Any ideas to pick up fox? - Page 2

coggsnyrnyg · 11-Dec-2014, 11:24 AM

First off, thank you everyone for your advice and help.

Last night, disconnected the Mohu splitter and amp, and attached directly to the tv and no difference.

WNYW 5.1 was very choppy as was 5.2. 5.3 WNYWDT3 wouldn't get anything and 5.3 WNYW SD (different frequency) was fine.

So, I simply deleted 5.3 WNYWDT3 off my list and only have one 5.3. Problem with that is on the Tivo guide, it doesn't pick up the 5.3 SD. Tried to record last night, and when I went back to check it out, it didn't record. Tested it again this morning by setting up a manual recording. I will see later.

Next few days, I will try to play with the antenna and try to get it to exactly 47 degrees. Closest I could get the other day was 49. Would 2 degrees really make that much of a difference, if I am picking up everything else that is at 47 degrees?

Anything else I can try?

coggsnyrnyg · 12-Dec-2014, 2:30 PM

Was reading elsewhere about 5.1, .2, and one of the 5.3's being on frequency 44 as well as one of my 9.2's. That 9.2 was not coming in either. Also read about the 5.3 that was coming in is the same frequency the channel 9's that did come in.

Using the tivo box, deleted the 5.3 that wasn't coming in and the 9.2 that wasn't coming in from my channels list. A few minutes later, 5.1, 5.2 were coming in perfect. Watched 5.1 for about 20 minutes and not a hint of any kind of interference.

Was this most likely a fluke/coincidence that the channels worked after deleting others from the same frequency or would something like this usually do the trick? I didn't do anything else last night. Didn't adjust the angle of the antenna, didn't run a channel scan.

Stereocraig · 12-Dec-2014, 4:06 PM

They're called, digital glitches.
Channels can disappear, fall off, show up under a different virtual number, etc.
The tuner just gets overwhelmed and decides that it doesn't want to work.

Keep this handy, for next time.

http://www.civilrights.org/dtv/rescan.html

coggsnyrnyg · 12-Dec-2014, 7:38 PM

Thanks, will try that double re-scanning. However, I have only set this up in the past month. Do things change that fast?

Stereocraig · 12-Dec-2014, 8:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coggsnyrnyg

Thanks, will try that double re-scanning. However, I have only set this up in the past month. Do things change that fast?

I'm pretty sure that I've had some goofy things happen, w/in a couple of days, only to then go for months, w/ zero problems.

Just the nature of the beast, is all.

timgr · 12-Dec-2014, 8:23 PM

Not sure where to get reliable virtual channel info other than the stations themselves. Certainly the FCC database will tell you which transmitters are broadcasting on what frequency. http://transition.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?call=wnyw WNYW broadcasts from several transmitters apparently, but they are all virtual ch. 5. The primary analog channel would be 5.0, and the primary digital channel 5.1. The secondary channels are multiplexed into the same broadcast frequency, ie compressed and interspersed in time with each other, and would receive numbers 5.2, 5.3, 5.4 etc. So it seems unlikely that you would have 9.2 coming in from the same station, since it would have to be on a different frequency.

Note that TV stations can broadcast to different markets on different frequencies, and these markets can overlap. Thus it is possible to get the same programming on two different channels. But this is just an artifact of the local geography.

I would watch for a while before I came to any conclusions re whether I had succeeded or not. Digital is typically an all-or-none proposition, so changes in atmospheric conditions or vegetation or local interference could be enough to push the signal to one side or the other.

coggsnyrnyg · 30-Dec-2014, 7:23 PM

Is it possible that just the OTA tuner on one of my tv's is just not as good as the other?

Been monitoring it for a few weeks. On my upstairs TV which is also using an OTA Tivo, the reception for Fox is MUCH better than on my downstairs tv. Both have 25' coaxials coming from the splitter. Have tried doing numerous channel scans. Have messed around with the angle of the antenna.

Was wondering if maybe the Tivo has some kind of boost, so disconnected it. Figured if it was the tivo box helping the signal, it would be choppy when the wire was connected directly to the tv, it wasn't. Did signal meters with both the tivo connected and disconnected, both were in the 35-45% range. Checked them a few times over the past few weeks, for a few minutes each. So, thinking it is not the tivo box.

This weekend, went to the Giants game, but wanted to test it. Tivo'd the game on both the HD (5.1) and SD (5.3, but also a different frequency). My wife was trying to watch on the downstairs tv and said it was very choppy and the screen kept going black. This morning, I watched the first half, on the HD recording and it was perfect. Not a hint of interference or break-up or whatever it is called. The upstairs tv is a Panasonic. Don't have the model number handy as I bought it from a friend when my screen cracked. Downstairs tv is a JVC. About 5 1/2 years old, but can't find the manual so again do not know the manual number.

Worst case, I get a tivo mini (if they are compatible with the OTA Tivo) and when I want to watch something on Fox, I record it upstairs, stream it to downstairs. Not ideal, but still better than paying for cable.