It's back :)

The last few days have wrecked havoc with reception. I lost most of the US channels other than VPT and WPTZ. Think there's a pile of snow and ice sitting on the antennas in Mount Mansfield?

I did not notice anything. A quick scan using my PC TV Tuner show me the same signal strength I had all winter and I receive the US station crystal clear without any issues (ie, no breakups, plenty of power).

ABC is coming in weaker lately, I was wondering what might be causing that. As long as I get it tonight for LOST!!!!!

WNPI-DT Ch.23 just got back to me. I was wondering if they would increase their power output after the analogue shut down. No luck, they are at their current license power for WNPI-DT in Norwood, NY. This is one of those channels that I get a signal from, but only sometimes the signal is strong enough to lock in on it.

Anyway, they suggusted the following. Here is part of their response

---------------------
1- Antenna- I assume you have a roof top antenna. You may want to
invest in an larger antenna with an amplifier mounted on or near the
antenna.
2- Cabling- Make sure you don't have any kinks or cuts in the cable.
If you have RG-6 cable and need to go more than 30 meters you may want
to replace it with RG-11 cable.
3- Splitter- If you have splitters to feed multiple TV then you will
want to feed your TV direct or install an amplifier to make up for the
losses.
---------------------


SO! What is RG11 ?

Compared to standard RG6, it has larger core (14AWG vs 18AWG) and lower attenuation but more expansive and much stiffer. Its was mostly used on very long drops.

Curious.. what does WNPI has that WETK/WCFE doesnt? Isnt it a PBS station?

Curious.. what does WNPI has that WETK/WCFE doesnt? Isnt it a PBS station?
Yes but WNPI main channel is more different than WETK/WCFE, some show are the same (NOVA, World New etc) but they also show movie and a couple of show. Otherwise they have the same HD channel and World.

Ah, I didnt know that. I was checking because WCFE/WETK have pretty much, if not always, the same HD programming at the same time.

TV station engineers must think RG11 grows on trees! :D As TheIceMaster has mentioned, it is heavy, thick, commercial grade coaxial cable that requires different crimping tools too, and it is almost only available through wholesale outfits for the CATV and broadcasting industry although you can find it online. Personally I would only use it (with a preamp) if very long runs are a must.

In your case RG6 with a Preamp would accomplish the job.

I just got a response from WVNY-DT Ch. 13 concerning their weak signal.
Here is part of the response I got. I hope they get their situation in order; because in less that 12 months, WVNY-TV Ch. 22 analogue will be shut down. And, if you don't get WVNY-DT Ch. 13, well no ABC affiliate for you. ...it is correct to say that we cannot boost our signal because of
interference with other territories. It is, however, not an option for
us to switch our channel. Once the FCC has assigned a channel, it
cannot be changed...our engineers are well aware that not all of Montreal can catch our signal. They are always on the look-out for ways to improve this situation. Unfortunately, at this time, there just is no "end all, be
all" solution to fix things. Please be assured that this is an issue
that we are continually making an effort to address...

Why is WVNY broadcasting Fox News 44?

Why is WVNY broadcasting Fox News 44?

Because they can :)

WVNY is operated under a Local Management Arrangement (LMA) by the owners of Fox 44.

TVl

A lot of those channels listed are not actually on the air with their DT channels. Some have been assigned channels, but that does not mean that they are actually on the air.

As far as I know, only the following are available on OTA...in the Montreal area

13 - WVNY-DT (ABC)
14 - WPTZ-DT (NBC)
19 - CBFT-DT (SRC)
20 - CBMT-DT (CBC)
23 - WNPI-DT (PBS)
32 - WETK-DT (PBS)
38 - WCFE-DT (PBS)
42 - CFJP-DT (TQS)
43 - WFFF-DT (FOX)
53 - WCAX-DT (CBS)

WTF is CTV waiting for? TQS has already started broadcasting in ATSC and they have them same damn ownership.

goldfingerz, I know that your intentions were good but the information you found from other sources contained many factual errors or misconceptions, so I have removed it.

As you can see from Blackburst's post we are aware of what is available in the Montreal area and we are routinely checking the Industry Canada and FCC databases as well as the CRTC's decisions to see if there are changes coming.

You can read through the various Southern Quebec/Eastern Ontario Reception threads to see exactly what sort of results people are getting.

We are happy to have you here and will answer your questions the best we can.

Is anybody in Montreal getting WNPI? It seems a bit far off from what I can see. Not that I really need a 3rd PBS station. 2 pledge drives at a time is enough :)

Yeah, that's why I would like it if WVNY and WETK would swap frequencies if WVNY can't change to another channel post transition.

That way we would only have one reliable PBS station in Montreal (WCFE) and all big four stations will be on easy-to-receive UHF. No point to having two PBS and no ABC.

Those two PBS have different subchannels. I enjoy «Create» and «PBS World» much more than those from WCFE at this time so they both serve a different purpose.

I wish it were possible for them to find a vacant UHF frequency to be able to get them all with a single antenna but, as they have said themselves, they dont think they'll be able to do that as the FCC has been firm with the post-transition allocation.

I'm all with you on WVNY-DT finding a new channel to park on. And, I wish they would get the ball rolling on that. As for available frequencies, there are plenty. As of Feb. 2009, Channel 33 will be vacated by WETK-DT since it is on Channel 32. Channel 44 will also be vacated since WFFF-DT will stay on Channel 43.

As for WNPI-DT. Only people on the western part of the island will get this channel. And it will depend on the weather. WNPI-DT is further than WCFE-DT and is not pumping out it's signal as much as WCFE-DT is. But, last night for example, it was coming in at about 60% signal strenght. Today signal strenght is at about 30%

Another note, WPTZ-DT is also supering it's new channel on the air. During yesterdays hockey game the following super showed up...

WPTZ-TV 5 * WPTZ-DT 14

So, hopefully the next stage is getting ride of the re-mapping.

Anyone close to Ottawa able to pull any of the channels from Mt. Vernon?

I once got a signal on 53, but never strong enough.

With all the other channels colliding with analog stations from Ottawa, I guess we'll have to wait until 2011.

Channel 22 collides with CBOFT-DT.

-gmd