Help with locals scan

[jscook57]

I recently sold a receiver on Ebay to someone on the west coast. He said when he scanned for locals it doesn't give him the right channels. Does he need to do something else to get channels in his area or should a regular channel scan work?

 

[jgurley]

I just got a Voom receiver from a friend who lives in my same area and it works fine. However while going my homework over the past few days I came across a thread either here, broadband or avs forum where others ran into the same problem that your buyer has. It seems that each Voom receiver is "registered" locally and won't work outside it's original area. Somewhere in the setup you'll find reference to a State or possibly a City of "Registration".

Please check me out on this before taking any action. The topic wasn't high on my priority list so there is a chance I'm mistaken.

 

[bryan27]

The city where the unit was activated determines the default local channel map. However, with VOOM gone these channel maps are useless. With the scanning function the box will receive all locals with a high enough signal level and transmitting Channel Name and Number from anywhere. I have 12 VOOM receivers. They are from Florida, Georgia, Michigan, California, South Carolina, and New Jersey. After scanning and hiding the default locals I receive my locals with no problem.

jscook57, Does the individual have the receiver hooked up to an antenna? Is that antenna big enough to receive the channels? Are the local channels just not on the air digitally or have such low power that he can't receive them? I'm 5 miles from a station and can't receive it because their power is too low.

Several purchasing receivers on E-Bay have asked me how to get their locals. Thus I have written an "instruction manual" on the subject which follows:

1. If there is a box attached to the back of the receiver remove it by turning the black knob. This is a diplexer and it is not needed.

2. Connect your antenna coax to the input of the 8VSB module (it is the tan square module)

3. Connect the unit to your TV. I use the componet for my TV and is the best connection (It's the Green, Blue, Red connections). If your TV doesn't have a componet input then use the s-video connection.

4. Plug the unit in. It will run a diagnostic and the front lights will blink. It will take some time to run so be patient.

5. When the unit comes on it will probably go to ch.100 and tell you there is no signal. This is normal.

6. On the remote (put batteries in it if you haven't already) press the VOOM
button. You will then see the standard VOOM menu.

7. Press the GREEN button. Using the DOWN arrow highlight "Local Channels" and press OK. You will see a list of channels. These are the local channels from the area where the receiver was activated. They can't be permanently removed, but they can be "hidden". Highlight the first channel and press OK. Repeat until
all channels are hidden. Press the BACK button.

8. Press the GREEN button. Press the GREEN button again. Using the DOWN arrow highlight "Instalation" I think it is option 7.

9. Highlight the first option, press OK and follow the instructions for setting up your TV's resolution. You will then be taken back to the instalation menu.

10. Highlight "Scan Local Channels" and press OK. When the scan is complete follow the instructions to save the channels.

11. Press the WATCH button to exit the menus and use the CH DOWN or punch in the channel number of one of you local stations. IE: press 3 to goto ch.3

12. You're all set. You can change channel by using the channel + - or punching in the channel number. Try going through all your local channels to make sure none of the previous owners locals are still showing up. If some are follow the instructions above for removing them.

13. Once you are comfortable with using the receiver you can then program your remote to control your TV.

14. To program the remote go into the instalation menu like you did to to program your locals and follow the instructions for programming the remote.

HINTS & WARNINGS

A. When in doubt press the WATCH button to exit menus and return to the last TV station you were watching.

B. NEVER EVER activate the parental locks or set up a PIN. There were problems with this feature and you can actually lock yourself out and be left with a dead receiver.

C. Curiosity killed the cat and can kill your receiver. Without a satellite signal and VOOM to rehit your receiver you can be left with a non functional receiver. Once you have set up your locals and programed your remote forget how to do it and never return to the instalation menus. Only use the CH. + - or key pad to change channels. Use the volume to control your set's volume and use the TV and SAT butons to turn these devices on or off. There is no real need to use any of the other buttons after you program your receiver.

Happy VOOMing

 

[OHMS]

Los Angeles Channel 13

The city where the unit was activated determines the default local channel map. However, with VOOM gone these channel maps are useless. With the scanning function the box will receive all locals with a high enough signal level and transmitting Channel Name and Number from anywhere.

When VOOM was active, I received Los Angeles channel 13 with no problem. After VOOM went off the air, I cannot receive 13. I have rescanned, and have a large OTA antennae; all the major LA stations have their signals sent from atop the same mountain.

