KTUL digital signal

[Steve]

Yeah, I really only watch Lost, so for now its not a major issue, but why can i get EVERY other station, including the hundred christian channels that probably broadcast from a closet using chicken wire and a car antenna, but an ABC affiliate who cannot get their signal inside of Tulsa? there is no excuse for that.

ill watch Lost on the internet and write off any other show on there.

You are absolutely right about that, and I can not answer your question.  Or why the Ch 6 signal has been so poor as of late.  I think our local stations have had problems with the transition and "learning curve."  I will say that over the past year, I have never had any problems with the digital signal from Ch 11, 23, 41.  They seem to have their act together.

[nathanm]

Strange.  I live at 26th & Yale.  On my large TV in the den on the southwest corner of my house, I pick up all Ch 8 signals strong and clear at a level of about 75-80 out of 100.  But on my little bedroom TV on the north end of the house, I only get a poor unwatchable picture on Ch 8.

One thing about DTV reception is that it's largely dependent on the particular chipset used in your TV or other tuner. Basically the newer the chip the less signal it needs to extract a good picture, it can better handle too hot signals, and most importantly, they are much better at rejecting multipath interference. 8VSB was a poor modulation choice on the part of the ATSC; NIH syndrome prevented the use of OFDM, which fares far better in difficult situations.

The sad thing is that the transition was an excellent chance to harmonize world standards (DVB-T works very well), but once again we failed miserably. Harmonization would have resulted in significant cost savings for everybody, as all of the baseband electronics would be identical the world over, only the input frequencies would be different.

[brianh]

I wonder if you could change that DIY antenna that Hoss posted to be a square? My reason being that the antenna spikes would be facing every direction. Like making four of those antennas and combining them into a square.

[Quinton]

no ch #8 for me either   

[Cats Cats Cats]

I didn't get 11 for a while.. Now I get all the local channels with full signal strength, except for 8 which is like 3/5 but I still can't pick it up.

[Hoss]

I wonder if you could change that DIY antenna that Hoss posted to be a square? My reason being that the antenna spikes would be facing every direction. Like making four of those antennas and combining them into a square.

Some of the mods have you also using an old grill from an older charcoal grill as a backing.  If you google 'DIY HDTV antenna', there are several different designs out there.  I just chose the one that cost the least and appeared to take the least amount of effort to get it working.

[sauerkraut]

There are some good comments posted here about this issue things I want to try out. Anyhoo, I been told that many things cause poor Digital pick-up-  from not all converter boxes are made equal, to the TV's own tuning system to the location of the TV in the house and direction the atenna is pointed. Point it one way and you get channal 4 clear, but channel 9 is the pitts. Turn the attenna another way and both stations go sour, but channel 12 comes in clear. Looks like the best bet is to invest in a basic TV cable service. Some cable companies offer new customers a $9.95 per month offer for 12 months then after the 12 months it goes up to the regular price. Satellite may also be a choice to look into. I don't know anyone with satellite service, but rumors are on stormy days and rainy days satellite TV cuts out. Sometimes with home internet service & cable TV you can get a speical package rate. Normally it's around $50.00 a month for both and that's not too bad depending on your company. COX is rather expensive. I think I am going to go back to cable TV.

[Cats Cats Cats]

As far as I am concerned if KTUL wants me to watch their station they will do something about their signal.  There is absolutely no reason why I should get Digital signals from everybody but them.

[nathanm]

Some of the mods have you also using an old grill from an older charcoal grill as a backing.  If you google 'DIY HDTV antenna', there are several different designs out there.  I just chose the one that cost the least and appeared to take the least amount of effort to get it working.

The only problem with it (which is the same problem the Terk HDTV(a/i) has) is the poor front to back ratio. I suppose the old charcoal grill backing might help with that.

It's not really important for reception on the local channels, but if you want to get one of the more distant signals, you need it to be highly directional to avoid co-channel interference from other markets. Co-channel is why I can't get anything from OKC. The raw signal strength is fine, but the modulation is obliterated by interference from other stations.

[Hoss]

The only problem with it (which is the same problem the Terk HDTV(a/i) has) is the poor front to back ratio. I suppose the old charcoal grill backing might help with that.

It's not really important for reception on the local channels, but if you want to get one of the more distant signals, you need it to be highly directional to avoid co-channel interference from other markets. Co-channel is why I can't get anything from OKC. The raw signal strength is fine, but the modulation is obliterated by interference from other stations.

Yeah, but most people won't be geeky like that.  The majority of the city's station transmitters are in Oneta, so only one direction is typically needed.  90 percent of the majors come in at 4 of 5 bars on my tv or better.

As a cable subscriber I noticed that CW is broadcasting on 19-1 in 1080i.  Wonder how long it takes Cox to figure that out and add it.  Though I doubt CW is doing much HD broadcasting right now.

[nathanm]

Yeah, but most people won't be geeky like that.  The majority of the city's station transmitters are in Oneta, so only one direction is typically needed.  90 percent of the majors come in at 4 of 5 bars on my tv or better.

There are others, but I doubt many people want to receive either of the religious channels here in town (and even a very highly directional antenna would probably get those) or KRSC or the MyNetworkTV people in Okmulgee.

[Wrinkle]

I actually went to the trouble of building the antenna since I'm still looking for a solution the Channel 8 debacle. $50/mo cable/sat isn't the answer.

Anyway, built it out of 12-AWG THNN solid copper wire.
While the video was pretty straight forward, there arose a couple of questions.

The points where the two longer lines cross should be isolated from each other, right?

And, does it matter if the insulation remains on all but the expected contact points (at the screws).

I also did a half-loop around the end screws at the four corners on the long lines. Does this affect anything?

It worked, but not quite as well as hoped. Still doesn't get Channel 8.

[Hoss]

I actually went to the trouble of building the antenna since I'm still looking for a solution the Channel 8 debacle. $50/mo cable/sat isn't the answer.

Anyway, built it out of 12-AWG THNN solid copper wire.
While the video was pretty straight forward, there arose a couple of questions.

The points where the two longer lines cross should be isolated from each other, right?

And, does it matter if the insulation remains on all but the expected contact points (at the screws).

I also did a half-loop around the end screws at the four corners on the long lines. Does this affect anything?

It worked, but not quite as well as hoped. Still doesn't get Channel 8.

Yes, you should isolate the long cross lines.  If you use 12 AWG copper (I did from a spool of 12 gauge Romex) it should be pliable enough where you can isolate them by bending.  If not, most people I talked to just used a bit of electrical tape.

And the half-loop won't make a difference; that's how I have mine.  Secures them better.

And that's weird about 8.  Granted I have a pretty unobstructed view of the SE sky and have this thing mounted outside (sorry I forgot to mention that), but I built one for a friend (his daughters TV and the antenna is used indoors) and he says his works flawlessly.  Have you tried to rescan since then?

[Steve]

As far as I am concerned if KTUL wants me to watch their station they will do something about their signal.  There is absolutely no reason why I should get Digital signals from everybody but them.

I can get the KTUL signal at my house at 26th & Yale strong and clear, but I second your opinion exactly.

[Steve]

As a cable subscriber I noticed that CW is broadcasting on 19-1 in 1080i.  Wonder how long it takes Cox to figure that out and add it.  Though I doubt CW is doing much HD broadcasting right now.

I wondered about that.  CW is on 19.1 and 6.2.  6.2 is in standard def and 19.1 is in hi def.  Even with my 5 year old analog Panasonic TV, the 19.1 picture is much sharper and clearer, crisper and more color vibrant.  Why is KOTV Ch 6 broadcasting the same signal on both?  What a waste of the public airwaves.