Low-powered OTA station question

[kk00020]

I have done a good amount of research prior to posting this question, so I hope I have included all the pertinant info that is needed. So here goes:

I live in Savannah, GA (31404) and have Voom. I can only get two of the three local OTA stations that are available in my area.

My question is: would getting an antenna upgrade and/or signal booster allow me to get the additional station? (The additional station is the local FOX affiliate, and its football season ). See the details below:

When the installer did my installation, he mentioned that the FOX station is broadcasting at low power (I assume he is talking about the Effective Radiated Power (ERP) of the transmitter) , and the only person he knows who has been able to get this station lives right by the transmitter. So, knowing the call signs for all three stations, I did some research on the FCC site (using the some helpful posts from this forum as a guide) and found the following:

NBC: This station is less than a mile from my house and is transmitting at 18 kW ERP. I get about 85% signal on its RF frequency. This station works fine unless it is raining.

CBS: This station is 16.5 miles from my house and is transmitting at 422 kW ERP. I get a 95% signal on its RF frequency. This station works great pretty much all of the time.

FOX: This station is 16 miles from my house and is transmitting at 5 kW ERP. I get a 84% signal on its RF frequency. I have never been able to pick up this station.

I am using a medium range Wingaurd antenna that was installed with my Voom system on top of my house. My neighborhood has a fair amount of trees. The city is relatively flat and has very few tall buildings or other obstructions.

I have noticed in this forum that several people are getting upgraded antennas from Voom to increase the number of OTAs. Is it worth the time/effort to upgrade my antenna to try to get this one station? Does an antenna exist that will pick up a station 16 miles away that is broadcasting at such low power? If so, which antenna do you suggest that I use?

 

[trey0522]

low power ota

if the signal is a constant 84 you should be able to pull it in.Is this station in your dma mapping.

 

[kk00020]

Chat with Voom

I just chatted with Voom to find out the answer to your question. According to this chat, I should be able to pick up this station regardless of whether or not it is in my DMA. Is this correct? Something that bothers me from the chat with Voom is that my local FOX station is not in my DMA because it resides in the city right next to Savannah.

I don't really care about a program guide, I just want to get the channel through a channel scan. I still have a feeling it isn't showing up because of the low power issue. thoughts?

Here is the pertinant part of the chat:

Me: The station I am trying to get is fox wtgs
Voom: Your channel mapping is for Savannah and Fox is comming out of Hareeville.
Me: right
Voom: We can not duel map you. At this time our system is not set up for duel mapping.
Me: I have basic cable here. I get this FOX channel (and have for years) through basic cable. They actually broadcast from Savannah but their transmitter is in Hardeevile. That doesn't make sense to me. They are my local fox channel
Voom: The only time we can change your DMA is when it is wrong. Since you live in Savannah and you are mapped for Savannah we will not be able to change that
Me: So what you are saying is that the DMA I am mapped to = the city I live in... even though this station is in my local market?
Voom: That is correct
Me: do you know if the DMA mapping applies to cable?
Voom: I do not have that information. They have different regulation then we do.
Me: OK, tell me this. The receiver has a channel scan feature. From what I have read, this feature will pick up any channels, but only the program guide will appear for those channels that are in my DMA. Is this correct?
Voom: That is correct. You can scan for it and you might be able to receive the channel. However since it is out side of your DMA, it will not show up in the program guide.
Me: you mean the channel will not appear in the program guide at all, or just the program information (channels)
Voom: You will get the number of the channel only. It will not tell you what the channel is or what is on.
Me: And this channel number (only) would show up in my program guide once I do a channel scan?
Voom: Yes, after you scan you should receive the number
Me: OK, one last question. Is there a website or anything that I can go to to see what my DMA mapping is?
Voom: You can try http://www.antennaweb.org. That was the one I used.
Me: So, if I type in my home address, zip code, etc. Whatever comes back as a result is what is in my DMA?
Voom: No, it will show you what local channels are in you nearest surrounding area. The ones that show up in your city are in you DMA

 

[dankgus]

You said you know a guy who gets the station and lives right next to the transmitter. What receiver does he have? If it is NOT voom, is there any chance you can get this guy to bring his receiver to your house and see if it works? Or just buy one at Sears or something, and return it if doesn't work.

An antenna upgrade might not do you any good if you insist on using the Voom receiver for OTA channels, as it may be a Voom DMA issue keeping you from seeing that channel. Maybe, the whole OTA and DMA thing is a little unclear to me, I am happy I get what I get (with an upgraded antenna of course.)

--Dan

 

[trey0522]

dma

If it is true about dma being for your city only than i shouldn't,t be getting anything all of the transmitting towers for my locals are in a diff city does this call the local fox station and make sure they are transmitting the psip data of channel #, channel name, mprg data(I believe thats it it is mpeg something), but ask to talk to an engineer of the station make sure that are transmitting all three.Find this out first than post results

 

[techweb]

FOX: This station is 16 miles from my house and is transmitting at 5 kW ERP. I get a 84% signal on its RF frequency. I have never been able to pick up this station.

ERP doesn't tell the whole story. What band is the station in, low VHF (2-6), high VHF (7-13), or UHF (14-69)? I have one local station on RF channel 10 with only 3.5kW ERP 20 miles away, and it pegs the Voom box signal meter at 99. Generally, low VHF band frequencies require the least power and UHF the most for a given signal strength.