Is anyone receiving HDTV over the air via antenna in Endicott, Binghamton area? I already have a HD box from Time Warner Cable but I want more. If you are receiving more than the cable company is giving you, please let me know everything associated with how you did this, what antenna you bought and where in or on your house you placed the antenna. I live on the North side of Endicott and have a 3 story. Any help greatly appreciated.
I also did the Map thing based on my location..and it showed:
* yellow WIVT-DT 4 ABC Binghamton NY May 1 2003 135°
* yellow WBNG-DT 7 CBS Binghamton NY Now Live 138°
* yellow WICZ-DT 8 FOX Binghamton NY Jul 7 2003 137°
* yellow WSKG-DT 42 PBS Binghamton NY Aug 1 2003 137°
green WBNG 12 CBS Binghamton NY 138°
green WIVT 34 ABC Binghamton NY 135°
green WICZ 40 FOX Binghamton NY 137°
green WSKG 46 PBS Binghamton NY 137°
blue WBGH-CA 8 NBC Binghamton NY 134°
blue W26BS 26 TBN Binghamton NY 137°
The problem is I am getting too much conflicting information and I want to find someone who is actually receiving HD OTA in my area.
Will the Greater Binghamton members please post their HD OTA signal strengths for each of our digital channels? Include a general location, receiver and antenna. And, of course the strengths!
My HD receiver is the Hughes HTL-HD. I'm located in Chenango Bridge about 9 miles from the towers with Crocker Hill in between. I currently have the Channel Master 3016 with the Radio Shack 26dB amplifier.
Digital channel 4 (WIVTDT) strength is 89, channel 7 (WBNGDT) is 21 (can't lock on), channel 8 (WICZDT) is 71, and channel 42 (WSKGDT) is 81.
Thanks to funkspiel on the RochesterHDTV.com forum for this about our Fox affiliate.
"We are currently working towards providing OTA HD on our NBC station. We are hopeful that the work needed to make this happen will be completed by the start of the Olympics but we can't promise that it will be. Once completed we will be notify our viewers."
I have found out this about our NBC affiliate.
"We are currently working towards providing OTA HD on our NBC station. We are hopeful that the work needed to make this happen will be completed by the start of the Olympics but we can't promise that it will be. Once completed we will notify our viewers."
However, WBGH, the NBC affiliate here in Binghamton is a low power station, so I'm not sure how this will work out.
Update:
No Olympic HD coverage. In fact, they have blocked DirecTV from delivering NBC-HD Olympic coverage.
I called WICZ (FOX) asking about the future of HDTV. I ended up talking to their engineer. He never gave me a date for HDTV, but he implied that it might not happen for years. For the worst case, he suggested that it might not happen until the mandated dead line of when stations can no longer broadcast their analog signal. This is when their analog infrastructure will need to be replaced. He believes the current deadline (digital only 2006?) is not real and a more realistic date like 2010 will be put in place.
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Thank goodness that DirecTV will have Fox-HD shortly.
I recently received the following from our WB affiliate. (WBPN)
Quote:
Thank you for your interest in The WB and our programming. At this time, there aren't any plans of bringing HDTV to the Binghamton area. Thanks again for your time and keep visiting TheWBpass.com.
Quote:
Thank you for your interest in FOX 40 and our conversion to HDTV. WICZ-TV, FOX 40 and WBPN, UPN 8 are currently broadcast digitally over the air on DTV channel 8. The process of further converting our signal to High Definition is underway though no firm time table for this is in place.
Currently WICZ-TV and Time Warner Cable have yet to reach an agreement which would allow Time Warner Cable to carry our digital signal.
Time Warner Cable does however carry our analog signals under agreement previously approved.
We are hopeful about reaching an agreement for our digital signal, in the meantime we hope you enjoy FOX 40 and UPN 8 over the air on DTV channel 8.
I found out a month or so ago that our CBS affiliate, WBNGDT, is providing an HD feed to TWC (ch 700). But, not OTA. And, they aren't sure when they might. It doesn't make any difference to me right now as I get the DirecTV DNS feeds.
I'm having trouble getting all of my OTA stations.
Here are my antenna.org results.
Code:
Code:
red - vhf WIVT-DT 34.1 ABC BINGHAMTON NY 225° 8.6 4
blue - vhf WBNG 12 CBS BINGHAMTON NY 227° 8.9 12
violet - vhf WBNG-DT 12.1 CBS BINGHAMTON NY 227° 8.9 7
violet - uhf WSKG 46 PBS BINGHAMTON NY 225° 8.8 46
violet - uhf WICZ 40 FOX BINGHAMTON NY 224° 8.8 40
violet - uhf WIVT 34 ABC BINGHAMTON NY 225° 8.6 34
I also receive the following. (Don't know why they aren't in the antenna web results.)
WSKG-DT 46-1 PBS BINGHAMTON NY 42
WICZ-DT 40-1 FOX BINGHAMTON NY 8
As you can see all of the stations are within 3°.
I'm using a Channel Master 3016 VHF/UHF antenna with a Radio shack adjustable amplifier. There is a hill between me and the towers. The problem is that I can get good signal strengths for WIVT-DT and WICZ-DT, but not the other two.
