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M
Supporting Founder
Last reply · posted in Over the Air Television By RabbitEars.Info
Neat article in the Topeka Kansas newspaper
http://cjonline.com/news/2015-02-14/television-antennas-making-comeback

As television continues to grow and evolve, an old standby has resurfaced around Topeka and other parts of the nation — the outdoor antenna.

Many people have ditched cable and satellite television in favor of free, over-the-air TV channels. Some are supplementing that with programming available on the Internet.

The result is people who wouldn't have given a TV antenna a second thought a few years ago are now scooping them up, cutting their bills and finding many hours of programming to keep them entertained.

Dave Pomeroy, 72, who is a frequent bicycle rider, said he has seen an increasing number of antennas being placed on houses as he pedals around Shawnee County.

"It's something that's up-and-coming," Pomeroy said. "I'm not seeing them by the thousands, but they are starting to pop up. It was disappearing, but with new technology, it's coming back." Not everyone who is going the antenna route is doing so because of the cost of cable or satellite, or because they can't afford it. Some are making the choice simply because it works for them. Pomeroy, a former program director for KTWU, channel 11, Topeka's PBS station, estimates his family has saved in the neighborhood of $10,000 since cutting ties with local cable providers several years ago. With his rooftop antenna, Pomeroy said, he is able to pull in about 45 channels, including over-the-air signals from Kansas City-area stations, including channels 5, 4, 9, 41, 19, 38 and 62 — all of which are in high-definition and none of which are available to Topeka viewers on cable or satellite. Most are available in high-definition. Many stations are offering multiple sub-channels through a setup known as "diginets." The programming on diginets can focus on everything from old movies to classic TV shows to weather. Pomeroy said subchannels that are available locally include MeTV, on 13.2 and 9.2, which broadcasts shows like "Alfred Hitchcock," "Hogan's Heroes" and "The Beverly Hillbillies"; Cozi-TV, available on 41.2, which runs classic shows like "Dragnet," "Lassie" and "Roy Rogers"; Antenna-TV, on 4.2, which runs shows like "Three's Company," "WKRP in Cincinnati" and "Mr. Ed."

Topeka-area residents can also pick up a number of movie channels, including Movies!, on channel 29.2, WROB, channel 26.1, and PBS-related cultural and how-to programming.
15 Replies · 3742 views
spongella
Back in the 60's I worked at a TV-Radio-Appliance store and went on many calls with the TV man to install antennas on rooftops. Those were the days of 300 Ohm twin lead that you had to "twist" so as not to produce ghosts. All the antennas we installed pointed towards NYC which was easily seen on the far horizon from the rooftops. We looked for the Empire State building - that was our reference point, where most antennas stood until they built the World Trade Center buildings.

At that time antennas were mostly for VHF but then UHF TV came aboard and antennas changed a bit to accommodate channels 14 - 83 which were the "new" UHF band channels. One of the first channels on UHF broadcasted bullfighting from Mexico, something very different from VHF.

Then cable came, then satellite came, and most of the population went to paid TV, rooftop antennas were taken down and put in the trash. Nowadays you'll find very few homes sprouting a TV antenna.

Digital TV in 2009 made it even more complex, as most folks didn't understand it. It was just easier to keep paying the monthly bill instead of complicating one's life with the intricacies of installing an outside antenna. And, most of the TV-Radio shops disappeared over the years as the owners, mostly from the WW 2 era retired or passed away. These were the guys who put up those antennas. Try to find a TV Radio repair shop these days, they are as scarce as hen's teeth.

But the public is missing out on free, High Def OTA digital TV if they chose not to install an antenna. Channels are crystal clear, more sub-channels are popping up every few months, and most importantly OTA TV is regional, where you'll see local merchants advertising and hear the local news.

