Hartford, CT - OTA - Page 207

TV Fool has a link that you can post to here instead, which makes it easier. Look for it below the following line:


Do you have a reflector on the 4-bay or is it bi-directional? WEDH/45's pattern is restricted in your direction, which is probably why you can get WVIT and not WEDH (WVIT is not as restricted to the SW).

Are you using an amp?

I would not recommend using a splitter as a combiner, but it can sometimes work if you have a lot of patience. I use one in CA to pick-up a San Diego station in addition to LA, but trial and error is required and may not work to your satisfaction.

Just look out for your house construction. I have aluminum siding on my house and in my walk up attic I had to move the antenna to the middle of the attic so I wouldn't be pointing at the side will with aluminum siding. Now it points out the roof part with shingles and it works fine.

OK, here, the link, for what it's worth...

No amp. There is a reflector.

May I ask, why not use a splitter? Does this cause too much loss of signal?


http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...7f144002d5268b

Anybody else here seem to be having intermittent problems with WTNH-DT? I live in New Britain's south end. Their signal is giving me problems. I use an RCA flat wing indoor antenna (about $15 at Walmart). I rest it horizontally on top of my south-facing second floor bedroom window. Here's what I get on most days:

WFSB HARTFORD - CBS - 2/3 to 70%
WTNH NEW HAVEN - ABC - 2/3...today it's barely 40% with breakups
WUVN HARTFORD - UNI - 2/3 to 70%
WTXX WATERBURY - CW - about 80%
WEDH HARTFORD - PBS - Rarely less than 85%
WHPX NEW LONDON - ION - About 50%
WVIT NEW BRITAIN - NBC - Rarely less than 85%
WCTX NEW HAVEN - MY - Can vary, at at least 80% today
WTIC HARTFORD - FOX - Rarely less than 85%

Although I have a Sanyo 26" LCD HDTV, these results are with an Insignia converter box, attached to my TV's Video 1 input. I bought the TV on June 1, 2006 and, thankfully, still works fine. Sometimes, the Insignia box gets WFSB-DT a bit better than the TV does. Maybe it has better circuitry?

Does the Sanyo have an ATSC tuner? If so, why use a converter box?

My television does have both types of tuners, analog and digital. It already has expanded basic cable with no cable converter hooked to it. That's why the Insignia converter box is hooked up with a traditional red/white/yellow A/V cable instead of a coaxial. As for why I have the box? So I can compare my results with others here, plus it gets WFSB-DT a bit better than my TV does.

The real reason I have the box is that, should my grandmother lose her cable on her older TV, a Goldstar model from the mid 1990s, she'll still be able to get some service.

Your actual signals are much weaker than I would have expected, considering you can get WVIT in the attic. To put it in perspective, anything in the pink is usually difficult to get in an attic.

I think you will want to go with a commercial antenna vs. homemade and a pre-amp would be in order if not for WSAH, which wants to move to the ESB. This is a tough location. If you weren't getting anything already, it would be difficult to recommend trying anything else (as the odds are so low).

The problem with using a splitter as a combiner is that the antennas will interfere with each other, effectively causing multi-path problems since the signals will be out of phase if pointing in different directions and w/o equal cable lengths, etc.

I don't mean to retract my earlier optimism, but my parents' house in Mystic has signals about 15-20db higher for the desired Farmington locals.

Thanks for the advice on the splitter...on the Antenna forum, EscapeVelocity recommended two antennas with an A/B switch...might that help with the multi-path problems? I think I saw an A/B switch today in RS but it didn't look anything like the splitter...

Christina

The A/B switch will work fine. The predicted signal levels are very pessimistic compared to my location and Falcon_77's. The actual levels at your location would seem to be higher. A good preamp will likely show improved reception and except for its cost, is easy to try. When PBS gets the channel 6 Xmitter running it should be receivable at your location with a rabbitear antenna added to your UHF antenna.
John

Ah, so the channel 65/6 transmitter isn't running yet? (sorry, I haven't read through all the pages here..).

