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comfortably_numb

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Last reply Dec 29, 2018 · posted in Over the Air Television By RabbitEars.Info

Article: Diginets come of age

https://www.tvtechnology.com/news/diginets-come-of-age

Of particular interest:

"The share of U.S. households that acquire their TV signals via over-the-air antenna increased to 20 percent—or about 24 million homes—from 16 percent from early 2015 through the end of 2017, according to Parks Associates data from March."

So, 20% of the nation's population receives its TV at least in part from OTA. I hope that's a good sign

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harshness

Dec 16, 2018

dhett said:
I see several differences between now and the analog-to-digital transition.

Television station owners are leading the way to implement ATSC 3.0, dragging the government along.

The downer in me thinks they're (unintentionally) giving them just enough rope to hang themselves.

Non-broadcast content is by far more ubiquitous today than it was during the analog-to-digital transition, so where broadcast TV was the biggest voice during the analog-to-digital conversion, it's now just one of many voices, and one of the quieter voices. Viewers are getting most of their content elsewhere; broadcast TV needs ATSC 3.0 just to have a chance to compete.

It isn't so much that they want better content (they're paying Hulu and Netflix for the same content) but rather when and with as much advertising as they choose. Next-Gen isn't going to help with that.

ATSC 3.0 has benefits to both viewers and station owners.

Statements like this should include the word "potentially".

Improved forward error correction and multipath rejection benefit both viewer and owner. ATSC 3.0 will offer improved mobile viewing; ATSC 1.0 is unsuitable for mobile viewing.

The repack will put these stations in a band that requires larger antennas and I suspect most of the mobile claims are built around Single Frequency Networking (SFN; a sort of cellular model for TV) and may not be realized where SFN isn't deployed.

dhett

Dec 17, 2018

harshness said:
The repack will put these stations in a band that requires larger antennas...

Not quite. The only full power and Class A stations changing bands are those who volunteered to do so and took a payout from the FCC. The remaining stations that were repacked remained in the same band: V-Lo => V-Lo, V-Hi => V-Hi and U => U. Some LPTV/translator stations had to change bands, but in Arizona,
which has hundreds of LPTV/translator stations, I can only think of three that requested to move from U to V-Hi, and none of the three were forced to do so by a lack of available UHF channels.

harshness said:
...I suspect most of the mobile claims are built around Single Frequency Networking (SFN; a sort of cellular model for TV) and may not be realized where SFN isn't deployed.

Nope. The very nature of OFDM and the way it is to be deployed will improve mobile reception, even where there is no SFN. And for those places that do deploy an SFN, that will be an added bonus.

And speaking of SFN, it's already been proven in Europe that it will succeed with ATSC 3.0 where the Distributed Transmission Systems (DTS) failed with ATSC 1.0. Theoretically, it was supposed to be possible to have an ATSC 1.0 DTS where signals overlapped and long as the signals were completely synchronized. That proved not to be the case, as multipath interference was still a problem. ATSC 3.0 features improved multipath handling, and it's not just theory.

harshness

Dec 17, 2018

dhett said:
Not quite. The only full power and Class A stations changing bands are those who volunteered to do so and took a payout from the FCC.

That may be how things are in your market but in all cases, channels that were using RF>37 are moving regardless of whether their low power or Class A. Dismissing stations (or translators) that aren't full power isn't fair.

In larger markets, that means delving into VHF-high and in the largest markets, VHF-low where there may not have been such usage before the repack.

The very nature of OFDM and the way it is to be deployed will improve mobile reception, even where there is no SFN.

No amount of engineering, testing or reasoning is going to change the antenna requirements for receiving VHF.

dhett

Dec 19, 2018

harshness said:
That may be how things are in your market but in all cases, channels that were using RF>37 are moving regardless of whether their low power or Class A. Dismissing stations (or translators) that aren't full power isn't fair.

In larger markets, that means delving into VHF-high and in the largest markets, VHF-low where there may not have been such usage before the repack.No amount of engineering, testing or reasoning is going to change the antenna requirements for receiving VHF.

I think you need to go back and read for comprehension. Nobody is dismissing anything.

Full power and Class A stations were repacked into the same band as before repack unless they volunteered to move to Hi-V or Lo-V, or volunteered to turn in their RF channel entirely to channel share. That's nationwide, not just my market.

Low power stations that were not Class A were on their own. If they were above channel 37, or displaced by a primary rights station, they had to relocate wherever they could. Here's the thing: low power stations are primarily in the west, where, except for the largest markets (LA or Bay Area), spectrum is plentiful. Back east, especially in the northeast, where spectrum isn't as plentiful, and in the aforementioned western markets, there aren't near as many low power stations.

