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Atlanta, GA - OTA

606K views 5K replies 583 participants last post by  vahighland 
#1 ·
On Thursday, I joined the ranks of the HDTV owners. I have Comcast HD here in Atlanta, but I'd like to enjoy the other local channels that they don't include. My Zenith has a built-in tuner, and I'm only about 10 miles from the towers. However, I live north of the city in Sandy Springs. My apartment is on the top floor of a three story building, but there is a building next door of the same size. Does anybody have a similar experience? If so, could I get away with an indoor antenna like the Silver Sensor? What's a good VHF antenna to pick up WSB? Thanks in advance.


[MOD EDIT]

Digital Ch. | Call letters | Affiliate | Primary Resolution

10 | WXIA | NBC | 1080i

19 | WGCL | CBS | 1080i

20 | WTBS | TBS (local) | 1080i

25 | WATL | WB | 1080i

27 | WAGA | FOX | 720p

39 | WSB | ABC | 720p

41 | WATC | TV57 | 480i

42 | WTHC | The Atlanta Channel (local) | 480i

43 | WUPA | UPN | 1080i

44 | WHSG | TBN | 480i

48 | WUVG | Univision | 480i

51 | WPXA | PAX | 480i



Contact information for the local channels: http://www.georgiahdtv.com/ht/atlanta_station_info.html
 
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#2,987 ·
Not for me. I checked this afternoon when I read your post and as 11pm on Saturday, 26.7 is still this TV. I found that I can manually enter "30.11" (WTBS 26 is rf/physical channel 30) but when I enter "30.12" it takes me back to "virtual" channel 26.1.


Also France24 (or News 24 as they brand it) is off again and only displaying color bars on both 26.1 and 32.10. So is Jewelry TV on 26.4.


On a somewhat related note, does anyone know what WTHC-LD (The Atlanta Channel) plans on doing with 42.2 and 42.3? They've just recently been on the air but still just displaying color bars. Perhaps they're cashing in on their callsign. I once got stoned and stared at those color bars for three days straight without blinking....it was the BEST SHOW EVER!!!
 
#2,989 ·
Anyone else notice that the 11Alive "Weather Information Zone" channel now has no forecast but just a live shot of the radar? It's now rather worthless as you not only do not know what the current temperature is or future temperature is predicted, but you can't tell which way the precipitation is heading because it doesn't "loop" the radar. Thanks, 11Alive, for a wonderful Christmas present akin to a lump of coal in the stocking...
 
#2,990 ·
Hey guys - I think I've got the best I can manage, reasonably. But I'd like to bounce this idea off of the Pros.


I installed last week a Channel Master 3010 Stealth antenna on my rooftop in East Atlanta. I used the mast that the previous owner of my home had installed for a satellite. The location on the roof makes visibility to the northwest great, and my reception of everything except WGTV-DT is improved in strength and stability. Overall, this was a great improvement to my service over my old indoor dipole and loop. Since the antenna is lower then the roof ridge, obscuring visibility to the east, is there anything I can do, short of moving the antenna or adding another to get that station back?


I know this station is always the problem, and I don't think there's any simple solution, but maybe I'm overlooking something simple.


Thanks,


Fred
 
#2,991 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by 84lion /forum/post/21352857


Anyone else notice that the 11Alive "Weather Information Zone" channel now has no forecast but just a live shot of the radar?

I agree that the current service is a big step back, but I wouldn't judge them too harshly yet. Perhaps they are having an equipment problem and have had to bypass the forecast data etc. Give them a call and ask!


EDIT: as this is disrupting my morning routine, I made the call
I talked to Wendy in WXIA's programming dept and she said it is indeed down for just a couple days while they overhaul it. When it comes back it will be new and improved. The reference she had said it would be down for only 2-3 days, so we should see it back really soon, certainly by sometime next week.
 
#2,992 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by ChrisC47 /forum/post/21355245


I talked to Wendy in WXIA's programming dept and she said it is indeed down for just a couple days while they overhaul it. When it comes back it will be new and improved. The reference she had said it would be down for only 2-3 days, so we should see it back really soon, certainly by sometime next week.

