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Old 01-28-2015, 10:39 PM
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Jeffhs Jeffhs is offline
<----Zenith C845
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Fairport Harbor, Ohio (near Lake Erie)
Posts: 4,035
Quote:
Originally Posted by NoPegs View Post
Plug your information into www.antennaweb.org and make sure that the channel you're having issues with isn't a "Violet" signal.
I just went to antennaweb.org, logged in, and saw that the channel I am not receiving isn't shown in the list of stations I should be receiving here. That struck me as rather odd; after all, channel 19 is a major TV network affiliate (CBS), and so should have a DTV signal that covers every bit as much area as the analog one did. Because of this (that the station isn't listed as one of the channels normally received in my area), I don't know whether it would be shown with a violet marker on the channel list. The ERP analog transmitter output for this station, as shown on the FCC's listings, is 3.1 kilowatts; the DTV signal's ERP either is not mentioned or I didn't see it in the listing the first time around. I'll have to look at it again; it could very well be that the DTV power level is substantially lower than the analog ERP was.

I do remember reading somewhere that it can be very difficult to receive channel 19's DTV signal in some far-suburban/near-fringe areas without a large, fringe-area antenna. The fact that 19's DTV signal is being transmitted on VHF channel ten isn't helping matters much either. It strikes me as odd, again, that the station was assigned a high-VHF channel for its DTV transmissions, when most TV stations in this area (and nationwide) are now on UHF DTV channels. There is a Canadian television station, almost due north of Cleveland across Lake Erie, on the same channel as channel 19's DTV assignment; this is causing some problems for both stations, in the form of co-channel interference during temperature inversions and other seasonal conditions that cause TV signals to travel hundreds or even thousands (!) of miles beyond their normal service area.

As I mentioned in my last post, channel 19's owner and licensee, Raycom Communications, applied for and was granted permission to increase the station's ERP power level substantially so as to cover the Akron, Ohio area as close to reliably as possible. This power increase is, IMO, a poor solution to the problem (my experience as an amateur radio operator tells me that a more reliable way to increase the range of an RF signal is to raise or improve the antenna system--not to rely on a power increase while using the same antenna system), but apparently the station is doing it this way until such time as they can move their DTV signal to a UHF channel, whenever that may be.



Unfortunately, however, even that power increase is not enough (nowhere near) to remedy the reception problems in areas to the far east and far west of the station's antenna towers in the Cleveland suburb of Parma. The only way, again, that the station is going to even come close to ending these reception problems is to move its signal to a UHF channel. All other TV stations in this area are on UHF DTV assignments, and I can receive them quite well at my apartment using the Zenith amplified DTV indoor antenna. I was experimenting with the antenna earlier today and found that, with the antenna in one certain spot, I could receive 24 DTV channels, but not channel 8 (RF 8) or 19 (RF 10). Some of the stations I am receiving are stations listed in Antennaweb's charts with a violet marker, meaning that a high-power, amplified outdoor antenna must be used to get reliable reception of said stations. Why I am getting these stations "just like downtown" with an indoor antenna is beyond me, but I'm not complaining.

Since I watch channels 8 and 19 most of the time (their subchannels carry Antenna TV and MeTV, respectively), however, I have gone back to cable for the time being, until such time as the reception difficulties at both stations are no longer a problem in my area. Since these stations are almost certainly losing a substantial number of viewers due to these reception problems (many people cannot afford cable, even broadcast basic cable, or satellite, and so have no other choice but to use an antenna), I would hope the stations' owners would do whatever they had to do to improve their signals so that they will cover the entire northeastern Ohio area with few or no gaps or dead spots. Any television station which is affiliated with a major network, after all, cannot afford to be in a situation in which some parts of what should be its normal reception area do not get a usable signal from that station. I'm sure channels 8 and 19 are losing goodness only knows how much advertising revenue because of these reception problems; for that reason, again, I hope they do whatever is necessary to resolve these difficulties.

I don't think the amount of lost revenue will be anywhere near enough to put the stations out of business (both are owned and operated by large media groups), but it isn't doing them any good, either. CBS is currently America's #1-rated TV network, so it is very important that its affiliates reach as much of their coverage area as possible.
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Jeff, WB8NHV

Collecting, restoring and enjoying vintage Zenith radios since 2002

Zenith. Gone, but not forgotten.

Last edited by Jeffhs; 01-28-2015 at 11:25 PM.
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