Atlanta, GA - OTA - Page 92

As far as I know, in Atlanta the digital TVGOS data dtream is being broadcast OTA by WPBA. You may be confusing the situation with Comcast's carriage on cable, where analog TVGOS is appearing as a VBI line in the WSB video signal (or at least it did for me starting a week ago). That doesn't mean that WSB is carrying it; it just means that's where Comcast is injecting the data stream. I'd like to hear confirmation of that though, it's just my theory based on observations.

How's your WPBA signal?

Hello, i need some help with adding some now tv's to my existing ota antenna.

I have a channelmaster antenna 4229 with a Channel Master CM 7777 Antenna Preamplifier with Power Supply. It currently runs to one tv and get great reception in Cumming, GA with the exception of WGCL-DT 46.1 CBS ATLANTA, which i can't get at all. The pre amplifier sits in the loft next the antenna then the coax cable runs to the power supply that sits next to the tv.


I would like to connect 2 more tv sets to this antenna. What sort of splitter to i need to do this, and where does it go...do I need two more preamps.?

A balanced 3-way splitter with DC PASS (DC Power Pass-thru) on one leg is all you need to add two more sets.

Of course, if you want CBS, you'll either need need to find a better spot in your attic or else get the antenna outside to a better location.

No WPBA ota at all. Have confirmed 2.1, WSB to be carrying the data stream. This from ROVI and from own findings in Woodstock that listings have updated from time to time, but not consistently. Plus from the engineer at Comcast as well. I too thought WPBA was carrying this and they may also still be doing so, but that channel is a no show in Woodstock with present setup.
Michael

[quote=ChrisC47;17665578]In recent weeks there have been several (5 so far) applications with the FCC for low power transmitters on channel 56. The locations are spread around the metro area, tending towards the east side.

These seems similar to what I noted above about MediaFLO. The licenses are going to Manifest Wireless, which is owned by Frontier Wireless, which in turn is an EchoStar Corp. side company. So Echostar may be planning something.

[quote]

Perhaps the wireless companies have their sights set on gobbling up all the airwaves?

Below is a C&P of an article at wosu dot org. I'd post the URL but I don't have enough posts on the board to post links. The article is written by Tom Rieland. Bolding for emphasis is mine:

Over-the-air broadcast TV: going away??

All of the broadcast stations across the country went digital-only this past year and millions were spent in the process by the feds and stations.
NOW, the FCC is taking some steps toward examining whether the broadcast spectrum should be reallocated for wireless broadband. This could, in essence, destroy or greatly restrict over the air broadcasting and could mean that any television watching in the future could be pay-only via cable or satellite.

In its five-page notice of inquiry, the FCC said it will consider the value that the United States puts on free, over-the-air television, as well as market-based mechanisms for television broadcasters to contribute to the broadband effort any spectrum in excess of that which they need.

This could restrict stations like WOSU, for instance, from carrying multiple digital channels. The WOSU lineup includes The Ohio Channel, WOSU Plus and our primary WOSU HD channel. It will also hamstring our ability to serve Ohio with statewide emergency broadcasts via our digital spectrum and restrict our move into new technologies, like Mobile DTV (see previous post).

The FCC said its inquiry grew out of the efforts to formulate a national broadband plan. Parties have expressed concernand have urged the Commission to make available more spectrum for commercial uses, the notice of inquiry states.

The agency is seeking comment by Dec. 21 on these issues, including which factors should be considered when comparing the benefits of using spectrum for over-the-air broadcasting as opposed to wireless computing. What would be the impact to the U.S. economy and public welfare if the coverage of free over-the-air broadcast television was diminished to accommodate a repacking of stations to recover spectrum? the FCC asked.

The National Association of Broadcasters said Wednesday that it intends to file written comments before the deadline. Broadband deployment to unserved areas is a worthy goal, and broadcasters believe we can help the FCC accomplish its mission without stifling growth opportunities of free and local TV stations and the millions of viewers that we serve, Executive Vice President Dennis Wharton said in a statement.