Well, that is good news and thanks for finding out. If the service really is new and improved that will be a great Christmas present!
 
#2,994 ·
I was channel surfing today, and noticed that my Sony had re-labelled channel 36.3 from "Sports" to "Antenna". Perhaps, soon Antenna TV will be on there. Universal Sports is still on there for the moment, of course.


On the Antenna TV website (antennatv.tv), their interactive map of affiliates shows that Antenna TV will be launching (over-the-air) on WATL 36.3 Atlanta on 12/24/11. We shall see. Stay tuned..
 
#2,997 ·
Mobile DTV is now up and running on WXIA, with encryption.


Stations now running Mobile DTV:


2-1 WSB

5-1 WAGA (not yet encrypted, but will be)

11-1 WXIA (encrypted)

14-1 WPXA

30-1 WPBA

46-1 WGCL


- Trip
 
#2,998 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by CapeFish /forum/post/21391236


Antenna TV coming to 36.3: http://www.11alive.com/news/article/...rks-of-11Alive
Quote:
Originally Posted by ab4kn /forum/post/21391534


Nice new graphics have arrived on WXIA 11.2 Weather channel. Very nice. Additionally, the graphics indicate that they are "powered by Accuweather.com"

All good to see. I've updated the table / FAQ -- see link in my sig below.


Regarding the new weather channel, a few observations:

- there are more "pages" for each city, so it takes a lot longer to get through them all; in total it takes about 5 minutes to cycle through all 10 or so area cities

- in the interest of getting things to move along faster, they might combine the today/tonight forecast blurbs

- they could also drop the small/left radar view, if they would make the main radar screen animated

- I haven't yet figured out when they run the video segments (regional AccuWeather, national AccuWeather, WXIA local) but I think it's at every 10 minutes or so

- during the video segments, the audio levels are a little low

- the WXIA video segment has 16:9 video squeezed into the 4:3 frame

- clock is accurate


I imagine they'll be tweaking the timing of all this.
 
#2,999 ·
Here are the channels I can pick up easily almost any day or night using an old, indoor, "bowtie" antenna, mounted in a good room location within the room, with little to no adjusting necessary--combined with a 20db amp/pre-amp from Radio Shack.


For reference sake: I live in Cliftondale which is unincorporated South Fulton County (I'm sure you've never heard of it but you can look it up on google or an online map to get a better understanding of my distance from the towers and general locale) which is literally the size of a dot on the map. That dot? That's me.


Or for simplistic purposes; I'm 10 minutes west/southwest of the airport in between it and the Chattahoochie. Also inbetween Fairburn & Douglasville.


I live in a hole, surrounded by trees & my tv is in the back corner of a 1 story house....not ideal for viewing! I'm very pleased with the number of channels I get with a total lifetime payment of $80. I used my coupon to get my Zenith 901 converter box and spent 40 bucks on the signal amplifier. (WELL worth the extra 40 for me!) The bowtie antenna came from a friends basement/garage junkpile and proved to be a godsend compared to the 57 pairs of "rabbit ears" I broke searching for signals before stumbling upon the accidental discovery! The old "circle type" 300ohm antennas work pretty much as well too from my little experience.


I'll tell yall the reason behind this big post later...too much typing for now!
But I'd take half of the following list over being raped by cable/satelite again! The chord must die!diet

2-1.......WSB-HD......ABC

2-2.......WSB-SD......Me TV

5-1.......WAGA-HD.....FOX

7-1.......WCIQ-DT.....PBS (Alabama Public Television)

7-2.......WCIQ-D1.....PBS IQ

7-3.......WCIQ-D2.....PBS Create

8-1.......WGTV-DT.....PBS (Georgia Public Television)

