Sacramento, CA - OTA - Page 257

Just so you won't think you're being ignored, no, I haven't seen anything like that in recent times. I alternate between OTA and Comcast, and don't recall any out-of-sync audio on either.

Come back with specific channels, programs, etc. and we can take another look.

--Ron

As nice as tvfool.com is, I'm starting to wonder about the assumption that certain stations obviously CAN be received (because I am) cannot be picked up at a certain location. Does anyone know of a site where I can request all stations within a certain radius?

I have! I will make sure to make note of it next time.

Lodi25,

There was a baseball game last year where you could hear the crack of the bat before the swing. It was funny. An equipment reboot needs to occur. If you're watching via satellite, call them and let them know of the problem. If you're watching OTA, call the station. People are not always monitoring things.

N6ULO,

There is a chance that you have LOS for the San Jose stations, but it's highly likely you face 2 edge signals from Sutro. At 120 miles or so, that's pretty tough to get.

Yes!

http://www.fcc.gov/mb/video/tvq.html

Enter your Lat/Lon and search radius and every channel will be listed.

Chuck

I noticed it on 31.1 and on shows like ET and The Insider. And sometime on 3.2 and all the time on 58.1. Oh and I'm using an OTA but I also have DirecTV.

Oh, and dose anybody know what the best type of indoor antenna to get for the Stockton area is?

You might want to look at the TERK TV5. I have been fooling with one here and it works well for both the VHF and UHF stations. I got the one I have from Amazon for about $35 counting shipping. No warranty is expressed or implied about how it will work at your location. I am about 30 miles from the transmitters here in a house with wood siding and many trees in the path.

Hmmm, gotta love it when they don't specify the coordinate system to use. I suppose the results aren't even accurate enough to matter which coordinate system you enter? (NAD27 / NAD83 / WGS84 coordinate system).

Does anyone know the max error between two? I seem to remember something like 700 feet or a bit more than 1/10 of a mile?

P.S. Google Maps and Google Earth use WGS84 Datum, GPS's are selectable, others are?... And I still can't tune in KVIE on 53 as shown there... (and I can't get them on 9 where they're broadcasting now either [in digital, even though the FCC says it's analog]) Could that FCC site be a bit behind the DTV transition, maybe, you think so?

There will be another opportunity for folks to discuss reception issues at the studios of KVIE, easy freeway access to W. El Camino. Be there.

It would be nice to have a KVIE(PBS) presence here, or at least someone point out to them (while in the studio) the existence of interested people here on this forum...

P.S. I'm curious to know how many of their subscribing/donating members have expressed concern about the loss of their OTA signal since the A->D transition.

That's a good one. I think these articles on cliff effect are getting more accurate as the authors actually see what the effects really are, rather than getting their facts from other published sources...

+1 here; substantial donation. I've had KVIE for over 10 years here in Santa Rosa. Even got them pretty well when they were on 53. But, it's gone now. Although, I did get a lock on it and program it into my set a couple of weeks ago; it was only viewable for short time while the weather conditions (I assume) were just right.

I'm pretty bumbed out about it. It's a great PBS station.

There are several factors to consider. Contact me directly by e-mail and I can give you some pointers. E-mail = dtv-help (at) comcast.net

--Ron

The error between NAD27 and WGS84 varies with location. The error is close to zero near Chicago and around 100 meters along the west coast. The errors get to around 200 meters in Alaska and about 500 meters in Hawaii.

For a more detailed explanation, you can read the manual for the NADCON conversion utility here: http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/PUBS_LIB/NGS50.pdf

There's a pretty useful map on page 4 and some more stats in the table on page 21.

Best regards,
Andy

KVIE is not broadcasting on channel 53. They are only broadcasting on channel 9.

All full power broadcasters had to vacate channels 52-69 by June 12. These channels are now part of the 700 MHz spectrum that the FCC has auctioned off and will no longer be used for broadcast TV (some low power translators and boosters are still on these channels, but they will need to move eventually too).

Best regards,
Andy

I don't think it matters much when your search radius is going to be over 100 miles.

Chuck

I bet we'd be having the same discussion if they had switched from 9 to 53. I'd be one of the complainers. I'm having much better luck with them on 9 than I did on 53. I've seen none of the drops on 9 that I used to see on 53.

Chuck

KNTV and ION (KKPX) are on Mt. San Bruno, 5 miles southeast of Sutro Tower, and KDTV and KICU are on mountains located east of Fremont down in the South Bay. See my list linked below for a complete list of SF-SJ-Sacramento and Stockton stations.

If you're getting some Bay Area stations but none from Sutro, wait until October when they complete the Sutro antenna installation project. All of the antennas will be 200 or more feet higher than they are now when the work is done.

Larry
SF

The following site has EVERYTHING! Check the "TV Listing by state" in the upper left corner. You'll be amazed at all the stations that are listed for California.

http://www.w9wi.com/newweb/index.html

Larry
SF

Any thoughts on something like a 4221 in Folsom? Specs say its a UHF only, but some places say it'll pick up high VHF as well. I have room in my attic for it and seems like it would be ideal (if it'll go thru my concrete tile roof)

Thanks Andy. Great reference.
Appears the error in the Sacramento area is about 300 feet.

I know... I was sarcastically pointing out that when you limit the query for only "Record Types: Licensed Stations" (seemed a good idea at the time), quite a few stations won't show up (as you can see by clicking on the query link in my post). They're listed as CP or CP MOD.

I live in (Rancho on the south side of 50) and my drive to work in Folsom is only 9 miles from here. I have a fairly unobstructed view of Walnut Grove from here and Google Earth shows me right around 26 miles to the towers. I have a CM4220 (2 bay) inside my attic pointing out the gable end and it works spectacularly and even pulls in SF locals some nights. Hope that helps.

/troy

ccallana,

I checked a couple of generic zip codes for Folsom at TVFool, and found it not to be a really good place for Bay Area stations, except for the South Bay. However, Folsom is certainly not all flat terrain, and this could make S.F. stations within reach for you. You should visit the TVFool site and get the results for your exact address. The results might influence your decision on antenna and where to place it. The TVFool results will likely not have any influence on the BBQ in El Dorado.

Good Luck

Question: For the Sacramento-area folks getting Bay Area stations, are you making a specific effort to do so?

My roof-mounted antenna (in Davis) is pointed at Walnut Grove. The Bay Area transmitters are about 70 degrees off from that heading. Under rare weather conditions I get KPIX, but that's about it.

There's a lot of useful data there except for the channel assignments, which appear to be pre-June 12th. KVIE and KXTV are shown on their UHF slots.

--Ron

W9WI is pulling straight from the FCC database, which still lists those channels.

- Trip

These 42xx series antennas are better on hi VHF than most other UHF antennas are but they are still poor compared to an antenna designed for hi VHF. Some people who have strong signals are getting by but don't expect it to pull in those fringe VHF stations.

Chuck