If I rotate the antenna about 30° CCW I can then get a good signal for WSKG-DT. For this one, I'm assuming that the antenna is receiving a side lobe. So, I adjusted the amplifier to its minimum setting, thinking that a too strong main signal is causing a problem for the Hughes HTL-HD receiver. And/or multipath is getting into the act. Rotated back to the original orientation and still no WSKG. Could it still be too strong? WIVT comes in strong in almost any direction.
For WBNG-DT I can find a direction that receives a spotty signal, but then the two good ones also get spotty. Too strong a signal here too?
With those tower locations, I shouldn't need a rotor. The antenna is 15' above my deck. Easier to adjust there than on the roof. I will move it if I think it would help. But, need a little signal for all stations from the same direction before I do that.
I know that multipath is the digital equivalent to ghosting with analog, but I'm not really clear on what it creates. Other than what I seem to see now. Should I try an attenuator in the line?
BTW, only the ABC and PBS affiliates are broadcasting HD.
You have to go under the analog channel and click "complete FCC info" and you'll get info on both analog and digital. WIVT is digital on ch. 4 and appears to be at 1 kw. Under that subsection, if you click on the service window coverage you'll get an approximation of signal coverage for that particular effective radiated power (ERP). See http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?call=WIVT
Actually, the licensed ERP for that station is 1.5kw. And, it is definately enough power as that is the one that comes in with a wide range of antenna orientations. So it may be that there is too much signal for the other problematical stations.
They have an STA for 1 kw which they're most likely still using, but the difference shouldn't be significant at your distance (50% increase would only be 1.5db at your receiver anyway). The stations below 100 in DMA rank (Binghamton is #154) don't have to be at full power until Jul '06.
How does one find out which designation they are actually operating at?
I assumed that since the DT was licensed that it was the latest.
But, as you said, the difference won't make that much difference.
Editted to add:
I removed the amplifier and no significance change in reception.
Channel 34-1 (digital 4) is still coming in very well.
Channel 40-1 (8) has a slightly lower strength, but seems stable.
Still can't bring in Channel 12-1 (7) or channel 46-1 (42).
As stated before I have the Channel Master 3016 which should be plenty of antenna for 9 miles to the towers. However, I do have a hill in between. I don't really want to go real high with the antenna, but I may if and when my CBS and Fox affiliates go HD.
Will a larger antenna do better, rather than an amplifier?
If they have an STA listed, chances are they are using it. WIVT recently applied for it 1/8/04 and they're good for 6 mos. That said, the only way to really know for sure is to ask someone at the station. In general though, stations aren't in a hurry to increase their costs until they have to or they feel they have the viewers to justify it. You can click on "application info" to see the specific station's recent applications filed at the FCC.
I'd look at your analog reception. If you have alot of ghosting then multipath is likely your problem (very common with obstruction of line of sight). This may require a different antenna, but first I'd play around with the location of the 3016 and also try adjusting the tilt (upward usually).
If that fails, you'll have to go with a larger, more directional antenna, increase the height, or both.
Stacking would work if you were dealing with uhf only, but stacking is problematic at vhf frequencies because of the large spacing required. Here's an example of stacked uhf yagi/corner reflectors:
Update. I've raised the 3016 another 5 feet with no appreciable difference. I've rotated it so I receive the following signal test values as measured by the Hughes HTL-HD. Digital ch 4 (ABC analog 34) = 78, Ch 7 (CBS - 12) = 59, Ch 8 (Fox - 40) = 24, and ch 42 (PBS - 46) = 16. I have rotated the antenna so that ch 8 locks in, but then I lose ch 7. These two are only 3 degrees apart, so is this antenna that directional? The Radio Shack 15-1108 amplifier has been removed. See above post for that story.
The Channel Master website shows the 3016 as being medium directional, suburban rated, 30-45 mile reception. The average gain for low VHF is 1.2 dB and it is ch4 that comes in the strongest. High VHF and UHF gains are 7.9 and 7.7 respectively. So I'm wondering if this antenna is overloading my HD receiver? I suspect this may be a possibility because ch 42 will come in strong if I rotate the antenna way away from the tower direction. I'm probably getting a side lobe of the antenna. I haven't found my variable attenuator to see what happens with that.
Attached is a photo of my temporary installation on my deck. You'll see my neighbor's tree, now deleaved, and the hill in the background.
I have also wondered about the Winegard Sensar II Amplified Antenna (GS-2000A) as something that might work. But, I will probably have more of a multipath problem with that.
Well JD,one of those "ugly" arrays would likely cure your reception problems.I read back through some of your posts here and elsewhere,and there's one statement you made that sticks out like a sore thumb on 4-16-04:
"What's interesting is that the analog channels(34,12,40 and 46) are unwatchable."
At 8-9 miles I assume these are not snowy,but full of ghosts,herringbone,whatever.If that's the case,you have moderate to extreme multipath,and maybe even some strong FM signals thrown in for good measure.
