Speaking of WLS, This is more TV related than over the air related. The microphones that they use on the news when they are doing the out door shots, with the battery pack on the bottoms, with the extended hand mic. What model are those and how do I get one. Im looking to do a wireless mic like that allong with two wireless clip on mics with a wireless reciver at the camera that connects to the camera via xlr connection. I really like the length and the battorypack on the bottom of the mic. Thanks.

That is a Philips MANT 510. I have one and it does fine on the UHF channels. It will not work with VHF channels like WBBM-DT. I have used it on the first and second story of my house with success. This may be because I have no houses to my east. Your situation may be different so make sure you can return it if it does not work. I get good results with the amplification set to four of five lights lit.
Thanks for the input. I guess I will try getting this from Best Buy. I don't want to go through the hassle of ordering it online and then having to send it back.

Walmart carries the MANT 510, also, and I'm guessing that it'll probably be a bit cheaper there than from Best Buy.

They also never give you a hard time about returning anything.

Could be worse. One could buy a ticket and watch them loose in person. :eek::DI probably won't be watching them much anyway this season - they're pretty much destined for the cellar, and I'm thoroughly disgusted with their management.

Walmart carries the MANT 510, also, and I'm guessing that it'll probably be a bit cheaper there than from Best Buy.

They also never give you a hard time about returning anything.
Good idea. I was actually going to price them out online to see where I can buy it for the cheapest.

The WLS phone number is 312-750-7592. Ask for the engineering department. You will probably get their machine but leave a message explaining the problem. They may or may not call you back, but they need to hear that others are seeing this.

I know they are looking into a fix, but if they know that this is not an isolated problem, it might help get things resolved more quickly.

By the way, what brand of TV are you seeing this on?

WLS is fully aware of the problems as we have been talking back in forth with them. They are working on the problem.

I posted in this thread a while back about getting an OTA antenna. I have not bought one yet though. I was wondering if the Philips High Performance Amplified Indoor Uhf/Vhf/Fm/HDTV Antenna would be a good choice or not. A picture of it is below. I am located in Naperville on the northwest side and am curious if this will be good and strong enough.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31EmkVmSJNL._AA280_.jpg

I wouldn't bet money on it but you may get lucky.

hey guys, has anyone used the wineguard 3000. I live in chicago 60651 about 2 blocks from the metra line (which is behind me relative to the towers). I currently have a silver sensor and get great reception on all channels except when a train goes by, which is hell during rush hour. I figure it must be multipath and bought a varibale attenuator to see if i could just lock onto the main signal, no such luck. Thinking about giving the 3000a shot.

any experiences?

i used to watch Motorweek from PBS (11-1) in widescreen, until this year... for some reason, they have dropped out of PBS' schedule... my tivo can only see it in WYCC-DT and WYIN-DT. i checked the WYCC recording and it's a widescreen show letterboxed in a 4:3 format so there's black bars all around. is there another source for Motorweek in widescreen, if not high-def? thanks.

thanks pgrtung, I'll give it a try. Am i correct in assuming that the foil should not touch the antenna?

i used to watch Motorweek from PBS (11-1) in widescreen, until this year... for some reason, they have dropped out of PBS' schedule... my tivo can only see it in WYCC-DT and WYIN-DT. i checked the WYCC recording and it's a widescreen show letterboxed in a 4:3 format so there's black bars all around. is there another source for Motorweek in widescreen, if not high-def? thanks.
Can't you set your TV to ZOOM for SD material? That is how I watch it.

Motorweek is not a real HD program anyways, which is probably why WTTW-DT dropped it. When it was in "HD", I actually saw NTSC rainbows occasionally on thin lines. I have my Comcast VCR set to record on WYIN, as it's the earliest airing of new episodes (Saturday morning).

By the way, what brand of TV are you seeing this on?

Olevia 37" = looks very bad
Samsung set top box from 2005 = watchable but annoying

WLS is fully aware of the problems as we have been talking back in forth with them. They are working on the problem.

So you're saying I shouldn't call?

Olevia 37" = looks very bad
Samsung set top box from 2005 = watchable but annoying



So you're saying I shouldn't call?

They've gotten plenty of viewer calls about this. Check your PM's.

When I was living in a townhouse in Naperville, I tried an amplified Silver Sensor on the first floor and I could only get 32 and 50.By that do you mean an un-amped, standard-style Silver Sensor with a separate, added amp, ot that awful, encased, internally amplified Phillips model that's out there? Because if it's the second one, it's no surprise. That thing is a completely worthless piece of junk. I literally couldn't even receive one station with it, where I can get everything but WBBM indoors with all others. It was easily the worst indoor antenna of the many that I tried.

My traditional model Silver Sensor with an added, 24 dB amp on the other hand, works fantastic.

I probably won't be watching them much anyway this season - they're pretty much destined for the cellar, and I'm thoroughly disgusted with their management.

All right, who kidnapped Ramm? This is not the Ramm I know, when I first showed up on AVS, I got ripped on---rightly so, as a Cubs fan. A "Getting older" excuse ain't flying. I mean, even *I* know, as a Cubs fan, secretly jealous as all get out of their World Series win a few years ago, I had to concede they were good. To many, that was heresy! But to hear this, and a confession that he won't watch his beloved Sox? Must have been kidnapped by aliens, or another tragic byproduct of global warming. ;) :D I can still see the Cubs in the World Series this year, waving their flag...and having a national holiday called! :D

And on a more serious note, yes, Ramm's suggestion for a Silver Sensor and a strong preamplifier/amplifier is definitely sound advice. Even from Naperville, you should get everything but WBBM with this setup.

And now might be a great time for him to put that big antenna on his roof...tonight...when the wind chill is -20. Might clear his head and bring him back to his senses. :D

i used to watch Motorweek from PBS (11-1) in widescreen, until this year... for some reason, they have dropped out of PBS' schedule...Oh, it's still being shown by WTTW alright - only on V-me in SPANISH. :rolleyes::mad:

Hi JD,

Well, you've got a few serious difficulties you will need to overcome. First---I don't know *how* old your TV is, but chances are it may have a 1st to 3rd generation tuner in, which aren't anywhere as sensitive as the latest 6th generation tuners that are out now and coming out later this year.

If you buy a large antenna and do plan to take it outdoors, don't get the Radio Shack VU-190...get one of the others mentioned on page #1. Then, you'll also need a decent amplifier as well, such as the WInegard AP-8275 or the ChannelMaster 7777 preamp. In your case, I would go with the AP-8275 since you would be using an antenna and it is more surge resistant to indirect lightning hits.

Even so, given an older tuner, I make no promises you will get WBBM consistently out in Bartlett with that TV. It's still worth a try in the attic,
but my guess is that if anything, it would have to be in the outdoors.

Do be advised, however, that over a year from now, when they go to channel 12 at high power, you will be able to get them with the setup described above. So I suggest you can wait another year, or go for it and have a 50-50 chance of getting WBBM-DT. It's up to you.

Couple more questions..

I think I have a way to keep me good until 2009 with WBBM-DT, but as it look the VU-190 will probably not fit as hoped. I think I may give the VU-90 a try. I know it is smaller and my chances of it working are less but I figured it is worth a shot.

Any suggestions on a good OTA ( and possibly QAM) tuner. I still have a Cable feed that works, so I would guess I could get the HD QAM signals for WBBM until 2009 when it switches, of course the Dish VIP622 will not work for QAM. I am leaning more towards the HDhomerun and using a PC as the DVr server through out the house.

Thanks

Any news on 23-1 .. DirecTV has added guide data for the channel (not sure what frequency they have it mapped to) - but its not on the air right?

Couple more questions..

I think I have a way to keep me good until 2009 with WBBM-DT, but as it look the VU-190 will probably not fit as hoped. I think I may give the VU-90 a try. I know it is smaller and my chances of it working are less but I figured it is worth a shot.

Any suggestions on a good OTA ( and possibly QAM) tuner. I still have a Cable feed that works, so I would guess I could get the HD QAM signals for WBBM until 2009 when it switches, of course the Dish VIP622 will not work for QAM. I am leaning more towards the HDhomerun and using a PC as the DVr server through out the house.

Thanks

A VU-90 probably won't get you WBBM. Having said that, a good 5th generation tuner is the Samsung DTB-H260F. I think Best Buy and Circuit City might have one; call ahead.

Couple more questions..

I think I have a way to keep me good until 2009 with WBBM-DT, but as it look the VU-190 will probably not fit as hoped. I think I may give the VU-90 a try. I know it is smaller and my chances of it working are less but I figured it is worth a shot.

Any suggestions on a good OTA ( and possibly QAM) tuner. I still have a Cable feed that works, so I would guess I could get the HD QAM signals for WBBM until 2009 when it switches, of course the Dish VIP622 will not work for QAM. I am leaning more towards the HDhomerun and using a PC as the DVr server through out the house.

Thanks

I don't think the VU-90 will cut it in an attic but I guess they are cheap enough to try. The VU-190 outside will work but you will need to zip tie the heck out of it to keep the elements from folding back in high wind. Not my favorite antenna but if your only looking at a year. Perhaps the Vu120 will work but its a crap shot and your drop outs may be higher.

I have the MYHD tuner and 2 Fusion tuners. I have heard good things about the HDHomerun as well. If your putting it in an XP machine with an intel mother board I think you will have good luck but they do take some work to get running smoothly. Not that you can't get it to work in other machines, I'm just thinking it may be a bit tougher.

Okay, The problem I see is trying to get the antenna to ft in the attic between the inner supports for the attic itself.. I tried to get the Channelmaster 3020 at Fry's but they did not have it. I might just order that one, try it in the attic, if no good then spring time I will move it to the roof.

I still need to find a Good HD DVR though..

With WBBM-DT going to ch.12 next year and boosting the power to 13kw I should be able to get CH.2 OTA finally. Now I notice WLS-DT is going to CH.7 from 52? if I remember right. I have searched for it but I haven't seen what power they plan to broadcast at. Has there been any word?

Also with the downfall of 9.2 The Tube any word on WGN giving the bandwidth back to 9.1? The bit starving hurts during sports.

With WBBM-DT going to ch.12 next year and boosting the power to 13kw I should be able to get CH.2 OTA finally. Now I notice WLS-DT is going to CH.7 from 52? if I remember right. I have searched for it but I haven't seen what power they plan to broadcast at. Has there been any word?

Also with the downfall of 9.2 The Tube any word on WGN giving the bandwidth back to 9.1? The bit starving hurts during sports.

First question: WLS is going back to channel 7. 3.2 kw inititally, but next month they can apply for more, on par with WBBM. I more than bet they will. They will, however, need to be directional to protect a channel 7 in Michigan, so fewer fish will get their digital signal than their analog. :D But after the Rule and Order that came out on 12/31/07 stating that they'll accept applications for high power after analog shutdown, I now think they'll be just fine. We just need to see what they do. I am no longer concerned about WLS-DT after I saw that 100+ page monster from the FCC.

The interesting thing is that if and when WLS-DT gets full power on Sears, using a 6th generation tuner, you'd get that station past I-39 out into Rockford. WBBM and WLS will both be blowtorches (sorry, I have to shake my head whenever I call WBBM a "blowtorch", even though it is about a year away). I want to live long enough to see that day!

As for WGN-DT: No, they aren't bitstarving 9.1. What you see on 9.2 is a video simulcast of 9.1. The audio is different, but it's sent at a low bitrate. No, what WGN needs to do is upgrade their aging encoders. Given the imminent sale of WGN, I'm not hopeful that it will happen soon.

Okay, The problem I see is trying to get the antenna to ft in the attic between the inner supports for the attic itself.. I tried to get the Channelmaster 3020 at Fry's but they did not have it. I might just order that one, try it in the attic, if no good then spring time I will move it to the roof.

I still need to find a Good HD DVR though..

That's a decent plan. Even if you have to keep one or two of the rods from being extended, it may be better off that you still go with a bigger antenna. Still, it's worth it. WBBM-DT's picture still is a jaw-dropper in primetime. And in NFL football.

Random question about HDTV reception - does over the air reception get better in colder weather? I have noticed that all my channels are coming through much better when it is colder. Today, all my channels are close to 100% reception. My WLS reception is coming it at over 80%, when most times that is the one channel I can't get at all (although in theory I should get it) So from my perspective, colder weather increases reception. Is there any fact to that?

That's a decent plan. Even if you have to keep one or two of the rods from being extended, it may be better off that you still go with a bigger antenna. Still, it's worth it. WBBM-DT's picture still is a jaw-dropper in primetime. And in NFL football.

Will OTA be better then DishHD for WBBM??

Random question about HDTV reception - does over the air reception get better in colder weather? I have noticed that all my channels are coming through much better when it is colder. Today, all my channels are close to 100% reception. My WLS reception is coming it at over 80%, when most times that is the one channel I can't get at all (although in theory I should get it) So from my perspective, colder weather increases reception. Is there any fact to that?

If you are within line-of-sight...IE, roughly 60 miles or less...yes. The denser the air, the more the signal strength is stronger closer in. Right now, all my channels are coming in about 10% above average, except WBBM.

Will OTA be better then DishHD for WBBM??

If you are able to lock it solid, WBBM should beat MPEG-2 DishHD by a mile, and be close to OTA. OTA will still beat MPEG-4 DishHD.

Anybody having a problem with WFLD-DT? I get a 0 signal strength and all the others I get are just fine.

hey guys, im north of the hancock building and every time a car drives by, the ota hd channels break up. would a quad shield cable fix this? i tried to search but couldnt find anything relevant. thanks

hey guys, im north of the hancock building and every time a car drives by, the ota hd channels break up. would a quad shield cable fix this? i tried to search but couldnt find anything relevant. thanks

Hi Sanche60,

Welcome to the forum!

That is a problem known as "multipath". Your antenna is receiving signals at different times as cars go by, and that messes up both analog and digital tuners. The only solution is to get the antenna higher. Sounds like you're at street level, so if you can get that antenna on a high shelf, that should really help you.

Anybody having a problem with WFLD-DT? I get a 0 signal strength and all the others I get are just fine.

Sorry, jpeck, nearly pegging the signal meter out here in DeKalb with an attic antenna.

Sorry, jpeck, nearly pegging the signal meter out here in DeKalb with an attic antenna.
Just after I posted it came back. It was on and off for a while after that so I just switched to watching the game via Dish.
I normally have a 85+ signal with WFLD with the amp turned off and I double checked to make sure it was off.

I live on the 17th floor of a high rise, just a few blocks south of the Hancock building, with the following set up:

Toshiba 37HL67 37" LCD TV (set to antenna - terrestial input for coax)
RCA +55 dB amplified antenna

Channels NOT Received:

WFLD-DT (31)
32-1 : FOX HD - 720p - DD 5.1

The very urgent question is, with the super bowl coming up in less than 2 weeks, why can I not receive this channel? I receive all the channels below with no problem. I have have UHF amplified fully with the antenna roughly 5 feet from the window. Any recommendations as to how I can remedy this?


Channels receieved:

WBBM-DT (3)
2-1 : CBS HD - 1080i - DD 5.1

WMAQ-DT (29)
5-1 : NBC HD - 1080i - DD 5.1
5-2 : NBC Weather Plus - 480i

WLS-DT (52)
7-1 : ABC HD - 720p - DD 5.1
7-2 : ABC 7 News reruns/Infomercials - 480i
7-3 : ABC News Now / Accu-Weather - 480i

WGN-DT (19)
9-1 : The CW - 1080i - DD 5.1
9-2 : WGN with audio en espanol - 1080i - DD 5.1

WTTW-DT (47)
11-1 : PBS HD - 720p - DD 5.1
11-2 : WTTW-TV (PBS SD) simulcast - 480i
11-3 : PBS Create - 480i
11-4 : V-Me (espanol) - 480i

WYCC-DT (21)
20-1 : WYCC-HD - 1080i - DD 2.0
20-2 : WYCC-TV Analog - 480i
20-3 : MHz Worldview - 480i

WCIU-DT (27)
26-1 : Independent - 720p - DD 5.1
26-2 : WWME-TV 23 SD simulcast - 480i
26-3 : WFBT-CA 48 SD simulcast - 480i

WPWR-DT (51)
50-1 : MNTV HD - 1080

Try turning down the amp on the antenna. Too much power can overload the tuner.

I live on the 17th floor of a high rise, just a few blocks south of the Hancock building, with the following set up:

Toshiba 37HL67 37" LCD TV (set to antenna - terrestial input for coax)
RCA +55 dB amplified antenna

Channels NOT Received:

WFLD-DT (31)
32-1 : FOX HD - 720p - DD 5.1

The very urgent question is, with the super bowl coming up in less than 2 weeks, why can I not receive this channel? I receive all the channels below with no problem. I have have UHF amplified fully with the antenna roughly 5 feet from the window. Any recommendations as to how I can remedy this?


