Is channel 21 digital? I just rescanned my channels and I don't have signal there. I get all the channels with great signal strength too..

PBA 30 maps to 21 on some STB's it seems. Strange that I can't get even a whisper of a signal on either channel since I get the other local digitals pretty well, even with the indoor antenna.

Ahh.. Thanks for the heads up, I am getting 30-1 with around 80%. I'm looking at Charlie Rose right now.

Nice I have been looking forward to having PBS!

Me too, but having no joy in Mudville, er, Lawrenceville. Anyone know if the Samsung SIR-T150 requires PSIP in order to tune a channel? I think that the PSIP may have been turned off for PBA 30.

I'm getting PBS %100 with my SIR-T150 here in Fayetteville.
Not sure about PSIP, but just wanted to let you know I was getting that channel fine.

jb

Ok, thanks. I just don't understand why I am not getting anything for this signal since I get the other major digital stations ok even with my indoor antenna.

Hi all...
Figured I'd chime in from down here in McDonough. :-)
OTA HD equipment is;
Channel Master 4228 - (roof mounted, two stories up, three from the basement and BOY was it scary!) At least 110' high quality RG-6 (with siamesed 16ga ground wire) running to 2Ghz rated 2-way splitter.
HD Tivo 10-250, with at least 40' RG-6 lead from splitter.
Samsung 360 in master bdrm with probably 85' minimum RG-6.

Two HD TV's
Samsung TX-2675 (master bdrm) with ATSC tuner
Mitsu 73615 in Family room, with ATSC tuner.

Giving signal strength I've found is like apples to oranges. The TiVo tells me one thing, the Mitsu another. Same thing for the two Samsung tuners in the bedroom, they both say something different from one another, as well as from what the other tuners in the family room say.

So... given all this, the CBS problem still exists. :-(

Now I did get CBS when I first mounted the antenna and was running a single (albeit much shorter) run of RG-6 down off the roof directly to the TiVo (as well as checking the Samsung 360). CBS worked *then* but hasn't worked since.

I'm reading elsewhere that there may be two reasons for CBS's dismal performance. One is that TBS on 17.1 is so close to 19 that it's 'stomping' on it. The other of course is CBS's refusal to join the 21st century and upgrade their amplifiers output.

So, I ask this... hoping someone out here in the fringe has tried it. ;-)
It's easy enough to just add the 7777 preamp and be done with it, but... if all you are doing is amplifying the existing signal, then you get the same ol' same ol'... crap in, crap out.

What about a dual antenna array? For the same (or less) than the 7777 preamp I can just put up another 4228 antenna, say 40' from the first one and angled 2º~3º towards the first one. Basically the both point towards the same place, just with a couple of degrees overlap. The overall gain would be easily as much as the preamp would provide, yet not amplifying a weak signal, just grabbing more of the signal that's out there.

Ideas anyone??? :-)

WGCL is the source of the local broadcast transmission, and therefore, the source of the problem.

You can probably put up one of those erector-set towers in your yard with a monster antenna and pre-amp to get this local CBS affiliate....

But the bottom line is that until they boost the signal to full power (as opposed to 60% power now), both reception and stability will remain an issue. I personally know of over 30 people who have antennas outside and all get WGCL - but none get a stable signal.

What can you do now - spend a ton of your own money on new antenna equipment, or pick up the phone and complain to the station. Those of us who complained over the past year were finally heard, and got this goofy station to finally find their checkbook and order new equipment from this century. Now it will take another 6 months to get and install the new stuff.

Hey Tony, surprise to see you in a so-new-to-AVS fashion. Haven't seen you on the local forum in some time. I'd be scared to death to install my 4228 onto my roof as its pretty much the same elevation.

Guess I shouldn't be surprised... as the broadcasters are the ones that wanted DTV, yet they are the ones that are the last to get on the train. (Leaving the early adopters to blaze the trail, so to speak.)

