 (KSPR-HD). KSFX-HD, and KOLR-HD show up on 62-13 and 62-14.

Evidently they aren't passing the PSIP information correctly on KSFX and KOLR, so they don't ID correctly, but the look great.

On my TV, the channels all get integrated so Weather Channel is on 3, KYTV-HD on 3.1 and KY Weather on 3.2, WGN on 4 etc.

Currently Mediacom is the only way to see KSPR-HD.

That's great to hear, but my TV doesn't seem to want to find them. I know it accepts QAM (since when selecting auto-program it asks if it should look for it) but I'm not able to find anything on those channels (except the normal analog cable channels). It may be some setting with the TV. It's a Samsung TX-P2675WH. About three years old (read: ancient for an HDTV).

Any suggestions anybody?

That's great to hear, but my TV doesn't seem to want to find them. I know it accepts QAM (since when selecting auto-program it asks if it should look for it) but I'm not able to find anything on those channels (except the normal analog cable channels). It may be some setting with the TV. It's a Samsung TX-P2675WH. About three years old (read: ancient for an HDTV).

Any suggestions anybody?

I think RF wise, KYTV, KY weather, and KSPR are on 16-1, 16-2, and 16-3.
KSFX and KOLR are on 62-13 and 62-14.

I was totally amazed that my 19" Magnavox found the QAM channels and integrated them with analog.

Perhaps you have to choose "QAM only" when you do a scan. Also try manually tuning to channel 62 or 16.

I think RF wise, KYTV, KY weather, and KSPR are on 16-1, 16-2, and 16-3.
KSFX and KOLR are on 62-13 and 62-14.

I was totally amazed that my 19" Magnavox found the QAM channels and integrated them with analog.

Perhaps you have to choose "QAM only" when you do a scan. Also try manually tuning to channel 62 or 16.

I have a funny anomaly with my Panny 50" plasma. It will not hold both 16 and 62 QAM. If I watch 62-13 or 62-14, I cannot tune directly to 3-1. However, If I am watching 3-1, I can directly tune to 33-1, but not 62-13 or 62-14. Also, when I go from 62-13 or 14, I must tune to 16, then the signal "catches" and turns to 3-1---but no picture. I must push channel up on the remote to 3-3, but it has to be timed perfectly to get 3-1. Once it has been tuned, it stays until I tune to 62. WTH is going on???

Okay, I still can't get any of the digital channels, so I thought, "Why not call Mediacom, just see what the deal is." Upon finally getting to the customer service rep I asked her if they offered Clear QAM and her reply was (get this) "I've never heard of that." After a futile attempt at explaining it to her, she went to ask her supervisor about it and returned seven or eight minutes later with the answer, "No, we don't have anything like that." Hmm, iiiiinteresting.

That's great to hear, but my TV doesn't seem to want to find them. I know it accepts QAM (since when selecting auto-program it asks if it should look for it) but I'm not able to find anything on those channels (except the normal analog cable channels). It may be some setting with the TV. It's a Samsung TX-P2675WH. About three years old (read: ancient for an HDTV).Some older QAM tuners cannot tune some of the frequencies that cablecos use in some markets. Your TV may have one of those older QAM tuners.

Mediacom does carry the local digitals in the clear. But some of the people that work there just don't have a clue.

Some older QAM tuners cannot tune some of the frequencies that cablecos use in some markets. Your TV may have one of those older QAM tuners.

Damn! Oh well, I'm looking at upgrading some time in the near future anyway.

Mediacom does carry the local digitals in the clear. But some of the people that work there just don't have a clue.

It just cracked me up when she said she had never heard of it. YOU WORK CUSTOMER SERVICE FOR A CABLE COMPANY! WOULD IT KILL YOU TO KNOW A LITTLE BIT ABOUT CURRENT CABLE TECHNOLOGY?!

Thanks for your help though guys.

Damn! Oh well, I'm looking at upgrading some time in the near future anyway.



It just cracked me up when she said she had never heard of it. YOU WORK CUSTOMER SERVICE FOR A CABLE COMPANY! WOULD IT KILL YOU TO KNOW A LITTLE BIT ABOUT CURRENT CABLE TECHNOLOGY?!

Thanks for your help though guys.

Why should a customer service person know everything? Their job is to deal with your account billing and services. Now, if you were griping about Technical Support I would agree, but I wouldn't expect or care that some girl making $8 an hour knows what QAM is.

I just checked with the KOLR/KSFX transmitter supervisor and had him look around the tower site that is shared by KOLR/KSFX and KSPR.

He sees no sign of impending construction of KSPR-DT. No shipping crates, no transmission line, no antenna hardware.

Since the construction permit for KSPR-DT still shows that location, I'm beginning to think there won't be any construction until spring.

I had thought that the construction process would start soon after the sale to Perkin Media was approved, and that most of the planning had already been done. I think I may have been wrong about that.

I personally get KSPR-DT via clear QAM on Mediacom, but would vastly prefer that they were actually on the air.

Does anyone else see any signs of progress with KSPR-DT?

I have been told that KSPR's move to HD will be at the same time they move into their new studios, which will be added on to the current KY3 building, time frame for construction is "sometime" next year. I guess they want to wait to install the necessary equipment in the permanent location.

It is just me or did signal strength drop a little on 27? We have one of those little antennas on top of our tv which has been up there a long time and has not been moved.

When Dish got their DVR tuners fixed a few months back, 27had been working great ever since, but in the past week, it's starting to cut out. Usually the signal from my home is showing high 70s to low 80s. now it's hovering around the low 70s. During a one hour recording on the DVR, we might get a signal loss warning 7 or 8 times.

Is it just because of the weather changes lately or what?

Also...is there such a thing as a good attic antenna. And if so, what model are you guys using? We just have a normal shingle roof. There is a long metal air return duct for the a/c unit up there but that's it I believe.

...Is it just because of the weather changes lately or what?If your antenna is marginal, good reception may become intermittent when the temp humidity changes.

...is there such a thing as a good attic antenna. And if so, what model are you guys using? We just have a normal shingle roof. There is a long metal air return duct for the a/c unit up there but that's it I believe.Antennas can be mounted in the attic, but if you have a metal roof, or foil backed radiant barrier insulation on the underside of the roof decking or in the walls, it may not work well. HVAC ductwork can also cause problems, but to a lesser degree.

What signal strength color does antennaweb.org (http://www.antennaweb.org) show for your location? Enter your complete address & ZIP and add about 40' to the antenna height, in Options at the bottom of the page.

I noticed the the PPV and Music Choice are no longer available on clear QAM.
The Springfield Local HD stations remain the same, but I get no clear QAM above Channel 74.

What signal strength color does antennaweb.org (http://www.antennaweb.org) show for your location? Enter your complete address & ZIP and add about 40' to the antenna height, in Options at the bottom of the page.

I checked the site and its showing Yellow for the local Digital Channels. Any recommendations on antennas then?

It is just me or did signal strength drop a little on 27? We have one of those little antennas on top of our tv which has been up there a long time and has not been moved.

When Dish got their DVR tuners fixed a few months back, 27had been working great ever since, but in the past week, it's starting to cut out. Usually the signal from my home is showing high 70s to low 80s. now it's hovering around the low 70s. During a one hour recording on the DVR, we might get a signal loss warning 7 or 8 times.

Is it just because of the weather changes lately or what?

Also...is there such a thing as a good attic antenna. And if so, what model are you guys using? We just have a normal shingle roof. There is a long metal air return duct for the a/c unit up there but that's it I believe.

I've also had trouble with 27 the last few days. I hadn't had any trouble all summer long.

I've seen no recent problems with KSFX-DT here in Carroll County, Ark. But then again, I don't watch it much since all the new HD channels got added to D*.

I just checked my signal on 27 and it was 64%, KY3 is at 99%. I believe it ran around 80% all summer on KSFX.

It sure is great that D* added all the HD channels. Dish is behind now in a way (we have VOOM). I have all the HD I have time to watch, but I still want more.

I just checked KSFX-DT. It's coming in at 98% on one TV and 93% on another one connected to a much longer coax.

rhoops-

Do you have some new help working in the control room for KSFX/KOLR?

Thursday night during the World Series, they left the KSFX ID bug centered on screen for quite awhile (7-8 minutes worth). Then Friday during Numb3rs (on KOLR), the news headline scroll (from KSFX) kept appearing and re-appearing during the actual show. This isn't the first time this has happened. Any thoughts?

I wish we would've had HD a year ago during the Cards' run to the World Series title. It's just not the same seeing the BoSox and the Rox.

rhoops-

Do you have some new help working in the control room for KSFX/KOLR?

Thursday night during the World Series, they left the KSFX ID bug centered on screen for quite awhile (7-8 minutes worth). Then Friday during Numb3rs, the news headline scroll kept appearing and re-appearing during the actual show. This isn't the first time this has happened. Any thoughts?

I wish we would've had HD a year ago during the Cards' run to the World Series title. It's just not the same seeing the BoSox and the Rox.the news headline scroll was actually what was going across thebottom on Fox. When Fox went to commercial, the scroll disappeared. It was quite the cluster****, and very annoying.

I noticed the the PPV and Music Choice are no longer available on clear QAM.
The Springfield Local HD stations remain the same, but I get no clear QAM above Channel 74.

I miss the music. Wish it would come back...

rhoops-

Do you have some new help working in the control room for KSFX/KOLR?
Unfortunately yes, and I've been out of town. Trainees will be sent to re-education camp.

heheheh, they're not KNWA (http://www.fcc.gov/ftp/Bureaus/MB/Databases/fm_tv_service_areas/maps/DT1006433.gif) rejects, are they? http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/images/icons/icon10.gif

[sorry, couldn't resist]

heheheh, they're not KNWA (http://www.fcc.gov/ftp/Bureaus/MB/Databases/fm_tv_service_areas/maps/DT1006433.gif) rejects, are they? http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/images/icons/icon10.gif

[sorry, couldn't resist]

Where I'd like to send him, I can not tell, but it's plenty hot and rhymes with "Swell". ( Arkansas???? )

Okay, I just got my new Miglia TVMini HD working with EyeTV on my Mac. I'm loving it, but is it just me, or does NBC's bitrate average at about 12 mbps and all the other channels are running closer to 16 mbps? I'm noticing a lot of artifacts on hard transitions, but never on the other channels. Am I just being nit picky here?

EDIT: This is using Clear QAM, not OTA.

KPBI (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KPBI_%28TV%29) analog 34, City of License Eureka Springs, Ark. is scheduled to flash cut to digital on 2/17/09.

Another North Ark. station scheduled to flash cut is KWBM (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KWBM), in Harrison.

KFJX (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KFJX) in Joplin, will also flash cut on 2/17/09.

A list of all stations flash cutting to digital on analog D-Day is shown here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Television_stations_to_Flash-Cut_to_digital).
According to that site, all three of the above stations have been assigned Lowband VHF Channel TWO. I hope this is a typo.

According to that site, all three of the above stations have been assigned Lowband VHF Channel TWO. I hope this is a typo.
Yeah, I don't think that's right. The '2' looks like some kind of placeholder in the articles. Looking through the first 10 or so in that list, they all have identical text, like it was cut and pasted into each article, with channel listed as {{{2}}}.

MrBeReady,
That makes perfect sense. Thanks for the explanation. If that's the case, I wonder if they'll really be assigned new channels, or if they'll keep their existing channels...?

MrBeReady,
That makes perfect sense. Thanks for the explanation. If that's the case, I wonder if they'll really be assigned new channels, or if they'll keep their existing channels...?
I think all "flash cuts" will be on the currently assigned channel. That the whole point.... there is no alternate channel to be assigned.

I think you're right, rhoops. At least for stations currently located on in-core channels 2 thru 51.

I think you're right, rhoops. At least for stations currently located on in-core channels 2 thru 51.
I hear the low-vhf channels 2-6 will eventually be used for something other than DTV.

rhoops,
Having seen the interference/dropout problems with VHF DTV broadcasts (both lowband and highband), I wish that were true. Really.

But if it is true, why are all of these stations (http://www.w9wi.com/articles/lbdtv.html) permanently assigned lowband VHF DTV channels?

rhoops,
Having seen the interference/dropout problems with VHF DTV broadcasts (both lowband and highband), I wish that were true. Really.