Time to get off the soap box hi hi.
boba
I remember those days our TV repairman was a wartime buddy of my fathers (actually an electrical engineer with a side job). We lived outside the service area for cable so we always depended on OTA and I enjoyed playing with TV reception. When I had my own satellite business I installed many TV antennas. Now retired I still use them I can receive 2 DMA so instead of one ugly TV antenna I have 9 on my roof/tower. No I don't need that many but I still like to play. My largest VHF/UHF can pull in over 80 channels/subchannels and my small 2 bay UHF over 50 channels. The UHF is less than 2ft. square and 4-6" deep and picks up all the major networks and most important subchannels, so a big ugly antenna isn't needed in most cases. The small size of many of todays antennas makes them almost invisible on most roofs.
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jorgek
I think more would switch back to OTA if they knew it existed. When I installed my antenna, my neighbors had no idea that free TV was available.
spongella
People don't know about OTA because a few generations have already been brought up with paid TV that comes over via wire or dish. Even the term OTA has a mystical air about it, almost sounds like it is "new " technology when in fact it's over 70 years old. Maybe it's time to quit the day job and start up a TV antenna installation business.

Recently I had the opportunity to recommend an OTA antenna for someone at work (high up in the organization), he was so happy with the results that I was guaranteed a job for life.
M
I think more would switch back to OTA if they knew it existed. When I installed my antenna, my neighbors had no idea that free TV was available.
agreed! And it seems like some folks that you talk to about it they think its only for "poor people" or people who cant afford cable. I mentioned that last week
http://www.satelliteguys.us/xen/threads/apparently-us-ota-folks-all-have-old-antennas.347373/

"Because you couldn't pay your cable bill you have to resort to watching me on an old antenna"
Van
Van
Last reply · posted in What's Cooking?
Who says dinner or lunch has to be the only good meals of the day?

Honey butter grits with scrambled eggs and grilled boneless pork ribs on flakey biscuits washed down with cranberry juice.
6635 Replies · 380120 views
TRG
TRG
2 egg burrito with bacon and a side of hashbrowns. Coffee.

1645.webp
TRG
TRG
Breakfast Quesadillas. Grilled flour tortilla filled with scrambled eggs, hash browns, chopped green chile, cheddar & Jack cheese and bacon. Coffee.

q.webp
Bobby
Taco omelette. 3 eggs, taco meat from yesterday, diced green chilis, cheddar cheese, chopped red onion, avocado, black olives, chopped tomato, La Victoria Salsa Brava.

This one was really, really good!
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dfergie
Thought I was getting a Chorizo and egg burrito (marker had rubbed off)but was a roast beef/potato I made up before hunting this morning.
Btw every morning at camp I cooked my homemade Chorizo and scrambled eggs plus sausage side while my brother brought bacon. (they liked both the beef and pork versions)
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TRG
TRG
Thought I was getting a Chorizo and egg burrito (marker had rubbed off)but was a roast beef/potato I made up before hunting this morning.
Btw every morning at camp I cooked my homemade Chorizo and scrambled eggs plus sausage side while my brother brought bacon. (they liked both the beef and pork versions)
I had a chorizo and egg burrito for you. With lots of green chile and cheese of course.
Scott Greczkowski
Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU! Cutting Edge
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club
Sometimes a thread gets so many posts in it that is can cause issues for the server so that why today we introduce The Song Name Game Part 3!

So let the game continue!

The last song was added by Bobby who posted...

One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters

CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!

Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game

Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.

Example:

Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow

Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio

Another example:

Ride the Lightning -- Metallica

Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne


Get it?


An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....
68647 Replies · 2679633 views
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gms49ers
The Show Must Go On - Pink Floyd
Bobby
If Love Must Go - Dobie Gray
FTA4PA
Drift Away - Dobie Gray
long_time_Dish
Throwing It All Away - Genesis
dishstaller
All I Need is a Miracle - Mike + The Mechanics
Peter Parker
Supporting Founder Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in DISH Network Support Forum
No idea what improvements might be involved.
29 Replies · 1599 views
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Almighty1
So after some heavy research, it looks like the issue I mentioned with the DISH 50.0/52.0/54.x remotes where on the 50.0/52.0 remotes, the dedicated TV Power button or on the 54.x remotes where it is using the TV button on the side followed by Power works correctly on a Hopper 3 which runs Linux but not on a Hopper 3 with Hopper Plus, Joey 4 and Wireless Joey 4 which are Android TV (ATV) has to do with the Android TV software itself. In all instances, the remotes had always sent out a dual RF and Infrared signal when the TV Power signal is sent from the remote. The Hopper 3 without the Plus would ignore the incoming RF power packet signal which is identified as a TV-specific toggle event, and does not trigger a system-wide standby state. The Hopper 3 with Hopper Plus, Joey 4 and Wireless Joey 4 as Android TV devices initially worked the same way as well up to sometime in 2025 as there was the legacy pass-through mode in the original software versions used since the Hopper Plus/Joey 4/Wireless Joey 4 launch, the receiver's underlying software essentially ignored the secondary RF payload that the 50.0/52.0/54.x remotes blasted out whenever the TV Power signal was sent. The Hopper 3 with Hopper Plus, Joey 4 and Wireless Joey 4 recognized it was a TV-specific command and discarded the RF packet, letting the standalone IR signal do its job on the tv.

