[MikeySoft]

My mom lives about 30 miles east of NYC (zip 11758) and is having problems with the DTV box I gave her. She said she cannot get 13 and 2 and 4 are sometimes bad. I plan to replace her very old VHF/FM/UHF antenna and exterior wiring when I visit her in a few weeks. Interior wiring was replaced a long time ago.


My search found posts about problems with digital 13 and sometime other channels. So I am hoping she will only need a simple high band vhf/uhf antenna, something like the Winegard HD-1080 2-Bay Bowtie UHF with High Band VHF Antenna. I rally don't want to put a high gain antenna up.


I looked at tvfool.com and my interpretation is a simple antenna like Winegard HD-1080 should work.


Could someone verify my interpretation of TVfool.com for this zip code (11758)?

Could someone give me the latest status of digital stations (especially 13) in the NYC area?

 

[afiggatt]

WNET-DT PBS 13 is currently operating at low power on UHF 61, but will switch it's digital channel back to VHF 13 at a better power level next February after the analog shutdown. WABC-DT 7 and WPIX-DT 11 will also move from UHF to the their upper VHF channels. So as you appear to know, you will need to receive upper VHF and UHF.


If your grandmother wants to get WNET 13, you may either need a converter box with RF pass-through or put in a RF splitter to run the antenna signal to the analog tuner in the TV. But your grandmother will have to be willing to switch between the digital converter box and the TV NTSC tuner. However, a better antenna might get the weak signal for WNET-DT.


The results for the zip code show good signal levels and good line of sight for the NYC stations. Replacing the old antenna with a Winegard HD-1080 and the cable with good quality RG-6 is a good choice to try.

 

[MikeySoft]

Thanks, Do you know if WNET-DT will be at low power until February 2009 or will it go to higher power before then?


I am debating to replace the old antenna with the Winegard HD-1080 or the Winegard HD-7694. I think the 1080 should be good enough and I like the small size. But I only want to replace the antenna once.

I'm also a little concern that she may lose WLIW-DT which is about 100 degrees in a different direction then NYC. She can get in now even when the old antenna is pointed to NYC. WLIW-DT is only about 5 miles away. I not sure she can get it because the old antenna or because it is so close.

 

[afiggatt]



Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeySoft /forum/post/14197155


Thanks, Do you know if WNET-DT will be at low power until February 2009 or will it go to higher power before then?

The FCC database for WNET-DT PBS 13 shows the highest STA power is 12.4 kW on UHF 61 which is low power for digital UHF. You should check with the NYC OTA local thread, but the station is likely to stay at low power on it's digital channel until they switch to VHF 13 next February 17. WNET filed their transition plan with the FCC in February if you want to read it (the specifics are down in the exhibits near the bottom of the form): http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws....&fac_num=18795 .


I would expect the HD-1080 to pick up a station in the opposite direction only 5 miles away. The flat panel bowties have some pickup to the backside and are often used to get stations in roughly opposite directions. The HD-7694 would also probably pick up WLIW-DT at 5 miles.

 

[MikeySoft]

Thanks for the information. I did some additional research and found this on NET web page.

Quote:
Please note: Some viewers may still have trouble receiving Thirteen DTV before February 17, 2009 - even with a dual-antenna and a converter box. This is due to the reduced-power transmitter Thirteen has been using since the destruction of the World Trade Center. If you cannot receive Thirteen DTV, you can watch the non-digital Channel Thirteen on an old-style analog television set, or by using a converter box with an analog pass-through feature, until February 17, 2009, when Thirteen will switch to a high-power DTV transmitter that will reach everyone in the viewing area.