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Old 12-Dec-2016, 12:52 AM   #7
davodavo
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2016
Posts: 18
Signal analysis: I'm missing something jere

Thanks, Rabbit, for running the other simulation software, and for the clarifying explanation. Yes, my antenna is no more than 15 feet above the ground. The XYL won't allow a tower...so can't experiment that much.

So...just for fun...Channels 2 (KTVU) and 11 (KNTV) that you simulated come in rock solid on my gear. In general, the TVFool model seems pessimistic, as I get 94 (virtual) channels from as far away as 150 miles when the wind is blowing the right direction.

Where I'm confused are the situations that the model indicates a huge positive NM for a station, but there's either "nothing there" or there's a 200 foot hill right next to me that doesn't show on the terrain map. For the second issue, I'm guessing there's just not enough detail in the terrain database for my particular location.

But for the signal strength seeming to be misleadingly strong, let's take a super-clear example: channel 2 in Sacramento. The model indicates I should have a -2.8 dB NM...but this is for a 3 kW transmitter 76 miles away with the terrain blockages as shown?? Seriously?? Now...that signal has a 5-meter wavelength, but I don't think low-VHF bends that much.
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