Champaign, IL - HDTV - Page 2

dynamohum1

I checked last night and I can receive channel 28-2, fox from bloomington, I have an antenna in my attic and it is pointed to peoria so that may be a part of the problem. I only recieved it with a strenth of 34, and it was having problems with pixilization. I also checked and could not recieve any of the champaign digital staions. I may go up into the attic and adjust the antenna, and point it to champaign but that will not be until this weekend.

So there is a signal, I cannot get 1 blip on my meter 22 miles away pointed right at the transmitter, they are at 120 feet and are supposed to raise the antenna to 300 feet very soon so maybe then. I would suggest a rotor in your location, with all of your directional options.

While I would love to try a rotor, my Homeowners association does not allow for outdoor antennas, hence the attic mount of the antenna. My attic is full of rafters and re aiming the antenna is a pain which is why I will not be able to give it a try until the weekend. I did try removing the antenna coax from the antenna A input on my dtc100 and using a handheld rabbit ears, but did not get any signal then. I may try that with the Champaign stations (48) this weekend. I will let you know.

Actually, your homeowners association cannot legally prohibit a rooftop TV reception antenna; FCC rules pre-empt restrictive covenants against outdoor TV reception antennas (and dishes less than 1 meter in diameter). So if you wanted to put up an outside antenna, you could do so (though you'd have to be prepared for a long educational session with your HOA; some folks just don't want to believe what they read).

John C.

Hi,

Just a little update from Mahomet.
I now have my dish and T-160 hooked up to my Hitachi.

Right now, my set top indoor antenna (hoop and rabbit ears) is pulling in a good signal and pictures of 17-1 WANDDT and 3-1 WCIADT (I am guessing they are SD 480p 4x3 (possibly and upconvert??).
I would rate the picture at the moment as better than most analog or D** pictures, but probably not as good as dvd.
I am using the Samsung t-160. I must say that HBO HD and HDNET on d** look awesome. I hope we get some OTA HD before too long!

I am going to try some of the other channels mentioned now, and will probably get a UHF Radio Shack antenna to play with.... After that, I guess I will choose an outdoor antenna. Are there any special ones for this area?

Dave

Isn't ABC carrying the Super Bowl this year? If so, does anyone know if WAND will be broadcasting it.

My projector will be here in three weeks and I might buy an HDTV receiver, only to return it after the event. I have Dish Network and am waiting on their new HDTV receiver with built-in PVR.

I just visited WAND's site and there is an engineering note that they will be broadcasting in 720P by the end of the month. Looks like power is only at 350KW so it may be a waste of time for me.

Donnie

Does WAND pass any HD now? As for antenna choices I am in Peoria and I use a Televes DAT75 with very good results and I will be watching the Superbowl on WQAD from 60+ miles with perfect reception. For those interested, the Antenna and Tower crew arrived yesterday ant KWQC NBC's tower to install a shared antenna for the FOX and NBC affiliates in the quad cities. The Tower is in the same location as WQAD and both stations will start with at least 500,000 watts and the ability to pass network digital at HD/SD or whatever is sent to them. If you are pointing to the northwest WQAD is on 38.1 .2 .3 and NBC will be 56 FOX on 49 .
edited to add this link http://www.kwqc.com/Global/category.asp?C=35186

Hi,

Well, That is good news on the Superbowl and WAND (17-1)... It would be great if they are passing HD soon. I get them solid right now on SD.... I must say that the picture quality of WAND in SD is only so so at the moment.

but as noted above, per their web page "We are scheduled to begin HDTV Broadcasting 720P before the end of the month."


Surprising to me, WBUI-DT on 23-1 (WB network) appears to have an Excellent SD picture with great 'presence'. It looks like downresed HD, and this is the station I get the weakest signal on. This one shows up as under review on Titan, but I seem to get it every time I check.

I am also getting 3-1 which seems to alternate between CBS (WCIADT) and UPN (if I remember right). It looks pretty good.

I cannot find a trace of these three which Titan TV shows (with my indoor antenna). Can anyone confirm if they are on the air? I am considering which outdoor or attic UHF antenna I should try (if there are channels to go after).
43-1 WYZZDT Fox (ch. 28) (per Titan) but 28-1 or -2 per this thread.
15-1 WICDDT NBC (ch. 41)
20-1 WICSDT NBC (ch. 42)
also cannot find WRSPDT ch 44? Fox

If anyone has more info on who is up, please share!

Regards,
David
I edited this a bit to make it more complete....

WYZZ-DT is on 28.1 or.2 but the antenna is at 120feet and they are at 500watts so unless you are within 5-10 miles of the transmitter you will be out of luck, and since they are owned by Sinclair they are choosing to not pass the FOX network DT feed.

WICS-DT Channel 42 (20.1) is on the air. However, they are broadcasting at extremely low power. I get them sometimes in the morning, and occasionally in the evening.

Dyno,

Since I seem to be the only one recieveing the fox 28-1 signal I will confirm that the programming is just the same as their analog, converted to digital, with no HD that I have seen.
You seem to be pretty down on Sinclair. Would it do any good to let them know that at least some of us are watching and would like to receive the FOX HD feeds, or is it alreaday a lost battle?
I also checked last night and could not get the WAND digital signal. I do get their analog signal so I will keep trying and let you know when I can recieve it.