You would think with 2005 just around the corner, and the fact that ALL of the programming MUST be simulcast on the digital channel that these guys would 'get it'. Yeah 2006 is the 'scheduled' shut off of the analog channel, and I doubt seriously that it's going to happen by then, but right now they are supposed to be doing a major portion of their programming on the digital channel. (with all of it on there next year.) One would think that they would want to get it 'right' NOW, especially as those of us that have invested in HDTV are the ones that are generally bringing more people on-board.

The idea of a monster antenna tower isn't going to happen. One or two antennas like the 4228 are fine, especially as they are almost invisible when compared to the old VHF/UHF units we grew up with. Some reaching almost 18' in length. Not that the HOA could stop me, but let's be real here... why spend a fortune on a gazillion dollar antenna setup when it's just as easy to do it with a $60.00 unit?

I'm just a bit miffed that CBS allows the local affiliate in a city of some 4 million people to be so stupid. ESPECIALLY with all prime time programs that CBS has. Heck, a lot of what we watch is on CBS. Which of course means that we get it off Satellite, cause' Charter cable ain't cuttin' it.

Guess I'll join in on the 'call to WGCL' club... couldn't hurt.

Ruh-row... you caught me. Been a while since I've been to AVS. Been on-line enough, still Sysoping over on Compuserve. With the new move, new equipment, PC, e-mail etc. figured it'd be just as easy to start over on AVS.

Scared to death? OH YEAH!!! On the roof where the antenna is, it's over the master bedroom, which is a two story cathedral ceiling, which is over the basement garage. And of course the freakin' roof is too steep to even THINK about walking on. I get up there from the back porch, then manage to get to the end of the peak that leads out to the back. From there I straddle the peak and crawl, except there is that funky ridge vent that'll slice your inner thighs if you're not careful. Did a BUNCH of trips up there to get it right, the last three were IN THE DARK! Jesus... I'm getting totally stupid in my old age!!!

Now if I could only get CBS to come in...

TDaddy,

I hear ya on the roof install... my wife would kill me if I tried it but I think in my situation, it's my best bet. My RS double bow tie in the attic isn't cutting it without turning it all the time. Fortunately, my house faces almost due North so hiding an outdoor antenna on the back of the house will be pretty easy.. well except for the 20' extension ladder I'm going to need.

Thanks to Wakey for the amp recommendation from Dow... it helped but I still need a bigger antenna. Looks like Dow will get a little more $$ outta me for that CM 4228.

And, what's with ABC forgetting to switch most of Lost last night? It was in HD from only about 8:20 to 8:30. Thanks ABC!

Hey, I hear ya' on the roof situation! We just moved from an older home (22 years there) and you could do anything you wanted on the roof. But the new houses require a MUCH steeper pitch (generally architecturally governed), not to mention they are pretty much "self cleaning".

I'm lucky that on the back of this house we have a screened porch with a rather flat roof. That leads to the really steep stuff. I can manage to get a running start and make up to where three different peaks come together. Walk along the peak a few feet, up another two feet, then to the peak over the garage. (Which is where I have to straddle it and crawl to the edge.) After putting the antenna up and clamping onto the roof for a couple of hours with my thighs, the next two days I could hardly freakin' walk!

Yep, Dow comes in pretty darned handy! The 4228 isn't but $52.95, awesome antenna for the money. They have the 7777 preamp too, but I'm leaning more towards an additional 4228. In the long run... bigger antenna's mean better gain. And amplifying crap, just gives you [L] amplified[/i] crap.

Not lucky enough to face north or south, actually the garage faces pretty much north. But... we've a lot of trees in the front and you can't see the roof till you are ¾ way down the driveway. OTOH, the A frame ceiling and all the windows in the master face almost east with an amazing view of the creek below and the morning sunrises are incredible.

