Quote:
Originally Posted by Penthode
Lo Band VHF for TV in the US and Canada did have its problems. During the summer months the Lo VHF (54-88 MHz) was plagued by co-channel interference between stations even thousands of miles distant. Even a relatively local channel could be wiped out by a strong co-channel station more than 1000km away.
In June 2009, during the "Nightlight" period of the US analog to digital transition, most of the TV stations across the US had already vacated the Lo VHF band with a few remaining nightlight stations only running transition promo loops. I did some DXing from where I then lived in Carbondale Illinois which is almost exactly in the middle of the Continental US. This is what I received in mid June 2009. I captured video clips of their IDs on my cell phone.
The receiver I used was an unmodified RCA Victor TV model 8T243 made in 1948-49. I used a 50ft mast VHF-UHF antenna with rotator. The direction of the antenna position varied as the ducted signal sometimes curved along its travel:
CKCK Channel 2 Regina Sask. 2000km
CBAT channel 4 Fredericton NB 2000km
WGBH channel 2 Boston MA 1500km
WPBT channel 2 Miami FL 1200km
XEFB channel 2 Nuevo Leon 1400km
KRMA channel 6 Denver CO 1500km
KASA channel 2 Santa Fe NM 1600km
KPHO channel 5 Phoenix AZ 2000km
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When I lived in suburban Cleveland, I received some almost unbelievable TV DX. It was in the summer sometime in the '80s, and the station I received on the color TV in my living room at the time was KWGN-TV, channel 2, somewhere out west, 2000 miles from where I lived at the time (I cannot for the life of me remember where the station was located, but it will probably come to me shortly after I post this). In addition, again in the eighties, I received some great TV DX using just the monopole VHF antenna on my 12-inch Sharp all-channel b&w portable TV. The station, again, was an NBC affiliate some 2000 miles away. I was at my grandmother's farm in Richfield, Ohio (between Cleveland and Akron) at the time, and the reception was almost unbelievably good while it lasted.
Unfortunately, however, since I moved to my current residence 21 years ago, I haven't seen any TV DX, since my TV is connected to Spectrum "streaming" TV service, without a cable box (I have been informed by Spectrum that, since I now have this service, I no longer have traditional cable, and so do not need a box). From this, I am thinking the cable operator may not be using traditional cable boxes any longer; however, this is just a guess, although with streaming cable, I am honestly not sure what is going on. I do know, however, that my charge for this service is just under $30 a month; it would be a lot higher, I'm sure, if I had a cable box. Being a senior citizen on a fixed income, this is welcome news, as I honestly do not want or need an additional charge (for a cable box or anything else associated with my television service) on my bill. The additional charges (two) on my cable bill are for Internet and home telephone service.