San Antonio, TX - HDTV - Page 135

Hello everyone, I am having trouble tuning in channel 2 (CW) from NE San Antonio (near Windsor Park Mall).

I have a Winegard MS-2002 antenna connected to two Hauppauge HVR-1600 cards in a computer. I am using BeyondTV software. Every other channel in the area works just fine, but I get zero signal from the CW.

Any ideas? Anything I should try?

KCWX at almost 50 miles north is the biggest challenge of the "local" DTVs to get. In most cases this far away it might require a directional antenna pointed their way. Also, being the only local DTV on lo-VHF it is more subject to various kinds of interference that could prevent a decode (and an amplified antenna wont "cure" that situation, and in some cases may actually make it worse). Realizing all this, they have applied for a Ch 8 translator in town http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-serv...LD1328399.html (the highly-directional pattern is to protect the Ch 8 in Corpus Christi, KIII).

A VERY special thank you to REALTHOUGUE for his time and effort troubleshooting my OTA reception in Elm Creek cove, and on a holiday none the less! With the use of his spectrum analyzer he was able to determine the following:
1. Overall low signal strength as I live in a valley for UHF transmissions, little to none for VHF channels (9,12).
2. Low noise up to the power supply inside the house which powers an amplifier on the OTA antenna mast.
3. Increased noise from a 2nd amplifier to a passive 4-way splitter in house. 2nd amp was bypassed and the signal strength increased on UHF channels on the (plasma) TV tuner, but decreased strength on the RCA D/A box, but was still able to receive them. Still no usable VHF signals for channels 9,12. on either the tv tuner or D/A box.
4. No VHF signal because the amplifier on the antenna mast is UHF only!
This system was installed in spring of 98 by Viking satellite located in Lakehills (now out of business). So far I've removed a signal combiner (not used), a 2nd 25db amplifier which overpowered and distorted the signal/noise, replaced the coax inside and out with Quad shielding due to CB interference received before the digital conversion. Now I need to replace the antenna's amp to bring in channels 9 and 12. It appears my setup was mickey moused from the get go, to include a splice (not a splitter) on the old coax cable!

Jerry you went above and beyond, and hobbiests like myself appreciate you and your expertise both in this forum and in your many travels. Thank you again, I hope KENS5 appreciates valuable asset to their organization, you! ERIN GO BRAGH (or BRAUGH as you wish)!

Scott,

as WA5IYX points out, you are 50 miles from the KCWX transmitter. That, and the omnidirectional nature of the MS-2002 both work against you in your efforts to receive The CW. In the analog days I never could get a decent signal on channel 2 or channel 5 on MS-2002 antennas installed on our trucks. I think the VHF components in the MetroStar are just too small. To help solve your problem you might try an inexpensive (<$17.00) VHF antenna like the Antenna Craft CS600.

http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?prod=CS600

Place it 6 to 10 feet away from the MS-2002 and run a separate coax from it to a combiner. Take the RF out from the Winegard power supply into one side of the combiner and the VHF antenna RF into the other side and try it. You may not even need a preamp if you can get the antenna high enough. Winegard sells inexpensive preamps that can help bring in the signal. The antenna mentioned is only a suggestion; there are others that may work just as well, but your MetroStar probably will not do the job.

At KENS we use a Yagi-style VHF antenna cut for channel 5 aimed northward to pick up KCWX. Without a preamp we get an acceptable signal, but using a 16 dB preamp we pull in great reception - and our channel 5 VHF antenna captures not only KCWX, but also all the San Antonio VHF and UHF stations. Being on the highest point (almost) in San Antonio doesn't hurt, either.

I am assuming that you are in a single-family home with your MS-2002 antenna mounted at or above roof level. If you are in an apartment we need to have another discussion altogether.

Thanks! I am in a single family home and I have the antenna in the attic. I was afraid that simple distance was the problem. I will try the suggestions though. Thanks a million!

How hard is it to modify the EPG for a channel ? It would certainly be useful when the network programming runs long for sporting events and displaces the rest of the evening primetime (and later) schedule.

Unfortunately, it is not an automatic process. An operator who is trained on the PSIP software would need to go into the program guide table and manually update at least the first event affected, once the program running long has ended. On weekends in particular, there is usually only one operator who has all he can do to keep up with network changes, running spot breaks (those are not automatic either) and preparing for a newscast. We are always preparing for a newscast. None of the Master Control operators are trained on the PSIP software; the Engineering Supervisor is the primary agent who keeps the program guide information up to date.

