Knoxville, TN - HDTV - Page 60

WMAK-7 and WBIR-10 operate on VHF, while the other Knoxville area stations broadcast on UHF. Your current and former antenna are not adequate to pull in a VHF station. The lower the rf channel number, the bigger the antenna is the general rule. Another rule in tv reception is antenna placment outside (high and outside) is generally best.

The new antenna specified it receives VHF signals (the first one did not). I just wouldn't have thought that being only 5 miles from the transmitter with few obstacles between there and here would have resulted in such difficulty receiving a digital station.

I can claim I'm from Saturn, but that doesn't make it true.

The flat antennas are crap. If it doesn't look like an antenna, it probably isn't a good one. You're going to need something larger than that in order to make your reception reliable.

- Trip

You're not from Saturn??? ;-) Your observations about the flat antennas are spot on.

Another possibility is investigating putting a larger VHF capable antenna in the attic. There are some pitfalls with an attic installation. The attic must be accessible and not have metal or foil insulation in the roof for starters. Outside will almost always work best.

He could try good ole rabbit ears before
going to the attic or outside.

The old style rabbit ears that have two collapsible elements will certainly work better than many of the flat units. Even a trimmed down FM folded dipole may work okay oriented horizontally and broadside to Sharp's Ridge.

ok, so i posted this problem several months ago and never got any fix for it (not b/c of the members here btw) and i went with att uverse for my cable. Well, im over att uverse and their bandwidth caps and constant erasure of DVR contents etc etc. So I reinstalled my antenna, a ChannelMaster 4228HD. My house is located towards the bottom of a hill, but I mounted the antenna on my roof, on top of a 10' piece of 2" conduit. So my antenna is approx. 30' + or - above ground level. The highest I could get it. Here is the link to my info as per TV Fool:
Attachment 231437

To me it seems that I would be able to pick up all the major network locals, but I am only receiving CBS and Fox. Now I was under the impression that one of the locals broadcasts off the same tower as Fox. Correct me if I am wrong. If this is the case, I should be able to get that station also, yet FOX and CBS are the only stations I get. WTH is going on? When I am pointing the antenna, which azimuth- the true or magnetic or does this matter? Is my antenna adequate? I am willing to get something such as one of the Winegard big dogs if it will help. Trying to cut cable and this is the last step. Anyone with any ideas please help. Thanks so much.

I live in Maryville, near Blount Memorial Hospital btw.

You have a UHF only antenna so it may be understandable that ch 7 and 10 are not received; however, you should be able to get ch 6 (RF channel 26) and probably channel 15 (RF channel 17) so something else is going on. FYI, Ch 8 is RF channel 30 and CH 43 is RF channel 34. You will probably need a VHF/UHF antenna to get ch 7 and 10 although in a good signal area even a UHF antenna will work on VHF. CH 10 is RF channel 10 and ch 7 is RF channel 7. This info shows on your screen capture.

Do the simple stuff first. Be sure the side of the antenna with the crisscross wire elements is facing Knoxville. Check or recheck your antenna connections. Are they rain tight and dry? Rescan to see if your tuner has mapped all of the channels. Remove any splitters at least to start and go directly into one set.

As far as antenna orientation, assuming you have the side with the elements facing Knoxville, the azimuth is not highly critical. The only station not nearly due North from you is WBXX. With any luck you may still have enough signal from them even with the antenna peaked toward Knoxville.

Point in fact, there are four towers in Knoxville with DTV antennas. Ch 15 and 8 share a tower. CH 6 and 43 share a tower. CH 10 is on a separate tower as is ch 7. These towers are all in the same general area and about the same height so from Blount county they will appear to be in the same direction.

Thanks for the reply! I was thinking that the type of antenna was the problem, and to me it seems that is the case judging from your reply. The antenna is pointed correctly as far as which side is facing knox, and all connections are good. I will look at purchasing a true VHF/UHF antenna and see if that fixes my issue, which I believe it will. BTW anybody want to buy a CM 4228HD antenna :->

Specs on the CM 4228HD from the Channel Master site: The Channel Master CM 4228HD is an 8-Bay HD and UHF outdoor TV antenna which also picks up High VHF. This antenna has a High VHF signal range of up to 45 miles picking up available local channels 7 thru 13 and a UHF reception range of up to 60 miles picking up channels 14 thru 69. This antenna is optimal for receiving the highest quality UHF and HD signals available. With an HD television you will pick up any crystal clear HD signals being broadcast in your area.