When the software for the Hopper Plus, Joey 4 and Wireless Joey 4 were updated in 2025 and newer versions of the software for those Android TV (ATV) devices, it overhauled how the receiver handles remote commands to tighter integrate the Android TV environment which resulted in the software starting to treat any RF power toggle payload as a global command. As the newer software verion(s) no longer filters out the concurrent RF blast from the 50.0/52.0/54.0 remotes, the moment one sends a TV Power signal from the remote, the Hopper 3 with Hopper Plus, Joey 4 and Wireless Joey 4 catches that unintended RF payloadand interpets it as a command to drop the system into standby.

The fix is really simple since the Android TV (ATV) software for the Hopper Plus, Joey 4 and Wireless Joey 4 just needs to be programmed to drop or ignore the specific RF power packets associated with the TV Power signal sequence.

The problem could also be at the remotes firmware as the remote's firmware has an engineering defect. When you try to turn off the TV, the remote's internal code mistakenly triggers its RF transmitter alongside its IR transmitter. It should only be firing the IR light blast. Because it forces a simultaneous broadcast, the remote's firmware is the original source of the problem.

The Hopper Plus, Joey 4 and Wireless Joey firmware has a filtering defect. Good software design dictating peripheral inputs should include "error handling"—rules that tell the system what to do with messy or unintended commands.
• The legacy Hopper 3 firmware has proper error handling; it sees the remote's rogue RF packet and safely ignores it.
• The Android TV firmware in the Hopper Plu, Joey 4 and Wireless lacks this filtering logic. It blindly accepts the rogue RF packet and misinterprets it as a legitimate signal to force the entire system into standby.

If the remote didn't have a firmware bug, it wouldn't send the phantom RF signal. If the Android TV (ATV) device being the Hopper 3 with Hopper Plus, Joey 4 and Wireless Joey 4 didn't have a firmware bug, it would cleanly ignore the signal just like the Hopper 3 does.

brittanygarden and Rick Durham
rvvaquero
That's a lot of information to ingest. However, I don't have the Hopper Plus and my 54 remote is doing crazy things to the Hopper 3. Several times each evening when I press the skip forward button several times to advance through a commercial, it switches the receiver either onto live TV or into suspension. Other buttons will also cause this randomly, I haven't established any patterns I can describe. I use "recall" to go back to my recorded program in progress.

Needless to say, something in the newer Hopper 3 softwares has caused the remote functioning to ......................malfunction. Evidently, it applies to third party remotes as well as DISH's own remotes.
GRB1959
That's a lot of information to ingest. However, I don't have the Hopper Plus and my 54 remote is doing crazy things to the Hopper 3. Several times each evening when I press the skip forward button several times to advance through a commercial, it switches the receiver either onto live TV or into suspension. Other buttons will also cause this randomly, I haven't established any patterns I can describe. I use "recall" to go back to my recorded program in progress.

Needless to say, something in the newer Hopper 3 softwares has caused the remote functioning to ......................malfunction. Evidently, it applies to third party remotes as well as DISH's own remotes.

