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Norfolk, VA - OTA

543K views 7K replies 253 participants last post by  dtv757 
#1 ·
Welcome to the Hampton Roads (Virginia) Over-The-Air (OTA) thread for the 4th quarter of 2004.

HISTORY

On March 22, 2001, WAVY-DT started operation as the first DTV station in Hampton Roads. Early adopters of the (then) expensive, new technology started a dialog between themselves and the engineering personnel at the local stations. Topics involved start-up times for the various stations, programming availability and reception problems. These sporadic conversations eventually led to the formation of The Official SE Virginia/NE North Carolina Thread in February 2002. That thread proved to be beneficial for the viewers and the engineering staffs as not all consumer equipment functions the same way.

PURPOSE

While the Official SE Virginia/NE North Carolina Thread is still active on the Forum, the technology of OTA DTV in Hampton Roads has stabilized and newer technologies for the delivery and recording of DTV source material has become the primary topic of conversation of that thread. The engineering managers of the local television stations are creating this thread specifically for conversations and information regarding the OTA DTV service in Hampton Roads.


It is important for the people who subscribe to or just read this thread to understand that television broadcasting is a business. These businesses are not run by committee. All of the commercial stations in the Hampton Roads market are owned and operated by larger corporations. Those corporations have publically traded stock and are under constant pressure to show growth in profits. While the DTV service is now stable and growing, total viewership, nationwide, is just now approaching five percent (5%). For this reason the NTSC, or analog, television service is still the primary money maker for the local television stations. In most cases, the engineering managers are the principle contacts for information on DTV technology. We do not control the programming or other non-technology aspects of the stations. We welcome your technical questions and inquiries.

RULES

The rules of engagement for the Hampton Roads OTA thread are similar to those that were posted for the Official SE Virginia/NE North Carolina thread. They are:
  • Topics should focus on over-the-air digital television or carriage of those signals by third party vendors such as cable or direct broadcast satellite services. This narrow focus is due to the limited amount of time the engineering managers can dedicate to participate in this thread,
  • No personal attacks or name calling.
  • Understanding & tolerance are the first orders of the day (as we are a diverse group of people meeting in a common area).
  • Courtesy is the second order of the day (as we are a diverse group of people meeting in a common area).
  • The Hampton Roads OTA thread is not the complaint counter between the viewers and the stations.
PARTICIPANTS

The engineering managers subscribing to this thread are:


Bill Barber

Chief Engineer

WTVZ-TV/DT
bbarber@wtvz.sbgnet.com

Station telephone: 757.622.3333


Les Garrenton

Director of Engineering

WAVY-TV/DT and WVBT-TV/DT
les.garrenton@wavy.com

Station telephone: 757.393-1010


John Heimerl

General Manager

WHRO-TV/DT
jheimerl@whro.org

Station telephone: 757.889.9400


George Randell

Chief Engineer

WGNT-TV/DT
gmrandell@wgnttv.com

Station telephone: 757.393.2501


For pressing matters, station engineers can usually be contacted - during business hours - via the telephone numbers listed above.


For information concerning the orientation of an antenna for Over The Air (OTA) reception, click here for the CEA's antenna mapping utility program.


For "newbies," there are two new web sites:
  • CheckHD is a cross-industry, cross-network collaborative web site sponsored by Decisionmark.
  • DTV.gov is a government sponsored web site.

Both sites are offered to help viewers make the transition from analog to digital broadcasting. Please check these sites before posting equipment or reception problems to this thread.
 
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#5,554 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by VARTV /forum/post/12333790


They are still on the air with NBA basketball...

I looked for WSKY-DT while at work today in Portsmouth and could not pick it up.

Tried tonight at home in Norfolk and still no go.

Either they are off the air or have a very low power signal.

No indication of anything at either site.



I was looking at channel 9....
 
#5,555 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by George Randell /forum/post/12343747


I looked for WSKY-DT while at work today in Portsmouth and could not pick it up.

Tried tonight at home in Norfolk and still no go.

