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Rockford, IL - HDTV - Page 33

post #961 of 1171
2/22/10 at 9:36pm
It was worth a shot
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post #962 of 1171
2/23/10 at 8:14pm
I get Rockford thru Charter basic but only in SD and I also have Dishnetwork and was hoping the new law would help me get all stations in HD as well as Madison.
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post #963 of 1171
2/23/10 at 9:01pm
Have you looked up in the 80's and up on your digital TV tuner? They used to be kind of hidden up there by charter.
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post #964 of 1171
2/23/10 at 10:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ehren View Post

I live in Edgerton, WI north of Janesville and I tried my Terk indoor/outdoor amplified antenna upstairs and I get 70% for WIFR and WTVO and that's about it. WREX could not lock and I doubt I will ever get FOX 39. I did it just for sh*ts and giggles. I have my Madison HD locals thru QAM and Dish HD.

Gurrrr if only all the stations were on UHF and at the same frequency as WIFR and WTVO!

I live south of Edgerton/Indianford in a small wooded valley near the river and cannot get 39 with my indoor antenna either. I'm using an insignia converter box and get 13 most of the time with around 60% signal, 23 most of the time with about 65% and 17, my strongest Rockford, at about 70%-80%. I have only locked 39 about 3 times in the last year and its only been during tropo. I was disapointed that it doesnt come it since it's 900kw (the most powerful in Rockford) but its short stick must be the problem.
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post #965 of 1171
2/24/10 at 5:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeff Whitford View Post

Have you looked up in the 80's and up on your digital TV tuner? They used to be kind of hidden up there by charter.

The HD versions of Rockford? They don't even offer them.
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post #966 of 1171
2/24/10 at 5:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim920 View Post

I live south of Edgerton/Indianford in a small wooded valley near the river and cannot get 39 with my indoor antenna either. I'm using an insignia converter box and get 13 most of the time with around 60% signal, 23 most of the time with about 65% and 17, my strongest Rockford, at about 70%-80%. I have only locked 39 about 3 times in the last year and its only been during tropo. I was disapointed that it doesnt come it since it's 900kw (the most powerful in Rockford) but its short stick must be the problem.

I get 70% locked on 17 and 23 Rockford indoors, LOL Better percentage than when I tried outside.
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post #967 of 1171
2/25/10 at 6:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ehren View Post

The HD versions of Rockford? They don't even offer them.

They used to at least in Roscoe/Rockton. I'll stop trying to help as I dont seem to be able to give you any useful advice.
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post #968 of 1171
2/25/10 at 6:53pm
ahhh don't feel shot down, I am thankful for your suggestions.
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post #969 of 1171
2/27/10 at 1:55pm
I live in Loves Park, about 10 miles E of the HD transmitters. Indoor reception was spotty, erratic and frustrating. So, I went with a 5 element dedicated Yagi on a 10 foot rooftop pole for channel 13 and a 4 bow tie for channels 17, 23, 39 lower down on the same pole. These two antennas have separate lead ins and are positioned at slightly different spots on the azimuth to point more directly at their respective transmitters. Personally, I would not fool with an indoor amplified Terk antenna. Get a robust outdoor antenna mounted up as high as possible and you should get much better reception. Also, if possible, you might try moving the outdoor antenna a few feet back and forth and left and right to, perhaps, find the "hot spot" where reception is the best.
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post #970 of 1171
2/28/10 at 1:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dick West View Post

I live in Loves Park, about 10 miles E of the HD transmitters. Indoor reception was spotty, erratic and frustrating. So, I went with a 5 element dedicated Yagi on a 10 foot rooftop pole for channel 13 and a 4 bow tie for channels 17, 23, 39 lower down on the same pole. These two antennas have separate lead ins and are positioned at slightly different spots on the azimuth to point more directly at their respective transmitters. Personally, I would not fool with an indoor amplified Terk antenna. Get a robust outdoor antenna mounted up as high as possible and you should get much better reception. Also, if possible, you might try moving the outdoor antenna a few feet back and forth and left and right to, perhaps, find the "hot spot" where reception is the best.

Yeah I will mount an omnidirectional antenna to my dish down the road. Hopefully I can get them thru the Dish or Charter adds them in HD this year. Then I won't have to spend more on hardware.
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post #971 of 1171
9/2/10 at 1:37pm
RTV's website says that a Rockford affilliate is "coming soon". Any guesses on which station? I'm thinking WQRF.
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post #972 of 1171
9/14/10 at 5:49pm
WFBN-LD is on the air on channel 35, resolving to 35.1, with 3.5 kw of power from the downtown tall bank building, very directional signal beamed west, north and southwest.
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post #973 of 1171
9/14/10 at 8:47pm
If anyone can receive it, I'd love to know what's on it.

- Trip
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post #974 of 1171
9/14/10 at 10:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trip in VA View Post

If anyone can receive it, I'd love to know what's on it.

- Trip

Color bars with no sound, but it's 1080i, I believe...
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post #975 of 1171
9/14/10 at 10:12pm
I suddenly realize that the aforementioned "soon to come" affiliate of This TV to Rockford is probably WFBN-LD.