I've tried with and without the diplexer, and 13 is up toward the UHF frequency; it can be obtained with the smallest of antennae, usually. So, could it be analog only? VOOM received it before. I've read that you can find a ''frequency'' to select when you do the scan to narrow the area searched. That number was not the ''channel number'', and I found a list on a web site for antennae information. Anybody recall the site? Others out here seem to have had the '13' problem; so somebody must have solved it by now.
thanks,
mike

 

[george818]

LA Channel 13

I too am in L.A. I had Voom since Jan, always got all my locals, never cancelled. Voom went dark April 30 as anticipated but all of my locals continued to work. Had to reboot the receiver once due to a lockup, but when it came back all the locals still worked. It did notice though, that upon reboot, the channel name for channel 13 is now gone, but the channel still works. For your situation, could it be that 13 is not transmitting the SSID information and the Voom box cannot find during the scan because of that? Don't really know, but I did notice that the channel name was gone so perhaps that is related.

No last statement for me yet either.

 

[OHMS]

I too am in L.A. I had Voom since Jan, always got all my locals, never cancelled. Voom went dark April 30 as anticipated but all of my locals continued to work. Had to reboot the receiver once due to a lockup, but when it came back all the locals still worked. It did notice though, that upon reboot, the channel name for channel 13 is now gone, but the channel still works. For your situation, could it be that 13 is not transmitting the SSID information and the Voom box cannot find during the scan because of that? Don't really know, but I did notice that the channel name was gone so perhaps that is related.

No last statement for me yet either.

A VOOM installer input '60' when he performed the channel scan; but I can't remember where he got the '60' from. I've tried to see if the channel 13 has been hidden from sight; so I could click on the 'hidden' icon and return it to 'visible and working'.

I don't expect another statement. They called me the night before the shut down was announced to get me to pay over the phone by credit card. I bought a 921 receiver that had been returned to Costco; but returned it when some helpful soul on this forum advised that he had determined that no 4 mpeg would be upgradeable for that unit. So I'll stay OTA unless somebody helps me go pick up a BUD I was given, and go FTA. All this ""x dollars a month for 3 months"" turns me off; what will it cost for the rest of my life?

Anybody know how to get just the Speed Channel, please speak up. I don't need the other top zillion; but VOOM sure was nice while it lasted. I bought a Costco HD wideguy which they now sell for 13% less, but I'll keep it for its wide screen view of everything from security camera replay to you name it.

thanks for your response 818

mike

 

[spahoose]

rf info

When VOOM was active, I received Los Angeles channel 13 with no problem. After VOOM went off the air, I cannot receive 13. I have rescanned, and have a large OTA antennae; all the major LA stations have their signals sent from atop the same mountain.

I've tried with and without the diplexer, and 13 is up toward the UHF frequency; it can be obtained with the smallest of antennae, usually. So, could it be analog only? VOOM received it before. I've read that you can find a ''frequency'' to select when you do the scan to narrow the area searched. That number was not the ''channel number'', and I found a list on a web site for antennae information. Anybody recall the site? Others out here seem to have had the '13' problem; so somebody must have solved it by now.
thanks,
mike[/QUOTE]

you can get the rf numbers from antennaweb.org. If the station was analog only then Voom would not have picked it up. If others in the area are having the same problem then it might be a problem with the station and not your box. Also, make sure that the channel is not hidden. Good luck.

 

[OHMS]

Thanks, I Got It !

After VOOM went off the air, I cannot receive 13.

you can get the rf numbers from antennaweb.org. If the station was analog only then Voom would not have picked it up. If others in the area are having the same problem then it might be a problem with the station and not your box. Also, make sure that the channel is not hidden. Good luck.[/QUOTE]

Installation menu step 3; aim off air antenna
Enter RF target from 2 to 36, and 38 to 69.
(after entering, you must push "OK")
Then the signal quality bar will show how you're receiving that RF
(Just like the signal quality when Dish Aim was operative)
So, back & forth; TV DIGITAL channel 2 is RF 60; analog 2 is RF 2.

LOTS of overlap; analog UHF 58 is RF 58; but Digital 5.1 is RF31.
So you point antennae & check all important RFs; then repeat the channel scan on Installation Step #4 (one green button push)

So I just need to keep playing until I get 13.1 Digital and 13.0 analog.
Some channels have 3 different programs. I just need to discover how to enter 7.1 7.2 & 7.3 on the local channel selector (hides or displays)

Again thanks to public and private answers,
mike

 

[lilyarbie]

Maybe this will help.......