A while back the FCC tried to mandate that stations purchase new software that would "automatically" detect program overruns and adjust program guide tables appropriately - to within one minute accuracy. Problem was/is, such software did not actually exist. Updating the guide table remains a manual operation.

WOAI News in HD when?

Nice that KENS had a place (KCWX) to "dump" the Monday CBS US Open Tennis HD feed while they showed their normal syndies and news . In the news their mention of it as "KCWX Cable Channel 4" gives one a hint as to how many they presume are OTA viewers of it. Lots of dead air during the local commercial cuts since they were tailored to fit within the regular KCWX programming breaks.

Does anyone have any info about when WOAI will be going HD with their local broadcast news? It's hard to believe it's taking them this long.

DerrikM

Jeanne Jakle said in her last column that it would happen within a week. Apparently WOAI will be the first station in town to convert all of its field cameras to HD.

As for how long it has taken, scroll back a few hundred posts in this thread to where we discussed that this conversion costs each station millions of dollars.

Buckle your seatbelts -- News 4 WOAI is finally going HD at 5 tonight! We've got a beautiful new set, new editing system, new cameras...new everything.

Danny Trevino
WOAI Engineering\\Transmitter

whoo hoo!!

I'm happy 'cause the signal strength hangs around 30 db at 100% up here in Kerrville compared to a few months ago when I was lucky to see 22 db.

I'm considering a Channel Master Spartan 3 model #CM0068DSB (~$50) which comes w/a 0747 power supply. This model ALSO comes w/a builtin FM TRAP switch (IN/OUT) inside the plastic case which I'll assume will replace the unit inside the house and needs to be set the same as my FM TRAP box inside. There is another Spartan3 model (CM0265DSB) but has 2 inputs (?) and no power supply. Thoughts/recommendations?

Jerry, do you recall how far to angle up the antenna? I don't recall it being more than 10 deg? I'd like to optimize the signal while I have the unit down to replace the amp. What would be the best way to find the optimum angle w/o a spectrum analyzer?

Live just north of the airport. 2nd story apartment facing north. No view of the south possible.

Getting all OTA digital channels that I "should" be getting except for channel 12-ABC. I don't get CW, but that I expected. All of my channels are coming in with great quality including the 4 PBS channels.

Anything going on with ABC that I should be made aware of, or should I just give it up for dead?

WOAI HD broadcast looked great last night!

Is anyone else just getting stereo from WOAI?

KLRN-9 and KSAT-12 are each currently stuck with comparatively low ERP. KLRN's TL is a bit closer in (Foster Road) vs KSAT's (Elmendorf) which may account for any of their advantage in parts of town as they're both hi-VHF. As an aside, I was going comment on the KBNB-DL-10.1 poor quality video feed vs their 10.2 infomercials, but they're off air at the moment.

I have finally cancelled my DirecTV and have been trying to get all the local channels OTA over the past few days. I have a TERK Outdoor Amplified Antenna (HDTVO model). I originally mounted the antenna on the pole that supported my dish, but only got 35 & 26-1 - 26-4 (acceptable to low reception). Since moving the antenna inside and setting it on a tray table in my living room, I get all the locals (plus some analogs) with great (70% +) reception but no CW, ABC & PBS. This antenna does have an inline amplifier, and I have scanned for channels with the amp on and off, but alas, no VHF channels appeared.
I live in a one story home east of Government Canyon (Silver Oaks subdivision between Culebra and Shaenfield/Galm). Home faces east, and mounting antenna on front porch probably won't fly with HOA and a tree in the direction of the broadcasts.

Is there something I can do for the VHF channels without buying a new antenna and getting on my roof again? I can live without PBS and the CW, but my wife and I watch ABC more than the other locals.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Having to beam thru those several 100-kw FM stations on that Galm Road 1100' tower may be part of the problem. (The KMYS TL is at Lake Hills near Medina Lake while 26's is west of the lake - all very close vs everything else.) An amplified antenna (w/o an FM trap) may be getting overloaded by those FM stations and producing spurious signals that could prevent hi-VHF (i.e., 9 and 12) DTV from decoding. KCWX with their TL up north might require a dedicated antenna beamed at them.

Same thing here for me last night.

TXMAN,

Any update on progress of audio fixes at WOAI?

Sure; the CM0265DSB is for folks with a separate UHF and VHF antenna. All you need is the CM0068SDB to capture the VHF's. Do set the FM trap to IN; as WA5IYX points out, you are looking through an RF soup of several 100kW FM stations at 1604 and Galm Road on your way to see the tall towers at Elmendorf.