Representatives of public television stations are also forming a coalition to comment on the FCC inquiry. Of course, there are powerful interest groups behind this call to reallocate broadcast spectrum and restrict free TV.
Our surveys in Columbus showed that over 150,000 households receive their local television without any subscription service.

Some proposals being floated by the FCC would eliminate high-definition broadcasting and multicasting altogether. Why on earth did we spend millions to get to digital television and provide HD and multiple free broadcast services, just to have the FCC come behind this process and take away the spectrum that stations rely on to deliver these services?

Anyone getting 8,2? First time ever I got nothing. Rescan I guess. Speaking of rescanning... Whats the groups personal preference? Day, Night. Clear Sky, Cloudy...I am a bit new to this and wanted to know.

Fred, out in the "sticks" a cloudy night provides best reception.

8.2 working fine here on the southside of ATL. Just checked.

Personal preference for what in rescanning, when to do it? I suppose cloudy and rainy and at night...but you'd have to be in a really marginal area for that to make much of a difference.

Anybody get audio "burps" on 46.1? I have the same signal strength (full greens in media center) as the other channels but the audio clips only on 46.1.

Strange...

Hi:

I think I want to buy a Zenith Silver Sensor, but it looks like they no longer make it. Anyone know if they are still being made and where to buy, or better yet, similar product that I can buy. I live in Lake Claire and have not had much luck with clearstream 2 in my attice and I am thinking something that does not have a lot of range but that does have my bi-directional reception is what I need.

TIA--Happy Holidays

Interesting that the CS2 wouldn't work for you. I'm in Lake Claire too (howdy neighbor) and a DB2 in my attic works just fine. I did have to add a pretty big VHF-only antenna to point directly at Stone Mountain (for WGTV PBS on RF channel 8) and to null out WXIA (on RF channel 10), whose tower is half a mile from us south of the tracks and otherwise drowns out WGTV.

Everything comes in fine, WSB glitches a bit but that only matters when Lost is on. I'm actually going to repoint it next weekend to see if I can pull in the low power station on 47.

As you know, the stations are in pretty much all directions for us, but are all close. If you're already mounting it up in your attic, honestly just about any real antenna should work.

Which stations were you having trouble with with the CS2?

Install a variable attenuator. From your generic location, you're right in the middle of the towers and you're probably overloading your receiver with the stronger signals at your location.

If you need bi-directional reception, try the C2 without the rear grid installed. It then becomes perfectly bidirectional.

Interesting. I had the C2 in the attic and pretty much tried every direction (at small incremental changes), drove my wife crazy. 69, 2, 17, and 30 were all sketchy, if I got 17 strong, 69 and 2 would skip bad, and vice versa.

I installed a radio shack 15-1868 indoor uhf/vhf antenna in the BASEMENT and it picks up every channel and most are in the 90's. I know that is crazy, but true. I wonder what that says about why the c2 would not work well in the attic and outside on the roof.

I think I will try to take the screen off the back of the c2 and give that a shot. What does the screen do anyway?

Thanks for the info guys!

Since you are so close to the towers, multipath or overloading your tuners could be the problem. I am over near Dekalb Medical and use a Clearstream 1 in the attic which is not pointed toward any one station. If I point toward WSB, the tuner gets overloaded and I lose the signal. I have an analyzer that I use to fine tune antennas with.
Michael

A reflector on an antenna provides for the increase in reception in one direction with an attendant reduction in reception from behind the screen.

Think of it in much the same manner as placing a mirror near a candle in a dark room. The area behind the mirror would be much darker and the area in front of the mirror would get almost twice the light. Not a perfect analogy, but it should give you the basic idea.

If you look at the C2's polar plot you will see the effect of the reflector in the larger forward lobe and a much smaller set of lobes to the rear. If you remove the reflector, both the front and rear lobes would equalize to a "size" that would be the same somewhere between those current lobes.

