Still no KGAN, but now I have a little time to work with my TV again, and I've found the following:

KFXAChief - I get channel 9.0, which I guess is analog? I tried your advice a couple of times (different antenna orientations) of unplugging my antenna, scanning for channels, reattaching my antenna, then scanning again, but so far with no joy.

Cabling could be the issue, but from the sounds of things, you aren't getting anything in the higher UHF area. Are you sure there is a UHF portion to that antenna? If you post a picture we could let you know for sure. I've seen this before when we were back on 55. I always heard people saying they were getting 2, 7 and 9 analog great, but the digitals weren't coming in well, only to find out that they had a VHF only antenna. Now I'm having fun the other way with all of the flippin' UHF only antennas that were sold! At least they're "digital" :rolleyes:

If it is a VHF only, it may work to some extent to pull in the lower UHF digital stations, but the frequency response will fall off dramatically as you get higher in the band. Check your signal meters and see how much it drops when you go from 7.1 to 28.1 or 32.1. They should, in theory be stronger for you down in North Liberty.
-Jarrett

Wouldn't it be nice if all TV's and converter boxes had a built in spectrum analyzer to aid in the antenna aiming?

Yes, it would. The silly thing is that it could be done in software pretty easily. I have a handheld ham radio that has a 'spectrum analyzer' feature in it. It works great just for seeing activity on a handfull of 'channels' within a given band.

What I hate is some of these boxes don't let you input a specific RF channel and see the meter so you can turn the antenna. Until it scans and finds the channel you are SOL.

Cabling could be the issue, but from the sounds of things, you aren't getting anything in the higher UHF area. Are you sure there is a UHF portion to that antenna? If you post a picture we could let you know for sure ... -Jarrett

Here's a picture of my antenna. (http://www.leepfrog.com/~kwelsch/CIMG0752.JPG) Hm, you're right. There aren't any really short (UHF-looking) elements on my antenna.

Would it be a simple improvement, regardless of whether the issue is presently my antenna or not, to clip some of the elements down to the correct size for the local digital stations? I haven't done the math, but rcourtney's home-made antenna has elements, presumably cut to size for local channels, of lengths:

3 3/8", 3 3/4"
4 1/8", 4 1/2", 4 7/8"
5 1/4", 5 5/8"
6", 6 3/8", 6 3/4"
7 1/8"
15 1/2",
16 1/2"

Here's a picture of my antenna. (http://www.leepfrog.com/~kwelsch/CIMG0752.JPG) Hm, you're right. There aren't any really short (UHF-looking) elements on my antenna.

Would it be a simple improvement, regardless of whether the issue is presently my antenna or not, to clip some of the elements down to the correct size for the local digital stations? I haven't done the math, but rcourtney's home-made antenna has elements, presumably cut to size for local channels, of lengths:

3 3/8", 3 3/4"
4 1/8", 4 1/2", 4 7/8"
5 1/4", 5 5/8"
6", 6 3/8", 6 3/4"
7 1/8"
15 1/2",
16 1/2"


The 15 1/2 and 16 1/2 are for the VHF local 7 and 9, the remaining smaller ones
are for UHF (part of the broadband UHF log periodic)

My photos show the full lengths of tubes for 7 and 9 because I don't live in
a restrictive housing development.

The rolled aluminum is not easy to rework so you will need to buy (or make)
a new antenna. A few pages back someone posted a commercially made
antenna as small as mine. I think I have seen one on, or near, the Jiffy Lube
business in downtown Marion.

Jarret,

Will KWWL ever get to a point where you can stay on air through a storm?

Will KWWL ever get to a point where you can stay on air through a storm?

The better question is whether our flippin' power providers can go without an interruption. We had a big bump at the station last night and then some serious rain fade that wiped out all satellite dishes for NBC (C-Band and Ku-Band). Then about a half hour later, R.E.C. had a brown-out that took out our transmitter site for about an hour and a half. We still had Mediacom and CFU penetration via fiber, but the our transmitter site was dark until service was restored. Then to cap it off this morning, MidAmerican had a brown-out at the station this morning that caused a circuit breaker to fail which of course controls our main router. We got it running, but I will be replacing the weak breaker as soon as I can.

I'm not sure what you expect us to do about these electric service outages (except stay on our providers... as we are). Sure, generators would help addresses these issues to an extent, but one for the station would cost over $200000. Rowley probably about $75000. We don't have that kind of money right now for that luxury. I am working on possibly relocating a generator from another station to here that may take care of Rowley, but that will still cost us about $30000. No word on when that will happen.

So to answer you question, yes... as to when, I have no idea!

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090608/OPINION04/90608006&theme=INBOX

"As everyone who does not have cable knows, the broadcast stations will not only take up a large part of the bottom of your screen with weather updates, they tend to take over from your prime-time network show for 15-20 minutes
You would think with the new free digital TV secondary channel (example channel 8-2 or channel 13-2), they might interrupt network shows less. No, we got almost 90 minutes of very inarticulate coverage with super radar this or that coverage.

Weather reporting is needed, and the new equipment helps, but the bottom of the screen will do, especially with each network local having a weather channel. You would think that would be enough for the weather-person’s ego."

— Ray Thompson, Des Moines

Keep in mind, unlike us, they actually had a tornado warning in the Des Moines metro area last night. Most serious stations will go into extended coverage for that on the main channel, without question.

Although Mediacom just started providing free converter boxes for its subscribers to get subchannels like KCCI Weather Now and RTN-5 in that area, most cable and satellite viewers still do not get those stations. I doubt if even most Mediacom subscribers have the boxes, since the change was just announced within the past month or so.

Take this with a grain of salt, not trying to start a fight or annoy any engineers... (this one is for the upper management at the stations..)

I think it is a little more then ironic that the same stations that have spent HUGE money on live radar and latest computer graphics to brag up their weather, are the same stations who cannot afford backup power for their station and transmitter site. If we made a list of stations who do not have any backup at all, I think the list would be unbelievable... O and O's seem to always have backup gear as well as backup power generators, but every other company seems to think it is not needed... It is ironic that they feel that the graphics over prime time is "very important" but if the power goes out, so do those very same warnings... If you ask me, the highest power station in the market should do the weather warning stuff and let the rest stay on the nation feed... (I know, I know, what a crazy idea!)

If you ask me, the highest power station in the market should do the weather warning stuff and let the rest stay on the nation feed... (I know, I know, what a crazy idea!)

That is a crazy idea... one that really would put one station at a serious competitive advantage. Let me put it this way, which station would you watch for news and weather coverage in this scenario on an everyday basis? People would be staying on that channel in the event of an emergency. Sure there would be others that would migrate to normal programming, but not nearly enough to offset the people tuning in.

To complicate things, being that we are a licensed station, it would be pretty tough to swing as this plays a part in our community service.

Don't get me wrong though... backup power should be at every station, as should redundant gear, and things are in the future capital plans to remedy this. But those are tough to justify just 6 months after 10% of our employees were let go. To further complicate things, we've had an unreal string of outages at our studio in Waterloo. I believe there have been more the past 14 months than the past 14 years combined before that!

I expect issues at Rowley, as that is in the middle of a nowhere. We (QNI) inherited a setup that didn't have backup power on the whole building. There was one on the analog, but not the digital. Like I mentioned earlier, we are exploring relocating an existing genset to take care of this, but there is no timetable set for this yet. For now, I'm just hoping for some better service from our providers.
-Jarrett

That is a crazy idea... one that really would put one station at a serious competitive advantage. Let me put it this way, which station would you watch for news and weather coverage in this scenario on an everyday basis? People would be staying on that channel in the event of an emergency. Sure there would be others that would migrate to normal programming, but not nearly enough to offset the people tuning in.

To complicate things, being that we are a licensed station, it would be pretty tough to swing as this plays a part in our community service.
I knew it was crazy, but I like quite a few other people only watch TV for the prime time programing, I could care less about weather.. (I go outside when it looks bad and watch what is coming at me... (but I know how to spot, so I am at an advantage..)

Don't get me wrong though... backup power should be at every station, as should redundant gear, and things are in the future capital plans to remedy this. But those are tough to justify just 6 months after 10% of our employees were let go. To further complicate things, we've had an unreal string of outages at our studio in Waterloo. I believe there have been more the past 14 months than the past 14 years combined before that!

I expect issues at Rowley, as that is in the middle of a nowhere. We (QNI) inherited a setup that didn't have backup power on the whole building. There was one on the analog, but not the digital. Like I mentioned earlier, we are exploring relocating an existing genset to take care of this, but there is no timetable set for this yet. For now, I'm just hoping for some better service from our providers.
-Jarrett
I did not mean to single you out at KWWL, like I said, there are tons of stations without backup power, most (if not all) in my market (Rochester, MN, Austin, MN and Mason City, IA) do not have backup power that I am aware..... And I suppose the chances of loosing power in the cities at a studio is prolly only about 1% per storm, but the xmtr sites are often higher %....

I think it is a little more then ironic that the same stations that have spent HUGE money on live radar and latest computer graphics to brag up their weather, are the same stations who cannot afford backup power for their station and transmitter site.

Excellent point, as well as the point that I and others have always made about removing those all too important crawls during commercials.....

The rest of your message will never happen. IMO, every public station should be forced to provide a sub channel for weather and emergency messages and cable/satellite providers forced to carry them. Then we could have the best of both worlds! I could still watch primetime if serious weather is no wheres near me and those affected could tune to those subs....

Excellent point, as well as the point that I and others have always made about removing those all too important crawls during commercials.....

The rest of your message will never happen. IMO, every public station should be forced to provide a sub channel for weather and emergency messages and cable/satellite providers forced to carry them. Then we could have the best of both worlds! I could still watch primetime if serious weather is no wheres near me and those affected could tune to those subs....

That is a great idea, there is no need for HD weather, if it is on a sub. Maybe run weather sub ads in the place of commercials letting people know to flip over to the sub... Right now is the time to make changes as people we respond to them easier then years after the DTV transition. Common sense should tell people that if the weather is bad outside, to find out what is going on...

My thought was with The Weather Channel, there cannot be THAT much money left in weather for these smaller markets... (clearly there must be, sense they go to great lengths to beat each other!)

One would think that, to be able to meet the "public service" aspect of an FCC license, a station would be required to have backup power for their equipment. For as much money as DC is spending on other frivolous make-jobs, you'd think they could pump some more money into the DTV transition and give everyone a genset...

I could go on and on about the continuing inanities that border on atrocities in local TV, but I'll stick to the following two...

One of those gripes has to do with the 5.1 audio problems posted regarding KGAN a number of times. Most recently, someone has asked if anyone went to the KGAN website to submit a comment about the audio problems. My response to that is, we have the KGAN Chief Engineer on this forum, and that person has read those comments a number of times. We shouldn't have to go to another website to submit comments about it.

However, I suppose that if the only way to actually get something done is to go to the top of the $inclair food-chain, we SHOULD start submitting every complaint we have directly to $inclair Corporate. Obviously our bloviating on here isn't doing any good...

And now, on to KCRG, who recently claimed to have crawl capability on their HD channel. Not last night, that's for sure. Strangely enough, they managed to maintain the 5.1 audio on the NBA Finals game, but they couldn't bring themselves to actually keep the video in HD.

It wouldn't be that big of a deal if the weather/cancellation/sports/election crawl on KCRG was actually a crawl. However, even during the news, KCRG's method of putting additional information on the screen is to pillar-box AND letter-box the screen, reducing the diagonal picture size by at least 10%, and keep it all in 4:3. This makes watching a High-Def professional Nationally-televised sporting event completely worthless.

They can still manage to put up a 16 x 9 crawl announcing the DTV transition, that spans the entire screen, but heaven forbid they do the same with weather, election results, or sports scores.

So, anyone want to help me with a list of what I would need to install to pull Chicago locals (or even DSM locals) OTA in Cedar Rapids?

A friend asked me the other day if we had any info on the switch on Friday.

Do we have any projected times for the stations to switch over on Friday 6-12 ?

Heads up, KYOU-DT channel 15 out of Ottumwa will boost signal strength starting 6/13.

Might want to rescan and point your UHF antenna south of Cedar Rapids and see if it comes in after 6/13.

I bet their SD only.... at least for a while.

I also think the real channel will change from 14.1 to 15.1

Can anyone pick up the current signal? Might be possible south of Cedar Rapids or in Iowa City.

IMO, KYOU is wasting power these days with nearly half of its coverage area overlapping with fellow FOX KFXA. It made sense when channel 28 was such a weak operation as it was in the 90s, but most people are going to point antennas toward the general area of the CR-Waterloo towers.

About weather coverage: I'd like to see local TV in general (can't judge this mkt; I'm not there ) tone down the hype, but I'd rather stations erred on side of too much storm coverage than not enough.

Quick question -- I live in Center Point, and I'm not 100% happy with my cable provider (Farmer's Mutual / USA Communications) due to the small number of HD channels they offer, and also general quality of service issues on both basic and premium channels. Are there any other cable service providers in Center Point? It appears neither MediaCom nor ImOn service us. Hoping maybe there are other options I've misssed... I'd like to avoid a dish if at all possible (mostly for aesthetic reasons). Thanks!

IMO, KYOU is wasting power these days with nearly half of its coverage area overlapping with fellow FOX KFXA. It made sense when channel 28 was such a weak operation as it was in the 90s, but most people are going to point antennas toward the general area of the CR-Waterloo towers.KFXA is a definite improvement from what I've heard KOCR was. (I didn't live here in the early years of 28, but I've heard the horror stories.) However, Iowa City is a little bit of a low spot geographically, and for some folks there it's not easy to pick up C.R. Since cable, it's an issue that doesn't get talked about as much anymore -- in fact, it's my understanding that KGAN used to have a translator in Iowa City in addition to their Washington one, but doesn't anymore. But it did come up when Sinclair got in that dispute with Mediacom, forcing even cable subscribers to use antennas if they wanted to watch CBS2 programming. It was suggested that some may have better luck pointing toward the Quad Cities and picking up CBS4 instead.

But right now, of course, there's another issue: money is tight in many households. If you're looking to cut costs by getting rid of cable, being able to more easily pick up KYOU might help ease the pain. (Of course, you'd want to make sure you also have a radio for weather unless you're able to pick up at least one C.R. station.)

A friend asked me the other day if we had any info on the switch on Friday.

Do we have any projected times for the stations to switch over on Friday 6-12 ?KCRG is planning to shut off its analog at 11:59pm this Friday, then re-tool its transmitter to operate digitally on channel 9. They will have to go off the air on DT to do this, just as KWWL did, but it shouldn't take long.

The two IPTV stations -- KIIN and KRIN -- say on their forms that they'll be shutting off analog between midnight and 6 am on Friday. KRIN isn't moving, and KIIN isn't moving immediately, so I doubt they'll have to take their digitals off air to finish the job. (If I'm wrong, hopefully uhf can correct me.)