If you know the location of the affiliate and their transmitter, go to this website from the FCC. It tells the both the analog and the digital frequency of any channel out there. http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/audio/tvq.html

By the way, when searching for channels digitally, you don't go by the analog number on the antenna aiming screen, you use the digital frequency for that particular station you want. For instance, Fox affiliate channel 54 is actually on channel frequency number 41 digitally. The reason why there are two different frequencies is because an analog channel and a digital channel cannot both fit into the same frequency. This is part of the reason why Congress mandated progression to digital as far back as the 1980s and why the FCC mandated that analog be eliminated from the broadcast frequency spectrum to be replaced by digital. Analog uses up too much bandwidth for channels. In place of one analog channel you can have 4 or more channels of the same quality digitally (not high-definition though). You could also have 1 or 2 SD channels and one HD channel on the same frequency. Digital preserves the quality and content of channels that can get fuzzy, staticy, or noisy on analog. Sure there are bad things about digital (It takes a lot more signal power to receive in order to get good signal quality out of the signal. It isn't like analog where if you get any signal on a channel whatsoever you can at least see some of it. It's either a 1 or a zero (on or off). Finally, there is the issue of compression due to multicasting in which a station has multiple channels on one frequency and has to compress each one greatly in order to fit them all in, thus causing blocking or motion artifacts.) Overall, I enjoy the fact that I can watch multiple channels for free that I otherwise wouldn't get. For instance, our local NBC affiliate just started broadcasting The Tube music video channel on Monday of this week. Sure it's overly compressed and suffers greatly from motion artifacts, but it's a great channel that I otherwise couldn't get at all through my cable company. A final thing to add is that whenever analog is officially axed off by the FCC, then the current analog RF numbers should become the digital RF numbers. Of course, if your channel is on 52-69, then your stations channel will become something else since this part of the channel spectrum will be axed off at the same time that analog broadcasts are eliminated.

 

[lilyarbie]

OHMs.......

sorry to break this to you, but there is no way of inputting sub-channels. That is those channels that come in order numerically (13.1,13.2,13.3,etc.) Everyone around here I know has tried to figure this out to no avail. On other satellite receivers, I've heard that you can do this, but the Voom receiver as far as I know is the exception. To get to an individual subchannel easily, I just hit the channel number it lies in and either arrow up and hit ok on the subchannel or flip through the subchannels using the channel up and down button until I find the right subchannel.

 

[bryan27]

A final thing to add is that whenever analog is officially axed off by the FCC, then the current analog RF numbers should become the digital RF numbers. Of course, if your channel is on 52-69, then your stations channel will become something else since this part of the channel spectrum will be axed off at the same time that analog broadcasts are eliminated.

That isn't the way things are going. Stations were given a choice to stay on their digital channel, move their digital to their old analog channel, or choose a different channel if their analog was on 2-6 or their digital was on 52-69.

An overwhelming majority of stations have chosen to give back their analog channels and continue on their digital channels. A couple reasons is UHF is far superior for digital broadcasting than VHF and it will be far too expensive to build another digital station beyond what has already been built.

There will also be some digital operation on channels 52-69. The FCC has granted operation on those channels to LPTV & TV Translators on a secondary basis in areas where those frequencies aren't going to be used for Land Mobile use.

 

[lilyarbie]

Thanks Bryan......

Sometimes I don't have my facts quite in order. Thanks for bringing me up to date on the info.

 

[timmy1376]

Everyone here agrees I would be safe to buy a voom off of ebay if the auction states it works with OTA? Or does someone here have one they want to sell me?

 

[Wayne88]

Using Voom Box for locals

Actually from what I have heard, if your TV that you plan to hook up with the Voom box has DVI or HDMI inputs, you might get a slightly better image using a DVI or a DVI/HDMI cable compared to component. It is hard to distinguish though. Both are way better than S video. I still am using one of 3 Voom boxes because it handles locals better than Comcast.
Wayne

 

[lilyarbie]

With DVI there is absolutely no signal conversion.....