8-2.......Kids........PBS Kids

8-3.......Know........PBS World/GPTV Knowledge

11-1......WXIA-HD.....NBC

11-2......WXIA-WX.....11Alive Wiz-O-Meter powered by Accuweather

14-1......ION.........Ion

14-2......quebo.......Quebo

14-3......IONLife.....Ion Life

16-1......WYGA DT.....MexicAnal

16-2......WYGA DT.....Sonlife Broadcasting Network

16-3......WYGA DT.....Retro Television

17-1......WPCH-DT.....Peachtree TV

26-1......NEWS 24.....France 24

26-2......LWN.........Live Well Network

26-3......TUFF TV.....Tuff TV

26-4......JTV.........Jewelry Television

26-5......RTV.........Retro Television

26-6......UNTAMED.....Untamed Sports Network

26-7......BIZ TV......Business Television

26-8......SHOP 1......Infomercials

26-9......SHOP 2......Infomercials

26-10.....VIDA TV.....Venezuelan Religious

28-1......WJSP-HD.....PBS (Georgia Public Television)

28-2......Kids........PBS Kids

28-3......Knowled.....PBS World/GPTV Knowledge

30-1......WPBA-TV.....PBS (Atlanta Public School System)

32-1......APGuide.....Zap2it Program Guide/BIZ TV

32-2......Tr3s........MTV Tr3s

32-3......This TV.....This TV

32-4......MOXiE.......Moxie Movies

32-5......Oldie.......Oldie Goldie Movie Channel

32-6......LATV........Spanish Religous

32-7......TUFF TV.....Tuff TV

32-8......Legacy.......Religious

32-9......VIDA TV.....Venezuelan Religious

32-10.....NEWS 24.....France 24

32-21.....640WGST.....WGST 640AM (Talk Radio)

32-22.....949BULL.....WUBL 94.9FM The Bull (Country Radio)

32-23.....Project.....WKLS 96.1FM (Rock Radio)

32-24.....WiLD........WiLD 97.5FM (Contemporary Radio)

32-25.....WiLD........WiLD 105.FM (Contemporary Radio)

32-26.....Patron......105.3FM (Mexican Rado)

32-27.....1120 AM.....1120 AM (Mexican Contempor

32-28.....TBA.........Simulcast of 32.21

32-29.....TBA.........Simulcas of 32.22

32-30.....TBA.........Simulcast of 32.23

34-1......WUVG-DT.....Univision

34-2......WUVG-DT.....Telefutura

36-1......WATL-TV.....My Network TV

36-2.....Bounce......Bounce TV

36-3......Antenna.....Antenna TV

40-1......WIRE D1.....Infomercials

40-2......WIRE D2.....Infomercials

40-3......WIRE D3.....Infomer@ia

40-4......WIRE D4.....Infomercials

42-1......WTHC........The Atlanta Channel (Trace)

42-2......WTHC........(Colar Bars)

42-3......WTHC........(Colar Ba

46-1......WGCL-TV.....CBS

53-1......WDTA-LD.....Daystar (Religious)

57-1......WATC DT.....Independant/Religious

57-2......WATCTOO.....Independant/MyFamilyTV

63-1......TBN.........Trinity Broadcasting Network

63-2......Church......The Church Channel

63-3......JCTV........Jesus Christ Television

63-4......Enlace......alß Religious

63-5.......Smile.......The Smile Of A Cha

69-1......WUPA-DT.....The CW







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#3,001 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mattswad /forum/post/21406952


Here are the channels I can pick up easily....


32-6......LATV........Spanish Religous

LATV is not a religious network but may have an occassional Hispanic language religious program. The bulk of their network schedule is general fare for the entire Hispanic speaking family.
 
#3,002 ·
Question for the radio experts.... I live 50 miles N of Atl at 2800 feet (east of Jasper). I get all the regular channels with a 4228 and a VHF antenna. 8 sometimes fades. Yesterday I notice 5, 2, and 46 dropped completely out. They are still out today. All other channels are still there. First time they have ever done that (almost 4 years) that I remember. Could the the solar ejection have something to do with this? I understand yesterday and today we are being bombarded with a CME....

Sure hope they come back..

Thanks John
 
#3,003 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by pccitizen /forum/post/21414612


Question for the radio experts.... I live 50 miles N of Atl at 2800 feet (east of Jasper). I get all the regular channels with a 4228 and a VHF antenna. 8 sometimes fades. Yesterday I notice 5, 2, and 46 dropped completely out. They are still out today. All other channels are still there. First time they have ever done that (almost 4 years) that I remember. Could the the solar ejection have something to do with this? I understand yesterday and today we are being bombarded with a CME....