KYOU also says it plans to shut off analog during the early morning hours (before 6 am) on Friday. They WILL be moving from 14 to 15.

KWWF will have to shut off their analog, but due to former owner Equity's financial situation they likely won't have a digital to turn on for a while.

KPXR, KGAN, KFXA, KWWL and KWKB analog are already off. Low-power TBN on 17 in C.R. doesn't have to go digital yet.

So unless you get KYOU or some other out-of-market stations, you should just need the one re-scan, sometime Saturday morning. If you get KIIN, you'll need to re-scan again when they move to 12 in mid-August.

KCRG is planning to shut off its analog at 11:59pm this Friday, then re-tool its transmitter to operate digitally on channel 9. They will have to go off the air on DT to do this, just as KWWL did, but it shouldn't take long.

The two IPTV stations -- KIIN and KRIN -- say on their forms that they'll be shutting off analog between midnight and 6 am on Friday. KRIN isn't moving, and KIIN isn't moving immediately, so I doubt they'll have to take their digitals off air to finish the job. (If I'm wrong, hopefully uhf can correct me.)

..................................

Thanks...........................I am setting pretty good myself...

Heads up, KYOU-DT channel 15 out of Ottumwa will boost signal strength starting 6/13.

Might want to rescan and point your UHF antenna south of Cedar Rapids and see if it comes in after 6/13.

I also think the real channel will change from 14.1 to 15.1

Can anyone pick up the current signal? Might be possible south of Cedar Rapids or in Iowa City.

I just checked and I was getting KYOU Analog but no DT......................even when I pointed toward Ottumwa.

Surprised me 10 analog and 29 digital channels on my rescan tonight............pointing towards Ottumwa (I lost digital Channel 6 out of the Quad Cities pointing that way----still have 4 & 8 digital)

I just checked and I was getting KYOU Analog but no DT......................even when I pointed toward Ottumwa.

Surprised me 10 analog and 29 digital channels on my rescan tonight............pointing towards Ottumwa (I lost digital Channel 6 out of the Quad Cities pointing that way----still have 4 & 8 digital)In its FCC filings, KYOU says their final DT facility is pretty much ready to go and has been tested. Problem is, it's constructed for channel 15 and they can't run it until they shut off analog 15.

You may be able to get it after Friday, though, if you're getting their analog ...

Let me put it this way, which station would you watch for news and weather coverage in this scenario on an everyday basis?

The one that is able to stay on the air when I need them the most. :eek:


I expect issues at Rowley, as that is in the middle of a nowhere. For now, I'm just hoping for some better service from our providers.

The power there IS reliable. You should have seen what it was like 10 years ago. It was off ALL the time. Generally for a minimum of 2-3 hours each time. It's so much better than it used to be.

Now riddle me this, why is it that a new Platinum transmitter can't run on the same generator that used to supply the old analog rig? I understand the old digital rig was 480V so the generator couldn't run it, but all the Platinums I've seen are 208V. So why can't that generator backup the new digital? :confused:

The two IPTV stations -- KIIN and KRIN -- say on their forms that they'll be shutting off analog between midnight and 6 am on Friday. KRIN isn't moving, and KIIN isn't moving immediately, so I doubt they'll have to take their digitals off air to finish the job.

My understanding is that KIIN is switching back to channel 12 on Friday night, so will be off while the transmitter is reconfigured.

KRIN isn't moving, so the only thing to do there is to shut off the analog transmitter. At some point in the near future it will be converted to digital and become the primary transmitter, with the current digital rig becoming a standby transmitter. And I'm told they are going to get a backup generator.

most (if not all) in my market (Rochester, MN, Austin, MN and Mason City, IA) do not have backup power that I am aware.....

There is a backup generator for KIMT-DT and KYIN-DT.

There is a backup generator for KIMT-DT and KYIN-DT.

Ah, those two, were the two, that I thought may have generator, given the newness of the tower and transmitter building.. (do they share a generator, or does IPTV have its' own and KIMT have its' own?)
KTTC-DT-36 and KTTC-TV-10 were offline for days a years back in an ice storm, so I think it is safe to say those two sites do not have backup power.

Now riddle me this, why is it that a new Platinum transmitter can't run on the same generator that used to supply the old analog rig? I understand the old digital rig was 480V so the generator couldn't run it, but all the Platinums I've seen are 208V. So why can't that generator backup the new digital? :confused:

Ours is 480 to match the power on that side of the building. We wanted to do 208 (as we did we the little one that was on the air from February through April), but there was no nearly enough power on that service to handle the big three phase, while there was plenty on the 480 and lot of things already in place.

We are also working on getting rid of that old generator and buried diesel tank. That unit is a DNR pain and has a bad transfer switch which costs about $10000 to replace.

We will get new one out there eventually. Thankfully things sound like they are more reliable now than they used to be, but it is much less reliable than my old location in rural La Crescent, MN at WXOW.

We will get new one out there eventually. Thankfully things sound like they are more reliable now than they used to be, but it is much less reliable than my old location in rural La Crescent, MN at WXOW.

WXOW actually just got their new antenna installed yesterday and will be (hopefully) running 371kW top mounted on the morning of the 12th! (I have been emailing back and forth with Dan Rasmussen...)

Ours is 480 to match the power on that side of the building. We wanted to do 208 (as we did we the little one that was on the air from February through April), but there was no nearly enough power on that service to handle the big three phase, while there was plenty on the 480 and lot of things already in place.

We are also working on getting rid of that old generator and buried diesel tank. That unit is a DNR pain and has a bad transfer switch which costs about $10000 to replace.

We will get new one out there eventually. Thankfully things sound like they are more reliable now than they used to be, but it is much less reliable than my old location in rural La Crescent, MN at WXOW.

What is going to happen to the Atlas and Diamond transmitters at WXOW?

Ours is 480 to match the power on that side of the building.

Well, that explains it! I was hoping there was a good reason, and I did know about the transfer switch issue. I never should have doubted you :D

What is going to happen to the Atlas and Diamond transmitters at WXOW?

Speaking of old equipment, I'm looking for an amplifier that will work down on 432MHz. I'd even take a pineappple :eek:
Let me know if there's anything around that you might be getting rid of. This is for my own personal project. It's getting to where my wife and kids are scared to go down in the basement with some of the crap I've been dragging home.

Oh, and a character generator, if anyone has anything collecting dust.

do they share a generator, or does IPTV have its' own and KIMT have its' own?

One shared engine with two separate transfer switches.

One shared engine with two separate transfer switches.

Who controls it up? or can either side fire it up and other can monitor it as well?

What is going to happen to the Atlas and Diamond transmitters at WXOW?

Tha Atlas is the full power digital now. They had to switch out the exciter and the filter as well (going from channel 14 to 48). The Diamond is going to WQOW, if I recall correctly, to become their second PA cabinet with their existing Diamond. WQOW is a channel 15, so that worked out well up there for the modules. WXOW was a tricky one though with the amount tower and transmitter work. I had got it a bit easier once I got transferred down here... with the transmitter at least.

KYOU probably can't sell advertising to the CR/IC market, but getting it up here is not a waste of power for the viewers.

Why? First of all, you want stations to tone down WX hype? KYOU is a FOX affil WITHOUT a newscast, so practically zero hype there.

Second, consider all the non-FOX syndicated programming they will have that is not carried by KFXA.

IMO, KYOU is wasting power these days with nearly half of its coverage area overlapping with fellow FOX KFXA. It made sense when channel 28 was such a weak operation as it was in the 90s, but most people are going to point antennas toward the general area of the CR-Waterloo towers.

About weather coverage: I'd like to see local TV in general (can't judge this mkt; I'm not there ) tone down the hype, but I'd rather stations erred on side of too much storm coverage than not enough.

Just so you know KYOU is operating the current digital 14.1 at lower power than the 15.1 will be after the analog shutoff. Good to hear from someone else who can pull in KYOU.

I just checked and I was getting KYOU Analog but no DT......................even when I pointed toward Ottumwa.

Surprised me 10 analog and 29 digital channels on my rescan tonight............pointing towards Ottumwa (I lost digital Channel 6 out of the Quad Cities pointing that way----still have 4 & 8 digital)

My understanding is that KIIN is switching back to channel 12 on Friday night, so will be off while the transmitter is reconfigured.Thanks for the information.

KIIN -- and KDIN Des Moines -- had applied for an STA to allow them to stay on their current UHF channels until mid-August, and I guess that's what I went by.

At least that'll be one less re-scan we'll have to do, if all goes as planned.

My bad, KIIN and KDIN are switching channels TONIGHT at midnight. Or, rather, Friday morning at 12:00:01. It appears they may transmit on both VHF and UHF for a brief period of time while things are reconfigured. The rest of the analogs will die shortly after midnight.

My bad, KIIN and KDIN are switching channels TONIGHT at midnight. Or, rather, Friday morning at 12:00:01. It appears they may transmit on both VHF and UHF for a brief period of time while things are reconfigured. The rest of the analogs will die shortly after midnight.

Thanks for the info, UHF!

KYOU will NOT be boosting power today. They will return to channel 15, but at 9.2 kW. Their new transmitter will not arrive until August.

http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1316783&Service=DS&Form_id=911&Facility_id=53820

- Trip

the analogs will die shortly after midnight.

With very little fanfare the analog transmitters were shutdown a minute or so after midnight this morning. Goodbye analog.

To celebrate, I'm on vacation!

Did KDIN and KIIN flash-cut on schedule, or is that happening later in the day?

- Trip

So, anyone want to help me with a list of what I would need to install to pull Chicago locals (or even DSM locals) OTA in Cedar Rapids?

Now, now, now, no bad mouthing the local TV stations. They're doing all they can :D

I've been told this is how you can actually get REAL tv stations.

1) Get Dish Network
2) Tell them you've "moved" to Chicago
3) Get Chicago locals off the bird.

Again, this is what I've been told, that it works great because Cedar Rapids is within the Chicago spotbeam. I've, um, been told this is a great way to actually get to watch the shows you want in HD when they're on in HD instead of leaving it up to someone local who appears to not care less. Sometimes I wonder if these local stations even bother WATCHING what they put out. If you tune in to see something, you want to see it in HD not 4x3 with the actual video squashed down even further...

The only bad thing is you don't get PBS. I'd really like to watch PBS in HD. I've tried to suffer through the Iowa Public Television, but there again is a group that couldn't find an HD signal if it bit them in the behind. For years every show on PBS was in HD. The schedule was a mystery, but the shows were crisp, beautiful. Then, suddenly, they decided to change the schedule around and now probably 1 out of 10 shows I watch on PBS are actually in HD. It's disgusting and I quit donating money to IPTV because of this.

Of course, the Chicago stations first responsibility is to their viewers, not the HD desires of outsiders. So you'll probably be seeing Chicago severe weather bulletins while, if there's severe weather here, you may well see nothing unless your dish is very well-tuned.

KYOU will NOT be boosting power today. They will return to channel 15, but at 9.2 kW. Their new transmitter will not arrive until August.

http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1316783&Service=DS&Form_id=911&Facility_id=53820

- Trip


Did KDIN and KIIN flash-cut on schedule, or is that happening later in the day?


DOH! That's what I get for trusting TV Fool :p I'm interested to see if I can pull it in when they boost power. Who knows, with less UHF/VHF in the air, it might improve in ways we don't expect.

Channels 12 and 32 analog were both off last night, currently 12 is now sending ATSC over real channel 12 and the temporary channel (45?) is off.

I actually get a stronger signal from PBS channel 12 now than my UHF PBS channel 32 (35?) even though my VHF antenna is pointed toward Walker from Cedar Rapids.

~j

The only bad thing is you don't get PBS. I'd really like to watch PBS in HD. I've tried to suffer through the Iowa Public Television, but there again is a group that couldn't find an HD signal if it bit them in the behind. For years every show on PBS was in HD. The schedule was a mystery, but the shows were crisp, beautiful. Then, suddenly, they decided to change the schedule around and now probably 1 out of 10 shows I watch on PBS are actually in HD. It's disgusting and I quit donating money to IPTV because of this.

I know, but I think I remember reading somewhere that IPTV was having the poor quality because of the analog broadcast gear, so I hope with that gone, that the HD quality is well... HD...

DOH! That's what I get for trusting TV Fool :p I'm interested to see if I can pull it in when they boost power. Who knows, with less UHF/VHF in the air, it might improve in ways we don't expect.

Channels 12 and 32 analog were both off last night, currently 12 is now sending ATSC over real channel 12 and the temporary channel (45?) is off.

I actually get a stronger signal from PBS channel 12 now than my UHF PBS channel 32 (35?) even though my VHF antenna is pointed toward Walker from Cedar Rapids.

~j

Good to hear that VHF-HI is working well for you... Others on the forum are not having a good time with it...

Good to hear that VHF-HI is working well for you... Others on the forum are not having a good time with it...

I've read that here, and I've posted some solutions here also.

Like I said, my ugly homemade folded dipole VHF-HI antenna pulled in channel 7.1 in an interior room just fine even before KWWL boosted power, and I live in a low spot near Mercy Hospital in CR.

And, just today I checked reception from my primary attic antenna and channel 12.1 is at 71 (out of 100) even though it is pointed the wrong way, and channel 7.1 is 100:eek:

I'm not sure if this helps, but I have separate UHF and VHF antennas in my attic, fed into a combiner. The VHF is a Yagi and the UHF is a smaller 4 bay bowtie. I've heard combo UHF/VHF antennas might not work as well.

~j

I've read that here, and I've posted some solutions here also.

Like I said, my ugly homemade folded dipole VHF-HI antenna pulled in channel 7.1 in an interior room just fine even before KWWL boosted power, and I live in a low spot near Mercy Hospital in CR.

And, just today I checked reception from my primary attic antenna and channel 12.1 is at 71 (out of 100) even though it is pointed the wrong way, and channel 7.1 is 100:eek:

I'm not sure if this helps, but I have separate UHF and VHF antennas in my attic, fed into a combiner. The VHF is a Yagi and the UHF is a smaller 4 bay bowtie. I've heard combo UHF/VHF antennas might not work as well.

~j

Having separate antennas often yields more gain, as antenna designers, make compromises to get all band antennas to have any gain at all frequencies... Plus, splitting the antennas up by band, allows you to aim more precisely for each band...

We powered down the analog transmitter at 11:59:59 PM on June 12th and by about 12:10 AM on June 13th we were able to shut off the UHF digital and turn on the VHF channel 9 digital. Hopefully everybody will remember to rescan their channels in order to pick us up again. So far not too many people have called in with issues, we'll see how the rest of the weekend goes!

