WNCT's 35kw is the low power DT transmitter, their full power transimtter is 316kw. Their service area reaches almost right into downtown Raleigh.

http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service-area?x=TV652818.html


No. WNCT's 35kW IS their full power DTV transmitter. Analog power and digital power do not equally translate. It takes considerablely less digital power to cover the same area as analog. That is because analog power is based on peak power (as the brightness of the analog picture increases power decreases and as the analog picture gets darker, power increases) and digital is based on average power meaning no matter what you have on the stream, valid data or no data, the power output doesn't vary. It is always the same. That is why the aural carriers of TV stations are 10% of their visual carriers because the aural carrier never changes output power no matter what the modulation is, 100% or 0%. So with WNCT-TV at 316kW visual, their aural power is only 31.6kW, only 3.4kW less than their DTV power of 35kW. If you look at the coverage maps of WNCT-TV and WNCT-DT on the FCC website, you will see that with 35kW, WNCT-DT has MORE coverage area than 316kW WNCT-TV. (Never heard anyone complain that I can see the station, but I can't hear it. It is always the other way around. That is why.) It takes basically the same size transmitter (meaning it uses the same amount of electricity) to produce either 316kW analog or 35kW digital. It is just how it is set up and the type of modulation transmitted through it.

I don't know why they even bother with 2 seperate transmitters that have the same exact programming in such a small geographic area anyway. WNCT hits a much larger area including almost all of WFXI's and WYDO's area with one transmitter.

What do those real estate people say? Location, location, location.

The reason WFXI can't move channel 8 further west is due to first adjacent and co-channel interference rules. On channel 8 you have a station in Richmond, VA and you have a station in High Point, NC that were on the air years before WFXI. Those stations get interference protection and so any new station coming on has to be a certain distance from the other stations already on the air. Also, FCC rules do not allow first adjacent analog stations within a certain distance of each other either because of interference to each other and with channel 7 and 9 on the same tower, WFXI had no choice but to move east to avoid both interference rule situations (High Point and Richmond to the west and north on channel 8 and channels 7 and 9 to the west). So in order to cover the Eastern NC market completely, which is sizable, they needed a station in the western part of the market to cover Goldsboro, Greenville and Kinston, hence, WYDO with WFXI being forced to locate the transmitter out by Atlantic.

Foxeng explained that a lot better than I could have, but also WFXI was not a FOX affiliate in the beginning of it's existance. It was an independent that wasn't required to cover. In order to be granted permission to broadcast "FOX" they had to open up the second site near Greenville. Once WYDO/WFXI both get going, I don't believe there will be a spec of ground uncovered by whether it be WFXI/WYDO, WSFX or WRAZ. Everyone should at least be able to view one of the following if not two.

Up into Bertie county, it looks like it might be a struggle to view FOX OTA... This is the first time I have checked these two signals out.

http://www.fcc.gov/ftp/Bureaus/MB/Databases/fm_tv_service_areas/maps/DT598846.gif

Appears they have the actual WYDO-HD up and not WFXI being temporarily bounced of the Ayden site. The signal is still the same maybe soon theyll have the higher power transmitter up.

I'm receiving no audio or picture again but a signal of 77%. They must be adjusting something.

No. WNCT's 35kW IS their full power DTV transmitter. Analog power and digital power do not equally translate. It takes considerablely less digital power to cover the same area as analog.

I'll make you a deal. I'll keep posting dumb stuff and you keep correcting me. I don't know about anybody else here but I know I'm learning a lot.

Thanks,
RM

I'll make you a deal. I'll keep posting dumb stuff and you keep correcting me. I don't know about anybody else here but I know I'm learning a lot.

Thanks,
RM

Well working with this stuff all of the time, you have a nasty habit of it rubbing off on you!!
:D

I did some reading up on recent documentation sent over to the FCC on WFXI. They are about ready with a brand new tower, and are going to shift everything over to it sometime soon, and then "destroy" their current tower. Destroy? That seems like a kind of a harsh way to put it!
Anyway I guess they will go off the air with analog while that happens?

No change in height or coverage area. The new tower is about 6 meters from the junk one.

They are about ready with a brand new tower, and are going to shift everything over to it sometime soon, and then "destroy" their current tower. Destroy? That seems like a kind of a harsh way to put it!

I saw them take down some tall towers in Annapolis, MD a while back that belonged to the Navy. Destroy is the correct term. There isn't much useful left after it comes down.

I did some reading up on recent documentation sent over to the FCC on WFXI. They are about ready with a brand new tower, and are going to shift everything over to it sometime soon, and then "destroy" their current tower. Destroy? That seems like a kind of a harsh way to put it!
Anyway I guess they will go off the air with analog while that happens?

No change in height or coverage area. The new tower is about 6 meters from the junk one.

If the new tower is only 6 meters (20 feet!) from the old tower they will not "destroy" it in the sense of cutting guys and then dropping it. Doing that would take the new tower down with it since the guy wires are interlaced. Think the tower that was hit by a helicopter in GA last year and it was so damaged they had no choice but to drop it and it took the other undamaged tower down beside it with it.

I am sure they mean "destroy" in the term that they will "dismantle" the tower section by section as it was erected. Sounds like WFXI's tower wasn't strong enough to support both antennas and they had no choice but to build a new tower to hold all of the equipment. (Been down down that road myself). Hearing that makes sense why they chose to remain on channel 8 post transition. I had talked to their engineer before the reporting dead line and he told me they would be staying on their UHF digital channel and then when the list came out, they elected to stay on 8. Luckily for us, they were just far enough away that them staying on 8 doesn't effect us staying on 8 either but we had to show that in our filing with the FCC.

I finally got 8.1 to come in on my 27" RCA SDTV. I did have to use a very unconventional antenna to do it however.

Let me say that all of this effort I have put into this isn't really about getting Fox. I can and do reliably get WRAZ out of Raleigh.

It's about getting a TV station that's so close to me that I can't get it. An old saying goes "Can't never could" and that has sometimes driven me to go to extremes to do something that seems impossible. Sometimes I do achieve the desired results and other times I don't but I rarely give up on anything.

Back to my unconventional antenna. I stumbled across an idea that HAM radio operators do when they don't want a big antenna sticking up in the air at their house. They use their rain gutters as an antenna. So I got a self tapping screw, stripped back about 3" of RG-6 revealing the copper core and screwed it to the gutter. Works great for 8.1, 7.X, 9.X, 25.X and strangely enough 2.X.

I guess there is just the right amount of attenuation in the setup to allow my close in station to work. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, I could have just gone to Radio Shack and got an attenuator but that wouldn't have been as much fun or satisfaction.

Now with a little fine tuning I may be able to get the 12.X stations and my bedroom TV will be all set. Anybody have any ideas on how to improve this setup?

Bear in mind that come Feb, 2009 there may be a whole lot of less fortunate people who can take advantage of a setup like this and I will be telling people how to do it.

I'm even going to try attaching a piece of RG-6 to my travel trailer (all aluminum skin) and see what that does.

I think I figured out why I'm having trouble with 12.X. The gutter is too long. 12.X remaps to 48 and those wave lengths may be too short for my gutter to pick up.

Foxeng said:
Hearing that makes sense why they chose to remain on channel 8 post transition.

I guess that means they will be able to convert the analog antenna to digital once Feb, 09 gets here? That should make for better coverage then I would think.

RMartin631
is not an expert!


Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Ayden, NC
Posts: 57 I finally got 8.1 to come in on my 27" RCA SDTV. I did have to use a very unconventional antenna to do it however.

Let me say that all of this effort I have put into this isn't really about getting Fox. I can and do reliably get WRAZ out of Raleigh.

It's about getting a TV station that's so close to me that I can't get it. An old saying goes "Can't never could" and that has sometimes driven me to go to extremes to do something that seems impossible. Sometimes I do achieve the desired results and other times I don't but I rarely give up on anything.

Back to my unconventional antenna. I stumbled across an idea that HAM radio operators do when they don't want a big antenna sticking up in the air at their house. They use their rain gutters as an antenna. So I got a self tapping screw, stripped back about 3" of RG-6 revealing the copper core and screwed it to the gutter. Works great for 8.1, 7.X, 9.X, 25.X and strangely enough 2.X.

Holy crap man! You may have just solved a problem for a lot of people who can't erect an antenna on their property! WOW. I would have never thought of something like that. Is the gutter on the opposite side of your house from the WCTI tower?

Holy crap man! You may have just solved a problem for a lot of people who can't erect an antenna on their property! WOW. I would have never thought of something like that. Is the gutter on the opposite side of your house from the WCTI tower?

Yes, and it's about a 45 degree angle to WCTI's tower and only 10 feet off the ground. Given their low tower height it's no wonder I can't get it.

I did try removing the RG-6 from the gutter just to see what the results were. With just the wire alone 8.1 was pixelating and 2.X and 25.X wouldn't come in at all.

Anybody have any spare cash? We can make and market the Guttenna for urban HD reception. :rolleyes:

It's not all that low really,(WCTI) it's just that Greenville is on the back side of the radiation. Most of the power (161kw I think) is directed toward the south, east, and west. You also have to take into account that the antenna is a side mount, which usually doesn't provide as good a result as you would get from a top mounted position. Down here, WCTI is very strong, the strongest I get next to ION/mynetwork TV.

Alright I'm struggling here in Greenville. I finally moved my antenna and i'm still not getting any WCTI or WYDO/WFXI. I live on the south part of town near Bells Fork. I've got my antenna now mounted about 6 feet high on a fence and pointed in just about the same direction my Dish Network dish is pointed. I get WITN and WNCT and THE CW all at about 91 percent. Are the FOX and ABC channels coming from another direction? The antenna I have is a Terk/Audiovox UHF/VHF outdoor antenna, it looks like a little grey square about 1.5' x 1.5'

Remember that WYDO, WNCT/CW and WITN broadcast in a circular non-directional cylinder. The power is distributed evenly in all directions. With WCTI that is not the case. Here is a diagram I put together to show about how that comes out. If I were on the opposite side like all of you, I would get a highly directional high gain antenna, such as the CM 4228 or even better a Yagi such as the Antennas Direct XG91.
Terks won't work for this. They are known to be about as good as a coat hanger from your closet.
http://img03.picoodle.com/img/img03/7/2/25/f_SCTIDTm_59e854d.gif

Alright I'm struggling here in Greenville. I finally moved my antenna and i'm still not getting any WCTI or WYDO/WFXI. I live on the south part of town near Bells Fork. I've got my antenna now mounted about 6 feet high on a fence and pointed in just about the same direction my Dish Network dish is pointed. I get WITN and WNCT and THE CW all at about 91 percent. Are the FOX and ABC channels coming from another direction? The antenna I have is a Terk/Audiovox UHF/VHF outdoor antenna, it looks like a little grey square about 1.5' x 1.5'

You should be able to get the Fox station. Right now it's on 8.1, not 14.1. Like I said earlier you're going to have to be a little precise on your antenna pointing to get 12. Since I don't know what direction your Dish is pointed I can't help you with whether or not you got it right. A good compass heading is around 175.

Also remember that the FCC mapping is determined by a particularly high gain antenna mounted at 30 feet above ground. If your not at that point, then the coverage and power you get will be considerably less than what I drew, and what the contours on the FCC site show.