But if it is true, why are all of these stations (http://www.w9wi.com/articles/lbdtv.html) permanently assigned lowband VHF DTV channels?
I didn't say it was true, or even that I believe it..... just that I heard it on the grapevine. You certainly aren't the only one that sees problems with DTV on VHF. Some of them can be overcome with an increase in power level, but that opens up another can of worms. As far as "permanent" assignments go, they are permanent until they change.

I had heard Mediacom was planning on expanding their HD offerings, and the disappearance of Music Choice and the PPV clear QAM confirmed that change was in the air.

This blurb indicates that Mediacom doesn't plan to let Dish and DirectTV eat their lunch for long.

http://www.lightreading.com/blog.asp?blog_sectionid=419&doc_id=138388

I had heard Mediacom was planning on expanding their HD offerings, and the disappearance of Music Choice and the PPV clear QAM confirmed that change was in the air.

This blurb indicates that Mediacom doesn't plan to let Dish and DirectTV eat their lunch for long.

http://www.lightreading.com/blog.asp?blog_sectionid=419&doc_id=138388

wel, that's good news. Now if they only had the HD boxes to give to their customers...

On a second note, would a guy be able to get the locals in HD thru QAM with only the basic, cheapest Mediacom package, or do you have to have the cable internet as well? A buddy wants to know, and I'm not sure...

... would a guy be able to get the locals in HD thru QAM with only the basic, cheapest Mediacom package, or do you have to have the cable internet as well? ...The locals are unencrypted, so most any TV with QAM tuning can receive them without a box or even a digital tier subscription. Cable internet is a completely different service, and subscribing to it is not a requirement.

On a second note, would a guy be able to get the locals in HD thru QAM with only the basic, cheapest Mediacom package, or do you have to have the cable internet as well? A buddy wants to know, and I'm not sure...

The locals are unencrypted, so most any TV with QAM tuning can receive them without a box or even a digital tier subscription. Cable internet is a completely different service, and subscribing to it is not a requirement.

But what about just getting the basic option, since that's something I wondered about as well. I'm moving to a new apartment and I wondered if I could just choose the basic instead of the family cable and still get the QAM signals. Does anybody just use the basic option? They've got it for like 15.99 a month and you get everything up to channel 31 (or something like that).

The locals are unencrypted, so most any TV with QAM tuning can receive them without a box or even a digital tier subscription. Cable internet is a completely different service, and subscribing to it is not a requirement.


OK. How about if you have Mediacom HSI, but DishNetwork? If a signal for Mediacom is coming in, wouldn't you be able to get the unencrypted channels, even without a cable TV package??

But what about just getting the basic option, since that's something I wondered about as well. I'm moving to a new apartment and I wondered if I could just choose the basic instead of the family cable and still get the QAM signals. Does anybody just use the basic option? They've got it for like 15.99 a month and you get everything up to channel 31 (or something like that).
I think you'd get some of the local stations on QAM, but KSFX and KOLR are on 62-13 and 62-14 so that won't work. Last I heard KYTV was on 16-1. One of the reasons cable companies like you to have their box is that it enables them to move channels around and you always have the latest channel map.

OK. How about if you have Mediacom HSI, but DishNetwork? If a signal for Mediacom is coming in, wouldn't you be able to get the unencrypted channels, even without a cable TV package??
I'd like to hear what you are able to get.
My cable modem uses 37 Mhz upstream and 561 Mhz downstream, so that included nearly all of the spectrum they use. Of course they could put a filter in your line to take out all the stuff in between.

rhoops, any news on KSPR-DT's progress?

I think you'd get some of the local stations on QAM, but KSFX and KOLR are on 62-13 and 62-14 so that won't work. Last I heard KYTV was on 16-1. One of the reasons cable companies like you to have their box is that it enables them to move channels around and you always have the latest channel map.
OK, here we go...

with the most basic of cable packages at my buddies house, his QAM tuner gets ALL the locals HD. At my other buddies, with Mediacom HSI only (no cable TV package) he is unable to get any HD signal at all. And no, we didn't spend all afternoon screwing around with plasmas and a Samsumg STB to find out. Why do you ask?? LOL!!

...with Mediacom HSI only (no cable TV package) he is unable to get any HD signal at all.Then most likely, filters are used to block the TV frequencies.

rhoops, any news on KSPR-DT's progress?
None whatsoever! The last I heard was someone on this forum saying that they wouldn't do it until KYTV's building was expanded and KSPR moved their studio operations in there.

The construction permit still shows the northernmost tower where KSFX, KOLR and KSPR analog are located. If they want to get out of their contract with American tower and build on KYTV's tower, they will have to modify the CP.

Sounds like it would be worth a CP mod.

Sounds like it would be worth a CP mod.
The difficult part is getting out of their contract with American Tower. It may be a case where they have to pay the full tower rent whether they go up or not. Perhaps there is an end date on the contract and they are waiting for it to time out.

Filing a CP mod while the contract is in force might be an actionable sign of bad faith ( read lawsuit ).

In any case there is something holding things up that we can only guess at.

Whatever it is, I'm sure it has to do with money.

any truth to the rumor that ESPN and ESPN 2 will be taken off the HD tier, and available to all with QAM tuners?? That would be a nice New Years present.

I am a E* subscriber with a dual HD tuner. Is there any way to watch the Mizzou game tonight in HD, either through the tuner or OTA?

What channel is it on?

What channel is it on?

ABC. Thank God for QAM tuners and my crappy Mediacom....

wolf321, what's your zip code?

65536

any truth to the rumor that ESPN and ESPN 2 will be taken off the HD tier, and available to all with QAM tuners?? That would be a nice New Years present.
I think the new HD channels will be something else other than clear QAM....

Here's a quote from the story:

"Speaking Tuesday morning with reporters and analysts, EVP of operations John Pascarelli said Mediacom's "basic family cable" tier will offer between 30 to 40 hi-def channels for the added cost of the new set-top."

They certainly want all their customers to have and use their set top box. It could be that the new channels will be SDV or Switched Digital Video. This requires a two-way communication between the set top box and the neighborhood node.... Bad news for Series 3 TiVo, Cablecard and QAM users.

I hope I'm wrong, because I really like QAM and being able to not use the cable company's box.

Can anyone from the NW Ark. area tell me why I have lost some of the OTA channels that up untill a week or so I got? I lost KHOG, and KFSM. Has something changed in that area? I can still get KNWA, kFTA. Whats up? Thanks

Nothing's changed that I know of. I'm ~4.5 mi from the MO border in Carroll County, Ark. (near Eureka Spgs.), and I get all of these chs at 100% signal strength:
KFSM-DT cbs-hd
KAFT-DT pbs-hd
KHOG-DT abc-hd
KNWA-DT nbc-hd
KFTA-SD fox-sd (on a KNWA sub channel)

I also get these Springfield channels:
KYTV-DT nbc-hd
KOLR-DT cbs-hd
KOZK-DT pbs-hd
KSFX-DT fox-hd

vette41, What's your location? I don't see it in your profile (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/profile.php?do=editprofile)...

Is it just my equipment (HTPCs running XP MCE and Vista Media Center) or is everyone else experiencing momentary audio dropouts (about 2-3 seconds) on KOLR? It's been doing this for the whole year that we've been receiving KOLR-DT, but the fact that it hasn't been fixed makes me wonder if it's just my setup.

Vette41 – funny you should mention that!

I got set-up with OTA reception earlier this year (mostly due to help and input from guys here). I’m in Marion County, AR and obviously on the fringe area for Springfield reception. Nonetheless, using a roof-mounted Radio Shack outdoor UHF antenna and pre-amp, I’ve been receiving NBC, CBS, PBS and FOX out of Springfield with exceptional clarity since March (all around 88% signal strength).

Now, I’m pulling my hair out…. Over the past 3 weeks or so, I began seeing more and more artifacts (pixelating and dropping out) and am now currently unable to watch anything OTA. One minute I’ll be showing 88 to 90% signal strength, then it’s constantly falling apart and dropping out (all stations). Any ideas what’s happened or what I can do to troubleshoot? I need help before I go crazy!

... Over the past 3 weeks or so, I began seeing more and more artifacts (pixelating and dropping out) and am now currently unable to watch anything OTA. One minute I’ll be showing 88 to 90% signal strength, then it’s constantly falling apart and dropping out (all stations). Any ideas what’s happened or what I can do to troubleshoot? I need help before I go crazy!What equipment are you using?
Tuner?
Antenna model?
Preamp model?

It sounds like either your preamp has gone bad or you have a bad coax or coax connector. Or your antenna has gotten out of alignment. Check everything, starting with the easiest to the hardest, or least expensive to most expensive things to repair/replace.

Posting here because the KAFT signal reaches into parts of the Springfield/Joplin viewing area.

http://www.aetn.org/employmentopps/employmentopps.html

Kelly

The problems are occuring regardless of tuner (same thing is occuring with my Panny's internal tuner (Th42X600U) as well as the Dish tuner (622 VIP).

My first thought is that it was a pre-amp problem, and I still hope it is....that would be easily replaced. Before I purchased my current antenna/preamp combo (Radio Shack outdoor UHF antenna = model U-75R, Radio Shack high-gain preamp = model 15-2507), I experimented with an indoor Phillips HDTV antenna sold at Wal-Mart.....I was getting KY3 good with it and could sometimes pick up KOLR and KSFX. That told me I could upgrade and do better - which I did, successfully - (at least for the last 9 months or so)

To short cut my trouble shooting, I went back to Wal-Mart this week, re-purchased the Phillips indoor antenna, using completely new coax and still can't hold KY3 (which I could before) - same problems happening as with my outdoor/main set-up.

It's almost as if there's a power surge or something running through the signal (or my home) - causing it to be 90% one second and gone the next. No other electical devices, however, are showing symptoms.

Finally, while it feels like a big stretch, maybe the position of the earth on its axis right now won't let me hold a signal....I'm embarrased even saying that out loud. Surely it can be explained logically.....

sorry for the long post...

It's not the earth's axis. But colder weather might affect reception, especially marginal signals. I still think it's a coax or preamp problem.

If replacing the preamp, I would go with a known performer, like the CM 7777 (http://www.warrenelectronics.com/antennas/7777.htm). It's VHF + UHF, which you'll need when KOLR-DT moves back to VHF channel 10, a little over a year from now. It also has much lower noise than the rat shack amps.

Speaking of KOLR-DT, you may also need a different antenna when KOLR-DT moves back to VHF. Many UHF-only antennas don't work well for VHF.

The Channel Master CM 4228 (http://www.warrenelectronics.com/antennas/4228.htm), although designed for UHF, also works well for VHF channels 9 thru 13. I am currently using one and get chs 9 digital, 10 analog and 13 analog just fine with the 4228. You may also be able to get KEMV-DT (RF ch 13) with it, too.

It's not the earth's axis. But colder weather might affect reception, especially marginal signals. I still think it's a coax or preamp problem.

If replacing the preamp, I would go with a known performer, like the CM 7777 (http://www.warrenelectronics.com/antennas/7777.htm). It's VHF + UHF, which you'll need when KOLR-DT moves back to VHF channel 10, a little over a year from now. It also has much lower noise than the rat shack amps.

Speaking of KOLR-DT, you may also need a different antenna when KOLR-DT moves back to VHF. Many UHF-only antennas don't work well for VHF.

The Channel Master CM 4228 (http://www.warrenelectronics.com/antennas/4228.htm), although designed for UHF, also works well for VHF channels 9 thru 13. I am currently using one and get chs 9 digital, 10 analog and 13 analog just fine with the 4228. You may also be able to get KEMV-DT (RF ch 13) with it, too. Thats the equipment I'm using. I'm on Table Rock Lake. Kfsm Khog's signal is 0 Knwa is around 90. I could get all of them a few weeks ago. If mine had a bad cable or amp I wouldn't think I could get Knwa. I'm not sure what happened. Would the cold weather have and affect on it? Thanks

I will certainly go home and re-check things tonight. I appreciate the advice.