KirkTV

We powered down the analog transmitter at 11:59:59 PM on June 12th and by about 12:10 AM on June 13th we were able to shut off the UHF digital and turn on the VHF channel 9 digital. Hopefully everybody will remember to rescan their channels in order to pick us up again. So far not too many people have called in with issues, we'll see how the rest of the weekend goes!

KirkTV
We are getting some odd faults and are going to shut the transmitter off for a bit and make some adjustments. I guess it will be best to do channel rescans a bit later. :-(

KirkTV

We are getting some odd faults and are going to shut the transmitter off for a bit and make some adjustments. I guess it will be best to do channel rescans a bit later. :-(

KirkTV
I rescanned and I'm getting 100% signal. Looking good from Waterloo.

We are getting some odd faults and are going to shut the transmitter off for a bit and make some adjustments. I guess it will be best to do channel rescans a bit later. :-(

KirkTV

Looks good here, is the transmitter still faulting?

The VSWR calibration seemed to be a bit off when the transmitter was set up at the end of last year. We wanted to balance those settings a little better and so far it seems fine.

How does MediaCon pull in some of the locals like KCRG and KWKB?

Because, as of right now, neither one of them are showing up on channel 9 and 10 on MediaCon in Cedar Rapids. Both appear to be transmitting just fine OTA.

I think KCRG gets to Mediacom in CR via fiber optic cable. Not sure about KWKB.

How does MediaCon pull in some of the locals like KCRG and KWKB?

Because, as of right now, neither one of them are showing up on channel 9 and 10 on MediaCon in Cedar Rapids. Both appear to be transmitting just fine OTA.
Mediacom takes our HD feed over fiber and can also receive it over the air. They are currently taking the fiber feed and downconverting it for analog cable customers. They were having some equipment issues this weeend which affected their analog customers. KCRG's signal on 809 was fine but 9 was off part of the weekend and pixelating at other times throughout the weekend. Last I checked it seemed to be better now.

Now, now, now, no bad mouthing the local TV stations. They're doing all they can :D

I've been told this is how you can actually get REAL tv stations.

1) Get Dish Network
2) Tell them you've "moved" to Chicago
3) Get Chicago locals off the bird.

Again, this is what I've been told, that it works great because Cedar Rapids is within the Chicago spotbeam. I've, um, been told this is a great way to actually get to watch the shows you want in HD when they're on in HD instead of leaving it up to someone local who appears to not care less.

Really! Well, OK...you can have our Chicago ABC in HD, which actually runs TWO 720p HD channels *and* a subchannel. I've seen your ABC affiliate via tropo, and I can tell you, your ABC's quality beats WLS out of Chicago. Plus, the FCC screwed our ABC affil over giving us just 4.75 kilowatts of power, so a lot of people can't get them anymore. Our NBC at 1080i hums with two subchannels with older encoders, causing macroblocking.

So if you want, let's trade. I get the good HD from Cedar Rapids, you get the not-so-good from Chicago. Deal?

Although I have been a lurker for about two years and have learned a lot about the technical stuff and to a lesser extent, the local TV business, this is my first post.

Mediacom ought to just take KCRG over the air. The picture looks like it is on film over analog channel 9. It made Thursday's game unwatchable. I went to my guest bedroom to watch it OTA with great picture quality, on a SD set, I don't have any HD TV's (on a strict budget). Tonight will be the same. Could the picture quality problem be due to the converting the signal and cropping the picture for us po' folks that don't have an HD set and still watch on TV's with a 4:3 ratio? I doublt it because KWWL doesn't have those issues. Whatever it is, hopefully it can be resolved by next Sunday's IRL race fron Newton that is an ABC telecast.

Although I have been a lurker for about two years and have learned a lot about the technical stuff and to a lesser extent, the local TV business, this is my first post.

Mediacom ought to just take KCRG over the air. The picture looks like it is on film over analog channel 9. It made Thursday's game unwatchable. I went to my guest bedroom to watch it OTA with great picture quality, on a SD set, I don't have any HD TV's (on a strict budget). Tonight will be the same. Could the picture quality problem be due to the converting the signal and cropping the picture for us po' folks that don't have an HD set and still watch on TV's with a 4:3 ratio? I doublt it because KWWL doesn't have those issues. Whatever it is, hopefully it can be resolved by next Sunday's IRL race fron Newton that is an ABC telecast.

I would check again and see, this info looks to match what you are talking about:

They were having some equipment issues this weeend which affected their analog customers. KCRG's signal on 809 was fine but 9 was off part of the weekend and pixelating at other times throughout the weekend. Last I checked it seemed to be better now.

If it is still down, call in and complain, with cable, some times too many people calling overwhelms their support center, but other times, everyone assumes that the neighbors have called, when actually no one at the cable company knows about the issue.

It's not off the air right now, but it certainly still looks like "film" or "80's TV rerun" quality on the analog 9 cable feed. Audio sounds horrible, too.

As far as getting locals from Chicago, the only reason I put it that way was because I knew that if I could get local ABC and NBC from Chicago, I could get them from Des Moines and other markets that are closer. But I really don't care about getting them from out-of-market. I would be VERY happy, though, to be able to pull WGN-HD OTA, and get rid of my MediaCon cable altogether. WGN and QAM locals are the ONLY reason I'm still paying the outrageous money I'm paying every month for the 10 channels that I get from those louses.

It's not off the air right now, but it certainly still looks like "film" or "80's TV rerun" quality on the analog 9 cable feed. Audio sounds horrible, too.

As far as getting locals from Chicago, the only reason I put it that way was because I knew that if I could get local ABC and NBC from Chicago, I could get them from Des Moines and other markets that are closer. But I really don't care about getting them from out-of-market. I would be VERY happy, though, to be able to pull WGN-HD OTA, and get rid of my MediaCon cable altogether. WGN and QAM locals are the ONLY reason I'm still paying the outrageous money I'm paying every month for the 10 channels that I get from those louses.

I would be happy to get WGN-HD on QAM up here on Charter in Rochester, MN:)

Hadn't had a chance to find and tune the new channel maps until this morning. Near KCC in south CR.

41 digital channels pointing at approximately 120 degrees ESE. All CR (20), plus all the QC locals that I know of (4, 6, 8, 18, 26). Add in 19.1 WHOI ABC, 19.2 CW, 31.1 WMBD CBS, 47.1 WTVP - all out of Peoria, plus 43.1 WYZZ out of Bloomington.

Even got KFXB 40.1 out of Dubuque...1st time ever gotten that channel in CR.

41 digitals in all. All on el cheapo Olevia 26" in bedroom.

Although I have been a lurker for about two years and have learned a lot about the technical stuff and to a lesser extent, the local TV business, this is my first post.

Mediacom ought to just take KCRG over the air. The picture looks like it is on film over analog channel 9. It made Thursday's game unwatchable. I went to my guest bedroom to watch it OTA with great picture quality, on a SD set, I don't have any HD TV's (on a strict budget). Tonight will be the same. Could the picture quality problem be due to the converting the signal and cropping the picture for us po' folks that don't have an HD set and still watch on TV's with a 4:3 ratio? I doublt it because KWWL doesn't have those issues. Whatever it is, hopefully it can be resolved by next Sunday's IRL race fron Newton that is an ABC telecast.

I have been having that problem with KFXA off and on since they switched to an IP Fiber leaving our building.

Hadn't had a chance to find and tune the new channel maps until this morning. Near KCC in south CR.

41 digital channels pointing at approximately 120 degrees ESE. All CR (20), plus all the QC locals that I know of (4, 6, 8, 18, 26). Add in 19.1 WHOI ABC, 19.2 CW, 31.1 WMBD CBS, 47.1 WTVP - all out of Peoria, plus 43.1 WYZZ out of Bloomington.

Even got KFXB 40.1 out of Dubuque...1st time ever gotten that channel in CR.

41 digitals in all. All on el cheapo Olevia 26" in bedroom.

What kind of antenna?

Has KWWL changed anything with their digital broadcast in the past 2 months?

Im in the southern part of Iowa City (on a hill) and have never had any issues "catching" KWWL at around 70% for the past 2 years. No issues with KGAN or KCRG which I understand to be close-by to KWWL towers. About 2 months ago KWWL started dropping out and now I can't even find it with 3 different tuners. I also lost Qubo around the same time.

Im trying out find out if my antenna is what crapped out or if something changed that would affect my reception. Do KGAN and KCRG have more powerful broadcasts?

This is my antenna. It has a power injector that I think is pretty finicky.
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2348191

Rescanned today ended up with 36 digital & 4 Analog channels. Antenna pointing to Davenport area
All Quad CIties i4.x, 6.x, 8.x, 18.x,
All Cedar Rapids including 16Analog 17 Analog
40.1 KFXB Dubuque
7.x 100%
IPT 12.x .............32.x........36.1
15.1 KYOU pixelating


and for a DX station 24.1 Mason City


Who needs cable

Doug
KCØLGB

Has KWWL changed anything with their digital broadcast in the past 2 months?

Im in the southern part of Iowa City (on a hill) and have never had any issues "catching" KWWL at around 70% for the past 2 years. No issues with KGAN or KCRG which I understand to be close-by to KWWL towers. About 2 months ago KWWL started dropping out and now I can't even find it with 3 different tuners. I also lost Qubo around the same time.

Im trying out find out if my antenna is what crapped out or if something changed that would affect my reception. Do KGAN and KCRG have more powerful broadcasts?

This is my antenna. It has a power injector that I think is pretty finicky.
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2348191

That antenna is weak on VHF-HI, where KWWL, KCRG, and KIIN are after each transitioned. Consider adding a VHF-HI antenna or switch to a VHF-HI/UHF antenna.

That antenna is weak on VHF-HI, where KWWL, KCRG, and KIIN are after each transitioned. Consider adding a VHF-HI antenna or switch to a VHF-HI/UHF antenna.

I love the description that the Radio Shack page has on this antenna:

Almost 95% of HDTV channel allocations are located in UHF band. Therefore, the need for a yagi-style antenna is not necessary for local digital reception in many metropolitan areas. This directional antenna is designed with the emphasis to receive UHF digital signals and most close-in VHF signals

No wonder there are so many confused consumers out there. The first part is flat out wrong... since it is more like 25 to 30 % that are now back in the VHF band. I can't imagine that thing will work well at all for any VHF signals. At least this thing admits some troubles with the VHF band, unlike others that are "digital antennas" and claim they are for all digital broadcast channels.
-Jarrett

I love the description that the Radio Shack page has on this antenna:

Almost 95% of HDTV channel allocations are located in UHF band. Therefore, the need for a yagi-style antenna is not necessary for local digital reception in many metropolitan areas. This directional antenna is designed with the emphasis to receive UHF digital signals and most close-in VHF signals

No wonder there are so many confused consumers out there. The first part is flat out wrong... since it is more like 25 to 30 % that are now back in the VHF band. I can't imagine that thing will work well at all for any VHF signals. At least this thing admits some troubles with the VHF band, unlike others that are "digital antennas" and claim they are for all digital broadcast channels.
-Jarrett

Ya, I got a kick out of it too, basically it is a UHF antenna, which MAY get VHF signals if they are super strong!

A Radio Shack uhf/vhf combo antenna, similar to a VU90XR except maybe 2004 vintage. CM7777 amplified, straight shot to amp and split 3 ways after, about 30 feet in the air on a CM rotor.

I point it continuously towards the QC because my PC/Vista MC 64 bit/VolarMax USB ATSC tuner tunes the 20 CR local channels in 24/7 perfectly on the backside, and with my TV's, I could tune in 4.1-2 almost 24/7 up until they went back to low VHF. Wouldn't come in just now and had issues Sunday night with 4.1 and all QC but could get 26.1 intermittantly, watched the end of original Pelham 123.

This morning, Bloomington/Peoria were coming in...go figure. Even got a 41.1 and 46.5-8 mapped in, but they didn't tune in. Heck, 6.1 came in, always was the toughest to get out of the QC. Not sure where the QC towers are located at, but (I've been told) it's about 80 miles as the crow flies to the Mississippi River in the QC from KCC. KFXB coming in, that cracked me up...never in 20 years have I received the Dubuque UHF station here in CR.

If I had a power tilt rig or stacked array, I bet I'd get 4, 8 and 18 from the QC locals 24/7...

Has KWWL changed anything with their digital broadcast in the past 2 months?

On May 1st they replaced their old 5KW transmitter with a new 30KW unit. http://www.kwwl.com/Global/story.asp?s=10285477

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=16380039#post16380039

So if anything I should be getting stronger reception. I noticed that other VHF channels dropped from 95% to mid 60s% but are still clear. Have all the stations reverted back to VHF ?

Looks like its time to look into antennas. I want to see Conan in HD..

So if anything I should be getting stronger reception. I noticed that other VHF channels dropped from 95% to mid 60s% but are still clear. Have all the stations reverted back to VHF ?

Looks like its time to look into antennas. I want to see Conan in HD..

See post 3570: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=16653908#post16653908

Just rescanned a few minutes ago. I've lost KCRG. I really need to get my tower built and put up a better TV antenna.

So if anything I should be getting stronger reception. I noticed that other VHF channels dropped from 95% to mid 60s% but are still clear. Have all the stations reverted back to VHF ?

Looks like its time to look into antennas. I want to see Conan in HD..


All my station signals have gone to lower strengths too. Ever since the switch all of them have gone down, however KWWL stregnth has gone up and is currently the stronger of all since they boosted signal. It even beats my KCRG signal which used to be almost 100%.

Any ideas, anyone, anyone? Bueller, Bueller?

Just to chime in, before the Feb '09 frequency change, the KWWL signal strength on my TiVo S3 was around 87%; now it is at 78% (before the May signal boost, though, it was down at 64% with breakups). Before the recent KCRG frequency change, the signal strength was 95%, my strongest station, but now it is my lowest at 76%.
As for the stations that stayed on their UHF frequencies, KGAN: 90%, KPXR: 87%,
KRIN: 89%, and KFXA: 86%.

To sum up the various discussions on this board over the past few months, engineers and those with roof/attic antenna installations are generally madly in love with VHF, while those of us who were perfectly happy with our unobtrusive indoor antennas, (without the goofy rabbit ears connected), are not so pleased with the changes of 2009.

To sum up the various discussions on this board over the past few months, engineers and those with roof/attic antenna installations are generally madly in love with VHF, while those of us who were perfectly happy with our unobtrusive indoor antennas, (without the goofy rabbit ears connected), are not so pleased with the changes of 2009.

That's the problem right there with those unobtrusive indoor units as they typically compromise the VHF portion of their antennas to make things "prettier". I'm hoping that antenna manufacturers start selling some better indoor antennas that have some better VHF elements. I know the Winegard SS-3000 at least has some VHF gain without the goofy rabbit ears.