- Trip
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post #976 of 1171
9/15/10 at 10:48am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trip in VA View Post

I suddenly realize that the aforementioned "soon to come" affiliate of This TV to Rockford is probably WFBN-LD.

- Trip

In the 4 markets where Weigel Broadcasting has stations, they've had This TV on one of their stations. For Chicago, it's WCIU 26.4; South Bend WCWW-LD 25.2, & Milwaukee WDJT 58.3. It only makes sense that WFBN-LD carry This TV, since it's not being carried on the other 4 full power stations. Now if sebenste is correct that WFBN-LD is running a 1080i channel, then I wonder if they're planning to carry another network that isn't already carried in Rockford, such as bringing Telemundo to the market, or if they're gonna take the CW affiliation from WREX. Both CW & Telemundo are 1080i HD, and stations that place these networks on the main channel usually run them in 1080i HD. I just wonder if they plans to keep FBT on that station.
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post #977 of 1171
9/16/10 at 12:18pm
3 THIS channels??? I already get the Chicago and Madison (at night) affiliates! RTV would be nice during the day. It'd be great if Telemundo and Univision had a Rockford affiliate, so i watch the Futbol games (GOOOOL!). With my current setup in Sycamore, I can get a lot of channels minus WGN, and ION (like i freaking need that dumb channel). FOX 32 and CBS2 are very spotty, and the RFD stations come in pretty good. I wanted to get a signal booster with adjustable gain for my TV and Audio reciever. I have an old Winegard antenna (no idea what model) going thru an Access HD converter. Any reccomendations?
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post #978 of 1171
9/16/10 at 3:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SycamoreSeej View Post

3 THIS channels??? I already get the Chicago and Madison (at night) affiliates! RTV would be nice during the day. It'd be great if Telemundo and Univision had a Rockford affiliate, so i watch the Futbol games (GOOOOL!). With my current setup in Sycamore, I can get a lot of channels minus WGN, and ION (like i freaking need that dumb channel). FOX 32 and CBS2 are very spotty, and the RFD stations come in pretty good. I wanted to get a signal booster with adjustable gain for my TV and Audio reciever. I have an old Winegard antenna (no idea what model) going thru an Access HD converter. Any reccomendations?

Welcome aboard, SycamoreSeej! I don't think we'll ever get 35 from Rockford, unless they change out their antenna, so you won't see three of them. As for signal boosters, call over to Farm and Fleet in town and see if they have one from Magnavox. That one is pretty good, but I think they got rid of their TV electronics stuff. I could be wrong. Otherwise, the ChannelMaster 7777 is still the way to go. I have one in my attic, and it lets me get everything from Chicago and Rockford, outside of WBFN-LD.
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post #979 of 1171
9/17/10 at 12:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sebenste View Post

Welcome aboard, SycamoreSeej! I don't think we'll ever get 35 from Rockford, unless they change out their antenna, so you won't see three of them. As for signal boosters, call over to Farm and Fleet in town and see if they have one from Magnavox. That one is pretty good, but I think they got rid of their TV electronics stuff. I could be wrong. Otherwise, the ChannelMaster 7777 is still the way to go. I have one in my attic, and it lets me get everything from Chicago and Rockford, outside of WBFN-LD.

Hey, thanks Gilbert! I'll check out F&F and see if they still have any boosters there. They still have antennas and rca/coaxial cables you can get at Wal Mart (or online) for cheaper.
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post #980 of 1171
9/17/10 at 8:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SycamoreSeej View Post

Hey, thanks Gilbert! I'll check out F&F and see if they still have any boosters there. They still have antennas and rca/coaxial cables you can get at Wal Mart (or online) for cheaper.

I put up a second system just to see if I would get one channel, and the one they sell (or used to sell there) was on sale for $20. It was ~80% of the performance of the CM 7777, in my opinion, which astounded me. I use it to get WREX on a 30 year old, rusty Channelmaster 4228 mesh screen UHF antenna. It does the job surprisingly well!
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post #981 of 1171
9/26/10 at 1:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sebenste View Post

I put up a second system just to see if I would get one channel, and the one they sell (or used to sell there) was on sale for $20. It was ~80% of the performance of the CM 7777, in my opinion, which astounded me. I use it to get WREX on a 30 year old, rusty Channelmaster 4228 mesh screen UHF antenna. It does the job surprisingly well!

I get WREX pretty well, after waiting a bit for it to load. Same for WQRF. My dad has a friend that's a electronic whiz (at least compared to the rest of us, lol) who gave us a booster last night to see if it would work. It didn't have an adjustable gain though. I still couldn't get WTTW after hooking it up. F&F's website has one RCA booster with one output and no adjustable gain.I'm going to earn up the cash for the CM 7777.
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post #982 of 1171
9/26/10 at 7:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SycamoreSeej View Post

I get WREX pretty well, after waiting a bit for it to load. Same for WQRF. My dad has a friend that's a electronic whiz (at least compared to the rest of us, lol) who gave us a booster last night to see if it would work. It didn't have an adjustable gain though. I still couldn't get WTTW after hooking it up. F&F's website has one RCA booster with one output and no adjustable gain.I'm going to earn up the cash for the CM 7777.

