Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD - HDTV - Page 56  

I think they're true headings that are then adjusted according to your magnetic dec.

I very rarely though use multiple settings. I use 125 to 135 for DC. 90 to 95 for Baltimore. 55 for Lancaster. And then the Front Royal PBS heading.

WHAG and PBS out of Hagerstown are still SD, and will be for a while, so I don't even bother with them. It's nice though to have Baltimore stations as a back up, so that when DC ABC screws up (which they seem to do often) I can always go to Baltimore ABC.

Thanks for info.

Have you tried the ABC out of Harrisonburg, VA??

The 2150 site (thanks for the complete link!) says that the 'declination' field is to correct for compass headings. This means that antennaweb is showing magnetic/compass, since it matches 2150 when you include 10W/-10 variation/declination. If you want to use compass headings, include your variation as 'minus whatever' (-10 for us is good enough). If you want 'true headings' for some reason, use 0.

(I tested this with 0 and -10, and compared to antennaweb, which has the same 93 degrees for most DC stations from my location.)

I haven't tried them yet. I've been meaning to take a day and fully test out each channel I can get. It shocks me though that I'm able to get UPN out of Lancaster, which is over 80 miles away from me.

Serious blockage it is. We are too low apparently to get any signal at all. Davis Antenna was all over my roof looking for a hint of a signal, and the best they could find was a very weak 22. So, no OTA HD for me. Here's hoping Directv comes through this week with CBS & FOX HD added to the line up!

So, I guess I'll be selling my antenna, mast and gable-end roof mount if anyone is interested :)

OK to make sure on on the same page....... if I point rotor during setup to magentic south (which should be easy witha simple compass).

And use -10 variation on the 2150 site with accurate long\\lat for me, then the headings that come up should be fairly accurate for a rotor set to magnetic south as starting point.
Ie. If list says WETA is 118 deg., then turn rotor to 118 on LED. Thus, they should all match up correctly!!!???

They should. But if it tells you WETA is at 118, tune your rotor to 110 first, then slowly work your way up to something like 130. See where your signal is the strongest and go with it.

Definitely correct. This gets to be a bit of an art, not a science, sometimes. It's easy to have a few degrees of play here and there, a few degrees of difference caused by reflections, etc. All that matters is that you get the best signal, not that you are aimed at '118' or whatever. Use the numbers as the starting point, not the end point of your aiming.

Leesweet & Mntneer:
Thanks guys.
I am planning to report back my findings once all is setup. possible mext Tuesday!

Anyone notice that 11.1, Baltimore NBC affiliate, has a dashed vertical line at times on its HDTV programming? Recorded ER last week and thought it was a defect in the recording. Then compared State of the Union feeds and noticed it during the address.

Scott

YES

I had the same problem on my last recording of Las Vegas 2 weeks ago using the Balt NBC affiliate.

I live in Clarendon (North Arlington) less than 4 miles away from the DC broadcast towers and have a question about using an indoor antenna for HD broadcasts. I have been looking at the $50 RS unit and the Silver Sensor. Is this close enough to the towers where even in an urban environment an indoor antenna will work for me?

Thanks.

If it matters, I live on the top floor of an apartment building, with a terrace and a fully open view from about 70* to 270* - unf the towers seem to be on the other side at 20* or so. This is strictly a short term (read: SuperBowl) solution as I will be moving in 6 weeks. At that time I will perhaps need a more permanent outdoor solution.

I don't know if "troposphering" was involved or it's just the cold weather, but last night, all of my normal channels had higher signal strengths and I even picked up 43 (PAX network) from Virginia for the first time on my system. Still no WDCA-DT though.

There seem to be lots of posts in the "Local HDTV Info and Reception" areas that essentially say the same thing, ie, "cold weather is sure helping my OTA reception"

Cox Cable of Fairfax has finally added CBS-HD on channel 709. Yea!

And with a week and a half to spare!

Reduced temperatures do reduce mast mounted amplifier noise figures which will definitly help and the air is much drier which also can't hurt. Once the wind stopped last night I had very high numbers on all channels relative to normal as well.

You want to know how good last night was for reception? I got WDCA-DT with no dropouts in Alexandria, VA with nothing by my RS Double Bow tie. First time I have ever been able to pull in this channel.

I found it funny that the SOTU coverage was supplied by ABC but Channel
7 didn't switch to HD until about 10 minutes into the broadcast. Good ol Albritton Comm.

I was shocked and therefore watched the whole thing on a competing network. I just don't understand how these local stations can do such a crappy job of throwing a few switches. I guess the interns aren't paid.

E. J.

I called Comcast Arlington b/c INHD2/CSN were not displaying or dropping out frequently. The person indicated they were aware of the problem and it was at the Head. I would like to request other Comcast HD customers call and register there problem w/ Comcast on this issue (if you are having one). I did get a $10 credit on my bill - so it may be worth your time to call. The local # is 703-823-3000. I really want to see some more Hockey and B'ball on CSN.

Thanks,
Zebras23

Just got an automatic call from Cox of Fairfax. CBS-HD will be available on Jan 23rd.

I have a 15-1171 amplifier purchased from Radio Shack. I bought it last August. I am pretty sure it is out of warranty as I think it came with a 90 day warranty although I need to check on that.

I have noticed over the last couple of months reduced signal strength on some of the weaker stations. I thought it might be seasonal. Last night, I moved the amplifier around on the table on which it sits and noticed that the signal strength increased significantly even without moving the
antenna. In other words, I kept the antenna stationary and moved the amplifier and the signal strength increased substantially. It made me think that the amplifier may be defective.

I called Radio Shack and this model has been discontinued. It is no longer manufactured. They
will not repair it.

It seems to me that my amplifier is defective. Any ideas? If I have to replace it, any suggestions?

Thanks!

Scott

Scott, sounds more like a bad cable, I would check those and your connections first.

Thanks, Nighthawk! I will do that.

Scott

UPDATE:

I checked the amplifier last night and moved it around. This time there was no effect on signal strength.

I think my equipment is fine, but that channel 5 has been acting flaky. It used to be stronger than channel 4 and almost as strong as channel 9, but lately has decreased a lot in signal strength.

Scott

Did any one watch A Bugs life OTA last night? How did it look, I got trapped at the GFs house and missed it... Was it in OAR or 5.1? Thanks

I just got my Sammy HLN507W and my Dish 921 hooked up on Wed. I am able to pick up the Baltimore digital stations almost perfectly, but for DC, nada. This is interesting, because I am in Laurel and the DC stations are somewhat closer. According to the 2150 website, most of the DC stations are just under 15 miles to the SW, and the Balt. stations are over 20 miles to the NE.

When I try to tune a DC station the signal strength meter goes from 0 to around 65-70, then immediately changes from locked to unlocked and drops back to zero, all within less than a second. It repeats this cycle over and over. It doesn't seem to matter which station. I am able to pick up their analog brethren OK though.

I'm guessing this might well have something to do with antenna placement as I have a Terk TV44 mounted on my dish on the back (north) side of the house and the peak of my roof is between it and DC. But there are so many other potential causes; e.g. the antenna itself, the signal strength of the stations, and the tuner in my 921 to name a few, I'd like to eliminate as many as possible before spending any more money (or climbing around on my roof in this weather).

Does anyone have any thoughts, suggestions? I have already tried putting an amplifed RS antenna in my front window, but that doesn't seem to make a difference.

-Chris