That's the problem right there with those unobtrusive indoor units as they typically compromise the VHF portion of their antennas to make things "prettier". I'm hoping that antenna manufacturers start selling some better indoor antennas that have some better VHF elements. I know the Winegard SS-3000 at least has some VHF gain without the goofy rabbit ears.

I have not seen a ton of good reviews on the SS-3000 yet for VHF-HI, it is decent inside a 20 mile radius I think... Just my $.02...... Most of these antennas murder 7,8,9 horribly too boot, which is got to be a killer for KWWL or KCRG!

I have not seen a ton of good reviews on the SS-3000 yet for VHF-HI, it is decent inside a 20 mile radius I think... Just my $.02...... Most of these antennas murder 7,8,9 horribly too boot, which is got to be a killer for KWWL or KCRG!

What is sad is that I think that it is pretty much the best of the bunch for retail indoor units. To be honest, we've had the best luck with a simple coax dipole up against a window! They're aren't "digital" though :rolleyes:

What is sad is that I think that it is pretty much the best of the bunch for retail indoor units. To be honest, we've had the best luck with a simple coax dipole up against a window! They're aren't "digital" though :rolleyes:

Yes, but they are High Definition!:rolleyes:

I have heard good things about the Winegard HD-1080 antenna. I am going to test it myself this weekend. (I am installing it for my uncle) I will be testing at the 15 mile range from the Rochester stations and report how it works on KTTC....

I have heard good things about the Winegard HD-1080 antenna. I am going to test it myself this weekend. (I am installing it for my uncle) I will be testing at the 15 mile range from the Rochester stations and report how it works on KTTC....
I've seen several postings trashing Terk, but I'm getting excellent reception from the Terk Indoor Amplified HDTV Antenna (Model: HDTVA), currently selling for $74 at Best Buy. It's mounted in the attic of our one-story house, which is surrounded by two-story houses, but I seem to be in a pretty good location (northwest part of Marion within 30 miles of the towers). All channels I care about (2, 7, 9, 28, and 32) are in high 90's or 100%, and the others (e.g. 17, 20, and 48) have very good signals, but I don't recall how high. Mileage may vary, but it may be worth a try.

I've seen several postings trashing Terk, but I'm getting excellent reception from the Terk Indoor Amplified HDTV Antenna (Model: HDTVA), currently selling for $74 at Best Buy. It's mounted in the attic of our one-story house, which is surrounded by two-story houses, but I seem to be in a pretty good location (northwest part of Marion within 30 miles of the towers). All channels I care about (2, 7, 9, 28, and 32) are in high 90's or 100%, and the others (e.g. 17, 20, and 48) have very good signals, but I don't recall how high. Mileage may vary, but it may be worth a try.

$74 is pretty expensive for an antenna, that I cannot promise will work for most people. But I am glad that it works for you:)

I have had a roof antennea in my attic for 4 years with no problems until the switch. It's uhf/vhf. Should I be repalcing it or something?

I have had a roof antennea in my attic for 4 years with no problems until the switch. It's uhf/vhf. Should I be repalcing it or something?

Are you in a hole at all? Fairfax, IA (as your ID shows) looks like 20ft gets LOS to VHF-HI stations for the area. Can you run TVfool results for you location and post them? (tvfool.com) Also what antenna, amp and tuner are you using?

This morning, Bloomington/Peoria were coming in...go figure. Even got a 41.1 and 46.5-8 mapped in, but they didn't tune in. Heck, 6.1 came in, always was the toughest to get out of the QC. Not sure where the QC towers are located at, but (I've been told) it's about 80 miles as the crow flies to the Mississippi River in the QC from KCC. KFXB coming in, that cracked me up...never in 20 years have I received the Dubuque UHF station here in CR.




KWQC 6 & WQAD 8 towers are located at Orion Il (25 or so miles south of RI)
WHBF 4 tower is in Bettendorf

I show 55 air miles to the WHBF tower from the Anamosa Area-----your 80 miles is a bit long

I was really surprised to get on here a few days ago and find that no one was complaining about KCRG. We have a yagi style UHF/VHF antenna in the attic. We had problems with KWWL until they boosted the signal. Now it comes in at 100 %. Since KCRG switched, it's even worse than KWWL was. The highest we've seen is in the low 70's. Most of the time it's 0. We've got Dish which doesn't have 7 or 9 in HD so those are really the only 2 channels we care about. If 7 and 9 are transmitting from the same area, why can't I get in 9? Is their signal low? Help!

Is there anyone out there using a Dish Network HD receiver or DVR? I do not have access to a Dish Network receiver with an ATSC tuner. I am getting a few people saying they are scanning the local channels and are picking up 9.2fine but not 9.1. PSIP checks out ok and other tuners are not having the same issue. In the past I have had issues with my DirecTV gear where you need to delete the old local search data and do a fresh rescan and it will work but if you just try to do a search to add new channels it will not work very well. Has anyone seen this issue with Dish and found a way to pick up both 9.1 and 9.2 with a search on their Dish Network HD DVR?

Thanks,

Kirk

Is there anyone out there using a Dish Network HD receiver or DVR? I do not have access to a Dish Network receiver with an ATSC tuner. I am getting a few people saying they are scanning the local channels and are picking up 9.2fine but not 9.1. PSIP checks out ok and other tuners are not having the same issue. In the past I have had issues with my DirecTV gear where you need to delete the old local search data and do a fresh rescan and it will work but if you just try to do a search to add new channels it will not work very well. Has anyone seen this issue with Dish and found a way to pick up both 9.1 and 9.2 with a search on their Dish Network HD DVR?

Thanks,

Kirk

DISH Vip722 here, getting 9.2 but not 9.1
I actually thought I had lost 9 all together until I saw your post. You have my number if I can help you in any way. I actually have two of the VIP DVRs here at home, a 622 and a 722. I have not tried the 622 yet.

I'll see if I can get a contact at Echostar engineering to see if they can help. If I find anything out about this I'll let you know.

DISH Vip722 here, getting 9.2 but not 9.1
I actually thought I had lost 9 all together until I saw your post. You have my number if I can help you in any way. I actually have two of the VIP DVRs here at home, a 622 and a 722. I have not tried the 622 yet.

Just spoke with a friend in North Liberty who has the VIP722 (attic mounted antenna). She checked and confirmed 9.1 and 9.2 are coming in fine via her receicer. Odd that some people are having issues while others are not... didn't think to ask what software version her 722 is running on.

DLPda

Just spoke with a friend in North Liberty who has the VIP722 (attic mounted antenna). She checked and confirmed 9.1 and 9.2 are coming in fine via her receicer. Odd that some people are having issues while others are not... didn't think to ask what software version her 722 is running on.

DLPda

If you could find out the software version that would be awesome. I'm on L6.18, which is listed as "current", but they also show L6.21 with a release date of today, so it looks like new software is spooling to some receivers now. I'll keep digging for release notes.

If you could find out the software version that would be awesome. I'm on L6.18, which is listed as "current", but they also show L6.21 with a release date of today, so it looks like new software is spooling to some receivers now. I'll keep digging for release notes.
I am just west of Hiawatha, running A Dish ViP722/L618 and it decoded 9.1 and 9.2 just fine.

If you could find out the software version that would be awesome. I'm on L6.18, which is listed as "current", but they also show L6.21 with a release date of today, so it looks like new software is spooling to some receivers now. I'll keep digging for release notes.

Just heard back that my friend (who is receiving 9.1 and 9.2 correctly on her VIP 722) has L618(followed by two letters a number another letter -N... but not sure that matters). So it would seem she is on the same release as you... FWIW - the antenna I installed in her attic is a medium sized Radio Shack VHF/UHF combo (XR-75 as I recall), RG6, no Amp - pointed North-NW from North Liberty.

One thought/suggestion: It would potentially be helpful to station engineering staff (and fellow forum members) to ALWAYS INCLUDE: model of equipment, software version, when you first noticed the problem, your location and antenna information when mentioning OTA DTV reception problems here. That way they (and we) can more quickly see similarities and do a better job of pinpointing the problem...

DLPda

Is anyone in Cedar Rapids having trouble picking up KWKB all of the sudden? It used to come in consistently well for me until the last couple of days. In addition, I lost KIIN after they shut off analog 12, but that isn't a big deal since we also have KRIN for that. I don't want to move my antenna as it is an indoor Winegard that is in it's "sweet spot" to pick up KFXA and KWWL, which can be pretty touchy.

I also have the Dish 722 receiver. Not sure what software. And I tried deleting all channels before scanning again and that didn't help.

Just heard back that my friend (who is receiving 9.1 and 9.2 correctly on her VIP 722) has L618(followed by two letters a number another letter -N... but not sure that matters). So it would seem she is on the same release as you... FWIW - the antenna I installed in her attic is a medium sized Radio Shack VHF/UHF combo (XR-75 as I recall), RG6, no Amp - pointed North-NW from North Liberty.

One thought/suggestion: It would potentially be helpful to station engineering staff (and fellow forum members) to ALWAYS INCLUDE: model of equipment, software version, when you first noticed the problem, your location and antenna information when mentioning OTA DTV reception problems here. That way they (and we) can more quickly see similarities and do a better job of pinpointing the problem...

DLPda

I also have the Dish 722 receiver. Not sure what software. And I tried deleting all channels before scanning again and that didn't help.

I helped my father over the weekend. He has lives in Quincy, IL. He has a VIP211 I believe. He was trying to reprogram a channel that had moved from UHF to VHF. We had much trouble, and finally had to go to the menu to restore factory defaults, unplug the receiver for a hard reset, then scan for locals. He successfully added the proper channel after that.

Are you in a hole at all? Fairfax, IA (as your ID shows) looks like 20ft gets LOS to VHF-HI stations for the area. Can you run TVfool results for you location and post them? (tvfool.com) Also what antenna, amp and tuner are you using?

Ya, I'm down a bit, but never had problems with the stations before. Now if they were fuzzy on analog, would that be a problem now, and why?
I can get the info you need when I get home. I have one of the largest Radio shack antenneas in my attic and a line amplifier and the top fed down to the power supply. Don't have the best info now, but that is what I have off the top of my head.
What do you mean 20 Ft LOS VHF-HI? Is that something I will find out when I do TVfool?
Thanks

Ya, I'm down a bit, but never had problems with the stations before. Now if they were fuzzy on analog, would that be a problem now, and why?
I can get the info you need when I get home. I have one of the largest Radio shack antenneas in my attic and a line amplifier and the top fed down to the power supply. Don't have the best info now, but that is what I have off the top of my head.
What do you mean 20 Ft LOS VHF-HI? Is that something I will find out when I do TVfool?
Thanks

What I meant, was at 20ft Above Ground Level (AGL) your town has LOS to all of the VHF-HI stations, KWWL (7), KCRG (9), and KIIN (12).

With very little fanfare the analog transmitters were shutdown a minute or so after midnight this morning. Goodbye analog.

To celebrate, I'm on vacation!

:D for the vacation. well-deserved after all this foofooraw.

:( to the death of analog. No more TVGOS. :mad:

Looks like I'm a minority here - rescanned today to try and get KCRG-DT. (our accountant dropped in, and SHE hadn't been able to get it. So of course, I showed her how easy it is.)

Put in the embarrassed icon - no 9.1 or 9.2 on my rig. 7.1,2,and 3 all come in fine. Figured I'd get a sniff, but my APEX box isn't picking up enough signal to even let me tweak it. Any idea why KWWL comes in and KCRG wouldn't?

(edit - just tried Ken H's "double rescan" - no difference. I'm pretty sure the Apex is kinda finding KCRG, since the scan delays there, but it isn't finding enough signal to lock onto. is KCRG that much weaker signal than KWWL?)

I'm pretty sure the Apex is kinda finding KCRG, since the scan delays there, but it isn't finding enough signal to lock onto. is KCRG that much weaker signal than KWWL?)

Kirk can correct me if I'm mistaken, but last I heard, we are using the same model of transmitter, at the same relative power (they actually are slightly above 30KW since they are on 9). Based on my experiences with this fun the past four months, it could be just something fishy with the box and a factory reset to the unit might solve it. I know the digital stream has this option, but I'm not sure about the apex. You can just unplug the thing for a while too I guess to wipe out everything and make it think it just came out of the cardboard box. As long as our strength (KWWL) is good, KCRG should lock in as well. Same power, about the same location, and pretty close in frequency.

Thanks, Jarret. I knew (thought) you were on the same tower, so figured the only difference could be power. Will play with the Apex some more. Tried factory reset, etc. but heck - I have a spare box - if the first doesn't work, will try the second one.

Yes I belive we are, we have the Harris Platinum and are at our currnet licensed full power of 30.4 KW ERP. We have been getting pretty good results from most people except some Dish Network customers and seem to be having some issues with certain indoor antenna setups in some areas. They would say they received us on UHF but not on VHF very well.

This is the first I have heeard anything about the Apex. Our Apex scanned ok, even using rabbit ears?

Kirk

We have been getting pretty good results from most people except some Dish Network customers and seem to be having some issues with certain indoor antenna setups in some areas. They would say they received us on UHF but not on VHF very well.

This is the first I have heeard anything about the Apex. Our Apex scanned ok, even using rabbit ears?

Kirk

That's me - rabbit ears, indoors. Was touchy getting KWWL before they upped the power - had some serious multipath issues that the increased power has resolved. And I had no problem getting you (or KWWL for that matter) on UHF; but so far, can't get enough signal from KCRG for the Apex to pickup. Maybe I'm in a null spot; maybe there's a different multipath issue with 9.1 - dunno. Will play some more, let you know when/if I find a solution.

thanks for replies - that gives me enough hope to keep messing around, anyway. :)

We have been getting pretty good results from most people except some Dish Network customers

I've reported the issue to Dish and they seem to be looking into it. Hopefully the report will get escalated to the VIP product engineering folks.

Just as another data point, ever since the digital switchover the signal quality (strength?) for channel 9 has dropped dramatically at my house. Beforehand all of my channels were above 85%, now channel 9 comes in around 60%. Channel 7 is always damn near 100%.

This is on a direcTV HR20.

There's definately something fishy going on with the KCRG signal.

Mike

I have a question for someone with a Dish receiver. Will I lose my recorded programs if I do a factory reset?

As far as KCRG not hearing many complaints, it may be that people are still trying things like new antennas, etc. I know one other person who can't get it in that hasn't made any calls.

We just scanned again and got KCRG at around 65 with our Dish 722. So doesn't that just mean that we aren't getting the signal strong enough? Although, if we get KWWL at 100 %, why not channel 9? Could this have anything to do with the receiver? We live on the NW side of CR.

UPDATE: Possible date for KYOU Ottumwa's power boost?

KYOU filed for a "license to cover" Monday.

