Awesome reception on my digital converter

[Dan Starnes]

I live out in the country, but I am out near the transmitters where the stations broadcast, same old places since the 1950's. For VHF and UHF I needed rabbit ears. Tonite I was changing from VCR to digital converter. I have everything tied into a set of rabbit ears, whether it be UHF, VHF, or digital. 3 sets tied into all that. When into the VCR for feed it needs adjustmant on the rabbit ears, but the digital feed does not need any adjustmant and all stations are clear. My question is, are the digital stations broadcasting a stronger signal?
Dan

[MRX37]

Probably not, but because of its nature, you won't see ghosting or fuzziness. Check your signal strength meter. If it's below 60%, you risk the channel dropping out.

[electroking]

Originally Posted by Dan Starnes

I live out in the country, but I am out near the transmitters where the stations broadcast, same old places since the 1950's. For VHF and UHF I needed rabbit ears. Tonite I was changing from VCR to digital converter. I have everything tied into a set of rabbit ears, whether it be UHF, VHF, or digital. 3 sets tied into all that. When into the VCR for feed it needs adjustmant on the rabbit ears, but the digital feed does not need any adjustmant and all stations are clear. My question is, are the digital stations broadcasting a stronger signal?
Dan

Another way to look at all this: if a conventional station increases its
power, the ratio between the direct signal and the multipath (the
delayed signal that causes ghosting) remains the same, and you still
have a ghost. Signal processing that involves error correction ensures
that you either get a very good image or no reception at all (if signal
is too weak) with digital stations.

[OvenMaster]

Originally Posted by MRX37

Check your signal strength meter. If it's below 60%, you risk the channel dropping out.

Are you kidding me?! 60%? My God, I'm lucky if I get any signal levels above 40%, and one of the transmitters is just 4 miles from my house. I'm using an amplified outdoor antenna with a rotator, too! The only time I get channels dropping out is when the level drops below 15% (which is pretty often with any channels more than 20 miles away now that all the trees are in full leaf). Sheesh!
Tom

[MRX37]

Originally Posted by OvenMaster

Are you kidding me?! 60%? My God, I'm lucky if I get any signal levels above 40%, and one of the transmitters is just 4 miles from my house. I'm using an amplified outdoor antenna with a rotator, too! The only time I get channels dropping out is when the level drops below 15% (which is pretty often with any channels more than 20 miles away now that all the trees are in full leaf). Sheesh!
Tom

My experience with my HDTV card's signal strength meter tells me that ~60% is approaching the danger zone. If the wind kicks up, or it rains, the signal will be in danger of dropping out.

Maybe convertor boxes can handle weak signals better...

And you either live in extremely hilly terrain, your antenna setup is malfunctioning, or you have a f***ed up convertor box. i suspect your amplifier, since some of those don't work well with digital signals.

[N9ZQA]

The converter boxes may be able to handle weak signals better than the PC cards; but I don't know if the box needs a stronger signal than the card. The boxes only produce 480i video from what I understand, whereas the cards are designed for true HD reception. My thought would be that the card requires a stronger (more complete?) signal from the transmitter to produce a watchable picture whereas the converter box doesn't since it only has to produce a picture good enough to feed an analog set. Anybody have an expert opinion?

That said, I am getting a far better picture with digital than I ever could here with analog, and using a much smaller antenna. Oddly enough, I do miss all the artifacts I've grown up with, such as airplane flutter and lightning noise in the picture. Maybe I'm just weird.

-Jim

[OvenMaster]

Originally Posted by MRX37

And you either live in extremely hilly terrain, your antenna setup is malfunctioning, or you have a f***ed up convertor box. i suspect your amplifier, since some of those don't work well with digital signals.

Ah. I'm gonna say it's the hilly terrain. Now that I recall, where I live is a bit lower than other parts of town that have a clearer line of sight to transmitters. I also tend to think the four-story tall brick hospital less than a thousand feet away may have some signal attenuating characteristics, not to mention the fact that my antenna doesn't clear the 60-80ft tall trees nearby.
Tom

[MRX37]

Originally Posted by OvenMaster

Ah. I'm gonna say it's the hilly terrain. Now that I recall, where I live is a bit lower than other parts of town that have a clearer line of sight to transmitters. I also tend to think the four-story tall brick hospital less than a thousand feet away may have some signal attenuating characteristics, not to mention the fact that my antenna doesn't clear the 60-80ft tall trees nearby.
Tom

That could do it...

Still doesn't fully explain it, as I live a good 25-30 miles from some local stations, and I can get them at full strength if the antenna is pointed in the right direction.

[zenith2134]

I'm very surprised as I read this... I use only a bowtie indoor antenna and I get great reception (85-90%) at all times... I'm about 25 miles from the transmitters too. Maybe its due to my second-story location?