Channels receieved:

WBBM-DT (3)
2-1 : CBS HD - 1080i - DD 5.1

WMAQ-DT (29)
5-1 : NBC HD - 1080i - DD 5.1
5-2 : NBC Weather Plus - 480i

WLS-DT (52)
7-1 : ABC HD - 720p - DD 5.1
7-2 : ABC 7 News reruns/Infomercials - 480i
7-3 : ABC News Now / Accu-Weather - 480i

WGN-DT (19)
9-1 : The CW - 1080i - DD 5.1
9-2 : WGN with audio en espanol - 1080i - DD 5.1

WTTW-DT (47)
11-1 : PBS HD - 720p - DD 5.1
11-2 : WTTW-TV (PBS SD) simulcast - 480i
11-3 : PBS Create - 480i
11-4 : V-Me (espanol) - 480i

WYCC-DT (21)
20-1 : WYCC-HD - 1080i - DD 2.0
20-2 : WYCC-TV Analog - 480i
20-3 : MHz Worldview - 480i

WCIU-DT (27)
26-1 : Independent - 720p - DD 5.1
26-2 : WWME-TV 23 SD simulcast - 480i
26-3 : WFBT-CA 48 SD simulcast - 480i

WPWR-DT (51)
50-1 : MNTV HD - 1080

Well since you're so close you shouldn't need the amp. (Probably overloading the tuner) As for WFLD, they've been having some channel mapping problems off and on lately. Try manually entering in channel 31 and see where that gets you. Other than that its probably multipath off of the Hancock. What can you see out your window? You could also try moving your antenna around the room. (possible closer to the window)

I'm surprised that my outdoor amp's even working in this sub-arctic climate.

I normally have a 95% signal for WFLD-DT, and it was *only* 88% yesterday. But it was still perfectly steady, so I just attributed it to the weather.

ATSC Tuner in DVD Recorders

Any suggestions as far as models or brands for signal or clarity. Differences in tuners from brand to brand.

Thanks for your help.

I can at least tell you this much. I tried the Philips and the Magnavox HDD/DVD recorders, and although the Philips' tuner is very sensitive, I was not pleased at all with the picture quality of either. They are both soft and very lacking in the amount of detail they show, and are also a bit "dark", although that can be adjusted out with the TV. They also have a habit of "dropping" (temporarily losing) digital cable channels, but the ATSC tuners worked flawlessly in my tests.

I find that when recording with a DVD recorder from either my Sony DVR's or my Sammy DTB-H260F's ATSC tuner, the results are a lot better.

Now, if you just plan on using it with an analog TV under 36", then the Philips' or Maggie's PQ is more than good enough. They looked great on my 32" analog set. But on my 50" Pio plasma - not so hot.

There have been a few people in the DVD Recorders forum who've said that the PQ of the Panasonic's digital tuners is very good, and one person who has compared it with the Philips' firsthand has stated that he feels that the Panny's is much better.

You could probably get a lot of good answers over in the DVD Recorders subforum, but expect an argument when it comes to the Philips. For some reason, there are some who have talked themselves into thinking it's better than it is. I think it might have something to do with the fact that it's the best of the US HDD models out there (there are only 3). Or either they're just not that picky, or haven't really seen better. But a few get very defensive when you so much as mention any negative opinion of it (it's as if they have some kind of vested interest or something). As far as the DVR part goes, though, it's not bad at all. I'll always recommend an HDD model over one without first.

Unless you have a good learning remote though, I wouldn't recommend using the Maggie's - it's absolutely the worst I've ever used. I'd still recommend either one if you're not mainly planning on watching through it's tuner on a larger, HD set. Or if you're just not that picky. But I've been spoiled by better.

Buy 'em from a Walmart and they're easily returnable if you don't like them. The prices are definitely right.

+1 on the Sammy DTB-H260F

Okay, The problem I see is trying to get the antenna to ft in the attic between the inner supports for the attic itself.. I tried to get the Channelmaster 3020 at Fry's but they did not have it. I might just order that one, try it in the attic, if no good then spring time I will move it to the roof.

I still need to find a Good HD DVR though..

I was able to unfold the VU-190 inside my attic and work the elements between the braces. More than likely you will have to flex and bow the elements a bit but it can be made to work.

BTW, if you have alum siding don't even bother trying an attic install.

BTW, if you have alum siding don't even bother trying an attic install.

You know I actually thought about that one for a minute. :eek:

ATSC Tuner in DVD Recorders

Any suggestions as far as models or brands for signal or clarity. Differences in tuners from brand to brand.

Thanks for your help.
I have a Sony RDRGXD455 DVD recorder that has a built in ATSC tuner. So far, no problems, records in 16:9 and can playback in 16:9, 4;3 or 4:3 letterbox. the picture is near HD quality with the HDMI cable. You can find it at ABT and Circuit City. Hope this helps!

..records in 16:9..Really? What format?

I ask because if the people on the DVD Recorders forum here knew that, this model would definitely be more in demand and recommended to others.

I think my older Sony RDR-HX900 can, too, but only in VR mode with either + or - RW (one of the two). So it can only be played back on that machine.

I was able to unfold the VU-190 inside my attic and work the elements between the braces. More than likely you will have to flex and bow the elements a bit but it can be made to work.

BTW, if you have alum siding don't even bother trying an attic install.

Thanks..
Nope house had aluminum, but I have vinyl siding now :D

any clues why my reception of WTTW (11 1-3) & WYCC (20-1) keeps going in and out ? I go up, adjust the antenna to basically the same position, it works for a few days and then it cuts out again (tonight, obviously). All my other stations come in just fine. I'm only about 3 miles from the antennae. I have a winegard on my roof.

any clues why my reception of WTTW keeps going in and out ? I go up, adjust the antenna to basically the same position, it works for a few days and then it cuts out again (tonight, obviously). All my other stations come in just fine. I'm only about 3 miles from the antennae. I have a winegard on my roof.

I'm way out in the burbs so I have no real experience with this. From what I gather you do not want a directional antenna and you may actually be too close as in the shadow of the antenna.

Really? What format?

I ask because if the people on the DVD Recorders forum here knew that, this model would definitely be more in demand and recommended to others.

I think my older Sony RDR-HX900 can, too, but only in VR mode with either + or - RW (one of the two). So it can only be played back on that machine.
It records in both Video and VR mode and accepts + or - RW DVD's.

Hey everyone,

I've got a large condo building that my company is in the process of gut rehabbing which I want to provide ota hdtv service. I am not expert on ota hdtv antennas, wiring, etc and am seeking recommendations of any companies in the Chicago, better yet downtown Loop, area who can design and install such a system.

Thanks for any help.

Hey everyone,

I've got a large condo building that my company is in the process of gut rehabbing which I want to provide ota hdtv service. I am not expert on ota hdtv antennas, wiring, etc and am seeking recommendations of any companies in the Chicago, better yet downtown Loop, area who can design and install such a system.

Thanks for any help.
I would recommend ABT in Glenview, I had them do my installation and was very pleased. They work all over the Chicago area.

ABT seems kind of expensive; they work with Winegard units but the antenna and installation combined was once quoted to me at slightly more than $1,000.00. Tweeter also does installations but their cost is nearly the same, and they use the inferior Terk. You can practically forget about the big box stores, where their installation crews merely hawk satellite subscriptions. Keep in mind that some independent satellite installers may still do this kind of work, but they certainly don't advertise it if they do. While it wouldn't hurt to ask around, it appears that professional antenna installation has become a lost art.

I live 62 miles from the Chicago towers and am currently running a RG-6 coax from a winegard 8200 with a winegard 8780 amp about 75 feet to my tv. I have it grounded and run the wire through a Monster mks1000 II power center to my LG 2007 42pb4d w/tuner.

My signal is good with acceptable signal strength to all channels but WBBM. ( I can't wait to 2009):)

I would like to split today my coax 2 ways
1. lg tv 42pd4d
2. lg dvd burner dr787t

I would like to split in the future my coax 4 ways
1. lg tv 42pd4d
2. lg dvd burner dr787t
3. receiver onkyo sx-304 (radio)
4. directv new tuner am21 (when ava)

Am I crazy for being this far out and trying to split or will I not lose that much strength? I don't want to sacrafice to much tv signal strength to multitask.

I also would like recommendations on splitters.

Do I have enough to get this done our should I leave things alone

Thanks for your recommendations

ATSC Tuner in DVD Recorders

Any suggestions as far as models or brands for signal or clarity. Differences in tuners from brand to brand.

Thanks for your help.

If you're OK with SD only - (this unit has no HD output):
The Magnavox DVD recorder has a very hot tuner, it's at least Gen 5 (maybe 6).
I Don't have the model # handy, but Walmart has them for $140,
and the Sam's Club on Randall Rd (Batavia) has a pallet full of them for $116. ;)
No, that's not a typo:)

I bought this just for the tuner, the DVD recorder is a bonus.
Tuner is great, recorder is fine too. Downside - no front panel display and a clunky remote.
Be sure the box says "SDTV tuner"
(there's a look-alike unit without a tuner)

This makes way more sense than $175 for a stand-alone Samsung STB.

Random question about HDTV reception - does over the air reception get better in colder weather? I have noticed that all my channels are coming through much better when it is colder. <snipped for brevity sake> So from my perspective, colder weather increases reception. Is there any fact to that?

If you are within line-of-sight...IE, roughly 60 miles or less...yes. The denser the air, the more the signal strength is stronger closer in. Right now, all my channels are coming in about 10% above average, except WBBM.

My experience has been the exact opposite. Sebenste, you may recall I posted last year about my two story, apt. building rooftop antenna providing me with OTA HD reception. I first started getting OTA HD reception last year around winter time (bought my first digital/hd tv along with Tivo HD right around that time). WBBM was terrible, with audio/visual dropouts galore. A couple other digital channels were also randomly "buggy" like this, but to a much lesser degree.

Then, somewhere around springtime and throughout the summer and most of fall, the reception on WBBM was almost perfect! I couldn't believe it. Hardly ever a hick-up! I assumed that some kind of equipment or building structural change must have occurred nearby to facilitate this positive change.

Next thing I know, this winter rolls around, and WBBM digital/hd is back to how it looked throughout winter of last year.. MADDENINGLY mediocre! A couple other OTA digital channels were acting up a bit more as well, but again, still very tolerable, just like last winter; WMAQ, mainly.

So I have no idea what this winter seasonal thing is all about, but all I can tell you is I can't wait for warmer weather to come back around.. in more ways than one! :cool:

I live 62 miles from the Chicago towers and am currently running a RG-6 coax from a winegard 8200 with a winegard 8780 amp about 75 feet to my tv. I have it grounded and run the wire through a Monster mks1000 II power center to my LG 2007 42pb4d w/tuner.

My signal is good with acceptable signal strength to all channels but WBBM. ( I can't wait to 2009):)

I would like to split today my coax 2 ways
1. lg tv 42pd4d
2. lg dvd burner dr787t

I would like to split in the future my coax 4 ways
1. lg tv 42pd4d
2. lg dvd burner dr787t
3. receiver onkyo sx-304 (radio)
4. directv new tuner am21 (when ava)

Am I crazy for being this far out and trying to split or will I not lose that much strength? I don't want to sacrafice to much tv signal strength to multitask.

I also would like recommendations on splitters.

Do I have enough to get this done our should I leave things alone

Thanks for your recommendations

See my PM to you.

My experience has been the exact opposite. Sebenste, you may recall I posted last year about my two story, apt. building rooftop antenna providing me with OTA HD reception. I first started getting OTA HD reception last year around winter time (bought my first digital/hd tv along with Tivo HD right around that time). WBBM was terrible, with audio/visual dropouts galore. A couple other digital channels were also randomly "buggy" like this, but to a much lesser degree.

Then, somewhere around springtime and throughout the summer and most of fall, the reception on WBBM was almost perfect! I couldn't believe it. Hardly ever a hick-up! I assumed that some kind of equipment or building structural change must have occurred nearby to facilitate this positive change.

Next thing I know, this winter rolls around, and WBBM digital/hd is back to how it looked throughout winter of last year.. MADDENINGLY mediocre! A couple other OTA digital channels were acting up a bit more as well, but again, still very tolerable, just like last winter; WMAQ, mainly.

So I have no idea what this winter seasonal thing is all about, but all I can tell you is I can't wait for warmer weather to come back around.. in more ways than one! :cool:

Are you reasonably close to high power lines or a transformer? That'll do it.
As for WMAQ, I don't know. And TV reception right now is only one reason why I want this nasty cold to end. I wasn't born an eskimo! :D
We got down to -10 in DeKalb this morning, and just west of us, -22 in Rochelle! Arrrgh!

And I can't wait until summer 2009 when WBBM will be crystal clear at high power!

I live 62 miles from the Chicago towers and am currently running a RG-6 coax from a winegard 8200 with a winegard 8780 amp about 75 feet to my tv. I have it grounded and run the wire through a Monster mks1000 II power center to my LG 2007 42pb4d w/tuner.

My signal is good with acceptable signal strength to all channels but WBBM. ( I can't wait to 2009):)

I would like to split today my coax 2 ways
1. lg tv 42pd4d
2. lg dvd burner dr787t

I would like to split in the future my coax 4 ways
1. lg tv 42pd4d
2. lg dvd burner dr787t
3. receiver onkyo sx-304 (radio)
4. directv new tuner am21 (when ava)

Am I crazy for being this far out and trying to split or will I not lose that much strength? I don't want to sacrafice to much tv signal strength to multitask.

I also would like recommendations on splitters.

Do I have enough to get this done our should I leave things alone

Thanks for your recommendations


Channel Vision makes amplified splitters either in 4 way and 8 way configurations. I am now using the 8 way version and it works very well, even with one feed over 360' long. BTW, they (Channel Vision) also offer a 2 source inlet so you can run thing like security cameras or video through the other input, kind of nice if you need it. I do have the 4 way unit around here somewhere if you need one. Good Luck

Can someone smack WGN's Engeneers upside their head :D and change some gosh darn encoders for some new ones. Im watching smackdown in hd and there is microblocking all over the place. expecally in places that there shouldnt be! How much does one cost? Ill buy it for you! :) Its pritty evident on directv's WGNHD feed also, Just was making sure that its not my antenna. Im getting great signal on my hr20-700

Can someone smack WGN's Engeneers upside their head :D
Did something happen to the WGN HD broadcast antenna or power output within the last month or so? I never noticed a problem with their HD broadcasts before, then suddenly within the last few weeks their primetime HD has been unwatchable. It's so bad that my TiVo hasn't been able to record a full show in the past month (it freezes and stops the recording halfway through), so I've had to switch back to SD. I don't have these problems on any other OTA channels and I didn't have this problem until very recently on WGN HD.

Does anyone know what happened and if this issue will be resolved anytime soon? Did they move or switch antennas or change to a lower power signal? Are they working on fixing it or is this just the way it's going to be from now on (unwatchable)?

Im able to recive WGN very reliably, I just have a problem with there picture quality because its not the best in town when it should be. They have no sub channels other than the spanish audio mix running at low bitrate. There should be no reason at all why that picture is pixelating as bad as it was. I also checked the signal to noise ratio for WGN and its very low. I just was wanting to make sure that its nothing on my end!

I've never had any problems at all with WGN's signal, either (though I agree about their subpar PQ).

Sounds like a reception issue for you, wymann.

Sounds like a reception issue for you, wymann.
Thanks for the comments. I wonder what could have caused the change all of a sudden, considering all the other channels are unchanged and clear and WGN was fine before. Nothing has changed in terms of my setup or the surrounding area.

When did you start using the setup? Have you had it through a whole, 1-year, 4-seasons cycle?

Well, for OTA HD it's been 3 years.

Can someone smack WGN's Engeneers upside their head :D and change some gosh darn encoders for some new ones. Im watching smackdown in hd and there is microblocking all over the place. expecally in places that there shouldnt be! How much does one cost? Ill buy it for you! :) Its pritty evident on directv's WGNHD feed also, Just was making sure that its not my antenna. Im getting great signal on my hr20-700

Come to think of it, flipping to WGN earlier this past week it was very choppy, skipping and almost unwatchable. I knew it wasn't my setup, all others were fine and signal strength was the same. What gives...:confused:

Hey guys, I just got a DB8 antenna. I'm going to be needing a pre amp. I'm about 60 miles from the towers. How much signal improvement can I expect from an amp? If I have say a quality of 50 what can I realistically expect it to jump to? I can't give all my channels and specs at this time because I have yet to find a permanent mounting spot because of the cold weather. Can you recommend the best amp for this distance? Any tips or tricks for finding the best mounting location? Any comments are appreciated.

Are you reasonably close to high power lines or a transformer? That'll do it.
........<snipped for clarity of response>.........

And I can't wait until summer 2009 when WBBM will be crystal clear at high power!

well, I am a bit of an ignoramus when it comes to utility devices, and telling them apart. :o But I have some telephone lines as well as some thicker cables on lines below those (telephone related too?), and all of these cables are running east/west about 30ft. to the immediate north of me, and just a few ft. higher than my standing 6ft. tall line of vision when looking out of my 2nd story patio deck window.

Not sure where the transformer would be, if there is one in the vicinity. I assume you are referring to one of the those big metal boxes mounted to the ground somewhere. If so, I need to do a little more looking to see if I can find one nearby.

LOST IN HD ?