Reception Range High VHF: Channels 7 thru 13 up to 45 miles
Reception Range UHF: Channels 14 thru 69 up to 60 miles
Picks up UHF, High VHF and HD
Antenna Size: 5.5 x 41 x 33 in
Easy installation
Easily mounts to a traditional antenna mast
For maximum performance, a Channel Master preamplifier should be used with this antenna

Using a UHF bowtie antenna on high band VHF may be a little bit of a stretch or manufacturer hyperbole. That being said, if the problem preventing ch 6 (RF 26 UHF) and ch 15 (RF 17 UHF) reception is found, the antenna may work on 7 and 10. Notice ch 6 (RF 26) that you don't receive is stronger than 8 and 43 that you do receive okay. Something is fishy there.

Here's the antenna site that I personally like to use:

http://transition.fcc.gov/mb/engineering/maps/

Just plug in your address. It appears that they are calculating using terrain data.

BTW, to check the coax connections, you really should remove each one to be sure that the center wire is not broken off or pinched to one side shorting out the cable. Be sure there is no foil or stray wires shorting the center to the outer braid by looking into each f connector. Check each connector in the line (at the grounding block for instance) and not just the ends. If the cable passes through a pinch point or is tacked in place with staples, you may want to really study the cable to see if it has become shorted.

I have the earlier version of this CM antenna minus the "HD".I pick up all the local stations very strongly,whether UHF or VHF,several ION channels and a CW station from Crossville and mine is mounted in the attic.I am thinking like you have suggested,a connection issue or line of sight.

OK guys I will do a really thorough check of my cable integrity over the holidays. I have spare rg6 quad to re-run if I have to. I appreciate the responses. I went to the DTV.gov website linked and in fact I "should" be able to receive abc and nbc along with what I am getting. I just dont understand how I can be receiving every station on that list in green (DTV.gov) except abc and nbc. Its obviously a conspiracy!

Don't forget to rescan!

Just noticed The CW (WBXX 20) is now HD on DirecTV. When did this happen? Have I been asleep? It looks great. I've been waiting for this since Jan of 08 when we finally got the other locals in HD.

Does anyone in the Knoxville area have any success pulling in long range signals from say Johnson City or Chattanooga? And if so could you tell me what type of antenna you are using.Thanks.

12/21/11 is when it went live.

I'm located in Williamsburg, KY - About 15 miles north of TN/KY border. It's about 50 miles (straight line) from Knoxville. Anyone have any input on my chances of picking up Knoxville stations OTA from here?

Any info/advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I used to live in Corbin and had good success
with wate, wtnz, and wbir. Wymt is also
Doable from Hazard. The others are more
difficult or at least were for me. You need the
biggest and highest antenna possible and a
good amplifier--search back in the thread
for my posts and you'll probably get more info
than you want/need.

Hoping the group can help point me in the right direction.

I just moved into a new house and installed an RCA ANT751R on the second story. It works great -- 100% quality and 75-90% strength across the board -- except for WKOP-15 (12.7 miles away). When watching that channel, the signal drops out for a moment or two every 10-15 seconds. It is consistent and frustrating. Every other channel is nearly perfect.

I thought it might be multipath, but I'm not seeing the same issue on WVLT-8, and as I understand it, they share the same tower. Could a multipath problem present itself on just one channel? Anyone else having problems with WKOP's signal right now? Any other thoughts on what it could be and/or how to correct it?

Thanks.

ok so a little update to my dilemma...
I re-ran brand spanking new rg6 quad DIRECTLY from my CM4228HD into the tv and rescanned. I still get every channel I should with the exception of WBIR (NBC) and WATE (ABC). I have just about given up hope. I'm thinking that my next move is a new antenna to see if that would be the cure, but I'm not sure about type....maybe a winegard 8200U or something like that maybe? (I know, its probably overkill). I will take any suggestions btw! I went down to the hardware store and got a pair of rabbit ears and hooked those directly into the tv set and that got me absolutely nowhere, so thats when I decided to rerun the rg6. So here I sit, typing this, and hoping its just my antenna. I checked the balun on my current antenna and all seems well, but then again I could possibly be missing something. Who knows, right? Thanks for the replies folks!

I'm not getting some of the new channels on my TiVo via Comcast -- like 387 Discovery ID, for example. Is everyone else getting this?

I'm wondering if it's a cablecard thing, a TiVo thing, or a Comcast issue.

Anyone have any ideas?

I don't get it but I have Digital Starter. They withhold many channels from me. I have no idea if I'm supposed to get it.

