Charlotte, NC - OTA - Page 33

You must have the same IT guy that we do...

Yep.. WRDC-DT UPN Raleigh is now high power on Ch27, so I'd say you're correct.

Now I'm really confused! So my receiver can't decide which channel 27 to pick-up?
I've got my antenna pointed towards Charlotte, the guide shows 18-1 WCCB (channel 27), but I'm getting very little signal because of interference from channel 27 in Raleigh/Durham? Is there anything else I can do? Why would the FCC put two channel 27's so close together? Now apparently, I can't get either one! Just great!

Yea, basically. Based on coverage maps, that's our guess. We could turn the transmitter off one day briefly (during Springer, of course) while you're home and let you scan for WRDC to
confirm.

Got another complaint today from a guy in greensboro..same problem..

Bob, co-channel--analog vs digital--is creating a small problem for me between Charlotte's 9 and Greenville's 9. What do you anticipate between two VHF co-channel DTs? Are new RX designs solving such problems? (My most reliable PBS is now Rock Hill, having all but lost the Mt. Pisgah signal after a couple of years of steady reception.)

You can't overcome the laws of physics with a better design... The same problems that exist for analog affect digital, only now there will be no picture..

Scotty is that you?

No captain, that would be illogical.

" You can't overcome the laws of physics with a better design... The same problems that exist for analog affect digital, only now there will be no picture"

A parabolic antenna would be nice ?

Yea, if only 8' in diameter!!

I have had an Antenna's direct DB4 on my roof for several months and just recently noticed that WCCB is not as strong as it once was. I used to have 8 to 9 bars on the strength meter and now it has dropped down to 4 or 5. At times the signal disappears altogether and will reappear several minutes later.
I am in Cornelius and have always had a very strong, solid signal from WCCB but it is flakey now. Any ideas on what has changed? I was thinking it was just me but I see here several people experiencing the change as well.
Hopefully it gets resolved before football season!!

"Several Months" makes me think that it might have to do with extra foliage, also it may fluctuate with the weather, I know mine does. If it's windy or rainy, WCCB is not so reliable, other days it's solid as a rock.

After this week, I've given up hope of restoring WCCB's digital signal strength at my location! Apparently because the FCC in its infinite wisdom decided to put TWO digital channel 27's both 75 miles away from me, I can't get a viewable signal on either one of them! Being a long-time customer of D*, I called Customer Retention, and was able to get both of my HD receivers replaced with MPEG4 boxes and get installation of the new dish for free. I wanted to wait for the smaller 5LNB dish but Panther football is just around the corner! At any rate, the install is scheduled for this Saturday, so I will report back. The only bad news is that D* doesn't have WBTV (channel 3) in HD yet. Hopefully, that will be taken care of soon. WBTV is my next weakest Charlotte digital signal. Keeping my fingers crossed!!!

Thanks to Dale and Bob for your advice and help!

Good news James! Glad to see you will still be able to view us! Hope the post office was good to you Too. Maybe you can be our official duhwreckedtv watcher, and let me know how it looks!

But hey, maybe when we get WFXB to full power later this year, you can see it! I'll let you know when we do! But, their digital is on channel 18, which is, as you know, our analog channel! Talk about infighting!

Note: Bahakel Communications, owner of WCCB, is in the process of purchasing WFXB..

Well, as promised here's the update on my "conversion" to D* MPEG4 technology. The technician (from Charlotte, of course) arrived at my house at 11:00 a.m. Saturday morning to install the new dish and swap out 2 of my HD receivers. Everything went smoothly at first as he installed the dish and I disconnected my old receivers and even hooked up the new ones for him. He did not run any new coax, using what was already there. Then he came inside to call and activate the new receivers. He and I both had a terrible time even understanding the CSR he connected with! Things went downhill rapidly. First, she disconnected the wrong receivers, then she couldn't even get the Charlotte locals up (even in SD)! After a couple of hours, we got the Charlotte locals in SD, but NO HD! He got discouraged, called his supervisor, and left! He said someone would be back on MONDAY! Not being one to give up easily, I called D* and ask to speak with someone in advanced technical support. To make a long story short, after having to completely reset everything on the receivers, and going through a complete setup again, the Charlotte locals appeared in HD! Still, the tech lady (who was great!) said my signal strengths were slightly low and suggested that I let a technician (hopefully a different one) come out on Monday to check the dish alignment. As to the picture quality, my OTA picture is still slightly better on WSOC and WCNC. But--the FOX HD from D* is definitely better than the black screen I was getting OTA! Oh well, that's my story for now!

Where in NC are you located? Are you still in the Charlotte DMA?

Hey CPanther! I'm down in Richmond County, less than two hours away from everything--Charlotte, Raleigh/Durham, Greensboro, Columbia, Myrtle Beach, etc.! But we are in the Charlotte DMA, although I'm sure nobody up there wants to claim us!LOL!

I'm not surprised, having just received my HD receiver and dish. After reading the installation isntructions, if they send out the average flunky dish installer you probably would have problems. The installation and alignmnet on the new dish is quite involved.

Stupid question, is D* Dish Network or Direct TV?


Remember, there are no stupid questions, only stupid people. Heheh

Brings to mind the quote: "All people are idiots until proven otherwise"

D* = Directv
E* = Echostar = Dish Network

No problem, wk. D* is the abbreviation used here for DIRECTV. E* (for Echostar) is used for Dish Network.

Edit--CPanther beat me to the punch again!!

...or "If you make it idiot-proof, they'll invent a better idiot".

Good luck on the DIY install, Bob. Maybe you can arrange your schedule to get it done on Wednesday afternoon when the temperature will be a cool 100 or so! When the tech was putting up my dish up Saturday afternoon, I was sure glad it was him and not me out there. (Although if I had done it myself, I might have gotten slightly better alignment!)

Another D* question for you guys! Is there a listing anywhere of what transponder specific channels are on? I know my installer kept saying that the Charlotte HD locals were supposed to be on SAT 99 but NOTHING was on SAT 99!
The tech lady said the same thing, but prefaced it by saying "Sometimes they change things BEFORE they tell anybody!" Are there any listings available? I did a quick search but couldn't seem to find anything fairly recent.

I'm having the same problem in Statesville. This has always been one of the most stable channels. I'm also using a DB4. Has anyone confirmed if something has changed?

Hey, where is everybody? Mikemack and Willy, you've probably encountered the same problem that a number of other people, myself included, have had recently. It seems that UPN-28 from Raleigh/Durham is now broadcasting at full power on digital channel 27 (the same as WCCB). Their signals overlap, and now many people (myself included again!), can't pick up a decent signal from either! Apparently, there is no solution at this point. OTA people are SOL as far as picking up WCCB's digital signal. I went ahead and added HD locals from D* last week just because of the Panthers being broadcast in HD.