Quote:
Originally Posted by Robert Grant
Channel 8 (WJW/FOX) actually transmits on channel 8, which makes it a VHF-high station. It doesn't have as much power as its Detroit stablemate WJBK. It does benefit from having an omnidirectional pattern and infrequent co-channel interference.
Channel 10 (WOIO/CBS, and soon to be joined by WUAB's programs) is not as lucky. It is short-spaced to CFPL in London, Ontario. Worse, most of this path is over Lake Erie, which often causes serious interference (from tropospheric refraction) in the spring and summer. As a result, WOIO has less power, has a directional pattern with less signal to the north, and is prone to having its signal trounced by CFPL.
You may be able to get CBS with a modest VHF-capable outdoor antenna on the chimney, or, if that is not possible, in the attic.
In my case, the Detroit stations are fifty miles away*. The ABC affiliate is 1000kW ERP on channel 41, while the Fox station is 27kW ERP on channel 7. The ABC is the easiest Detroit station to get on the indoor antenna, but the Fox station is the easiest to receive on the outdoor antenna, despite the massive disparity in ERP.
*the NBC affiliate is 52 miles, while one independent station is 63 miles and on a short tower. The latter is only receivable when tropospheric refraction is in.
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I live in an apartment building, so using an outdoor antenna anywhere is out of the question (as my apartment is on the first floor of a two-story building, I do not have an attic, and there are no chimneys easily accessible on the roof of the building). Moreover, I am not about to get into any kind of discussion with my landlord as to the FCC's rules regarding outdoor television antennas in apartment buildings; he probably wouldn't understand or care about them.
Channel 19 has 3.720 megawatts of power, so there is (or should be) no excuse for it not reaching my area, even today (although that doesn't concern me, for reasons I will explain at the end of this paragraph). I do not believe for one second they decreased their output when they went digital, but the fact that most of their signal goes over Lake Erie may have something to do with my reception problems. However, all of this makes no difference to me, as I watch TV exclusively via streaming video, not OTA.
BTW, your explanations of why certain Detroit TV stations do not reach your area went right over my head. I have an amateur radio license, but I have been away from the hobby so long, except for Echolink, an amateur radio linking app, and 2-meter FM (due to lease restrictions forbidding me to put up any kind of antennas, and the changes that have occurred in the hobby since I started in 1972), I have forgotten most of what I used to know about signal propagation or whatever it is. Since television went digital in 2009, I haven't the foggiest idea of how my flat screen TV works--all I know (or care about) anymore is that it does work with my Roku streaming video player, VCR, and DVD player.
If you have such trouble as you mention getting certain Detroit television stations at your home, why are you bothering with antennas at all? I'd suggest getting cable or satellite, unless your area of Michigan is so far out in the boondocks even these services won't work. Many cable companies do not provide service to extreme fringe areas, and satellite signals reach only so far.
I am leaving all the technical explanations to the experts and engineers (think wa2ise) on VK. I am beginning to think VK has changed so much since I joined these forums 15 years ago (with all the present or former TV technicians/dealers and engineers now posting here) that I don't belong here anymore. One VK member in Arizona told me, in a recent reply to one of my posts, he is about ready to stop reading my messages anyway, so maybe it's just as well.