VOOM and OTA reception in Cleveland, OH

[grumpy1]

I live 25 to 30 miles east in Lake County. The Stealth isn't cutting it especially for channel 19. Any suggestions on a good UHF/VHF antenna for this area?

Am also curious as to what satellite signal quality you guys are getting? My installer couldn't get it above 80 [on the new scale]. Anyone going to a bigger dish in the Cleveland area? With the current signal bad weather is a big problem.

 

[Ilya]

I am thinking about an upgraded antenna too. Ch. 43 reception in Solon is not strong for me. Only get it 50% of the time and ch.19 is not always stable either.

I don't have any specific recommendations, but if you go to www.antennaweb.org and enter your address, it will tell you what type of antenna you might need to get specific stations.

Also, keep in mind that VOOM will pay up to $60 toward and upgraded antenna, from what I've heard.

 

[fayrich]

First of all, I am regularly getting a 95 to 97 on the signal from the dish. Don't think that that can be improved on. You probably need to peak the dish somewhat. As for the locals, I do receive them all regularly save for 19. It is actually not that bad, but I had taken measures before V with my old STB to be able to receive it. First of all, I searched high and low for a "cut" antenna for ch10(where digital 19 is carried). Then I upgraded to RG6 cable, and added a Channel Master preamp. Still not 100% perfect, but until they power up the signal, that is going to be the best that I can do.(I am assuming that they are not at full power yet since all other channels are good). By the way, I am in N. Ridgeville.

 

[grumpy1]

Thanks for the responses guys.

All the stations are in the yellow range, except for 19 which is light green. I expected the Stealth would be OK even for 19, but both 3 and 8 also cut out at times. Have only picked up 19 once on a particularly clear day. Missed the NCAA tournament in HD. I have no problem with channel 43.

I have traded a few emails with Joe Harkins and the installer is going to come back with an upgraded antenna [no idea what]. As you know the weather has been wet and I need a very dry day for him to climb on my steep roof.

 

[fayrich]

Hi Grumpy - Ch 19 was of utmost importance to me since most of our OTA watching is on CBS. If the upgraded antenna doesn't work, would really recommend adding a "cut" antenna. It actually worked for me before I added the pre-amp.

 

[Cyre]

I live in Wellington, and using a Radio Shack outdoor antennae. It is the VU-120 XR, part number 15-2154. I highly recommend this antennae if you are on the outskirts of cleveland, like i am. Its priced at $73.99

 

[Ilya]

grumpy1, Let us all know how it goes with the upgrade!

 

[Ilya]

Ok, guys, I am sending the following request to VOOM:

---------

Please make the following changes to Cleveland OTA map (zip code: 44139)

Currently mapped channels:

3.1 WKYC-DT (NBC)
5.1 WEWS-DT (ABC)
8.1 WJW-DT (FOX)
19.1 WOIO-DT (CBS)
43.1 WUAB-DT (UPN)
68.1 - no signal (Mansfield)

Please add the following channels (that presently broadcast in digital):

3.2 - SD version of 3.1 WKYC-DT (NBC)
3.3 - A local weather map (NBC?)
17.1 (freq=39) WDLI-DT (TBN) Canton
61.1 (freq=34) WQHS-DT (UNI) Cleveland

I also recommend removing channel 68.1 from the map. Mansfield is too far from Cleveland and it is very unlikely that anyone can tune to it.

---------

Hey, this is your last chance to stop me!

Feel free to post your zip codes, if you want me to add them too, though I suspect it won't matter, as we all share the same OTA map anyway. (What's the map number, by the way? Can anyone check real quick?)

 

[fayrich]

No one in the Cleveland area is going to receive canton without a rotor, but for those in the Canton area, it should probably be mapped. Maybe request doing ch 25/26PBS in Cleveland. It is scheduled to go digital in May.