Let's look at markets: Portland has two LPTV stations changing bands: one from UHF to hi-VHF, and one from UHF to Lo-VHF. The outlying areas of NW Oregon have none. Seattle has one station going from UHF to hi-VHF. San Francisco? None. A few full-powers that took money to go to lo- or hi-VHF, but no LPTV stations. In fact, three LPTV stations are moving from hi-VHF to UHF. Similar story in LA: several full-powers taking money to go to lo- or hi-VHF, a couple of stations going from UHF to lo-VHF, one going from UHF to hi-VHF, and one going from hi-VHF to UHF. New York? One from UHF to lo-VHF, two from UHF to hi-VHF and one from lo-VHF to hi-VHF.

Looks like your theory isn't supported by facts.

harshness

Dec 19, 2018

dhett said:
Full power and Class A stations were repacked into the same band as before repack unless they volunteered to move to Hi-V or Lo-V, or volunteered to turn in their RF channel entirely to channel share.

You say that as if UHF wasn't any wider than the VHF bands. My ABC affiliate (KATU) is moving from RF43 (647MHz) to RF24 (533MHz) that is a jump larger than three times the breadth of the VHF-Low band. To be certain, the higher the frequency, the broader the antenna coverage, but here the difference in wavelength is 3.9 inches.

The outlying areas of NW Oregon have none.

The outlying areas of Oregon are laced with translators. KATU has 16 of them (all below channel 37). The CBS affiliate (KOIN) has 14 translators with one at RF47. The NBC affiliate (KGW) offers 16 translators (all below channel 37). The Fox affiliate (KPTV) weighs in at 9 translators (all below RF37) and the PBS network is made up of 20 translators (all below RF37).

Perhaps not obviously, the state is divided into three long territories by the Coast Range and the Cascade Range, but I can't help but think there's going to need to be some care taken to avoid translators getting beat on by main feeds in the Willamette Valley if Next-Gen really "gets out" as well as some claim.

dhett

Dec 21, 2018

harshness said:
You say that as if UHF wasn't any wider than the VHF bands. My ABC affiliate (KATU) is moving from RF43 (647MHz) to RF24 (533MHz) that is a jump larger than three times the breadth of the VHF-Low band. To be certain, the higher the frequency, the broader the antenna coverage, but here the difference in wavelength is 3.9 inches.

I'm afraid that I fail to see your point, or the relevance of the UHF TV band (old: 228 MHz [includes ch. 37], new: 138 MHz) being wider than the VHF TV band (lo: 34 MHz [includes the 4 MHz between chs. 4 and 5], hi: 42 MHz). It doesn't change the fact that no primary-rights (i.e., full power and Class A) TV station was forced to change bands; all band changes were voluntary and compensated.

harshness said:
The outlying areas of Oregon are laced with translators. KATU has 16 of them (all below channel 37). The CBS affiliate (KOIN) has 14 translators with one at RF47. The NBC affiliate (KGW) offers 16 translators (all below channel 37). The Fox affiliate (KPTV) weighs in at 9 translators (all below RF37) and the PBS network is made up of 20 translators (all below RF37).

Perhaps not obviously, the state is divided into three long territories by the Coast Range and the Cascade Range, but I can't help but think there's going to need to be some care taken to avoid translators getting beat on by main feeds in the Willamette Valley if Next-Gen really "gets out" as well as some claim.

Again, all operational secondary-rights (i.e., LPTV and translator) TV stations were given a window in April and May to request their displacement channel reassignment. Nationwide, there were only 90 instances of mutually exclusive requests for displacement channels, five of which involved Oregon stations, and only one of which was in the crowded Portland metro area, involving two stations both requesting ch 23. But even in the Portland metro, there are still enough channels available so that every UHF secondary-rights station can still end up with a new UHF channel. In fact, KGWZ-LD is staying with ch 23, and KEVE-LD is now requesting ch 31, so that one is already resolved as of 11/29/18. There is no reason to believe that the Willamette Valley will be a problem.

harshness

Dec 21, 2018

dhett said:
I'm afraid that I fail to see your point, or the relevance of the UHF TV band (old: 228 MHz [includes ch. 37], new: 138 MHz) being wider than the VHF TV band (lo: 34 MHz [includes the 4 MHz between chs. 4 and 5], hi: 42 MHz). It doesn't change the fact that no primary-rights (i.e., full power and Class A) TV station was forced to change bands; all band changes were voluntary and compensated.

