Springfield / Joplin, MO - HDTV - Page 176

Thanks, but I want to be able to record several shows at a time so I need to receive them all. Right now, I think the best option is to point my antenna at Fordland and just blow off KRBK.

As of today KRBK is up to full power, but no signal where I live, so I've written off Fox.

I've taken a very detailed look at KRBK's antenna patterns in the last week or two, Chuck, and I cannot say I'm terribly surprised... can you tell me exactly how far away from KRBK's Springfield transmitter you are and exactly what direction it is in degrees?

EDIT: And your elevation above sea level, if you happen to know that.

- Trip

I'm about 10 miles SW of Ava, Missouri, at approximately 36.89°N 92.82°W (Elev. 1171 ft)
(I'm going by my location on a National Weather Service map).

If I did my math right, you are getting approximately 3 kW ERP in your direction.

- Trip

You think that's enough if I had the right antenna?
My current antenna is a UHF\\VHF on about a 15 ft. pole.

If you had line of sight, I would say it is probably doable with a deep fringe antenna and low-noise amp. TVFool says you're 1-Edge at that height and location, so I would imagine not.

- Trip

Thanks Trip.

I don't see how KRBK is at full power with all their towers synced and I still have 0 signal. Media center won't pick it up at all any more. When they first started this whole thing I could pick it up as could my neighbor who lives next door. Now nothing. Awesome!!! I live about 9 miles north of Springfield. I get all other channels great. We've got a big roof antenna and I also have big home made one in the attic. NOTHING. I have full 5 bars on all other channels KY3, KOLR10, KOZK, 27, 33. But it's like 49 doesn't even exist. I just tried turning the antenna all different directions, can't even get 2 bars.

You didn't say your location...

If Media Center is seeing multiple versions of the KRBK signal or has screwed up PSIP info stored, it won't work right.

That's what I'm thinking is wrong. I'm trying to figure out a way to delete all channels for good and rescan but I'm not figuring it out yet. When I rescan it asks if I want to delete all channels before I rescan. I say yes, it scans and finds no 49.1. But then when I go to my guide 49.1 is still there but gets no signal.

On Tvfool.com all my other channels that come in fine say LOS but 49.1 says 1Edge. I'm guessing that has something to do with it, something is blocking the signal?



Although if I put my antenna height at 20 ft (which I'm guessing is around what the roof antenna is) it changes to LOS and it's only 11.8 miles away yet 0 signal?

Scan with no antenna connected and delete all old ch info.
Reconnect antenna and rescan.

My Win 7 Media Center guide lists all possible channels. That doesn't necessarily mean I can get them. You don't say what Media Center you have so yours may be different.

If it were me I'd run the antenna coax straight to the TV and scan with that to eliminate possible losses due to splitters etc. Point the antenna directly at the tower and realize it is VERY directional, much more so than the large towers the other stations use.

I estimate you are receiving 0.6 kW in your direction from the Springfield transmitter. I suspect TVFool is assuming you are seeing a full 170 kW.

The one at 37.6 miles (near Bolivar) is giving you more like 20 kW. I would wonder if you would have more success trying to get that one by turning your antenna around, though that would probably kill your reception of the other stations.

I don't know that any of the signal prediction sites properly handle DTS facilities filed the way that KRBK was. It was 100% correct in how it was filed, mind you, but it's just different. RabbitEars kind of handles it, but not well, and only because I did a manual override on the FCC database. I'd like to set up RabbitEars to handle it but, honestly, I don't even know where to start.

- Trip

Near El Dorado Springs, I am getting KRBK at 90 percent or so on my DTV Pal. I'm fortunate to be in a good spot, since my aim to Fordland is pretty close to Stockton and I'm very close to it. In Camdenton, same situation since my line to Eldridge is close to along the way to Fordland. The concept seems "neat" but doesn't seem to perform in the real world.

Can someone more knowledgeable than me tell me if this might work?

I've got my OTA's coming in great, but I'm thinking about adding basic cable to go with it. Cable America is the only cable company that services where I live, and they don't broadcast KRBK in HD, only in SD.

If I bought a diplexer, would I be able to combine the Cable and Antenna signals onto one coax that runs to my TV? My TV can differentiate between Antenna signals and Cable signals, so I'm thinking I can just turn off the digital cable signals and feed in the antenna signals for those channels instead.

My second thought is to add a TiVo box, which has two inputs, one for cable and one for antenna. Again the question is can one coax carry the signal for both, and then I'd split them back out before going into the separate inputs on the TiVo.

Absolutely not. The cable system is suppose to be a sealed system. You cannot share the same physical piece of cable with both services at the same time.

Your'e awesome. I was messing around with my homemade antenna today and flipped it around towards Bolivar and sure enough my TV picked it up.

I have 4 tuners in my HTPC so I hooked the antenna up to the strongest internal tuner in my computer and 4 out of five bars on channel 49. So I found out you can designate certain tuners to every channel in Media Center so on channel 49 I have it to where it only uses that one tuner that has the antenna turned to Bolivar for it. Perfect, now I just have to build another antenna and I'll be all set. Thanks!

No. It won't work, and you'll eventually have the cableco knocking on your door, looking for "leakage" of their signal into the air.

Use an A/B switch.

Thanks for the answers folks.

I've bought a dual coax wall plate and will be running a second coax to it so I can have both signals fed into my receiver (which accepts both cable and antenna signals).

KRBK's dts is pathetic. I feel sorry for the poor station owners that paid for those short towers with tiny transmitters.

I've heard the FCC would not allow them to build a monster tower at Fordland,
so this new SFN was about all they could do at the time.
I agree that it sux.

I don't know maybe they could of worked a deal to use one of the towers already there but I don't really know if that was actually possible. It's too late anyway lol the only thing I miss is the sports...

With House, MD ending I only care about two shows - COPS and Bones.
Other than those, screw Fox.

I know how you feel. Unfortunately, there are several FOX shows I like.

KRBK just sucks. I was getting a signal and bought a signal amp just for FOX because it was a little weak. Everything was fine until they finished their install and started "tweaking" things to "improve" them. Well, they "improved" me right out of a signal. I can't get KRBK at all anymore.

I guess my only option for FOX shows now is the internet. Too bad the FOX network player really sucks. Hulu is the best bet I guess. It is SD but at least it's dependable.

I use Hulu.

I guess for DTV, you just can't beat having a full power UHF channel on a big stick.

Same here for me. Before the "tweak and improve" was finished I was getting KRBK at about 80 on a scale of 100, after it was running in the mid-to-upper 60s, with frequent pixelation and dropouts.

After about a week of that I climbed my tower and turned my CM 4228 further north, and it improved things greatly I am west of Springfield about 20 miles and am now aiming between Fordland and Spfd.

Also, the day before I moved my antenna I had filled out the form on KRBK's website to report signal problems, they called me the very next day but by then I had fixed my problem.

I reran my Longley-Rice maps for KRBK using what I've learned over the last few weeks. I was not surprised to find the coverage on the Springfield and Lebanon/Osage Beach transmitters turned out to be wildly optimistic in my original maps. They now better reflect reality.

- Trip