Is it just my equipment (HTPCs running XP MCE and Vista Media Center) or is everyone else experiencing momentary audio dropouts (about 2-3 seconds) on KOLR? It's been doing this for the whole year that we've been receiving KOLR-DT, but the fact that it hasn't been fixed makes me wonder if it's just my setup.
Nope it isn't just you. We've done several things that reduce their frequency, but haven't been able to eliminate them. We recently narrowed it down the the incoming signal from the CBS IRD satellite receiver, we checked all the parameters and then replaced the receiver. It's still there.
CBS is planning a system upgrade that will replace all the HD satellite equipment.

Does anybody have channel 49 yet?
Charter Osage Beach has Some of the Springfield,MO HD channels but not the CW and MYNETWORKTV yet. Might have KSPR HD because that's what TV.msn.com has in it's Charter Osage Beach Listings.
Osage Beach is in the Springfield,MO market so that's why it carry's all the Springfield,MO channels and not all the Columbia/Jefferson City ones.
OZARKSTV98 might becoming to Branson.

Thats the equipment I'm using. I'm on Table Rock Lake. Kfsm Khog's signal is 0 Knwa is around 90. I could get all of them a few weeks ago. If mine had a bad cable or amp I wouldn't think I could get Knwa...KNWA is your closest station. It's in NE Benton County near Beaver Lake. The other NWA stations are in Washington & Crawford Counties, far to the South of your location. You're near the edge of reception for those, but KNWA should be strong. So, it is more forgiving of marginal antenna, preamp or cabling problems than the other stations.

Probably a preamp, coax or connector problem.

Does anybody have channel 49 yet?
Charter Osage Beach has Some of the Springfield,MO HD channels but not the CW and MYNETWORKTV yet. Might have KSPR HD because that's what TV.msn.com has in it's Charter Osage Beach Listings.
Osage Beach is in the Springfield,MO market so that's why it carry's all the Springfield,MO channels and not all the Columbia/Jefferson City ones.
OZARKSTV98 might becoming to Branson.
KSPR-DT is picked up by Mediacom and fed by fiber to their headends. If Charter has KSPR-DT they have a deal with Mediacom. Although KSPR-DT has a construction permit and (thanks to a partnership with KYTV) the money, I haven't seen any recent progress on building the OTA HD Transmitter.

I doubt that an analog KRBK, channel 49, will ever be built, when the analog equipment would be worthless in February 2009. FCC records don't show an application for a digital construction permit. CW and Mynetwork are not HD on the air or on Springfield cable. CW is OTA digital as 3.2 on KYTV-DT but is in standard definition. Mynetwork, comes from Equity Broadcasting in Little Rock, feeds Channel 31 in Harrision and several low power analog stations in the Springfield area and elsewhere.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equity_Broadcasting

Equity has 30-40 low power stations around the country, but since they haven't been given a second channel to simulcast DTV, their only choice is to "flash cut" to digital once analog ends. It remains to be seen whether they have the financial and technical ability to convert that many stations to digital in one month. Even if they survive that, the chances of seeing HDTV are slim. Equity's business model relies on automation and feeding up to 20 stations on one satellite transponder using digital multiplexing. Trying to go HD would at least quadruple their costs while doing nothing to help revenue. Since their stock price ( Ticker EMDA ) which was steady at over $ 5 / share had now fallen to about half that, investors aren't too pleased with the prospects.

As for OZARKSTV98 going to Branson, I believe they have an firmly entrenched "Vacation Channel" which is similar and has both cable and low power over the air TV, so that would be a tough nut to crack.

I just did a bit more research on KRBK. Although the city of license in Osage Beach, the actual transmitter site is a half mile south of Eldrige, MO, ( About halfway between Camdenton and Lebanon. )

Google Maps shows a pretty tall existing tower in that location.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&time=&date=&ttype=&q=Eldridge,+Laclede,+Missouri,+United+States&ie=UTF8&cd=1&geocode=0,37.830530,-92.745500&ll=37.819192,-92.747419&spn=0.003975,0.013497&t=h&z=17&om=1

I know the Koplar family is not short of brains or money and I'm pretty sure they have a plan. Placing the transmitter in this location makes them a player in the Springfield Market, as well as Lebanon, Ft Wood and the Lake of the Ozarks.

Since there is an existing tower, and the antenna would be good for either analog or digital, the only wasted cost would be the analog transmitter and they could buy a used one pretty cheap.

KNWA is your closest station. It's in NE Benton County near Beaver Lake. The other NWA stations are in Washington & Crawford Counties, far to the South of your location. You're near the edge of reception for those, but KNWA should be strong. So, it is more forgiving of marginal antenna, preamp or cabling problems than the other stations.

Probably a preamp, coax or connector problem.Thanks for the info, Is kfta the same tower as Knwa? I get both of them about 85-90 signal strength. Before Khog, Kfsm were about 60, I know thats borderline so could the colder weather have an affect? Again Thanks for the help.

What channel are you getting KFTA on,
24-1 or 51-2 ?

KFTA's transmitter is located in Crawford County, Ark.

KNWA's tower is at Garfield, Ark. in NE Benton County. They have a repeater channel of KFTA Fox 24 on: KFTA-DT 51-2.
It is standard definition, not high def.

If you're on Tablerock lake, in all likelihood, you're getting KFTA from the KNWA repeater.

KNWA (NBC-HD & FOX-SD)
http://www.fcc.gov/ftp/Bureaus/MB/Databases/fm_tv_service_areas/maps/DT1006433.gif



KFTA-DT (FOX-HD and NBC-SD)
http://www.fcc.gov/ftp/Bureaus/MB/Databases/fm_tv_service_areas/maps/DT1006429.gif

780 KOLR-DT - CBS Hi-Def Lifeline
783 KYTV-DT - NBC Hi-Def Lifeline
786 KMOS-DT - PBS Hi-Def Lifeline
787 KSFX-DT - FOX Hi-Def Lifeline But no Columbia/Jefferson City HD channels yet
Also no KZOK and also OZARKSTV98 is a black channel but will be back in a couple of years.
2 KMIZ - ABC Basic
3 KYTV - NBC Basic
4 KMIZ-DT2 (KQFX - FOX) - FOX Basic
5 KNLJ - IND Basic
6 KMOS-TV - PBS Basic
7 KOMU-TV - NBC Basic
8 KSPR - ABC Basic
9 Local Access Basic
10 KOLR - CBS Basic
11 KSFX-TV - FOX Basic
13 KRCG - CBS Basic
14 KCZ-UPN Basic The CW has all it's Prime Time Programming in HD so KY3 could make a HD channel out of this channel and doesn't have the CW from Columbia/Jefferson City
15 Independent Television (ION Television) Basic but sill might be KDEV RTN from Denver,CO not the IONTV that you guys get and you might get an RTN Affliate
16 Show Me Weather Channel Basic
17 KWBM - WBN Basic but not MYZOU32 yet
112 NBC WeatherPlus Basic (Digital Only) but not KOMU'S yet
http://lakeozarktalk.com/viewtopic.php?t=1178 About OZARKSTV

14 KCZ-UPN Basic The CW has all it's Prime Time Programming in HD so KY3 could make a HD channel out of this channel and doesn't have the CW from Columbia/Jefferson City
15 Independent Television (ION Television) Basic but sill might be KDEV RTN from Denver,CO not the IONTV that you guys get and you might get an RTN Affliate
http://lakeozarktalk.com/viewtopic.php?t=1178 About OZARKSTV
The KYTV-KSPR consortium will eventually have two full power DTV stations, but I can't think of any combination that would allow 3 HDTV ( NBC, ABC, CW )signals on them. They will probably keep the weather stuff on 3-2 and put CW on 33-2. If they tried to compress ABC and CW HD signals onto one stream they will have nothing but garbage on either.

KDEV RTN ( and all RTN - Retro Television Network ) actually comes from Equity Broadcasting in Little Rock.

As far as OzarksTV goes, they are over-reaching a bit. The Branson city fathers won't subsidize them any more than Lake Ozark did.

I dug a little deeper on KRBK. The tower near Eldrige, MO belongs to KJEL 103.7 FM.

If they put a full power digital station on the air, forgot about HDTV and ran 3 SD channels, they might just have something that would make some money. They could lease one channel to a religious broadcaster, lease one to Equity RTN network and program the other as they please. If they ran that as a true independent station like KPLR in St Louis, it could draw a pretty good audience.

An analog station without a major network affiliation might have a hard time making ends meet, but a DT station with a couple of "tenants" might do just fine.

Anyone having problems with KY3 signal lockup, this happened once yesterday and once today. I was on antenna and observed it on both of my tv's. Didn't appear to lose signal, just froze. When I switched to channel 10 it was ok.
Any ideas?

Just ran into someone close to the KY3/KSPR group and asked about the HD upgrade. He said they had started building, and that it "won't be long now". I am not sure if he meant the studio expansion on Sunshine or out in Fordland, I'll take a look next time I am by there. Hopefully we'll see something by the first half of 2008.

Just ran into someone close to the KY3/KSPR group and asked about the HD upgrade. He said they had started building, and that it "won't be long now". I am not sure if he meant the studio expansion on Sunshine or out in Fordland, I'll take a look next time I am by there. Hopefully we'll see something by the first half of 2008.Any word on the final tower location will be?

Hey all,
Thought I'd ask the people in the know a question here. I've got directtv, hr20-700, and since I can't get hd locals via satellite, I was thinking about OTA reception since the hr20 will handle that. Before I spend a bunch on antennas etc., though, what locals are actually broadcasting hd content enough for me to receive in zip 65626? That's in the middle of nowhere by the way. Or, does anybody here know when d* will be broadcasting HD via sat? 1st it was fall 2006, then fall 2007, and now they're not even mentioning Springfield.
Thanks

Hey all,
Thought I'd ask the people in the know a question here. I've got directtv, hr20-700, and since I can't get hd locals via satellite, I was thinking about OTA reception since the hr20 will handle that. Before I spend a bunch on antennas etc., though, what locals are actually broadcasting hd content enough for me to receive in zip 65626? That's in the middle of nowhere by the way. Or, does anybody here know when d* will be broadcasting HD via sat? 1st it was fall 2006, then fall 2007, and now they're not even mentioning Springfield.
Thanks

I live in WP, at a higher elevation. receive ky3 hd, 10 hd, 21 hd and 27 hd, and occasionally will receive 8 hd from Arkansas. Probably depends on you elevation, if you can receive the analog channels good, you can probably receive the digital channels.

what locals are actually broadcasting hd content enough for me to receive in zip 65626? CBS, FOX and NBC. PBS also does 720p, but it is not HD quality, due to multicasting.

Enter your complete address at: http://www.antennaweb.org
Post the results back here, for antenna recommendations.

I couldn't figure out how to screen capture so I hope this is clear enough from the antennaweb site:

lt green - vhf KEMV 6 PBS MOUNTAIN VIEW AR 185° 51.9 6
* lt green - vhf KEMV-DT 6.1 PBS MOUNTAIN VIEW AR TBD 185° 51.9 13
red - uhf KSPR 33 ABC SPRINGFIELD MO 316° 62.2 33
red - vhf KOLR 10 CBS SPRINGFIELD MO 316° 62.2 10
blue - uhf KOZK 21 PBS SPRINGFIELD MO 314° 59.5 21
blue - uhf KSFX 27 FOX SPRINGFIELD MO 316° 62.2 27
* blue - uhf KSFX-DT 27.1 FOX SPRINGFIELD MO 316° 62.2 28
blue - vhf KYTV 3 NBC SPRINGFIELD MO 314° 59.7 3
violet - vhf K07XL 7 A1 MOUNTAIN HOME AR 218° 19.0 7
* violet - uhf KOLR-DT 10.1 CBS SPRINGFIELD MO 316° 62.2 52

Also, is anybody familiar with setting up OTA reception with the direct tv dvr? Is it difficult and does it provide a reliable signal? The only thing I'm scared about is supposedly the new hr21 doesn't allow for OTA (although there is supposed to be a USB add on for OTA at a cost later on) so if my hr20 goes kaput I'm out of luck. But, I'm sick of not seeing locals in hd after having so many national channels added in HD lately.

Also, is anybody familiar with setting up OTA reception with the direct tv dvr? Is it difficult and does it provide a reliable signal? It's not difficult if you can use a compass, can run coax and aren't afraid to get on the roof. I've helped a local sat installer in our area with antenna installs, and they use the Channel Master CM 4228 antenna (http://www.warrenelectronics.com/antennas/4228.htm) and CM 7777 preamp (http://www.warrenelectronics.com/antennas/7777.htm) exclusively. That's also what I have connected to my HR20-700, and I'm ~70 mi from the Spgfld transmitters. It works great for me and many others around Eureka Springs, Ark. area.