ABC 7-1 Chicago lists Thursday's season premier of Lost with no HD sign. I found it this way on my LG DVR TV with TV Guide and on ABC 7 listings. Tell me it's not true.

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/feature?section=resources/tv_listings&id=5755533


Thanks

It's not true. Check here (http://tvlistings.zap2it.com/tvlistings/ZCGrid.do?fromTimeInMillis=1201827600000) or here (http://tvplanner.comcast.net/?initView=schedule-grid&initGridTime=PrimeTime#initView=grid,subPage=main,target=,b3 target=,b3selPath=,gridStart=1201827600000,gridFilter=all,se archTerm=,microCat=null,microSubcat=null,browseAlpha=null,br owseListing=null,1201636094455) - they both indicate the show is in HD. Besides, do you really think ABC would suddenly not show Lost in HD?

I would not have believed it but I saw it two places. Both of your links are network and comcast listings. I am not sure why ABC7 or my TV Guide would not list it as HD when the recap shows and next weeks Lost are listed as HD. I hope it is just and oversight.

Thanks

http://titantvguide.titantv.com/details/default.aspx?siteid=50190&pvrWatch=&viewerMode=false&callsign=WLS-DT&stationId=1250&psipId=88&scheduleId=465798385&channel=52&contentType=digital&gmtOffset=-6&observesDls=True&psipMajor=7&psipMinor=1

Your abclocal.go.com link now indicates HD.

My digital guide on Comcast says that tomorrow's episode is in HD.

Frank

well, I am a bit of an ignoramus when it comes to utility devices, and telling them apart. :o But I have some telephone lines as well as some thicker cables on lines below those (telephone related too?), and all of these cables are running east/west about 30ft. to the immediate north of me, and just a few ft. higher than my standing 6ft. tall line of vision when looking out of my 2nd story patio deck window.

Not sure where the transformer would be, if there is one in the vicinity. I assume you are referring to one of the those big metal boxes mounted to the ground somewhere. If so, I need to do a little more looking to see if I can find one nearby.

Sorry, been busy...the transformers are those metal boxes on the poles. They love to leak stuff that'll mess with WBBM and your AM radio. If you are close to the power lines, that'll do it.

WLS is having major issues with there hd feed. im watching the news and there is lines all over the place and the picture looks fuzzy and shakey. This is on the ota channel as well as D*'s channel.

No issues here with my WLS 7 feed. Both OTA and DirecTV's MPEG-4 feeds are crystal clear (unlike the blizzard-like conditions out there, LOL!)

No issues here with my WLS 7 feed. Both OTA and DirecTV's MPEG-4 feeds are crystal clear (unlike the blizzard-like conditions out there, LOL!)


humm thats weird.. as I had it all over the place.. the only place it was happening on was on WLSDT from directv's mpg4 feed and my OTA feed. Swiched channels, to channel 5 everything looked crystal clear like normal, swiched back to WLS and the problem was still their. It did clear up imedatly after the news cast was over. I find it hard to be on that channel only if it was my equipment, and the fact that both the ota and sat was doing it.

WLS is having major issues with there hd feed. im watching the news and there is lines all over the place and the picture looks fuzzy and shakey. This is on the ota channel as well as D*'s channel.

Had this problem on the Comcast side tonight, too.

Yes, I can confirm both the ABC 7.1 (plus subchannels) & WGN 9.1 free digital channels passed along by Comcast (and mapped by them to those familiar OTA digital channels locations) were experiencing picture break-ups during the afternoon in the Lombard area. Two separate households confirmed.

Not sure how long these digital blocks/rows of dropouts continued on those channels, but it was first noticed in the afternoon. No other surrounding digital channels were experiencing problems; 2.1, 5.2, etc. Those were perfect.

Sorry, been busy...the transformers are those metal boxes on the poles. They love to leak stuff that'll mess with WBBM and your AM radio. If you are close to the power lines, that'll do it.

Thanks, no apology required. You attained lifetime apology exemption status around here a very long time ago. ;) I'll have to take a closer look (for transformers) once the weather/temps become a little more "hospitable" to visual inquiry. I can say that AM radio reception is fine though, no problems there and I tune in to the AM band quite a lot.

WLS OTA has been great the last two nights -- no stuttering! Thanks for getting this fixed, or at least going back to the old encoder, before LOST.

WLS OTA has been great the last two nights -- no stuttering! Thanks for getting this fixed, or at least going back to the old encoder, before LOST.

I concur.

Hey guys as far as the WGN issusues with pixolation,

I recived this from one of my contacts who has conatacts with WGN. I wish wgn would contact me because this isnt the only place that it pixolates. Im trying to get this fixed before the sox/cubs season. We know how bad it was last year!


"It's taken me several days to talk to everyone who was on duty last Friday night - but the upshot - confirmed by our real time logging gear - is that we can't find any evidence of any encoder problems or other issues with the Smackdown feed leaving the station or returning from the OTA transmitter.

I'm going to see if I can get in contact with some of the folks on the forum and see what else I can learn."

My antenna got pushed a little by the winds this week, so I need to go and re-aim it. It can wait because signals are still good, so I figured I'd take the opportunity to replace a Radio Shack indoor amplifier with something (probably) better. The amp is really only to allow for distribution. I use a Winegard PR7032 at 21 miles from the transmittters.

I was looking at the Antennas Direct/Terrestrial Digital PA-17. It has a fairly low gain at 17 db, which I think is good since my signal appears OK now. I was impressed by the 2.5 db noise figure mostly.

Does anyone have an opinion on these?

I concur.Just thought I'd let you know that 26.1/2/3 are mapping to 27.3/4/5 again on my tuner.

Just thought I'd let you know that 26.1/2/3 are mapping to 27.3/4/5 again on my tuner.
I hate our ASI-DS3 converter box. :mad: Should be better now.

Goody goody!

It's Thursday, 7:25pm and the Lost preview is messing up bad. My wife will not let me watch in HD...Too many drop-outs. Why did WLS have to ruin this show for us? It used to be so beautiful in HD.

It's Thursday, 7:25pm and the Lost preview is messing up bad. My wife will not let me watch in HD...Too many drop-outs. Why did WLS have to ruin this show for us? It used to be so beautiful in HD.

I watched the premier. It was pretty glitchy after 8 but it seemed to clear up after a while.

I watched the full 2 hours of Lost in HD and it was perfect with no problems at all. I live on the north side of Chicago.
Frank

I watched the full 2 hours of Lost in HD and it was perfect with no problems at all. I live on the north side of Chicago.
Frank

It was fine for me, too -- with the exception of those annoying "Hey everybody, it's snowing!" weather warnings.

Smallville was worse than usual tonight with the dropouts, also.

But that didn't bother me half as much as that huge bug with the show promo lettering that they had running through 1/8 of the lower half of the screen through almost the whole program.

The least they could do is put those things in the very furthest corner of the picture instead of practically in the middle of the right quadrant, well into the picture.

I am going to e-mail these stations that are doing this now (as a lot of people in the programming forums are doing), and if things don't change I'm writing off these channels, period.

The logos were one thing, and I could live with those - but this is even worse than those occasional popups that they're sometimes using, because it's just a continual thing, and I can't watch the shows without those things distracting my attention 100% of the time.

I can understand their desperation in trying to combat the increased commercial-skipping with DVR's, but this is just plain blatant aggression - and stupid, because they're just cutting off their own noses to spite their faces.

It's Thursday, 7:25pm and the Lost preview is messing up bad. My wife will not let me watch in HD...Too many drop-outs. Why did WLS have to ruin this show for us? It used to be so beautiful in HD.

Saw it here too. Welcome to the digital era. :eek:

Did something happen to the WGN HD broadcast antenna or power output within the last month or so? I never noticed a problem with their HD broadcasts before, then suddenly within the last few weeks their primetime HD has been unwatchable. It's so bad that my TiVo hasn't been able to record a full show in the past month (it freezes and stops the recording halfway through), so I've had to switch back to SD. I don't have these problems on any other OTA channels and I didn't have this problem until very recently on WGN HD.

Does anyone know what happened and if this issue will be resolved anytime soon? Did they move or switch antennas or change to a lower power signal? Are they working on fixing it or is this just the way it's going to be from now on (unwatchable)?

I can no longer receive WGN at all on my Windows Media Center computer. Same timing too. Used to work great until about a month ago, now it hasn't been able to tune to it since. No other changes.

Ironic thing is that this is the channel with the best signal strength on my whole setup.

They had to have done something...

The two hour block of Lost last night was perfect here in the western suburb of the Glen Ellyn.

Just had to endure the blasted "WARNING! WARNING! IT'S SNOWING OUTSIDE!" interruptions every few minutes. Or so it seemed.

2-1-2008 wgn 9-1 6:20 pm micro blocks galore

My antenna got pushed a little by the winds this week, so I need to go and re-aim it. It can wait because signals are still good, so I figured I'd take the opportunity to replace a Radio Shack indoor amplifier with something (probably) better. The amp is really only to allow for distribution. I use a Winegard PR7032 at 21 miles from the transmittters.

I was looking at the Antennas Direct/Terrestrial Digital PA-17. It has a fairly low gain at 17 db, which I think is good since my signal appears OK now. I was impressed by the 2.5 db noise figure mostly.

Does anyone have an opinion on these?

Yes. Your antenna is very good for that range! :) Well, if the quoted noise level is correct, then that would be a good preamp. My favorite for situations like that is the Winegard AP-8700:

http://www.warrenelectronics.com/antennas/AP8700.htm

If you want to be a guinea pig and try out the Antennas Direct one, I'd say .3 dB isn't going to matter a hill of beans for your setup, so I'd buy whichever is cheaper.

2-1-2008 wgn 9-1 6:20 pm micro blocks galore

Yep I recorded smackdown and Had the same during certin points of the show. If the WGN guys cant see the microblocking, then I think its time that I go to just for eyes and purchase them a gift certificate for some contacts/glasses. I issue a challange to WGN's Engneers. I want you to come to my apartment on my 62 inch Mitubishi, and tell me that the Microblocking is coming from my TV or my setup. Because once again, I know its not as im getting 95 percent signal and WGN is the only channel that it happens that bad. I have Hardley no noise on the line from WGN. My SNR coming from WGN is one of the best, as WPWR is the only one that out performs it.

Well, if the quoted noise level is correct, then that would be a good preamp. My favorite for situations like that is the Winegard AP-8700
I can see several reasons now why I should have bought the Winegard. For $40 at Summit Source, it has 75 or 300 ohm input and an adjustable/switchable FM trap. But, I just ordered the Antennas Direct, so I guess I'll stick with it.

I'll install it in the basement for now and get on the roof the next warm day off.

I can see several reasons now why I should have bought the Winegard. For $40 at Summit Source, it has 75 or 300 ohm input and an adjustable/switchable FM trap. But, I just ordered the Antennas Direct, so I guess I'll stick with it.

I'll install it in the basement for now and get on the roof the next warm day off.

Bakers12,

You didn't necessarily make a bad purchase. I'm curious as to how it performs. If it lives up to the specs, it will be very slightly better than the one I recommended to you. Do tell us how things are going, signal-wise, etc after you put it on. I'm curious to know. If it works well for you, I'll add it to my recommended list.

Right up until just before I left for a friend's house to watch the "Big Game" last year, I was being slammed with questions on how to get WBBM (which led to the essay in the first series of posts in this thread). This year...zero questions. At 690,000 watts on channel 31, WFLD gets out...far. Yes, some PSIP problems have left a few people in the cold, but I hope that's all gone now. I will be up in Belvidere watching it at a friends house on their Comcast system; last year, he didn't get the HD box in time for the game, so we watched it off one of my test antennas I use. I'll be bringing it in case there's a problem with Comcast's signal. One of my other test antennas is, as of last night, at a friends house who has DirecTV. He was scheduled for an HD upgrade in December, but has been pushed back repeatedly because of the bad weather. So a rusty, 15 year old ChannelMaster 4228 sits on an old towel in his living room, leaning against the wall just east of Huntley, on a 5th gen Sammy tuner picking up FOX Chicago (or Rockford, if he points it the opposite direction). Even though it's on the floor at ground level, he still locks all but WBBM just fine. And locks WTVO and WQRF (ABC and FOX) from Rockford! I love these 5th gen tuners. I can't wait to see the 6th gen!

Anyway, on 2/1/2009, NBC will carry the Big Game. Then all we have to do is scream and moan about their fronthaul being of lower quality and the resulting macroblocking. I can't wait for that to start! :rolleyes::D

Enjoy the game.

Make sure there's plenty of booze, because the game should be over by halftime.

I can no longer receive WGN at all on my Windows Media Center computer. Same timing too. Used to work great until about a month ago, now it hasn't been able to tune to it since. No other changes.

Ironic thing is that this is the channel with the best signal strength on my whole setup.

They had to have done something...

Microsoft goofed up the guide. Well, actually, they're blaming the FCC. If you look closely at your guide you should see a 1191 WGN listing. Of course you cant tune it in though.

You need to go into the "Add DTV channel" GUI and manually add WGN back in.

And then all will be right with the world. (Except for the macroblocking)

-dickm

PS: does anyone else think that their studio shots on their newscasts are horribly over sharpened?

Make sure there's plenty of booze, because the game should be over by halftime.

And I thought only us meteorologists made bad forecasts. :D I don't drink, but a bunch of those folks who aren't Eli fans might start!

Hi everyone,
I'm new to the HD OTA world, but I just purchased a Terk HDTV Slim Profile Antenna to try an see what type of reception I'll get and whether or not I need to get a larger antenna.
Here is a link to the antenna:

Edit: Because I have not made 3 posts I can not include a link, sorry.
Edit 2: Haha I win, just had to edit after making the post!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16882145009&CMP=KNC-overturesmx&ATT=product

I currently have the antenna mounted inside my attic and hooked up to a Samsung LNS-4692d. I'm located about 66 miles south of Chicago and currently the only HD stations I'm picking up are 5-1, 9-1, 32-1, and 50-1. I'd really like to get WLS, WCIU, and WBBM(if possible). I really haven't adjusted the antenna side to side yet, I just pointed it North until the signal stayed constant, partly rushed it because I just wanted to make sure I could watch the Super Bowl in HD today.

Also, I chose to mount the antenna indoors because I wasn't sure if the thing was going to work at all. At my house there is an existing 35-40 foot tower antenna outside in the yard, I've thought I may be able to climb the antenna and mount the HD antenna with the hardware that came with it. Although the Terk antenna is an outdoor antenna, I'm not sure how durable the thing will be and if the wind is going to cause more problems.

Any and all advice is much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Microsoft goofed up the guide. Well, actually, they're blaming the FCC. If you look closely at your guide you should see a 1191 WGN listing. Of course you cant tune it in though.

You need to go into the "Add DTV channel" GUI and manually add WGN back in.

And then all will be right with the world. (Except for the macroblocking)

-dickm

PS: does anyone else think that their studio shots on their newscasts are horribly over sharpened?

Need more help with this... if I could get this working it would really help (the wife always seems to pick something from WGN to watch and then it won't come in).

First of all, 1191 IS the channel that it lists. I receive a very strong signal on it but it won't tune. Are you saying this is the correct channel or the incorrect channel?

I found "Add DTV Channel", but it wants "Digital TV Channel" and then "Assigned Frequency". What numbers do I enter?

Thanks for the help! I've been searching for a solution to this for weeks...

Need more help with this... if I could get this working it would really help (the wife always seems to pick something from WGN to watch and then it won't come in).

First of all, 1191 IS the channel that it lists. I receive a very strong signal on it but it won't tune. Are you saying this is the correct channel or the incorrect channel?

I found "Add DTV Channel", but it wants "Digital TV Channel" and then "Assigned Frequency". What numbers do I enter?

Thanks for the help! I've been searching for a solution to this for weeks...

OK, finally figured this out after finding several places with vague information on what you need...

Add channel 9-1, and use a frequency of 19. MC automatically used WGN's guide info and no problems tuning to it now.

Add channel 9-1, and use a frequency of 19. MC automatically used WGN's guide info and no problems tuning to it now.

Good to hear it.

Microsoft is saying the FCC is feeding them wrong data but, sheesh, you'd think they'd have some sort of feedback channel to the FCC to get it fixed. A few years ago, WBBM was listed on ch21 and it was over a year before they fixed that one.

-dickm

Hi everyone,
I'm new to the HD OTA world, but I just purchased a Terk HDTV Slim Profile Antenna to try an see what type of reception I'll get and whether or not I need to get a larger antenna.
Here is a link to the antenna:

Edit: Because I have not made 3 posts I can not include a link, sorry.
Edit 2: Haha I win, just had to edit after making the post!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16882145009&CMP=KNC-overturesmx&ATT=product

I currently have the antenna mounted inside my attic and hooked up to a Samsung LNS-4692d. I'm located about 66 miles south of Chicago and currently the only HD stations I'm picking up are 5-1, 9-1, 32-1, and 50-1. I'd really like to get WLS, WCIU, and WBBM(if possible). I really haven't adjusted the antenna side to side yet, I just pointed it North until the signal stayed constant, partly rushed it because I just wanted to make sure I could watch the Super Bowl in HD today.

