Houston, TX - OTA - Page 193

I have a similar setup at my home, and a couple of years ago, I noticed a lowering of signal strength, and most stations that I was getting with no problem, all of a sudden started dropping out. It turned out that one of my cable joints in my outside run had gotten water into the connection and had corroded the inside. Once I ran a new cable and made sure my connections were weatherproof, I was good to go.

By any chance, did your reception issues start after a recent rain storm?

I have had the same issue also.

I saw that yesterday...made me queasy...that sure looks like it, huh?

Ditching Comcast, going OTA -- we live in Humble/Atascocita near the highschool. And in an apt. complex.

Antennaweb calls for a red/blue/purple mast. I've seen diy 'coathanger' antennas on Youtube...just saying I'm all for getting my hands dirty and make something if the indoor models won't cut it.

Thoughts?

I live in Humble, as well, and I had to go with an outdoor antenna to get most of the local channels. I can still pick up many, though, with just an indoor antenna. What floor is your apartment on, and do you have a window near your tv that faces southwest?

Btw, I have a converter box and a couple of indoor antennas that you can borrow to try and see what kind of reception you can get before you purchase anything, if you like.

KZHO-LD, RF 39/virtual 38 is on the air from the top of JPMorgan Chase Tower.

38.1 has Visión Celestial; 38.2 and 38.3 are still being tested.

I know it's a rule that a new station on a physical channel that is already in use as another station's virtual channel has to use the other station's physical channel as their virtual channel. But for the life of me I cannot find that in the CFR. Trip, do you know?

Never mind, I found the rule.

It's in the ATSC Standard A_65, Annex B, part 1.1.4.

We're on the second floor, and unfortunately we face east :-( I'll give a makeshift outdoor a try...I mean, I got almost all the locals with a paperclip at the highschool, so surely we'll be able to pick up SOMETHING :-) i'm looking for at a Hulu box for USA and SyFy stuff...

Remember the OTARD law allows you to put a TV antenna in your "personal" area of an apartment complex...if you have a front porch or back porch on your apt, you can legally put an outside antenna there...If you need more info, its all on the FCC web site (Search OTARD and you should find it)

I am picking up the channel(s). 38.2 and 38.3 are live. Saw some religious programming on it. I can see the Chase Tower from my place, so my rabbit ears pick it up.

We REALLY need to get rid of this virtual channel crap....It does nothing but CONFUSE the public!!!! Our local CBS that was on 6 but now on 21 has calls all day long from viewers complaining they cannot get 6 anymore..the Chief Egr explains they are on 21 now...and when the little old lady, etc scans them in, then they get it...BUT its gone on way too long...calling a UHF station TV2 is ridiculous....Its time to slowly start changing where the station channel IS their channel period....Its happened in the past with FM and AM AND TV signals....NO reason to keep this idiotic requirement anymore.

I agree 100%!

It should have happened within a year of the transition. Period.

Is anyone in the Houston area getting any signal from channel 49? They were granted a License To Cover by the FCC the other day, but I really don't think they are there. They are supposed to be on the 2000 foot Devers Tower at a height of 500 meters above ground with a 15 KW ERP signal.

The coverage map shows a signal well into the east side of Houston and over to Beaumont, which I think is a stretch at best.

But anyway, I would liike to know if anyone is even getting a sniff from this supposedly on the air station...

They were granted a Minor Modification application on 6-25-10 and were granted a License To cover on 9-22-10. I am hard pressed to think that they got this built at a height of 500 meters in less than 3 months. Just sayin', you know???

I see nothing from the Westchase area. What are their calls?

KEHO-LD.

- Trip

I'm out of town untill this weekend but I'll see if I can pull it in with my rig then and post my results.

-ML

Ahhh, I dont know if anyone mentioned this earlier....57.1 KAZH is carrying English programming now and calling themselves The Kube!!!....10-11pm is Star Trek, the Original Series (right now I am watching "Space Seed" with Ricardo Montalban (who was KKKKAAAHHHNNN! ) It's the digital remastered version by CBS with the Enterprise CGed.....Twilight Zone is on after ST!!!

I finally got my Antennacraft HBU33 completely set up outside this evening. I mounted the CM-7777 pre-amp to the mast. Came inside and now all my channels have really solid signals. The only exception is CW39. I still can't get it. Any ideas? Thanks.

A generic TVfool report for your city shows CW39 at the top of the list as far as signal power goes. Therefore, i suspect the problem is one of the following:

Multi-path: Check aim and location of antenna. Might need adjustment.

Scanning: Re-scan and see if it gets picked up. Check signal meter for that channel if your set is so equipped. A signal meter that fluctuates greatly usually indicates severe multi-path or amplifier overload.

7777: Remove both pieces. You have plenty of signal and the deep fringe amp is unnecessary anyway. While the math doesn't suggest that overload is probable, the numbers put that possibility "realclose".

Since KZHO-LD signed on RF 39, I have very low signal on KHCW RF 38 out in Katy. I went from 100% to low 70s and an occasional dropout. I plan on sending KHCW an email letting them know about the difficulty KZHO-LD is causing. I'm out in Katy where KZHO-LD is very weak and it appears to be causing problems... I'm curious to see how it's affecting people near the transmitter (Atop Chase tower downtown) such as in the heights area and northeast side where your directional antenna is looking directly at both signals with a shorter distance to KZHO-LD.

I'm using an attic mounted 4-bay CM 4021 pointed at Missouri City, btw.

FYI: Former KAZH, virtual channel 57 has changed its call sign to KUBE.

What is KHCW?

Sorry. It was early. KIAH. (formerly KHCW)

Gotcha. As far as any problems. I am in midtown, so the new LP station is north of me, and not causing any problems w/ KIAH. Then again, I don't watch much on KIAH. I'll sample their news every so often, but so far... no problems w/ their signal related to the new station.

KZHO is causing no problems with KIAH for me. I have rabbit ears in Westchase.

I tried to check for a digital signal on channel 49 for KEHO-LD. Nothing there.

-ML

I didn't think that you would have found anything, but thanks for looking.

I don't think it is built. May be time to file a complaint with the FCC and let them investigate, for what it is worth... I just don't think they got it built from scratch in a 3 month time period. This is pet peave area!

I'm in the Dickinson area, and brought home 2 different TVs and 3 different amp'd antennas this weekend (want something out by the hot tub) and NO COMBINATION would pick up CBS OR ABC!!! Got all 50 Hispanic channels though! I read that both are broadcasting on VHF, and that they lowered their power from what they were broadcasting before digital. Can anyone in this area recommend an antenna that can pick up these channels?

Hi Mike,

I live in Dickinson as well so howdy neighbor.

My home is about 25 miles from the transmitter and I get the 3 VHF stations, mine, 11, and 13 indoors on plain ole rabbit ears (about $10).

The amps sometimes cause problems and are sometimes attached to less than full size antennas. Position of the antenna can be critical. The transmitters are in Missouri City so being on that side of your home can help get a stronger signal. The top of a bookshelf can get a few extra feet of elevation. Also, if your home has radiant barrier siding or roofing the VHF signals may not penetrate as well. Some folks put antennas in the attic. There is also the possibility that noisy appliances (computer with the case off) may contribute to VHF problems.

You won't need a big antenna just something that's truly VHF and outdoors should be totally solid.

Also, there's tower work going on this week so you may find some of us on our aux antennas or at reduced power during the daylight hours.

Feel free to drop me a private message or call me at the station.

Marty

Una Vez Más has applied to change the call letters of channel 51 from KNWS to KAZH. This is bound to mean the Azteca América signal will be moving to the main channel.