If you get this antenna and aim it ~315°, it should get most if not all of the Springfield stations antennaweb listed for your specific address. And you'll probably get the Mountain View PBS station, too. If you want MV PBS, and it won't reliably come in, remove the screen off the back of the 4228 antenna. This will make the antenna bi-directional.

I certainly wouldn't wait on D* to add the locals, when you can get them for free with an antenna. Once you get it connected, call D* and drop the blurry SD locals, for few dollars off your monthly bill. You can remove the 2nd dish, too.

It's not difficult if you can use a compass, can run coax and aren't afraid to get on the roof. I've helped a local sat installer in our area with antenna installs, and they use the Channel Master CM 4228 antenna (http://www.warrenelectronics.com/antennas/4228.htm) and CM 7777 preamp (http://www.warrenelectronics.com/antennas/7777.htm) exclusively. That's also what I have connected to my HR20-700, and I'm ~70 mi from the Spgfld transmitters. It works great for me and many others around Eureka Springs, Ark. area.

If you get this antenna and aim it ~315°, it should get most if not all of the Springfield stations antennaweb listed for your specific address. And you'll probably get the Mountain View PBS station, too. If you want MV PBS, and it won't reliably come in, remove the screen off the back of the 4228 antenna. This will make the antenna bi-directional.

I certainly wouldn't wait on D* to add the locals, when you can get them for free with an antenna. Once you get it connected, call D* and drop the blurry SD locals, for few dollars off your monthly bill. You can remove the 2nd dish, too.

Should work, I also split the antenna signal and send it to both my E* DVR and TV, that way I can watch one OTA and record the other.
If he drops the D* SD Locals will he loose the guide? that's the way it works on E*

Nope, you don't lose the guide with D* if you call and change your program package to NO LOCALS.

You can get guide info for up to two markets with D* receivers/DVRs, by entering ZIP Codes for those markets in the OTA antenna setup menu. Once entered, the box redownloads the guide and adds the OTA channels in those markets. It may take up to 24 hrs for the guide to fully populate.

Thanks for the info! Looks like I'll run to Springfield soon (2 hr. drive) and pick up the antenna & preamp. That's where the nearest Channel Master dealer is located. If I don't cancel the locals via D*, will it cause any problems? I assume the OTA would show up in the guide as a secondary channel? I watch quite a bit on the CW network and I won't be able to get it OTA is why I want to keep the locals via satellite. Again, thanks for taking the time to answer my questions.

Thanks for the info! Looks like I'll run to Springfield soon (2 hr. drive) and pick up the antenna & preamp. That's where the nearest Channel Master dealer is located. If I don't cancel the locals via D*, will it cause any problems? I assume the OTA would show up in the guide as a secondary channel? I watch quite a bit on the CW network and I won't be able to get it OTA is why I want to keep the locals via satellite. Again, thanks for taking the time to answer my questions.Unlike Dish Network, the OTA digitals you receive with antenna will show up in the DirecTV guide, regardless of whether you subscribe to locals via sat. or not.

You enter up to two ZIP Codes in the H20 (receiver) or HR20 (dvr) OTA setup menu. The box will download the info for local antenna channels D* has on file for those ZIP Codes and add the channels to your guide.

Common Sense Cellular/Satellite (http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&rls=com.ubuntu:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&q=common+sense+cellular&near=Eureka+Springs,+AR&fb=1&view=text&latlng=36387442,-93735482,15054546433110000273) in Eureka Springs usually has CM 4228 antennas and CM 7777 preamps in stock, if you don't like ordering online. Call for availability.

Thanks for the info! Looks like I'll run to Springfield soon (2 hr. drive) and pick up the antenna & preamp. That's where the nearest Channel Master dealer is located. If I don't cancel the locals via D*, will it cause any problems? I assume the OTA would show up in the guide as a secondary channel? I watch quite a bit on the CW network and I won't be able to get it OTA is why I want to keep the locals via satellite. Again, thanks for taking the time to answer my questions.
If you are able to receive KYTV's DTV signal, you will get Ozarks CW as 3-2 on their digital sub channel.
What will be missing is ABC, since KSPR has not built their HDTV transmitter yet. They have low power DTV, but it's standard defintion. I just barely pick it up 10 blocks from the studio.

That sounds great. I probably watch the least amount of shows on KSPR right now so that one not being receivable will hurt me the least. Thanks to everyone for all the information.

I checked the two places listed for Springfield at channelmaster, both seem to not exist anymore (Heather Electronic Supply & Skywalker Communications). Could someone point me to a supplier in Springfield since I'm going there tomorrow? Otherwise, is there another antenna make & preamp that would work as well for me that has a supplier handy? Sorry to be a bother.

Only store I know of in the region that has them in stock is Common Sense Cellular/Satellite (http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&rls=com.ubuntu:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&q=common+sense+cellular&near=Eureka+Springs,+AR&fb=1&view=text&latlng=36387442,-93735482,15054546433110000273) in Eureka Springs. They also install them.

There are other UHF antennas that will work just fine. For now. But there aren't many other UHF antennas that also work well for high band VHF channels (chs 9-13), like the 4228 does. In a little over a year from now, KOLR-DT will move from UHF ch 52 to VHF channel 10. If you use a different UHF antenna, you might find you need to add a VHF antenna to continue receiving KOLR-DT in '09.

The 4228 is what most people are installing now in our area.

Thanks,
I'll probably just order online since eureka springs is 3 hrs. away. Another question: Is ky3 going to stay in the uhf range, because the cm4228 won't work if they drop down to channel 3 in 2009 will it? If kolr10 is the only one to drop to vhf range it will be ok, but i hate to have to buy another antenna later to get channel 3.

KYTV-DT will not move back to VHF ch 3. They will stay on UHF ch 44.

I wish KOLR-DT would have gotten a final UHF channel. VHF suffers from too many interference problems (causing A/V dropouts) and often requires the OTA viewer to use a larger antenna than is usually needed for UHF.

If you order from Warren, order everything you need at once (antenna, preamp, mast, etc.). You'll save on shipping costs. They usually have fast turnaround and they use FedEx Ground.

rhoops,

Since stations have the go-ahead to shut off analog early (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,2242670,00.asp?kc=PCRSS03069TX1K0001121), do you think KOLR might possibly do this,and move their digital station to VHF 10 before 2/09?

It seems like just the power savings of not having to run two transmitters would be incentive enough to do this...

I wish KSFX would do this. Their analog signal prevents people in my area from receiving KFTA-DT, which is also on channel 27.

rhoops,

Since stations have the go-ahead to shut off analog early (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,2242670,00.asp?kc=PCRSS03069TX1K0001121), do you think KOLR might possibly do this,and move their digital station to VHF 10 before 2/09?

It seems like just the power savings of not having to run two transmitters would be incentive enough to do this...

I wish KSFX would do this. Their analog signal prevents people in my area from receiving KFTA-DT, which is also on channel 27.
This is the first I've heard of that, and I don't think we fall into the category of those to whom it would be "necessary to make the transition".

Nexstar still has a way to go on on building out the DTV in their smaller markets, and will be really stretching their capital budget in the next year. Channel 10's transmitter doesn't use all that much electricity compared to the UHF transmitters, and the equipment will be a capital expenditure they just don't need to make now.
Also, at the current time, Dish and Direct TV as well as many cable operators are still taking the analog feed. We've even got some smaller cable operators asking us to buy them digital receivers.
Add to that the fact that the CECB (Coupon Eligible Converter Boxes) are not showing up in the stores and I think the answer is "No".

For those who will still have televisions that will not tune HDTV, this link will get you your TV Converter Box coupon/s. https://www.mydtv2009.gov/

...Dish and Direct TV as well as many cable operators are still taking the analog feed. We've even got some smaller cable operators asking us to buy them digital receivers.They need to get with the program. As far as cost for cablecos goes, that doesn't make sense, since some smaller companies are using consumer grade digital STBs to receive OTA signals (and downconverting to analog for cable distro).

One Ft Smith/Fayetteville station plans to petition the FCC to permanently shut down their analog xmtr if an "expensive" failure occurs (example: a klystron). They have already sent out letters to cablecos warning about this and urging the ones that receive their signal OTA to upgrade to digital receivers ASAP.

For those who will still have televisions that will not tune HDTV, this link will get you your TV Converter Box coupon/s. https://www.mydtv2009.gov/Those coupons are not for HDTV converters. Only SDTV converters.

Coupons ordered will not be mailed until there is an actual supply of SDTV converters available in participating stores. Currently, no coupon-eligible STBs are available yet.

Hey guys,
I just got done installing the cm4228 and cm7777 with RG6 quad wire all the way (about 25' total). I'm getting 3.1, 3.2, and 3.3 with about 60-65 percent and getting NOTHING else. The way I read the 7777 i don't have to change any switch in it at all. Any ideas? I've rotated the antenna back and forth after using a compass to originally set it and I'm getting diddly. Pretty frustrating after spending 2-3 hrs setting it up today...although the nfl on nbc looks good!
Thanks in advance for any help.

Hey guys,
I just got done installing the cm4228 and cm7777 with RG6 quad wire all the way (about 25' total). I'm getting 3.1, 3.2, and 3.3 with about 60-65 percent and getting NOTHING else. The way I read the 7777 i don't have to change any switch in it at all. 1. Check your 4228 and make sure the silver crossover arms (connecting the bowties) are not touching anywhere along the length of them. There should be ~1/2" of gap between those bars.

2. Make sure the two black wires on the balun that connects the RG6 to the antenna screws are not twisted at all, or touching the screen.

3. Check all your RG6 connectors, especially any that you installed yourself.

4. Make sure your power supply is getting power and all the connections are correct, per below. You should not have to open the 7777, as the switches should be left in their default positions.

5. Make sure the bowties (not the screen) are facing the transmitter towers.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2357/2170031843_8c4eaaf991.jpg?v=0

You should be getting good reception at your distance, unless of course, you're down in a valley with a big hill in the way.

Another thing to check if you're using the HR20: go into the HR20's Sat/Ant setup menu and reset the local channels. Make sure you enter your correct zip code when redoing the OTA setup.

If that doesn't help, connect the OTA coax directly to your TV and do a scan for digital channels. If you get more channels with the TV's tuner than the HR20, there may be something wrong with your HR20's OTA tuners.

Thanks for the checklist. I went down the list and found it to be one of the connections (that I had installed myself of course:o). Fixed that and now I've got 95+ on all kytv, and 100 on 10, 21 & 27. Hopefully when 33 starts broadcasting it will be just as strong. As soon as it does start broadcasting, it will be time to cancel the local channels package from D* and save a couple bucks. Thanks for the help.

Whew! glad you found the problem. I was sure you should be able to get better reception than you were getting.

You are also in the coverage area for Mountain View, Ark. PBS station KEMV-DT (http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service-area?x=DT1134244.html), and can probably receive it off the back side of the 4228 antenna, without even rotating it. KEMV-DT has 4 sub channels and programming often varies from what's shown on KOZK-DT.

If you want to see if you can receive it, you need to add the following ZIP Code to the "Secondary ZIP Code" in the HR20's antenna setup menu:
72560

After adding that ZIP to your guide, there will be a lot of Little Rock channels added to the locals list, plus the four PBS channels in Mountain View. Leave the KEMV-DT channels in the locals list:
KEMV-DT 6-1
KEMV-DT 6-2
KEMV-DT 6-3
KEMV-DT 6-4

Uncheck all the Little Rock channels that were added, because you can't get those.