Also, I chose to mount the antenna indoors because I wasn't sure if the thing was going to work at all. At my house there is an existing 35-40 foot tower antenna outside in the yard, I've thought I may be able to climb the antenna and mount the HD antenna with the hardware that came with it. Although the Terk antenna is an outdoor antenna, I'm not sure how durable the thing will be and if the wind is going to cause more problems.

Any and all advice is much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Hi Bmil,

Welcome aboard! Wow. That antenna is only supposed to go 25 miles, outdoors. You have a great tuner on your TV. The later Sammy's do!

You'd get more channels, perhaps, but not WBBM. The best antenna for your location is this one:

https://www.tselectronic.com/winegard/hd8200.html

Put THAT on top of youe 30' tower and you'd get all but WBBM (and maybe you would; at that distance, doubt it, but you have a shot), and probably also get some Champaign/Springfield stations if you point it southwest. Or maybe Peoria.

I hope that helps!

QUOTE=sebenste;13022032]And I thought only us meteorologists made bad forecasts. :D I don't drink, but a bunch of those folks who aren't Eli fans might start![/QUOTE]



Not that I cared who won either way, but boy, was I wrong.

I won't take nothing away from the Giants, because they certainly played hard and well, and did everything they had to do when they needed to, but the Pats play was so lackluster (for them), that the game turned out pretty even.

Everybody seems to think it was such a great game. Maybe because of the closeness and suspense of it, and the upset part, but one team hardly even showed up it seemed.

It was almost like it was fixed (and remember, I don't really care who won - actually I was leaning towards the Giants because of that earlier, "cheating" incident). I'm glad that ridiculously undeserved "dynasty" and "best team ever" hype was dispelled, but I still hate it when something like that happens. I would have liked to have seen both teams playing up to their capabilities.

I know that the Giants were hot and the Pats not so much during the latter stages of the season, but I still expected the Pats to be more inspired for the SB.

PS: does anyone else think that their studio shots on their newscasts are horribly over sharpened?No - on the contrary, I always thought their SD newscasts looked the best of any local channel's on my set, by far. I have a Pio plasma, which isn't known to be exaggeratedly oversharp to begin with (like say, the Pannies), so it evens out nicely.

'Course, if there were any fast movements going on in them, I'd have a different opinion, I'm sure.

WCIU-HD is currently operating in SD mode for a couple of days while we make some quick changes in our Encoding. We'll be back before you know it. :)

From today's Rob Feder column in the Sun-Times:

It's 'Me-Too'
Weigel unveils companion channel to 'Me-TV' with more vintage reruns

February 6, 2008
BY ROBERT FEDER Sun-Times Columnist

From those wonderful folks who brought you "The U" and "Me-TV" now comes another channel of classic TV.

In the latest brand extension from Chicago-based Weigel Broadcasting, WFBT-Channel 48 is becoming WMEU-Channel 48.

Welcome to "Me-Too."

Starting March 1, the station will turn into a companion to WWME-Channel 23, the home of vintage reruns known as "Me-TV." Between the two, more than 100 different series will be aired.

Brokered ethnic and foreign language programming now on Channel 48 will switch to one of six digital channels of Weigel's WCIU-Channel 26. "Me-Too" also will be carried on Comcast Digital Channel 247 as well as WOW and RCN cable systems.

"The combination of 'Me-TV' and 'Me-Too' will allow us to expand the classic TV franchise in an unprecedented way," said Neal Sabin, executive vice president of Weigel Broadcasting.

As part of the company's overall digital strategy, Sabin said, having a second stream of classic shows will allow development of targeted blocks of programming for different demographics. It also will create a classic program stream when sports preempts regularly scheduled shows.

Among the titles on "Me-Too" will be a Sunday "Noir at Night" block of "Route 66," "Naked City," "77 Sunset Strip" and "Boris Karloff's Thriller."

A Saturday night "pajama party" lineup will feature "Square Pegs," "Silver Spoons," "Facts of Life," "The Monkees," "The Brady Bunch" and "The Partridge Family."

WCIU-HD is currently operating in SD mode for a couple of days while we make some quick changes in our Encoding. We'll be back before you know it. :)

Yeah, well, I have 100 mb of bandwidth, and I think I know what you are up to! :D This means better picture quality for 26-2 and 3, right?
Wait. From the article above:

Channel 48 will switch to one of six digital channels of Weigel's WCIU-Channel 26.

Can you clarify how this is going to work?

Anybody notice that 7-1 has been unreliable this week. Normally it is rock solid.

I was looking at the Antennas Direct/Terrestrial Digital PA-17. It has a fairly low gain at 17 db, which I think is good since my signal appears OK now. I was impressed by the 2.5 db noise figure mostly.

The Terrestrial Digital PA-17 amplifier arrived yesterday. The instruction sheet has a drawing that looks like the PA-17, but the specifications bear little resemblence to what I wanted.

The noise figures shown are 6db (VHF) and 8db (UHF). There is a -20db FM trap which will do no good since I split a feed off for my stereo receiver. The gain figures are off, but at least close.

I have an email in to Terrestrial Digital asking for clarification. I'll post the results.

I'm lost guys and gals.

I just moved into my new townhouse in Oswego (southwest suburbs, for those of you not familiar with the area...just south of Aurora/Naperville and near the intersection of US-30 & US-34.) According to the maps I've read and websites I've referenced, that puts me between 35 and 40 miles away from where the Chicago area TV stations are broadcast.

Initially, I didn't know much about what I was doing, so I went to my local Menards and bough a tiny antenna that I intended to put in my attic. The install was painfully easy...almost too easy...and what do I find? It doesn't really work. I get channel NBC 5 and not much else. I realize now that I was lucky to get NBC.

So I begin my journey of research. I google this and search that and stumble across AVS forums, which has been extremely helpful (thank you guys in advance!)

I took the advice at the beginning of this thread and went to my local Radio Shack and bought a Radio Shack VU-190 antenna. The thing is pretty enormous and I was pretty excited to get it home and get it installed so I could resume watching TV, something I hadn't really had the pleasure of doing since I moved in to my house two weeks ago.

I followed the directions (poor as they were) and put the antenna together as best I could while in my living room, then I took it in pieces up to the attic for the final install. I bolted it together in the attic and snapped the elements into place, hooked up my coax that runs to the splitter in my basement, and nearly killed myself climbing down from the attic because I was so excited. I get down to the TV, turn it on, and see snow...on every channel except for a faint picture and sound (in mono) on NBC once again. I got better reception with the tiny Phillips antenna.


What gives? I realize that for the best reception I need to put the antenna on my roof, but the bottom line is that I'm not going to do that. I want it in my attic. I'm really not willing to be flexible with this so if your suggestion is going to be, "put the antenna on the roof", just don't cause it's not going to fly with me. :)

I have the antenna pointed toward the east which is obviously where all the broadcasts are originated from, the problem with that might be that I live in a townhouse and I'm in the middle of 5 units (two on either side of me) so there's a good 75 feet of additional attic space to the east of me. Can that affect my signal?

What's my best course of action here? How can I improve my signal without moving my antenna to the roof? Currently the antenna is resting on the truss supports in my attic, will I get better reception if I hang it from the rafters? Should I be using an antenna amplifier like one that I could get from Radio Shack? I can't post a URL because this is my first post, but if you go to Radio Shack's website and search for "antenna amplifier" you'll find examples of what I'm thinking of. How much will this realistically help my signal?

I need ideas here! I thought by getting an enormous antenna I'd be able to pick up everything regardless of the fact that it's an attic install. Someone help please! Thanks in advance!

I'm lost guys and gals.

I just moved into my new townhouse in Oswego (southwest suburbs, for those of you not familiar with the area...just south of Aurora/Naperville and near the intersection of US-30 & US-34.) According to the maps I've read and websites I've referenced, that puts me between 35 and 40 miles away from where the Chicago area TV stations are broadcast.

Initially, I didn't know much about what I was doing, so I went to my local Menards and bough a tiny antenna that I intended to put in my attic. The install was painfully easy...almost too easy...and what do I find? It doesn't really work. I get channel NBC 5 and not much else. I realize now that I was lucky to get NBC.

So I begin my journey of research. I google this and search that and stumble across AVS forums, which has been extremely helpful (thank you guys in advance!)

I took the advice at the beginning of this thread and went to my local Radio Shack and bought a Radio Shack VU-190 antenna. The thing is pretty enormous and I was pretty excited to get it home and get it installed so I could resume watching TV, something I hadn't really had the pleasure of doing since I moved in to my house two weeks ago.

I followed the directions (poor as they were) and put the antenna together as best I could while in my living room, then I took it in pieces up to the attic for the final install. I bolted it together in the attic and snapped the elements into place, hooked up my coax that runs to the splitter in my basement, and nearly killed myself climbing down from the attic because I was so excited. I get down to the TV, turn it on, and see snow...on every channel except for a faint picture and sound (in mono) on NBC once again. I got better reception with the tiny Phillips antenna.


What gives? I realize that for the best reception I need to put the antenna on my roof, but the bottom line is that I'm not going to do that. I want it in my attic. I'm really not willing to be flexible with this so if your suggestion is going to be, "put the antenna on the roof", just don't cause it's not going to fly with me. :)

I have the antenna pointed toward the east which is obviously where all the broadcasts are originated from, the problem with that might be that I live in a townhouse and I'm in the middle of 5 units (two on either side of me) so there's a good 75 feet of additional attic space to the east of me. Can that affect my signal?

What's my best course of action here? How can I improve my signal without moving my antenna to the roof? Currently the antenna is resting on the truss supports in my attic, will I get better reception if I hang it from the rafters? Should I be using an antenna amplifier like one that I could get from Radio Shack? I can't post a URL because this is my first post, but if you go to Radio Shack's website and search for "antenna amplifier" you'll find examples of what I'm thinking of. How much will this realistically help my signal?

I need ideas here! I thought by getting an enormous antenna I'd be able to pick up everything regardless of the fact that it's an attic install. Someone help please! Thanks in advance!


Hey DMB,

Welcome to the forum!

Ok, a few things.

Are you sure the antenna is attached properly? You should have what is called a "balun" hooked up to where it connects to the antenna. That is, two wires on one end, going to what is an RG-6 cable connector. And, are you using RG-6 cable, and are you using a preamplifier? You do need one that far out. How long is the cable to your TV? If more than 50', you'll need a strong preamplifier, such as the Winegard AP-8275, at solidsignal.com or Tri-State Electronics (www.tselectronic.com); if you work in the northwest suburbs or visit there, you can pick one up at their store.

Also, if you have aluminum siding, forget it, you are toast; that will block almost all of the signal. Oh, and if you are going through a VCR or tuner, make sure it is set for "antenna" (sorry if some of this info is really basic, I'm just trying to make sure everything is set correctly).

I'm 99% sure that it's set up correctly, I know I have the wire coming off the antenna correctly. I'm using an RG-6 cable run that is 75' from my attic to my basement where my media interface box is (where the splitter is.) From there it runs probably another 25-30' to my TV.

I don't have aluminum siding, it's vinyl. I'm not running through a VCR, just from the wall to my TV.

Is there another place (possibly south or west burbs) that I can pick up a powerful pre-amp? I work in Rosemont, but I won't be up there again until Saturday so if I could get this solved tonight I'd be thrilled. Are any from Radio Shack any good? I have a lot of those around here.

Thanks a lot for your help Gilbert! :)

Edit: I don't have the antenna grounded because it's my understanding that I didn't need to because it's in my attic. Will grounding it change anything? If so, how do I go about grounding it? Also, I don't have the mast attached, will this change anything? I didn't think I needed it, I figured it was just for mounting purposes and I have other means with which to mount it. Thanks again.

One thing to consider is that the transmitters are at 73 degrees from you, a little North of East. Change the aim a little.

Also, is the antenna aimed through a section of roof that is covered with snow? I would expect snow to hurt your reception a lot.

Grounding or a mast will not make a difference to you, I expect.

Getting snow on every channel except getting ch.5 in mono indicates weak signal strength at the receiver. If you know the receiver is good, look at the cable connectors to be sure their inners and outers are making good connections yet nothing shorting between them like fine wires from outer braid. The center conductor should stick out a good 1/8 inch from the coaxial connectors and this 'stinger' should cause an 'ouch' when you press your fingertip onto the connector. Look into the opposite sex connector to be sure the center socket is okay. Usually helps to bend the stinger a little off center so when you screw into the opposite sex that conductor is forced into making good contact. You mention a media center in the middle, can you bypass that? Or try your receiver there to see if signal is okay there? Do you have another antenna you can try near a window facing the city? (Maybe even a coathanger or paperclip.) How does its reception compare to your new attic antenna? Your attic may just have too much shielding to allow collecting enought t.v. signals inside. But you should get sniffs from more than just channel 5 so its most probably a problem in the wire linking the antenna to your receiver, if it's not the receiver itself.

I'm 100% sure the connections are all good, that's not the issue. I could try aiming the antenna a little better, I have it aimed pretty much straight east now so I'll try turning it a little further north and seeing if that helps.

I guess I didn't explain things well enough, I don't just get snow on every channel except 5, I get almost nothing...no sound, no picture at all. I got channel 2 for about a minute, but it was extremely snowy, extremely wavy, and the sound cut in and out. This seemed bizzare to me because if I'm able to pick up channel 2, I would think that every other channel would at least come in a little bit. However, 2 is now gone and I'm back to an unwatchable channel 5.

I tried the smaller Phillips antenna by my front window which faces north, I picked up 7 and 5, but not well at all. Again, snowy, but stereo sound and recognizable picture. What really kills me is that I got much better reception with the tiny Phillips MANT950 antenna. I don't get what the problem is.

Any word on pre-amps from Radio Shack or somewhere else so I don't have to drive to the northwest burbs?

I'm 99% sure that it's set up correctly, I know I have the wire coming off the antenna correctly. I'm using an RG-6 cable run that is 75' from my attic to my basement where my media interface box is (where the splitter is.) From there it runs probably another 25-30' to my TV.

I don't have aluminum siding, it's vinyl. I'm not running through a VCR, just from the wall to my TV.

Is there another place (possibly south or west burbs) that I can pick up a powerful pre-amp? I work in Rosemont, but I won't be up there again until Saturday so if I could get this solved tonight I'd be thrilled. Are any from Radio Shack any good? I have a lot of those around here.

Thanks a lot for your help Gilbert! :)

Edit: I don't have the antenna grounded because it's my understanding that I didn't need to because it's in my attic. Will grounding it change anything? If so, how do I go about grounding it? Also, I don't have the mast attached, will this change anything? I didn't think I needed it, I figured it was just for mounting purposes and I have other means with which to mount it. Thanks again.

Are you trying only analog channels or digital also? I am also in Oswego about 2 to 3 miles west of you in a two story house with an attic mount Radiou Shack Model: VU-90 XR which is a step down from your model. I have the antenna mounted on a pvc mast in the attic as high up as it will go and I do have aluminum siding. I have probably a 50' to 75' RG6 run directly to the TV and I am able to get all the local digital channels (except CBS 2.1) with a strong signal in the mid to upper 90's out of 100. I think I am able to get exceptional reception with my attic install because my house is situated as such that the antenna does not point toward the walls with aluminum siding but rather through the roof.

Right now I'm just going for analog. I don't have an HDTV at this time, but that's my next addition to my home theater setup :)

Are you using a pre amp with your antenna? Clearly something isn't right, I'm not sure if it's something that I did or not, I'm going to go through again and check all my connections and my antenna assembly again. I still have yet to try re aiming the antenna, so that'll be my next step before I get the pre amp.

My antenna is in a second story attic...I'll see if I can effectively illustrate this for everyone.

Imagine the box below is my townhouse...each number represents a different unit, I'm in unit number 3, right in the middle. The houses have a common attic space but there is a wall separating attic from attic, so each vertical line represents a wall. Imagine that up is north, right is east, down is south, left is west. My antenna is aimed straight east at this point...so the signal would have to go through two more attic spaces to get to my house. I can't imagine this wouldn't make a difference...or am I just crazy?


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As bakers12 already pointed out, the transmitters are a north north east from me, not straight east. The Phillips MANT950 antenna I used was screwed into the rafters, I imagine that's why I got any reception from it at all...it was up really high. If I were to raise the level of my antenna closer to the ceiling and rotate it slightly north, would this solve anything? Also...any word on pre-amps from Radio Shack? Sorry for asking so many times, I just really want to get this working.


Thank you so much to everyone, you've been more than helpful so far and I can't tell you how much I appreciate it.

The way 2 came in and out, it sounds like a really weak signal.

Make sure that the twin, 300 ohm wire from the balun is not touching the actual antenna anywhere.

And yes - more height can only in help your situation.

Radio Shack's amps are very noisy, so they're not really recommended here. Whatever you get, you definitely need a strong amp - even if you were out in the open, from that distance. It would pay to not be impatient and get the better stuff and do it right.

Maybe you think you have the antenna pointed right, but you don't: Rotate it 180 degrees and see what happens.