You're talking about bandwidth useage and I'm talking about receive antennas. It is no wonder you're missing the point.

Again, all operational secondary-rights (i.e., LPTV and translator) TV stations were given a window in April and May to request their displacement channel reassignment.

Does your analysis contemplate translators?

dhett

Dec 21, 2018

harshness said:
You're talking about bandwidth useage and I'm talking about receive antennas. It is no wonder you're missing the point.

I fail to see the relevance of your point, and you fail to explain yourself. All you've posted is technical-sounding gibberish. Again, mobile TV worked just fine in the analog days, even for lo-VHF, and I'm not talking about limousine setups either.

harshness said:
Does your analysis contemplate translators?

Yes.

harshness

Dec 21, 2018

dhett said:
I fail to see the relevance of your point, and you fail to explain yourself. All you've posted is technical-sounding gibberish.

One person's technical gibberish is another trying to get a point across to someone who apparently doesn't understand basic terminology and physics behind OTA TV antenna theory.

When the term "mobile" is used, I think most have jumped to the conclusion that this meant receiving TV on phones and tablets with suitable receivers attached (and eventually built in). From there, I've noodled the size of the antenna required and determined that something that attaches to a phone (especially now that some phones don't have headphone jacks) isn't going to be sufficient to receive TV stations in the same way that the old portable TVs had whips or rabbit ears.

To answer my challenge, you need to cite evidence that mobile devices (phones, tablets, notebooks, handheld TVs) will be able to be fitted with antennas that will allow them to pick up TV frequencies (not just a high UHF demo like they did in Las Vegas).

Some early claims about what ATSC 3.0 would bring to devices:

ATSC 3.0 will change watching TV on mobiles

ATSC 3.0 chips in the iPhone and other smartphones? Don't hold your breath | FierceVideo

dhett

Dec 28, 2018

harshness said:
When the term "mobile" is used, I think most have jumped to the conclusion that this meant receiving TV on phones and tablets with suitable receivers attached (and eventually built in). From there, I've noodled the size of the antenna required and determined that something that attaches to a phone (especially now that some phones don't have headphone jacks) isn't going to be sufficient to receive TV stations in the same way that the old portable TVs had whips or rabbit ears.

To answer my challenge, you need to cite evidence that mobile devices (phones, tablets, notebooks, handheld TVs) will be able to be fitted with antennas that will allow them to pick up TV frequencies (not just a high UHF demo like they did in Las Vegas).

OK - now we're getting somewhere. Thank you for clarifying.

You are correct: my examples were portable TVs with telescoping antennas, or even a phone I had that had an extensible antenna built in.

Let's address the antenna. The antenna measurements commonly cited are for optimal reception. For a UHF station, antennas don't need to be so large, as the wavelength of the signal is quite small. For a VHF-hi station, a dipole antenna needs to be anywhere from 26.4" for RF ch 13 to 31.8" for RF ch 7. For VHF-lo, the dipole needs to be quite long - from 66" for RF ch 6 to 98.6" for RF ch 2. The truth is, you didn't need an antenna that large for decent reception in NTSC analog and you don't need an antenna that large for ATSC 1.0 8-VSB modulation. Unfortunately, I don't have any VHF-lo stations in my area, but it's been a common saying that if your signal is strong enough, you could pick it up with a paper clip. Certainly, that is not the optimal antenna, but I did a little experiment. I took a 6" paper clip and plugged it into my ATSC 1.0 tuner dongle (see PaperClipAntenna.jpg).

Hardly the most optimal antenna. Yet I was getting a serviceable signal on KAET RF ch 8 (see KAET.png)

That's right, on high VHF. That wasn't supposed to happen. Here's low power Class A station KAZT on RF ch 36 (see KAZT.png).

A 6" antenna can easily be miniaturized using a fractal antenna, so it's not hard to conceptualize putting a receiver into a cell phone or tablet.

The next item to address is the fact that OFDM-based ATSC 3.0 will be much more forgiving of a less-than-optimal signal than 8-VSB-based ASTC 1.0 is. That's the difference and a major benefit that ATSC 3.0 offers. Will that help for VHF-lo? I don't know - I don't have a VHF-lo station nearby to sample - but don't overestimate the reach of VHF-lo stations. Very few of them exist, even after the repack.

harshness

Dec 28, 2018

You left out a couple of key metrics in your analysis: distance from the station and barriers to propagation (or lack thereof as I suspect is the situation where you are). Most of my TV stations are about 50alm away (as are most of my FM radio stations). I happen to have LoS to most of them but anything less than a good set of rabbit ears wouldn't get me the analog stations back in the day. If the TV was moved or even turned, the rabbit ears would have to be adjusted.