Scroll down the form, and you'll see the following:

"Applicant plans to construct the increased facilities shortly, but the transmitter needed to achieve the higher power level is not yet available, as it is coming from another station upon completion of its DTV transition. Applicant expects that the maximized facilities will be completed in August 2009. Accordingly, with the filing of this license application, it is requested that the term of the outstanding maximization application be extended to the full three-year term."

So it "could" be three years, but there's still hope for an August upgrade. Cross your fingers ...

http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1316793&Service=DT&Form_id=2&Facility_id=53820

I have a question for someone with a Dish receiver. Will I lose my recorded programs if I do a factory reset?

No.

Factory reset did fix my issue with KCRG HD, and was recommended by Dish Network.

Thanks uhf. I'll give that a try tomorrow.

Yes I belive we are, we have the Harris Platinum and are at our currnet licensed full power of 30.4 KW ERP. We have been getting pretty good results from most people except some Dish Network customers and seem to be having some issues with certain indoor antenna setups in some areas. They would say they received us on UHF but not on VHF very well.

This is the first I have heeard anything about the Apex. Our Apex scanned ok, even using rabbit ears?

Kirk

Would love to have that transmitter. No tubes, glycol, pumps, heat exchangers.

Would love to have that transmitter. No tubes, glycol, pumps, heat exchangers.

IOT's and glycol aren't so bad. You could have had an old RCA klystron rig. THAT would suck. I sure hate outdoor heat exchangers though, they plug up with cottonwood seeds.

IOT's and glycol aren't so bad. You could have had an old RCA klystron rig. THAT would suck. I sure hate outdoor heat exchangers though, they plug up with cottonwood seeds.

That's what I had in La Crosse before Eric came up and helped me install the Atlas. They are sure fun to take apart though with a power socket and saw-z-all! The Platinum is great... one of the big perks of Hi-VHF. Granted, Kirk and I get the extra phone calls then. Stupid indoor antennas!

That's what I had in La Crosse before Eric came up and helped me install the Atlas. They are sure fun to take apart though with a power socket and saw-z-all! The Platinum is great... one of the big perks of Hi-VHF. Granted, Kirk and I get the extra phone calls then. Stupid indoor antennas!

yup, a sawzall, plasma cutter, and bolt cutters. Then drag the entire three klystron cabinet right out the backdoor with a forklift!

Platinums just sit there and run. Ours did once drift all over in frequency due to a crappy crystal oven that was NLA. Now the Diamonds, those are a different story. Like the RCA, I'd love to demolish some of them.

Is that Frankenstein RCA still there at KWWL?

As I have feared with the transistion to digital both 7 and 9 are having very bad break ups with the weather situation this morning. Signal strength meter on my Dish Vip622 is reading 100% for 9 and 93% for 7 but the picture is freezing and pixalating like mad. Summer storms are going to be fun for your favorite programming. Thank heavens most shows are reruns.

Fixed - sort of. I left the Apex unplugged over nite, then did the rescan.

After that (or maybe atmospherics - who knows) - it did find KCRG-HD.

However, with the antenna unchanged from what gets a clean signal on KWWL, I'm getting horrible signal quality on KCRG - while KWWL has 100% quality and 83% signal strength, KCRG comes in at 43% Q and 73% SS. So obviously things are still pretty touchy with digital. :(

Luckily, the noon news on KWWL coincides with my lunch, so I'll leave it where it is, before I lose KWWL too.

Is that Frankenstein RCA still there at KWWL?

Nope... filled a couple dumpsters :p Payback was fun!

Nope... filled a couple dumpsters :p Payback was fun!
sold ours for scrap. got a reasonable price, too, but it had a lot of copper with it.

I appreciate it. I can't find a commonality why some will work flawless and some won't pick up the other channel. I wonder if it will only be resolved with a hadr reset of the receiver?

No.

Factory reset did fix my issue with KCRG HD, and was recommended by Dish Network.
I don't have a Dish Network receiver so can someone let me know which menu buttons to hit for a factory reset so I can pass it along to other Dish customers? Is it as simple as opening up the cover where the card is and pushing the red button? Not sure if it has one or not??

Help would be appreciated!

Kirk

What I meant, was at 20ft Above Ground Level (AGL) your town has LOS to all of the VHF-HI stations, KWWL (7), KCRG (9), and KIIN (12).

Ah ha, gotchya now. What is VHF-HI? Will regular ant. pick these up or should I get a new roof ant.

I don't have a Dish Network receiver so can someone let me know which menu buttons to hit for a factory reset so I can pass it along to other Dish customers? Is it as simple as opening up the cover where the card is and pushing the red button? Not sure if it has one or not??

Help would be appreciated!

Kirk

On the remote control press:
Menu 6 6
Then a Menu 6 9 gets them to the place to rescan for locals
If they continue to have problems have them call Dish Tech support at 800-333-DISH

Here's the URL for the VIP 722 receiver menus. If you click the 6 System Setup, then 9 Local Channels it will show you what their screen should look like.
http://tech.dishnetwork.com/departmental_content/TechPortal/content/tech/menus/722/mainmenu.shtml
It also resets the HDTV setup screen (Menu 6 8), so they may need to check that setting BEFORE doing the reset, so they can put it back where it should be.
Dish receivers have a pretty user friendly GUI, in my opinion. But then I've been using various Dish boxes since 1997.

Hope that helps!

Ah ha, gotchya now. What is VHF-HI? Will regular ant. pick these up or should I get a new roof ant.

VHF-Hi = High Band VHF (channels 7-13 or 174-216 MHz)
VHF-Low = Low Band VHF (channels 2-6 or 54-88 MHz)
UHF = 14-83 (470-890 Mhz)... 52-83 now is gone though!

The VHF band is broke in half by the FM band, aircraft radio, and some other two way and business band stuff. The lower the channel, the bigger or longer the wavelength (and bigger the antenna element typically needs to be!).
Not sure if you need a new roof antenna... depends what you have.
-Jarrett

On the remote control press:
Menu 6 6
Then a Menu 6 9 gets them to the place to rescan for locals
If they continue to have problems have them call Dish Tech support at 800-333-DISH

Here's the URL for the VIP 722 receiver menus. If you click the 6 System Setup, then 9 Local Channels it will show you what their screen should look like.
http://tech.dishnetwork.com/departmental_content/TechPortal/content/tech/menus/722/mainmenu.shtml
It also resets the HDTV setup screen (Menu 6 8), so they may need to check that setting BEFORE doing the reset, so they can put it back where it should be.
Dish receivers have a pretty user friendly GUI, in my opinion. But then I've been using various Dish boxes since 1997.

Hope that helps!
Thank you for your help, I will pass it along!!!

Kirk

Nope... filled a couple dumpsters :p Payback was fun!
How'd ya handle the PCBs?
Ian

KGAN, KWWL, and KRIN all off air due to a power failure.

edit to add: REC is obviously aware and told me that there are numerous power lines down throughout the area of the antenna farm.

How'd ya handle the PCBs?
Ian

None in that one in La Crosse... got them here though :(

KGAN, KWWL, and KRIN all off air due to a power failure.


For once, Rowley came back first... KWWL back up at just before 9AM.

For once, Rowley came back first... KWWL back up at just before 9AM.

I think there was more damage farther south, down near the Walker substation and in Urbana. One of the other stations was reporting poles and trees down on Hwy 150. I noticed KPXR was off too, so the outage must have also affected Alliant Energy.

All things considered the guys at REC do a pretty respectable job of getting the power restored. And that's certainly not a job I would want to have. They will often stop to check on me once the power comes back on, to make sure everything is ok before they go on their way. That's more for smaller outages and anomalies that I report to them though, not the big ones caused by storms.

We are so frustrated!!!!!!!! We've tried everything to get channel 9 in. We have a Dish 722 receiver. I unplugged it for 2 hours and rescanned, I did a factory reset. I hooked the antenna up to the TV and scanned. I hooked up rabbit ears and rescanned. We moved around the antenna (which is in the attic) We get 9 in around 60 or 0. It can't be watched. 7 is around 100%. We had no problem with 9 until it switched to VHF. We had a problem keeping 7 until they upgraded.

I know it's not great having your antenna in the attic. But WHY CAN'T WE GET 9 IF WE CAN GET 7? Can someone please help?!!!

KFXA & KCRG are both off the air via Mediacom in Iowa City this am.

We are so frustrated!!!!!!!! We've tried everything to get channel 9 in. We have a Dish 722 receiver. I unplugged it for 2 hours and rescanned, I did a factory reset. I hooked the antenna up to the TV and scanned. I hooked up rabbit ears and rescanned. We moved around the antenna (which is in the attic) We get 9 in around 60 or 0. It can't be watched. 7 is around 100%. We had no problem with 9 until it switched to VHF. We had a problem keeping 7 until they upgraded.

I know it's not great having your antenna in the attic. But WHY CAN'T WE GET 9 IF WE CAN GET 7? Can someone please help?!!!

Does your TV have a built in ATSC digital tuner or is there any other receiver in your house with a digital tuner other than your Dish Network receiver? It would be a good test to scan for channels with a receiver capable of receiving the digital channels that isn't the Dish 722 receiver and see if that picks up 9.1 and 9.2 ok. For whatever reason some Dish receivers have been having some strange problems.

Kirk

Kirk,

Yes, I unplugged my off air antenna from the Dish 722 receiver and then plugged it into the off air connection on my tv which has an ATSC digital tuner. Scanned and still only received channels 9.1 and 9.2 at 65 or less. So I know it's not the receiver. If it's the antenna, why do I pick up channel 7 so well?

Kirk,

Yes, I unplugged my off air antenna from the Dish 722 receiver and then plugged it into the off air connection on my tv which has an ATSC digital tuner. Scanned and still only received channels 9.1 and 9.2 at 65 or less. So I know it's not the receiver. If it's the antenna, why do I pick up channel 7 so well?

It could be local interference. Are there any FM radio stations around 94.5 around you or in your path? We battle this up here in Waterloo a bit with KWWL and 88.5 FM's second harmonic. Just something to consider.
-Jarrett

It could be local interference. Are there any FM radio stations around 94.5 around you or in your path? We battle this up here in Waterloo a bit with KWWL and 88.5 FM's second harmonic. Just something to consider.
-Jarrett

It could also be multipath interference, in which case rotating your antenna may help. Try turning it little at a time (in either direction) and see if that improves the signal quality.

Did KWKB finally start transmitting in HD during CW programming? The one TV in my house that is not hooked up to cable is an SD set so I can't tell for sure. For those with HD, I suppose you may now be able to see the Cardinals in HD if KSDK produces the games in HD.

In other developments, after the analog shut off, KWWF was a cable only station, but the satellite feed ended on Thursday. From a check of another message board, it looks like this is the case for many of the remaining Equity FTA signals.

I don't think KWKB has any plans for going HD anytime soon.

And even if they did, it is HIGHLY unlikely that they would carry any HD Cards as an affilliate.

In other developments, after the analog shut off, KWWF was a cable only station, but the satellite feed ended on Thursday. From a check of another message board, it looks like this is the case for many of the remaining Equity FTA signals.Not surprised there. Equity had the whole chain's master control (and RTN's, until they sold it) "hubbed" in Little Rock. If I'm not mistaken, they generated each station's feed there and fed each of its stations by satellite from that hub. Even if they're able to get programming to the transmitter, their bankruptcy left them unable to finance their digital flash-cut.

They have filed for -- and received -- special temporary authority to build an interim transmitter which would put out 18.7 kW from approximately five miles south southwest of Rowley, in a directional pattern which does not favor the northeast very well. (See this .pdf (http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getattachment_exh.cgi?exhibit_id=762557&formid=911&q_num=5200).) And by "does not favor," I mean Cedar Rapids, Waterloo and Vinton may be able to get it, but places like Prairieburg, Anamosa and Coggon are just outside the depicted contour. Even Rowley itself may not get the best of signals.

Interestingly, the .pdfs Equity included with their application all bear the disclaimer, "PDF created with pdfFactory trial version," along with the pdfFactory website.

I just checked a minute or so ago ... KWKB is now broadcasting CW in 1920x1080i.

It could also be multipath interference, in which case rotating your antenna may help. Try turning it little at a time (in either direction) and see if that improves the signal quality.

I have also been trying since the transition to get my signal back. :confused: I had a very clear signal for KCRG before the transition, but since then I have not been able to get anything. I had good reception even in storms prior to the transition.

I have checked my antenna, adjusted its direction, scanned countless times, nothing. Something has changed since the transition. Now I just watch one of the other channels that I get, 2, 12, 20, etc.

Something has changed since the transition. Now I just watch one of the other channels that I get, 2, 12, 20, etc.

Yes, they moved from UHF CH52 to VHF Ch9. There are issues nationwide with DTV on VHF, but there are things you can do.

Since you didn't give us any info about where you are, your antenna, etc, we can't really help you with your issue. Post back with more info. Or give KCRG a call and ask them for help.

Did KWKB finally start transmitting in HD during CW programming? The one TV in my house that is not hooked up to cable is an SD set so I can't tell for sure. For those with HD, I suppose you may now be able to see the Cardinals in HD if KSDK produces the games in HD.

In other developments, after the analog shut off, KWWF was a cable only station, but the satellite feed ended on Thursday. From a check of another message board, it looks like this is the case for many of the remaining Equity FTA signals.



http://www.northpine.com/broadcast/


IOWA:
Independent station KWWF/22 (Waterloo) has gone silent after the digital transition.

The silence is not unexpected since KWWF did not have a digital companion channel and owner Equity Media Holdings is in bankruptcy.


KWWF was actually still available on cable systems for several days after the digital transition until

Equity discontinued the KWWF satellite feed from its Arkansas headquarters. Valley Bank is in the process of buying KWWF,


along with a low-power station in Denver and a full-power station in Cheyenne, WY. (6/24/2009)

http://www.northpine.com/broadcast/

I just checked a minute or so ago ... KWKB is now broadcasting CW in 1920x1080i.

That begs the question... "Does MediaCon provide KWKB's 1080i programming in HD, or is it just a digital SD channel? If not, when will they carry the HD version on QAM?"

I finally was able to post my photos and videos of the last analog shutoff in this market.

See it here. (http://www.flickr.com/photos/oldsyd/sets/72157620383854069/)

Thanks to Kirk, Niels and Ryan for letting me be a fly on the wall that night.

That begs the question... "Does MediaCon provide KWKB's 1080i programming in HD, or is it just a digital SD channel? If not, when will they carry the HD version on QAM?"

I just did an updated channel scan and they have KWKB on 3 QAM channels, 125.8, 125.6, and 118.4. Now, 125.8 and 125.6 both stretch the SD show on my LCD TV, but 118.4 is pillar boxed... interesting.

Also, something new for me, on QAM channel 125.2 they have KCWI in (really low bitrate) SD. Given that I'm not in that viewing area, this is very odd.

I finally was able to post my photos and videos of the last analog shutoff in this market.

