VOOM and OTA reception in Cleveland, OH

[fayrich]

Good question---I've been wondering the same thing myself. Guess they know something about ch25 that we don't. I even scanned for it yesterday, but still not there. As for the ch49 digitals, I can't receive them here in Ridgeville anyway. Wish I could.

 

[fayrich]

Hooray!!! Ch25.1 was up and running last night. Looked pretty good too. Only watched for approx. a half hour, but the show on about Mt. Kilamanjaro(spelling?) was interesting and having PBSHD available will give us the choice of some nice alternative programming. They are not on as I write this, so it is unclear what kind of broadcasting schedule they will have. Perhaps they are just in a "shakedown" mode right now, and will be on and off for a while. At any rate, they are finally here!

 

[alandail]

cool - they do still need to add 50.1 and 50.2 to the guide, though.

 

[Ilya]

Pbs

Hooray!!! Ch25.1 was up and running last night.

Yes! We have PBS-HD at last! This is Great!

 

[Ilya]

I am no longer getting channel 25. Anyone?

 

[alandail]

I never got it here - but only checked a couple of times. I think maybe they are just testing it right now?

 

[fayrich]

They seem to be on and off right now. Obviously still in set-up and fine tuning mode. They have been on only at night presently, but not every night.

 

[grumpy1]

I haven't been receiving channel 19 for a while [thought it was because of tree foliage] so I decided to check Antennaweb again. To my surprise channel 19 is not shown as an available station when I search by my address. When seaching by zipcode it appears as a violet range station, so it appears to be a fringe station for me at only 22.4 miles from the Shaker Hts tower. VOOM has already done a minor upgrade with the antenna and may be willing to do another or at least will make a service call to reposition. Any suggestions? Reaim or bigger antenna?

Have not received WVIZ at all. By zipcode I am violet and by address I am only blue. Hopefully I will be able to receive the station when it operates more.

Antennaweb also shows WBNX in Akron [WB network] as TBA. It appears this station will be easy to receive as it is in a near range color.

All my stations fall between 235 and 238 degrees orientation so a rotor does not seem necessary.

 

[fayrich]

Ch 19 had always been a problem for me Grumpy - both analog and digital. After much experimentation, I am now receiving both pretty well. I purchased a "cut" antenna for Ch10 and just stacked it with the combo antenna. It is pretty pretty reliable on the digital side, and the 8 bowtie UHF antenna took care of the analog side in case the digital is acting up. We do much of our viewing on CBS. Lots of good programming there and really outstanding HD. As for Ch 25--sure wish they would get it together. Haven't seen any action there for a couple of weeks or so. By the way--I'm in N. Ridgeville and also have a lot of trees between the antennas and tower. With the right antenna set-up, trees should not be that much of an issue, as I do not feel that it is for me. Oh yeh--I also use Channel Master preamps.

 

[grumpy1]

My VOOM installer came out and upgraded my antenna again to a Winegard 60 mile antenna which he referred to as a ghostbuster. Still no channel 19, as he rotated it 90 degrees while still easily picking up 3,5 and 8. He suggested trying an amplifier so I went to RS and bought a $60 high gain signal amplifier [1502507]. Brought this home and found out the kit contains both outside [at the antenna] and inside connections. I hooked up the inside amp only at the TV and voila I have channel 19 with a signal strength of 88. Has come in perfectly for 3 days.

I talked to an engineer at channel 19 and he admitted they were low-powered, but said that is what the FCC gave them.

 

[fayrich]

Good for you Grumpy. Glad to hear it. Ch19 has been a pain in the A* for me since day one. But it has been worth the effort. Lots of good programming there. Sitting here watching Steelers and Cowboys right now. What a great picture!! To bad that the Browns weren't HD.

 

[rrobbins]

Am I the only one not receiving WVIZ 25.1 ? I am in Indepencence and receive all the other digital stations with signal levels in the 90's.

 

[fayrich]

You are not alone rrobins. I am in N. Ridgeville, and ch25 reception has been very spotty for me since they came on line. They either have a very weak signal, or are off more than they are on. Was receiving them very weakly last night. One of these days I am going to call to speak to an engineer to see just what is going on with them.

 

[Ilya]

I haven't been getting ch. 25 for weeks! And even ch. 43 is a hit or miss for me now. I guess it's time to upgrade the antenna...

 

[fayrich]

I get 43 strong all of the time. However, seems that ch5 has weakened lately. Used to be able to get it all the time on my combo antenna, but now I have to switch to the UHF only antenna to pull it in. This digital OTA is really a pain in the A*!!

 

[grumpy1]

Voom article in Cleveland Plain Dealer 11/18

Did anyone catch the favorable article in the Inside and Outside section of Thursday's PD? It was written by Bill Lammers, a local PD assistant news editor. He gives a history of VOOM, details the channels, installation etc. There is a brief mention of the limited subscriber base and the negative prospects held by industry analysts, but he gives them as much credance as exit poll takers.

 

[fayrich]

Yeh, I saw and read it Grumpy. Had my wife take it to work to show her boss who had recently purchased an HDTV set. He's really a "babe in the woods" when it comes to electronics, and can use all of the advice he can get.

 

[Ilya]

Channel 3.2 is now a local weather channel. Sweet!
If they could only get rid of 3.3 now!

 

[fayrich]

Yeh - Saw this too Ilya. At least it,s something worthwhile now instead of the SD simulcast that has been there. Seems that there are some "live" people segments from time to time.

 

[Ilya]

By the way, Cleveland Super-DMA map is coming next week.
Anyone getting any channels from distant DMAs?