Right now I'm just going for analog. I don't have an HDTV at this time, but that's my next addition to my home theater setup :)

Are you using a pre amp with your antenna? Clearly something isn't right, I'm not sure if it's something that I did or not, I'm going to go through again and check all my connections and my antenna assembly again. I still have yet to try re aiming the antenna, so that'll be my next step before I get the pre amp.

My antenna is in a second story attic...I'll see if I can effectively illustrate this for everyone.

Imagine the box below is my townhouse...each number represents a different unit, I'm in unit number 3, right in the middle. The houses have a common attic space but there is a wall separating attic from attic, so each vertical line represents a wall. Imagine that up is north, right is east, down is south, left is west. My antenna is aimed straight east at this point...so the signal would have to go through two more attic spaces to get to my house. I can't imagine this wouldn't make a difference...or am I just crazy?


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As bakers12 already pointed out, the transmitters are a north north east from me, not straight east. The Phillips MANT950 antenna I used was screwed into the rafters, I imagine that's why I got any reception from it at all...it was up really high. If I were to raise the level of my antenna closer to the ceiling and rotate it slightly north, would this solve anything? Also...any word on pre-amps from Radio Shack? Sorry for asking so many times, I just really want to get this working.


Thank you so much to everyone, you've been more than helpful so far and I can't tell you how much I appreciate it.

There might be metal inbetween, somewhere. Are you picking up 26, 32, 44 or 50 at all?

Anybody notice that 7-1 has been unreliable this week. Normally it is rock solid.

I haven't seen any problem with WLS 7-1 here this week.

Quick question for those "in the know"...

I am located in Kendall County near Rt. 47 and US 30 (where Sugar Grove, Yorkville and Montgomery all come together) and currently get my HD locals through E*. What this means is that the one HD channel I am missing is WGN, and being a Cubs fan that will be an issue very soon. I've already gone to antennaweb.org to see what is recommended, but want to know if there's any chance that an amplified indoor antenna will allow me to pull in this one channel. I am hoping that WGN's signal may be better than some channels at my location, as I really don't want to mount an outdoor antenna to get one channel. Any thoughts??

I haven't seen any problem with WLS 7-1 here this week.

Thanks! Maybe I need the new generation of tuners for my location.

Quick question for those "in the know"...

I am located in Kendall County near Rt. 47 and US 30 (where Sugar Grove, Yorkville and Montgomery all come together) and currently get my HD locals through E*. What this means is that the one HD channel I am missing is WGN, and being a Cubs fan that will be an issue very soon. I've already gone to antennaweb.org to see what is recommended, but want to know if there's any chance that an amplified indoor antenna will allow me to pull in this one channel. I am hoping that WGN's signal may be better than some channels at my location, as I really don't want to mount an outdoor antenna to get one channel. Any thoughts??


For the Cubs OTA, it's actually 2 channels. I counted 8 Cubs games on WCIU, which will all be in HD & WCIU is also not carried by E*.

For the Cubs OTA, it's actually 2 channels. I counted 8 Cubs games on WCIU, which will all be in HD & WCIU is also not carried by E*.

Yeah - well it's the 70 HD games on WGN (plus the CW HD programming) that I'm inquiring about. I think I can sacrifice 8 games as there is little else worth watching on WCIU.

Right now I'm just going for analog. I don't have an HDTV at this time, but that's my next addition to my home theater setup :)

Are you using a pre amp with your antenna? Clearly something isn't right, I'm not sure if it's something that I did or not, I'm going to go through again and check all my connections and my antenna assembly again. I still have yet to try re aiming the antenna, so that'll be my next step before I get the pre amp.

My antenna is in a second story attic...I'll see if I can effectively illustrate this for everyone.

Imagine the box below is my townhouse...each number represents a different unit, I'm in unit number 3, right in the middle. The houses have a common attic space but there is a wall separating attic from attic, so each vertical line represents a wall. Imagine that up is north, right is east, down is south, left is west. My antenna is aimed straight east at this point...so the signal would have to go through two more attic spaces to get to my house. I can't imagine this wouldn't make a difference...or am I just crazy?


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As bakers12 already pointed out, the transmitters are a north north east from me, not straight east. The Phillips MANT950 antenna I used was screwed into the rafters, I imagine that's why I got any reception from it at all...it was up really high. If I were to raise the level of my antenna closer to the ceiling and rotate it slightly north, would this solve anything? Also...any word on pre-amps from Radio Shack? Sorry for asking so many times, I just really want to get this working.


Thank you so much to everyone, you've been more than helpful so far and I can't tell you how much I appreciate it.

I am not using a preamp of any kind. I did try to see what analog channels I get and the only ones that are not watchable are 2 (CBS) and 5 (NBC). All others come in pretty clear. Besides not having to go through multiple walls I may also be at a slightly higher grade. It is certainly worth a try to raise the antenna and reposition since you did have some sucess higher up with the Phillips antenna.

I got some stuff figured out. Turns out I was using a bad splitter/signal amplifier in my attic that I got from Radio Shack. I replaced the splitter and suddenly was able to get 2, 5, 7, 9, and 11 completely crystal clear. Keep in mind that I don't have a digital TV at this point, so all of this is analogue. However, the picture on all those channels was extremely bright, absolutely no snow or ghosting or anything like that.

I also raised the antenna up about 2 feet (to the best of my ability...small attic, enormous antenna,) and pointed it a little bit more toward the east north east direction.

I went to Radio Shack and bought a pre amp with the full intention of returning it regardless of whether it worked or not, I just wanted to see if the amp could improve my reception at all. It actually made it worse on the channels that I was getting and did absolutely nothing to improve the channels I wasn't getting.

So my next question is...any ideas on how to pull in 20, 26, 32, 38, 50, and 62? I'm really not so concerned about getting 38 or 62 because I never watched those anyway, but if I have them I won't complain. I'm more lost than before now, I don't get why I'm getting 2, 5, 7, 9, and 11 but nothing else. It's really weird to me.

I'm referencing antennaweb and seeing no reason why I should only be pulling in the low numbered channels. Any ideas? Thanks again guys, you've all been extremely helpful.

Hi kblee,

I live nearby at 47 and Galena. I was able to get most of the UHF digital stations (including WGN 9) with an amplified indoor UHF antenna. Get one of the Philips 410 or 510 antennas at the Walmart and give it a try. If it doesn't work you can always take it back.

Patrick

Thanks - I'll give it a try.

Is it possible that you did not connect the UHF part of the antenna to the VHF part of the antenna?

Also check to see if your VCR is in cable or antenna mode. If it is cable mode the UHF channels appear somewhere in the 50-125 range.

I'm not entirely sure what that means, but I'm 99% sure the antenna is put together correctly and according to the directions. That 1% of me that's not sure is because I've never put together an antenna before. I wasn't really aware that there was a difference between the VHF and UHF part of the antenna. I remember reading somewhere in the assamly directions that there was a UHF bow tie or something like that. I guess I could check that out again. Is 11 the dividing point between UHF and VHF?

I don't have the signal run through a VCR at this time, so I guess I can check the TV above channel 50 to see if the channels show up there. Only problem is that I'm not at home right now so I can't report back right away.

So just for the sake of saving myself a bunch of trouble...any other ideas? Thanks :)

Also, check the setting on your tv and make sure it is set to air & not cable. It could be searching for cable channels above 13 and not for uhf analog channels.

I'll try that when I get home, thanks guys :)

I did connect the "crossover wires" from the front to the back of the antenna, I'm not sure if that's exactly what you're talking about, but I know that's assembled correctly.

I'll have to try to see if I can change the TV from cable to antenna...I know before I got it (long story short...a friend thought it was broken, gave it to me, I replaced a fuse, I got a free 32" TV) it was hooked up to cable, so it's a good possibility that if I change it, it'll fix it. Thanks! :)

I'll try that when I get home, thanks guys :)

I did connect the "crossover wires" from the front to the back of the antenna, I'm not sure if that's exactly what you're talking about, but I know that's assembled correctly.

I'll have to try to see if I can change the TV from cable to antenna...I know before I got it (long story short...a friend thought it was broken, gave it to me, I replaced a fuse, I got a free 32" TV) it was hooked up to cable, so it's a good possibility that if I change it, it'll fix it. Thanks! :)


There should be a setup option that would give you the ability to change the input from cable to air, may be under the menu button. Good luck.

Thanks so much guys :)

I'll check this all out when I get home, I may not be able to report back until tomorrow however due to a lack of internet connection at my house right now. I'll report back ASAP though :)

This makes me more excited to get that HDTV I've got my eye on, knowing I won't have to pay huge prices for HD content every month makes me feel a lot better.

Quick question for those "in the know"...

I am located in Kendall County near Rt. 47 and US 30 (where Sugar Grove, Yorkville and Montgomery all come together) and currently get my HD locals through E*. What this means is that the one HD channel I am missing is WGN, and being a Cubs fan that will be an issue very soon. I've already gone to antennaweb.org to see what is recommended, but want to know if there's any chance that an amplified indoor antenna will allow me to pull in this one channel. I am hoping that WGN's signal may be better than some channels at my location, as I really don't want to mount an outdoor antenna to get one channel. Any thoughts??

Hey if you go back and check my first post #1626 you will see the antenna that I purchased. I also didn't want to have to put an antenna outside so I bought the one mentioned in my post. It is and "outdoor" antenna, but it says you can mount in the attic too. So I did that, and from 66 miles southwest of the tower, I pick up WGN with no issues. I got my antenna from Best Buy, but I'm sure there are many othe places that have it. I don't have a pre-amp (unless it is built into my antenna) and I have it connected to my TV via a 25 ft. RG-6 coax.

I'm not entirely sure what that means, but I'm 99% sure the antenna is put together correctly and according to the directions. That 1% of me that's not sure is because I've never put together an antenna before. I wasn't really aware that there was a difference between the VHF and UHF part of the antenna. I remember reading somewhere in the assamly directions that there was a UHF bow tie or something like that. I guess I could check that out again. Is 11 the dividing point between UHF and VHF?

I don't have the signal run through a VCR at this time, so I guess I can check the TV above channel 50 to see if the channels show up there. Only problem is that I'm not at home right now so I can't report back right away.

So just for the sake of saving myself a bunch of trouble...any other ideas? Thanks :)

It could still be your splitter. What is its rated frequency range? You want one thats good to at least 1000MHz. I have a neighbor who was getting nothing on most of the UHF band. Turns out he had a splitter from Radio Shack (of course) that was only rated to 450MHz.

-dickm

I live in manteno, and get WGN and WCIU with no issues... Chances are if you get one you should get the other.

I live in manteno, and get WGN and WCIU with no issues... Chances are if you get one you should get the other.

How's things in Manteno these days? Does the river by chance go through there:eek:

I put a 8200 in over a year ago, and lock everything, but at times on one of my older displays ch.2 will act up. It sure is fun to show friends what a full bit rate signal can look like;)

Good news! All is well :)

I navigated my TV's impossibly hard menu system yesterday and switched it from cable to antenna and I now get all the channels...even many that I didn't know existed, most of which are in spanish, but they're there none the less ;)

I manage to pick up every channel in the Chicagoland area with absolutely no problems and no snow on any of them...at least the major ones, 2, 5, ,7, 9, 11, 20, 26, 32, 38, 50, and 62. It's great.

Thanks a lot for all your help, everyone. I certainly couldn't have done any of this without you guys. So glad I found these forums, I think I'll hang around for a while because I'm sure I'll have problems again in the future, haha.

I'll post an update as to my digital reception when I get a HDTV. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that nothing will change when I upgrade my TV.

Good news! All is well :)

I navigated my TV's impossibly hard menu system yesterday and switched it from cable to antenna and I now get all the channels...even many that I didn't know existed, most of which are in spanish, but they're there none the less ;)

I manage to pick up every channel in the Chicagoland area with absolutely no problems and no snow on any of them...at least the major ones, 2, 5, ,7, 9, 11, 20, 26, 32, 38, 50, and 62. It's great.

Thanks a lot for all your help, everyone. I certainly couldn't have done any of this without you guys. So glad I found these forums, I think I'll hang around for a while because I'm sure I'll have problems again in the future, haha.

I'll post an update as to my digital reception when I get a HDTV. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that nothing will change when I upgrade my TV.

Glad to hear it, that is what it sounded like when you described it. You should check & see if you are getting ch 23, WWME & CH 48, ethnic now but will be WMEU in March. Me-TV & Me2, both classic TV stations with alot of old shows, plus some college bball. You should get them.

WCIU-HD is back in HD mode. Thanks for your patience. :)

I'll post an update as to my digital reception when I get a HDTV. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that nothing will change when I upgrade my TV.If all those stations are coming in perfectly strong and clear with no ghosting, then you shouldn't really have a problem getting all of them in digital.

Glad to hear it, that is what it sounded like when you described it. You should check & see if you are getting ch 23, WWME & CH 48, ethnic now but will be WMEU in March. Me-TV & Me2, both classic TV stations with alot of old shows, plus some college bball. You should get them.

I'm getting those too, I was just trying to remember off the top of my head what I was getting and the ones I listed were the only ones I could think of. I'm even getting a few more that are pretty fuzzy and not in english so I don't really care about them anyway.

Maybe you think you have the antenna pointed right, but you don't: Rotate it 180 degrees and see what happens.

Live on the far south side, and I'd estimate 1 in 15 antennas are faced 180 degrees off like mikemikeb states.

A few have asked about Rat Shack amps. I have owned and used it for 4-5 years now and it has never failed me yet. Back when NBC5 went HD, I threw up an antenna and discovered I needed an amp for reliable. Just have a UHF hi-gain (about 8 feet long) and the bullet UHF only amp. In the winter months, I have to turn the gain down on the amp, while in the summer I need to turn it up.

I recommend an adjustable amp as conditions change through the year.

I think my antenna is so big that I don't really need the pre amp. Of course things could change when I get a digital TV, but I don't anticipate the need for a pre amp at all.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this is the case ;)

Hi Bmil,

Welcome aboard! Wow. That antenna is only supposed to go 25 miles, outdoors. You have a great tuner on your TV. The later Sammy's do!

You'd get more channels, perhaps, but not WBBM. The best antenna for your location is this one:

https://www.tselectronic.com/winegard/hd8200.html

Put THAT on top of youe 30' tower and you'd get all but WBBM (and maybe you would; at that distance, doubt it, but you have a shot), and probably also get some Champaign/Springfield stations if you point it southwest. Or maybe Peoria.

I hope that helps!

Thanks Gilbert

Well after having the antenna for less than a week and because it is nice out today I decided to climb the existing tower and mount the Terk antenna. I climbed about 30 feet up (I would would have went higher but I got a little nervous up there with the wind). Anyways after mounting it and aiming it the best I could I did a channel scan on my TV and picked up basically every other channel besides 26-1 and 2-1. I'm not really too concerned about 2-1, but it seems like 26-1 should be coming in. Any thoughts?

This afternoon I'm going to pick up a digital compass and see if maybe I can get a more precise aim at the towers. If all else fails I guess I could just move the antenna higher.

I have never been able to receive WBBM-DT. I've read it's moving to a frequency that's easier to tune. Is there an OTA channel that is currently broadcasting from a similar frequency, so that I can figure out if I'll receive WBBM-DT when it moves next year? Thanks.

Thanks Gilbert

Well after having the antenna for less than a week and because it is nice out today I decided to climb the existing tower and mount the Terk antenna. I climbed about 30 feet up (I would would have went higher but I got a little nervous up there with the wind). Anyways after mounting it and aiming it the best I could I did a channel scan on my TV and picked up basically every other channel besides 26-1 and 2-1. I'm not really too concerned about 2-1, but it seems like 26-1 should be coming in. Any thoughts?

This afternoon I'm going to pick up a digital compass and see if maybe I can get a more precise aim at the towers. If all else fails I guess I could just move the antenna higher.

Wow! Not bad at all! I'm impressed. As for WCIU: You are 66 miles southwest of Chicago. And 50 miles south-southeast of you, you are getting interference from WCCU-TV 27 FOX analog from Champaign, whose tower is one county north of there. People south of I-80 have had trouble getting WCIU because of WCCU. Only a bigger (more directional) antenna will solve that problem.

I have never been able to receive WBBM-DT. I've read it's moving to a frequency that's easier to tune. Is there an OTA channel that is currently broadcasting from a similar frequency, so that I can figure out if I'll receive WBBM-DT when it moves next year? Thanks.

Point your antenna to 2 miles south-southwest of Utica, IL (just southeast of Starved Rock State Park, you can see it from the rock), for the 1400' WWTO-DT 10 TBN affiliate. It will resolve to 35.1-5 when you get it. For those of you in Lake and McHenry counties, try WMVS-DT 8.1, should resolve to 10.1-8. Yep, WWTO's signal often gets chewed up by WMVS in the spring-fall, so they can't wait for them to sign off.

A few have asked about Rat Shack amps. I have owned and used it for 4-5 years now and it has never failed me yet. Back when NBC5 went HD, I threw up an antenna and discovered I needed an amp for reliable. Just have a UHF hi-gain (about 8 feet long) and the bullet UHF only amp. In the winter months, I have to turn the gain down on the amp, while in the summer I need to turn it up.