WTTW can be a little difficult; they're at 300 kilowatts, not the strongest station out there, plus they're high on the dial (channel 47), and some antennas struggle a bit with that. Are you getting WIFR and WTVO? WTVO should be smoking.
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post #983 of 1171
9/27/10 at 1:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sebenste View Post

WTTW can be a little difficult; they're at 200 kilowatts, not the strongest station out there, plus they're high on the dial (channel 47), and some antennas struggle a bit with that.

WTTW is actually 300kw, but still weak, compared to other Chicago stations. They also have a soft null toward Rockford. WTTW's backup transmitter is 150kw. Both the main & backup are on the Sears Tower, with the main transmitter on the west tower, & the backup on the east tower. I believe as far as Chicago full power UHF stations, that WYCC is the weakest at only 98.9kw, & they're very directional to protect WHA Madison & WVCY Milwaukee.
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post #984 of 1171
9/27/10 at 7:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by dave73 View Post

WTTW is actually 300kw, but still weak, compared to other Chicago stations. They also have a soft null toward Rockford. WTTW's backup transmitter is 150kw. Both the main & backup are on the Sears Tower, with the main transmitter on the west tower, & the backup on the east tower. I believe as far as Chicago full power UHF stations, that WYCC is the weakest at only 98.9kw, & they're very directional to protect WHA Madison & WVCY Milwaukee.

They were licensed for 200 kw and 300 kw, but I know for a time they were at 200 kw. But yes, I see now the 200 kw license has gone away. The soft null towards Madison was to protect WMSN-TV 47 analog while it was still on the air. But they still have WVCY in Milwaukee to contend with.
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post #985 of 1171
9/27/10 at 12:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sebenste View Post

WTTW can be a little difficult; they're at 300 kilowatts, not the strongest station out there, plus they're high on the dial (channel 47), and some antennas struggle a bit with that. Are you getting WIFR and WTVO? WTVO should be smoking.

Yea, WIFR and WTVO come in at 95%. Most of the Chicago stations come in about 40-50%, WBBM and WFLD being the worst.

I forgot to mention my antenna setup when I posted my indoor setup. I have two antennas on the roof of the 2 story house: the main one pointed at Chicago and a smaller one stacked on pointed towards Rockford. Like I said earlier, the main one's an old Winegard. I should take some photos of them and put them up here.
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post #986 of 1171
9/27/10 at 3:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SycamoreSeej View Post

Yea, WIFR and WTVO come in at 95%. Most of the Chicago stations come in about 40-50%, WBBM and WFLD being the worst.

I forgot to mention my antenna setup when I posted my indoor setup. I have two antennas on the roof of the 2 story house: the main one pointed at Chicago and a smaller one stacked on pointed towards Rockford. Like I said earlier, the main one's an old Winegard. I should take some photos of them and put them up here.

Do it, I'd be curious to see what you have.
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post #987 of 1171
9/28/10 at 4:20pm
Here ya go! The main antenna is pointed towards Chicago, and the little one pointed at Rockford (which also gets Madison at night).
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post #988 of 1171
9/28/10 at 11:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SycamoreSeej View Post

Here ya go!

Those antennas look like they're still in great shape. I've seen maybe 3 of those in my area. I wouldn't mind having either one of those antennas. You say that they're Winegard. I have a Winegard and it's a good brand. The antenna I have is in their current lineup, which is the HD-1080, that I use for NW Indiana station WYIN. My other antenna is a crappy Philips brand antenna, & it's terrible for UHF, but ok for VHF. Here's a picture of my antenna setup. Just to let you know that I was temporarily using the Winegard antenna for Chicago stations at the time of this pic. That antenna is currently pointed south with a slight tilt to the west. The Philips antenna (big one) is pointed 333° & the Winegard antenna is pointed 188°.
LL
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post #989 of 1171
9/29/10 at 2:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SycamoreSeej View Post

Here ya go!

If you put a Channelmaster 7777 preamp on that thing, you would smoke ME out of the water with my attic-bound Channelmaster 4228, great cables, CM 7777 preamp, and 1-story attic (assuming you put it on a rotor!). The large Winegard isn't a DX'ers dream, but it's not far from it!
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post #990 of 1171
9/30/10 at 12:56pm
Attachment 187167
Quote:
Originally Posted by sebenste View Post

If you put a Channelmaster 7777 preamp on that thing, you would smoke ME out of the water with my attic-bound Channelmaster 4228, great cables, CM 7777 preamp, and 1-story attic (assuming you put it on a rotor!). The large Winegard isn't a DX'ers dream, but it's not far from it!

I'm glad some of us are looking at this Rockford thread again. It's been kinda dormant for a while.
And as long as we're showing off pics of our rigs...here's my two latest builds, a DBGH with NARODS and a high-VHF Yagi that's only 3 feet long and gets plenty of UHF as well.
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