Los Angeles, CA - OTA - Page 14

I can't seem to find a North San Diego post, so I think this one may have the most people in the same bind I am - not too close to either SD or LA. I am opposite in that I am closer to SD, but otherwise the same. I am up on a hill, and there is no HOA or even nearby neighbors, so I can put up a "major" antenna without any fear of repercussions.

After doing some research on this board and other boards, as far as I can tell this may be good for what I need:

CM3671 (antenna)
CM9521 (rotor)
CM7777 (pre-amp)

Even for just SD channels I don't think multi-directional would work - I'm too far away. So I think a directional one that I can rotate would work best. Does anyone have a setup like this? Does it work well? Right now I have Cox, and I hate them with a passion, so I'm thinking of getting DirecTV, which is why I'm also looking for an antenna setup.

Along these lines, is there a recommended box for combining DirecTV and Antenna signals?

Thanks in advance.

Go with a Channel Master model 4221 and point it due south. It has high gain and about a 60degree beam-width capable of receiving all the San Diego stations from North County with no rotor. You can add the CM7777 preamp if you need it.

it took me some time to find a general thread addressing ota hd for so cal, but here it is. im in sherman oaks (91411) and just recently got my zenith hdv420 and zenith silver sensor. since watching my first sporting event (superbowl) in HD, im hooked! i've been trying to get local independent KCAL 9 (laker games) but just cant get my receiver/antenna to pick it up. i've tried with the antenna in the viewing room, outside, in the attic.... just no luck. anybody out there got any tips/tricks that i may try to get KCAL?? i also dont get UPN, but there is nothing on UPN that i wish to watch....

I'm too far away to give you any tricks, but just wanted to make sure you knew that both KCAL-DT and KCOP-DT are SD only. If you already get them from cable or DBS, it might not be worth the trouble to mess with your antenna.

thanks fletch. i guess i should be happy with the channels i receive already with an indoor antenna. at least after reading the forum, i didnt make the mistake of getting the terk 55! i wonder if getting the roof mounted antenna (channel master) would really make a difference....

KCAL only turns on the digital transmitter in the evenings, so try between 6 & 11pm. I'm in Sherman Oaks also and the only one thats tricky for me is KCOP, I really need to play with the antenna for that one. No big deal as they don't do any HD and their SD quality sucks and looks no better than cable or DirecTV.

Tony

thanks alot for you input tony. i was really looking for some feedback from somone that lives in the same area. i was really hoping that the KCAL broadcast of laker games in DTV was significantly better, but i guess that was wishful thinking. i currently watch the games off my directivo and on my pioneer 503cmx plasma display and i must say the SD broadcast really looks terrible.. no matter if i have the screen set to wide, full, 4:3, it really still looks like sh*t.... i guess i will play around with my antenna and see for myself how much a dissappointment the KCAL local DTV broadcasts look. thanks again.

Please update your location in your profile to receive local feedback.

KCAL, like KCBS (they are owned by the same company and share some facilities) upconverts to 1080i with black sidebars on 9.1 so if your zoom can deal with that, you may see an improvement. They used to also broadcast 480i on 9.2 but I'm not sure if they are still doing that.

KCOP broadcasts 480i and looks pretty much the same as DirecTV.

Tony

So ABC only broadcasts in 720, eh? My Sony WS5700 with Zenith 420HDV, pulling in signal from CM 4228 to my place near Disneyland, in Anaheim, CA, will not pick up Channel 7 or 9. I just figured out why not ABC, that Sony does not "do" 720. Strange thing was, when I first got the unit last week, I tried a RS amplified indoor antenna, "just to see," and it picked up Channels 34 and 52. Now, these are both on the same bearing and distance as almost every HD tower in SoCal. Are they pumping out more wattage, like those AM radio stations that sit just across the border and broadcast at 100,000 watts? I get all the other stations very nicely.

I'm not familiar with the 420, but are saying that it can't convert the 720p signal to 1080i?

As noted above KCAL-DT only transmits from 6-11 PM. What time of day did you try it? I know people in San Clemente who can receive it fine. You should have no trouble unless you have some kind of obstruction.

wow, people from san clemente can receive KCAL?!? i have to try messing around with my silver sensor a little more then. i also have the zenith hdv420 and i believe the resolution can be set to 1080/720/480. the 1080 and the 720 are active through the component jacks and the 480 is through the composites. i have left the resolution set to 1080 and have not noticed any trouble. im not sure if it upconverts a native 720 signal to 1080 though

The problem is with the Sony television, viz. 720 not being shown. I did check the evening signal for KCAL, it is fine, thanks for the correction.

If the output of The Zenith 420 is set to 1080i, it will upconvert everything that is not natively 1080i to that resolution. You don't need to worry about the fact that KABC is 720p or KTTV is 480p, it will deal with it. If you can get other LA stations but not KABC, its an antenna thing. Try a preamp perhaps?.