Ahh... didn't watch Lost yet from last night. I think I may have recorded it via satellite anyhow. At least it'll be one format through the entire show though. We setup the new TiVo before we got the 73" Mits, and most of the shows are in SD. It's only in the last week that I've started moving them to the HD channels. (Mainly because the first 73" Mitsubishi was DEAD OUT OF THE BOX back a month ago. They tried to fix it... which didn't work. (I told them it was a high-voltage problem, they just wouldn't listen.) Then FINALLY this morning they brought the replacement, almost 6 weeks after I bought the first one!

The upside to it is the new set works! Although I had to spend some time with color, white and black levels and especially convergence before it even came close to acceptable. Figure I'll burn it in for a month or two then get a local Atlanta ISF guy out to tweak it. (We use this guy all the time, but don't know if AVS wants me actually saying who it is... figure I'll not just to play it safe.)

TDaddy,

How are you going to run your second 4228? Are you going to use a splitter and combined them down one line? I have one HD TV and also thought about using 2 antennas. My set has 2 OTA inputs but I really don't wanna run another cable from the attic! The first one was a major PITA.

I also have a screened in porch with a relatively flat roof that I can easily get to right out my master bedroom window. I might mount the 4228 there and run a new cable. I'd have to couple it with the existing run in the attic though. That means a run of about 125' total.

Is this happening to anyone else -- On my TV, most of the HD channels are being remapped to the station's NTSC broadcast channel number (e.g., WSB's 39 is remapped to 2.1 and 2.2), but a few are not: WGCL 46 (must tune to 19.1), WUPA 69 (43.1), and WHSG 63 (44.3, .4, .5, .6).

Is this due to the station not supplying the correct bits somewhere in their HD signal, poor signal reception at my end (I wouldn't think so, as all of the above HD signals look OK), or something else?

My TV, a Sony KDF-42WE655 (w/ integraded HDTV tuner), did the mapping automatically. There doesn't appear to be any way to manually adjust the mapping.

I live in Peachtree City, Ga. and I can get all of the stations with no problems normally. However, I have a Samsung SIR-TS160 HD STB and I can hilite channel 5-1 and hit enter and I get no station but if I channel up and back down I can get it. Sometimes I have to do this several times but it does seem to work. Seems to have something to do with acquiring the station's frequency. Anyone have this problem? I have a Channel Master 3677 antenna with a CM 0064 amp and a CM 9521A rotator system.

I thought WSB's digital signal was on 2 (not 39)?

Are those of you who are using the CM 4228 getting the VHF-D channels from it as well as the UHF-D channels? My understanding is that we have a mix of the two in Atlanta currently?

Thanks in advance...

I am getting 2 2-1 channels, 2 5-1 channels etc. The first one has the guide data. The second one doesn't. If I use the guide and hilite the first one with the guide I don't get a channel. If I select the second one then I get the channel but when I display the guide again I'm on the first channel. I did a rescan and got rid to the second channel. I'm not sure what's going on but I'm sure someone here probably understands this phenomenon. I have the CM3677. However I get all the stations on my HD Tivo (HR10-250).

In Atlanta the only VHF channel we currently have is WXIA / NBC which is on VHF 10. The rest are well into UHF territory. Most folks have found that a good UHF antenna works well enough to get 10.1 with no problems.

Just make sure when your STB or TV 'learns' the channels that you go back and delete all the analog channels.

My Samsung 360 did that too in the beginning for some reason. It's the whole ordeal where you have to let it learn all the cable channels, analog ones, digital ones, as well as the satellite channels. For some reason it'd double up on some. Actually I have duplicate channel assignments for a number of channels as Charter Cable uses a lot of the same channel numbers as do the local networks, not to mention satellite channels. I've made it a habit to look at the 'analog', 'digital', 'satellite' icon in the title bar just to make sure which one I'm viewing.

The sweet part is I'm letting the 360 upscale everything to 1080i, (even with component out) and on the 26" 16:9 set in the bedroom satellite and HD look very similar. Going to try DVI just to see if it'll make a difference. Cable for the most part still looks like cable, but satellite looks great. (Much better than on the 73" set, that's for sure!)