I am now receiving FOX on 8.1 at 20% in South Greenville.

I guess that means they will be able to convert the analog antenna to digital once Feb, 09 gets here? That should make for better coverage then I would think.

If they have built a new transmitter facility, I am sure they have configured it to work post 2/17/2009 so it will be cost effective. That is what we did. We basically installed a digital channel 8 but happen to using it in analog mode (which makes the analog picture look better because the tolerances are tighter for digital) and then all we have to do is convert the transmitter and change out the filters. No work to be on the tower. All in the transmitter room!!

Also remember that the FCC mapping is determined by a particularly high gain antenna mounted at 30 feet above ground. If your not at that point, then the coverage and power you get will be considerably less than what I drew, and what the contours on the FCC site show.

Actually coverage is based on a 0 gain dipole antenna (performing as if it were in free space) at 30 feet above the ground. It is called the "30 foot measurement." FM as well as TV uses this method.

Just talked to my contact at Suddenlink in Greenville. If all goes well, they are anticipating having FOX in HD by the end of the week. He said it would be on channel 714. They are also negotiating with ESPN to start carrying ESPN2 HD and ESPNU although no firm date has been set.

It was nice seeing Nascar on Fox in High Def...I'm pulling it in great in Simpson....always 92-95 percent. I'm getting both 8.1 and 14.1. I can't wait to watch "24" finally in HD.....Yeeeeee Haww!

So with a solely uhf antenna, are you getting WITN, WNCT, WCTI, and WYDO/WFXI? Even though it lists UHF as only channels 14-69? I'm real new to this. I think I'm gonna have to tweak that antenna and get a compass.

No better than a coat hanger makes me feel like I wasted my money. I just live in a townhouse and I need something as discreet as possible, and mounting something 30 ft in the air isn't an option either. Thanks for the feedback.

So with a solely uhf antenna, are you getting WITN, WNCT, WCTI, and WYDO/WFXI? Even though it lists UHF as only channels 14-69? I'm real new to this. I think I'm gonna have to tweak that antenna and get a compass.

No better than a coat hanger makes me feel like I wasted my money. I just live in a townhouse and I need something as discreet as possible, and mounting something 30 ft in the air isn't an option either. Thanks for the feedback.

With a Channel Master 4228 (UHF only) I am getting everything you listed but WYDO (I'm too close to the transmitter). I'm also getting about 90% of the Raleigh stations.

Let me try to explain and if I get it wrong somebody please correct me.

Currently almost all stations have 2 signals going out. The old fashioned analog signals that we've been receiving for almost 60 or so years and the new digital signals. Both of these signals can't occupy the same frequency at the same time so the stations do a little trick called "remapping" to the new digital signals. That is where they actually transmit the digital signal at a whole different frequency. For example you're used to seeing WYDO as channel 14. That is where the analog signal currently resides. But the digital signal is actually on channel 21 and through some techincal mumbo-jumbo they tell your TV that it's on 14-1.

The reason most people can get local and long distance digital signals with a UHF only antenna is almost all of the TV stations are currently using UHF signals for their digital signals with the exception of channel 9. They are using channel 10 as their remapping channel.

On February 17, 2009 analog signals will cease to exist. At that point all stations will put their digital signals back on their primary frequency with the exception of those stations who have opted to permanently use a remapped signal.

If all you are interested in is receiving the local Wintergreen Metro stations then a UHF only antenna will do just fine. If you are interested in the Raleigh stations too then a VHF/UHF combo antenna like my 120 inch Radio Shack antenna may be required. I've never looked to see where the Raleigh stations are going post transistion so I'm not sure about that. I'll do whatever is required to get as many stations as possible so it doesn't matter to me. I like a variety you know.

Just talked to my contact at Suddenlink in Greenville. If all goes well, they are anticipating having FOX in HD by the end of the week. He said it would be on channel 714. They are also negotiating with ESPN to start carrying ESPN2 HD and ESPNU although no firm date has been set.


Now that is great news.

Fox on channel 2 (Suddenlink in Washington) always has problems when my girlfriend and I watch American Idol - static and ghosting. Maybe the HD channel will remedy this. I can't wait to watch Nascar in HD also. It seems like Fox has all of the races this year.

Now that is great news.

Fox on channel 2 (Suddenlink in Washington) always has problems when my girlfriend and I watch American Idol - static and ghosting. Maybe the HD channel will remedy this. I can't wait to watch Nascar in HD also. It seems like Fox has all of the races this year.



FOX still has the first half the season until July, then ESPN and ABC take over.
TNT will have about 6 consecutive races. But all 10 chase races will be on ABC.
ESPN2HD/ESPN has all the Busch Series races. Maybe SuddenLink will add ESPN2HD, I have it on Directv and they also run a daily NASCAR NOW show in HD. Not sure if this comes on ESPN HD however.

FOX still has the first half the season until July, then ESPN and ABC take over. TNT will have about 6 consecutive races.

The TNT schedule is:

March 18 -Atlanta
June 10 - Pocono
June 17 - Michigan
June 24 - Sonoma
July 1 - New Hampshire
July 7 - Daytona

The following channels will remain the same as they are now with their digital channels when the transition to digital only takes place.... WITN-32,WNCT-10,WPXU-34. In our market many will be changing. WUNM will go to 19, WFXI will go to 8, WYDO, will go to 14, WCTI will go to 12. In Raleigh you've got WTVD moving DT to 11, WRAL going to 48, WLFL-22, WNCN-17. So a lot of changes to come with many moving back to their analog. 50 and up will be a thing of the past.

Fox on channel 2 (Suddenlink in Washington) always has problems when my girlfriend and I watch American Idol - static and ghosting.
It doesn't matter where you pick it up it's terrible. That has to be the worst TV signal I've ever seen. If you can get WFXI, it looks much better, but is difficult too. I got the best signal when my antenna was on the ground!

The following channels will remain the same as they are now with their digital channels when the transition to digital only takes place.... WITN-32,WNCT-10,WPXU-34. In our market many will be changing. WUNM will go to 19, WFXI will go to 8, WYDO, will go to 14, WCTI will go to 12. In Raleigh you've got WTVD moving DT to 11, WRAL going to 48, WLFL-22, WNCN-17. So a lot of changes to come with many moving back to their analog. 50 and up will be a thing of the past.

This is where a lot of confusion about digital TV begins. A lot of TVs, both of mine included, don't show the actual channel assignment that a station may be broadcasting on. They only show the remapped assigment. For example my TVs show WITN-DT as being on 7.1. When you post that map showing where all of the stations are you are only showing the actual assigments and not the remapped assignments. That can be confusing when someone tries to tune to 32.1 and gets nothing but a blue screen saying that the signal is unusable. It also doesn't help that some stations don't bother to give their actual call signs. WNCN is terrible about this. They would have you think that their call sign is WNBC and I thought for the longest time that it was.

As the transition date draws closer these and many other forums across the web will be unindated with people seeking advice and direction. We really need a better way to get the entire channel selection, direction and remapping information to the newbies with the least amount of confusion.

Samsung gave me a return authorization to Best Buy to replace my year old LN-R328W.
The picture got red, and they came out to replace the video board, but the repair guy put in the same settings that the faulty one had, and it looked the same so the offered to replace it. It started Jan 25th and took almost 2 weeks after the initial call to get some here, he came but still did not fox it, called the next day and was told he would fill out paper work to get the tv replaced. Well after about 5 days didnt here anything, called and was told about 10 different times that the repair man would call me back, never did, the people at the area office said they would call and never did. Kept calling Samsung but they would not do anything without the local guys paper work. Called his cell phone 2 times and he said he would call back but never did. The last time I talked to him he said he filled out the paper work, waited a few days still no calls. Called Samsung Executive customer care, which takes about 20 minutes on hold and they called and told the repair man they needed the paper work.
Called back to EX Customer care to check on status was on hold while I drove from Washington, to Greenville, my wife went into Belks and I was still waiting on hold, 43 minutes. The man picked up and said they got the paper work and they would set up a RA with BestBuy. It may take a few days.
Well today BB got RA and I went over and returned the LN-R328w and upgraded to the new LN-S4051D I payed $200 more than what I payed for the old one to get a larger TV.
This tv is awesome, very sharp picture.
pulls in ota great.

I was wondering if anyone has managed to get either Fox in HDTV OTA yet in New Bern? If so, what are you getting for signal percent?

Thanks,
Mike

Mike, I don't think they've turned up the power yet, so New Bern won't get anything.
Jamie have you heard anything further from Don on when they plan to get the signal out at full power?
If you want a direct answer, go to fox8fox14.com and send an e-mail. They have the addresses listed in the about area

He emailed me earlier and said they will soon sign on to the new transmitter but didnt have a date yet.

They had a piece on WNCT tonight about the analog shutdown. Millions may be without a signal on the big day. Mainly people who use antenna systems. They may not have the right antenna either to receive DTV. I hope someone goes in depth with this aspect of the transition as time progresses

They had a piece on WNCT tonight about the analog shutdown. Millions may be without a signal on the big day. Mainly people who use antenna systems. They may not have the right antenna either to receive DTV.

Well as we all know just about any 'ole antenna will receive DTV, even a rain gutter. :)

What I'm afraid of is that a lot of people will get suckered into buying big expensive "digital only" antennnas. For the huge majority of people in the Wintergreen area a decent UHF/VHF antenna pointed at channel 12 should pull in ABC, CBS, Fox, PBS and NBC. Anyone with a set of rabbit ears should be able to get all of the networks but may have some trouble with ABC.

A lot of people don't know this but cable is also under the same digital transition mandate. All cable STBs installed after July 1 are required to have a digital cable tuner but the smaller cable companies have been asking for and receiving an extension. The big companies like Comcast have asked for and been denied extensions.

Well as we all know just about any 'ole antenna will receive DTV, even a rain gutter. :) Rat Shack has HDTV antennas; like those are something different from regular antennas... :rolleyes:

Since I installed the CM 4228 that WRAL sent me, the only time I watch the Greenville market channels is to watch the local news on 7. I just leave the antenna at 288 degress and get all of them, 5,11,17 and 50. Before, I couldn't even get channel 9 with rabbit ears. I just couldn't wait any longer for FOX. Guys, if WRAL is still giving away antenns, you need to jump on board. It will not let me post the address, but to go page 99, post #2946. All the info is there.

whats the address again for the WRAL Antenna give away

Good luck getting an antenna from WRAL. My daughter requested one over a month and a half ago. She got an e-mail that stated her antenna had been ordered and if she did not get it by a specific time, to e-mail the engineer back and they would follow up on the order. She did that when the antenna did not arrive. She received another e-mail that stated that part of the problem was that the information had been shared on this forum and that they had been flooded with requests. (She actually saw this on WRAL's web site, not here). The engineer stated that the manufacturer could not keep up with the demand. I find this a little hard to believe. Well, it has been a month now since she got the last e-mail and no antenna. I wonder if WRAL has decided not to honor some of the commitments they made to those that they told would get antennas. Has anyone else had trouble getting an antenna after they were told they would be getting one?