This is exactly the same issue I was having as I had the Hopper 3 and 54 remote without the Hopper Plus and the symptoms were virtually identical to yours.
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ERSanders
We have had a corolary problem in this and the prior s/w. Using several different 40.0 remotes (yeah, we're old), when one pauses a live or recorded show it becomes a crap shoot whether it will step foreward the 30" as requested, jump to the end, or restart the episode. Tried the famous 60" reboot to no avail and have decided to live with it vs. a receiver swap risk.
T
I think there's a change to the "skip forward 30 seconds". With CBS that does not have auto-skip, if you stack up a bunch of 30 second forwards it seems to stop when the kangaroo signaling the end of the commercial break appears.
dishstaller
Pub Member / Supporter Lifetime Supporter
· posted in The Phone & Tablet Zone
We were up in Pigeon Forge, TN a month ago and we couldn't get anything on our phones to work on mobile data...the Ookla speed test app couldn't even do a speed test. I have an older 13 and went into my settings and turned off the 5G, making it use LTE exclusively....did a speed test of over 300mbps so obviously the 5G bands were overwhelmed. Anyway, tried to do the same thing on my Wife's 15 and the cellular data options tab simply wasn't there. Any of you run into this? We've on Verizon
0 Replies · 15 views
osu1991
Pub Member / Supporter
Last reply · posted in TV Shows
9 Replies · 153 views
meStevo
First 2 eps out and it's unsurprisingly great to watch Paul Bettany and James Spader work.
osu1991
Watched the first episode and enjoyed it.
Foxbat
James Spader gets the best lines so far. I'm enjoying this series.
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osu1991
Finished the 2nd episode tonight. I'm really liking it so far.

Still hate weekly releases though, especially the way Disney and HBO do it waiting until 8pm to premiere it.
Foxbat
Apparently I'm not a big enough nerd🤓 since I did not read every Marvel Comic Book ever published. If I had, I might be comparing the comics' version of events compared to what's transpiring in "Visionquest". So, I am enjoying the series a lot, not weighed down by previous expectations, knowing only the Avengers MCU movies and the "Wandavision" / "Agatha All Along" TV series.

I found the Mr Know-it-All channel from his discussion about "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" and he's been gleefully picking these episodes apart, referencing the Marvel comics from the 1939 on. Turns out A.I. has been around since before World War II, at least in the comics. (Robots before that, yes, yes.) This show is going back into the archives.
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TheForce
Supporting Founder Pub Member / Supporter
Last reply · posted in The Phone & Tablet Zone
It's time for my wife to get a new iphone as her iphone 12 is getting weak battery life test says 70% compared to when new. But it is beginning to show signs of screen freezing as well.
211 Replies · 15146 views
Foxbat
It may be the year to update my 13 to the 15.
Foxbat
BTW, iOS 26.1 is now out for iPhone, along with the OS 26.1 updates for all other supported Appley iDevices.
osu1991
Bought a Motorola G Power 5G android phone as a spare and to use for some work stuff. Was tired of work stuff cluttering up my iPhone 16 Pro. Didn't take long to remember why I originally went to an iPhone. 4hrs doing updates to step up from Android 14 updates to Android 15 and latest updates for 15. Ads on the Play store above the app I searched for is something I don't really remember from the last android phone I had 13-14 yrs ago. Face ID on iphone has spoiled me too.

I just wanted a cheap phone mainly for work pictures or I would have got an 17 Pro and used my 16 for work stuff, but no need to spend that kind of money. I don't even have cellular service on the Motorola, just using it on WiFi and added my google voice number to it with the app.
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Foxbat
Apple released their 2025 Holiday video. Friendly forest fauna find forgotten phone…
​

There's also a behind the scenes "Making of" video, too:
​
Foxbat
BTW, iOS 26.1 is now out for iPhone, along with the OS 26.1 updates for all other supported Appley iDevices.
BTW, iOS 26.3 is now out for iPhone, along with the OS 26.3 updates for all other supported Appley iDevices.
1770953531617.png
Foxbat
It may be the year to update my 13 to the 15.
Apple made me an offer I couldn't refuse. For whatever reason, they bumped up the Trade-in value of my iPhone 13, first to $180, and just recently to $195. So I took the Apple Cash from Apple card savings and the $195 trade-in and have a shiny new iPhone 17 nothing. The base 256 GB is more than enough for my needs.

Now I'm on the lookout for a leather case for it…
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Foxbat
My iPhone 17 is now running iOS 27.2 (whatever happened to 27.1.x?) and it looks like all the other Apple devices that can are releasing 27.2 (looks like it came out Monday)
"MysteryMan"
Pub Member / Supporter Cutting Edge
Last reply · posted in Computers and Gadgets
I created this thread on the original Edgecutter Cutting Edge Forums site. It's simply a place for those to review the latest software available for those using Windows 10 and Windows 11. To date it has received 112,559 views. I have been asked by staff to continue this thread here.
523 Replies · 47961 views
EarDemon
If it wasn't for what I want, I wouldn't need any of this.