I have a 60 mile antenna now and it does great but I have to point it within a few degrees of the towers or the signal is trash. I understand antenna loading and fractals, but there is a limit on how low they can practically go. I firmly believe that the whole "mobile TV" thing has been grossly oversold as it applies to viewers outside the major metropolitan areas.

dhett

Dec 29, 2018

I can tell you that at that distance, mobile will not be likely. I don't know where you've been reading, but I've never seen mobile sold as available from great distances. In fact, it's well-known that signal propagation is one of the areas where 8-VSB modulation outperforms OFDM, and a major reason why the FCC went with 8-VSB 20 years ago, when Sinclair was pushing for COFDM. When ATSC 3.0 becomes a reality, look for a wave of stations requesting power increases, and the FCC revisiting their power limits.

Although I have a favorable location for OTA, my readings were taken from indoors. With a stucco house, the chicken wire on the outside walls that hold the stucco in place also attenuates the signals somewhat. Mobile viewing will always be subject to those limitations, regardless of modulation. It will remain to be seen how forgiving ATSC 3.0 is; what we do know is that ATSC 1.0 is completely unforgiving. I can't imagine it getting any worse.

What I did show is that it doesn't necessarily require rabbit ears to receive hi-VHF, especially the full-power stations. And UHF should be a slam dunk. Although it was a 15 kW signal on RF ch 36, there is also a co-channel station in Tucson, 100 miles away. I can't say how lo-VHF will perform, as the closest LPTV station to me is 100 miles away in Tucson, and the closest full power station is 300 miles away in Las Vegas, and those are ATSC 1.0 stations.

Well, congratulations! It looks like you and I have completely hijacked this thread, so I'm going to try to tie back to the topic by saying that if ATSC 3.0 lives up to what we know is true - and not the hype - we could see more and more diginets coming. Word is that the broadcast networks and station owners are more likely to air additional content at up to 1080p, rather than dedicating the channels to 4K content, so there will be more room for new diginets. Weigel and Katz both seem committed to producing new diginetss, and I've fairly impressed with the alliances with major networks that they've been able to forge. I am disappointed that Weigel seems to abandon the old ones, such as ThisTV, in favor of the newest shiny keys, but at the same time, I'm glad to see that the new diginets are more than just rehashes of TV Land.

harshness

Dec 29, 2018

dhett said:
Well, congratulations! It looks like you and I have completely hijacked this thread, so I'm going to try to tie back to the topic by saying that if ATSC 3.0 lives up to what we know is true - and not the hype - we could see more and more diginets coming. Word is that the broadcast networks and station owners are more likely to air additional content at up to 1080p, rather than dedicating the channels to 4K content, so there will be more room for new diginets. Weigel and Katz both seem committed to producing new diginetss, and I've fairly impressed with the alliances with major networks that they've been able to forge.

I'm not sure we've established that there's a need to broadcast some of this content to more than a relative handful of viewers and broadcast probably isn't the most efficient way to do that. Using broadcast to index IP-delivered content seems like a horrible waste of resources.

More isn't always better or even desirable other than to those who live to count channels.

There seems to be less and less interesting content on the cable channels and I don't see how making content available free OTA is going to improve that. In the grand scheme, it doesn't really open up access to a significant number of new eyeballs and the funding model is already floundering for OTA.

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Scott Greczkowski

Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU! Cutting Edge

Last reply 32 minutes ago · posted in The Chit Chat Club

Song Name Game Part 3!

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....

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hwkn

Today at 2:50 AM

PEOPLE Are Strange-The Doors

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dishstaller

Today at 9:26 AM

In the Still of the Night - The Five Satins

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Today at 10:00 AM

Still Loving You - Scorpions

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Bobby

Today at 11:24 AM

hwkn said:
PEOPLE Are Strange-The Doors

ClarkGable said:
You're Still A Young Man - Tower Of Power

No Match, back to:
People Are Strange - The Doors

Isn't Life Strange - The Moody Blues

FTA4PA

Today at 12:09 PM

Strange Days - Nazareth

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gms49ers

32 minutes ago

Dancing Days - Led Zeppelin

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iJustine

37 minutes ago · posted in iJustine

New colors of the HomePod Mini 2! Blue, pink and green!

Time for another AWESOME video from iJustine!