Channel Master is real slow with the orders. I order from them where I work and they are slow with getting orders out. My father in laws antenna took about a month and a half to come in and we even got a email from WRAL saying that the offer didnt apply to us.

I really like the people at WRAL/WRAZ and I don't believe they would back out on the deal. They usually send out the ChannelMaster 4228 UHF antenna and although it's not an expensive antenna it is a very good one. I have seen it as low as $43 and WRAL/Z is probably getting it for less than that. Given the millions of dollars they've invested in High Def the low cost of antennas isn't hurting their budget.

You also have to remember or learn that manufacturing of any one product isn't a 24 hour a day, 365 day a year process. While the factories that make products may run those schedules they are not doing it building one product. They may spend 2 weeks making 4228 antennas and then 2 weeks making something else. The amount of time they spend making any one product may only be 2 weeks out of 6 months. When the inventory of that product is gone it stays gone until they make more. With the increased demand upon ChannelMaster by WRAL/Z's free antenna giveaway it is very likely that ChannelMaster simply ran out of 4228 antennas.

This proves without a shadow of a doubt that antennas in the landscape are making a comeback! I never thought there would be a shortage of old fashioned UHF antennas.

I ordered me a extra one from work and our cost on it was around $36. (4228)

You also have to remember or learn that manufacturing of any one product isn't a 24 hour a day, 365 day a year process.

I suspect you are correct about the Channel Master plant because it took a while to get a Channel Master 7777 pre-amp. While I appreciate your response to this, your facts simply aren't accurate as it relates to many manufacturing facilities. There are many that do in fact operate this way. I know because I work for a company that has many facilities in North America that operate in this manner. This is typical if the demand for a specific product is great enough. I wouldn't want anyone to believe that ALL plants operate that way.

D I R E C T V H 2 0 NON HDDVR OWNERS

There is a beta software update tonight and Sunday night 11p-2:30a

This will finally enable interactive features.
This is a large update, once loaded it is not recommended to revert back to the old version, it may crash your reciever, so this is a one way ticket.

To force this update reset then hit 02468 on remote at the welcome screen.
Go to www.dbstalk.com
for more, go to the cutting edge area.

Just talked to my contact at Suddenlink in Greenville. If all goes well, they are anticipating having FOX in HD by the end of the week. He said it would be on channel 714. They are also negotiating with ESPN to start carrying ESPN2 HD and ESPNU although no firm date has been set.


Oh well..... Still waiting... Sounds like they are having some difficulties. Maybe they will get them worked out soon.

Waiting for a new update on WYDO, will post once its comes in.

WSKY-TVs new digital tower that was under construction in Camden Co, collapes and the tower and the transmission equipment building is a total loss. There were high winds present but WSKY thinks the tower was faulty.
VIDEO available at www.witntv.com

Ooooo, I hate to see that for anyone!!

Thank you for the updates Jamie. That tower falling has to be shoddy work. It's a wonder someone didn't get hurt.
Once they get WYDO DT up they just as well shut off analog 14. That signal is worthless.

Maybe not. I see several things that could be a contributing factor to the tower failure and weather IS a contributing cause even if that was not the rudermentary cause. Winds as high as they were HAVE to be considered no matter what the final outcome is. The insurance company and the tower manufacturers assoc will do an investigation to see what caused the failure. Until then, if I was connected with that tower, I wouldn't say a word. It could come back to bite you.

VARTV has some pictures on the ground. You will have to scroll down to see them.

http://www.vartv.com/

I wonder how long all these legal things will take? Then the re-construction. It will probably be the end of the year before they can get back to where they were when the collapse happened.

Hmm... What a mess!

Can anyone here offer a comparison of CBS HD quality via Suddenlink versus OTA? I am a Suddenlink subscriber and have no OTA capability at the moment. My focus is on sports and as a prime example the Duke/Carolina game yesterday. Are the issues with pixelization common from both? I was, and have been, quite disappointed in HD performance while watching sports on CBS. Is the issue CBS? Suddenlink? WNCT (multicasting)? a combo of all? Where do the issues lie? FWIW, I have the 8300HD DVR connected via HDMI to a Sony SXRD 60A2000. Thanks.

Lytefly I can't say that there have been many problems with pixelation OTA here. Cable looks incredible down here with WNCT HD also. My neighbors have Time Warn. and get almost an identical pic as I do OTA. I think mine might be a tad better during fast scenes.

Several new things to pass along...

WYDO-DT(from Don Fisher)
They are working hard to overcome several issues, and hope to overcome them this week.

SUDDENLINK/WYDO-DT(from Don Fisher)
SL has changed the channel assignment for WYDO-DT to Ch 702. Once WYDO gets a stable signal they will launch it.

WCTI-DT(from Carolyn Stevens)
They are installing today the equipment needed to carry the ACC Tournament in HD,
and ACC HD games.

WCTI-DT(from Carolyn Stevens)
They are installing today the equipment needed to carry the ACC Tournament in HD,
and ACC HD games.

Cool! I'm wasn't sure if ours or Wilmington's market would air them in HD, but being a locally owned Raycom station WECT/WSFX I would think so. Anyway I will be watching 12.

LyteFly. I live here in Greenville and watched the Tar Heels beat Dook yesterday on my OTA antenna. I recently switched from Suddenlink to Dish for my HD viewing and purchased an OTA antenna. The game yesterday I think was better in quality on the OTA because theres no lag in the picture. I thought that sometimes with Suddenlink the picture would drag when for example, a team was on a fast break. I don't have this problem anymore with the setup I have now.

I'm tempted to go the OTA route myself, I just wish I didn't have to. The problems I see are more so when the shot is up-close fast moving. I see this on CBS watching both football and basketball. I rarely, if ever, see this on ESPN and ABC. I believe they both broadcast in 720P where CBS does 1080i. Frankly, I just don't think CBS/WNCT allow enough bandwidth for their signal. I'm just curious whether it is CBS or WNCT causing the issue, or Suddenlink for that matter? TV shows typically look great on CBS, it's just the fast action sports where I see the problem. It's really a shame.

I'm tempted to go the OTA route myself, I just wish I didn't have to. The problems I see are more so when the shot is up-close fast moving. I see this on CBS watching both football and basketball. I rarely, if ever, see this on ESPN and ABC. I believe they both broadcast in 720P where CBS does 1080i. Frankly, I just don't think CBS/WNCT allow enough bandwidth for their signal. I'm just curious whether it is CBS or WNCT causing the issue, or Suddenlink for that matter? TV shows typically look great on CBS, it's just the fast action sports where I see the problem. It's really a shame.Our CBS affiliate here in SE VA also does 1080i, BUT with no subs. Very, very, very little pixelization. Pretty picture...

I'm tempted to go the OTA route myself, I just wish I didn't have to. The problems I see are more so when the shot is up-close fast moving. I see this on CBS watching both football and basketball. I rarely, if ever, see this on ESPN and ABC. I believe they both broadcast in 720P where CBS does 1080i. Frankly, I just don't think CBS/WNCT allow enough bandwidth for their signal. I'm just curious whether it is CBS or WNCT causing the issue, or Suddenlink for that matter? TV shows typically look great on CBS, it's just the fast action sports where I see the problem. It's really a shame.

It's called Macro Blocking and it's either WNCT or CBS that's doing it. Myself and others have seen it with OTA. Fox looks great all the time.

It's called Macro Blocking and it's either WNCT or CBS that's doing it. Myself and others have seen it with OTA. Fox looks great all the time.It's NOT CBS...

It's NOT CBS...

I agree. I believe it is WNCT skimping on the bandwidth. I assume Suddenlink gets the signal OTA, correct? Couldn't they also squeeze the bandwidth as well?

Couldn't they also squeeze the bandwidth as well?

Yes. Limited Bandwidth leads to sacrifice in that department. The only way to be sure your getting all that is sent from the station is to receive it OTA. If you do some searching, you'll find many others complaining in other areas of the same problems.

Directv HR20 HD DVR OWNERS
New beta download window Wed and Thurs night 11p-2:30a.

No version number yet or release notes. Should be released in the morning.

Remember this is a test version not a national release.
To get the releases reset receiver and press 02468 on remote.

Jamie,
I'm just curious because I have Dish, but you're frequently posting about updates you're getting on your HD DVR. Do you know what kind of updates you're getting? I know my box updates itself too, but I have no idea what its updating. Just a curious question.

Yes over at www.dbstalk.com
in the Directv section called The Cutting Edge, I get all my info from there. Most are these updates are test versions that us members test and pass are results back.
I believe under the Dish Network section, they have a software release notes section.

Directv HR20 HD DVR OWNERS
New beta download window Wed and Thurs night 11p-2:30a.

No version number yet or release notes. Should be released in the morning.

Remember this is a test version not a national release.
To get the releases reset receiver and press 02468 on remote.


jamie,

what benefits do you get from the beta update ?

Thks

NO BENEFITS

Its like christmas kinda, its just nice to get something new. As a tester, we got to get the OTA update early back in Dec. All the feed back goes back to directv and helps them improve the box. Our feed back also helps bring new features as well. We kept talking about having to hit guide twice to get to it, they listened and added the one button guide.
Also tonights update is adding a new toggle function. Not sure what kinda of toggle feature, they will not say until its released tonight.

The Cutting edge also is for all Directv recievers not just the HR20, last week it was available on the H20. Also Directv chooses some of us to test new products not released yet. Like the FTM that allows one cable run to the HR20 DVR instead of two.

Also tonights update is adding a new toggle function. Not sure what kinda of toggle feature, they will not say until its released tonight.The HR20 doesn't have a swap tuner feature, correct?

If WCTI is going to have the ACC tourney in HD, does that mean ESPN's ACC tournament coverage will be blacked out in this area? I hope not!

I have DishHD but do not buy the locals through Dish, and cannot reliably get WCTI-DT (Simpson, NC...just a tad east of Greenville). Amy info would be great!

I have DishHD but do not buy the locals through Dish, and cannot reliably get WCTI-DT (Simpson, NC...just a tad east of Greenville). Amy info would be great!

You're going to need more than a set of rabbit ears to get channel 12. Channel 12 is located to the south of you about 35 miles away. Any decent rooftop antenna should get it.

WCTI-DT coverage pattern map

http://img03.picoodle.com/img/img03/7/2/25/f_SCTIDTm_59e854d.gif

The game is on WSFX FOX 26.1 now, but is not available in HD. :( I guess the first one in HD will be tonight on WCTI for me.

Geez when are they going to get Fox looking forward to 24 in HD...

Dont forget the ACC in HD tonight on WCTI-DT12.1

Georgia Tech Vs Wake Forest 9:30p-11:30p


Also on ESPN2HD and ESPN2
Duke Vs NCSU 7:00p-9:00p

Friday in HD WCTI-DT
12p-5p
7p-12a

Okay, so I've determined that the Terk antenna I have is a piece of junk because it won't pick up the WCTI signal from New Bern at all. It actually only picks up about 4 channels and I've got it aligned pretty good I think. For the heck of it I went to Best Buy and bought an indoor antenna to try it, and although it picked up 9 channels, the signal strength was way lower. So heres my question, if I want to get a CM 4228, and I already have the wiring setup, what else do I need to go with it? An amplifier?

