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Old 21-Aug-2012, 5:36 AM   #2
GroundUrMast
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Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Greater Seattle Area
Posts: 4,773
Aim the antenna at the real transmitter antenna.

Antenna selection is based only on the real channel together with signal strength & signal quality at the receiving location. TV Fool reports are intended to assist with understanding the 'real' signal characteristics. The virtual channel information is offered as a means of correlating the station identification seen on screen to the real channel. Only the first virtual channel is provided on the TVFR, because the number of program streams multiplexed onto a real channel does not affect the selection or aim of the antenna. Antennas have no 'awareness' of virtual channels.

The TV Fool report you've posted indicates that you have two choices for reception of KGO. The signal from the primary KGO antenna on the Sutro tower (azimuth 318° magnetic at your location, broadcasting on real channel 7 is the stronger of the two shown on your report. A modest size antenna, which has VHF and UHF capability, aimed at the Sutro tower should have little difficulty receiving the signal from KGO on real CH-7 along with the many other signal also broadcast from the Sutro complex. KGO's secondary fill-in transmitter operates on real channel 35, and at lower power levels but otherwise relays the same data stream which happens to contain the information related to three separate TV programs.

Resources such as www.rabbitears.com have a different focus, and can be useful sources of information re. the programming content of the various broadcasters. http://www.rabbitears.info/market.ph...gn=KGO#station

Then, to further complicate matters, Windows pulls channel data from some other source on the internet... so, the channel information can be different in subtle or dramatic ways.
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