A 5 or 10 element highband antenna strategically placed somewhere on your property should pick up 7,8 and 4(strong).For UHF maybe a couple of those cheap end-mounted Yagis from RS horizontally stacked(easy to do).If you're lucky,everything will work at one spot,on one mast.You may need a rotor also.Actually,you are going to have to experiment quite a bit to solve your reception ills.The signals are there,you just have to "find" them,then combine them and send them to your receiver.
The antenna you have is fine for flat terrain,but not in your environment.OTOH,there may be a "sweet spot" somewhere on your property that it will work,for every channel.Good luck.
Thanks for the input. I'll play around with this when the weather breaks. A reply in another forum suggested tilting the antenna a bit to aim over the hill. This isn't a high priority right now since I'm only interested in the ABC affilate. If and when the others finally broadcast HD I'll get more interested. Hopefully, DirecTV will get Fox-HD up soon. And, then after getting everything working, the stations will be changing their channel assignment when the analogs go dark.
I discovered a splitter behind the equipment that was being used to feed the FM input on the AV receiver. I removed that and I am not getting strong signals on Chs 4, 7 and 8. There are still audio and video dropouts, but this is probably still due to multipath interference. Now to get a bow tie for ch 42 and combine it.
I'm glad to see other folks in the greater Binghamton area here. I just got my HDTV hardware (pcHDTV 3000 card) and I am only able to get three channels (CBS, FOX, UPN) consistently at 75-80% signal. I cannot get any signal whatsoever from PBS or ABC.
I'm located
I'm presently using unamplified VHF/UHF antenna (Terk HDTVi) purchased for $40 from Circuit City in Vestal. I should probably try other indoor antennas -- any suggestions?
I'm also sorely disappointed by the lack of HD programming in the area. And it appears that the two channels that are broadcasting in HD (ABC and PBS) are the ones that I cannot get!
I'm in Chenango Bridge and have been able to get all of our stations, but not at the same time. Crocker Hill is between me and the towers. Right now I get all but PBS. There have been reception problems reportedly due to too strong of a signal. And since you are only 4 miles from the towers, this could be part of your problem. PBS is broadcasting on ch42 and with that hill could also be part of your problem. My ABC is the strongest channel here. And then I still get audio breakups now and then. This is a result of multipath, the digital equivalent to ghosting. Speaking of that, how are the analog channels looking? Come this spring I may do more testing. Currently I have a Channel Master 3016 medium direction antenna which is rated for 30/45 miles. I'm 9 miles from towers. I did have an amplifier on it, but I get better results without it. You might try an attenuator in that antenna of yours. If you have a simple splitter hanging around, connect that to see what happens. Does the apartment complex have a common antenna on the roof? If so, maybe you could connect to it. If not, see if the managers would allow you to install one.
The total lack of HD by our locals is amazing. So much for the Greater Binghamton Area. I have DirecTV and get CBS, NBC, and Fox HD from them. The new SHVERA rules may prevent you from getting the waivers to receive those from DirecTV. And with your north facing apartment, it would be difficult for you to get DirecTV. I have the Hughes HTL-HD receiver. Time Warner Cable's HD offering is not good enough in my opinion.
Any simple splitter will attenuate the strong signal? I'm currently out of town but I will be returning in a few days. I will also be returning the Terk indoor antenna (which I hear is no better than a coat hanger) and maybe get a bow-tie indoor antenna from Radio Shack or simple VHF dipoles with a UHF ring antenna from Walmart.
I'm not sure what the analog channels are like but I will try it when I get back. I have standard cable service from TWC so I never really bothered with the analog OTA TV. Speaking of TWC, do you know whether or not their HD cable is QAM encrypted? My pcHDTV is suppose to have QAM support (some day) which means that I should be able to pick up HD over cable as long as it's not encrypted. I agree with you that TWC offering is meager. A friend of mine was looking for a new TV set but decided against an HDTV set because of the cost was not worth the lack of HDTV content in the area. I guess it's a chicken-egg issue.
I will be moving out in about 6 months probably to the City of Binghamton. (It's not because of the DTV situation!) I guess one of my criteria in the hunt for a new apartment will be south side facing windows.
BTW, what is this "waiver" to which you are refering? Also, any reason why all the DTV channels are VHF (except for PBS)?
I have no idea if TWC has their HD encrypted. I haven't had TWC for several years now. And, then it was only their lifeline 2-13 version.
When you read other threads here on this forum you read a lot about the Silver Sensor indoor antenna, which is UHF only. Many here forget that not all HD stations are using UHF. The majority seem to, but here in Bingo town only PBS is using UHF for their digital signal. And when the full switchover occurs, who knows what channel assignments our stations will be using?
The waivers I speak of is to allow DirecTV to provide me with what is called DNS, Distant Network Stations. I was allowed waivers because where I live I can't get a decent analog channel. I had to complain to WBNG to get them to allow the waiver. So now I purchase from DirecTV the main four network stations, which are from NYC and LA. Now when HD came along I automatically get those HD stations as well. Only ABC is lacking at the moment. But, since our ABC is in HD I don't worry about it.
Yesterday, I got all of our stations digitally. Today ch 12 (digital 7) and 46 (digital 42) are not coming in. I'll worry about that next spring.
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