Okay, so I've determined that the Terk antenna I have is a piece of junk because it won't pick up the WCTI signal from New Bern at all. It actually only picks up about 4 channels and I've got it aligned pretty good I think. For the heck of it I went to Best Buy and bought an indoor antenna to try it, and although it picked up 9 channels, the signal strength was way lower. So heres my question, if I want to get a CM 4228, and I already have the wiring setup, what else do I need to go with it? An amplifier?
I'm not sure if you've already checked for transmitter locations and strengths, so here's my two cents worth...

If you look at the attached radar plot, it will show the direction and relative strength of nearby digital channels. Longer bars on the plot represent stronger signals (higher "Rx_dBm"). The table to the right of the plot provides additional details about each transmitter. This analysis was done for an arbitrarily chosen point in Bells Fork. If you want a more precise analysis, please provide a more specific latitude, longitude, and antenna height. Your location may have different levels of terrain blockage, which can cause the signals to have different levels than indicated here.

In case you're wondering, distances are given in kilometers, azimuth is relative to true north (like on a map), and height values are given in meters. If you want to know the difference between true north and magnetic (compass) north for your location, you can use this (http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/seg/geomag/jsp/Declination.jsp) web site. The co-channel and adjacent channel warnings mean that you might have difficulty receiving certain broadcasts because other nearby transmitters are using the same or neighboring channels. You may or may not experience difficulty receiving these channels depending on your specific setup, but these indicators can serve as a hint of things to watch out for.



Interpretation of the plot:

- The signals at this location are fairly strong. Were you planning on installing the antenna in the attic, on the roof, or someplace else? A high gain antenna like the 4228 in an attic-like environment will probably pick up all the channels with numbers higher than -100 in the "Rx_dBm" column if you have the antenna pointed correctly at the transmitter.

- The channels are coming at you mostly from the west and from the south. Since the 4228 is a directional antenna, you probably won't be able to get all the channels at the same time. If you install a motorized rotator, you can turn the antenna to the direction you need each time you target different transmitter groups (assuming you have the space to allow the antenna to rotate).

- A pre-amp is meant to overcome any cable and splitter losses that occur after the antenna. It cannot make an antenna any more sensitive than it already is. If you have a long cable run or if you split the signal to multiple destinations, a pre-amp will help preserve as much of the signal quality as possible from the point it comes out the antenna. The amount of gain needed in a pre-amp is dependent on how much loss you must overcome in your cables / splitters. Too much gain might degrade signal quality, so be sure to size the amp according to your system loss. If you want help estimating this, just let us know.



Without knowing the specifics of your setup or your constraints, I'm guessing the best setup would be to place the 4228 on the roof, with a rotator, and a low-gain pre-amp. If that doesn't work for you, then let us know your constraints.



I hope this helps. Good luck!

Best regards,
Andy

One more thing about the antenna data. FCC reception data is based on an isotropic antenna in free space at 30 feet. The FCC has never based FM or TV reception data on indoor antennas.

A great website to check out is www.2150.com/broadcast There you put in your Lat and Longitude to see what is available in your area. I would put in a distance of 80 miles. Be sure to add a negative in front of your longitude number. Then you will see the polar plots and distances of stations you can expect to receive. If anyone needs their lat-long let me know.

does anyone have any new info on suddenlink picking up WYDO HD?

[QUOTE]Quote:
Originally Posted by dixonmb
I have DishHD but do not buy the locals through Dish, and cannot reliably get WCTI-DT (Simpson, NC...just a tad east of Greenville). Amy info would be great!


I'm able to pull in all the locals at strong levels, except 9.1 and 9.2. They are being pulled in always between 76-86 . I'm using an indoor Terk antenna with an amplifier. The trick is to get it pointing in the right direction. Of course, I'm in a fairly new subdivision without many trees. :) I was watching the ACC tournament at 95 percent. Good Luck.

Of course, I'm in a fairly new subdivision without many trees. :)

Are you near Quail Pointe? I own a lot in there. 2.5 acres.

Yes, not far at all from there.

HR20 DIRECTV HD DVR OWNERS

New beta software update available to force update tonight and Sunday night 11p-2:30a.
This appears to be a touch up to the update a few days ago. visit www.dbstalk.com
and the directv cutting edge thread for more info.

Caught most of the NASCAR race today on WYDO via OTA. First viewing of WYDO in HD. I was suprised and very pleased to find audio braodcast in DD5.1. Telecast sounded great through the AVR system. Video signal was good but some slight breakups on occasion...not even enough to cause audio loss.

Is WYDO DT8.1 currently braodcasting its signal at maximum power?? If not, what are future plans or time lines??

Thanks

What is up with Fox HD on Suddenlink?????

I hope it shows up soon. American Idol was almost unwatchable here in Greenville Tuesday night due to the poor analog signal.

I'm having all kinds of interference tonight. I'm having to switch between analog, digital on either WSFX DT/analog or WTAT DT/analog. Very unusual that it be this difficult.

The latest info sent over to the FCC from WYOD is asking for a slight increase in power to their STA. It doesn't look to cover that much more area than the way it is now. Maybe 4 or 5 miles at the most. I guess this means they are not ready to go 50kw?

I was exicited to finally watch "24" in HD. Wow! :) It had a few glitches here and there, but overall was great. Is it true that the Greenville area will end up watching 14.1 rather than 8.1? As of now I'm getting both at strong signals.

Also, just a note, WRAL declined my request on the free antenna giveaway stating that I was outside their watching area. Oh well, they were nice enough to tell me what antenna would work best for my location.

If you can get both8/14 now, then I guess you will always get both signals. How can they be doing two channels off the same transmitter?

It sounds like they don't have the PSIP mapping correctly. If you go to WYDO's digital channel (21?) and it remaps to 8 instead of 14, then you know you are NOT watching WFXI's digital channel (24?).

Sounds correct.

About three weeks ago when I could receive video great, but no audio, and the station mapped as 14.1. Last weekend the station mapped as 8.1.

I just double checked the TV and info for 8.1 (as mapped) reported as WFXI-DT (King of the Hill). It's coming in via channel 21. Antenna aimed toward Greenville.

WRAL has shut off WRAL-HD and is now in SD mode along with 5.2, 5.3, and 5.4

Dont forget that you can watch all the games of the NCAA tournament on WRAL-DT.

No need to buy Directv's Mega March Maddness package unless you want the games in HD.
In the past couple of years on days there are no games, WRAL turned HD back on.

I beleive that WYDO is sending the WFXI signal to the WYDO tower until they get WYDO running correctly .

How can you get both 8 and 14 though? It would seem they could only do one at a time?

On my tv Im only getting 8.1. When I scan or manually add ch 21 it remaps to 8.1

How can you get both 8 and 14 though? It would seem they could only do one at a time?

Same way UNC sends the same programming to all of their 11 transmitters but each one has its own unique mapping.

So-called 'HD Lite' to Continue

Starting in September, DirecTV plans to add 100 HD channels, but subscribers shouldn't expect a change in their HD signal quality.

The HD feeds will continue to feature the same transmission strength the satellite TV provider currently offers, spokesman Robert Mercer said. (read more - TV Week (http://www.tvweek.com/page.cms?pageId=638))

Heres a update I got from Don Fisher at WYDO/WFXI


We have a rep from the equipment manufacturer coming next week to re-install some software that they say will allow us to put our new higher power transmitter online. The 14.1 location will then be active. We are sending the WFXI signal out over the lower power Ranger on 21.1 which identifies itself as 8.1
We are still working on some encoder issues on our microwave path that we believe is causing pixilation with our HD signal.

I am anxiously waiting these improvements as all of you guys are. As soon as the equipment manufacturer's rep completes a project in Florida, he will come here. (They say as early as Friday, but they always underestimate).

Ill let you know more when I do.

Don Fisher

Thanks Don (if your reading) for keeping Jamie informed! :D

That explains why I saw occasional video pixilation but no audio dropouts typical of signal loss. Thanks.

Fox 8/14 DT has been unavailable (no signal) for me since at least Friday evening through today. Hopefully, the manufacture rep arrived from Flordia and is hard at work to fix the signal transmission problems.

I was thinking the same thing. However If I remember correctly last weekend was the samething, seems like the signal came back late Sunday afternoon.

Well, FOX 14 DT failed to transmit OTA, so another FOXHD broadcast of the NASCAR race was missed...analog heaven.

The way I see it, you folks desiring Fox HD on Suddenlink will be waiting a while. I guess FOX 8/14 can deal with a few disgruntled OTA DT viewers, but they won't venture into the cable masses with their current hit or miss track record to date. Guess we'll just keep faith they'll work things out...soon.

Imgetting by without the FOX HD only because I have Directv's Nascar HotPass.
Hopefully soon we will finally have FOX HD up here in the east.
When it was up temp on 8.1 I have to say that the HD was very good looking.
I would say very good.
Seems like to me 720p is a better looking HD, looking at WRDC 720p and Fox, looks better than 1080i HD.

Well, FOX 14 DT failed to transmit OTA, so another FOXHD broadcast of the NASCAR race was missed...analog heaven.

With a decent antenna like the CM 4228 you should be able to get WRAZ 50.1 from Raleigh. The races look great in HD.

:D Maybe FOX14 will make it by summer reruns!

Fox 50 comes in at night but usually during the I dont get it.

I'm starting to believe they are stalling. Thoughts?

I think they are stalling as well Im glad I went ahead and got an antenna so I can get Fox 50, because I dont expect WYDO HD to be up anytime soon at the rate they are going.

WFXI just got a CP mod approved. They may have had to wait until that came through.

Out beyond 70 miles, reception starts to get very difficult, if not impossible due to curvature of the earth. If your further than that from the Wake/Johnston county line, then you more than likely won't see FOX 50 all day long without some real height on your antenna.

Out beyond 70 miles, reception starts to get very difficult, if not impossible due to curvature of the earth. If your further than that from the Wake/Johnston county line, then you more than likely won't see FOX 50 all day long without some real height on your antenna.

He's just about the same distance as I am. I can get Fox 50 locked about 95% of the time. I'm using a 120" Radio Shack antenna at about 20 feet looking through a thick stand of pine trees.

And on a side note...

WYDO analog is getting absolutely awful too. My wife thought there was something wrong with the TV since WYDOs picture has this smearing to it day after day but I assured her that not every TV we own has gone bad at the same instant.

I've known people to switch from D* to E* thinking that it was D*s fault how bad the FOX channel is. It is bad on all providers.

I may have to go forward with an antenna upgrade. I'm 63 mi per antennaweb from the Garner tower farm. Receive WTVD and WNCN DT solid and WRAL DT about 50/50 lately, but never able to lock in WRAZ with my little ol' Stealthtenna. Then WYDO started teasing us about 5 weeks ago and I stalled my upgrade plans in good faith ( and hoping to avoid the extra expense/work).

Does D* have the Greenville HD locals as planned for the near future?? I know E* doesn't even have Greenville DMA listed as planned yet. I'm a current out of contract E* customer and refuse to pay for SD locals. Cable isn't yet an option here in the sticks.