View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/bmgQFnQEqVo

Direct YouTube Link - New colors of the HomePod Mini 2! Blue, pink and green!
The official iJustine Website's Website
Buy her book!

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TRG

Pub Member / Supporter

Last reply Today at 12:29 PM · posted in Local Radio Discussion

House Passes AM Radio For Every Vehicle Act

House Passes AM Radio For Every Vehicle Act

(Washington, DC) - The U.S. House has passed the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act, marking a major step forward for broadcasters and listeners who have pushed to keep AM radio available in new cars and

wabcradio.com

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dishdude

Sep 18, 2026

It's probably been 2 decades since I've listened to an AM radio station. Very rarely listen to FM any more.

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Jimbo

Today at 8:35 AM

I am 1 that wants the AM to Stay ....
That said, since '08 I have had Sat radio available to me ... I think I have turned on AM 3 or 4 times, just to see if its still there.

Fwiw, if theres a Major disaster or bad weather or whatever, the chances of me finding out about it by going to the AM side of the radio is SLIM and None.
Even FM, I haven't really had on since '13ish, I may turn it on from time to time, just to see if its still there.

harshness

Today at 10:10 AM

Jimbo said:
Fwiw, if theres a Major disaster or bad weather or whatever, the chances of me finding out about it by going to the AM side of the radio is SLIM and None.

Automation has seen to that. You can't get evening drive traffic reports where I live, much less disaster reports.

dishstaller

Today at 10:41 AM

dishdude said:
Very rarely listen to FM any more

That goes for a lot of people. I've been advertising on radio for more than a decade now and am very familiar with this subject. While it is still a valuable tool, it has far less impact than it did just a few years ago. The best reaction I get is from a local Country music station....they play a mix of older and newer music and have a very big footprint.

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Jimbo

Today at 11:03 AM

dishstaller said:
That goes for a lot of people. I've been advertising on radio for more than a decade now and am very familiar with this subject. While it is still a valuable tool, it has far less impact than it did just a few years ago. The best reaction I get is from a local Country music station....they play a mix of older and newer music and have a very big footprint.

Do you do any Ad's on Satellite ?

If Not, why not, because it's not Local ?

dishstaller

Today at 12:29 PM

Jimbo said:
Do you do any Ad's on Satellite ?

If Not, why not, because it's not Local ?

No, just regular FM stations. One is the country station I mentioned and the other is a Talk Radio station which used to get fantastic results but honestly, since the death of Rush Limbaugh, talk radio just doesn't do as well. There were two guys who had an early morning show which was hugely popular here in the southeast but one of them retired a couple years ago and the show just doesn't garner the same numbers as it used to.

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TheForce

Supporting Founder Pub Member / Supporter

Last reply Today at 11:49 AM · posted in The Phone & Tablet Zone

Apple Event September 2026

Apple Fall Hardware Event takes place today, September 9, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. PT / 1:00 p.m. ET. It marks the debut of new CEO John Ternus and the expected reveal of Apple's first foldable phone.

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comfortably_numb

Oct 10, 2026

Can't remember if I've posted this yet..

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfL5seXJyWU

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Foxbat

Sunday at 7:05 PM

IFixIt has published their Teardown and they had some positive things to say about the iPhone Duo. It still showed some dust ingress into the hinge assembly but seemed otherwise well-sealed.

But with a considerable number of reports of the main screen dying with similar failures, AppleCare+ should be a no-brainer for this phone.

slow_poke_pete

Sunday at 8:31 PM

comfortably_numb said:
Can't remember if I've posted this yet..

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfL5seXJyWU

most carriers do. that's why they send updates that slow phones down!! i buy unlocked phones no effect to me

slow_poke_pete

Sunday at 8:32 PM

Foxbat said:
IFixIt has published their Teardown and they had some positive things to say about the iPhone Duo. It still showed some dust ingress into the hinge assembly but seemed otherwise well-sealed.

But with a considerable number of reports of the main screen dying with similar failures, AppleCare+ should be a no-brainer for this phone.

hope you have apple care a screen job is 1000.00

. can we say over priced garbage!!!

slow_poke_pete

Yesterday at 4:36 PM

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iv0BssMerjA

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harshness

Today at 10:17 AM

Gone are the days when Apple "perfects" what debuted years earlier on an Android phone.

comfortably_numb

Today at 11:49 AM

harshness said:
Gone are the days when Apple "perfects" what debuted years earlier on an Android phone.

Or better yet, innovate something "completely revolutionary!"

