OTA Reception Problem, Columbus OH

[zeno]

I have a Sony Bravia abt 6 yrs old. When you scan for channels
the set tries both NTSC & digital on each channel then notes them
for scanning. There are 2 MAJOR flaws in the software that other sets
had. I dont know how anyone could be so stupid to make it this way.
1) the only way to add a channel after moving the antenna was to
run another scan. Trouble is it overwrote the old scan.
2) you could not enter a "real" channel # then add it to the
channel scan list like old sets. You also couldnt move the antenna
around to find the sweet spot that worked.
One thing you WILL need is the real owners manual, often the size of the Bible.

The CATV switch may be just for CATV "types" Normal- HRC-IRC & shouldnt
have effect.
The sky scraper its in is also acting like a huge Faraday cage with all
its rebar. Especially UHF that loves to bounce around & give multy paths.
Even on NTSC UHF could be problems especially in town. Look at the
brighter side. In an EMP attack a lot of stuff will probably survive.........
IMHO CATV may be the only option unless there is a balcony for
a SAT dish.

73 Zeno
LFOD !

[Ed in Tx]

Just looked at my Sony, in the menu-"Channel" then "Signal Type Cable/Antenna" selector as the first step. You can either "auto-program" or "add digital channels". Not much to it.

I had pretty much forgotten the TV settings since I use a DTVPal DVR for my OTA tuning, time shifting and commercial fast-forwarding, plugged in to the TV's HDMI. Rarely use the TV's tuner.

[Zenith26kc20]

In New Orleans we have Cox cable. About a year ago they stopped all digital and analog cable that flat screen TV's could receive/decode.
They issued the dreaded "mini-box" that has an analog RF out (channel 3 or 4) to feed older TV's and HDMI for newer ones. No composite or left/right audio. I have installed many of these and out of the box failure is high (and frustrating)!
From what I have learned they have two of the boxes, made by different manufacturers.
So far, I have a Funai (Emerson) 32 inch LCD that has the most useful tuner yet! It allows direct access and when a working channel is entered, it shows it, gives a picture then remaps the number.
When there were both analog and digital OTA TV's with digital (ATSC) tuners would get both. OTA boxes only get digital.