I don't think you need to bother with any inclination of your antenna; no more than 5 degrees up if you want to experiment, though. Too high can cause problems for you when variable-e and tropo ducting conditions are favorable, bringing in distant stations that can block the local ones you want to see!

Would you suggest an FM trap or a dedicated antenna? I am new to this so any advice you give would be invaluable.

You'd need the FM trap on the antenna/pre-amplifier that you're trying to get Ch 9 and 12 with (they're c. 30-35 mi s.e. from out there). A separate hi-VHF antenna would cut down on the FM pickup to a degree (174-216 MHz vs 88-108 MHz). Since the bearing for KCWX from there is almost at a 90-deg angle from them (near north) unless you're using a combination hi-low VHF/UHF antenna with a rotator it would null them. With KCWX (76-82 MHz) at 40-45 miles the best bet for them is a lo-VHF antenna beamed at them. I'll leave it others to suggest best makes/models - I've and ancient (1973) Archer V-100 (hi-low VHF) and a new (2008) CM-4228, each c. 20' AGL on separate rotors since I do TV-DX with them. http://www.qsl.net/wa5iyx/wa5iyx-dtv.txt
http://www.rabbitears.info/dxlocation.php?id=79

I don't think so. I watched the 6 pm news friday night and david was on the scene of some football thing to give away stuff and that wasn't a HD picture. It was a strecthed SD picture. I don't know why when every station switchs something to HD they stretch their standard picture to make it look like HD. The stuff filmed in the studio really in HD looked great.
By the way I sure hope those new ugly HD channel icons in the right hand corner that keep changing ever 10 seconds or so will leave soon. I don't need an Icon to tell me if I have HD or not. It is really distracting when watching a nice picture to have this ugly icon there. You should watch your news brodcast, Those large banners take up to much of the screen. You have a great HD picture, expect when in the field, so why cover must of the bottom half with a huge banner. Your parent network does the same with the Today show. I can understand a thin banner at the bottom the size of the words you are showing but you don't need them surrounded by fancy colors and designs. Thanks for what you do just wanted to give you some viewer feedback.

Hi - I'm looking to drop my DBS system and was planning on installing a TV antenna - I live near DeZavala and I10. I've read through a lot of this thread (maybe 10-20 pages or so) looking for folks that live in my area. I see a bunch of references to the "Radio Shack 85inch" antenna but can't find one with that description on their website.

I've played around with an RCA 800 box, and am planning on building a DVR computer with a Hauppauge QAM tuner.

I had a couple of questions I was hoping someone could help me with-

1) Would this antenna (Channel Master CM 3016) be a good choice for my location? Antennaweb lists me around 28 miles to several UHF stations (some of which I've picked up with makeshift antennas already)

solidsignal.com/pview.asp?p=ANC3016

Or is there another model that would work better and not be very expensive?

2) what kinds of mast/mounts are good for faschia boards? Or do I really need to do a roof mount (if so, which one??) How high above the roof level (as measured from the edge of the roof) is needed?

3) Is there any harm in mounting the antenna within a few feet of a DBS dish, or do I need to space the TV antenna away from the DBS dish or take the dish down?

4) antenna web suggests a medium, directional antenna with preamp,so I was thinking also of adding the Winegard HDP 269 as I think it will not overload when there is a strong signal. Is this worth doing, and if so, is this a good model?

amazon.com/Winegard-HDP-269-Input-Amplifier-Antenna/dp/B001DFS4C2/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1253387747&sr=8-4#moreAboutThisProduct

5) with a makeshift antenna, I've been able to get stations 5(sometimes) 16,17, 29 (Sometimes), 35 and a couple of others. With a 'real' antenna, is it realistic to get all standard SA stations, including 4,9,and 12 from my area(I think yes but...)?

Thanks for any help!!!

ARTX99,

Do you know which card you are buying. Only thing don't waste your money on the full kit. By this I mean one with a remote control. Hauppauge no longer includes the USB receiver for them. They include a receiver that doesn't work. I sent them around 15 complaints and they finally sent me want the ad said I would get (the USB receiver) and it works great. But the 2250 card works great. I think you saw my reference to the 85" Radio Shack antenna. They have replaced the one I bought with this one:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...&tab=techSpecs
I use BeyondTV 4 for my DVR software and it works great. I currenty have 5 HDTV receivers in my box. The max you will be able to run in Windows 7 will be 3. Software can be demo for 1 month at www.snapstream.com. If you decide to buy it be sure to ask them to move your account to your paid copy other wise you won't get full functionality.

Danny,

Thanks for the update, good to know you guys are working on it