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TWiT Tech Podcast Network

Today at 11:22 AM · posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network

Will AI Be Rejected in Game Development's Future? #shorts

Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!

View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/1gKXwyGz68c

Direct YouTube Link - Will AI Be Rejected in Game Development's Future? #shorts
TWIT's Website
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SkyWatcher57

Pub Member / Supporter

Last reply Today at 11:17 AM · posted in Free To Air (FTA) Discussion

KOQIT receivers

Hello folks, well my luck ran out last week with a nasty thunderstorm and after 39 years here, finally took a hit. Now, the FTA receivers I had for some years worked great until now. Recently picked up a fairly cheap receiver, online, KOQIT and seems to be good, but for the life of me, I cannot get the HDMI output to work with 3 of my Samsung monitors. I can hook it up to my Samsung TV and its HDMI input and it works fine. The 2 receivers I lost also worked fine with them, so am I going crazy? anyone have come across this or have any suggestions? And, since this is a somewhat cheap unit but works, what is everyone out there using for receivers these days? without breaking the bank? I enjoy watching FTA TV, so I will invest more if needed, what is a really good, detailed unit these days. I'm so use to watching a few of them HD channels. Right now I'm down to composite hookups, yuck! Any help or info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Frank

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(((Garyd)))

Sep 7, 2026

SkyWatcher57 said:
Hello folks, well my luck ran out last week with a nasty thunderstorm and after 39 years here, finally took a hit. Now, the FTA receivers I had for some years worked great until now. Recently picked up a fairly cheap receiver, online, KOQIT and seems to be good, but for the life of me, I cannot get the HDMI output to work with 3 of my Samsung monitors. I can hook it up to my Samsung TV and its HDMI input and it works fine. The 2 receivers I lost also worked fine with them, so am I going crazy? anyone have come across this or have any suggestions? And, since this is a somewhat cheap unit but works, what is everyone out there using for receivers these days? without breaking the bank? I enjoy watching FTA TV, so I will invest more if needed, what is a really good, detailed unit these days. I'm so use to watching a few of them HD channels. Right now I'm down to composite hookups, yuck! Any help or info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Frank

Take the cover off, show me pics of the board of the bad one and also the bottom of the board. I'm an old hardware electronics tech plus a satellite dealer; I fixed a lot of FTA and regular receivers. I may be able to fix it for you. And yes, they got hit by lightning; it's best to email me the pics at diamondsatellite@snet.net or call me at 203-232-8888. I give you a 50-50 chance of fixing it; I do have spare parts. my phone is a fliptop phone
Gary

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slow_poke_pete

Sep 10, 2026

SkyWatcher57 said:
Hello folks, well my luck ran out last week with a nasty thunderstorm and after 39 years here, finally took a hit. Now, the FTA receivers I had for some years worked great until now. Recently picked up a fairly cheap receiver, online, KOQIT and seems to be good, but for the life of me, I cannot get the HDMI output to work with 3 of my Samsung monitors. I can hook it up to my Samsung TV and its HDMI input and it works fine. The 2 receivers I lost also worked fine with them, so am I going crazy? anyone have come across this or have any suggestions? And, since this is a somewhat cheap unit but works, what is everyone out there using for receivers these days? without breaking the bank? I enjoy watching FTA TV, so I will invest more if needed, what is a really good, detailed unit these days. I'm so use to watching a few of them HD channels. Right now I'm down to composite hookups, yuck! Any help or info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Frank

a good surge protector will help to.

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SkyWatcher57

Sep 11, 2026

(((Garyd))) said:
Take the cover off, show me pics of the board of the bad one and also the bottom of the board. I'm an old hardware electronics tech plus a satellite dealer; I fixed a lot of FTA and regular receivers. I may be able to fix it for you. And yes, they got hit by lightning; it's best to email me the pics at diamondsatellite@snet.net or call me at 203-232-8888. I give you a 50-50 chance of fixing it; I do have spare parts. my phone is a fliptop phone
Gary

Hi Gary, still working on getting you those

SkyWatcher57 said:
Hi Gary, just saw this, ok, I'll grab some pics tomorrow and post them. thx

Still working getting you those pictures, nice weekends means yard work and fall prep, thanks

Reactions: (((Garyd)))

k4otl

Thursday at 10:09 PM

Anybody know how to add "hidden" audio channels like for 101 W Ku or 105W C band on these recvr's? I've exported the database file but don't have anything that will read or edit it.

cyberham

Thursday at 10:25 PM

For 105W C, you scan in the Westwood tp normally. Then select the audio channel you want. Not necessary to manually enter. On 101W, you must manually enter.

k4otl

Today at 11:17 AM

cyberham said:
For 105W C, you scan in the Westwood tp normally. Then select the audio channel you want. Not necessary to manually enter. On 101W, you must manually enter.

