Harrisburg, PA - HDTV - Page 2

Well, it looks like we won't be seeing CBS at full power anytime soon (sigh....). I understand why WHP is doing this, but it still kind of bites.

Here's the info. I copied the e-mail I received from Rob Hershey, one of the station engineers.


Hi David

I will try to email you when we do the next test. My boss talked to Comcast
today about yesterday's test and they said they had a lot of phone calls and would continue to work on fixing the problem areas. We will continue to help Comcast out with low power test and that will delay us from going full power and full time for it looks like weeks. I am very sorry about this.
Thanks for the link. I am very pleased to see the interest in our two
stations. We are doing the RF test on WLYH DTV next week.

I was reading the emails about me saying "we'll be on the air in about two
weeks" from about Dec. of last year. I wish I would not have said that,
but that is what the transmitter builder was telling me. I should have
known better.


Thanks
Rob Hershey
Director of Engineering
WHP/WLYH Television
3300 North 6TH Street
Harrisburg, PA 17110
(717) 238-2100 Fax (717) 236-0198
E-Mail rhershey@whptv.com

Dear Scott and Dave

Re: Channel 27 and their digital frequency.

I read in a trade magazine about six months ago ,( don't recall
which one, perhaps Broadcasting Engineering) that WHTM had
applied for the channel 10 frequency. Have not heard anything
since. It's rather doubtful whether they will be granted it.
Channel 10 in Philly will undoubtedly switch to digital channel
10 when the analog band is officially dropped, and they will
relinquish the UHF digital channel. Channel 10 now drops a
strong grade B signal as far as Reading. There may be inter-
ference problems. Channel 8 in Lancaster will also in all
probablity drop their channel 58 digital frequency in favor of
channel 8 digital in a few years. I believe channel 27 may be
stuck with a permanent UHF digital assignment.
I do hope though that this will not be the case. I would like
to see this market turned into a competitive VHF digital
market with the old major networks (NBC,CBS,ABC) all on the
VHF band. I would bet this frightens WGAL a bit. They have
been the Lone Ranger of VHF television since the late 1940's.
Regarding Over the Air receiving antennas: An excellent UHF
antenna is made by Winegard. Model Chromstar Ch series.
Channel Master did make an excellent VHF antenna called
the Quantum series. You could also try Winegard's top of the
Line VHF. Do not buy the pre-amp until you see what the
antenna can pull alone. Yes, you will need a rotor. Channel
Master makes an excellent brand. Good luck.


Tim
New Freedom,PA

Joe, I also received an e-mail from Danielle DeRitis a week or so ago (sorry, I don't have it anymore or I'd post it) and she said the low power on/off situation would last for weeks. No other information than that.

My understanding was that the interference was enough to knock WHTM out completely. #%$& cheap cable!

I tried to watch CSI on WHP digital last night. Actually I did watch the program, but the dropouts were killing me. Beautiful HD picture for 5 - 10 minutes, then the screen would either go blank or freeze or go "blocky." Sound never quit.

Anyone know if they are now running full power? No matter where I point my antenna, I can't do better than 74% on my Dish 6000.

I recently put up a chimney mount and still can't get WGAL Digital. UPN 15 comes in great. And analog signals are quite good (look like crap in my HT of course). In fact, with the chimney mount, I can even get VHS channels I never knew were there!

I think I bought the wrong Radio Shack antenna. It doesn't have a UHF bow tie on it & it is quite small. Shouldn't affect WHP (being VHF). Going to upgrade the antenna in a week or two & see what that does for me.

John,

I've had the same problems with channel 4 CBS-DT also. There are numerous dropouts and block artifacts making the program unwatchable. I guess we need to call them and let them know. Is anyone else out there having the same problems?

John, where are you located in PA? How far are you from the towers?

I'm in Camp Hill, near the country club. Receiving WHP should be a no-brainer from here. I sent a very friendly email to WHP telling them about my problems. Just sent it this morning, so it may be a little while until I hear back from them.

Never heard back from WHP but their signal seems a lot more consistent these days. Today WITF is on the fritz. Channel surfing around 1PM and couldn't lock onto a signal.

Antenna upgrade scheduled for next week. Hopefully that will yield a usable signal from WGAL.

Where is the transmitter for WHP-DT? I am in Lancaster. I get WGAL and WITF with no problem. I can also pick up Phila. and Baltimore stations but I can't get 4-1 or any other digital 4 reception.
Brian

Is WHP sending the HD signals? I just got an antenna up on the roof and for the first time I am able to pull it in. I watched a little bit of prime time last night which was supposed to be in HD, but the quality level didn't seem anywhere near what HD Net comes in at. It looked like DVD level at best. I also still can't pull in WITF which I used to be able to pull in back in Feb. I thought I would at least get a stronger signal with the antenna up on the roof with a preamp. I only go between unlocked and 3 on my E86.