Does D* have the Greenville HD locals as planned for the near future?? I know E* doesn't even have Greenville DMA listed as planned yet. I'm a current out of contract E* customer and refuse to pay for SD locals. Cable isn't yet an option here in the sticks.

I don't know whether they do or not. I was thinking about switching from D* to E* since D* is getting so expensive. I don't need or want the local feed and D* is up to almost $55 a month without any premium channels or HD. I can get the channel package I want from E* for around $35 a month (taxes included).

D* is expensive, I get the second package. It's still cheaper than basic cable here, and offers a ton of channels. Cable offers Crap all around. Poor signals, poor customer service, and mono sound.

Don from FOX8/FOX14 emailed me and said they put the new higher power digital signal up last night on WYDO 12.1/14.1, everyone post if they can get a signal, post your location and your signal reading so I can pass them back to Don.

Jamie,

I varied from 86 to 93% last night and only had a couple of pixelation freezes. I live in Greenville. It was a big improvement.

What channel # was it showing up on? Im still getting it on 8.1 instead of 14.1, I didnt check last night.

I am now receiving FOX 8.1 in Winterville/Greenville at 30%!

When when when??? Geez

Getting it here 8.1 at 85% Washington

i'm getting it on both 8.1 and 14.1 between 86 and 93%

Don said they will continue sending the WFXI signal thru until they get the WYDO equipment operational.

I hope its soon, my HD DVR HR20 will not get the WFXI signal to pass thru the 14.1 channel or 8.1, it gets a good signal but will not remap the channel.

When they get WYDO's equipment operational, that should help with the occasional pixelation freezes and you should remap to 14.1.

Nothing here. 2.1 miles from the tower.

Just checked for channel 21 and locked solid (~85%). Channel remapped as FOX 8.1. Picture great, audio in 5.1 and sounds fine through AVR, channel info present. I had no idea American Idol was a HD broadcast. Gotta have faith...

Location...southeastern Lenoir county between Vine Swamp and Guinea Town (for you local folk). Thanks for the heads-up jamieh1 and for your communication efforts with Don Fisher.

I had no idea American Idol was a HD broadcast.

Second year it has been HD and it was widescreen SD the year before that.

beanpod is that along US 258, 58, 55 or 11? I guess I should try and receive it when I get a chance to play with my antennas.

I'm pulling in Fox on channel 8.1 and 14.1 at 100%. I don't understand it, I must be pointing my antenna in the right direction. Before the upgrade I was getting it at 92-95 %. This is the only channel that I can get at such high levels. The next highest is channel 12 (about 92 %). I'm right in Simpson...close to HWY 33 and using an indoor TERK antenna with a built-in amp.

Nevermind beanpod. I found where your at. Right near the Lenoir/Jones county line just off of NC 58. :D

WYDO remapping to WFXI 8.1 on my Sammy T-350 at a solid 80%. Great picture, great audio, program guide, etc... Glad to see our local Fox (cross my fingers) make in on air!

Question for you OTA gurus. As I am "patiently" waiting for Fox HD on Suddenlink, do you feel I could pick this up OTA with an indoor antenna, nothing elaborate. I'm close to the hospital in Greenville, just outside of town near Bell Arthur?

Thanks

Jamie, did Don say what amount of power they are putting out? It might be the 5.something kW signal, rather than the 50kW. They had recently asked for a slight increase.
I'm curious if anyone in or near New Bern can pick up WYDO ?

Question for you OTA gurus. As I am "patiently" waiting for Fox HD on Suddenlink, do you feel I could pick this up OTA with an indoor antenna, nothing elaborate. I'm close to the hospital in Greenville, just outside of town near Bell Arthur?

Thanks

I don't see why not. I'm in Simpson, just outside of Greenville and I'm getting it strong. It would be worth a shot to try. You could buy an amplified indoor antenna from Target for about $30. If it doesn't work for you....just take it back. :)

Wow, I've typed this a thousand times... *LOL* J/K... I live in SW Greenville. I get all Raleigh locals and all ENC locals with an indoor antenna I picked up at Wal-Mart. It's an Amplified Phillips Mant510. It costs around 25 bucks. Good Luck!

No WYDO DT available down here.

I had no idea American Idol was a HD broadcast.Second year it has been HD and it was widescreen SD the year before that.Actually it's the third HD season. AI was never done in WS SD, at least not the studio material.

Anybody, jamieh? *LOL*, heard anything about ITN rolling out Weather Plus to replace their 24/7 Weather Channel? I happened to glance up at one of the tv's today and saw that ITN was airing the national feed of WX Plus on their regular analog channel. Kinda weird... I figured someone took the wrong source at the studio.

Ive seen over the last few days, NBC having weather breaks from NBC WX Plus. Kinda like CBS NEWS BREAK, this maybe what you saw.

Anyone with a Directv HR20 HD DVR, I found away that you can now pick up FOX. Re run the antenna set up, reset the set up, then reselect the local market and it will allow WYDO to work on 8.1, this allows 21 signal to remap to 8 instead of 14.
Once WYDO gets the signal correct and remapping to 14.1 you may need to re run the set up again.

Ive seen over the last few days, NBC having weather breaks from NBC WX Plus. Kinda like CBS NEWS BREAK, this maybe what you saw.

Good point. I just noticed an NBC News bump last night that included NBC, CNBC, MSNBC, WX+, even Telemundo. Maybe it was a weather break I saw today. Weird! *LOL*

Everyone check and see if you can get FOX on 8.1 or 14.1


They are now on there new transmitter.

8.1 here...

We just had DISH Network installed and already want to send it back. Can anyone either give me information or let me know who to contact to find out when Greenville will be getting the HD local channels. We had Suddenlink and this is what we watched the most and now do not have them. Just trying to get more information before I send this equipment back. :mad:

If you have a HD receiver, from Dish or Directv you can hook a antenna up and get your ota digital channels and HD channels.
They are intergrated into the same guide so its like they are a regular satellite channel.
Directv will be most likely the first to get the HD locals on the sat.
At the end of the year they will have capacity for 1500 local hd channels and 150 national HD channels. Word is that the Greenville locals will be up this year to early next year.

There is a good chance that a Beta software update will be available tonight and Sunday night 11p-2:30a to force update.


please visit the www.dbstalk.com
cutting edge thread for all the info.

Picking up some distant stations tonight,
WWAY 3 Willmington
WRPX- Ion Roanoke Rapids
WPXU Ion Jacksonville

Channel 21 (still mapped as 8.1) still available loud and clear.

Obviously from my lack of knowing AI was HD earlier, I haven't included FOX in my viewing regime because of the terrible analog reception. Now that has changed since their DT is the best of all local DT stations with regard to audio (DD5.1) and video (just outstanding).

Here's the icing on the cake. It appears FOX is upscaling the SD shows to widescreen format. During the UCLA/Kansas game I switched during commercial and Cops was in HD.. Am I incorrect. I have my OTA setup the show HD in widescreen and SD shows in 4:3 with balck bar sides. The commercials during Cops had black bar sides(4:3) but the show was widescreen and looked like HD.

Question...is FOX upscaling shows recorded SD or am I missing something??? If so, that's better than our other local DT broadcasters

We just had DISH Network installed and already want to send it back. Can anyone either give me information or let me know who to contact to find out when Greenville will be getting the HD local channels. We had Suddenlink and this is what we watched the most and now do not have them. Just trying to get more information before I send this equipment back. :mad:

Not sure of the exact link (mayby echostar.com) but I checked about 2 weeks ago and Greenville, NC DMA was not even on the list for future HD LIL transmission. Indicates to me it will be a long wait.

On the WRAZ Fox 50 has alot of the commercials full screen and Cops also, Its not WYDO , its FOX.

No FOX 14 here. I will play with the antennas later and see what happens. I may be too far away for daytime reception.

Are you able to pick up WFXI 8?

I haven't tried them either Jamie. I will try both at halftime with my highest mounted antenna and see what happens.

Ok... I tried both channels, first WYDO(21) aimed directly at the tower, with the antenna that's about 28ft off the ground... NO SIGNAL. Then I aimed for WFXI(24) NO SIGNAL. So I am either in a null or am just to far away, or they are not at full power.

I should note I check the analogs, both weak, but a picture was fully visible.

jamieh1, I watched an episode of Star Trek after the race and it viewed as 4:3. I thought Cops was taped SD and thus the full screen confusion. Looked great though.

The locally delievered content is in 4:3, the national content will be in 16:9 WIDE SCREEN, HD, or 4:3

Everyone check and see if you can get FOX on 8.1 or 14.1


They are now on there new transmitter.

Getting 8.1 on the 27" SD RCA tv. Nothing on the Samsung DLP.

Wow I'm getting WGHP analog tonight. Neil McNeil was on, now weather. Lots of far away channels from all directions tonight.

Wow I'm getting WGHP analog tonight. Neil McNeil was on, now weather. Lots of far away channels from all directions tonight.

How you like our future DTV transmitter? ;) And just think, you have seen pictures of it!! :D

How you like our future DTV transmitter? ;) And just think, you have seen pictures of it!! :D
LOL :eek: :D

NBC NIGHTLY NEWS IN HD started last night. I have not seen any press on this, at the end of Friday nights newscast, Brian Williams said we'll se you Monday night in HD.

I wonder how long before ABC or CBS will have the news in HD?



CBS does not even have morning news in HD yet.

Someone told me that Katie didn't want to be HD because it would show her weight.

I figured ABC would have been HD by now. I bet they make the move now that NBC has. Normally I can't stand a copy cat, but in the case of HD, I'm all for it.

Well, a while back foxeng replied to a message I posted about problems I was having receiving WYDO since I was so close to the tower (2.1 miles). He said that the problem may fix itself once WYDO went full power. I am now very happy to announce that WYDO is coming in very locked and pegging the meter on all of my DTVs. It wasn't working on my Samsung the other day but I tried it this morning and it's working great now. They must have adjusted or changed something, I don't know. It is remapping as WFXI on 8-1.

I of course won't forget about my good friends over in Raleigh at WRAL-5/WRAZ-50 who were nice enough to send me a free CM4228 and will continue to watch the same programming I always have. I do like watching their local news in HD along with Seinfeld and King Of The Hill at 7:00 and 7:30 PM Monday thru Friday respectively.

LOL :eek: :D

Here it is again in case you forgot!! :D

http://www.w4cl.net/fox/p5030065.jpg

Here it is again in case you forgot!! :D

Does that take 4 or 6 AAA batteries?

Does that take 4 or 6 AAA batteries?

For the whole thing or per cabinet? ;)

Does that take 4 or 6 AAA batteries?

Those might work for WYDO or WFXI, but not for a 1 megawatt WGHP DT! ;)

Those might work for WYDO or WFXI, but not for a 1 megawatt WGHP DT! ;)

Well that picture is of the channel 8 analog transmitter that runs at 300kw and post Feb 17, 2009 we will convert it to digital. Here is the digital UHF 1 megawatt beast that runs on channel 35:

http://www.w4cl.net/fox/P8240062.JPG

Here is the digital UHF 1 megawatt beast that runs on channel 35:

Very impressive. Y'all got that one runnin' on C cells don't ya. :D

On a slightly more serious note...

Will the new Intel superchip make those type of transmitters any smaller?