Investigation Discovery (ID) is only available in Digital Preferred or higher package.

Thanks! My bill says "Digital Preferred W/On Demand", so I guess I'm supposed to get ID in HD on channel 387.

I guess I have to call Comcast - not looking forward to that.

I am having at least one of the same issues that astrohed is having. I am in Farragut and I cannot receive WATE (ABC, Dig 26) or WBXX (CW, Dig 20). I know the tower for WBXX is 90 degrees off or so from the Sharp's Ridge, but even pointing the antenna toward WBXX I still can't pick up a clear signal.

Here is what our setup looks like:

Antenna: RCA ANT3038XR (10' Boom Yagi, in the attic)
Pre-Amp: Winegard AP-8703
Unknown Length of House installed cable with a small run outside.
Tuners: Various TVs plus an HDHomerun (all seem to pickup the same channels)

The house is in a small valley in a very hilly neighborhood, the attic is above the 2nd floor. Without the Pre-amp I still don't get WATE and I lose some of these channels:

Digtal Channel\\Signal\\SNR Quality\\Symbol Quality
7(WMAK)\\93\\100\\100
10(WBIR)93\\98\\100
17(WKOP)\\90\\89\\100
30(WVLT)\\82\\54\\100
34(WTNZ)\\74\\54\\100
------------------
26(WATE)\\66\\0\\0
20(WBXX)\\69\\0\\0 (The signal greatly increases when the antenna is turned)

I got the above data from the HDHomerun. I was under the impression that WATE has the strongest signal in the area (from TVfool), which makes me think the signal might be very noisy, but I know almost nothing about this topic. There is an FM trap on the Pre-amp which did not seem to help when it is put in-line and adjusted. I also tried an RF interference filter which made things worse when put before the amp and did nothing when placed after the amp. I also tried a TV in the attic with only a small run of cable and saw the same channels as with the longer coax runs. Thoughts that crossed my mind were HAM antennas, but I asked someone knowledgable about that and they said most likely not the issue. There are also cell phone towers in the area but not in-line with the WATE tower, but very close to in-line with the WBXX tower.

Anyone have any suggestions? I am at a loss.

Definitely sounds like multipath to me. WTNZ and WATE are sharing an antenna, as are WVLT and WKOP, which makes the signal quality difference between those two rather odd.

What's puzzling is that WATE's signal strength is so much lower than the others. If it was interference or multipath alone, the strength would be high and the quality would be low (like WVLT, for instance).

Have you tried moving the antenna up or down a few inches, or if it can be moved in any other direction, in those directions? There will often be "sweet spots" where reception is just better for some reason. That may help with your reception.

- Trip

Having been back with Comcast for 10 years (mostly for the net) I have seen Basic TV go from $12.95 to $20.95 per month. A couple of years ago I called Comcast and ask why the price increase, the CSR stated the price increase was to pay for the new DT gear. Now Comcast states that Basic TV is only Analog and the Digital is just there. Recently Comcast encoded 4 of the DT stations that I have received for years as part of my Basic plan requiring a box to receive them. I feed 11 devices and cannot have a box on recorders, HDHomeRuns, etc. Why buy a TV with a digital tuner to replace it with a box so Comcast can monitor what one watches. Plus the fact that basic cable and the basic net were higher priced together then the basic net alone. (Feb 2012 pricing)

I installed a Hybrid outdoor antenna which is lower then my roof top. I bought two full range antennas removing the bigger UHF component and attaching it to the other (smaller) VHF component. I tried a Wineguard preamp but lost the UHF Freqs. I had an extra 15db Motorola drop amp so I am using it as a preamp. (Seems to work great) I have a total of 3 Motorola drop amps in my system feeding those 11 devices.

I am due west of Sharps Ridge some 30 miles away, WBXX is being received sideways on the UHF component, I am about 10 miles from Buffalo Mt.

I have some occasional dropouts but I am happy.

Here is the data taken from the HDHomeRun device today around midnight:

Attachment 233542

I only had a little time to move the antenna around tonight. I was only able to move the antenna a few feet left and right. I was able to see the same issue with other channels while moving the antenna, so I have not found the sweet spot but it looks like you may be on the right track. I only hope I have room to move this beast around enough to find the spot.

Is there a better option for a pre-amp than the Winegard AP-8703, without it I get little if anything from the antenna. I also guess moving the antenna outside would help but I am trying to avoid that.

clay

so did you cancel Comcast?