Either they are off the air or have a very low power signal.

No indication of anything at either site.



I was looking at channel 9....

I still can't receive anything. However, I did notice during the scan that it paused and thunk about rf channel 4.

I am also wondering if they are at not running full power yet. I really hope that is the case.
 
#5,556 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by George Randell /forum/post/12343747


I looked for WSKY-DT while at work today in Portsmouth and could not pick it up.

Tried tonight at home in Norfolk and still no go.

Either they are off the air or have a very low power signal.

No indication of anything at either site.



I was looking at channel 9....

Try 4 and they are at full power now... Sorry???



By the way, just checked at 10:02 and they are on the air with Different World...
 
#5,557 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by CHeath /forum/post/12344430


I still can't receive anything. However, I did notice during the scan that it paused and thunk about rf channel 4.

I am also wondering if they are at not running full power yet. I really hope that is the case.

Sorry guys... they are on 4...
 
#5,558 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by VARTV /forum/post/12344631


Sorry guys... they are on 4...

No prob. I'm more concerned that they really are at full power.


I know I've got a VHF / UHF splitter somewhere. Apparently, I'm going to have to rig up something for VHF-Lo. I knew the 'silver sensor' was ok on vhf-hi, but weak on -lo based on analog. I was hoping that it would be enough from their closer location.
 
#5,561 ·
okay so i just got a TV with a QAM tuner (olevia 237T) and i did the cable channel auto search and it found like 70 channels and 17 digital channels. So when i scroll thru the channels I come across 3-1, 10-1, 13-1, 43-1, etc... of all these, only 13-1 shows me anything the others give me no signal.. What is up? THe TV found them, are they on a different station than 3-1?? I saw some old posts that mentioned the channels being at like 80.1 or something? ANy info would be cool!!


i hooked up an antenna and got a great pic, so what gives? I want to be able to use the QAM tuner and get that same pic for all the channels, not just 13.
 
#5,562 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by thunderdogg /forum/post/12353944


okay so i just got a TV with a QAM tuner (olevia 237T) and i did the cable channel auto search and it found like 70 channels and 17 digital channels. So when i scroll thru the channels I come across 3-1, 10-1, 13-1, 43-1, etc... of all these, only 13-1 shows me anything the others give me no signal.. What is up? THe TV found them, are they on a different station than 3-1?? I saw some old posts that mentioned the channels being at like 80.1 or something? ANy info would be cool!!


i hooked up an antenna and got a great pic, so what gives? I want to be able to use the QAM tuner and get that same pic for all the channels, not just 13.

Not that this has anything to do with OTA broadcasts, but here is what the locals map to on my set over QAM with Cox:


ABC - 13-1 and 73-1

CBS - 80-1

PBS - 80-2

NBC - 106-1

FOX - 106-2
 
#5,563 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by George Randell /forum/post/12353776


I tried channel 4 and still get nothing, just an occasional flicker of the RF light.

Anyone know if this signal is from their old location on their old channel 4 antenna? I can't imagine they would have paid to put a channel 4 antenna on the new tower.....

No, they are on full-pwer from their new location in NC, just over the Chesapeake line... I've have had NO luck picking them up using rabbit ears. Tried on DirecTV STBs (H20 and HR20) and the built-in tuner in my JVC. Attic UHF antenna -- no problem...
 
#5,564 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by thejokell /forum/post/12355339


Not that this has anything to do with OTA broadcasts, but here is what the locals map to on my set over QAM with Cox:


ABC - 13-1 and 73-1

CBS - 80-1

PBS - 80-2

NBC - 106-1

FOX - 106-2


So the QAM locals are different than the standard OTA ones? that's why i'm asking this in the OTA forum, i wasn't sure if that was the case.


Did you have to manually add those channels, or did your TV find them?
 
#5,566 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by thunderdogg /forum/post/12355942


So the QAM locals are different than the standard OTA ones? that's why i'm asking this in the OTA forum, i wasn't sure if that was the case.


Did you have to manually add those channels, or did your TV find them?