Question about a preamp. Dumb one, I guess. Would the preamp be up in the attic, where I'd have to run some kind of cord down to a plug, or would it attach at my converter box?
Thanks.

The preamps come in two parts. The amplifier connects with a short run of cable (think about 3-4 feet) to the antenna. It gets its power from the coax that runs to near the converter box. A power supply feeds power up the cable to it. This supply is located near the TV where AC is available.
John

Since the channel change of WGBY to CH 22 transmit I have been unable to get them. A rescan gave me CH22 and 40 but no 57-1. WGBY has told me the signal is now stronger, so I don't think it's a receive problem. They were great before the change. Now I wonder if it's something about a PSIP problem.

So the question is does anyone have any problems with WGBY CH 57-1 since it moved to the CH 22 transmit frequency.

Couple of ideas: my DirecTV H20 receiver has fits with WGBY-DT now ... showing two 57-1, two 57-2, etc. I suspect this is because some information is coming from DirecTV from the program guide - and some information is obtained from doing an off-air antenna scan. One of the 57-x works whilst the other does not. No problems on other ATSC receivers.

Not knowing what you have for receive equipment - can you directly enter the channel number, like 57-1? If your tuner is old - it may indeed have a problem regarding PSIP decode. Many old ATSC tuners would allow you to enter a channel as its RF assignment ... for example, if you entered 58-1 you would have gotten WGBY-DT (before its move to rf channel 22 frequencies). If that's the case - today you'd have problems because WWLP-DT (rf channel 11) is sending 22-1 in its PSIP info ... by chance do you have a separate ATSC tuner you can test with?

Lastly - depending on where you are ... there is another station on rf channel 22: WLWC-DT in New Bedford MA (CW for Providence RI). Slight possibility that you may have interference from WLWC ...

Here's what I tried. Complete scan with no antenna. No channels found. Attached antenna and put in 22 (57 DT). The reply was no program found. If I put in a channel with no signal say 32, the reply is no signal. So my guess is the tuner saw a signal but no program. Then I tried 33 and it found WFSB 3-1. So right now I think my 2008 Panasonic LCD TV cannot decode the PSIP of CH 57-1, but it could before the change to 22. Located just south of Hartford with a double bow tie pointed North. Getting 83% from CH 40 (on same rock).

Funny you should mention this as I rescanned and my digital converter boxes picked up WGBY 57.1.... OK. Yet my ATSC tuner on my Sony TV now has WGBY has channels 22.3, 22.4, 22.5, 22.6 But doesn't show the station name WGBY in the display header.

It seems the PSIP ino confuses some ATSC tuners.

Sony TVs do not remap stations that are manually entered. You need to do a new scan.

- Trip

So here's the latest. It's not PSIP. I dug out my Radio Shack Accurian tuner and got a glimmer of signal. I then switched to a silver sensor indoor antenna and found a spot where I got a fair signal. Then I went to the Panasonic with the silver sensor and got enough signal to see the station and ID 57-1 to 57-4. Went back to my outdoor antenna and nothing. So my DB2 antenna has a problem with the switch to transmit channel 22, which is suppose to have more signal than before. Maybe not directional enough. RF is strange stuff. I still get 40 DT and 22 DT, which is a VHF transmit station on the UHF DB2 antenna. Back to the lab.

How is reception of the Springfield/Chicopee/Holyoke stations in your area? I'm in the south end of New Britain. My Insignia digital converter box slows on channel 22 while doing a channel scan, as if it's trying to lock on WGGB-DT (ABC). I get nothing with WWLP-DT (NBC) channel 11. I've never seen anything from WGBY-DT (PBS) at all.

Channel 22 (Digital) is WGBY, not WGGB. WWLP is on 11 and WGGB is on 58 until they switch over to 40- which i think is happening in June.

OK! Thank you for the update! Again, my box detects a trace of a signal, but won't show call letters and things like that unless it locks on it.

Yea, confusing with similar callsigns and close channel numbers. WGGB-DT is not on 58 but 55.