Anybody know when ABC will be going digital in our area? I was hoping it would be up by the time the new shows started but now I am just hoping to watch the Super Bowl in HD. TITANTV has them listed as AWAITING FCC PERMIT for the last couple of months.

That is the 2nd post I have read about the infamous "switch". A guy on another forum from S.C. had to call and have filp the switch at his CBS affiliate last Saturday. Pretty low tech, huh!

[quote]Originally posted by DHarp193

Dave Harper in Elizabethtown? Do you do calibrations in Hershey? Thanks!

For anyone in the Hershey/Hummelstown area...

I'm located near Waltonville Road south of Roush Road, that is, I'm blocked by a ridge which prevents me from getting a line-of-sight view of the various transmitters located north of Harrisburg.

However, from the digital stations, I do get usable signals from:

WHP Digital Channel 4 (CBS)
WGCB Digital Channel 30 (independent)
WJZ Digital Channel 38 (CBS)
WMAR Digital Channel 52 (ABC)
WGAL Digital Channel 58 (NBC)

If I aimed its direction, I could also get a usable signal from WLYH Digital Channel 23. I cannot get WITF's digital signal under any circumstances. I cannot get WHTM's digital signal, but I'm not sure whether it's actually broadcasting yet.

I have two antennas located in my attic:

- a large UHF/VHF/FM Channel Master aimed roughly northwest
- a "four-bay, bow-tie" UHF-only Channel Master aimed roughly south

The bow-tie has a pre-amp. The antennas are combined using a Winegard joiner.

Finally, the WMAR signal will, occasionally, drop slightly below usable levels, and I'm hoping to do some fine tuning of the aim to resolve that problem.

Any news on Fox 43 digital? They were suposed to go live on October 1st. Titan has them now under review. I know it isn't HD but digital sure beats analog! I was hoping at least to get Sunday football in better.

No luck...

At 5:00 p.m. I checked for a WPMT digital signal (channel 47) and got zero. I'm very well positioned to receive it, and so, I'll assume WPMT was not transmitting digital at that moment.

Well, it doesn't look like we'll be getting WHTM digital any time soon. I received this message from WHTM today:

"abc27 does not have a date for broadcasting in digital as of yet. We are still awaiting a channel assignment from the FCC, which we need in order to move forward."

Alas, more bad news on the local digital front. Today, the Titan TV station database shows that WPMT digital is now not scheduled to go live until January 1, 2003.

A bit off-topic...

Anyone in the Harrisburg area have any experience with any local ISF technicians? I'm looking for someone to calibrate my RCA.

Thanks!

Thanks for the Fox 43 information! Also note that WGAL-DT (58) has been having a variety of audio problems. Sometimes the local audio feed is missing. Sometimes the national audio feed is severely out-of-sync with the video.

As for my 38310 ... It appears to be one of the later "YX5" models, and so far, it's been a joy. No problems of any kind, except for the well known fan annoyance. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

As for my signal strengths ... I've made some changes to my antenna rig since my earlier post (above). Now, I am using only one antenna, the Channel Master four-bay bow-tie, aimed roughly south at the Lancaster/York/Baltimore stations. (I've given up on WHP-DT 4.)

With that new rig, my signal stengths on the Baltimore stations are higher, but still highly dependent on the weather. Channel 52 (WMAR-DT, ABC) will vary from 38 in rain to 48 in clear weather.

Enjoy,
Dave

FYI, I just received this message from WGAL:

Thanks for your report. We have located the source of the problem that you
reported and have restored Channel 58 to normal audio operation. The
problem was caused by a incorrect setting on our HD router. The audio was
locked on to one source while the video was changed. We don't know exactly
when this setting was changed but it may have been the result of an
automation setting. NBC is now offering upconverted NTSC programs as well
as HD programs to us and we are taking advantage of their feed (it is
better than our upconversion). That means that the HD feed is switched many
times during the day and there may be problems that we are not yet aware
of.

[quote]Originally posted by dbuffington

Hi Dave!!!

Sorry, I just stumbled on this thread again today for the first time in a while.

Yes, I can do calibrations in Hershey. That would be a welcome trip as most of my work has been pretty far away (Waldorf, MD and Columbus, OH this past weekend )

Be advised though that I don't have the mentioned "Chipper-Check" software on my laptop as of yet. Have you tried R.T. Grim Electronics in Camp Hill??? I used to manage there and I know they are authorized RCA servicers.

Give me a call or email if you have any questions:

(717)877-4125
harperhometheater@comcast.net

Thanks for the info regarding local HD...I've been wondering what's been up around here!!!