DTV woes continue

[peverett]

I am not sure this is the place to post this, but all is not well in DTV land.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32917495...h_and_gadgets/

[Dan Starnes]

That news article ran in our local paper today. While I am not having any problems, many people who live in Quincy IL are.

[N9ZQA]

We've had a few shakeups here in the Chicagoland area as well. WBBM, channel 2 was broadcasting its digital signal on channel 3 until earlier this year when it moved to channel 12. Plans are also in the works to construct a translator station broadcasting on channel 26 for fill-in purposes.

WLS, channel 7 was broadcasting its digital signal on channel 52 before the shutdown, but (as did most of the ABC O&O stations) moved back to their original channel assignment. They've since been granted a temporary increase in power until their move to channel 44, which is supposed to happen somewhere between the middle and end of next month.

There's no doubt about it; digital is proving to be a completely different animal. I can receive all of the Chicagoland digital channels (with the exception of 2 and 7) in my living room with no problems, but moving the set to another room wipes things out completely.

-Jim

[OvenMaster]

I have an amplified outdoor antenna with a rotator. I had no problem getting all analog stations in my area up to about 60 miles away. Digital reception is now is all over the map. I've got an NBC outlet on channel 11 whose transmitter is four miles away, but since there are houses in the way, reception often drops out when cars drive by my house! Other stations 25 miles away are no-shows when there are leaves on the trees; that means no CBS from April to October. Rain? No Fox. PBS has tiling year round. Anything more than 30 miles is now totally gone, year round.

Yup. DTV was a great idea.

[NowhereMan 1966]

I know here in Pittsburgh, a few stations are asking for translators because of the hilly area. The upside is that I can get WTAE-TV better digitally than analogue but even they want a translator since historically, they had a bad signal.

[ChrisW6ATV]

So, some people cannot receive digital TV very well... This is "news"?

Why was it never a scandal when NO portable TV ever received analog NTSC channel 2 clearly? How many people EVER used a built-in antenna on a TV and got a truly one-hundred percent ghost-free and snow-free picture on multiple stations at the same time with analog TV?

Why do they never announce how good the signals are for the many people who DO receive digital TV just fine, and the much higher number and variety of channels available now?

My neighbors and I receive every (or nearly every) digital channel from several different directions, from stations 20-30 miles away. That is with rabbit ears!.

[MRX37]

Know what's funny here?

We have an LP religious station (Channel 38} that I can pickup without an antenna, in a Cinderblock building with a metal roof... yet I have trouble picking up Channel 50 which is a full power station.

[peverett]

I have seen many instances where the analog TV signal had snow, ghosts, etc. The point is, that even with these flaws-the signal was still USEABLE!. This is not at all true of DTV. In poor weather, when it is needed most, I have seen DTV become completely worthless. Luckily analog TV was still being broadcast at that time.

It does not matter how perfect the picture is (or how many channels are available) if the signal cannot be received.

However, I do want to make one thing clear-I am not advocating going back to all analog broadcasting. What I would advocate is to modify the (very poor in my opinion) DTV law to allow(not force-allow) analog broadcasting on a portion of the TV bandwidth. From the MSNBC article and others that I have read, the lower VHF band (2-6) would be the bandwidth of choice.

[Zenith26kc20]

Use a Channel Master 4251 and a Wade VIP-307. I can still get Mexico fairly regular on VHF (analog). Reliable digital is around 70 miles with the Channel Master. No really long distance VHF digital. Tropo on the 4251 is fun but spotty.
More channels
Better pictures
Better sound
Trust me.......... It's a real Rolex, really.......

[peverett]

If you are getting Mexico from New Orleans, you are doing very good, even using analog. Where I grew up, we had no trouble getting NTSC analog at a distance of 70 miles, even in stormy weather. This was with a beat up external antenna(Oklahoma is very windy and hard on antennas if trees are nearby). Admittedly, the picture became snowy, but we were able to quickly get the news that a tornado had hit a nearby town even with the 1960s technology TV we had.

[Zenith26kc20]

I enjoy a good DX when the band is open. The VIP-307 replaced a Channel Master 3671 which is now primarily my FM antenna. There are shows on OTA stations that are not on cable. Last night was a 55 mile pickup (easy) on the CM4251. Been DXing for years!