See it here. (http://www.flickr.com/photos/oldsyd/sets/72157620383854069/)

Thanks to Kirk, Niels and Ryan for letting me be a fly on the wall that night.

Did you have a voltage regulator for the Sigma? Are you going to keep it? Contact me if you are going to sell it.

BTW, I would like to have my thyratron tube back.

Just a quick update, I just confirmed that QAM 118.4 for me is in fact KWKB in 1080i. The old 4:3 show they had on at the time didn't look that good, but I'm going to record Smallville tonight and see if it looks like what I would expect 16:9 HD programming to look and sound like.

Last night the CW was in 4:3 instead of 16:9. Someone in master control must have forgotten to flip the switch at 7pm or something.

Did you have a voltage regulator for the Sigma? Are you going to keep it? Contact me if you are going to sell it.

BTW, I would like to have my thyratron tube back.

You would have to ask KirkTV about those things, I was just visiting, I didn't notice any tubes rolling around on the floor :)

Last night the CW was in 4:3 instead of 16:9. Someone in master control must have forgotten to flip the switch at 7pm or something.The paper says they were airing America's Next Top Model and Hitched Or Ditched on CW last night. I doubt those shows were HD to begin with. Reality shows are still kind of spotty like that.

I finally was able to post my photos and videos of the last analog shutoff in this market.

Just to clarify, the combiner that does KRIN, KGAN, and used to do KCRG is in the basement, there was a ch 51/52 combiner before that that is above the control room. Ch9 DTV goes up it's own coax now to the original Ch9 antenna at the very top of the tower. Below it is the wideband DT antenna that serves RF Ch 35 and 51 (and had 52 until it shut down). So there's a 6" line for KCRG, and a 7" line for KRIN/KGAN running the 2000' to the antennas.

Did you have a voltage regulator for the Sigma?

They do have a Staco regulator for the Sigma. IPTV has two Sigmas that were shut down (that also have Staco's). I don't have a clue what they plan to do with them.

Cool photos of the site!
But should 100_6365 be pulled from internet viewing?

It is interesting that RF "plumbing" looks like water plumbing.

Just to clarify, the combiner that does KRIN, KGAN, and used to do KCRG is in the basement, there was a ch 51/52 combiner before that that is above the control room. Ch9 DTV goes up it's own coax now to the original Ch9 antenna at the very top of the tower. Below it is the wideband DT antenna that serves RF Ch 35 and 51 (and had 52 until it shut down). So there's a 6" line for KCRG, and a 7" line for KRIN/KGAN running the 2000' to the antennas.

Thanks for clearing that up. All of that waveguide and coax confused me. It's quite a work of art zig-zagging all over the place!

Cool photos of the site!
But should 100_6365 be pulled from internet viewing?
It does not show anything not already in public knowledge, pretty hard to hide the location of a 2000ft tower! LOL

It is interesting that RF "plumbing" looks like water plumbing.

The copper feedline does have a water main look to it, doesn't it??!!

Just a quick update, I just confirmed that QAM 118.4 for me is in fact KWKB in 1080i. The old 4:3 show they had on at the time didn't look that good, but I'm going to record Smallville tonight and see if it looks like what I would expect 16:9 HD programming to look and sound like.

Well, I recorded Smallville last night, but the audio was not DD5.1 and the picture broke up a little too often; I can tolerate a few picture breakups, as long as the audio doesn't cut out. So, hopefully by September they can get it all working at full strength with proper 5.1 sound, but at least having CW in 1080i is a step in the right direction.

The copper feedline does have a water main look to it, doesn't it??!!

It sure does. Only it's filled with Nitrogen instead of water in this case.

Also, that line is actually coaxial, just like the RG6 you use on your home antennas. Inside the big pipe is a smaller one, with teflon spacers ever few feet to keep it centered.

The inner conductors connect together with a "bullet", one end has a "watchband spring" (looks like a watchband) to allow slight movement as the line changes length due to thermal expansion and contraction.

The outers have a rubber o-ring where they join together to make and air and water tight seal. The Nitrogen is in there to keep any moisture out, and they generally open a purge valve at the top after installing the line to (hopefully) push any moisture out of the line. Installing line on a day like today would introduce a large amount of humidity, and when the temperatures get colder it will condense into water, and that's bad (don't ask me how I know that! It's a memory I try to forget). Also, the pressure of the nitrogen keeps any leaks in the o-rings from allowing moisture and air into the line.

Some stations use a dehydrator to pump dry air into the line instead of nitrogen. There is some debate as to whether there is any advantages in using one over the other.

It sure does. Only it's filled with Nitrogen instead of water in this case.

Also, that line is actually coaxial, just like the RG6 you use on your home antennas. Inside the big pipe is a smaller one, with teflon spacers ever few feet to keep it centered.

The inner conductors connect together with a "bullet", one end has a "watchband spring" (looks like a watchband) to allow slight movement as the line changes length due to thermal expansion and contraction.

The outers have a rubber o-ring where they join together to make and air and water tight seal. The Nitrogen is in there to keep any moisture out, and they generally open a purge valve at the top after installing the line to (hopefully) push any moisture out of the line. Installing line on a day like today would introduce a large amount of humidity, and when the temperatures get colder it will condense into water, and that's bad (don't ask me how I know that! It's a memory I try to forget). Also, the pressure of the nitrogen keeps any leaks in the o-rings from allowing moisture and air into the line.

Some stations use a dehydrator to pump dry air into the line instead of nitrogen. There is some debate as to whether there is any advantages in using one over the other.

Thanks for info, UHF. Boy on a 2000ft run 6 or 7" line, that must be a LOT of Nitrogen. Is there a way to trap it in the line, when antenna connections are made, or sections of the "coax" get replaced?

Some stations use a dehydrator to pump dry air into the line instead of nitrogen. There is some debate as to whether there is any advantages in using one over the other.

I've used both, and I side with Nitrogen, for the big reason that if a fire starts in the line, the Nitrogen will suffocate it. With dried air, it is like blowing on the fire, feeding fresh air to help it grow. Nitrogen costs more of course, escpecially if you have any leaks, but I think that the benefit it worth it.

Hi all,

I'm living in Marion and want to dump cable. I'm wanting to purchase an antenna to put in my attic but wanted to get some advice. Someone at work said to just buy a DB4. As long as we get KCRG, KWWL, KGAN, and KFXA in HD I'm happy.

Anyhow, here are results from TV Fool if that helps:
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d618a725f7ab224

Thanks,
Rob

I've used both, and I side with Nitrogen, for the big reason that if a fire starts in the line, the Nitrogen will suffocate it. With dried air, it is like blowing on the fire, feeding fresh air to help it grow. Nitrogen costs more of course, escpecially if you have any leaks, but I think that the benefit it worth it.

Nothing like a fire at 2000ft AGL:eek: HAHA

Nothing like a fire at 2000ft AGL:eek: HAHA

I saw pictures of one! The power divider at the antenna of a station caught fire. I seem to recall it was in Texas, and probably 7 or 8 years ago. They called the fire department who showed up, looked up, and shrugged. :eek:
They let it burn out on it's own.

I saw pictures of one! The power divider at the antenna of a station caught fire. I seem to recall it was in Texas, and probably 7 or 8 years ago. They called the fire department who showed up, looked up, and shrugged. :eek:
They let it burn out on it's own.

I take it, you do not remember the call sign?

I would not want to climb a tower while it is on fire at the top, not worth the human risk, no way to know exactly what it is doing up there!

Hi all,

I'm living in Marion and want to dump cable. I'm wanting to purchase an antenna to put in my attic but wanted to get some advice. Someone at work said to just buy a DB4. As long as we get KCRG, KWWL, KGAN, and KFXA in HD I'm happy.


Don't listen to your co-worker, since he or she just recommended a UHF only antenna. If I were in your shoes, I'd consider the HD-1080 from Winegard which can be found for $32 from buy.com (includes shipping). Or you can build your own antenna out of coax for a fraction of that :D Not sure if it would qualify as digital though!
-Jarrett

To answer a question posted last page, the Cardinals game on KWKB is not HD. It's obviously an analog satellite feed. (I can tell from the sparkles on bright colors.)

I don't know if KSDK-5 even makes an HD feed available; the demand may not be there for it since few of its affiliates probably have the proper equipment.

To answer a question posted last page, the Cardinals game on KWKB is not HD. It's obviously an analog satellite feed. (I can tell from the sparkles on bright colors.)

I don't know if KSDK-5 even makes an HD feed available; the demand may not be there for it since few of its affiliates probably have the proper equipment.

I can confirm that they have offered an HD feed in the past, haven't seen it this year. I moved to Cedar Rapids from Little Rock and our affiliate in Little Rock showed the Sunday games in (compressed) HD, 1080i. Not sure if things have changed from last year but they should be available to affiliates in HD

Nothing like a fire at 2000ft AGL:eek: HAHA

I have seen pictures of an antenna on fire at 2000 feet. The fire department shows up and just watches it burn. What can they do besides turn the power off.

It was funny, the firemen were drinking coffee watching the fire.

I have seen pictures of an antenna on fire at 2000 feet. The fire department shows up and just watches it burn. What can they do besides turn the power off.

It was funny, the firemen were drinking coffee watching the fire.

I want to see the pictures! After turning off the transmitter, there is not really that much to burn up there, radome on the antenna and wires and cables to lights and other antennas. I would think it would go out on its' own at some point! I suppose if it got hot enough paint would prolly go up in flames too, but if it were that hot, I would hate to think what it did to the structural integrity of the tower itself!

I want to see the pictures!

I'll check for the pics, but I don't think I have them anymore. I searched my hard drive at home and didn't find them.

edit: I found some pictures from around the time in question, but none of the burning tower. I found some pictures of the gin pole they used to hoist the antennas off and on to the KCRG tower. Somewhere I have pictures of the antennas, but I've had way to many different computers since then to still have them on my hard drive. I also found a picture of a transmitter being blessed by a rubber chicken, but that's a whole different subject.

I'll check for the pics, but I don't think I have them anymore. I searched my hard drive at home and didn't find them.

I did some Googling, but was not lucky, kept getting the tower in Russia that had a fire up in the air. If I could find the call sign, it would be easy to Google.

I did some Googling, but was not lucky, kept getting the tower in Russia that had a fire up in the air. If I could find the call sign, it would be easy to Google.

I have been in that tower many times. I made 6 trips to Moscow, to install and certify transmitters at the 340 meter level. The worst this was that the elevators were put in operation on my last trip. Before that it was a long trek up the stairs inside.

I have been in that tower many times. I made 6 trips to Moscow, to install and certify transmitters at the 340 meter level. The worst this was that the elevators were put in operation on my last trip. Before that it was a long trek up the stairs inside.

Very cool. (TV or FM transmitters?)

I have always been curious (but have not asked or researched) how they get the broadcast antennas up on the buildings. This tower is more of a building then a tower per say, I am curious?

Very cool. (TV or FM transmitters?)

I have always been curious (but have not asked or researched) how they get the broadcast antennas up on the buildings. This tower is more of a building then a tower per say, I am curious?

TV.

The High power, Harris Platinums and Rohde & Schwarz were on the 5 floor. If you look up the Ostankino tower the large window at the bottom are the tranmitter floors. Those windows are about 15-20 feet in diameter.

The UHF transmitters I worked on were small water cooled Harris Atlas. They were lifted up by cranes attached to the tower. These were in the 337, 340, 344 meter levels. These levels were just above the observation deck and the old restaurant. This has been closed since the big fire.

This is a tower. Instead of having guy wires on the outside, it has the guy wires on the inside attached to the perimeter of the stairwell/elevator core.

The main antenna is a large common antenna. I did not see how they put up the small ones.

TV.

The High power, Harris Platinums and Rohde & Schwarz were on the 5 floor. If you look up the Ostankino tower the large window at the bottom are the tranmitter floors. Those windows are about 15-20 feet in diameter.

The UHF transmitters I worked on were small water cooled Harris Atlas. They were lifted up by cranes attached to the tower. These were in the 337, 340, 344 meter levels. These levels were just above the observation deck and the old restaurant. This has been closed since the big fire.

This is a tower. Instead of having guy wires on the outside, it has the guy wires on the inside attached to the perimeter of the stairwell/elevator core.

The main antenna is a large common antenna. I did not see how they put up the small ones.

Very cool. Must have been a fun job:)

Did you have a voltage regulator for the Sigma?

Got a Staco here in Des Moines...it was on our Sigma before we went back to VHF. Let me know if you need it...my boss says he'll sell it to you. :)

Very cool. Must have been a fun job:)

The first few days were bad. 45 minutes of stairs up. After about 2 weeks I had it down to 20 minutes. Not bad for 1100 feet of stairs. The Quickest that we made it down the steps was 7.5 minutes.

That climb up was with my backpack with a computer and a couple of bottles of water in it.

Great people there though. The winters were bad. I was there for the month of Feb 2005. Fortunately they know how to handle the snow over there.

Link for the tower is tvtower.ru

Got a Staco here in Des Moines...it was on our Sigma before we went back to VHF. Let me know if you need it...my boss says he'll sell it to you. :)

What station are you at?

what station are you at?

who

I asked the boss and while he's not actively looking at selling anything (and he'd have to get approval from several higher authorities), who knows?

who

I asked the boss and while he's not actively looking at selling anything (and he'd have to get approval from several higher authorities), who knows?

If you hear anything, let me know.

I have a 2-tube IOT transmitter that was installed with no voltage regulator. This was not the brightest move.

I just did an updated channel scan and they have KWKB on 3 QAM channels, 125.8, 125.6, and 118.4. Now, 125.8 and 125.6 both stretch the SD show on my LCD TV, but 118.4 is pillar boxed... interesting.

Also, something new for me, on QAM channel 125.2 they have KCWI in (really low bitrate) SD. Given that I'm not in that viewing area, this is very odd.

Is this in Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, or where?

I tried to tune 118.4 on my TV, but nothing came up.

Haven't taken the 45 minutes to do a cable re-scan yet, though.

Also, anyone else having problems with KWWL in Cedar Rapids? The other night, it flaked out on me and it's now stuck on 7.3, .4, and .5, and won't re-map to 7.1 or tune on those channels, either. All of my other OTA's are fine, and less than 10 days ago, my 7.1 signal was 90% or better.

Haven't had any mapping issues with KWWL over-the-air recently, but a friend of mine who has Mediacom and a Sony QAM TV told me last week that he got weird results after a re-scan.

Apparently he got the HD channels for 7 and 9, but numerous duplicate "copies" of 7 and 9's SD channels. He insists they're all duplicates, not subchannels -- he's not getting RTV or This or Local 9.2. (Needless to say, he deleted all the SD versions and watches the HD.)