That was some storm they showed over Greenville today. Hail all over the place. I got to watch some of the hail over Washington on the 7.2 weather channel. A good video for some TV bloopers was on air. I hope others got to watch! :D

Yea I was watching on 7.2 and my wife was watching online the 24/7 weather channel feed.

Im about 5 miles up 264 out of Washington going towards Bath, we got heavy rain for about 10 minutes around 4:30 no hail.

If you have Directv check ch 383 NBCW, reports are that the channel is on. I am getting it.

Also we have had 385 CW Baltimore for a while now.

I'm getting 383 NBC but not 385

FOX 8/14 just announced on Idol that they are on Ch. 702 on Suddenlink but it's not there yet!

i saw it too .what's up with that ?

I'm getting 383 NBC but not 385

Do you subscribe to the local channels package, Greenville,Washington, New Bern?

Do you subscribe to the local channels package, Greenville,Washington, New Bern?

Nope, don't need it with the antenna doing such a good job, so I save a little and my front yard is not a junk yard! :eek:

my front yard is not a junk yard! :eek:

I know what you mean. D*TV put my dishes on the roof which was really no big deal. When we bought this house 11 months ago there was a DISH network dish mounted on the ground right in front of the living room picture window in front of the house. It looked really bad there and in conversations with DISH they indicated that they were not willing to move it. So I made it easy on them and told them to come and get it.

The second pic is without the dish.

I have been getting all the Raleigh stations since I put up my Channel Master 4228 antenna about 2-3 months ago. I get all of them 24/7, but this past weekend I was unable to get 5.1 or 5.2. I can't get them in the day or night. Has anyone else had this problem? My antenna is still set at 288 degrees. All the other Raleigh stations are fine. Help!!!!!!!!

I have been getting all the Raleigh stations since I put up my Channel Master 4228 antenna about 2-3 months ago. I get all of them 24/7, but this past weekend I was unable to get 5.1 or 5.2. I can't get them in the day or night. Has anyone else had this problem? My antenna is still set at 288 degrees. All the other Raleigh stations are fine. Help!!!!!!!!

Do a rescan... For a long time I was only getting RAL on their digital assignment 53.1 and 53.2. In the past week, I've started getting them again on 5.1 and 5.2... They may have made a change in their PSIP settings. Do a rescan of channels and RAL should show up again.

Does anyone else think that The VIEW should be taken off the air in our viewing area? I don't watch this show anyway, but O'Donnel is a nut.

Sorry I just had to rant on her crazy discussions I read about!

NEWS FLASH!

WFXI and WYDO HAS BEEN SOLD!

It was released from the FCC today that WFXI and WYDO has been sold (pending FCC approval) to Esteem Broadcasting of NC with an Ill address. Esteem also has pending before the FCC the purchase of WEMT (FOX) Greeneville, TN (Bristol/Johnson City/Kingsport market). The paperwork was accepted by the FCC on March 26, 2007.

This may explain why they have been in such a hurry to get things going with digital. It was effecting the sale of the stations.

From the FCC filing:

Exhibit 10
Description: PURCHASE AGREEMENT AND RELATED DOCUMENTS

THIS APPLICATION SEEKS CONSENT TO ASSIGN THE LICENSE OF BROADCAST STATIONS WFXI(TV), MOREHEAD CITY, AND WYDO(TV), GREENVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA (THE 'STATIONS') FROM PIEDMONT TELEVISION OF EASTERN CAROLINA LICENSE LLC ('PIEDMONT') TO ESTEEM BROADCASTING OF NORTH CAROLINA LLC ('ESTEEM').

A COPY OF THE ASSET PURCHASE AGREEMENT (THE 'APA'), DATED MARCH 12, 2007, BETWEEN PIEDMONT AND ITS AFFILIATES AND ESTEEM IS ATTACHED HERETO. IN ACCORDANCE WITH FCC POLICIES, CERTAIN SCHEDULES AND EXHIBITS TO THE APA HAVE BEEN OMITTED AS THEY CONTAIN PROPRIETARY INFORMATION NOT RELEVANT TO THE FCC'S REVIEW OF THIS APPLICATION. SEE LUJ, INC., 17 FCC RCD 16980 (2002). THE OMITTED SCHEDULES AND EXHIBITS INCLUDE:

EXHIBIT A: ASSIGNMENT AND ASSUMPTION AGREEMENT; EXHIBIT B: ASSIGNMENT AND ACCEPTANCE OF FCC LICENSES; EXHIBIT C: ASSUMPTION AGREEMENT; AND EXHIBIT D: BILL OF SALE. SCHEDULE I TANGIBLE PERSONAL PROPERTY; SCHEDULE II LIENS; SCHEDULE III NETWORK CONSENT; SCHEDULE IV RETAINED TAXES; SCHEDULE 2.4(B) COVERED ASSET ASSUMED LIABILITIES; SCHEDULE 2.4(B)(III) ADDITIONAL RETAINED LIABILITIES; SCHEDULE 4.3 CONFLICTING AGREEMENTS; SCHEDULE 4.4(A) SUFFICIENCY OF ASSETS; SCHEDULE 4.5(A) ASSUMED CONTRACTS; SCHEDULE 4.5(B) ASSUMED CONTRACTS CONFLICTS; SCHEDULE 4.6 CONDUCT OF BUSINESS; SCHEDULE 4.7 LITIGATION; SCHEDULE 4.8 COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS; SCHEDULE 4.9(A) FCC LICENSES; SCHEDULE 4.9(B) FCC EXCEPTIONS; SCHEDULE 4.9(D) TOWERS; SCHEDULE 4.11 CABLE AND SATELLITE MATTERS; SCHEDULE 4.12 TAXES; SCHEDULE 5.4 BUYER QUALIFICATIONS; SCHEDULE 6.10 DTV BUILD-OUT QUALIFICATIONS; AND
SCHEDULE 11.2 INDEMNIFICATION.

THE PARTIES HERETO ALSO ARE NOT ATTACHING THE PURCHASE AGREEMENT BETWEEN PIEDMONT AND ITS AFFILIATES AND BONTEN MEDIA GROUP LLC (BONTEN) DATED AS OF MARCH 12, 2007 WHEREBY BONTEN IS PURCHASING CERTAIN NON-CORE ASSETS OF THE STATIONS FROM PIEDMONT. THE PARTIES WILL PROVIDE COPIES OF THESE DOCUMENTS AT THE FCC'S REQUEST. (BONTEN IS THE PROPOSED TRANSFEREE OF BROADCAST STATION WCTI-TV, NEWBERRY, NORTH CAROLINA, FACILITY NO. 18334. SEE FILE NO. BTCCT-20061127ALD.)

ALSO ATTACHED HERETO ARE A SHARED SERVICES AGREEMENT, A JOINT SALES AGREEMENT AND AN OPTION AGREEMENT BETWEEN ESTEEM AND BONTEN. THE PARTIES FURTHER HAVE INCLUDED A COPY OF A LETTER BETWEEN ESTEEM AND BONTEN WHICH SETS FORTH CERTAIN OBLIGATIONS OF BONTEN AND ESTEEM WITH RESPECT TO THIS TRANSACTION.

BONTEN ALSO MAY GUARANTEE THE DEBT UNDER ESTEEM'S LOAN AGREEMENT WITH ITS LENDER(S). THE GUARANTEE, TOGETHER WITH THE OTHER REALTIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE PARTIES, WILL NOT CREATE AN EDP OR OTHER ATTRIBUTABLE INTEREST.

http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1176361&Service=TV&Form_id=314&Facility_id=37982

Bonten is getting quite a collection of TV stations in the Greenville DMA aren't they?

http://www.dchold.com/news/bluestonenov14_06.htm

Good. The only word I could think of and the stations likely will get some decent funding. All in all a winning combination for everyone I think. It will be interesting to see what changes are made.

Is that why WYDO DT is off the air tonight...again??? When it's up, it's great. Maybe the new ownership can keep the transmitters going.

Do you think they cut it off at night to save money ? I've heard of that happening a lot. I still can't find their signal down here. Let me know when it comes on the air again and I will try some more.

The FCC requires stations to be on the air from 6AM to 10pm at a minimum, including digital TV stations.

Do you think they cut it off at night to save money ? I've heard of that happening a lot. I still can't find their signal down here. Let me know when it comes on the air again and I will try some more.

It's on right now. Their analog is broadcast 24/7/365 so there's really no reason to believe that they're trying to save money by turning the transmitter off. It also seems like it would be kind of a pain in the rear to send someone up here twice a day to turn it on and off.

Thanks RMartin, I will play around with the set-up and see what happens this afternoon. I may take the three way splitter off and see if that allows enough strength.

It's on right now. Their analog is broadcast 24/7/365 so there's really no reason to believe that they're trying to save money by turning the transmitter off. It also seems like it would be kind of a pain in the rear to send someone up here twice a day to turn it on and off.

They don't send people to the sites to turn on and off transmitters. They use remote control links that fully control the transmitters from the studio.

Well I did everything I know of to do and got nowhere. LOL There is some old movie on WFXI analog I can barely see playing now. The reception fades in and out. WRAL comes in better even aimed the wrong way if that tells anything!

Thanks RMartin, I will play around with the set-up and see what happens this afternoon. I may take the three way splitter off and see if that allows enough strength.

If you're in Jacksonville itself I don't know if you'll ever get it. Jacksonville is outside of their service area. If you're up by Richlands or somewhere like that you might get it. You're probably going to have to wait on WFXI-DT if that ever happens. Can you get WYDO's analog signal and if so, how does it look? Does it ever come in pretty good or is it always snowy?

I'm in Jacksonville right on the New River. (on the tip if you look at a map) I tried WFXI DT too and nothing. WYDO analog is a little snowy, but clearer than 8, and I'm outside the service area. Also I'm outside of both FOX 26 analog and digital and I get those signals really good for 60 miles, with a 3 way splitter.

I'm in Jacksonville right on the New River. (on the tip if you look at a map) I tried WFXI DT too and nothing. WYDO analog is a little snowy, but clearer than 8, and I'm outside the service area. Also I'm outside of both FOX 26 analog and digital and I get those signals really good for 60 miles, with a 3 way splitter.

With a BIG, high in the air, antenna you might get WYDO. I don't know that WFXI-DT is even online yet and that might be why you aren't getting it. They may have the low power transmitter up but with all the trouble they've had with the high power transmitter at WYDO they may not even have tried the high power at WFXI. WFXI's service area limits go right through the middle of Jacksonville. Pretty lame for a 1000kw transmitter if you ask me but "I'm not an expert".

The FCC did approve the new tower, and approved the increase in power on WYDO, so that is a good sign. I don't think they are at the 50kw permit yet, because I can't get a sign of any signal.

I'm sensing a signal tonight. This is the first time ever. (WYDO)

I may have a update today on FOX, Will post if one comes in.

this just in from Don at WFXI/WYDO.

We recieved most of the equipment for generationg WYDO HD yesterday. (this means no more repurposing of WFXI on WYDO) I hope to have this installed in the next week or so. We have two remaining issues with WYDO.

First, we are still using loaner equipment for one leg of the microwave path that we believe is causing the intermittent pixillation of the signal. We have not been able to get a firm delievery date from the manufacturer.

