Thread: Will this be the end of TV Dxing?

I know there's not a lot of guys like me out there but I have always Dx'ed lower VHF TV signals since I was a kid. I'm a HAM operator (Radio only) so it kind of goes hand in hand. TV channels 2 through 6 come in great for long distance skip most every summer from where I live, also the lower end of the FM radio band from about 88 to 96 Mhz. I have a monster Winegard 8200HD on a 60 ft. stick with a rotor so I can point all overthe place trying to out-do what I received last year etc.

I am wondering this: With the dumping of analog broadcasting, what are the chances of us ever receiving long distance skip on TV again? I realize 2.1 is still 2, around 54Mhz etc. But will a digital signal skip without scrambling itself? And if so how well? So far I have not had any luck getting anything but the old analog far-aways this summer. I hope this is not another interest I have that's riding off into the sunset

Some folks are digital TV DXing, I haven't personally yet but have read an article in Monitoring Times a year or so ago that folks have had TV DXing success with digital signals.

I dont think TV DXing will die off I like the challenge of it as a hobby. I just bought a Apex DT250 and am watching off and on WMOR-DT (More TV 32) in Lakeland, FL Im in Samsula, FL thats 110 miles!

Added another picture WTVT-DT (FOX 13) Tampa, FL to Samsula, FL (32168) thats 110 miles! this station is steady viewing.

Actually 2.1 is not 2. It's a mapped channel not to confuse the folks who are used to the channel numbers.

And don't forget about the LPTV and repeater stations that do not have to go digital. There will still be analog TV around for a few more years. Most of it will be on channel 7 and above though, so the days of the classic sporadic-E skip season may be numbered.

I do this a lot, it's been kind of limp or low key for a short while now. I have under what I call Ideal Atmospheric Conditions gotten channels from all over the Southeast. I'm at (or near) Macon Georgia. I've captured DT channels as far as Asheville and Charlotte to my North, Fayetteville N.C. and Myrtle Beach to my Northeast, Charleston to my East, Jacksonville Florida to my Southeast, Orlando Florida to my South, Tallahassee and Pensacola Florida to my Southwest, Montgomery and Birmingham Alabama to my West, Huntsville Alabama and Chattanooga Tennessee to the other side of my rotor's loop to the North.
Some of these stations are at Full Power already and some are not. It's my hope that reception will only get better after the transition occurs? I will say that I regularly watch Atlanta, that's 75-85 miles from the different stations from me, and the difference in the snowy picture from channel 17 WPCH (formerly WTBS) and WPCH DT which is crystal clear, is absolutely worth the change from analog to digital...!!!
sleepybear, I have the same Winegard 8200HD antenna, with a Winegard DA-1136 Distribution Amplifier, and it's about 30' above the ground, not to mention I'm on a hill, so I have no LOS issue's.... Good Luck on your DXing..!!!!!

Edit: and I just remembered, a lot of the stations have their antenna's at low spots on the towers at present, and will raise the height, to or near the top, after the cut-off date......

Digital will make DX funner because it means you either have 100% of a picture or nothing... snow is tolerable, but with digital you don't have it... does make it more of a challenge though since you almost just have to aim and cross your fingers waiting for the scan...

Now, reviewing the two digital converter boxes I have, I have noticed that one keeps the channels previously scanned and the other wipes them out. My DTV itself also wipes em out.... The one that keeps the channels has me interested in some ideas. For instance, imagine taking a box like that with you out travelling along all over the place, and scan, scan, scan... on vacations, on business trips, whatever... til you get a huge number of channels in the box. Now, if the box in question has a signal meter on it, and you have a rotor on your antenna, TV DX could be very fun. You'd have signals all over the place and could detect faint signals, and just keep tweaking your setup til you get as much as possible. Meters on digital boxes seem like they will work for us like the snow on analog did... but the trick is getting those channels scanned in at least once so that the box has some info that you can see visually to aid in getting better reception. Would be awesome if converter boxes could be made to use editable bin files and stuff like fta boxes do....

Originally Posted by mastermesh

Digital will make DX funner because it means you either have 100% of a picture or nothing... snow is tolerable, but with digital you don't have it... does make it more of a challenge though since you almost just have to aim and cross your fingers waiting for the scan...

Now, reviewing the two digital converter boxes I have, I have noticed that one keeps the channels previously scanned and the other wipes them out. My DTV itself also wipes em out.... The one that keeps the channels has me interested in some ideas. For instance, imagine taking a box like that with you out travelling along all over the place, and scan, scan, scan... on vacations, on business trips, whatever... til you get a huge number of channels in the box. Now, if the box in question has a signal meter on it, and you have a rotor on your antenna, TV DX could be very fun. You'd have signals all over the place and could detect faint signals, and just keep tweaking your setup til you get as much as possible. Meters on digital boxes seem like they will work for us like the snow on analog did... but the trick is getting those channels scanned in at least once so that the box has some info that you can see visually to aid in getting better reception. Would be awesome if converter boxes could be made to use editable bin files and stuff like fta boxes do....

That's exactly what I was wondering. With the new digital receivers blacking out weak signals it is going to make it very tough to do anymore. It is already quite the time consuming hobby as it is and now imagine waiting to see if channel by channel something will appear while steering the antenna around to boot.

sleepybear
kb9ndb here , I do do thge tv dx as well, I also have the winegard hd8200p with the ap8275 preamp and rotor 30' up on my house. I have been doing digital tv dx now for 4 years and love the digital. I use a dish vip 622 as tuner and it works pretty good. I have a few digital convertor boxes I have yet to try.
I have received on digital
South Bend IN
Milwaukee WI
Madison Wi
Green Bay WI
QUad Cities IL Iowa
Champaign Urbana IL
Bloomington IL
Peoria IL
I am waiting to see what i can get when everything goes full power!!!