i hate digital tv

[vchimpanzee]

Seriously makes me either want cable, which is too expensive, or just turn off the tv. 

You don't have to pay those outrageous prices for CNN and ESPN and all that stuff. Or do you? Surely you have a basic package available with just broadcast channels and a few extras like public access.

[w9wi]

DX so does this mean instead of doing a auto-scan, just have each channel manually "open" to a signal?  That can make sense to me to be able to just channel flip.  Still, I simply miss analog dx, looking thru the static.

Most digital TVs, directly selecting a RF channel will scan just that channel.  Many of them have a signal meter, which will tell you whether there's a signal present that might eventually decode. 

SOme of the converter boxes, you can leave them tuned to a RF channel & if a signal shows up, it will hold the station's information (usually including the call letters) until some other station is tuned in.

Sounda like the Canadian switch is confusing.  Probably would go alot smoother if it was just simply mandated at a date.

Given cable penetration rates well above 90% in essentially every market except Windsor, I don't think most viewers will notice either way.  Basically the game is, having an OTA signal guarantees you a preferential position on cable.  If anyone happens to actually *watch* the OTA signal, well, that's just a bonus...

Even before this policy was announced, the stations have already strongly suggested (stated outright, in a number of cases) that they have no intention of converting their relay transmitters.  Heck, a couple of stations have surrendered their licences & gone off the air, some in markets as large as Calgary & Edmonton.  I think the government would rather the stations converted, but they can't force them to convert if the stations are willing to go dark instead.

[flashback]

we are having an freezing rain storm here now and most of my digital channels wont come in without interfearence.say what you will about how much beter it looks it doesn`t help much if the signal won`t come in right.this kind of weather did not effect analog.

they did not think the whole thing through.we should have kept tv as analog.i would have reception for each channel then.

[cd637299]

we are having an freezing rain storm here now and most of my digital channels wont come in without interfearence.say what you will about how much beter it looks it doesn`t help much if the signal won`t come in right.this kind of weather did not effect analog.

they did not think the whole thing through.we should have kept tv as analog.i would have reception for each channel then.

Ahhhhh, but the cable/satellite companies must be licking their monetary chops!

cd

[w9wi]

we are having an freezing rain storm here now and most of my digital channels wont come in without interfearence.say what you will about how much beter it looks it doesn`t help much if the signal won`t come in right.this kind of weather did not effect analog.

they did not think the whole thing through.we should have kept tv as analog.i would have reception for each channel then.

Ahhhhh, but the cable/satellite companies must be licking their monetary chops!

cd

as we wait for the dishes to die as the ice accumulates at the feedpoint, and for cable to go down as the cables are coated in ice.....

[LibertyNT]

down here when it snowed or rained really hard it was interesting to see the cable get ghosting.

as for the dish, back when it snowed 6 inches down here in Texas I had to go outside and knock the snow off the dish.

[KeithE4]

down here when it snowed or rained really hard it was interesting to see the cable get ghosting.

If that happens, then water is probably getting into one or more of the connectors, causing reflections in the signal.  Call your cable company.

[Kent]

we are having an freezing rain storm here now and most of my digital channels wont come in without interfearence.say what you will about how much beter it looks it doesn`t help much if the signal won`t come in right.this kind of weather did not effect analog.

We had light freezing rain here last night, and I had some difficulty getting KOMU 8, which is on DT-8.  I live about 20 miles from the tower, and I was eventually able to decode it.  I had to do some acrobatics with my rabbit ears, though!

I got to wondering if KOMU had some of the same problems we had at some of the various radio stations I've worked at.  AM antennas become detuned when coated with ice.  FM bays start having problems with power getting reflected back to the transmitter if too much ice builds up on them.  If the station runs an older transmitter, reflected power not only ramps up the plate current but can burn the filaments.  If that happens, you'll need major repairs to get back on the air.  So, the solution is to frequently check your transmitter readings and cut power if you notice a substantial jump in plate current.  Some transmitters also give you the ability to check for reflected power, and you cut power if the reflected power gets too high.

Of course, when you cut power, you can start getting complaints from listeners further away who can no longer hear your signal as well.  Since this is less of a problem with solid-state transmitters, I didn't figure it would be much of a problems with digital TV.  I started to wonder after last night, though.

[vchimpanzee]

we are having an freezing rain storm here now and most of my digital channels wont come in without interfearence.say what you will about how much beter it looks it doesn`t help much if the signal won`t come in right.this kind of weather did not effect analog.

We had light freezing rain here last night, and I had some difficulty getting KOMU 8, which is on DT-8.  I live about 20 miles from the tower, and I was eventually able to decode it.  I had to do some acrobatics with my rabbit ears, though!

I got to wondering if KOMU had some of the same problems we had at some of the various radio stations I've worked at.  AM antennas become detuned when coated with ice.  FM bays start having problems with power getting reflected back to the transmitter if too much ice builds up on them.  If the station runs an older transmitter, reflected power not only ramps up the plate current but can burn the filaments.  If that happens, you'll need major repairs to get back on the air.  So, the solution is to frequently check your transmitter readings and cut power if you notice a substantial jump in plate current.  Some transmitters also give you the ability to check for reflected power, and you cut power if the reflected power gets too high.

Of course, when you cut power, you can start getting complaints from listeners further away who can no longer hear your signal as well.  Since this is less of a problem with solid-state transmitters, I didn't figure it would be much of a problems with digital TV.  I started to wonder after last night, though.

During freezing precipitation I've noticed one station gives me a lot of difficulty and I have to switch to cable. Maybe this explains it.

[KeithE4]

FM bays start having problems with power getting reflected back to the transmitter if too much ice builds up on them.

Not to mention the possibility of the weight of the ice flat-out bringing the antenna and tower down, such as what happened to the WAND-TV Decatur IL and the late WJJY-TV Jacksonville IL towers in 1978.