I have an old tv antenna on my house that I have been able to receive NBC and Fox out of Springfield in HD with a signal strength in the mid 70 range, however I cannot receive CBS. The antenna is probably 20 years old but still appears to be in good shape and is at least 12' in length. It is one of your standard uni-directional antennas. I also have a signal amp from Radio Shack, the type where you place one of the amp up on the antenna and the other part plugs indoors. A friend of mine lives a couple of blocks away and can also receive CBS and gets a signal strength in the 90's. I have also ran the correct type of signal line from the antenna, which is about 70 feet away from the TV. What I am wondering is if anyone knows what the likely problem might be here stopping me from getting a better signal? If it is the antenna, does anyone know the best antenna to use to get a signal approximately 70 miles away? With the partial success I have had and the strong signal my friend gets, I know it is possible to get CBS in West Plains. By the way, he also uses a antenna turner to get the ABC signal from Jonesboro. Is there a good multidirectional antenna that can do this without having to use a turner?
Thanks in advance for any help anyone can give.

BTW - to clarify, here is a link to the current signal amp that I am using: http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103094&cp=2032057.2032187.2032189.2032207&parentPage=family

I know someone will answer you soon that knows better, but I am in Caulfield which is only 20 +/- miles SW of you and the antenna and preamp I was recommended work great. It would probably work well if you can't get your current setup to receive any better. You should probably post your info from antennaweb.org though so they can answer your questions better.

KOLR-DT is currently on UHF channel 52. Some UHF antennas may have problems receiving higher UHF channel numbers and they don't generally travel quite as far as lower numbered channels. So, a better antenna might help. Also, higher channel numbers are more sensitive to the type of coax you're using. High quality RG6 quad shield coax is recommended for fringe reception. If you have the slighthly thinner RG59, get rid of it immediately.

Radio Shack amps are not recommended either. Their amplification and noise ratings are greatly exaggerated. Radio Shack's antennas are also overrated in reception distance.

A good combo for fringe reception in this area that will not be obsolete in feb 2009 (when KOLR-DT moves back to VHF) is the Channel Master CM4228 antenna (http://www.warrenelectronics.com/antennas/4228.htm)& CM7777 VHF+UHF preamp (http://www.warrenelectronics.com/antennas/4228.htm).

Jonesboro, Ark and Fordland, MO are fairly close enough to 180° in opposite directions that you might be able to use something bi-directional to get the stations from both towns. Here's a predicted coverage area map of KAIT (abc) from Jonesboro:
http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service-area?x=DT674328.html

The 4228 antenna is designed for UHF, but also works well for some upper VHF channels, particularly chs 9 thru 13. KAIT-DT is on channel 9, and KOLR-DT will move from ch52 to ch 10 in about a year from now. The 4228 is also directional, but removing the back screen on it converts it into a good bi-directional antenna. I have done this on mine and several others in our area and receive Springfield stations 70+ miles away and Fayetteville, Ark. stations 45 mi away in opposite directions.

4228 with screen >http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2234/2141373610_093f7f0f50_m.jpg

without screen>http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2060/2141373616_985c640c1e.jpg

Last night's storms blew the KSFX microwave STL (studio to transmitter link) dish off by about 30 degrees. The analog signal is holding up, but the DTV keeps cutting out.
We'll probably have to bring in a tower crew from out of town to correct this.
KOLR's STL is on a separate antenna, so they are not affected.

Last night's storms blew the KSFX microwave STL (studio to transmitter link) dish off by about 30 degrees.
The receive dish out at Fordland or the transmit dish at your studios on Division? Saw that there was some building damage not far from your studios.

The receive dish out at Fordland or the transmit dish at your studios on Division? Saw that there was some building damage not far from your studios.
The transmit antenna at the studio. It's pointing toward Strafford now. We're just about 4000 feet from the Krispy Kreme sign that went down.

Well they must have got the issue fixed fast. I couldn't receive 27.1 yesterday at about 4:30, but it was just fine when I checked at 9:00 last night.

Kinda of a noob question here and I'm not sure if I'm asking this in the right thread. But I just moved & upgraded my DishNetwork services to HD. The home that I'm in has an aerial antenna on the roof and the techs hooked that up. I live about 3 blocks west of Kansas on Nichols. This antenna can only pick up 3-1, 3-2, 3-3, 10-1, 27-1, & 33-1 so none of the PBS. I've changed to an indoor amped antenna that I was using at my old residence about 6 blocks due north which picked up all the channels there, but it could not pick up the PBS stations either. Dish techs installed the 622 and I've tried to "force" the pick up of PBS, but I have not found & was told but a Dish tech there is no "-" button that can be used on the remote!!

Is there anything I can do to try to pick up the PBS stations??

Well they must have got the issue fixed fast. I couldn't receive 27.1 yesterday at about 4:30, but it was just fine when I checked at 9:00 last night.
Actually the transmission path just picked up enough to let the digital signal come through for a while. The tech from Precision Tower just finished the job between noon and 1 PM Wednesday.

Kinda of a noob question here and I'm not sure if I'm asking this in the right thread. But I just moved & upgraded my DishNetwork services to HD. The home that I'm in has an aerial antenna on the roof and the techs hooked that up. I live about 3 blocks west of Kansas on Nichols. This antenna can only pick up 3-1, 3-2, 3-3, 10-1, 27-1, & 33-1 so none of the PBS. I've changed to an indoor amped antenna that I was using at my old residence about 6 blocks due north which picked up all the channels there, but it could not pick up the PBS stations either. Dish techs installed the 622 and I've tried to "force" the pick up of PBS, but I have not found & was told but a Dish tech there is no "-" button that can be used on the remote!!No dash - button? If so, that sucks.

If your HDTV has a built in tuner (all newer ones do), try connecting the antenna coax to the TV's ANT-IN jack. Then, go into the TV menu and do a channel scan for digital channels. If KOZK-DT shows up there, but not in the DishNetwork tuner, you have a problem with your DishNetwork Equipment.

Is there anything I can do to try to pick up the PBS stations??
If your TV set has an ATSC tuner in it, try connecting the antenna directly to the TV set and scanning.
KOZK is on the southernmost tower, beside KY3's tower. It's aligned with Sunshine street, while KOLR and KSFX are aligned with Division street. If your antenna is pointing due east, bring it around 25-30 degrees to the south.
KOZK runs a little less power than the others. If that doesn't work get an antenna mounted pre-amp.

Also the DishNework receivers are mostly "software defined". A year ago they had a problem where paradoxically a strong signal would cause problems. A software update fixed that. Find out your current Dish Network software version number and make sure you have the latest version.

Actually the transmission path just picked up enough to let the digital signal come through for a while. The tech from Precision Tower just finished the job between noon and 1 PM Wednesday.I was at a friend's house yesterday mucking with his indoor antenna. He could get everything but KSFX-DT, which was a bunch of green pixelly crap. With no signal strength meter in the TV, we were pulling our hair out trying to find a sweet spot in the room to get KSFX-DT working again. ACK!

If your TV set has an ATSC tuner in it, try connecting the antenna directly to the TV set and scanning.
KOZK is on the southernmost tower, beside KY3's tower. It's aligned with Sunshine street, while KOLR and KSFX are aligned with Division street. If your antenna is pointing due east, bring it around 25-30 degrees to the south.
KOZK runs a little less power than the others. If that doesn't work get an antenna mounted pre-amp.

Also the DishNework receivers are mostly "software defined". A year ago they had a problem where paradoxically a strong signal would cause problems. A software update fixed that. Find out your current Dish Network software version number and make sure you have the latest version.

No dash - button? If so, that sucks.

If your HDTV has a built in tuner (all newer ones do), try connecting the antenna coax to the TV's ANT-IN jack. Then, go into the TV menu and do a channel scan for digital channels. If KOZK-DT shows up there, but not in the DishNetwork tuner, you have a problem with your DishNetwork Equipment.

Yeah, I can't believe that for the remote.:mad:
Will try through my TV tuner tonight to see what comes up.

If your TV set has an ATSC tuner in it, try connecting the antenna directly to the TV set and scanning.
KOZK is on the southernmost tower, beside KY3's tower. It's aligned with Sunshine street, while KOLR and KSFX are aligned with Division street. If your antenna is pointing due east, bring it around 25-30 degrees to the south.
KOZK runs a little less power than the others. If that doesn't work get an antenna mounted pre-amp. It's odd, but 70 mi away (and quite a bit outside the FCC's predicted coverage area (http://www.fcc.gov/ftp/Bureaus/MB/Databases/fm_tv_service_areas/maps/DT680542.gif)), the easiest channel for us to get from Fordland is also the one with the lowest ERP.... KOZK-DT. It's always consistenly @ 100% signal strength. Not sure if it's the antenna, the preamp or the combination of the two, our antenna system really likes RF ch 23 :)

rhoops, which station at Fordland has the tallest DT antenna?

rhoops, which station at Fordland has the tallest DT antenna?
KYTV 1073.5 Meters AMSL (above mean sea level)
KOZK 1064.0 Meters AMSL
KOLR/KSFX 611.7 Meters AMSL

I guess it's true about DTV coverage areas, highest tower trumps high power.
Perhaps a lower channel number may help KOZK-DT's good coverage, too. (?)

Kinda of a noob question here and I'm not sure if I'm asking this in the right thread. But I just moved & upgraded my DishNetwork services to HD. The home that I'm in has an aerial antenna on the roof and the techs hooked that up. I live about 3 blocks west of Kansas on Nichols. This antenna can only pick up 3-1, 3-2, 3-3, 10-1, 27-1, & 33-1 so none of the PBS. I've changed to an indoor amped antenna that I was using at my old residence about 6 blocks due north which picked up all the channels there, but it could not pick up the PBS stations either. Dish techs installed the 622 and I've tried to "force" the pick up of PBS, but I have not found & was told but a Dish tech there is no "-" button that can be used on the remote!!

Is there anything I can do to try to pick up the PBS stations??

Did you go in the menu to local channels and try adding channel 23 manually?channel 23 is what the digital channels are on for channel 21.

Did you go in the menu to local channels and try adding channel 23 manually?channel 23 is what the digital channels are on for channel 21.

I did not know this, will try it also... thanks.:)

I live about 35 or 40 miles SW of the towers and I'm getting 100% on channel 21(23 digital) with my 622vip receiver and 4228 antenna.(95% on channel 3, 44 digital)(100% on channel 10, 52 digital) also 100% on channel 27,28 digital. Nothing on channel 33, 19 digital. I always enter my channels manually instead of letting it scan.

After Feb 2009, it would be nice if the FCC would make locals stations remap their digital channels to the physical (RF) channel numbers they're actually broadcasting on. It would eliminate a lot of confusion.

It's particularly confusing to try and purchase the right antenna if a station is broadcasting on UHF, but displaying a VHF channel number (e.g. KYTV-DT is on UHF 44, but remaps to VHF 3-n).

I dvr'd CSI-NY on 10 last night and noticed occasional artifacts for lack of a better term. I guess intermittent pixelation could describe it also. Is this a normal occurence or is it something to do with my system? I've got 100% on 10.1 so it shouldn't be a lack of signal strength.

I dvr'd CSI-NY on 10 last night and noticed occasional artifacts for lack of a better term. I guess intermittent pixelation could describe it also. Is this a normal occurence or is it something to do with my system? I've got 100% on 10.1 so it shouldn't be a lack of signal strength.
It might be something in our system. I watched Letterman on Mediacom HD (QAM) last night and there were intermittent video freeze-ups. We changed out the Satellite IRD after the recent spate of tornados, so that is a new factor. Sometime when we swap out a Satellite receiver we just trade one problem for another. Every HD problem we've trace down in the past 10 months or so has ended up being upstream of the output of the sat receiver.

CBS is planning to update the entire satellite system within the next month or so. They are going from Harris Netplus 200's to Netplus 300's and DVB-S2 (whatever that is).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVB-S2

CBS is planning to update the entire satellite system within the next month or so. They are going from Harris Netplus 200's to Netplus 300's and DVB-S2 (whatever that is).Well, that should keep y'all busy for a while! :)

KYTV 1073.5 Meters AMSL (above mean sea level)
KOZK 1064.0 Meters AMSL
KOLR/KSFX 611.7 Meters AMSL

I am getting channel 10 at about 77 signal strength, if they go back to channel 10 after the change to all digital are they planning to change output or antenna height, any opinion on how this will impact my reception?

Last night's storms blew the KSFX microwave STL (studio to transmitter link) dish off by about 30 degrees. The analog signal is holding up, but the DTV keeps cutting out.
We'll probably have to bring in a tower crew from out of town to correct this.
KOLR's STL is on a separate antenna, so they are not affected.