The QAM locals are wherever Cox wants to put them, and the channels I listed are where they map to on my tv. The actual channels are something like 80.12543 or something like that.


My TV found those channels, as well as the 100+ other unencrypted channels used for OnDemand channels (you can sometimes catch something a neighbor is watching on them).
 
#5,567 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by George Randell /forum/post/12353776


I tried channel 4 and still get nothing, just an occasional flicker of the RF light.

Anyone know if this signal is from their old location on their old channel 4 antenna? I can't imagine they would have paid to put a channel 4 antenna on the new tower.....

The latest info I had from the frequency coordinator was that WSKY-DT was staying on 4. They were slated to do a hot switch from analog to digital.


Channel 4: (pilot carrier: 66.31MHz)

Location Call ERP HAAT Net Status Permanent ch. Notes

NC Manteo WSKY-DT 12,000 274 ind CP 4 (flash cut)
 
#5,568 ·
Is anyone having any problems with 43-1 WVBT? I think it started for me last night. The signal level has dropped considerably (low 90s to now mid 60s), and I lose the signal often. This was always one of my steadiest channels. Nothing has changed in my setup and all of my other stations are fine.
 
#5,569 ·
I am using a HR 10-250 with an an outdoor antenna and am about 15 miles from the Suffolk towers. For the last week, any HD (Chuck, My Name is Earl, etc has been freezing every 10 secs to 30 secs. Before I start tearing my setup apart and cleaning connections, is anybody else having OTA issues with WAVY 10-1 lately?


The signal strength also drops out and I get a flicker of a "searching for signal" occasionally. When all is good, the signal is in the eighties on both tuners.


I am also using an HDMI cable at 1080i connected to a Mitsubishi DLP in case it matters.
 
#5,570 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Newbie1080i /forum/post/12390274


I am using a HR 10-250 with an an outdoor antenna and am about 15 miles from the Suffolk towers. For the last week, any HD (Chuck, My Name is Earl, etc has been freezing every 10 secs to 30 secs. Before I start tearing my setup apart and cleaning connections, is anybody else having OTA issues with WAVY 10-1 lately?


The signal strength also drops out and I get a flicker of a "searching for signal" occasionally. When all is good, the signal is in the eighties on both tuners.


I am also using an HDMI cable at 1080i connected to a Mitsubishi DLP in case it matters.

I don't know how long you have had your HR 10-250, but recent ones are all rebuilds to the best of my knowledge. I originally had a new one when I was with D* and then had numerous rebuilds shipped in from D*. Some of the problems were as you described. I could never get one to work for very long after the first (original one) failed. One of the reasons I shifted over to FiOS.
 
#5,571 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Newbie1080i /forum/post/12390274


I am using a HR 10-250 with an an outdoor antenna and am about 15 miles from the Suffolk towers. For the last week, any HD (Chuck, My Name is Earl, etc has been freezing every 10 secs to 30 secs. Before I start tearing my setup apart and cleaning connections, is anybody else having OTA issues with WAVY 10-1 lately?


The signal strength also drops out and I get a flicker of a "searching for signal" occasionally. When all is good, the signal is in the eighties on both tuners.


I am also using an HDMI cable at 1080i connected to a Mitsubishi DLP in case it matters.

Yes, I had major problems with 10-1 starting about 3 weeks ago on my HR10-250. Then last week it started coming in better, but then the thing died over the weekend, saying it was overheating. I've ordered a new power supply that will hopefully fix it. But the past few days, I've started having problems with 10-1 on my HR20. 10-1 has been about my best OTA channel for the past couple of years too.
 
#5,572 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Newbie1080i /forum/post/12390274


I am using a HR 10-250 with an an outdoor antenna and am about 15 miles from the Suffolk towers. For the last week, any HD (Chuck, My Name is Earl, etc has been freezing every 10 secs to 30 secs. Before I start tearing my setup apart and cleaning connections, is anybody else having OTA issues with WAVY 10-1 lately?


The signal strength also drops out and I get a flicker of a "searching for signal" occasionally. When all is good, the signal is in the eighties on both tuners.