Do keep in mind that reflectors also help to reduce the effects of mult-ipath. However, in your particularly "hot" environment, it probably is a moot point.

Here's what I'd recommend adding: http://antennasdirect.com/filter-attenuator.html It's only $6.99 and has free shipping right now. You will need to add a short "jumper" coax cable.

Thanks for all the ideas. I moved the radio shack indoor antenna to the attic and I am now feeding 5 TV's off it and I am getting all stations (except ION, which I could never get with anything I have tried). Crazy. Crazy Crazy. But I am a happy camper now. The best part about the indoor antenna is that it is UHF and VHF, which we need in Atlanta (although I never had a problem picking up the VHF channels with the C-2). I am not sure why, but the 2 hardest channels I had problems with were 69 and 17. Both very finicky, but this little Radio Shack beast ($25) is doing the job!

Echostar has powered up on channel 56. TSReader shows just two PIDs plus a null PID but neither carries any data that it can decode.

One of the PIDs has all the characteristics of an ATSC-M/H PID. It is 14.66 Mbps out of the total 19.393 Mbps. What that looks like to a Mobile DTV receiver is probably about 5 Mbps but who knows.

- Trip

Very interesting. So are these 8VSB carriers, with 19.2 Mbps data through them, just like ATSC?

They are standard 8VSB/ATSC carriers with the same 19.3 Mbps data rate. But the payload isn't the normal ATSC data, so a channel scan should fail to find it.

However if you have a tuner with manual channel entry like the Zenith DTT900, it may show you signal on that channel that it is unable to decode regardless of strength. Anyone able to try it? I'd like to know.

- Trip

With my Sharp TV tuner, fed by a DB2 in attic, the signal strength bounces between 40% and 0 on channel 56.

With my Zenith DTT901 CECB, fed by rabbit ears in the basement, I get about 60-65% signal strength but no other indication that it's detected anything of value. Just "no signal" after a few seconds.

In other news:



It took me three tries, but I finally got confirmation from Rovi about this. I asked them who was carrying the TVGOS OTA in Atlanta, mentioning that I knew it was on WPBA but now appeared on WSB. Here is the entirety of what they said:

"In your area, the TV Guide data is coming from PBA and WSB for OTA set up."

So, there you go, it's on both!

so what does this mean? How do you get the TVGOS to display on the TV? I get WSB and WPBA but I don't see any such data.

It took me three tries, but I finally got confirmation from Rovi about this. I asked them who was carrying the TVGOS OTA in Atlanta, mentioning that I knew it was on WPBA but now appeared on WSB. Here is the entirety of what they said:

"In your area, the TV Guide data is coming from PBA and WSB for OTA set up."

So, there you go, it's on both!
__________________

This is for devices (TVs and recorders, typically) that support TVGOS.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guide_Plus
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1122914

I've got an old (2005!) Pioneer DVR-533 that I still use for recording off analog cable so that's why I care about TVGOS.

That Wikipedia article is worth reading, especially the part about how the newer ATSC PSIP EPG is not a good substitute. TVGOS gives you 8 days into the future.

anybody have a list of channels for fulton county QAM tuners?

QAM? Do you mean to be in the cable thread? This thread is for OTA, over the air.

Try here.

If you meant OTA (ATSC), then, yeah, see my sig below for a listing. Or RabbitEars.

Anyone have an "in" at WAGA who can get them to work it out so that the weather update scrolling across the screen doesn't make the whole broadcast 4:3? I used to think that it was inherent for some reason, but WXIA doesn't have that problem...

A small problem, I know - but it just get's me for some reason.

Fox stations cannot crawl over network HD. This is a limitation of the Fox network equipment.

- Trip

Any suggestions on an antenna for the following? I am about 40 miles northeast of Atlanta:

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...c572a6d8f67e0a

Would I need to amplify to get better reception?

The channels I am mainly concerned with are the the larger affiliates: 2.1 (ABC), 46.1 (CBS), 5.1 (Fox), & 11.1 (NBC)