Is the STL still off line from the storm? Was watching NFL on Fox Saturday and had lots of freeze-ups. I have a new Fushion HDTV PCI Card so I'm making sure the problem is not on my end. TIA!

I dvr'd CSI-NY on 10 last night and noticed occasional artifacts for lack of a better term. I guess intermittent pixelation could describe it also. Is this a normal occurence or is it something to do with my system? I've got 100% on 10.1 so it shouldn't be a lack of signal strength.

I'm getting this consistently tonight during the NFL game just fyi rhoops.

Also have 99% signal strength, haven't every had this with KOLR 10 before, so pretty likely that it's due to equipment swap/storms somehow.

I am getting channel 10 at about 77 signal strength, if they go back to channel 10 after the change to all digital are they planning to change output or antenna height, any opinion on how this will impact my reception?
KOLR will ultimately go back to channel 10.

The Channel 10 antenna is the top 200 feet of the tower. The top is 3575 feet AMSL, or 2000 feet AGL. That is quite a bit higher than the current DTV antennas, and the equal of virtually any TV antenna in the the US. The tallest tower in the country is only 19.2 meters taller. The power will the the highest legally allowed for that channel. Currently it's 316 KW ERP. I don't know what the digital power will be, but it will be equivilent.

Some folks say that atmospheric and man-made noise will adversely affect reception in fringe areas on VHF channels, but I personally think that Channel 10's frequency ( 192-198 Mhz ) is the optimum for television transmission.

Forgive my pride, but I think when we are done we will have something great. Maximum height, maxium power, optimum channel and 1080i HDTV.

Admittedly, it's not all that great at the moment, but it's a work in progress. Automobiles weren't exactly great in 1910 either and we are at about that early stage in DTV.

Is the STL still off line from the storm? Was watching NFL on Fox Saturday and had lots of freeze-ups. I have a new Fushion HDTV PCI Card so I'm making sure the problem is not on my end. TIA!
As far as I know Fox is operating normally.

KOLR will ultimately go back to channel 10.

The Channel 10 antenna is the top 200 feet of the tower. The top is 3575 feet AMSL, or 2000 feet AGL. That is quite a bit higher than the current DTV antennas, and the equal of virtually any TV antenna in the the US. The tallest tower in the country is only 19.2 meters taller. The power will the the highest legally allowed for that channel. Currently it's 316 KW ERP. I don't know what the digital power will be, but it will be equivilent.

Some folks say that atmospheric and man-made noise will adversely affect reception in fringe areas on VHF channels, but I personally think that Channel 10's frequency ( 192-198 Mhz ) is the optimum for television transmission.

Forgive my pride, but I think when we are done we will have something great. Maximum height, maxium power, optimum channel and 1080i HDTV.

Admittedly, it's not all that great at the moment, but it's a work in progress. Automobiles weren't exactly great in 1910 either and we are at about that early stage in DTV.

Thanks, seeing that I am getting a good signal now OTA-HD on 10-1,it should be as good or better when they change back. :)

Looks like 42kW ERP is probably the maximum power allowed by the FCC for DTV on channel 10. List of DTVs on ch 10 here (http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?state=&call=&arn=&city=&chan=10&cha2=10&serv=DT&type=0&facid=&list=2&dist=&dlat2=&mlat2=&slat2=&dlon2=&mlon2=&slon2=&size=9).
Most are in the 30kW range.

UHF digital is so much better for the viewers. Smaller antennas and no impulse noise interference problems that cause audio dropouts. I only base this opinion on my experience and others on AVSForum who currently have VHF digital channels in their area. Our PBS affiliate in Fayetteville is on channel 9 digital. If there's something on PBS I want to record, I record it off of KOZK-DT, because I know I will be able to hear the entire audio track of the program.

If the audio didn't drop out during impulse/electrical noise interference, it wouldn't be so annoying. But it does. :(

Good luck moving back to channel 10 in 09. I know y'all can't stay on channel 52, but another UHF would've been a better choice than using VHF.

I live in Nixa (65714). I have suddenlink standard cable. Do they not send the digitial\hd channels through standard cable? My tv has a built in tuner, but the only non std channels i seem to pick up through cable are music stations and ky3 weather plus. Should i be getting more?

Hey, just a quick question that has prolly been asked 1000 times before but I'm going ahead to take a chance to get flamed and ask it again.

Are antenna amps for aerials worth the money?? And if so, which one is recommended?

Thanks in advance. :-)

How far from the transmitter towers are you?
How many TVs to you plan to connect?
How long of a coax run will you have?
This determines whether you need amplification. The bes amps are "Preamps". They are installed at the antenna, before the long run to the TV. One of the most popular low noise consumer grade preamps is the Channel Master CM 7777 VHF+UHF preamp (http://www.warrenelctroncis.com/antennas/7777.htm).

If you live close in and dont' need one, amplification may overload your TV tuner and make reception worse, not better.

How far from the transmitter towers are you?
I live just west of Kansas on Nichols in Springfield.

How many TVs to you plan to connect?
Just the one.

How long of a coax run will you have?
I would say 15ft from the antenna to the tv.

I've finally been able to pick up all of the PBS channels, but they are very week <50 power. And the Ky3 stations are also very week. This is why I'm thinking about one.

I am very noobish on this part so I do appreciate any feedback.

Are antenna amps for aerials worth the money?? And if so, which one is recommended?

Antenna amps can't pull in a signal that is not already present at the antenna. The primary purpose is to compensate for the loss in the transmission line between the antenna and the receiver.
In your case I don't think it would help much.

The Radio Shack inline amplifier, Cat 15-1170, which sells for $37 is what I would recommend, if you needed one.

Instead I would recommend an outdoor antenna mounted at rooftop or higher level. The Radio Shack U-75R antenna at $30 is a better use of your money.
A 10 foot mast mounted to the chimney or a plumbing vent-pipe would work very nicely. That will work much better than the most expensive indoor antenna. I think indoor antennas are much like fishing lures. They are designed to pull in customers and their money.... not TV signals.

Antenna amps can't pull in a signal that is not already present at the antenna. The primary purpose is to compensate for the loss in the transmission line between the antenna and the receiver.
In your case I don't think it would help much.

The Radio Shack inline amplifier, Cat 15-1170, which sells for $37 is what I would recommend, if you needed one.

Instead I would recommend an outdoor antenna mounted at rooftop or higher level. The Radio Shack U-75R antenna at $30 is a better use of your money.
A 10 foot mast mounted to the chimney or a plumbing vent-pipe would work very nicely. That will work much better than the most expensive indoor antenna. I think indoor antennas are much like fishing lures. They are designed to pull in customers and their money.... not TV signals.

I am on an outdoor antenna which I thought should pull the signal better then the rabbit ears that I have. I've just moved 5 blocks to the south and tried both and not picking up the before mentioned channels. It really is not making much sense.

I am on an outdoor antenna which I thought should pull the signal better then the rabbit ears that I have. I've just moved 5 blocks to the south and tried both and not picking up the before mentioned channels. It really is not making much sense.
Any sort of rooftop antenna at your location should pull in all the stations with no problem. Your problem is something simple, like your dog chewed the coax, or a bad connector, or the antenna isn't really attached anymore.

Any sort of rooftop antenna at your location should pull in all the stations with no problem. Your problem is something simple, like your dog chewed the coax, or a bad connector, or the antenna isn't really attached anymore.

NICE!!!!!

Well I just moved in, so I guess I have some wire chasing to do.

Thanks :)

I have also noticed during CBS football broadcasts over the weekend and all other HD programming there is excessive pixelation/freezing (whatever it is called). Not sure when it began as I watch CBS very little during the week. However it was still happening last night during Commanche Moon. Thought originally it was a weak signal but strength was at 95 and still doing it. Seems more prevalant during fast moving scenes (football) and makes it very difficult to enjoy watching.
Any time frame on corrections??

I noticed the same thing, CBS HD Only.......CSI Miami was very bad also.

Seems more prevalant during fast moving scenes (football) and makes it very difficult to enjoy watching.
Any time frame on corrections??
We know exactly where the problem is... the CBS HD IRD's. The receiver we had been using failed back on "tornado night". We put in a spare that was actually worse than the one we have online now. We'd had about 6 different receivers in the past year.

The "real" fix will be when CBS replaces the Harris Netplus 200 receivers with Netplus 300's, and goes from DVB-S to DVB-S2 transmission. The last word I heard was the all the affiliates should have the new equipment in time to have it installed Feb 1. Cut-over to the new system should follow in about 3 weeks.

Update Wednesday 5:30 PM.
We just got an IRD Fed-exed from CBS. It's being installed as I type this. I appreciate any reports after 7 PM Wednesday. This is the "good" one that was killed by the tornado.

We know exactly where the problem is... the CBS HD IRD's. The receiver we had been using failed back on "tornado night". We put in a spare that was actually worse than the one we have online now. We'd had about 6 different receivers in the past year.

The "real" fix will be when CBS replaces the Harris Netplus 200 receivers with Netplus 300's, and goes from DVB-S to DVB-S2 transmission. The last word I heard was the all the affiliates should have the new equipment in time to have it installed Feb 1. Cut-over to the new system should follow in about 3 weeks.

Update Wednesday 5:30 PM.
We just got an IRD Fed-exed from CBS. It's being installed as I type this. I appreciate any reports after 7 PM Wednesday. This is the "good" one that was killed by the tornado.

YAYA in time for NFL. Will post an update this weekend. :)

Thanks for the info!

Thanks rhoops.

Does anyone know why my signal strength varies so much between the daytime and the night? During the day my signal is dropping way down. During the night by NBC is around 90, during the day it drops to the upper 60's.

Television and radio nearly always travel greater distances at night. Some people on the fringes can only receive good TV at night or morning hours.

Are you having dropouts in the video/audio? Or is is just low signal on the signal meter?

I live in the 65536 area. I have E* with a 622 DVR. I also have a large antenna on the garage (see image). I have a Sony Bravia HD TV. What do I need to do to get local HD on my TV? Thanks.

Connect RG6 coax from the antenna to the ANT-IN jack on the 622.
Aim the antenna roughly 200-205° South/Southwest, using a compass.
Go into the Dish menu and setup local channels.
I don't own dish, so maybe others will post setup menu details.
If not, read the owners' manual if you have problems.

Thanks arxaw,

Please bear with me as I don't know a lot about electronics. How do I determine if the existing coax cable from the antenna is RG6?

Thanks arxaw,

Please bear with me as I don't know a lot about electronics. How do I determine if the existing coax cable from the antenna is RG6?

It will usually have "RG6" stamped on it at regular intervals

622 setup
press menu button
select "system setup"
select "local Channels"
select "scan locals"
select "slelect all", note if it doesn't find any you will need to improve your antenna. If you want to remove a channel highlight over to it and press select.
when you are through highlight done and press select.
select done twice to get back.

The cable is stamped:
TFC-T10 FILE NO E86650-2 CATV (U.L.) 6 SERIES

Is this cable acceptable?

Can't see it from here, but I'm guessing the "6 SERIES" indicates RG6 cable. If so, yes.

I did the local scan and the receiver did not find any channels. A big clue might be the fact that the signal strength indicator is at zero. What should I do next?

Check your coax for good end connectors and make sure you've connected the coax to the right jack on the rear of the 622. To rule out a 622 problem, connect the coax to your TV's ANT-IN jack and do a scan with it's built in tuner. If no joy, you may need a better antenna and/or need to add a preamp.

Enter your complete address and ZIP code at: http://www.antennaweb.org
Post back here with the "colors" it shows in the digital channel results. Example:
http://i30.tinypic.com/sdg0eb_th.png
In this image, yellow chs are strongest. Violet are weakest.

Make sure you don't have the antenna reversed:

http://i27.tinypic.com/6htefp.jpg

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/%5BIMG%5Dhttp://i27.tinypic.com/6htefp.jpg%5B/IMG%5D

I connected the antenna coax directly to the TV and did a scan. The scan is picking up channels 3 (okay), 10 (good) and 33 (bad). A manual scan also gets a signal for channel 27 but it is very bad.

Attached (I can't figure out how to insert an image directly in this response) are the antennaweb results.

I connected the antenna coax directly to the TV and did a scan. The scan is picking up channels 3 (okay), 10 (good) and 33 (bad). A manual scan also gets a signal for channel 27 but it is very bad.