 

[Ilya]

Well, according to the OTA map posted at Installs.com Cleveland, Akron and Canton all share the same map (#15 or 16 - I don't remember). I guess, it means that we should include Canton stations too.

As for 25/26PBS (I am really anxious to see PBS in HD!), we can request it too, though I am not sure they will add a station that is not live yet. And by the way, there is really no guarantee it will happen in May...

 

[fayrich]

Probably won't receive it worth a darn here anyway. Get really lousy reception of the analog station. Not on a rotor, and from N. Ridgeville it is in a slightly different direction than most of the others. Plus my house sits in a reception "hell hole" to boot. It has been a battle for tv reception since we moved here in '76. Don't know what the problem is with the OTA. Do fine with both the large and small satellite dishes, and also XM Radio.

 

[grumpy1]

My installer came out today and installed an upgraded antenna, a Winegard PR5646 [67" 25 element - to blue range]. Channel 19 seems to be coming in fine, but now I am not getting channel 3 and 5 is fading in and out. Am not sure if it needs repointing or if I just need a bigger antenna. The installer was concerned with the SNR [signal to noise ratio] numbers for each station and wrote them all down for a database. The SNR number for channel 3 is 0, but I am getting a reading for signal quality. The SNR number for channel 19 is about 20 and the signal quality reads 0. It now seems that the SNR is the important number pertaining to signal reception.

My satellite signal quality remains poor. Despite a clear path the number is still at 77 with a signal strength of 61. The installer is going to discuss the problem with VOOM. I told him about the bigger dish and the impending download this weekend to improve signal strength. Don't know what the final solution will be, but I certainly can't live with the current loss of signal or pixelation.

 

[Ilya]

grumpy1,

Which software version do you have? If you are still on the older version, 77/61 is excellent! If you are on Nep 568, this is low indeed.

 

[grumpy1]

Ilya, unfortunately it is the new software version. I had equally poor signal readings on the old version [peaked at 27 signal quality on the old scale]. Two different installers [including the owner] from the same company have tweaked the dish and both say the signal is right on. I am fairly confident that they know what they are doing and that the problem lies somewhere with VOOM.

Also I rechecked my OTA signals at antennaweb and they all are oriented between 236 and 238 degrees. Can't understand why I pick up 19 [light green range] and not all the yellow range channels.

Am starting to get discouraged.

 

[fayrich]

Grumpy - There are times I think when these locals are down. Can't get them one minute, but try again later and there they are. For me, they are not all in exactly the same direction(as is your case), but the pre-amp handles that problem for me. I still would highly recommend the Channel Master 7777. If you need to know where to get it, will be glad to give you that info.

 

[fayrich]

I see that they have mapped channels 3.2 and 3.3 as of yesterday. Whoopee!!! Now we have 3 useless channels instead of 1. But what really irritates the H* outta me is how they (ch3) are wasting this bandwidth on junk instead of giving the 1080i HD that NBC is feeding to them. Sure hope that ch19 never starts doing this.

 

[Ilya]

Yes, 3.2 and 3.3 are now on. Still missing 17.1 and 61.1.
I definitely prefer 3.2 to 3.1 on any SD program. Can't stand that stretched picture! As for 3.3, one way they could make it more useful, if they simply showed current temperature and a daily weather forecast. May be we should ask them?

 

[fayrich]

Guess that your tv doesn't handle stretch very well. Both my Toshiba and Samsung DLP do it so it's hardly discernable.

 

[Ilya]

That's right. My Sony GWIII can stretch and zoom, but it can't squeeze. In addition, if the signal comes as 1080i or 720p HD, it can't change geometry at all. So, if I want to watch unstretched channel 3.1, the only option is to switch the STB to lower resolution or to switch to S-video cable. Doable, but inconvenient.

 

[fayrich]

Geez---and I was going to contact them and ask them to please do away with 3.2 and 3.3 so we could see NBC 1080i HD instead of that soft looking 720p or whatever they are giving us.