Seems like I remember that now, with my V9 I manually entered anyway on 105, easier for me to pick the channel later

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techristian

Last reply Today at 11:07 AM · posted in Free To Air (FTA) Discussion

NEED SUGGESTIONS FOR NEW FTA BOX

IS Amiko MIRA 3 any good ???
Can you recommend the best to cover all bases. NO BEEPS on certain channels 101w (NEWSMAX ,NEWS NATION), a clock that keeps working STEADY for timed recording ,solid unit with good lifespan. My Amiko died AND my Linkbox has NO Favorites Button and BEEPS on many channels. Picking up 105 west with a NEW SHED IN THE Way with 6 foot Cband ..95 percent quality ...unbelievable.

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techristian

Saturday at 8:49 PM

Have you tried a new power brick on your Amiko?

YOU WERE RIGHT. IT IS WORKING NOW WITH 2X AMPS !!

DAN

Reactions: FTA4PA, primestar31, cyberham and 1 other person

primestar31

Saturday at 10:47 PM

techristian said:
Have you tried a new power brick on your Amiko?

YOU WERE RIGHT. IT IS WORKING NOW WITH 2X AMPS !!

DAN

That's great!

Many people have all sorts of power bricks laying around. Provided the plug fits, and it's the right polarity and same voltage and the same OR higher amps, why not try another one IF the device you want to try it on doesn't seem to work right.

Reactions: cyberham

JFOK

Saturday at 10:54 PM

primestar31 said:
That's great!

Many people have all sorts of power bricks laying around. Provided the plug fits, and it's the right polarity and same voltage and the same OR higher amps, why not try another one IF the device you want to try it on doesn't seem to work right.

primestar31,

Could you explain to me what a power brick is ?
Thanks,

John

primestar31

Saturday at 10:59 PM

JFOK said:
primestar31,

Could you explain to me what a power brick is ?
Thanks,

John

Some people just call them power supplies (which really isn't a good fit in this case), some call them "wall adapters" but it's an external power supply or AC adapter that converts (AC) from a wall outlet into low-voltage (DC) that an electronic device needs to run.

Reactions: JFOK

techristian

Saturday at 11:17 PM

[Give us a summary of what you receive with a 6-footer. I'm very curious.]

Right now on C band getting 105w, a Mexican channel with 95% quality and I am near Detroit! I'm recording a TECHNO MUSIC FESTIVAL today from Mexico ..if you can believe it.....and yes that SHED is partly in the path so I'm puzzled. There are also christian channels on 105w.

cyberham

Sunday at 12:43 AM

techristian said:
...Right now on C band getting 105w, a Mexican channel with 95% quality...

105W has some very strong transponders. I received more than four transponders using a 41-inch dish recently. See here.

k4otl

Today at 11:07 AM

techristian said:
[Give us a summary of what you receive with a 6-footer. I'm very curious.]

Right now on C band getting 105w, a Mexican channel with 95% quality and I am near Detroit! I'm recording a TECHNO MUSIC FESTIVAL today from Mexico ..if you can believe it.....and yes that SHED is partly in the path so I'm puzzled. There are also christian channels on 105w.

The Westwood One Mux on 105W would likely be receivable, has some good music channels on there. It does scan in, but it's more convenient to manually enter the PIDs, check out Lyngsat for the channels: EchoStar 105/SES 11 at 105.0°W - LyngSat

I use a 10 footer (only C-band dish I have), but it's very strong.

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dishstaller

Pub Member / Supporter Lifetime Supporter

Last reply Today at 10:28 AM · posted in The Chit Chat Club

Well crap....Donnie Iris died today

RIP dude. Always liked his music. He was 83

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YH5Arbm47IQ

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dishstaller

Today at 1:03 AM

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFmPEgNuELM

FTA4PA

Today at 10:20 AM

R.I.P.

Mr Tony

Today at 10:28 AM

R.I.P.

Ramy

Supporting Founder

Last reply Today at 8:45 AM · posted in The Sports Section

2026-27 NCAA College Football

Really excited for this season with Kentucky having a new coach and some really exciting recruits. Probably won't last long, but here's hoping this season is great.

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Yespage

Yesterday at 3:04 PM

You mean other than Miami being in the final last year... and Indiana being the only bye team to win a game?