Second and most important, we are having microwave fade issues with our digital equipment similar to what we have been experiencing with our analog equipment. The manufacturer gave us assurance that we would have a quality signal within 99% when we purchased the equipment. Study after study said that the digital equipment would not fail. The manufacturer is now studying the readings from the path to help us overcome this.
We have thrown tons of money at this and are looking at alternatives to eliminate the fade.
Its hard to be patient afterall this time be we must.

Change in ownership is generally a very positive thing. I am impressed with their vision and everyones goal is to provide our viewers with the best signal possible through todays technology.

By the way for our viewers in NEWBERN, JACKSONVILLE, and MOREHEAD and surrounding areas, we are scheduled to install our digital antenna on our new full power digital WFXI signal the week of 4/23. There has been some delays on this due to an improperly designed mounting bracket, but we are assured that this bracket will be ready by the week of 4/23. If all goes as we expect, this means we will hit the Suddenlink headend with WFXI HD. That will also mean that we could be sending the signal to Suddenlink's Greenville area customer if we are unable to solve the microwave fade issues by then.

Don

EXCELLENT news.

I am about ready to ride over there and help them work on the stuff myself.
I can't wait until they get the channel up and running.

Threats and more threats.

If anyone needs an antenna or rotors, they are marked WAY down at Lowes here in town. I bought a rotor for $50! Normal was about a hundred. The antennas are the big ones, and were as cheap as $18 - $56

whats up with WITN 7.2?

It has not had weather data for almost a week, and the extended forcast has not changed.

I still learning about this, so forgive the simple question. I am in Winterville, using an indoor antenna. I get the CBS and NBC HD stations great. I can receive the ABC and PBS analog feeds. Should I be able to receive their HD feeds if I can get the analog ones?

Also, last night I picked up WRAL and WTVD from Raleigh perfect as well, but tonight there is no signal at all. Can anyone else in this area pick these up with just an indoor antenna, or was it just a fluke last night?

Thanks!

I still learning about this, so forgive the simple question. I am in Winterville, using an indoor antenna. I get the CBS and NBC HD stations great. I can receive the ABC and PBS analog feeds. Should I be able to receive their HD feeds if I can get the analog ones?

Also, last night I picked up WRAL and WTVD from Raleigh perfect as well, but tonight there is no signal at all. Can anyone else in this area pick these up with just an indoor antenna, or was it just a fluke last night?

Thanks!

Getting Fox (when it works), NBC and CBS should be pretty easy since they are around 10 miles or less from your area. Look for the Fox HD channel at 8-1. It will change soon back to 14-1 when they correct some issues but for now it's on 8-1. You're actually a pretty fair distance from the ABC transmitter and I don't think a set of rabbit ears are going to pick it up consistantly. If you want to get PBS you'll need to turn your antenna towards the west. The transmitter is pretty close to you so you should get it.

Sometimes the atmosphere gets the right conditions to it and a condition called ducting occurs. That's where TV signals (or any radio signal for that matter) are more or less forced to follow the curve of the earth instead of moving in a straight line away from the transmitter. When this happens you can pick up TV stations from some pretty good distances away from you that you would not normally be able to get. In your case it's not that WRAL or WTVD are a great distance away but more a case of you have a poor antenna and both of those stations were pretty strong due to ducting. That the station came in perfectly is par for the course. HDTV in an on or off proposition. It's either perfect or it doesn't work at all.

bamajeep, in your area, I think it would be best to get an outside antenna and a rotor so that you can view both markets consistently. Also with WFXI going on soon you can pick them up when it goes on the air. I think your on their Fringe. I just bought a rotor at Lowes for that purpose for half price. I hope it will allow me to tune in Raleigh better at night also.

I still learning about this, so forgive the simple question. I am in Winterville, using an indoor antenna. I get the CBS and NBC HD stations great. I can receive the ABC and PBS analog feeds. Should I be able to receive their HD feeds if I can get the analog ones?

Also, last night I picked up WRAL and WTVD from Raleigh perfect as well, but tonight there is no signal at all. Can anyone else in this area pick these up with just an indoor antenna, or was it just a fluke last night?

Thanks!

As RMartin mentioned, a ducting example for me was last Saturday morning. I was receiving the following DT stations: WTKR (Norfolk), WAVY, WVEC, and WHOR (didn't take the time to look up the last 3). They were all gone by lunch.

whats up with WITN 7.2?

It has not had weather data for almost a week, and the extended forcast has not changed.


WITN 7.2 still locked on last weeks weather...and darn those live-cam night shots. I miss the Live VIPER 9...like the CW though.

Thanks guys for the responses. I still have a lot to learn. So, in regards to the ABC and PBS feed, I guess it's possible to receive the analog feed, but not the digital?

Also, when the ducting does occur, would I need to rescan all stations to find them, or just type in the number? (I guess also when Fox comes on, can I just type in 8 or 14 and it will automatically go to 8.1 or 14.1?)

Thanks, and it's good to talk to people in my area that knowledgeable about these issues.

Got the line ran to the antennas for my rotor. I hope to get the rotor itself up tomorrow evening. I'm planning on stacking the UHF/VHF combo with the radio shack UHF yagi. Any advise on how to install this setup best? Both antenna will be joined together before the amp. I'm thinking about moving the amp down to the bottom oft he mast so I can take it on and off to see what differences it makes.

Thanks guys for the responses. I still have a lot to learn. So, in regards to the ABC and PBS feed, I guess it's possible to receive the analog feed, but not the digital?

Also, when the ducting does occur, would I need to rescan all stations to find them, or just type in the number? (I guess also when Fox comes on, can I just type in 8 or 14 and it will automatically go to 8.1 or 14.1?)

Thanks, and it's good to talk to people in my area that knowledgeable about these issues.

With my setup, once it's lost it takes a rescan to map it back into the program list. Been having to do it too often with FOX 8/14. FOX 14.1 (currently mapped as 8.1) is transmitted on frequency channel 21. Your HD tuner will do the program list remapping to 8.1 (currently...to become 14.1 at some future date).

Got the line ran to the antennas for my rotor. I hope to get the rotor itself up tomorrow evening. I'm planning on stacking the UHF/VHF combo with the radio shack UHF yagi. Any advise on how to install this setup best? Both antenna will be joined together before the amp. I'm thinking about moving the amp down to the bottom oft he mast so I can take it on and off to see what differences it makes.

JSP, I really don't have experience to offer, but am very interested in your results. I had thought to do the same, but my objective was avoiding use of a rotor (each pointed in different directions). Anyway, I understand, for lack of a better term, crosstalk downstream can be an issue. One solution I was offered was A/B switching the antennas and that, I decided, was too big a PITA to mess with. Good luck and let us know what the magic formula is.

Got the line ran to the antennas for my rotor. I hope to get the rotor itself up tomorrow evening. I'm planning on stacking the UHF/VHF combo with the radio shack UHF yagi. Any advise on how to install this setup best? Both antenna will be joined together before the amp. I'm thinking about moving the amp down to the bottom oft he mast so I can take it on and off to see what differences it makes.

On my separate VHF/UHF antennas, I have taken two separate runs down for each antenna and then joined them on the ground. By doing this, I am able to run a pre-amp on the UHF and not have the local VHF's blast the UHF pre-amp and run just a small preamp to make up the loss in the joiner on the VHF side and that works out nicely.

I had tried to combine both antennas on the roof and run one pre-amp up one line, but the VHF's (and FM's) over loaded the pre-amp and degraded the UHF signals. Downeast you may not have that problem.

It is really important to use a joiner and not a splitter. The joiner is built with one port for UHF and one for VHF for additional isolation. That helps on overload. A splitter just passes whatever is presented to it and it doesn't provide enough isolation in many cases.

http://www.w4cl.net/fox/p2050021.jpg

I have occasional problems with WITN. I suppose the splitter could be the problem. Where can you get the joiners? Radio Shack?

Thanks everyone! Foxeng, I might have to try running the lines down to the ground before joining. That way I can access and make adjustments easier.

I have occasional problems with WITN. I suppose the splitter could be the problem. Where can you get the joiners? Radio Shack?

Radio Shack doesn't sell the joiners. If you have a local electronics store you can check there or you can order them off the net.

Thanks foxeng, I didn't get to work on the rotor today, but am hoping to be able to tomorrow, if not definetly this weekend. I will probably start with the splitter again and if it doesn't work well, will order the joiner. I found one on the net for $9

Hey, anyone with Dish, I just noticed we now get the Fox Sports South HD Channel. I remember reading they were like the only Fox Sports Regional Channel that didn't have an HD version. It seems like it was finally fixed. However, my box doesn't have constant programming on all day long, the only event I found after a quick scan was the Nucks vs. Hawks tomorrow night.

Hello everyone! I live in Bertie County south of Ahoskie. Does anyone know how strong WYDO signal will be when they finish installing the new equipment? I would certainly like to be able to watch a NC Fox station and I hope it will be strong enough to watch here. I am about 45-50 air miles from Greenville. Also, does anyone know why WNCT digital signal is operating at half the power of WITN?

I'm done! I installed the rotor and it is working beautifully. The only thing is I decided not to stack antennas. It turns out I didn't need the VHF anyway. I have no problem picking up WNCT with the UHF antenna, even when it's turned the wrong way! I have seen a slight increase in strenght by doing away with the splitter, and it's much simpler to hook up. I still cannot get a lock on WECT, but I'll keep trying them. I can detect a signal. I can get WYDO analog almost static free, the clearest I've ever gotten them, but no sign of the digital still. All the other channels come in a bit stronger than before with the proper aim.

Hello everyone! I live in Bertie County south of Ahoskie. Does anyone know how strong WYDO signal will be when they finish installing the new equipment? I would certainly like to be able to watch a NC Fox station and I hope it will be strong enough to watch here. I am about 45-50 air miles from Greenville. Also, does anyone know why WNCT digital signal is operating at half the power of WITN?

WNCT is a VHF digital. WITN is a UHF digital. VHF requires much less power to cover the same area as UHF. Actually WNCT covers more land than WITN, both analog and digital.

Ahoskie is well outside of WYDO signal area unfortunately. Also I don't think they are at their 50Kw permit either, so keep checking with us and if things change someone will post the latest.

I'm done! I installed the rotor and it is working beautifully. The only thing is I decided not to stack antennas. It turns out I didn't need the VHF anyway. I have no problem picking up WNCT with the UHF antenna, even when it's turned the wrong way! I have seen a slight increase in strenght by doing away with the splitter, and it's much simpler to hook up. I still cannot get a lock on WECT, but I'll keep trying them. I can detect a signal. I can get WYDO analog almost static free, the clearest I've ever gotten them, but no sign of the digital still. All the other channels come in a bit stronger than before with the proper aim.

Excellant. I'm always glad when someone has success with their antenna project. I wouldn't look for WYDO-DT too hard. It's been down for a couple of days now.

The color on regular 14 looks better to me. I hope they are working on the digital too.

WNCT is a VHF digital. WITN is a UHF digital. VHF requires much less power to cover the same area as UHF. Actually WNCT covers more land than WITN, both analog and digital.