I have called sinclair and got as far as getting them to raise the antenna, the FCC had to be contacted as well, to the height they were approved at around 300 feet. This is just to receive the signal, as far as getting the feed from FOX I do not think they are willing to spend any more than they have to to keep the FCC off their backs.

I was told by a gentleman at the FCC that they will not bother the station during the STA time period but that if after the 6 months if they have been dark and are not transmitting they can lose their digital spectrum and that the penalty will be much more severe than a missed deadline for a cp, the station has told the FCC that they are ready to broadcast with the equipment and power specified in the STA if they do not go on the air they have not just missed a deadline due to reasons beyond their control, they have deliberately deceived the FCC.

I use a d** reciever to tune DTV. Sadly... if the Samsung does not have the DTV station downloaded in the guide, it tends to end up looking for a sattelite channel when you type in 15-1 for instance.
Does anyone know what triggers Direct T* to add DTV channels to the list under the local zip code? It sure would be easier to play with the antenna to find the channels (15-1,20-1, etc) if the box would keep looking for it. Does anyone have any experience with this issue?
I know the channels are weak, but it sounds like I ought to have a shot at 15-1 (WICD CH 41) for instance.

Oh well, at least we have some activity going on.
Have Fun, and it is nice to see all this info pooled.
David

Titan this morning shows WCCU coming January 1st.
Not going to hold my breath, but we can always hope that it is correct.

WCCU has everything installed and tested and ready they just do not turn it on, they are ready with full power and all the equipment is there, they say they are waiting for corporate to tell them to run the digital station... maybe everyone should call the corporate office and ask when why ect. Seems a shame, with all the other stations not on the air with no equipment installed and here is one with everything in place and they refuse to turn it on.

Anyone in central Illinois know a good antenna installation / repair company. Seriously, who installed your OTA ?
I'm tired of messing with mine. I installed it myself in April and everything worked fine until WICD DT-41 went on line. Now I get no signal or extremely weak one from any and all DT stations to the west of Danville. At night I can rotate it toward Indy and pick up 3 to 4 stations when conditions are favorable.
This antenna is a bear to handle- super large RS-210 on a 15 mast on top of the roof. It's all I can do to take it down, tweak it, then put it back up.
Today I took it down, flip the switch on the amp filter, put it back up and it was worse than before. couldn't even get analog channels without interference. So I was able to tape a small screwdriver to a board and extend it up and flip the switch back so that I at least get analog again.
Anyway as I said before I need a professional, any recommendations?

Home theater concepts in Morton Illinois is the only one I know of near here.

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to pass on that titantv.com appears to have done a significant update to the dtv channels they list in the last couple of days.
I am thinking that 48 (49-1) really should be UPN, Not the CBS they show currently. (CBS is 48 (3-1) mapped).
Anyway, when I watch 3-1 on my samsung, it seems to alterate between feeds of UPN and CBS. I figure they are just testing stuff. 49-1 only popped up once for me so far.

Regards,
David

Heh all... just a note from your St. Louis friends:

As of tonight at 7pm Central KDNL (ABC) in St. Louis began passing through High Definition. The station is at full power from what I am aware of - so it should theoretically be possible to pick it up depending on where you are at. If WAND doesn't get their equipment to passthru this is an option for you to try and get the SuperBowl in Hd.

Chris

Just an update on WBUI-DT (23-1 Decatur) -- the audio problem has been resolved. Previously, audio was only coming out of the right channel. Then, the other day, they went off the air for a little bit. When they came back on, the sound was working properly.

I'm glad to see them up and running. As was mentioned earlier, their picture quality is very good -- better than most other stations' digital offerings in this area.

Doug;
Remember, WCIA is also broadcasting the same streams on channel 53 in Springfield, and that may be a easier signal for those west of Champaign to pick up.

Both sites have been updated; however the Springfield update now seems to have broken Dish 6000 recievers over there.

WCIA is looking for the solution for *that* problem.

CheapEngineer

Hi Doug,

Thanks for the tips. I tried your techniques, but it would not work for me. I have disconnected the cable and satelitte, then the antenna... scanned for "no" channels, then typed in the numbers as you indicate.... Then scanned for digital OTA stations.... I still alternate between 3 and 49.
I have not confirmed, but I think if I use the methods above (with 'no dish'), I ussually get CBS on 48 and 3-1. If I get the D** satellite guide of stations, I think I ussuually get UPN on 3-1.
Lately, I have not go anything on 49 or 49-1 (Are you using a t-160 to test this?). On 49-1 I get a searching for signal. I have not tried a Full 'REBOOT'
Any more ideas on what to try? When I get them, they both have good pictures.
Is it correct to say that both of these stations are:
-on the same frequency (UHF 48)?
-on the same physical antenna?
-on the same RF carrier?
-simply 'mapped' to other designations 3-1 and 49-1

With no guide and no 'smarts', how would you get to 49-1, if 48 goes to 3-1??

Thanks for any tips!
David

OUCH!

If you have any 'knowledgeable' contacts... Maybe you could PM them to me?

I don't like the dark forces.....

David