WWLP (NBC)
analog was 22 - now off air
digital is 11

WGBY (PBS)
analog was 57 - off air for some time
digital was 58 - recently moved to 22

WGGB (ABC)
analog was 40 - off air for some time
digital is 55 - will be moving to 40

WSHM-LP (CBS)
low power analog on 67 from Mt. Tom
has construction permit for digital 41 in Montgomery MA

Pardon me for joining this so late in the thread. Congratulations on your persistence. I thought you might have given up on trying to get the Hartford stations. Frankly, I'm impressed that you were able to get WVIT. I would imagine that the receive level is right on the knife edge of the SNR for your receiver and you will experience pixelization and dropouts from time to time.

Although I question the difference in the TVFools numbers when comparing WVIT and WEDH, the receive level for WVIT should be a bit higher than WEDH which would explain why you can not receive WEDH - it's below the threshold. If you could slowly rotate the antenna while watching the signal strength meter (or whatever your receiver has) you might find a sweet spot, like a reflection, that might give you a little bit better level for WVIT. Then do a manual search for WEDH. It might show up. By peaking for WVIT you will also be peaking for WEDH as from your location they are almost perfectly in alignment.

Personally, I'd stick with WEDW - virtually the same programming. Come June both WEDW and WEDH will be increasing power but WEDH will be insignificant for you. And as John mentioned, if the FCC grants the license, WEDY will be on and you could just point at WTNH and get both.

You can PM me for any CPTV specific information as I don't visit this site too often.

Marc

Mike - Got the grill ready for when you get back to the right coast.

Marc - that's good to know re: WEDW and power - thought that it was at it's "future state" already with the switch from 52 to 49.

Not that I couldn't get it with a paper clip, but still, good to know

My Insignia converter box hesitates on two or three channels, so achingly close to locking on them. One is the WPXQ-DT (ION) from Rhode Island, which I could get if I move my indoor antenna ever-so-slightly, but then I'd lose WHPX-DT. Besides channel 17 (WPXQ-DT), my box hesitates on channel 22 (WGBY-DT) and channel 42 (WSAH-DT from Bridgeport?). I can't move my indoor antenna any higher and a roof antenna isn't going to fly with my grandmother owning the house.

I only wish I had that problem with ION, though the situation should be improved with WHPX having moved back to 26.

WHPX and WPXQ have the same programming anyway and in Mystic we have to fight one or both to get our "locals."

WPXQ-DT on 17 is much stronger than analog 69 was. Lower UHF channels seem to be quite a bit more effective at greater distances while not having impulse noise concerns.

If only both would move closer to the main antenna "farms," ignoring COL issues, of course.

Agreed on that one! Yes, I do get a slightly better signal with WHPX-DT on channel 26 as opposed to their old channel 34 assignment. I wonder if WPXQ-DT could work in a place like Rehoboth, MA? As for the channels almost popping in, I failed to mention WEDN-DT from Norwich. My box hesitates there, too. However, since WEDH-DT is always one of my two strongest signals (WVIT-DT is the other), I won't move my antenna for WEDN.

Anyways, with WHPX-DT off of channel 34, you should do better now with either WVIT-DT and or WFSB-DT.

Marc,
If you are reading this I worry that WEDW might interfere with WLNE here. If you want to turn the xmit antenna to steer a null in this direction it would be nice.
KML-224 et al,
When WHPX was on 34 I had very little success with any of the Hartford UHF and kept my antenna aimed a Providence. Now I find WVIT WEDH and WTIC are stronger than the Providence channels. WFSB is much weaker than the rest and not receivable with a single UHF yagi. I have to buy $100 dollar filters to lower the levels of channels 17 and 26 to get the UHF network stations from either Providence or Hartford.
John

Really? Even with WFSB-DT being transmitted with 1 million watts? I'm surprised to hear that. Come to think of it, Avon Mountain would be a bit further away for that area than Rattlesnake Mountain would.

1000 kW won't get as far as 100 kW if the 100 kW is 700 feet higher.

Height is much more important than power level.

- Trip

That is very true. You really can't make up for significant blockage with power.
John