Ahoskie is well outside of WYDO signal area unfortunately. Also I don't think they are at their 50Kw permit either, so keep checking with us and if things change someone will post the latest.
Thanks for the reply. WNCT digital signal cannot be received in this area unless u point straight at it wheras you can receive WITN with ease, basically with the antenna pointed in any direction. When digital WNCT came on, they blew analog Wavy 10, Norfolk off the air. This I got from the engineers at WAVY. I imagine that in this area the signals interfere with each other. Why doesn't WNCT ask for a channel change. I guess it doesn't matter though because in 09, there will be no more analog signals anyway.

Hmm Interesting that the FCC would give the same frequency to another station within such a close proximity. I'm sure WNCT is happy to have the VHF signal. We will have many VHF's again around here come 09. WNCT, WCTI, WFXI will all be on High VHF. WTVD Durham will be on 11 again also.

Hmm Interesting that the FCC would give the same frequency to another station within such a close proximity. I'm sure WNCT is happy to have the VHF signal. We will have many VHF's again around here come 09. WNCT, WCTI, WFXI will all be on High VHF. WTVD Durham will be on 11 again also.
The engineer at WAVY told me they actually had to give the cable folks in the area a digital receiver so they could pick up their digital ota so they could have WAVY on local cable. I have a neighbor 2 miles away with a large antenna pointed straight at 9 & 7, his antenna is 10 ft higher than mine and he does not get 9's digital signal either. Pulls a 95 on 7 digital. We both get analog 7 & 9 clear. Wonder if there is a some type of filter you can buy. I have notified 9 about this problem with no response.

Wow. That's pretty bad when the cable company can't even get a signal! I don't know of any filters to block analog to receive digital. If you get any kind of analog signal from WAVY is has to be killing WNCT DT.

I've been playing around tonight, and even with the poor conditions I can get WECT DT-- 55 miles and WRDC DT--90 some miles with about the same signal. WECT is directional away from here, so it is very difficult anyway. WRAL is close but no cigar. All the other Raleighs are a no show so far.

My wifes uncle wanted me to help him get his father a new tv, he was interested in a lcd, he saw my Samsung LN-S4041D that I just got last month and I told him I was going to return to upgrade to the new 2007 model and he bought it off me and I went and got the new Samsung LN-T4042H, it has a 7000:1 contrast ratio, 3 hdmi jacks, digital tuner, analog tuner, and a qam tuner.
This tv is loaded, can control hdmi black level, gamma, white balance.
The qam cable tuner gives the option to remove scrambled channels without having to tune thru each scrambled channel.
Its interesting that the qam tuner picks up the channels on free preview, like SuddenLinks free HBO this weekend.

The engineer at WAVY told me they actually had to give the cable folks in the area a digital receiver so they could pick up their digital ota so they could have WAVY on local cable. I have a neighbor 2 miles away with a large antenna pointed straight at 9 & 7, his antenna is 10 ft higher than mine and he does not get 9's digital signal either. Pulls a 95 on 7 digital. We both get analog 7 & 9 clear. Wonder if there is a some type of filter you can buy. I have notified 9 about this problem with no response.

Remember that WITN's digital is UHF channel 32 while WNCT's digital is VHF channel 10 so if you are not using a VHF antenna, you will have problems with WNCT's digital.

Im using a channel master 4228 uhf antenna and Im getting a solid 100% signal.
A uhf antenna should pick up high vhf with no problem. I think the low vhf you will have issues.

Yeah but Brownover is in the fringe area for reception and will need just about everything perfect to receive WNCT reliably. We also don't know what they're using for antennas.

Anyone in the Greenville Washington SuddenLink area have a list of QAM channels.
In Washington Im getting...

INDEMAND PPV PREV 85-74
WITN-HD 89-8
WITN-WX 89-2
WNCT-HD 78-8
WYDO-HD 88-101
WCTI-HD 89-18
ENC-TV 83-148
UNC-TV 86-22
UNC-KD 86-14
UNC-HD 86-3
UNC-NC 86-6
UNC-ED 86-5

The following when in free preview...
HBO CH 76-1
HBOL CH 76-17
HBO CH 79-9
HBO CH 80-10
HBO CH 80-13
HBO COMEDY 97-15
HBO CH 97-16
HBO CH 98-27
HBOHD CH 98-89

Remember that WITN's digital is UHF channel 32 while WNCT's digital is VHF channel 10 so if you are not using a VHF antenna, you will have problems with WNCT's digital.
I am using the largest VHF/UHF available with VHF/UHF Amplifier. While the analog is crystal clear with the antenna turned just about in any direction, I can only get digital 9 with a perfect fixation on the signal.. As I said in an earlier post, I have a neighbor with an antenna (I said 10 ft) it is actually 20 ft higher that mine that cannot get digital 9 at all. I really believe that there is enough of Wavy 10 analog out of Norfolk to interfere. Read my earlier posts about what 9's digital signal did to Wavy analog signal. Everyone have a great day!

brownover
brownover


Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Ahoskie
Posts: 4


I am using the largest VHF/UHF available with VHF/UHF Amplifier.

Winegard, Antennacraft or Channel Master? It sounds like a good antenna to pick up that far so clearly.

Winegard, Antennacraft or Channel Master? It sounds like a good antenna to pick up that far so clearly.
Wineguard with Radio Shack Amplifier.

The blue Fox logo on WYDO on HDTVs that Ive seen is half cut off, but on the new TV I got, samsung ln-t4042h the new picture size called JUST SCAN gets the entire blue Fox logo on screen.
When I choose 4:3 the screen shrinks and has black side bars and the you would thing that the whole logo would show, but it does not, it is half cut off still even with the black side bars.

Does any of you have half the logo cut off on your tv.
Im just amazed even with the 16:9 some of the picture is still cutoff, Ive never heard of JUST SCAN.

The blue FOX bug out of the splicer during network programming is a placeholder for the stations bug. It isn't intended to be used as the "real" on air bug. The blue bug is not set to the same screen locations as the station bugs.

There are a few occasions when net will use their white bug in place of the station bug but that is usually if the programming is of major importance. The early rounds of AI use the local bug but when the live shows begin FOX uses the white FOX bug in place of the stations bug. But the blue bug isn't suppose to be on the air.

The blue bug is on the air almost all the time on WSFX. They've never submitted a local ID bug apparently like WRAZ has.

anybody know when suddenlink is picking up fox ??

anybody know when suddenlink is picking up fox ??

Here is a message that may answer your question.

this just in from Don at WFXI/WYDO.

We recieved most of the equipment for generationg WYDO HD yesterday. (this means no more repurposing of WFXI on WYDO) I hope to have this installed in the next week or so. We have two remaining issues with WYDO.

First, we are still using loaner equipment for one leg of the microwave path that we believe is causing the intermittent pixillation of the signal. We have not been able to get a firm delievery date from the manufacturer.

Second and most important, we are having microwave fade issues with our digital equipment similar to what we have been experiencing with our analog equipment. The manufacturer gave us assurance that we would have a quality signal within 99% when we purchased the equipment. Study after study said that the digital equipment would not fail. The manufacturer is now studying the readings from the path to help us overcome this.
We have thrown tons of money at this and are looking at alternatives to eliminate the fade.
Its hard to be patient afterall this time be we must.

Change in ownership is generally a very positive thing. I am impressed with their vision and everyones goal is to provide our viewers with the best signal possible through todays technology.

By the way for our viewers in NEWBERN, JACKSONVILLE, and MOREHEAD and surrounding areas, we are scheduled to install our digital antenna on our new full power digital WFXI signal the week of 4/23. There has been some delays on this due to an improperly designed mounting bracket, but we are assured that this bracket will be ready by the week of 4/23. If all goes as we expect, this means we will hit the Suddenlink headend with WFXI HD. That will also mean that we could be sending the signal to Suddenlink's Greenville area customer if we are unable to solve the microwave fade issues by then.

Don

Given WYDO/WFXI's track record it could be a while before you see it on Suddenlink reliably. Have all the stations had these sorts of problems going digital? You'd think they'd have it down to a science by now.

Have all the stations had these sorts of problems going digital? You'd think they'd have it down to a science by now.

I can tell you that not all stations have had problems like this. We didn't and other stations around here didn't.

I have no idea what is going on there, but from what I can tell what has been posted here, WFXI/WYDO is doing something that is not normally used in these parts except for UNC TV. They are transporting microwave signals distances farther than line of sight and that ALWAYS invites problems. It would appear that they are using too few hops to get the signal out. Now having multiple hops isn't unusual. Stations out west do it all the time. One that comes to mind is KOB in New Mexico. They have multiple hops in multiple directions to hit several satellite transmitters around the state and they have been doing it for better than 40 years in many cases. This isn't new technology. But there are special considerations to be heeded.

According to FCC records, WFXI is the "main control room" for both stations. WYDO is listed as a satellite station of WFXI and fall under slightly different set of rules. That means they are sending signals from Morehead City to the WFXI transmitter at Atlantic and the WYDO transmitter at Aden. 60 miles to Atlantic and 90 miles to Aden. Even 2000 ft towers those distances a part for a single hop would not provide a reliable link 100% of the time due to atmospherics. If I remember, the WFXI tower at the studio is only about 150 ft high. That isn't high enough to shoot a single hop signal to Aden and it would be shaky (IMO) to Atlantic on a single hop. The Atlantic tower isn't but a little over 800 ft high. The Aden tower is about 700 ft. We shoot 13 miles from 300 feet at the studio to 400 ft on the tower and on rare occasions due to atmospherics will have a fade out and this is well within the recognized specs. Over the eastern part of the state, inversions are quite frequent so trying to shoot those distances single hop or even double hop is challenging. I know that WNCT has had issues with their microwave hop to WFXI for the 10 O'clock news. I heard several years ago from an engineer in the area that they shoot from the big tower at Grifton to the WFXI tower at Atlantic and then to the WFXI studios in Morehead City and I know that I have seen fade outs on the news on visits to Morehard City. I know from my own experience with a 950 ft steerable microwave dish, many times during the summer we can pickup the 2 GHz studio to transmitter link of WECT. That is shooting from Wilmgton to our tower just north of Asheboro! It isn't airable but if we have a live truck shot in that direction, sometimes they do interfere with us. Of course most stations use 7 GHz for studio to transmitter hops these days (WECT is grandfathered from before stations had to be on 7 GHz for STLs) but you can get inversions on those frequencies at times as well, believe it or not. UNC is only shooting about 30 miles on a hop but they are shooting from tall towers and mountain tops with highly directional antennas. It is quite a system our tax dollars have paid for and they run 4 systems. One analog going out one coming back from the transmitter sites, one digital going out and coming back from the transmitter sites. So it can be done successfully.

Microwave links are expensive, up to $100k per end of a link so if you have a relay in the middle of a link, you are looking at around $200k at that one site or to put it other words, a two hop link could be in the $500k area depending on how much feed line has to be used. That stuff is PRICEY. So with the fade out issues they are having, it is conceivable that they have too much distance on the hops. And even though it may work out on paper, the seasonal conditions in the eastern part of the state have to be taken into account on those distances and the answer may be more hops but that costs big money. And a station that is in the process of being sold usually doesn't want to spend any money before the sale closes.