Sure hope they come back..

Thanks John
I live in Cleveland ga, just over 70 miles from atlanta and i get them just fine and have the same antenna as you
 
#3,004 ·
Receiving all three just fine from Missionary Ridge in Chattanooga.


Are they gone from multiple TVs or just one? If just one, try a rescan. You never know, something could just be screwy with the set.


- Trip
 
#3,005 ·
Thanks for reception feedback. They were gone from both my Samsung TV and the channelmaster DVR.

Well, asked and answered... Embarrassingly, breaker was tripped for ckt running antenna amp.

Another question as to why only those channels affected (they are among most strongest), why do others make it thru.. Oh well, life is full of mysteries.

John
 
#3,006 ·
Another question and fun for the experts....

Every time I go to my channel master DVR, it informs me of some other weird, faraway channel it has added to the list. I am in Jasper at 3000 ft and I sometimes get Columbus. (clearshot SSW) I even see a couple Mobile stations in the list, and Mont and Bham! But I can't get these stations routinely and it is a pain to scan past them. I can just see the firmware going down all its code legs.... :)

The Atlanta GPB stations 8.4 (or was it 8.5) and 8.9 REALLY mess up the DVR. Takes FOREVER to get past them. Sometimes the DVR even crashes.

I can't find any reference to these, but obviously the firmware in this box thinks something was once there.... Any ideas what it was? Thanks.

John

I know I can filter these channels out but that is also a pain. The Guide is also a pain.
 
#3,007 ·
Hello everyone. Currently I live in Spartanburg SC which is great for HDTV OTA. We get the sorry local Greenville/Spartanburg channels, the plus is we get all the Asheville and Charlotte, NC channels.


We are moving to Cleveland, GA in the next couple weeks. What kind of OTA reception can we expect there? I have an 8 bay bow tie antenna and 25 feet of pole. Thanks much


Forgot to mention, antenna is a 4228. I only have a UHF antenna because nothing up here transmits on the VHF frequencies
 
#3,008 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by rid29651 /forum/post/21632919


Hello everyone. Currently I live in Spartanburg SC which is great for HDTV OTA. We get the sorry local Greenville/Spartanburg channels, the plus is we get all the Asheville and Charlotte, NC channels. [...] I only have a UHF antenna because nothing up here transmits on the VHF frequencies

I guess that's true if you don't count WSPA-7, WNTV-9, or WLOS-13.



In Atlanta, you will have VHF channels WGTV-8 (or W12DK-12) and WXIA-10. While I have no first-hand knowledge of that particular area, the prediction maps suggest you will have quite a challenge there, depending on your exact location. I suspect you will be depending on knife-edge diffraction for over the air reception there, if you manage to receive anything at all other than ION, WUGA, and the GPB translator on 12. If you know your exact new location, TVFool would likely give a better idea.


- Trip
 
#3,009 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Trip in VA /forum/post/21633568


I guess that's true if you don't count WSPA-7, WNTV-9, or WLOS-13.



In Atlanta, you will have VHF channels WGTV-8 (or W12DK-12) and WXIA-10. While I have no first-hand knowledge of that particular area, the prediction maps suggest you will have quite a challenge there, depending on your exact location. I suspect you will be depending on knife-edge diffraction for over the air reception there, if you manage to receive anything at all other than ION, WUGA, and the GPB translator on 12. If you know your exact new location, TVFool would likely give a better idea.


- Trip

Channel 7 has a lousy mostly satellite feed newscast, WLOS changed their direction and the upstate of SC barely gets it now and channel 9 only comes in during a band opening.


I looked up the address on TV Fool and it pretty much said what you did. I was hoping someone in Cleveland would give better news. Guess I'd better get used to Netflix and internet TV lol. I have learned Cleveland does not have a cable company so the only 2 choices are directv and dish network. I was a 15 year customer of directv in fact one of the charter members. But, when I went to replace my receiver they wanted a 2 year contract. I don't sign contracts and disconnected. Thanks again
 
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