I recommend an adjustable amp as conditions change through the year.

If you get the Winegard amps, they actually work to prevent overload. Unless you are close to the towers, in which case, you would only have that amp for DX'ing.

Point your antenna to 2 miles south-southwest of Utica, IL (just southeast of Starved Rock State Park, you can see it from the rock), for the 1400' WWTO-DT 10 TBN affiliate. It will resolve to 35.1-5 when you get it. For those of you in Lake and McHenry counties, try WMVS-DT 8.1, should resolve to 10.1-8. Yep, WWTO's signal often gets chewed up by WMVS in the spring-fall, so they can't wait for them to sign off.

I appreciate the response, but I live about 18 miles southwest of the Hancock. I use an indoor antenna that I just shove in a closet, and I can get every HD channel at 90-100%, except WBBM-DT, which I can't get. I live in a condo, so an outdoor antenna is not an option. I get analog 11 pretty clear, would that be any indication of how I would receive WBBM-DT when it moves to 12? Thanks.

I appreciate the response, but I live about 18 miles southwest of the Hancock. I use an indoor antenna that I just shove in a closet, and I can get every HD channel at 90-100%, except WBBM-DT, which I can't get. I live in a condo, so an outdoor antenna is not an option. I get analog 11 pretty clear, would that be any indication of how I would receive WBBM-DT when it moves to 12? Thanks.

I'd say it is a very good indication. Depends on how they construct the new transmitting antenna too.

Is it possible to combine two VHF, UHF or combination antennas? For example, one pointed towards Rockford and another towards Chicago?

Is it possible to combine two VHF, UHF or combination antennas? For example, one pointed towards Rockford and another towards Chicago?

I saw something like a jointenna product on either channel master or winegard. I think it was channel master.

I appreciate the response, but I live about 18 miles southwest of the Hancock. I use an indoor antenna that I just shove in a closet, and I can get every HD channel at 90-100%, except WBBM-DT, which I can't get. I live in a condo, so an outdoor antenna is not an option. I get analog 11 pretty clear, would that be any indication of how I would receive WBBM-DT when it moves to 12? Thanks.

Ah, OK. Theoretically, yes. If you can get 11 reasonably clear, 12 should be fine.

By the way, let me hijack this and talk about WBBM and some other stations for a moment.

First, it might be assumed that WBBM will switch over in February, 2009. Ditto for WLS, WXFT and WGBO, on channels 59 and 53. But, that probably won't be the case. Every full-power station in the country needs to file an FCC form on or before February 18th and specifically tell the FCC EXACTLY what they are going to do at analog shutdown. Furthermore, some stations will need to shut off early (the FCC is hinting they'll let some stations start this summer if need be) so that antennas and transmitters can be swapped out.

When those stations post theirs, I'll let you know. WBBM is moving off of Hancock on to Sears, so their signal is going to be robust. As one poster a few months ago noted, he can get WLS analog from Byron, 100 miles west. At full power, WLS-DT will still be a blowtorch. As will WBBM. But we'll have to see exactly when they want to turn off analog and switch to digital only,
and of course, WLS is now converting its backup transmitter on Hancock to digital, and their engineer is planning on testing it and having us report to him what we get. Stay tuned.

Is it possible to combine two VHF, UHF or combination antennas? For example, one pointed towards Rockford and another towards Chicago?

You can, but generally with very bad results. Phase cancellations between antennas (and, say, channel 32.1 comes in great on one antenna, bad on another, and that stops you from getting reception) are amongst several trials you have in geting it to work. Best bet is an analog A/B switch for $10 at Radio Shack, or $30 for an A/B switch w/remote control.

A lot of reasons have been given for why its a bad idea to do this. I'll give another. Many of Chicago stations are co-channel with stations in other metro areas, especially Madison, Wi. If you have an antenna pointed at Rockford, you are also pointed toward Madison. Enough so you will degrade reception of several Chicago stations.

Now having said that, go ahead and try it. You wont know until you try. I myself have an antenna pointed toward Milwaukee combined with my Chicago antenna and things work just fine. WCIU is a bit dicey to receive when I connect up the Milwaukee antenna though.

-dickm

With WFBT becoming WMEU, excatly how will this affect WCIU-DT? I don't remember seeing this posted, so I hope I'm not repeating anything.

From the press release, it seems as if the current WFBT programming will be moved to a subchannel of WCIU. Does that mean there will be THREE subchannels (shades of WTTW!!)?? Or will WMEU not be on WCIU-DT?

I get my digital through Comcast, and the press release said it will still be on channel 248 (the Sun-Times article said 247, but it's 248 on mine.) From some information I saw once, both 223 (WWME) and WFBT on Comcast come via WCIU-DT (I remember how fuzzy Star Trek was for awhile).

A lot of reasons have been given for why its a bad idea to do this. I'll give another. Many of Chicago stations are co-channel with stations in other metro areas, especially Madison, Wi. If you have an antenna pointed at Rockford, you are also pointed toward Madison. Enough so you will degrade reception of several Chicago stations.

Now having said that, go ahead and try it. You wont know until you try. I myself have an antenna pointed toward Milwaukee combined with my Chicago antenna and things work just fine. WCIU is a bit dicey to receive when I connect up the Milwaukee antenna though.

-dickmI don't think he'll have too much of a problem with interference from Madison. From CL here, I get all the digital and analog Rockford channels fine but can't really get any out of Madison (maybe 15 just barely at times - and I've never gotten any digital - even as a freak occurence). Where you're at is probably about the cutoff point (I could get some snowy analog reception when I lived in Woodstock), and he's further south than me.

If that doesn't work out, he can try for Milwaukee instead, because I get most of those just fine, too. They're pretty high-powered, and there shouldn't be any real worries about interference (maybe some very LP stations, I don't know).

Ah, OK. Theoretically, yes. If you can get 11 reasonably clear, 12 should be fine.

By the way, let me hijack this and talk about WBBM and some other stations for a moment.

First, it might be assumed that WBBM will switch over in February, 2009. Ditto for WLS, WXFT and WGBO, on channels 59 and 53. But, that probably won't be the case. Every full-power station in the country needs to file an FCC form on or before February 18th and specifically tell the FCC EXACTLY what they are going to do at analog shutdown. Furthermore, some stations will need to shut off early (the FCC is hinting they'll let some stations start this summer if need be) so that antennas and transmitters can be swapped out.

When those stations post theirs, I'll let you know. WBBM is moving off of Hancock on to Sears, so their signal is going to be robust. As one poster a few months ago noted, he can get WLS analog from Byron, 100 miles west. At full power, WLS-DT will still be a blowtorch. As will WBBM. But we'll have to see exactly when they want to turn off analog and switch to digital only,
and of course, WLS is now converting its backup transmitter on Hancock to digital, and their engineer is planning on testing it and having us report to him what we get. Stay tuned.

That's awesome. Thanks.

With WFBT becoming WMEU, excatly how will this affect WCIU-DT? I don't remember seeing this posted, so I hope I'm not repeating anything.

From the press release, it seems as if the current WFBT programming will be moved to a subchannel of WCIU. Does that mean there will be THREE subchannels (shades of WTTW!!)?? Or will WMEU not be on WCIU-DT?

I get my digital through Comcast, and the press release said it will still be on channel 248 (the Sun-Times article said 247, but it's 248 on mine.) From some information I saw once, both 223 (WWME) and WFBT on Comcast come via WCIU-DT (I remember how fuzzy Star Trek was for awhile).I thought it was mentioned on the last page or so that WCIU-DT was going to have 5 or 6 channels altogether. God, I hope that's not true - not when the main one is *supposed to be* HD.

I thought it was mentioned on the last page or so that WCIU-DT was going to have 5 or 6 channels altogether. God, I hope that's not true - not when the main one is *supposed to be* HD.

Well yeah there's more coming but we're installinga new bandwidth management system that will take care of that problem.

I thought it was mentioned on the last page or so that WCIU-DT was going to have 5 or 6 channels altogether. God, I hope that's not true - not when the main one is *supposed to be* HD.

With WFBT becoming WMEU, excatly how will this affect WCIU-DT? I don't remember seeing this posted, so I hope I'm not repeating anything.

From the press release, it seems as if the current WFBT programming will be moved to a subchannel of WCIU. Does that mean there will be THREE subchannels (shades of WTTW!!)?? Or will WMEU not be on WCIU-DT?

I get my digital through Comcast, and the press release said it will still be on channel 248 (the Sun-Times article said 247, but it's 248 on mine.) From some information I saw once, both 223 (WWME) and WFBT on Comcast come via WCIU-DT (I remember how fuzzy Star Trek was for awhile).

WMEU will be on analog 48 and 26.3. The current programming on WFBT will move to 26.6. Don't fret on us adding subchannels. We're changing to VBR with a state of the art bandwidth management system and the latest encoders.

5 subchannels? Oh jeez.

Is that really necessary? Or will the majority of them be practically worthless to the general public, like they usually are after the first one or two?

If the baseball and basketball games look any worse, even in the slightest, I'm never going to let up. Consider me a thorn in your side forever from now on. We now know where their priorities lie.

Gilbert
Brian Here.
Can you see an anaolg channel 6 up in Dekalb. It is not WITI Fox 6 milwaukee, it is a Rebroadcast of a Spanish MTV feed. I am seeing it on my Winegard HD8200p Pointed east with a AP8275 Preamp 30' up.

ALso are you doint the weather spotters seminar at Dekalb County Municipal building again???

Gilbert
Brian Here.
Can you see an anaolg channel 6 up in Dekalb. It is not WITI Fox 6 milwaukee, it is a Rebroadcast of a Spanish MTV feed. I am seeing it on my Winegard HD8200p Pointed east with a AP8275 Preamp 30' up.

Hi Brian,

Yes, that is the mighty WLFM-LP, 3,000 watts from Hancock. Formerly on channel 55 before they got displaced by a wireless company broadcasting on that channel. They are hoping someone will buy it and channel 61. And digital 49, whenever it signs on, if it ever does.

ALso are you doint the weather spotters seminar at Dekalb County Municipal building again???

Dunno if it will be there, but I will be doing it. Date/time TBD. If you can't make that, I am co-sponsoring one at NIU on February 28. Hit http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lot/ , click on other news headlines, and see all the ones listed. Ours will be 7:15 PM in Davis Hall 116.

Wow. Slightly OT. :D

5 subchannels? Oh jeez.

Is that really necessary? Or will the majority of them be practically worthless to the general public, like they usually are after the first one or two?

If the baseball and basketball games look any worse, even in the slightest, I'm never going to let up. Consider me a thorn in your side forever from now on. We now know where their priorities lie.

No one said anything about 5 subchannels.

No one said anything about 5 subchannels.Then what did you mean by "WFBT will be moving to 26.6"?

If you get the Winegard amps, they actually work to prevent overload. Unless you are close to the towers, in which case, you would only have that amp for DX'ing.

Overload is not the problem, it's all the TREES. I live in a forest and in the summer the leaves on the trees attenuate my UHF signals pretty darn good:mad: I even notice this on Ham radio 70cm band (UHF) in the summer months. Repeaters I can hit not problem in the winter are difficult to hit in the summer, so attenuation is whats going on here.

No one said anything about 5 subchannels.

That number came from Rob Feder's column (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=13034396&postcount=1634) on Feb. 6:

Brokered ethnic and foreign language programming now on Channel 48 will switch to one of six digital channels of Weigel's WCIU-Channel 26.

Did he get the details wrong? How many subs will WCIU have?

Overload is not the problem, it's all the TREES. I live in a forest and in the summer the leaves on the trees attenuate my UHF signals pretty darn good:mad: I even notice this on Ham radio 70cm band (UHF) in the summer months. Repeaters I can hit not problem in the winter are difficult to hit in the summer, so attenuation is whats going on here.

That, and multipath. Living near a bunch of trees is great for shade and many other things...but not good for analog or digital TV reception.

Gilbert
Brian Here.
Can you see an anaolg channel 6 up in Dekalb. It is not WITI Fox 6 milwaukee, it is a Rebroadcast of a Spanish MTV feed. I am seeing it on my Winegard HD8200p Pointed east with a AP8275 Preamp 30' up.


I am seeing this channel in Plano also when I check the analog channels. I had been wondering what was causing the "pulsing" effect I often now see on analog 5 and 7, I suspect this channel 6 is the cause.

Overload is not the problem, it's all the TREES. I live in a forest and in the summer the leaves on the trees attenuate my UHF signals pretty darn good I even notice this on Ham radio 70cm band (UHF) in the summer months. Repeaters I can hit not problem in the winter are difficult to hit in the summer, so attenuation is whats going on here.

I moved from the east side of Chicago 11 years ago and when I was there we had problems with the skyway messing up our OTA I lived 1 block south of it so we finally had to get cable when it got in to the neighborhood thanks to Fast Eddy. Since then I moved to north west Indiana in a wooded area and summer time not so good and winter very good except for channel 2 just could not get it. Now 2 years ago I hired a company to take the OTA out of the attic and put it on the roof (did buy new OTA) and I am getting stronger signal in summer but in winter still no CH 2 I bought the samsung 5084 plasma and it has a low noise amp in it for weak signals and WAM! i am getting CH 2 I would say about 90% strength we will see what it dose in the summer.

I live nearby at 47 and Galena. I was able to get most of the UHF digital stations (including WGN 9) with an amplified indoor UHF antenna. Get one of the Philips 410 or 510 antennas at the Walmart and give it a try. If it doesn't work you can always take it back.

Thanks for the recommendation on the Philips 510. I was able to stick it in an upstairs guest bedroom and link it into my structured wiring system (main TV is on the opposite side of the house on the main floor). On my first scan, I was able to find more than 20 channels - and the Dish VIP722 shows a signal strength of 70+ on all of the major channels. I think I have everything except WBBM, which I wasn't expecting find.

Can you pick up digital 10 (35.1) with the ears extended?

I don't think I am getting 35.1, but I've got the digital 5,7,9,26,32,50 and a bunch of Spanish language channels. That's good enough at this point, as I was only really "missing" 9, 26 and 50 because I get the rest though my E* locals.

Then what did you mean by "WFBT will be moving to 26.6"?

Yeah it's moving to 26.6, there nothing on 26.4 or .5.

That number came from Rob Feder's column (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=13034396&postcount=1634) on Feb. 6:



Did he get the details wrong? How many subs will WCIU have?

26.1 WCIU-HD
26.2 WWME
26.3 WMEU
26.6 Ethnic

Does 26.1 look bad currently during HD sports or upconvert for that matter? We're running older encoders (although those are still newer than some Chicago HD encoders) and as Tony mentioned we are still running in CBR (Constant Bit Rate) mode. It will be replaced with the latest series of encoders and running in a very good stat mux pool. To a certain degree, the bandwidth numbers don't really matter, it's what your hardware can produce in the end.

MPEG-2 is becoming dated. 10 years from now when everyone is running H.264/MPEG-4 and newer codecs, broadcasters will be stuck w/ what will then be old MPEG-2. You've got to maximize..

I posted a while ago about buying a PA-17 antenna pre-amp from Antennas Direct (Terrestrial Digital). It turned into a really long, dragged out story.

I didn't find much in the way of specs on the PA-17. I did find one vendor that posted on its web site a noise figure of 2.5db. Other things about the amp sounded good, so I went ahead and bought it. But I got it from a different vendor at a better price.

When it arrived, the spec sheet showed a noise figure of 6db (VHF) and 8db (UHF) and that it had an unswitchable FM trap which I didn't want. I contacted Antennas Direct since they made it, to check which specs were right. They verified that the 6-8db figure and the -20db FM trap were both correct.

To my surprise, in the same email, they offered me an exchange for a PA-18 since they figured it was more to my liking. It was a surprise because they didn't sell it to me, either. Antennas Direct shipped me the PA-18 at their expense and authorized the return of the PA-17.

All's well that ends well. The vendor with the wrong specs has already fixed the web site since I brought it to their attention. Since they made an honest mistake and fixed it quickly, I won't mention their name.

Antennas Direct / Terrestrial Digital has proven to be a manufacturer that really impressed me with their service, even though they never had to.

The down side to the whole thing is that the PA-17 is a product I have to recommend against. The noise is way too high, especially when compared to other amps that cost the same. And the FM trap is a nasty surprise when you plan to feed a stereo receiver from the antenna, like me.

Once I get the PA-18 hooked up, I'll post a review.

Hello all,

Post #9 of the Chicago OTA thread shows you what will happen in the months leading up to, and on the day of, February 17, 2009. Each station has to inform the FCC what they will do with their analog and digital stations on and before that day. Some will need to go off the air while they swap analog transmitters for digital ones. Others will only need to turn off their analog signals on 2/17/09, such as WTTW and WCPX have announced they will, and that's it, since their digital stations are completely built out and at full power. As I write this on 2/13/08, only two Chicago stations have filed form 387, which will tell the FCC and us what each station will do. But all must file by 2/17/08, or face major consequences.

Here's the link.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9948925&&#post9948925

This is also linked on the first post on this Chicago OTA thread, along with the other links already there.

Can you go ask the engineers for a box of color bars?