Do I need a collection of handheld radios, scanners and speed enforcement countermeasures? Nope, but I want them. Very little, if any of the software used to interface with these devices is available on Linux.
WhiteBeard
If it wasn't for what I want, I wouldn't need any of this.

Do I need a collection of handheld radios, scanners and speed enforcement countermeasures? Nope, but I want them. Very little, if any of the software used to interface with these devices is available on Linux.
To each there own but I've found that Windows can't do much more than Linux can. Can't have everything. ☹️
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EarDemon
To each there own but I've found that Windows can't do much more than Linux can. Can't have everything. ☹️
For niche use cases, yes I agree. Kali for ethical hacking and security testing, and running a Cacti server for network monitoring are the two things I have experience in. Plus thousands and thousands of other things, but for every day use I just can't see it. The owner of the GMRS repeater that I pay to access is changing the Tx DPL tones tomorrow, while Chirp is available on Linux, the software to program my MXT500 is not.

I run Fedora and Ubuntu in VMWare, honestly I don't care much for the UI of either of them and I don't feel like spending days/weeks to customize the UI to make it look Windows-like when I could just use Windows. The cartoonish dock at the bottom of the screen reminds me of Apple products.
harshness
I don't care much for the UI of either of them and I don't feel like spending days/weeks to customize the UI to make it look Windows-like when I could just use Windows.
What is so fantabulous about the Windows UI? By many accounts, it has been going downhill since Windows 7.

There are Linux desktops that offer Windows or Mac UIs, yet you don't hear much chatter about them outside of questions about when the creators might get sued.
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EarDemon
What is so fantabulous about the Windows UI?
Because it's what I prefer. I know I've said this a few times, I use Open Shell to give me the cascading start menu a la WIN 95 and NT4.0. The only reason I went from Windows Vista to 7 back in the day was because of Classic Shell. I cannot stand anything other than the OG start menu from 30+ years ago. I'm using ExplorerPatcher to give me Windows 10 UI elements of the taskbar and right click context menus.

If you could take a look at how I set up Windows 95, you'd find many similarities to how I use 11.
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EarDemon
I could probably use that as a starting point, but I don't like the full size icons. If you have to click on each folder that's also a no-go for me, it has to be cascading.

I used to have Peppermint Linux in a VM, that was about as close as I could get to recreating a Windows NT4.0 style of menu structure, but I could never get it to scale properly in VMWare on a 4K display and eventually gave up.

Whatever the boot up time it's fine with me. The longest part of my bootup is the HP SureStart BIOS integrity check. Once that is done, it's only a few more seconds. I haven't done this reg tweak yet since the reformat, but I switched the bootup animation to the Windows 10 style spinning circle of dots, and it's two and a half rotations. I can live with that.
harshness
Because it's what I prefer.
I hope you don't believe that makes it wonderful (especially when you're using workarounds for Microsoft's malfeasance).

I use LibreOffice as opposed to Microsoft office (even in Windows) because it's UI is like the Office of old, so I'm putting my money where my mouth is (in a manner of speaking). The ribbon was one of the worst ideas to come out Redmond.
HipKat
I could probably use that as a starting point, but I don't like the full size icons. If you have to click on each folder that's also a no-go for me, it has to be cascading.

I used to have Peppermint Linux in a VM, that was about as close as I could get to recreating a Windows NT4.0 style of menu structure, but I could never get it to scale properly in VMWare on a 4K display and eventually gave up.

Whatever the boot up time it's fine with me. The longest part of my bootup is the HP SureStart BIOS integrity check. Once that is done, it's only a few more seconds. I haven't done this reg tweak yet since the reformat, but I switched the bootup animation to the Windows 10 style spinning circle of dots, and it's two and a half rotations. I can live with that.
I used to pin the C: drive to the Win Taskbar and it would open in cascading style
"MysteryMan"
2026-10 Preview Update Builds: 26300.9818 and 26200.9818 (KB5127936) has been released. Moderate time needed for those choosing to perform a manual download/install/restart. Quality improvements only. No new operating system features.
TWiT Tech Podcast Network
· posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network
0 Replies · 7 views