Tony

could a preamp used w/ my silver sensor help receive KCAL? if so, what make/model do you recommend?

Regarding pre-amp, yes, I suppose I could try that. I was just a bit flummoxed that KABC is on the exact same bearing and distance as all the others, and would have thought it would put out enough power to be clean, especially if folks south of me are able to receive it.

Kabc has the lowest powered transmitter in the Los Angeles area for DTV.

I can believe that. KMEX must have the highest-powered, since I got it clear with an indoor antenna that would not get me any of the others (except 52).

thanks

That's an understatement, they put out half the power of the other networks, 182kw last time I checked compare to over 400kw for NBC. I can not get KABC. It barely nudges the signal meter on my LG stb. I'm in Laguna Niguel near the 5 fwy. I'm thinking of getting a second antenna pointed south to see if I can pickup KGTV (ABC) in San Diego. I'm using probably one of the largest Winegard antenna's and their most powerful amp.

The problem with digital reception is almost always multipath (ghosting or multiple images on an analog set...), not gain (low gain = snow on an analog picture...). Because of this, typical high-gain antennas don't necessarily work any better than a inexpensive lower-gain model, especially if the cheaper unit is more directional. The reason the SS works so well, even down here in Orange County, is because of its directionality.

As for amplifiers, again big expensive high-gain amps/preamps may actually make it harder for a digital receiver to lock onto the signal, if the noise factor for that amp is not very low (2.0dB or less...). All that is really needed is enough of a gain improvement that the receiver can differentiate the real signal from the reflections. I've found two work well for me, the CM 7775 preamp and the RS 1171 cable distrbution amplifier (may be out of production now...).

Another combo that works well is the RS indoor amplified unit that has the squarish reflector and two "D"-shaped elements. I think there is a new part number for this but I believe all they did was add "HDTV compatible" on the box. Anyway, I use one on these in a loft looking out a skylight window in the living room towards Mt Wilson, which is 60 miles from here, connected to both a Zenith HDV-420 and a PC with a MyHD card. I've had droppout-free reception with this setup for well over a year now.

-- Gary

after messing around w/ my zenith SS for a couple hrs this weekend, i still am unable to receive KCAL...... will a CM 7775 improve the situation? if so, where can you buy one and for how much?

The only place I've ever found the CM 7775's at is either www.starkelectronic.com or www.warrenelectronics.com and it is about $50 I think. RS used to have the 15-1171 "BiDirectional Cable Amplifier" but they must not sell it anymore as this was the only reference I could find to it on their website.

-- Gary

darn. its out of stock at stark electronics. i checked the radio shack web site and i do see a pre amp

http://www.radioshack.com/product.as...5Fid=15%2D1109

has anyone used this unit before with acceptable results? i would much rather pick something up B&M and be able to try and return it the same day versus ordering online and having to wait and possibly pay for shipping to return also..... what to do!

Sorry, but this unit is junk! It has a noise factor greater than 5dB. There isn't a single amp or preamp in RS' whole catalog that will work. Sorry!

I've purchased a ton of stuff from Warren Electronics. Always got the stuff within a couple of days and they always had what I needed in stock.

-- Gary

okay. thanks for the input. glad to find out that this is RS crap. i tried stark electronics but they are out of stock. i guess i will check warren electronics and hope for the best. thanks again!

Has anybody else in the Los Angeles area had any trouble receiving KCET and CBS OTA in the past few days? They are both normally rock solid at my location (Encino), but over the weekend I had terrible reception on CBS and no signal at all on KCET.

I'm getting every other station I usually receive, with no trouble and very strong signals. Likewise, VHF and UHF analog reception (off the same antenna) is perfectly fine.

I suspect it's related to the stormy conditions we've been having, but it seems odd that I'm having no trouble with other stations.

im in sherman oaks and i remember channel surfing thru cbs on fri night and yesterday afternooon and my cbs was there like normal. i did anticipate the bad weather to interfere but it hasnt as bad as the high winds from a month ago. the winds caused drops on my fox and nbc but the rain hasnt caused much of a problem....

Thanks for the info. Yep, the winds blew my antenna every which way, but I've since guyed it more securely and it's still pointing straight at Mt. Wilson. Maybe I've got a bad connection somewhere that is aggravated by moisture, but it seems odd that only two channels are affected.

We're very close to each other, and I'd be curious to know if your KCET-HD reception is okay. I can still tune CBS, although it pixelates badly. I get no signal at all on KCET.

i think i tried KCET once just to see it fire up after the initial check of available stations. i will try to see how the KCET reception is tonight and post if and how good the signal is from KCET. FYI, i am only using a zenith silver sensor w/ zenith hdv420.

No problems here.