Gazette editor's blog: 7.2, 7.3, 9.2, 12.2, 12.3, 48.2 and Big Ten Network added to newspaper's TV listings; listings for Quad Cities and Des Moines stations dropped

http://muller.gazetteonline.com/?p=484

Adding those listings is overdue. Since the new channels have been getting more attention due to the conversion, the time is right to make the move. They are right, we have to remember that a lot of people do rely on the newspaper for TV listings.

All -

i live in hiawatha and too am a victim of "KWWL-HD worked 100% before the Feb switch
but the very minute the switch over happened i have lost and not been able to get KWWL-HD."

i can rescan with my Panasonic 42" Panasonic Plasma all day and night and i have repositioned my antenna all over the living room and nothing works.

KWWL can claim, and they have made this claim several times; that nothing has changed.
But the facts and evidence is there, they did in change something, and something that has TONS of Hiawatha, MArion, and CR people left without an NBC channel.

I can even scan using my HTPC hd tuner and it wont find KWWL-HD. it will find every other freaking channel but not kwwl-HD.. hmm i wonder why... hmm... wake up KWWL and fix it!

all i can say is WTF, i am sick and fvcking tired listening to excuse after excuse from KWWL rep's.

i refuse to spend another f'ing dime on another f'ing antenna.

KWWL you f'ed up and changed something, i do not care what the technicians are telling you, this thread and MANY others are a prime example, and proof that something changed.

and lastly, the FCC needs ot be dimembered for doing the HDTV forced switchover.
snow is acceptable and watchable, pixelation, clicking, popping audio and choppy video is not, it's god damn f'ing retarded.

v_lestat - I'm with you. I also am a victim of "KWWL-HD worked 100% before the Feb switch" issue. I also agree with you on the stupid pixelation issue. It seems that every time there's a stinkin' breeze the picture becomes pixelated and unwatchable. Also, when there's severe weather, one of the occasions when it's improtant for people to know what's going on, it's nearly impossible to receive any channel to let you know what's going on.

just checking in. Lost it after the final shutdown; then it came back (!), then I had to reboot my danged Sony dvr - after that, have had "no listings" ever since.

figured if anyone was broadcasting, I could hard program my box to look for that channel.

thanks, have a good holiday.

v_lestat and kohlgrafk,

I'm not sure what thread you have been reading, but something did change on February 17th... a switch from UHF channel 55 to VHF channel 7. That is a pretty big move considering there are many that invested in "digital" antennas that are in reality UHF only antennas. How is your reception of KCRG (9.1 and 9.2) right now? KCRG switching from 52 to 9 on June 12th. We are currently the same power, about the same frequency and about the same heading from Hiawatha. The only difference is KWWL is about four miles farther away (which is not too big of a deal with the terrian around here). Have you checked your signal meters at all? The big issue for most is that indoor antennas can be a pain to setup up for VHF because of multipath and interference sources. In many cases people need to reposition the antenna near a window (for you to the North) for best results.

Bottom line is there is NOTHING that KWWL can do help you (other than offer advice). We are at our maximum allocated power on the channel we will reside on from here on out. From Hiawatha with the appropriate antenna, it typically is pretty easy to get us and KCRG. Feel free to reply with your specifics and there are many on this thread that will offer sound advice.

i can rescan with my Panasonic 42" Panasonic Plasma all day and night and i have repositioned my antenna all over the living room and nothing works.
Ewwww.... an indoor antenna. I can't believe your having problems.


KWWL can claim, and they have made this claim several times; that nothing has changed.
But the facts and evidence is there, they did in change something, and something that has TONS of Hiawatha, MArion, and CR people left without an NBC channel.
Where have they claimed that nothin has changed? Anybody with half a lick of sense knows that there was recently a changeover to digital and many stations changed their temporary transmitters over to their alloted channel assignments.... Show me where they have denied making any changes.


I can even scan using my HTPC hd tuner and it wont find KWWL-HD. it will find every other freaking channel but not kwwl-HD.. hmm i wonder why... hmm... wake up KWWL and fix it!
What the hell has an HTPC tuner got to do with anything? Are they some magical machine that is so much better than other tuners?

i refuse to spend another f'ing dime on another f'ing antenna.
Then get cable or satellite and quit whining.....

KWWL you f'ed up and changed something, i do not care what the technicians are telling you, this thread and MANY others are a prime example, and proof that something changed.

Really??? Something changed??? The heck you say!

and lastly, the FCC needs ot be dimembered for doing the HDTV forced switchover.
snow is acceptable and watchable, pixelation, clicking, popping audio and choppy video is not, it's god damn f'ing retarded.
Yes, this wonderful technology should have been scrapped because there are few idiots who don't want to get off their arse and get a proper setup or use an alternate source to receive this wonderful technology.

Shame on you KWWL!!!! Did you guys REALLY change something????

Mediacom CR now claims that IPTV Learn (118) and IPTV World (119) are available through their service. The CR Gazette now lists the schedules. But I cannot find it on other than my antenna equipped TV set as always. I have scanned using my LCD set several times but have only picked up the added religious and shopping channels from Mediacom. A letter Mediacom sent out to customers was no help. So does anyone know if Mediacom is actually transferring these in the clear? Or am I just impatient? Or is it time to give up on cable and go entirely to antenna?

Mediacom CR now claims that IPTV Learn (118) and IPTV World (119) are available through their service. The CR Gazette now lists the schedules. But I cannot find it on other than my antenna equipped TV set as always. I have scanned using my LCD set several times but have only picked up the added religious and shopping channels from Mediacom. A letter Mediacom sent out to customers was no help. So does anyone know if Mediacom is actually transferring these in the clear? Or am I just impatient? Or is it time to give up on cable and go entirely to antenna?

They are saying that the other channel changes will take place on the 7th, so you may want to try again at that time.

Has anyone figured out why KFXA and KCRG, on analog cable, look like they're in some sort of "Cinema pull-down" since the June switch?

Granted, it's an interesting effect to have during baseball games and such, but it's very distracting after a while, and even the news on 9 looks silly.

On my primary TV, it's not a big deal, because it has a QAM tuner, but when I'm surfing through cable on the secondary TV, it's distracting, as I mentioned.

Anyone?

Has anyone figured out why KFXA and KCRG, on analog cable, look like they're in some sort of "Cinema pull-down" since the June switch?

Granted, it's an interesting effect to have during baseball games and such, but it's very distracting after a while, and even the news on 9 looks silly.

On my primary TV, it's not a big deal, because it has a QAM tuner, but when I'm surfing through cable on the secondary TV, it's distracting, as I mentioned.

Anyone?


I don't know and it bugs the heck out of me. It makes sports look really unwatchable. I posted earlier about how the NBA Finals looked with that effect. The same was true with baseball and the IRL race. KCRG news really looks bad now.

When I get a chance, I will try to pay my next Mediacom bill in person so I can express these concerns in person. I won't bother with calling customer service because chances are the call will go to a call center in a place where they will have no idea what we are talking about because they don't get KCRG or KFXA.

The conspiracy theorist in me thinks that Mediacom is doing this on purpose in order to get people to spend beyond their means by purchasing a new TV they probably can't afford, then getting their HD package.

just checking in. Lost it after the final shutdown; then it came back (!), then I had to reboot my danged Sony dvr - after that, have had "no listings" ever since.

figured if anyone was broadcasting, I could hard program my box to look for that channel.

thanks, have a good holiday.

Up until the analog shutoff, analog TVGOS data was being sent by Iowa Public Television stations.

Of course, when those were shutoff, that data stream died with it.

Macrovision (http://www.macrovision.com/products/ce_manufacturers/ipg_ce/tv_guide_on_screen.htm) has a digital version of TVGOS which replaces the old analog version. Macrovision had an agreement with CBS affiliates to carry this data, but somehow that ended up only applying to owned and operated CBS affiliates (most major cities have one).

So, that means KGAN is not carrying it until Sinclair does something, which means someone will probably have to pay them to carry it.

Depending on who you talk to, KGAN will be carrying it in the near future, or they will never send TVGOS data.

If KGAN was sending TVGOS, you could use the DTVpal box to receive the data and it would then convert it to a TVGOS analog stream for all your TVGOS analog devices, or if you were using something like the DTVpal DVR, it would get the new digital TVGOS and use it in digital format.

I've also heard that if KGAN/Sinclair isn't interested in carrying it, that IPTV or someone else might want to pick it up, but that's just wild rumors.

I would think stations would be interested in hosting this, isn't it an automated process that pays revenue for advertising it carries?

Up until the analog shutoff, analog TVGOS data was being sent by Iowa Public Television stations.

Of course, when those were shutoff, that data stream died with it.

I've also heard that if KGAN/Sinclair isn't interested in carrying it, that IPTV or someone else might want to pick it up, but that's just wild rumors.

I would think stations would be interested in hosting this, isn't it an automated process that pays revenue for advertising it carries?

First - that's what had me confused - the fact that I had updated data after the shutoff. Which had me thinking that perhaps someone had already picked up the torch.

If there's money in it - would think that KGAN would be all over it. :rolleyes:

Don't think I'd need the convertor - I upgraded the firmware on my HD-500 - supposedly, that will accept and decode TVGOS over digital. (afaik)

Maybe I'll contact IPTV - if there's money in it, and its relatively transparent, would seem to be a nobrainer.

Maybe I'll contact IPTV - if there's money in it, and its relatively transparent, would seem to be a nobrainer.

TVGOS (analog) previously contracted with National Datacast, a for-profit subsidiary of the Public Broadcasting Service. For whatever reason, TV Guide chose not to contract with NDS for digital carriage, and therefore IPTV has not carried the service.

The last I have heard anything (a week or two ago) NDS is working on a contract for carriage of TV Guide. Whether a deal will be reached or not is yet to be seen.

If I hear anything I'll certainly post it here.

As for transparency, it is relatively transparent. It is, however, one more piece of equipment in the digital stream before the transmitter that can introduce errors or fail completely. There would be one box at each transmitter site, same as the analog TVGOS equipment was done.

thanks for quick reply; appreciated. cuz I'll admit, once I know you are broadcasting, then I for sure need to start playing with my dvr, to make sure the firmware is indeed decoding the digital stream. No point in that until I know there is something to receive.

good luck - I'll have my fingers crossed on the talks.

Has anyone figured out why KFXA and KCRG, on analog cable, look like they're in some sort of "Cinema pull-down" since the June switch?

Granted, it's an interesting effect to have during baseball games and such, but it's very distracting after a while, and even the news on 9 looks silly.

On my primary TV, it's not a big deal, because it has a QAM tuner, but when I'm surfing through cable on the secondary TV, it's distracting, as I mentioned.

Anyone?

This is an ongoing thing. We feed the same signal to Imon and DirectTV as we do Mediacom. I do not know why it looks so bad on mediacom.

Anyone else notice the picture roll on KWWL analog on mediacom?

Anyone else notice the picture roll on KWWL analog on mediacom?

I haven't... they've been working on a lot of things though without letting us know... and of course they blame it on us when their customers call in. Looking good this morning in Waterloo.

and of course they blame it on us when their customers call in.

Ditto

you guys are making me glad I live in Cedar Falls; and can have CFU instead of Mediacom. I know, I'm giving up most of the on-demand, and lots of features, but I also get a company where I can call up service people I know by name and see on the street.

I'd like Mediacom features, but I like CFUs picture and service. Fox and NBC look fine here. - I have an antenna hooked up (just in case TVGOS comes back :D) and whenever I have problems, I switch to OTA; usually if CFU is bad, so is the OTA signal.

Hey, I just set up a Sage system at my parents, who have ImOn, but not the digital package. I included a QAM tuner so they could get the locals in HD, I managed to remap all the channels to the appropriate guide number (eg KCRG to 809, etc), except KCRG DT2/9.2. I can't for the life of me figure out what channel that's supposed to be on, anybody know?

New brochure and letter in snail mail today...
Looks like QAM for *all channels* starting Aug 1st, and most of the (IMHO overpriced) HD essential tier that are HD "duplicates to extended basic" will be part of the $43 ($1 increase) extended basic. (HD Essentials will still have 6 channels: HD Nets, NFL, and 2 new channels for $4.95 a month).

My cable card now gets the HD essentials that will be free on Aug 1 (I'm not paying for essentials), so I scanned with my silly Sony so see if they are clear QAM yet (KDL-V32XBR1)... of course it only finds 7.11/12/13 and 9.1/9.2 -- Early Sony QAMs don't like the PSIP info from CFU on their other channels <crosses fingers that new CFU feeds will use the same equipment that sends 7 and 9 channels over physical channel 106>... Nope. But still, thanks CFU for sending down the encrypt keys for free to my cable card :-)

Looks like 7 RF channels are being switched from analog to digital, so extended basic will no longer have analog 17-19, 23, 24, 74, 75 - meaning you'll need a QAM TV or a box for CSPANs and American Life TV. Small price to pay even for those of us with analog only bedroom sets.

It seems to me alot of people on this site have Mediacom. I am wondering why you would choose them over satellite. I know some do because of internet.

It seems to me alot of people on this site have Mediacom. I am wondering why you would choose them over satellite. I know some do because of internet.There are other reasons, too, you know ... trees in the way, lack of a south-facing mounting place, concern about breakup in a rainstorm, etc. (For the record, I have neither cable nor satellite at my place, by choice.)

I've updated my QAM channel list for Mediacom in Cedar Rapids. Here it is. I hope that this is the final stable channel list for digital from Mediacom.

IPTV1 HD 89.4
IPTV2 Create 89.8
IPTV3 World 89.10

KWWL HD 114.1
KGAN HD 114.6
KCRG HD 115.2
KCRG 9.2 115.6
FOX HD 115.4

RTV 114.3
THIS 114.2
LOCAL 117.1
KIRKWOOD 17.3
UTV 117.7
KPXR 119.2
WGN 82.7
CW 99.8

CSPAN 111.256
CSPAN2 82.21
CSPAN3 82.13
CSPAN 1.1

JTV 11.5
SHOP 82.1
SHOPNBC 82.9
3ABN 82.19
HSN 82.23

RELIGION 82.5
CHURCH CHANNEL 82.11
RELIGION 82.15
EWTN 82.17
CBN 99.16

My list for shopping and religious channels is accurate for the scan numbers but not for the names. I don't pay attention to these and did not examine them long enough to tell the difference between them.

Please make any corrections or additions and share, share, share!

Please make any corrections or additions and share, share, share!