Jimbo

Yesterday at 9:19 PM

Yespage said:
You mean other than Miami being in the final last year... and Indiana being the only bye team to win a game?

No, I was actually referring to outside of the Top 8, but should have been Top 12 ...

I guess I should have looked at the bracket from last year first ...

I'm more thinking about them trying to expect a 15 to beat a 5 seed or there abouts .

AZ.

Yesterday at 9:38 PM

And no teams deserve a bye! Injuries are the largest part of the game that you cant practice for them. Any team can suffer the worst injury at any position on any play. No favorites.

Reactions: rvvaquero

Yespage

Yesterday at 9:59 PM

AZ. said:
And no teams deserve a bye! Injuries are the largest part of the game that you cant practice for them. Any team can suffer the worst injury at any position on any play. No favorites.

While the bye can help the top four teams and those the Cartels would like to protect in the playoff, I think the bye is also about making the Cartel championships mean something. One problem with a playoff is it does diminish the conference title a bit.

Jimbo

Yesterday at 11:12 PM

Yespage said:
While the bye can help the top four teams and those the Cartels would like to protect in the playoff, I think the bye is also about making the Cartel championships mean something. One problem with a playoff is it does diminish the conference title a bit.

Once the 24 gets here, there won't be anymore Conference Championships .... or so they say.

Oh what the hell, we really don't need Conferences anymore either ... :coco

Reactions: meStevo

Ronnie-

Today at 7:24 AM

Jimbo said:
I'm more thinking about them trying to expect a 15 to beat a 5 seed or there abouts .

I mean you get upsets all the time.

Just a couple of weeks ago. Unranked Florida knocked off number 7 texas. Unranked Auburn beat number 1 Georgia.

This week unranked Cincinnati beat number 8 texas Tech. Unranked UCF beat number 2 BYU.

No reason to think similar upsets wont happen in the playoffs where a low seed can upset a higher one.

Reactions: osu1991 and AZ.

AZ.

Today at 7:53 AM

Ronnie- said:
I mean you get upsets all the time.

Just a couple of weeks ago. Unranked Florida knocked off number 7 texas. Unranked Auburn beat number 1 Georgia.

This week unranked Cincinnati beat number 8 texas Tech. Unranked UCF beat number 2 BYU.

No reason to think similar upsets wont happen in the playoffs where a low seed can upset a higher one.

Yep, wonder why we rank the top 25 in 2 poles still? Do the ranking change much if they are unranked or have many loses? They sure do, any given day never take your opponent as a cake walk.....

Jimbo

Today at 8:20 AM

Ronnie- said:
I mean you get upsets all the time.

Just a couple of weeks ago. Unranked Florida knocked off number 7 texas. Unranked Auburn beat number 1 Georgia.

This week unranked Cincinnati beat number 8 texas Tech. Unranked UCF beat number 2 BYU.

No reason to think similar upsets wont happen in the playoffs where a low seed can upset a higher one.

Correct, you Do get upsets from time to time ....however .
You Don't get teams UPSETTING teams for 5 weeks in a row.

They are trying to make this Basketball and its a far cry from the way that is played.

How long till they go to 32 teams ? Then they will say, well, the NFL is 32 teams, we can make more money that way .... except the NFL is 32 teams, that are a set number of teams and divisions, you don't have that in College ... oh but they will try.

They would have to choose what teams they would want in and thats it.
Hopefully that NEVER happens.

I can see the NCAA going away and the CFP taking that portion over and a Collective Bargaining agreement coming in the not to distant future.

Reactions: meStevo

rvvaquero

Today at 8:45 AM

The problem with rankings and playoffs is that they are designed to hype the game and make money. Period.

The only reason that BYU and Texas Tech were upsets is that they were hyped up in the standings in the first place. I love watching BYU and Bear Bachmeier. They are a fun and talented team, but not nearly so strong, fast, big, and skilled as a true top ten team. Does anyone truly believe they could compete with the likes of Georgia, Ohio State, Indiana, Alabama, etc.? Yet, they were ranked above those teams.

Each year, there are 10 to 12 teams who truly could compete for the championship if it depended on winning more than one game in a playoff. Including teams like James Madison, Tulane, BYU, etc. in a playoff has nothing to do with determining a national champion. It's just about money.

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TWiT Tech Podcast Network

Today at 3:12 AM · posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network

Whiskey Pick: Frey Ranch Straight Bourbon

Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!

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Direct YouTube Link - Whiskey Pick: Frey Ranch Straight Bourbon
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