Attached (I can't figure out how to insert an image directly in this response) are the antennaweb results.,

Looks like you have a decent antenna, you should be getting a better signal, I am wondering about connections.
Anyone have an idea what the first device is on the mast that the wire goes to. Old amp? balum?
Would probably be worth checking on a warmer day.
I have found the 622 receiver to not be quite as good a receiver as my TV,
but not enough to make much difference.

You have a problem somewhere.

According to your antennaweb results, the full power digitals shown below should be a walk in the park to receive. In fact, it's very likely you would get them with an indoor non-amplified set top antenna.

http://i27.tinypic.com/1zf4gg3.jpg


How old is the antenna?
How old is the coax running to it?
In the antenna picture you posted, there appears to be a preamp on the antenna mast. If so, you must find the preamp's power supply and plug it in, otherwise the unpowered preamp is blocking your signal. The power supply is typically either in the attic or behind the TV.

If you can't find the power supply, DISCONNECT the preamp box on the vertical mast and run coax directly to the antenna terminals on the long horizontal boom. You don't need one, anyway.

I connected the antenna coax directly to the TV and did a scan. The scan is picking up channels 3 (okay), 10 (good) and 33 (bad). A manual scan also gets a signal for channel 27 but it is very bad.

I know you have an HDTV, but are these channels analog or digital? KSPR-DT is low power and can hardly make it to the Springfield city limits, let alone Lebanon.

If you were getting KOLR-DT and KSFX-DT they should be very similar in strength since they use the same antenna.

It sounds like you are getting stuck in analog mode.

rhoops, I think you may be onto something.

Wolf321
The digital channels should be:
Crystal clear if you have a strong signal.
Crystal clear but possibly audio/video breakups if the signal is weak/fluctuating.
Non-existant with a signal below the threshold of a signal strong enough to be locked onto.
You should not see any snow or ghosting (multiple outlines of images) on any digital channels.

And if you're seeing KSPR 33, it's very likely you're looking at ANALOG because their weak digital signal barely covers downtown.


(Question for molife, can the 622 scan for digital chs only?)

I braved the cold and hail and climbed up on the roof and took some pics (attached). If I remove the device attached to the antenna (old amp?), I have two adapters (see pic). Which should I use?

The antenna and cable are about 12 years old.

My TV scan was done under analog scan. The TV said that nothing was found when I tried to do a digital scan.

P.S. Would someone tell me how to add the pics directly into my response rather than as an attachment?

I'm off work today, so any help you can provide is much appreciated.

Oh, and if i can read a compass right, the antenna is pointed at 205 degrees.

I braved the cold and hail and climbed up on the roof and took some pics (attached). If I remove the device attached to the antenna (old amp?), I have two adapters (see pic). Which should I use?

The antenna and cable are about 12 years old.

My TV scan was done under analog scan. The TV said that nothing was found when I tried to do a digital scan.

P.S. Would someone tell me how to add the pics directly into my response rather than as an attachment?

I'm off work today, so any help you can provide is much appreciated.

Oh, and if i can read a compass right, the antenna is pointed at 205 degrees.
The channel master "box" is a pre-amp. I don't know how it would receive power unless it was sent up on the coax. I suggest you bypass that box.

Your coax can connect to the antenna using the "baluns" in the last picture. The two spade lugs attach to under the wingnuts on the antenna, and the coax attaches to the "F" (screw on) connector.

Pick the balun that looks most weatherproof and tape or attach the it or the coax to the antenna so that no weight is hanging on the balun.

What you have is a preamp, which does need a power supply box (indoors) to feed power to it through the existing coax. The power supply should look like the white box shown below. Your preamp is on the right.
http://www.warrenelectronics.com/antennas/spartan3.jpg

If you can't locate the power supply (look in the attic, it could be there), try bypassing the preamp on the mast, as rhoops suggested. The baluns you posted look to be indoor types, but will work. You might want to slather them with silicone seal to make them weather tight. Or get an outdoor rated balun at Rat Shack.

I'm almost positive the unpowered preamp is what is killing your signal. Unless of course, your coax is cut in two somewhere!

If the existing coax is too short to reach the antenna, add a short piece using a barrel splice connector, also available at radio shack. Barrel connectors look like this:
http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:yhjw2Z4qEFS1vM:http://www.daveswebshop.com/pv05f81.jpg


[To upload pics directly to the forum, resize them to 800x600 or less and upload them to http://www.tinypic.com It's free and no registration is required. Tinypic also gives you the image code to copy & paste back here in your forum posts.]

Here's a general question for you all... Who could I call to come out & look at my outdoor aerial antenna & about how much would it cost me???

Hopefully, someone will chime in with a good local referral for you.

Down here in Eureka Springs, the local DirecTV/Dish satellite dealer has recently gotten into the OTA antenna business, with the increasing popularity of digital OTA in our area (no HD locals on Coxcable or Dish or DirecTV). So, you might start with the sat installers. If they don't install or repair them, they should know someone who does.

Well, I went to our local Shack and they didn't have an RG6 cable between 4ft (too short) and 16ft (too long) and they couldn't tell if their 'balun' was outdoor or not. That, coupled with the weather today, caused me to take a different approach.

I bought two indoor antennas, one with a powered amp. After hooking up the antenna with the amp directly to the TV, I did a search for digital channels and it found one (27.1).

So, I guess if I want to get more than one HD OTA channel, I'm back to working on the outdoor antenna. I'll be in Springfield tomorrow, so I'll stop at a Shack there and (hopefully) get the components I need.

If you can't find what you need, go by a satellite dealer/installer and ask him to cut you a short length of RG6. They shouldn't charge much at all.

If you bypass that preamp, I'm almost certain that will solve your problem. Just leave it attached to the mast, in case you need it in the future.

EDIT: Ask for a "matching transformer (http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103912)" That's what Rat Shack calls 'em.

http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?list=0&facid=35630

It looks like KSPR-DT has modified it's construction permit, and now will be on KYTV's tower. Power has been reduced from 1000 KW ERP to 363 KW ERP.

http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?list=0&facid=35630

It looks like KSPR-DT has modified it's construction permit, and now will be on KYTV's tower. Power has been reduced from 1000 KW ERP to 363 KW ERP.hoops, Thanks for the heads up. Will that be higher or lower height than previously planned for the other location?

363kW should be fine for channel 19. KOZK-DT (RF ch 23) gets all the way to my house at 100% signal strength, 70+ miles away. And it's only 100kW ERP.

Here's a general question for you all... Who could I call to come out & look at my outdoor aerial antenna & about how much would it cost me???
With the demise of the smaller mom and pop appliance store, an antenna installer could be hard to find. Call the sat installers and see if they do that. Also the high-end AV folks like SCS home entertainment. Maybe Best Buy and Circuit city could tell you something.

I would think any sort of repairman would want at least $50 to come see you.

hoops, Thanks for the heads up. Will that be higher or lower height than previously planned for the other location?

Old site shows 987.5 M AMSL, and the new one is 1038 M AMSL (above mean sea level)

WOW, 3300 ft above sea level?

I hope they get it completed before all the OTA analog holdouts start buying converters and looking for KSPR.

What's the status of OTA DTV over in Joplin?

WOW, 3300 ft above sea level?

I hope they get it completed before all the OTA analog holdouts start buying converters and looking for KSPR.

What's the status of OTA DTV over in Joplin?
Channel 10's antenna is 1073 M AMSL (currently analog, eventually digital). KYTV's digital antenna on channel 44 is 1073.5 M AMSL. I'm sure a design criterion was to be higher, if only by half a meter..... just for bragging rights.

rhoops, I think you may be onto something.

Wolf321
The digital channels should be:
Crystal clear if you have a strong signal.
Crystal clear but possibly audio/video breakups if the signal is weak/fluctuating.
Non-existant with a signal below the threshold of a signal strong enough to be locked onto.
You should not see any snow or ghosting (multiple outlines of images) on any digital channels.

And if you're seeing KSPR 33, it's very likely you're looking at ANALOG because their weak digital signal barely covers downtown.


(Question for molife, can the 622 scan for digital chs only?)

The 622 OTA is digital only

thank, molife. didn't know that about the 622.

Channel 10's antenna is 1073 M AMSL (currently analog, eventually digital). KYTV's digital antenna on channel 44 is 1073.5 M AMSL. I'm sure a design criterion was to be higher, if only by half a meter..... just for bragging rights.KYTV-DT 44 sure gets out there. It's often received in South Arkansas in favorable weather conditions. When it does, it overrides KWBF-DT 44 in Little Rock. That equity owned station is currently carrying the LR abc affiliate, katv on one of their many sub-channels.

katv's 42 year old, 2000' analog/digital tower (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KATV_Tower) fell to the ground on Jan 11, '08. When constructed, it was the 2nd tallest structure in the world.

FSN Midwest in KC area is now FSN KC.
Do you hopea ACCUWEATHER channel comes to Springfield along with a 24/7 News and also Sports Channels?

I just noticed Mediacom QAM for FOX just changed to 19-13 and KOLR-10 went to 19-14. I dont know if it will stick or not.

Does anyone no what happened? i just noticed about 5 min ago. The price for the hdtv tier is already outrages for what you get but unless they add something i feel robbed.

Does anyone no what happened? i just noticed about 5 min ago. The price for the hdtv tier is already outrages for what you get but unless they add something i feel robbed.

I noticed on the last bill the basic programing went up! and i have heard the HD tier was 9.95 and went down to 6.95. They pulled Discovery HD from it also. Can anyone confirm this, I dont have the HD tier.

Does anyone no what happened? i just noticed about 5 min ago. The price for the hdtv tier is already outrages for what you get but unless they add something i feel robbed."Robbed" is when someone is holding a gun to your head.

Pay TV is not a necessity. If you don't feel it's worth it, just change providers or drop the subscription.

Anyone have an update on channel 33 construction progress?

KSFX-HD and KOLR-HD disappeared for a while today. David Berns of the headend tells me that is because they were moving them from Channel 62 to channel 19. If you have a STB the channel re-mapping will take care of itself.

If you are using clear QAM you will need to re-scan.

Your taxpayer dollars at work:
http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=2&aid=136607

I just noticed Mediacom QAM for FOX just changed to 19-13 and KOLR-10 went to 19-14. I dont know if it will stick or not.
I just heard from the headend technician at Mediacom. Since the fiber transport wasn't passing PSIP, he tried taking KOLR/KSFX off air. He's using that now and I believe they will correctly ID as 10-1 and 27-1 now.

Yesterday he did move KOLR/KSFX from 62 to 19. If you are getting valid PSIP your QAM set should display them properly as 10-1 and 27-1

So are Kolor 10-HD and KSFX-HD down still? I can't tune in to 702 or 709. Any idea when they will be back up. All of my DVR recordings now won't work because it can't find those channels.

Thanks.

is there any reason that I have to tune to 19 to get them? I cannot tune directly to 10-1 or 27-1. And once I get 10 or 27 in, I have to go to 16 to get to KY3 or KSPR. I am frigging lost. It would be nice to just tune from 10-1 to 3-1 occassionally...

Your taxpayer dollars at work:
http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=2&aid=136607

ABC and KSPR knew full well they would get fined for the scene and they went ahead with it. No sympathy here.

So are Kolor 10-HD and KSFX-HD down still? I can't tune in to 702 or 709. Any idea when they will be back up. All of my DVR recordings now won't work because it can't find those channels.

Thanks.
If you've got a Mediacom HD box the channel re-mapping will be automatic. As far as I know it was only down an hour or so on Monday. I've been getting 709 and 702 all day today.

is there any reason that I have to tune to 19 to get them? I cannot tune directly to 10-1 or 27-1. And once I get 10 or 27 in, I have to go to 16 to get to KY3 or KSPR. I am frigging lost. It would be nice to just tune from 10-1 to 3-1 occassionally...
Assuming your TV properly implements PSIP and clear QAM, you should just have to do a re-scan and they should all fall into place.
Your receiver has to tune to 19 QAM to first pick up the signal and PSIP before it can re-map to 10-1 and 27-1.

If you've got a Mediacom HD box the channel re-mapping will be automatic. As far as I know it was only down an hour or so on Monday. I've been getting 709 and 702 all day today.