Slightly modified in channel order:

82.1 QVC
82.3 CSPAN
82.5 TBN
82.7 WGN
82.9 ShopNBC
82.11 TCC
82.13 CSPAN3
82.15 INSP
82.17 EWTN
82.19 K34 local access
82.21 CSPAN2
82.23 HSN
89.1 IPTV World
89.4 IPTV HD
89.8 IPTV Create
94.256 CSPAN
99.2 Mediacom Connections
99.4 KFXA-SD
99.6 KCRG-SD
99.8 KWKB-SD
99.10 KGAN-SD
99.12 KWWL-SD
99.14 KWWF (SD)
99.16 KFXB
99.18 IPTV-SD
99.20 Mediacom Connections
114.1 KWWL-HD
114.2 This-TV
114.3 RTV
114.6 KGAN-HD
115.2 KCRG-HD
115.4 KFXA-HD
115.6 9.2 (KCRG)
117.1 Public Access
117.3 Kirkwood EDU
117.5 JTV
117.7 Educational Access 3
119.2 KPXR

I know some do because of internet.

Yes, well, when you have no other broadband choices in your city (da** you Qwest!) Isn't a lack of true competition grand.

Hurray!!! dunno where it's coming from, but I'm now getting TVGOS again. Very transparently on my end - I didn't do anything - just showed up today (sunday.)

thanks to who(m)ever wherever. :D

Interesting... If the TV or device won't tell you where it's getting its data, TSReader users can look for streams 0x0111 and 0x0112, contained within the first Program. They should be listed as "TVG1" and "TVG2."

I'd look for it first on KGAN, then on KRIN and KIIN, then try other stations.

The other possibility is that you DXed a station that is carrying it. For example, KIMT-DT in Mason City carries it.

- Trip

The other possibility is that you DXed a station that is carrying it. For example, KIMT-DT in Mason City carries it.

- Trip

THANKYOU!!! that line totally explains it - I am NW of CF, can pickup KIMT when the rotor is pointed that way - since I don't use the antenna for OTA viewing, if I have any more problems, I'll just rotate, and watch KIMT.

THANKS.

I have not had KWWL all day OTA. It is on my Dish Network receiver tho. I have not had a problem until today and all other locals are working. I am surprised there are no other reports on here. Wassup?

Never mind, back now

I've had reports of Mediacom analog channels not coming in today in Cedar Rapids. Did they junk all analog stations?

I've had reports of Mediacom analog channels not coming in today in Cedar Rapids. Did they junk all analog stations?

No, they only moved channels 51 to 56 to new analog locations. The supposedly sent a letter out, but I never got one. Good thing I still read the newspaper as I first learned ablut these changes a month and a half ago. They did move the religious channels (except for KFXB) and C-SPAN 2 to the digital tier last week.

I've had reports of Mediacom analog channels not coming in today in Cedar Rapids. Did they junk all analog stations?

Same thing in Waterloo, several channels, main channels above 22, were out, but then when I checked a couple hours later they were back on.

FYI..... I pulled out my portable DTV on break at work (S CR) and ran a scan tonight. Low and behold, I pulled in KYOU-DT broadcasting the All Star Game in HD!

I am in a great line of sight location with some height, but just using a telescopic portable antenna, so I was a bit surprised.....

P.S. Also pulled it in on both work TVs using rabbitt ears....

For what it's worth:

According to the Gazette's website, Sinclair Broadcasting -- owner of KGAN and most of KFXA's assets (Second Generation still legally holds KFXA's license) -- concedes Chapter 11 is possible for the company:

http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090714/BUSINESS/707149942/1004


Meanwhile, Broadcasting & Cable reports that the owners of the NBC station in Davenport have called off a planned auction:

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/315182-Young_Broadcasting_Calls_Off_Auction.php

http://sportsvideo.org/main/blog/2009/07/14/kcrg-tv9-going-all-hd-with-grass-valley-gear/

Glad to see that our local stations are upgrading to HD. I hope the rest of the locals will follow.

IPTV is in the final stages of moving to a new HD master control facility. I'm not sure what changes, if any, you will see on air from that. Hopefully it will allow Dolby 5.1 audio though, I know a few guys have been waiting patiently for that.

Glad to see that our local stations are upgrading to HD. I hope the rest of the locals will follow.

I saw this yesterday too. KWWL has had plans on the table for two years now... the trick is signing that million dollar purchase order to get the plans started. When the money is there, we will be ready to move. I'm somewhat surprised that KCRG has the money considering the layoffs they just did as well. I guess the key part of the article is "plans to move in 2010". I hope we both get going soon either way! I'm tied of the calls from people who bought widescreens yelling at me to fill the screen. They don't seem to understand my deep loathing of anamorphic "fat heads".

They don't seem to understand my deep loathing of anamorphic "fat heads".

YES, finally someone who agrees with me. I could never stand to work in broadcasting or TV sales because of all the people who HAVE to fill their screen with "fat heads"

Does this imply that they will begin to produce local newscasts in HD?

I wish I could say that we are going HD soon. Sadly I cannot.

I wish I could say that we are going HD soon. Sadly I cannot.

When every station is HD, that will be the day! I like what KIMT did, they went wide screen SD. Looks nice and keeps people from stretching the SD content because they want their screens full.

When every station is HD, that will be the day! I like what KIMT did, they went wide screen SD. Looks nice and keeps people from stretching the SD content because they want their screens full.We're starting to see more of that. KCCI and WHO in Des Moines both went widescreen SD within a week of each other this past spring, and the results aren't half bad. Field stuff is still pillarboxed for the most part, though, although both stations occasionally do HD package stories.

IPTV is in the final stages of moving to a new HD master control facility. I'm not sure what changes, if any, you will see on air from that. Hopefully it will allow Dolby 5.1 audio though, I know a few guys have been waiting patiently for that.I hope it improves things. I haven't been home to watch NewsHour lately, but ever since IPTV-1 switched to simulcasting their traditional, former "analog" schedule and moved it to 5:30pm, it appears they haven't been able to run that show in HD anymore, just SD widescreen. I suspect there are other shows like that on the schedule.

(The same goes for KCRG and ABC late night, but hopefully that will change soon as well.)

Along this topic, KYOU-DT (15) local stuff is steched also.... :(

When every station is HD, that will be the day! I like what KIMT did, they went wide screen SD. Looks nice and keeps people from stretching the SD content because they want their screens full.

That's odd, I suggested the same thing on this board to KWWL over a year ago before being told there was no technical way possible. I dropped the argument, but now you see why some of us have a hard time taking anything a local station says seriously!

That's odd, I suggested the same thing on this board to KWWL over a year ago before being told there was no technical way possible. I dropped the argument, but now you see why some of us have a hard time taking anything a local station says seriously!Of course there's a technical way; it's just a matter of getting corporate to pay for it, or figuring out some way to work with what you have if that's possible. Either way, it involves more than just flipping a switch.

I understand that there are some studio cameras out there capable of doing either 4:3 or 16:9 SD now -- I don't know if KWWL has them or not -- but they still have to travel through the routing system, the control room switcher and the master control switcher, and all that needs to be worked out.

You'd probably want to upgrade the graphics systems as well, as both KCCI and WHO did. Both stations still use center-cut graphics, but the graphic backgrounds are expanded to fill the screen.

Of course there's a technical way; it's just a matter of getting corporate to pay for it, or figuring out some way to work with what you have if that's possible. Either way, it involves more than just flipping a switch.


Bingo! We do not have cameras/lens capable of shooting 16:9 at the moment. And it is an all or nothing thing, in my opinion. You can't just upgrade the cameras, other things need to follow suit with this aspect ratio change. If an easier option presents itself while waiting for the money for full HD, then we'll explore it. I'm sure sgarringer will let me know :p

Doesn't KWWL at least put a logo in the pillars during the news broadcasts now?

IMHO, that's at least an acknowledgment of the existence and pervasiveness of 16 x 9 TV viewers, and a step in the right direction.

KCRG, for all of the not-crappy things they do, still bugs the living crap out of me with their sports ticket that takes up 20% of the bottom and 10% of each side of whatever 4 x 3 image they have up at the time...

Doesn't KWWL at least put a logo in the pillars during the news broadcasts now?


Yes we do... actually we used to have logoed wings up all of the time, but they were static and we had concerns about burn-in on plasmas and widescreen CRT's. We took those down and now just have the animated ones up with the time and temperature on the newscasts. Simple fact is that not everything, even at the big networks is HD yet. Usually they incorporate some kind of wings (graphic or the pixel stretch effect) to compensate. It will get there!

FYI, KFXA OTA appears to be off the air as of ~5:45PM Monday. Still receiving a signal, just no content whatsoever on either 28.1 or 28.2. It's been this way for about 10 minutes as of the time I posted this. Cable and satellite status is unknown, I only receive KFXA OTA and can't check other services.

UPDATE: Now back on as of ~6:45.

UPDATE 2: And off again as of ~8:30. No signal at all this time.

KFXA ok ON mEDIACOM AT 6:40pm...

License update:

Equity Media Holdings has filed an application (http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1313259&Service=DT&Form_id=314&Facility_id=81595) seeking to transfer KWWF to Valley Bank of Davenport.

Things must be very bad at Equity. Most of the attachments are fine, but when I clicked on the link under "Attachment 5" of the application overnight, the .pdf is partially obscured by a box saying that their complimentary use period for PDF Complete has expired.

FYI, KFXA OTA appears to be off the air as of ~5:45PM Monday. Still receiving a signal, just no content whatsoever on either 28.1 or 28.2. It's been this way for about 10 minutes as of the time I posted this. Cable and satellite status is unknown, I only receive KFXA OTA and can't check other services.

UPDATE: Now back on as of ~6:45.

UPDATE 2: And off again as of ~8:30. No signal at all this time.

KFXA ok ON mEDIACOM AT 6:40pm...

The early problems were caused by the FOX Splicer crapping out. We had to unpower then repower everything in the FOX rack. Fox kept telling us that we had a problem with our equipment. The problem with that statement is that Mediacom and IMON are tapped out right before the fox equipment. Once a reboot was done on the splicer, everything came back up normal.

The second problem was a power bump from alliant energy.

The UPS in our transmitter have reached there end of life and will be replaced shortly hopefully correcting the problem of the transmitter losing its mind with a short power interruption. Hopefully the splicer problem will go away when we get our new equipment from FOX. Then again, we may have many more problems than we have now.

IPTV is in the final stages of moving to a new HD master control facility. I'm not sure what changes, if any, you will see on air from that. Hopefully it will allow Dolby 5.1 audio though, I know a few guys have been waiting patiently for that.

The .1 channel has been switched to the new master control. .2 and .3 were moved a week or two ago.

The Newshour is now in HD. As for 5.1 audio, I do not have any information on that yet, other than it is not yet available.

The .1 channel has been switched to the new master control. .2 and .3 were moved a week or two ago.

The Newshour is now in HD. As for 5.1 audio, I do not have any information on that yet, other than it is not yet available.

Very cool:) Thanks for letting us know!

Looks like KGAN wants to increase power from 500 kW to 850 kW.

- Trip

Looks like KGAN wants to increase power from 500 kW to 850 kW.

- TripThanks a lot, Trip.

Here's a link to more info, including a couple of maps:
https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getattachment_exh.cgi?exhibit_id=778255&formid=301&q_num=5460

One map shows that they stand to gain about 10 miles of range with such an upgrade. The other map alleges that even with the upgrade, they still won't have quite as much range as KCRG, which they seem to have an obsession with for some reason.:D

The other map alleges that even with the upgrade, they still won't have quite as much range as KCRG, which they seem to have an obsession with for some reason.:D

It's not an obsession. At their height, KGAN would have a power limit of 344 kW. They're utilizing an FCC rule that allows a station in the market to match the coverage of the largest station (47CFR73.622(f)(5)) and that happens to be KCRG.

Without applying that rule, KGAN would be unable to increase power.

- Trip

IPTV is in the final stages of moving to a new HD master control facility. I'm not sure what changes, if any, you will see on air from that. Hopefully it will allow Dolby 5.1 audio though, I know a few guys have been waiting patiently for that.

you can put me on that list.;) tho I'm not sure about the "patiently" part. :D

good to hear, and thanks as always for headsup.

Quick fwiw to Jarret - after discovering here that KIMT is broadcasting TVGOS, I reoriented my rooftop antenna - rotated it about 180 degrees. Imagine my surprise - not only did I pick up KIMT with no problem, and the IPTV station in that direction, here's the cool part.

I can still get KWWL-DT! ;) On the (of course) arbitrary meter of my Sony DHG500, it says signal strength of 88%, and signal quality of "poor." But it is still clear as a bell; as is KIMT - even tho antennaweb says I have no prayer of picking it up.

(I have lost KFXA - but still have cable, so isn't a big deal.)

Just thought you'd like to know - proof that with a decent (outdoor) antenna, you can get KWWL-DT, even if you have it a$$ backwards. :D

Quick fwiw to Jarret - after discovering here that KIMT is broadcasting TVGOS, I reoriented my rooftop antenna - rotated it about 180 degrees. Imagine my surprise - not only did I pick up KIMT with no problem, and the IPTV station in that direction, here's the cool part.

I can still get KWWL-DT! ;) On the (of course) arbitrary meter of my Sony DHG500, it says signal strength of 88%, and signal quality of "poor." But it is still clear as a bell; as is KIMT - even tho antennaweb says I have no prayer of picking it up.

(I have lost KFXA - but still have cable, so isn't a big deal.)

Just thought you'd like to know - proof that with a decent (outdoor) antenna, you can get KWWL-DT, even if you have it a$$ backwards. :D

How far are you from KIMT's digital tower? (it is not the old one by St. Ansger, it is further North) They recently upped power to 800kW (from 200kW) and have a fantastic signal from their launching pad at close to 1600ft AGL. What does TVfool show your signals from KIMT should be (if you can, post the TVfool results, if not, the numbers would be great!)

How far are you from KIMT's digital tower? (it is not the old one by St. Ansger, it is further North) They recently upped power to 800kW (from 200kW) and have a fantastic signal from their launching pad at close to 1600ft AGL. What does TVfool show your signals from KIMT should be (if you can, post the TVfool results, if not, the numbers would be great!)

I'm on the NW edge of Cedar Falls - on the river, in a valley. I have no idea how far - antennaweb wasn't even showing me the location of the towers - I'm not supposed to get it here, so it no longer shows all the other stations. As it was, best I could do was get a vector from Clarksville Ia - that said it was due north, but not how far; so I just guessed, and was lucky enough to pick em up.

I give up - what is TVfool? I'm picking this up on my stb, not on a computer card.

I'm on the NW edge of Cedar Falls - on the river, in a valley. I have no idea how far - antennaweb wasn't even showing me the location of the towers - I'm not supposed to get it here, so it no longer shows all the other stations. As it was, best I could do was get a vector from Clarksville Ia - that said it was due north, but not how far; so I just guessed, and was lucky enough to pick em up.

I give up - what is TVfool? I'm picking this up on my stb, not on a computer card.

WOW, that is great reception!

TVfool is a site that another AVS member created to help gauge TV (or FM) results at a given site with known geo and FCC data. Give it a quick run, as it also gives the distance to the tower and the exact heading.