Regarding CBS - I live 30 miles south of the airport off I85 and 19-1 is the weakest signal I get but it is also completely stable (which is a very good thing for the CBS game of the week).

Plasmamaniac - since you are nearby - have you been able to tune in PBS on 21? I can get erratic blips on my Samsung 151 but can't lock on.

What is strange is that I cannot seem to get the DV OTA channels to list in the guide on my Samsung SIR-TS160. I setup per advice the service zipcode but what I get are analog OTA or satellite. I rarely will get a 2-1 or 5-1 in the guide, and never any of the -2 even when they are there.

Hey pm, I just received and hooked up my HD Tivo HR10-250 yesterday.
So far I am loving this unit!!!!
I'm glad to see you live in the save county, and are using the same HD Tivo.
I was curious if you are getting PBS 30-1 at all?
I was getting this channel earlier when using my Samsung SIR-T151.
Also, what is your experience with TBS, and PAX.
I usually get CBS 100%, unless it's really windy out.
Thanks for the input...

jb

I get PBS 30-1 on my Samsung SIR-TS160 HD STB but not on my HD Tivo. I don't think that the OTA tuner is as good as what is on the Samsung and it is very sensitive. I have an amp on my antenna and I have heard that I need to put a variable attenuator on it before it goes into the HD Tivo. I have one and will be hooking it up Monday. I am going to the FSU/Virginia game Friday night. I am a Seminole and have season tickets. I use my Samsung to watch Live TV mostly because it does have the zoom feature which the HD Tivo does not plus I can pick up some channels with it that I can't with the HD Tivo. I supposedly was the first person to buy this unit and activate it with Directv according to Directv and the Tivo Community forum where I bought this unit from Robert at ****************.

Has PBS (PBA) shown any HD programming and will Soundstage be in HD tomorrow night (10-16 @10PM). I would love to record the FM show in HD 5.1.

And what's this with Alabama being listed in the same zip code for the "service area"? For instance my zip is 30252 and each time I setup the Samsung it gives me Atlanta, GA and (forget where) AL. Of course it doesn't pull up any stations in AL, (because the antenna isn't pointed that direction I suppose). Go figure...

I believe that I read somewhere that new equipment is on order for HD and it won't be available until 4-6 weeks out. Of course I can't tune the channel anyway so I guess I won't be seeing PBS HD after all. Really weird as I get all of the other channels for the major networks.

We finally got an HDTV and are getting our antenna set up soon. Right now it is a terk tv38 (only big one we could find fast) with no amps at all, a 50' coax coming in from where the antenna mast is clamped to our back deck (hehe), and being tuned on a sony GWIV. We're getting NBC, CBS (yes, it maps to 19.1 and not 46.1 - no clue why), ABC, WATL, UPN, and TBS that I remember all digital. The only things missing are PBS and Fox. Is WAGA DT27 really low power or what? I haven't figured out how to display the signal strength on our TV for the stations that aren't locked in digitally, or else I'd see how the strength is.

Once we get a preamp or move the antenna to the attic or roof (depending on attic signal), hopefully we'll pull in fox hdtv. If it turns out nothing I do w/ the terk will get fox, I'd like to get a winegard from somewhere - anybody in atl been to the winegard dealers? Winegard's website mentioned some DEDC and a DSS/CIS or something like that, both I've never heard of, and both were closed when we got our tv and antenna yesterday, or else we'd have gotten the HD8200P (We got a 8200 something or other Winegard 20 years ago at our old house and were pulling in UHF HD stations from south carolina from about 70ish miles away).

take it easy,
Joel

Seven lines? Not sure I know what that means.

Look up Dow Electronics in Duluth. They will sell to you for cash. 770-232-5300.

Try the Aska AM-125 25 db amp (under 10 bucks) first. Put the amp near the antenna..

Another antenna to try is Wineguards PR 4400 or 4800 for the double array.

You might ask about the channel 11 (NBC) antenna and the necessary combiner. They have been out of stock but should have them now.