It came back up right around 7:00 last night. I had my DVR turned on for a couple of hours but it never remapped until around 7. Strange.

It came back up right around 7:00 last night. I had my DVR turned on for a couple of hours but it never remapped until around 7. Strange.
The machine has to be "listening" when the channel mapping information is sent. I didn't know DVR users ever turned them "off". Doesn't that sort of defeat the purpose of a DVR?

The machine has to be "listening" when the channel mapping information is sent. I didn't know DVR users ever turned them "off". Doesn't that sort of defeat the purpose of a DVR?

No, you turn them off when you're not using them. But it actually just goes into standby. It's always listening while in standby. Of course I don't shut it completely off (the only way to do that is to unplug it). It still knows when to wake up and turn on to record a show. That's why I'm confused why it didn't remap. Regardless, I had it turned on for 2 hours before it remapped the channels. I wouldn't think it would take that long to remap them.

Hi there,

I have a question about my HD local reception. I live close to Ava (65608), so I should be able to get all the Springfield stations with no problem.

I am currently running two DirecTv HR20s and using the OTA inputs connected to my roof mounted antenna for my HD locals. (C'mon DirecTV, give us our Springfield HD locals already!)

Things have been great, but over the past few weeks, my reception on 27-1 is sometimes choppy, and my reception on 3-1, 3-2, and 3-3 often displays nothing but a black screen. 10-1 and all the 21s have never had a problem that I've seen.

So my question is: What is the most likely culprit and what's the best remedy?

My first guess (and hope) was that is was a transmission issue, but I'm not seeing anyone else here having similar issues. My next guess would be that my antenna may have gotten blown out of position-- do my symptoms sound like that might be a possibility?

I'm confident that it's not the OTA tuners in the HR20s because they are both
giving the same result.

Thanks!

- Nuke

Check your antenna aim (roughly NW) and also all of the coax connectors. Pay particular attention to any connectors you put on the coax ends yourself. Look at where the coax connects to the antenna and make sure everything is tight.

What antenna are you using? Do you use a preamp?

I posted some questions a ways back in this thread, and you guys were very helpful. I live in west Springfield out by Kansas and Grand. I tried several indoor antennas from Radio Shack and could never get a signal strength of more than 50% from the livingroom. I bought 50 feet of RGB-6 coax and tried the antenna direcly in front of a window pointing towards the towers (almost due east) and in the attic. This helped boost the signal strength to 65% at best but still wasn't good enough to make it watchable. I went ahead and bought a Channel Master 4228, 5-foot mast, and attic mount. I mounted it in the attic at probably 12 feet off the ground and used a compass to point it toward the towers. This still only resulted in a 76% signal strength. I was expecting a lot more. I had a Super Bowl party last night, and it really sucked to have to watch it in SD. The only thing I can think is that Missouri State is 1.5 miles east of my house and is directly between my house and the towers.

I can't get imageshack to work right now, so you'll have to copy and paste this address into a new window (it shows what antennaweb says for my address): http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/kalrith/ANTENNA_WEB.jpg

Any help you guys can give is much appreciated.

I would most likely say something is messing with your signal somewhere in your general area. MSU has a lot of feeds coming in and out and that could be the issue.

I live in Nixa and even on my 1st floor with a cheap Silver Sensor indoor OTA I get near 100% on all channels.

Superbowl came in great last night in HD with only a few hiccups every now and then.

I would say some type of interference is the culprit most likely.

I've tried my OTA through my DISH 722 and directly to my TV both with the same signal strength and results.


BTW: What was everyone's thoughts on the feed last night.

For the most part I thought it looked good. There were a few times on the grassy closeups it got really blocky but for the most part it looked very nice.

The WALLI-E and Iron Man trailer looked awesome:)

I thought the Superbowl feed looked awesome at my house. In fact, I had a house full of people in to watch it in HD since I'm the only one I know to spend the money and effort on OTA reception and an HD tv.:D I can't wait until KSPR is broadcasting so I can watch LOST in HD.

I live in west Springfield out by Kansas and Grand. I tried several indoor antennas from Radio Shack and could never get a signal strength of more than 50% from the livingroom. I bought 50 feet of RGB-6 coax and tried the antenna direcly in front of a window pointing towards the towers (almost due east) and in the attic. This helped boost the signal strength to 65% at best but still wasn't good enough to make it watchable. I went ahead and bought a Channel Master 4228, 5-foot mast, and attic mount. I mounted it in the attic at probably 12 feet off the ground and used a compass to point it toward the towers. This still only resulted in a 76% signal strength. I was expecting a lot more.

Signal strength meters on most receivers don't really measure true signal strength, as in, "power". Instead, what you usually get is a signal quality measure. Even a very high power signal can get a low signal quality score if there is a lot of "ghosting" (a.k.a., multi-path) or interference on the channels in your area.

It's usually not known how each make and model of receiver computes these scores so there's no standard way to tell what score is "good enough" for your particular setup. If the picture quality is good, I wouldn't get too hung up on trying to hit 100 on the signal strength reading.

On most receivers, digital channels are nearly perfect above a certain signal level. For example, if your TV shows a perfect picture (no garbled images) and no dropouts when the signal meter reads 60, then getting the signal meter to 80, 90, or even higher doesn't really make much difference. Once a digital channel is decoding properly, it displays a nice clean picture. For the most part, you either get a perfect picture, or you get no picture at all. Making the signal strength meter read higher doesn't alter the picture quality, but it does usually mean that you have more margin for errors (e.g., signal fluctuations caused by bad weather, seasonal changes, trees, airplanes, etc.). Higher scores usually mean a lower chance of seeing picture corruption or dropouts even when conditions turn bad.

I had a Super Bowl party last night, and it really sucked to have to watch it in SD. The only thing I can think is that Missouri State is 1.5 miles east of my house and is directly between my house and the towers.

Are you saying that you had to watch the game on an analog broadcast?

It would help if we could find some clues as to the cause of the problem...

1) Do the analog channels show strong signs of ghosting or herring-bone patterns?

2) What happens when you watch the digital broadcasts? Are there lots of dropouts, frozen pictures, pixel artifacts? How about the audio?

3) Are all the digital channels affected, or just certain ones?

4) Do the errors pretty much happen randomly all the time, or is there a noticeable pattern that corresponds with the time of day, weather, airplane traffic, etc.?

5) Do you have any amps, splitters, or other devices connected along the antenna path?

Best regards,
Andy

That's strange!

I wonder what happened to all of the messages that we posted yesterday.

That's strange!

I wonder what happened to all of the messages that we posted yesterday.

Server crash of some sort.

Anybody using a Dish 622 for OTA in the Reed's Spring/West Branson area? I was visiting friends there and we connected an indoor antenna and got almost everything very well (good signal quality with a few dropouts every few hours). The missing channel was ABC KSPR. Antennaweb shows it as on channel 19 but I got no signal on 19 when I scanned or looked manually. Also, antennaweb shows it as 19.1 yet the analog is channel 33.

More than a bit confused. Is there a PSIP problem? Or is the channel having issues? According to antennaweb, the ones we got (KYTV, KOZK, KOLR and KSFX) are all pretty much the same direction and similar distance....

Anybody using a Dish 622 for OTA in the Reed's Spring/West Branson area? I was visiting friends there and we connected an indoor antenna and got almost everything very well (good signal quality with a few dropouts every few hours). The missing channel was ABC KSPR. Antennaweb shows it as on channel 19 but I got no signal on 19 when I scanned or looked manually. Also, antennaweb shows it as 19.1 yet the analog is channel 33.
KSPR-DT is currently running low power and a short antenna from their studio location. They are also transmitting only SD at this time. Their effective range is less than 5 miles. They will build a full power transmitter with antenna co-located with KOZK and KYTV. Their analog is on channel 33 and digital on 19, but your tuner will display 33-1 once you get their signal.

KSPR-DT is currently running low power and a short antenna from their studio location. They are also transmitting only SD at this time. Their effective range is less than 5 miles. They will build a full power transmitter with antenna co-located with KOZK and KYTV. Their analog is on channel 33 and digital on 19, but your tuner will display 33-1 once you get their signal.

Thanks, I found out about the lack of HD OTA on their webpage but the rest is great new information. I will pass it on.

...I found out about the lack of HD OTA on their webpage... Do you have a direct link to that web site info?

Do you have a direct link to that web site info?

I'm assuming that this is what he was referring to

ww.kspr.com/about/faq

sorry about the missing "w" I don't have enough posts yet.

I'm assuming that this is what he was referring to
http://www.kspr.com/about/faqThanks.
And welcome to the forum!

I see that Best Buy finally has a Coupon Eligible Converter Box. It's the first I've seen anywhere so far:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8624081&type=product&id=1199495190393

At a price of $59 minus a $40 coupon, that makes it a dirt cheap $19!

BB has the Insignia brand. It's their store branded clone of the LG made Zenith branded model that Radio Shack is selling for the same price. Already in stock at some area Rat Shack stores, at least in Ark. Check online for store availability.
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3006502&cp

Both of these supposedly have the 6th gen. LG ATSC tuner chipset, that is not picky about antenna positioning or multipath.

Dish Network's also coming out with a CECB soon for $39.95 (FREE, with voucher coupon).

I see that Best Buy finally has a Coupon Eligible Converter Box. It's the first I've seen anywhere so far:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8624081&type=product&id=1199495190393

At a price of $59 minus a $40 coupon, that makes it a dirt cheap $19!

Walmart has two that are Coupon Eligible both for 49.87:

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=8283870

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=8343230

Hi all I have not posted on here in over a year (not since fox and cbs got there ota hd up and running) now I have learned about QAM... my tv is getting 3.1_3.3_21.2_and 33.1...... but not 10.1 or 27.1 I just hooked the cable to the tv for the first time today, so I am wondering if these channels should be there? I see that some days ago some of you said they were off for a while.... are they still? any info would be wonderful Thanks all

Walmart has two that are Coupon Eligible both for 49.87Do not buy the Thomson/RCA converter (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=8343230). The Magnavox at WM, or Zenith/Insignia brands at other stores are much better choices.

The other boxes above will allow you to add additional channels to the channel list that weren't found in the initial scan. The RCA can only remember stations from one channel scan, and channels found in previous scans are erased.

Ok I found fox on 19.1 Can anyone tell me where to find kolr 10 cbs

Well never mind, just did a rescan, and found all channels right where they should be.
Q.A.M. kicks butt

Found a good link showing all CECBs - updated specs, prices, and where to purchase.

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

I keep checking here every day in hopes someone has new info about 33 going full power HD. I wonder when the construction is going to start at KY3 studio to move 33 over there?

I keep checking here every day in hopes someone has new info about 33 going full power HD. I wonder when the construction is going to start at KY3 studio to move 33 over there?
The move of the studio isn't directly related to their going to HD. Since they currently feed HD to Mediacom via fiber all that would need to change at the studio is to bring in a new STL.

The critical thing is the antenna, transmission line and transmitter at Fordland. There is other infrastructure involved, including a building, air-conditioning and electrical hook-up. Hanging nearly 2000 feet of transmission line on a tower is no small job.

6" or 8" diameter transmission line weighs a lot and the tower and guy lines may need to be modified in order to support it. In addition there are only a limited number of qualified tower crews in the country and after this winter they may have a backlog of jobs.
Antennas and transmitters, although made to standard designs with off-the-shelf components are still basically made to order, and have a definite lead time.

At this point I can't see it happening before May and it could be August or later. I think we will be able to see the signs of construction a full month in advance of an air date.

I went by KY3 today and just noticed the small tower at the studio,its probably been there along time but I just hadn't noticed it.

Also the Daytona 500 looked great on channel 27 yesterday.

I went by KY3 today and just noticed the small tower at the studio,its probably been there along time but I just hadn't noticed it.
The place to watch is out at Fordland. If you drive east on Sunshine, you should be able to see the pair of towers to the east just as you pass Sam's Wholesale Club. If you go into Fordland, and north on Hwy FF, it will take you right by the towers. They appear to be so close that the guy wires are interlaced, but I hear they really aren't. When you see tower crews and about three semi-trailers loaded up with rigid transmission line, you will know we are getting close. The transmission line looks a lot like copper-colored sewer pipe in 20 foot sections with a flange on the end.