With Component video, you're converting from a digital signal to an analog one. Not significant difference in quality unless you are watching the picture on a Plasma, LCD, or DLP television and not a CRT or CRT projection. CRT's show a high resolution picture, but their inner component parts (cathode ray tubes) are based in part on analog signaling to them for them to function instead of 1's and 0's. Those CRT and CRT projection television sets with HDMI or DVI inputs have the signal converted to analog to pass through the cathode ray tubes. It may be better this way though because the signal isn't traveling as far of a distance since it goes on inside the television a short distance away from the cathode rays. It is better to try both HDMI/DVI or component on these to see which is better because the television set might not have that good of a D/A converter which might add noise to the final picture?? The thing though is that the digital to analog conversion is not as bad as the component to S-video because S-video only yields 420 lines of resolution max and analog component or DVI/HDMI can yield 480 lines to 1080 lines of resolution as well as either an interlace or progressively scanned signal. Also, with Component, you're almost at RGB which is what every display uses to get an overall color picture. Component uses Red and Blue color difference which is subtracted from white light signal to give you the green. With S-video, your television has to separate out the color signal because S-video uses Y/C signal to get a picture, which means the white light signal is there, but the C signal, which is all the color signals combined into one signal has to be separated out by your television set. By the time it does this, the colors are not as rich as component or DVI and often looked washed out. Another thing is that there is loss of resolution because your television has to separate the color signal into three color signals resulting in picture quality loss.

 

[mnassour]

sorry to break this to you, but there is no way of inputting sub-channels. That is those channels that come in order numerically (13.1,13.2,13.3,etc.).

So just to be crystal clear , we're saying that the Voom receiver scans for and receives the sub channels, but in order to view one you have to go to the master channel and move to the next channel, right?

Also, there's a lot of misinformation on Ebay, as usual. Does a Voom receiver have to have been previously activated to receive OTA? Some auctions say no, some yes.

Frankly, I'd like to buy a virgin box but if it's a doorstop......

(later)

Well, after some reading it's obvious that the virgin boxes are a doorstop. So if one was going to purchase from Ebay, it seems vital that the receiver have been previously authorized and that the seller assure the buyer that it works for off-air, yes?

 

[lilyarbie]

Affirmative.......

Make sure you inquire about the receiver thoroughly. Make sure it was active after Voom shutdown. Make sure it had all the latest updates before they shutdown so you can scan in your local channels(I read about a guy who got ripped off on this feature and could only get what channels were originally mapped in by Voom). Also, it's not a bad idea to check their seller rating and read their seller reviews. I could tell by reading those who I wouldn't want to buy from. Usually you'll see statements like these "Seller said receiver would receive locals but receiver didn't work at all." There's some on there that don't know if they have the latest firmware on the receiver. You could tell them how to check it or just tell them how to get to the scan in screen if it is available on that receiver. Make sure you email them and ask them specific questions. If they won't do it, won't answer your questions, give you the run-around, or "thinks" it will get your local channels, then do not bid at all on the auction. Many people jump at the first auction when they see a low price and are ready to dish out their money to someone who is eager to rip them off. Don't be one of these people. Know the facts and get what you pay for. Nine times out of ten, the receiver that actually works is the one that most people are bidding on. However, don't bid on it just because of that. Know your stuff and you will be a happy bidder.

 

[boba]

So just to be crystal clear , we're saying that the Voom receiver scans for and receives the sub channels, but in order to view one you have to go to the master channel and move to the next channel, right?

Also, there's a lot of misinformation on Ebay, as usual. Does a Voom receiver have to have been previously activated to receive OTA? Some auctions say no, some yes.

Frankly, I'd like to buy a virgin box but if it's a doorstop......

(later)

Well, after some reading it's obvious that the virgin boxes are a doorstop. So if one was going to purchase from Ebay, it seems vital that the receiver have been previously authorized and that the seller assure the buyer that it works for off-air, yes?

NEW IN BOX is a doorstop you are right it has to be previously activated to work.

 

[satmaster]

sorry to break this to you, but there is no way of inputting sub-channels. That is those channels that come in order numerically (13.1,13.2,13.3,etc.) .

Last time I tried on ch3 shreveport La the channel scan does detect the sub channels.

 

[satmaster]

So just to be crystal clear , we're saying that the Voom receiver scans for and receives the sub channels, but in order to view one you have to go to the master channel and move to the next channel, right?

No once detected it will show up in the guide.

And I have some new out of the box receivers. Some do not have the install wizard in the software and can not scan for channels. Even the ones that do come with the install wizzard will only scan for the channels but you could not watch them until you called in to Voom to activate service.