[Tfug] OT: HD Reception on HD Antennas

[Shawn Nock]

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Fair Warning: In a previous life I was a Broadcast Engineer @ KUAT...

Louis Taber wrote:
> All most all DTV channels are up on Mt Bigalow.  

Yep, I think KMSB-DT Fox is on 'Tucson Mountain', KUAS (the station he
was receiving was on Toumamoc Hill (near A mountain).

> Mine is a 7db distribution amp.

I am running the cheapo '12db' combination rabbit ears / amp from Target
and I receive every digital station (I live in midtown, speedway &
Alvernon). I believe that every digital station in town is UHF (KVOA may
be doing co-channel on low-VHF 4), so make sure your cheapo is UHF/VHF
(round antenna as well as ears).

As for amps there is a lot of hype... but as it turns out: Cheapo amp ==
cheapo amp. 'HD compatible' antennas are a cruel advertising hype, skip
them for the cheaper 'not compatible' model. It will work very well.
Like I mentioned previously, my 'non-HD' combination rabbit ears + amp
(Target ~20USD) works like a champ.

Another interesting note: Receivers make a big difference. The
difference between a first gen receiver and my 4th-gen is night and day
(Almost all new receivers built in to TV and on the shelf are 5th gen).
A buddy of mine could get only KUAS off of his rabbit-ear rig with his
first gen box, he re-utilized an existing (previously vestigial) antenna
on his roof by running a new feed line and pointing it at mount Bigelow.
His reception is now great.

In addition, coverage maps we had @ KUAT had a relatively huge black
hole in the western foothills from the transmitter on Bigelow (NOTE:
KUAT-DT on Mt. Bigelow is ~635kW ERP; highest output on that mountain).
This stems from the inability for these areas to get line of sight to
the Transmitter. The various reflections this area does receive are more
harm than good as ATSC has 'issues' with multi-path correction. It could
be that you are on the cusp of this area. Getting KUAS-DT clearly seems
to be an indicator of this (KUAS-DT is much lower power... unless you
are real close to Toumamoc Hill you should be seeing more from KUAT-DT.
You could try for FOX on Tucson Mountain for a test. They are full-power
by now I'd expect. If you get Fox & KUAS, it is a good bet you are stuck
in the shadow of the mountain.

If all else fails, the FCC says that you can put up a tower 10ft. above
roof level for the reception of television and radio signals regardless
of what your Homeowner's associations thinks...

Hope that helps,
Shawn

- --
Shawn Nock (OpenPGP: 0xB64200E1)
Unix Systems Group; CCIT
University of Arizona
nock at email.arizona.edu
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