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Old 25-Jun-2014, 5:46 PM   #2
GroundUrMast
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Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Greater Seattle Area
Posts: 4,773
Real and virtual channels are confusing to a lot of people. One of the reasons that stations changed was that they wanted to continue their analog operations on their established frequency while building and testing the new and completely separate digital transmitter facility. Once built, shifting the new transmitter to the old channel was cost prohibitive in most cases. There is also the value of 'brand'... a broadcaster has a great deal of investment in their name. (The broadcaster wanted to avoid the confusion to their viewers that would occur if they suddenly changed from “KING 5 News” to “KING 48 News”) Another reason for the change is that the UHF frequencies have less problems with interference than the lower frequency VHF channels. Finally, the concept of virtual channels was made necessary by the desire to multiplex several programs on each real channel.

When choosing an antenna, use the real channel number listed in your TV Fool report to guide the decision regarding the type. Antennas have no awareness of virtual channels. Only when the signal arrives at the tuner does the signal get broken down to a point where virtual channels become relevant.

Because you are in a bit of a hole so to speak, you need an antenna that is directional and has a significant amount of passive gain. I'd suggest a full size solution such as the combination of an Antennas Direct 91XG + Antennacraft Y10713 + RCA TVPRAMP1R. For best results, avoid a mounting location that forces you to aim through trees or buildings if possible.
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If the well is dry and you don't see rain on the horizon, you'll need to dig the hole deeper. (If the antenna can't get the job done, an amp won't fix it.)

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