Good day to all!

4228 Channel Master 8 bay antenna
7777 Channel Master UHF/VHF pre-amplifier
9521A Channel Master remote control rotator
Roofmounted,Zip 08201,-74.49104 39.43885

First, thanks to everyone who helped me set select and setup my antenna. The members of this forum shoulds know their time is very much appreciated!
My info is from http://www.tvfool.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29
My question(problem) is: Do I need to tilt my attenna in order to receive certain channels?
1. KYW 3-1 no problem/ WCAU 10-1 no problem
WPVI 6-1 no reception
Using rotator, they all are 316.4-316.9 degrees. Buy the way, I am able to get pick up Fox more than WPVI, but not reliably.
2. When antenna is pointing 213 degrees- I do not get reception from WMGM 40-1. I know the tower is exactly at sea level( its in the middle of the bay). I'm slightly above sea level. Does that make a difference?

Appreciate any help.

PS. HDTV Dell WD4200HD ATSC tuner
The signal usually runs between 50-60, but the the quality is 100. So naturally, I'm confused. The highest signal I've seen is 68 from the Dell.The Dell displays "signal" and "quality".

WPVI-DT ABC 6 is currently broadcasting on UHF 64 AT 500 kW. UHF 64 is at the upper end of the UHF channel range, which has poorer propagation and the CM 4228 gain falls off a bit above UHF 60.

The Fox station you refer to is WTXF-DT Fox 29 (DT = UHF 42)? The FCC database for WTXF (http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?call=WTXF-TV) shows the station licensed for 305 kW, 161 meters HAAT. But it has a construction permit for operation at 1000 kW, 280 meters HAAT where the extra height will make a major improvement in long range reception. If the station is operating at 305 kW and you get it with dropouts, you should be able to get a stable lock when it goes to the higher location & power. The Philadelphia OTA local thread should be able to tell you what power WTXF-DT is at. Or a call or email to the station.

Getting back to your questions, you may want to tilt the CM 4228 up a little bit to see if that helps. Tune the ATSC tuner to 64.1 and see if that will get you a digital signal strength meter for the channel. Some models allow direct channel selection. Experiment with the CM 4228 aim a few degrees to the left and right of the direction to the Philadelphia stations to see what that does. Remember, antennaweb gives you azimuth with respect to magnetic north, which is 10 or 11 degrees west of true north where you are. tvfool.com uses true north, so you have to check which azimuth you are using.

I don't know anything about the quality of the ATSC tuner in the Dell. Could be that the tuner is a older generation ATSC chipset.

Finally, it is now clear that WPVI-DT ABC 6 is switching from UHF 64 to low VHF 6 in February, 2009. The CM 4228 is not going to get a VHF 6 station at 57 miles. You will have to add a VHF antenna then. In fact, I would have suggested you get a AntennasDirect 91-XG for UHF and a VHF only antenna for long range reception so you would be prepared for 2009.

Hello afiggatt

Thanks for the reply. Let me investigate your suggestions and get back to you. I found more info I had saved. This report shows different degrees, I assume this is what you mean by true north compared to tvfool.com? Could u direct me to a good read on this?
http://www.2150.com/broadcast/default.asp?latitude=39%2E462368&longitude=%2D74%2E49356&magnetic_north=%2D12%2E29&range=80&sort=distance&show_expired=True&show_construction=True&show_analog=False&show_low_power=False&action=Show+Stations

Its weird, never get a "signal" above 70 yet, but awesome,reliable pic(eg:KYW 3-1 "signal" rating of 58 and "quality" rating of 100).

One more b4 I go-I'll try the tilt up as you suggested, but for the Wildwood WMGM 40.1 should I try and tilt down? As stated b4, I know that tower is 0ft. sea level and I'm probably(?) at 100ft. BTW, I can only enter whole channels on the hdtv(40 not 40.1) and on the rotator(330 not 330.6).

Thanks alot, hope your enjoying the holiday weekend.

Brian

Thanks for the reply. Let me investigate your suggestions and get back to you. I found more info I had saved. This report shows different degrees, I assume this is what you mean by true north compared to tvfool.com? Could u direct me to a good read on this?

Its weird, never get a "signal" above 70 yet, but awesome,reliable pic(eg:KYW 3-1 "signal" rating of 58 and "quality" rating of 100).

One more b4 I go-I'll try the tilt up as you suggested, but for the Wildwood WMGM 40.1 should I try and tilt down? As stated b4, I know that tower is 0ft. sea level and I'm probably(?) at 100ft. BTW, I can only enter whole channels on the hdtv(40 not 40.1) and on the rotator(330 not 330.6)
There is no standard for ATSC tuner signal meter reports. The Samsung SIR-T451 display bars from 0 to 10 bars. The Sony DHG-HDD250 HD-DVR display percentages from 0 to 100% for the digital channels. It take around 4 to 5 bars to get a solid lock with the SIR-T451. You are pretty far away, so not getting a 100% reading for the Philadelphia stations is not surprising. As long as it is good enough to get and keep a solid lock, you are fine for that station.

The FCC data for WMGM-DT shows several entries, but the licensed entry shows the station to be at 205 kW and 127 meters above ground level. (http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?state=&call=WMGM&arn=&city=&chan=&cha2=69&serv=&type=0&facid=&list=2&dist=&dlat2=&mlat2=&slat2=&dlon2=&mlon2=&slon2=&size=9). But there is also a STA (Special Temporary Authority) entry of 2.69 kW which is weak for UHF. If the station is at STA power that would explain why you are not getting it. Email the station or better yet the station engineer to ask what power they are at.

Your TV tuner may have a hidden way to enter a digital channel number. The Sony HDD250 has both NTSC and ATSC tuners, but I can enter a 41.1 to get a signal strength reading for a low power station broadcasting on UHF 41.

See http://www.geo-orbit.org/sizepgs/magmapsp.html for some info on magnetic declination offset. For your location, magnetic north is 12 degrees west of true north. How did you align the rotator? The rotator is reading out to the nearest degree from 0 to 359 which is sufficient accuracy for OTA reception. I don't know offhand which azimuth orientation 2150.com uses because I found that website not very user friendly compared to antennaweb.org and tvfool.com.

Don't tilt the CM 4228 up much. Just a slight tilt aiming the center above the horizon. Again, experiment with the aim to the left and right of the direction to the Philadelphia broadcast towers.

I understand.

Got it- guess I'll call Tuesday.

Maybe I should read the manual that came with it?? :o

I'll read-thanks.

Ok-no feedback(no experimenting) yet-thanks for the explanations-get back to you tomorrow or Friday at the latest- enjoy the BBQ and weekend. :D

Brian