That got me thinking. When broadcast engineers have kids, do they give them coloring books with various test patterns to color in? :eek:

Pure torture: Hey, son, color this!:

http://www.bealecorner.com/trv900/respat/eia1956-small.jpg

;) :D

That got me thinking. When broadcast engineers have kids, do they give them coloring books with various test patterns to color in? :eek:

Pure torture: Hey, son, color this!:

http://www.bealecorner.com/trv900/respat/eia1956-small.jpg

;) :D

LMAO!!! I think we have a couple floating around here. :D Ya know, I could market that. hmmmm...........

Get the 1.78:1 version and they'd make great placemats. The kids can color at the table.:)

You can, but generally with very bad results. Phase cancellations between antennas (and, say, channel 32.1 comes in great on one antenna, bad on another, and that stops you from getting reception) are amongst several trials you have in geting it to work. Best bet is an analog A/B switch for $10 at Radio Shack, or $30 for an A/B switch w/remote control.

Maybe I should just try an 8-bay UHF antenna like the Channel Master 4228 and see what I get in all directions?

26.1 WCIU-HD
26.2 WWME
26.3 WMEU
26.6 Ethnic

Skipping over 26.4 and 26.5 leads one to believe they are being reserved for future use.

Skipping over 26.4 and 26.5 leads one to believe they are being reserved for future use.

According to WCIU when WWME-CA and WMEU-CA get their digital channel (WWME has applied for low power digital channel 39) they will cease to be broadcast on WCIU's subchannel

According to WCIU when WWME-CA and WMEU-CA get their digital channel (WWME has applied for low power digital channel 39) they will cease to be broadcast on WCIU's subchannelBut since they've already got two unspecified slots in between those four, I'd imagine they're still planning on keeping those two vacated by WWME and WMEU active or also on standby.

One can only wonder what kind of schlock could possibly end up in all those spots. Probably more Hispanic cra...uh, I mean stuff. Since 26.6 is "multi-ethnic", I fully expect at least one of those subs, if not more, will end up all-Hispanic - and probably with all dialogue in Spanish, with no English provided whatsoever, as usual. Hopefully, one will end up a kids' channel - an English-language one.

At least WWME *shouldn't* ever be too bit-starved once they move, though. Unless they decide to add more subchannels there, too. I've really been looking forward to the increased PQ of WWME - I hope it doesn't end up being as bad or worse when all is said and done.

If the VBR WCIU-DT will be using depends on manually "flipping some kind of switch", there's no guarantee that their judgement as to when to use it will match the viewer's. They might always do it for sports, but they may not do it during something else that probably would need it, like a movie or show that has only periodic bursts of action.

Gilbert - everything OK?

According to WCIU when WWME-CA and WMEU-CA get their digital channel (WWME has applied for low power digital channel 39) they will cease to be broadcast on WCIU's subchannel

Don't know where you got that info from, but I wouldn't assume that.

But since they've already got two unspecified slots in between those four, I'd imagine they're still planning on keeping those two vacated by WWME and WMEU active or also on standby.

One can only wonder what kind of schlock could possibly end up in all those spots. Probably more Hispanic cra...uh, I mean stuff. Since 26.6 is "multi-ethnic", I fully expect at least one of those subs, if not more, will end up all-Hispanic - and probably with all dialogue in Spanish, with no English provided whatsoever, as usual. Hopefully, one will end up a kids' channel - an English-language one.

At least WWME *shouldn't* ever be too bit-starved once they move, though. Unless they decide to add more subchannels there, too. I've really been looking forward to the increased PQ of WWME - I hope it doesn't end up being as bad or worse when all is said and done.

If the VBR WCIU-DT will be using depends on manually "flipping some kind of switch", there's no guarantee that their judgement as to when to use it will match the viewer's. They might always do it for sports, but they may not do it during something else that probably would need it, like a movie or show that has only periodic bursts of action.

The VBR system we are integrating is constantly monitoring all encoders and makes adjustments as needed. It gives the bandwidth where its needed hense the name Varible Bit Rate. This will benefit 26.2 quite a bit for those who watch sports and notice the it has a bit-starved look.

Skipping over 26.4 and 26.5 leads one to believe they are being reserved for future use.

Please, we have enough stations in our building. Don't give 'em any ideas. :eek:

According to WCIU when WWME-CA and WMEU-CA get their digital channel (WWME has applied for low power digital channel 39) they will cease to be broadcast on WCIU's subchannel

Don't know where you got that info from, but I wouldn't assume that.

FCC LINK (http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?list=0&facid=168561)

Hey guys, I finally got an OTA antenna. Its an indoor Terk antenna and it actually works better than I expected. I have it about a foot away from my TV (first floor, not upstaires). Some channels come in crystal clear and have a great signal strength. I primarily got this antenna solely for the Fox HD channel since the WideOpenWest cable HD feed of it is subpar at times with lots of grain. I figure spending $40 isn't too much if I can improve the picture quality of that channel by getting it OTA. I have a few questions...

1) Signal strength - I have a Samsung 4661 model TV and when going to signal strength, the highest I could get was 9, but it goes away quick and goes back down to 7 or 8. Is the highest level 9 or 10 bars? This may be a stupid question, lol. I just am curious to what the highest signal is.

2) As it looks right now, the stations with the most bars is Fox (7-9 bars) and NBC (7-8 bars). ABC is only getting anywhere between 3-5 bars for the most part, but still looks pretty good. I have the antenna turned to 81 degrees. Thats what it said when I looked up my street address. Should I be concerned with the low bar signal on channels such as ABC, WCIU, etc? I am really looking foward to WCIU in HD since I do not get it through my cable in HD and sometimes they broadcast the Cubs, Sox, Bulls games on it. So I hope I will get a better picture than the standard channel, but again, its at a low signal and haven't seen any HD on it yet.

3) Will moving the antenna up to the second floor help signal strength or picture quality any bit?

4) WBBM - I understand many of you can not get this channel at all and I can't either. Will we have a better chance at getting it after Feb. 17th of 2009 when the digital transition takes place?

Gilbert - everything OK?

Very tired and gotta make this quick. *I'm* OK, but many others aren't, as I know you've seen by now. Seeing the "Big 4" TV stations and their helicopters overhead from Chicago, plus WGN...very interesting. And very scary.

Hey guys, I finally got an OTA antenna. Its an indoor Terk antenna and it actually works better than I expected. I have it about a foot away from my TV (first floor, not upstaires). Some channels come in crystal clear and have a great signal strength. I primarily got this antenna solely for the Fox HD channel since the WideOpenWest cable HD feed of it is subpar at times with lots of grain. I figure spending $40 isn't too much if I can improve the picture quality of that channel by getting it OTA. I have a few questions...

1) Signal strength - I have a Samsung 4661 model TV and when going to signal strength, the highest I could get was 9, but it goes away quick and goes back down to 7 or 8. Is the highest level 9 or 10 bars? This may be a stupid question, lol. I just am curious to what the highest signal is.

2) As it looks right now, the stations with the most bars is Fox (7-9 bars) and NBC (7-8 bars). ABC is only getting anywhere between 3-5 bars for the most part, but still looks pretty good. I have the antenna turned to 81 degrees. Thats what it said when I looked up my street address. Should I be concerned with the low bar signal on channels such as ABC, WCIU, etc? I am really looking foward to WCIU in HD since I do not get it through my cable in HD and sometimes they broadcast the Cubs, Sox, Bulls games on it. So I hope I will get a better picture than the standard channel, but again, its at a low signal and haven't seen any HD on it yet.

3) Will moving the antenna up to the second floor help signal strength or picture quality any bit?

4) WBBM - I understand many of you can not get this channel at all and I can't either. Will we have a better chance at getting it after Feb. 17th of 2009 when the digital transition takes place?

Answer to #1...typically 10 bars. But as long as it locks solid, whether 6 bars are 10, is all that matters, so long as it does so in bad weather, too.
#2...yes, which leads to...

#3 and #4...heck yes to both, which will help you with #2.

Thanks sebenste. You have always been a big help and I would consider you an OTA HD expert. lol! I will try moving it up to the 2nd floor, but will have to go out and buy some more wire. I could move it up to my attic, but I don't know if I want to do that because I might have to adjust the antenna from time to time, depending on what channel I want to watch.

You might not have to if you can get it up higher. I was able to find a sweet spot indoors 41 miles out here in CL up high in the room that got me everything but WBBM strong and steady without ever having to adjust the antenna. And you're closer.

Gilbert: Sorry to be off topic, but for all you do for this board (and others), we couldn't help but keep a good thought for you and everyone at NIU. According to Wikipedia: "Because of their strength and stamina, the name "Husky" is popular for products and for sports mascots." Your strength and stamina will get the Huskies back on their feet in no time. All our best to you and the NIU family.

Tom

FCC LINK (http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?list=0&facid=168561)

I understand we have a CP for WWME-LD, that doesn't mean 26.2 will dissapear.

I understand we have a CP for WWME-LD, that doesn't mean 26.2 will dissapear.

Yes but logically you would at least be moving MeTV and MeToo over to the new WWME-LD 39.1 and 39.2 right?

Yes but logically you would at least be moving MeTV and MeToo over to the new WWME-LD 39.1 and 39.2 right?

MeTV will be carried on 23.1 and 26.2. MeToo will be carried on 48.1 (whenever we are granted the CP) and on 26.3. I agree logistically they would be placed otherwise, but for reasons I cannot discuss, they will remain on WCIU-DT's stream for a while.

Does anyone know what WYCC is? I was looking through the channels and noticed it said Wise HD on the screen. It was in 4:3 format at the time. What do they broadcast in HD on this channel?

Overload is not the problem, it's all the TREES. I live in a forest and in the summer the leaves on the trees attenuate my UHF signals pretty darn good:mad: I even notice this on Ham radio 70cm band (UHF) in the summer months. Repeaters I can hit not problem in the winter are difficult to hit in the summer, so attenuation is whats going on here.

Astrosaber whats your call??
kb9ndb here

Does anyone know what WYCC is? I was looking through the channels and noticed it said Wise HD on the screen. It was in 4:3 format at the time. What do they broadcast in HD on this channel?

You've got 'em. Not sure of their content. (not a big viewer)

Does anyone know what WYCC is? I was looking through the channels and noticed it said Wise HD on the screen. It was in 4:3 format at the time. What do they broadcast in HD on this channel?

WYCC is a PBS station run by the City Colleges of Chicago. I don't think they have any HD programming.

I'm a Comcast subscriber, but I'm hoping you OTA folks can shed some light on an audio issue for me.

WTTW-D seems to have audio problems on lots of the newer shows they're broadcasting. Nova, Nature, and a few others come out sounding reverb-heavy on dialog, and sometimes out of synch as well. It's distracting enough that I usually just delete the recording. Reverb might not be the right term, but it's definitely some kind of echo.

I'm wondering if this is some kind of surround sound issue. I'm listening on a Sony receiver and I've only got two speakers. The echo/reverb is evident whether I'm using 2-channel fixed optical, analog audio, or whatever. Am I hearing the mix for surround speakers bleeding into the L/R signal?

So my question is, do these audio issues show up on the OTA broadcast also? I guess this would be WTTW 11.1

I'm a Comcast subscriber, but I'm hoping you OTA folks can shed some light on an audio issue for me.

WTTW-D seems to have audio problems on lots of the newer shows they're broadcasting. Nova, Nature, and a few others come out sounding reverb-heavy on dialog, and sometimes out of synch as well. It's distracting enough that I usually just delete the recording. Reverb might not be the right term, but it's definitely some kind of echo.

I'm wondering if this is some kind of surround sound issue. I'm listening on a Sony receiver and I've only got two speakers. The echo/reverb is evident whether I'm using 2-channel fixed optical, analog audio, or whatever. Am I hearing the mix for surround speakers bleeding into the L/R signal?

So my question is, do these audio issues show up on the OTA broadcast also? I guess this would be WTTW 11.1

They may have installed a new 5.1 surround processor. I believe the bought a similar one to us and may be playing around with it on air.

NBC5, WMAQ, it only took 26 minutes to switch into HD for the Knight Rider premiere. Perhaps it's time to invest in an automatic HD switcher before you lose viewers?

I had a hell of a time getting a consistent picture on ABC HD and PBS HD tonight. I will move my antenna out to my screen porch to see if that helps. Eventually when I get time I will place it on the 2nd floor which should help with everything. Overall I am really satisfied with the reception I am getting with the indoor Terk antenna.

NBC5, WMAQ, it only took 26 minutes to switch into HD for the Knight Rider premiere. Perhaps it's time to invest in an automatic HD switcher before you lose viewers?

No big loss. What a snore. Seemed like it was 60 minutes of show and 60 minutes of commercials. And wouldn't that C130 destroy a normal road??

Man, I moved the antenna out to my screen porch and I was getting an amazing picture on FOX tonight during Prison Break and Sarah Conner Chronicles. No compression artifacts or nothing. Quite a bit of an improvement over the cable HD feed. Now I just need to find a way to route the wire out there.

Don't give up on your idea to move the antenna to the 2nd floor. Especially if you can get it in a room facing the towers. I moved mine from the 1st floor away from the towers to the a 2nd floor bedroom facing the towers. On the 1st floor I, like you, had to tune the antenna for each station. Moving to the 2nd floor I was able to set it and forget it. Plus, I get WBBM-DT rock solid. I am 14 miles north of the towers.

NBC5, WMAQ, it only took 26 minutes to switch into HD for the Knight Rider premiere. Perhaps it's time to invest in an automatic HD switcher before you lose viewers?

i'm glad someone else noticed this. i was wondering how long it would take for it to switch over and i flipped back after a commercial and it was finally in HD. only a 25% through the show, no biggie :rolleyes:

Don't give up on your idea to move the antenna to the 2nd floor. Especially if you can get it in a room facing the towers. I moved mine from the 1st floor away from the towers to the a 2nd floor bedroom facing the towers. On the 1st floor I, like you, had to tune the antenna for each station. Moving to the 2nd floor I was able to set it and forget it. Plus, I get WBBM-DT rock solid. I am 14 miles north of the towers.
If I can get WBBM in HD clear then I will move it up to the 2nd floor. Moving it out to the screen porch benefited me very well and I didn't have to move the antenna at all. I can only pick up the WBBM analog signal right now.

It is hard to believe that we are now less than a year away from Analog shutdown. I do have a few comments.

1. Why is it that the Tribune and Sun Times do not show the digital channels in their listings? For example, they could show analog and digital as 2/2.1 instead of just analog 2.

2. On the same note, why is it that we do not see listings for the subchannels as well? The listings go out of their way to show regular and premium cable listings.

3. Why don't the stations themselves do more to promote their digital channels? A good example is the soon to be Me Too. The announcements mention broadcast channel 48 and where to find them on cable but there is no mention of 26.3.

As we get closer to the magic day and more people either purchase a new TV set or a converter box for OTA, it seems like there are a lot of people missing the boat in terms of promotion.

I don't really know the answer as to why not, but if you really want those listings, you can get them from www.zap2it.com or www.titantv.com.

It is hard to believe that we are now less than a year away from Analog shutdown. I do have a few comments.

1. Why is it that the Tribune and Sun Times do not show the digital channels in their listings? For example, they could show analog and digital as 2/2.1 instead of just analog 2.

2. On the same note, why is it that we do not see listings for the subchannels as well? The listings go out of their way to show regular and premium cable listings.

3. Why don't the stations themselves do more to promote their digital channels? A good example is the soon to be Me Too. The announcements mention broadcast channel 48 and where to find them on cable but there is no mention of 26.3.

As we get closer to the magic day and more people either purchase a new TV set or a converter box for OTA, it seems like there are a lot of people missing the boat in terms of promotion.
FYI, in spite of Court TV starting to carry an annoying "bug" last September saying "Court TV becomes Tru TV on January 1st," and in spite of Court TV now carrying a "bug" saying "Court TV is now Tru TV," the South Bend Tribune TV Listings still show it as Court TV in their TV grid (as of February 17, 2008). Maybe Newspaper TV listings will become abandoned like TV Guide did.

has anyone noticed the strength of channel 11 has taken a big drop off here in the western suburbs. I can't get it reliably any more...
Best,
Chris

I'm not seeing any problems with WTTW-DT in Plano. Pegging the signal meters at 100% on both sets.

has anyone noticed the strength of channel 11 has taken a big drop off here in the western suburbs. I can't get it reliably any more...
Best,
Chris
I am fairly new to OTA broadcasts as I just got my indoor Terk HDTV antenna which works way better than I ever expected. I noticed when I had my antenna inside the house that I couldn't get a good signal on WTTW (channel 11). I would get major breakups and it would not be watchable. I then moved my antenna out into my screen porch where it worked like a charm. I was getting a great signal. So, where you have your antenna in your house (if its indoor) may have an influence on your signal strength. Where do you currently have your antenna?

By the way, I am in Naperville near route 59 and Highway 88.

No Problems with Wttw HERE IN manteno, WMAQ has been looking real good too. Watching SNL and looks pritty dam good.