I am also using an HDMI cable at 1080i connected to a Mitsubishi DLP in case it matters.

WAVY's been fine OTA on my 'puter.

IIRC, some of those D* units were quite problematic until after a firmware revision (or two or three).
 
#5,573 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Todd /forum/post/12390960


Yes, I had major problems with 10-1 starting about 3 weeks ago on my HR10-250. Then last week it started coming in better, but then the thing died over the weekend, saying it was overheating. I've ordered a new power supply that will hopefully fix it. But the past few days, I've started having problems with 10-1 on my HR20. 10-1 has been about my best OTA channel for the past couple of years too.

All,


Thanks for the replies.


Todd,


That is about when I started having problems, however it has not resolved. I am watching it right now and having the issue on both tuners. I checked it against the internal tuners on my tv and a Samsung HD I have that is years old. It seems to be isolated to the Tivo.


Hilltop,


Second unit after a HD failure. It is about 20 months old. I assume if it was the HD failing, it wouldn't be just NBC. I have been drooling over a new HR21 lately, but figure if it ain't broke... Some people are getting upgraded for free and keeping their HR10s. If you need advice on where to find threads regarding this, PM me and I will send you a link.


CHeath,


Regarding firmware revisions, are you speaking of the software version? If so, I have been running 6.3e for a while now (at least since before the probs started) and am looking into tivocommunity for answers as well.


I have seen postings about "toxic" channels, but don't necessarily understand all that is going on with that label yet. I figure the most likely cause is multipath or similar reception problems since the leaves are starting to fall.
 
#5,574 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Newbie1080i /forum/post/12397646


I have been drooling over a new HR21 lately, but figure if it ain't broke... Some people are getting upgraded for free and keeping their HR10s.

Just remember, the HR21 DOES NOT have an OTA tuner.

You will need that in this area.

You should be looking at the HR20, with the dual OTA tuners


I was using the HR10-250 for 3 years before I got my HR20.

I never let it do the 6.xx software upgrade. It was still running Ver 3.15f when I un plugged it.

It was working trouble free also.

I got the HR20 and 5LNB dish for free and I kept the HR10-250.

One day I will hook it up in the bedroom.

The software 6.xx is what killed all of the HR10's. Most running 3,15f still work flawlessly
 
#5,575 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Newbie1080i /forum/post/12397646


Hilltop,

Second unit after a HD failure. It is about 20 months old. I assume if it was the HD failing, it wouldn't be just NBC. I have been drooling over a new HR21 lately, but figure if it ain't broke... Some people are getting upgraded for free and keeping their HR10s. If you need advice on where to find threads regarding this, PM me and I will send you a link.

Thanks, but no thanks. I no longer have D* nor that DVR. I now have FiOS with a separate Series 3 HD TiVO.
 
#5,576 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by obxdiver /forum/post/12397984


Just remember, the HR21 DOES NOT have an OTA tuner.

You will need that in this area.

You should be looking at the HR20, with the dual OTA tuners


I was using the HR10-250 for 3 years before I got my HR20.

I never let it do the 6.xx software upgrade. It was still running Ver 3.15f when I un plugged it.

It was working trouble free also.

I got the HR20 and 5LNB dish for free and I kept the HR10-250.

One day I will hook it up in the bedroom.

The software 6.xx is what killed all of the HR10's. Most running 3,15f still work flawlessly

Thanks. I meant the HR20. It is a shame you cannot get Dtv to guarantee which unit you get on install.


I just took it apart and exercised the connections going from the internal splitter to the tuners. It appears that I am now getting around 71% with occasional drop out about once a minute. All, thanks for helping me t/s. Unless anyone thinks it is on WAVY's end, I will move this discussion to a hardware thread. It looks like a trip up the ladder to the roof is in my future. I have been wanting a reason to buy a different antenna. I have a 50 mile radius Channel Master VHF/UHF type. It is fairly directional and I remember I had a choice between getting 43and 10 or the others well.
 
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