REALLY? That's crazy! I used to get wttw in the high 90's all the time with my attic mounted antennae and just recently I noticed that the signal strength had dropped to 30% on my receivers! Channel 32.1 pegs 100% almost all the time, so I don't think it has anything to do with my antennae. Hmmmm, so investigation is in order I think. I am in Oswego IL near the High school in a 2 story house .
Best,
Chris

I'm not seeing any problems with WTTW-DT in Plano. Pegging the signal meters at 100% on both sets.

Wow, what a weird morning. I just noticed that most of the digitals are either less than 50% in strength or are not locking at all. The exceptions are WFLD and WPWR which are still lighting up all the bars on the signal meter at about 80%. The analog is also looking very bad across the board, and I'm getting no sign of WBBM either digital or analog right now. Is anyone else having issues this morning? I'm thinking that either the transmitters are having universal issues (somehow I doubt it), or perhaps my installation has finally fallen completely off the wagon (time for rehab come March)...

No problems here. All readings are taken from a directv hr20-700 with a channel master 4228 sitting at ground level on a pole outside and a channel master 7777 preamp. Works great for my apartment, the only issue I have is if someone park's infront of them then my signal is cut in half and I loose wycc.

WMAQ pegged 100
WLS 90 percet
WGN Pegged 100
WTTW Pegged 100
WYCC normal 75 percent
WWMEDT Nota (dont think its braudcasting yet)
WCIU 84-87 percent
WFLD 97-98 percent pegged
WWTO Nota never got it
WCPX 70 percent. (I never really cared about this one anyhow)
WSNS 84 percent
WPWR Pegged 1000 percent :D (actually 100)
WYIN Pegged 100 Percent
WXFT 80 Percent
WJYS 60-78 percent (dont know about this one its normally pegged in)
WGBO 40 Percent (dont care about spanish not a biggie)

This morning, I'm getting 7 or 8 out of 8 bars on all major channels, except WBBM-DT, which I'm getting 6 bars on, but that is what I normally get on it. My setup is an attic-mounted CM 4228 for UHF and a cut-to-length folded dipole for VHF, hooked to a CM 7777 amp. I am 30 miles out, in Vernon Hills, Lake Co., IL.

I am even getting an occasional picture and audio from WYIN, which is about 70 miles away from me.

Thanks for your responses. I'm thinking that all the freezing and refreezing has finally gotten to the heart of what I believe is a damaged antenna - since it took a tumble onto the roof, it has seen varying performance in below-freezing temperatures - the lower the temp the less UHF signal strength - and a preamp swap did not change anything. Now the VHF is gone. Maybe the reception will come back once 32 degrees is surpassed.
Good Lord, I cannot wait until spring.

Same as usual here.

How do you guys determine the signal strength (i.e. 80%, 90%, etc)? All I can see on my TV is the bars for the signal strength. I get 8-9 bars on a lot of channels, but there is no percentage or anything.

REALLY? That's crazy! I used to get wttw in the high 90's all the time with my attic mounted antennae and just recently I noticed that the signal strength had dropped to 30% on my receivers! Channel 32.1 pegs 100% almost all the time, so I don't think it has anything to do with my antennae. Hmmmm, so investigation is in order I think. I am in Oswego IL near the High school in a 2 story house .
Best,
Chris
I actually returned my antenna to Best Buy. With tax it was $79.62. I got it on Amazon for $39.15 so i am waiting for it to arrive. I will let you know what I get with signals whenever I get it set up. I don't live too far from you either.

A signal strength of 10/10 bars on the Samsung 451 tuner (4th gen) represents 80% or higher on my HDTV Wonder PC card (more like 3rd gen technology) when hooked to the same coax. 4/10 bars on the Samsung turns up as approximately 50% signal strength on the PC. 3/10 bars still locks on the Samsung but nothing shows up on the PC at that level. As you can see there are some notable differences between the two devices; I'd imagine that various devices and manufacturers have their own quirks and a lot of it ends up being quite arbitrary.

Thanks for your responses. I'm thinking that all the freezing and refreezing has finally gotten to the heart of what I believe is a damaged antenna - since it took a tumble onto the roof, it has seen varying performance in below-freezing temperatures - the lower the temp the less UHF signal strength - and a preamp swap did not change anything. Now the VHF is gone. Maybe the reception will come back once 32 degrees is surpassed.
Good Lord, I cannot wait until spring.

I think I know what the problem is...broken wire on one of the connectors. Probably impossible to see unless you are right up to it. This winter hasn't done that antenna any favors, either. 6 days until March, hang in there...

Hi DJ Matt,
Just curious which Terk antenna you are using?

I am fairly new to OTA broadcasts as I just got my indoor Terk HDTV antenna which works way better than I ever expected.

Hi DJ Matt,
Just curious which Terk antenna you are using?
I am using the Terk HDTVa Indoor Amplified Antenna. I can't direct link to the product, but just go on Amazon and type in 'Terk HDTVa antenna' and it will come up. I will provide some pictures from Amazon as well. As of right now, current price is $37.99. I live in Naperville and this antenna works like a charm for me. I am by route 59 and 88 so not too far from Aurora (couple miles from the Nap-Aur border). As long as you have the antenna in a good location and pointed in the right direction it works great.

Note: You may want to pick this up at Best Buy first to see if it works. If it does, return it and get it from Amazon. That way you don't have to go through the hassle of shipping it back if it doesn't work for you. This is what I did.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21qnIqND1RL._AA280_.jpg
http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/dd/a3/5c09225b9da0fb1b13a60110._AA280_.L.jpg

Losing the VHF Saturday night going into Sunday was the last straw. That antenna's already shown its colors with the crappy UHF performance below 20 degrees, and I've already found out through trial and error that it wasn't the preamp... (should have thrown out the antenna after that tumble)

I can't wait until it's definitively spring outside; unfortunately the 6-9" tonight is probably not going to help things much. Got the early spring project lined up already though, a new 8200 should be on the way in a couple weeks once they have it in stock. Hopefully should all-new from above the pre-amp, just in time for the new shows returning in April. Since there's mostly junk on the air right now, I suppose it's timely for a TV hiatus.

I think I know what the problem is...broken wire on one of the connectors. Probably impossible to see unless you are right up to it. This winter hasn't done that antenna any favors, either. 6 days until March, hang in there...

Ahh, that's basically the same as the Silver Sensor which I have one of already. It's a pretty amazing for it's size. I moved about a month ago and am practically in Sugar Grove. Probably needless to say reception with an indoor antenna is sub par at best, that's problem an understatement. I thought I might get something out of Rockford, but no useful reception from there either.

For now I'm on Concast, perhaps in the spring I will do some experimenting. That said there seems to be very little worthwhile on network TV these days, so I'm really enjoying having those cable channels. I just don't enjoy paying for them!

Ahh, that's basically the same as the Silver Sensor which I have one of already. It's a pretty amazing for it's size. I moved about a month ago and am practically in Sugar Grove. Probably needless to say reception with an indoor antenna is sub par at best, that's problem an understatement. I thought I might get something out of Rockford, but no useful reception from there either.

For now I'm on Concast, perhaps in the spring I will do some experimenting. That said there seems to be very little worthwhile on network TV these days, so I'm really enjoying having those cable channels. I just don't enjoy paying for them!
Almost in Sugar Grove? I believe there is a valley there and that may be why you are not receiving good signal strength. You may need a good outdoor antenna, not sure. The Terk antenna might work if you put it in the attic (assuming you don't have it there already).

Just wanted to share a success story if anyone is interested. I recently picked up a Mitsubishi WD-65733 since my old RP CRT HD-ready set died. On a whim I went up into the attic to re-aim the antenna one last time in an effort to get WBBM. Not only was I able to lock WBBM at about 40%, but all the other main channels (5,7,9,11,32) are at about 90-100%! This is much better than my old LST-3510A STB which only picked up the same channels at about 70%. I also have an un-subbed HR10-250 to pause/rewind during sports events that I may use via a splitter (I know - signal loss). Just thought I'd share since I'm 38 miles out in Plainfield and using a Philips MANT antenna from Menard's in the attic. No preamp either.

Looks like I'm just in time for March Madness. :)

PS- not sure which other tuners do this, but the Mitsubishi's tuner allows the user to selectively remove subchannels. Nice.

Just wanted to share a success story if anyone is interested. I recently picked up a Mitsubishi WD-65733 since my old RP CRT HD-ready set died. On a whim I went up into the attic to re-aim the antenna one last time in an effort to get WBBM. Not only was I able to lock WBBM at about 40%, but all the other main channels (5,7,9,11,32) are at about 90-100%! This is much better than my old LST-3510A STB which only picked up the same channels at about 70%. I also have an un-subbed HR10-250 to pause/rewind during sports events that I may use via a splitter (I know - signal loss). Just thought I'd share since I'm 38 miles out in Plainfield and using a Philips MANT antenna from Menard's in the attic. No preamp either.

Looks like I'm just in time for March Madness. :)

PS- not sure which other tuners do this, but the Mitsubishi's tuner allows the user to selectively remove subchannels. Nice.
Lucky! I wish I could get WBBM. I can pull in channels anywhere between 8-10 bars for the most part with NBC and Fox having a constant 10 bars. I can only get WBBM in analog. I have tried scanning and re-scanning over and over again, but no luck. I have my antenna on the first floor by a window. I would hate to move it all the way to the attic just for 1 channel (when there is no guarantee it will come in).

Just wanted to share a success story if anyone is interested. I recently picked up a Mitsubishi WD-65733 since my old RP CRT HD-ready set died. On a whim I went up into the attic to re-aim the antenna one last time in an effort to get WBBM. Not only was I able to lock WBBM at about 40%, but all the other main channels (5,7,9,11,32) are at about 90-100%! This is much better than my old LST-3510A STB which only picked up the same channels at about 70%. I also have an un-subbed HR10-250 to pause/rewind during sports events that I may use via a splitter (I know - signal loss). Just thought I'd share since I'm 38 miles out in Plainfield and using a Philips MANT antenna from Menard's in the attic. No preamp either.

Looks like I'm just in time for March Madness. :)

PS- not sure which other tuners do this, but the Mitsubishi's tuner allows the user to selectively remove subchannels. Nice.

And that's what a 6th gen Mitsubishi tuner does...it's a dynamite tuner.

I can only get WBBM in analog. I have tried scanning and re-scanning over and over again, but no luck. I have my antenna on the first floor by a window. I would hate to move it all the way to the attic just for 1 channel (when there is no guarantee it will come in).So why not at least try? If you're getting a reasonably good analog signal from downstairs, I'd say you at least have a shot from up higher. Especially if your tuner's newer, like mk 1277's. And as long as you'd be going to the attic, a full-sized model would be an even better move.

If I had an attic, and my WBBM analog signal was that good with just an indoor antenna, you can be sure I would be using it.

And that's what a 6th gen Mitsubishi tuner does...it's a dynamite tuner.

Yeah, I read your post at the beginning of this thread about the 6th gen, but had no idea how amazing they are until I fired up the new set. :)

I do get a fair amount of dropouts now and then, but at least I can tune it and catch some B-ball this March.

Maybe I will run it to the attic. I'm not sure yet. It would take me a bit to route the cable up there and I am pressed for time because school has been so busy lately. Maybe I can find time a day over spring break to experiment because I would really like to pull in WBBM if possible.

WMKB-LD, licensed to Rochelle, IL, has been approved by the FCC to move into northwestern Kane county, on a tall tower right next to route 47 north of state route 64. It's 300 watts, but will broadcast on channel 8. This should get it out 30 miles with a very good antenna.

I've also updated the station listings post to account for the "move-in".
Those who are in the western suburbs and like to DX channel 8 out of Milwaukee might be out of luck when this channel signs on.

Last week two $40 DTV converter box coupons arrived in my mailbox.
Monday night, after shaking off the last effects of the flu bug, I went with
a friend to Circuit City in Batavia on Randall Road. I knew which tuner model I wanted, and what I had to try: the Zenith DTT900 (repackaged in Best Buy as the Insignia NS-DXA1). Since I want to keep this as short as possible, it's $59 + tax, which brought it to $64, and then $40 off brought it to $24. Check out the picture and the first five links in this thread for details:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=948767

There's excellent reviews from broadcast engineers there. I'll keep this
relevant to my market(s).

First off, as per the other posters, the only "bad" things about the unit is
the coax cable supplied to hook it up to your TV. It's lousy RG-59 and it
causes a buzz in the audio. Throw it out, and make sure you have an RG-6
cable handy instead, which very effectively solves the problem. Well, that,
and there is no analog TV pass-through. If you get all the digital channels
you need, this is irrelevant. It's very small compared to my monster 3rd gen
Zenith box; it's about 3/4 of the size of an 8x11 sheet of paper, and only 2" or so thick. And it is very easy to set up. But it's out the door at
Circuit City and time for me to test it!

I took it first to my friend's house in Elburn. He gets WBBM at 80% on his 4th gen Dish Network tuner, and pegs the rest of the channels except for 44-1 and 56-1, which suffer from moderate (44-1) to severe (56-1) multipath. The DTT900 locked all the stations, and WBBM was essentially PEGGED, from Elburn(!). But, neither his 4th gen Dish tuner, nor the DTT900 could lock WWTO-DT from Utica/Starved Rock State Park. I've noticed on Shawn's tuner recently that all the sub channels are missing from WWTO-DT (preparing for the HD conversion?), and maybe its antenna got damaged from the weather, or is at low power, who knows. Anyway, the picture is crisp, sharp, and you can zoom, crop or letterbox and have a default of any of the three. And, changing channels is almost instantaneous! This is a HUGE plus compared to older generation tuners which can take several seconds to change channels.

Anyway, I've noticed that he occasionally has trouble with 44-1, and
almost always has trouble with 56-1 due to the multipath. The DTT900 locked
them both very solidly. In fact, 44-1 was pegged, and 56-1 was around
75%-80%, where as the 4th gen Dish Network tuner barely got 56% and going up and down between that and 44% on 56-1, causing severe dropouts frequently. The DTT900 locks signals at 50%, estimated by the signal bar that can be displayed by pressing a button.

Between this test and others done by Bob Diaz and engineers elsewhere on AVSforum, it is obvious this confirmed 6th generation tuner can handle major multipath with ease. One user claims "more ghosts than he can count on two hands" with an analog station; on digital, it locks fine (though I have to be careful and say I don't know where the station's companion digital channel was, nor did he mention it). But Bob Diaz in LA can get his stations easily, and, with the antenna 90 degrees off, can STILL pull in San Diego stations
90-100 miles away! This is one of a growing number of great stories from the
incredible multipath handling of this tuner. I know some of you have major
multipath issues; this tuner would probably do the trick to solve that problem. NOTE: If you have to adjust the antenna while away from the TV, you can do this. The DTT900 beeps at you with a good signal, and does a solid "beep" when the signal level is excellent. This is very helpful if up in an attic or roof.

As for sensitivity: all "geeks" on AVSforum claim it is slightly to
moderately better than any 5th gen tuner they have used. I am noticing a
performance improvement of 25% or better just on sensitivity from my 3rd gen
tuner, just based on reception from Elburn. But now it was time to take
it home to DeKalb and play!

WLS-DT, which was fairly low on the locking scale with my third gen Zenith,
jumped to 80% on this tuner. Everything else essentially pegged out except
for WJYS, but that got bumped from 50% to 75%. Oh, wait. What about
WBBM?...40% signal. 50% locks with this tuner. Yep, I still can't get WBBM,
but it is considerably closer to locking than the 15% I had with my other
tuner. WWTO-DT was also around 40%. I think they're having problems. They
have been since they've been on the air. So, I neither gained nor lost any
Chicago stations with this tuner.

On to Rockford. On my 3rd gen Zenith tuner with my ChannelMatser 4228 pointed at Chicago, all locked easily except for WIFR-DT (CBS), due to weak signal and co-channel analog interference from the Korean channel 41 from the Hancock. With this tuner, I am able to lock WIFR-DT easily, even with multipath AND co-channel analog interference with the Korean station. Wow. That is impressive. I was, however, never able to get a whisper of Madison, WI stations. But I was able to get almost all of the Chicago stations with the antenna pointed at Madison. That also confirms the multipath handling and getting signals off the side of antennas very well.

Finally, I was able to not lock, but get 35%-40% signals on 3 stations from
Milwaukee with no tropo: 4-1 [28-WTMJ/NBC], 55-1 [40-WPXE/PAX], and 58-1 [WDJT/CBS], all essentially million-watters. That's impressive! I was never able to do that with my third gen tuner. So that is a significant improvement. Given the weather conditions tonight, the lack of Madison stations can easily be explained by the cold weather in place, which usually wrecks it for me as
the Chicago analog co-channels annihilate the Madison digitals.

So...I give this unit 4 stars out 5, with no analog pass-through causing the
drop on most of the 5th star. Although the TV guide data only gives you the
current program and the one coming up, this box is small, stays cool, and is
easy to work with via the remote control. This box goes on my "highly
recommended" list to keep your old analog TV alive. Major thumbs up if you
can get all the locals (and unless you live in the sticks like me, you
should get WBBM with this tuner in many cases, along with everything else
easily).

Guess I should be on the lookout for my converter box coupons as well