smokeslikeapoet
18th June 2004, 11:07
I've been in contact with the engineers of my local television stations here in Memphis, TN, USA about their HDTV transmissions. I've learned a wealth of information in the past few weeks about broadcasts here in Memphis and I hope that this will give you some tips for you're own local broadcast reception.
Even though the FCC, the regulatory agency here in the U.S., has mandated HDTV broadcasts all of the stations here are operating at the FCC minimum power, 500kW. This makes it very difficult for me to get good reception on any channel except one. That's because I'm literally two city blocks from the transmission tower. I am going to be forced to buy a $200 amplified directional antenna and will probably have to constantly readjust it as I change channels.
I learned much of this information by speaking directly with the engineers at the local stations here. All were suprisingly helpful and offered a wealth of information about their broadcasting strength, transmitter location, and their bosses budget concerns over the amount of power transmission towers consume. I even had an offer from engineers at one station to come out and adjust my antenna for me, once I had it installed.
Next week I'm going to call the station owners and complain about my having to invest in a very expensive antenna to receive their broadcasts. If enough people in your area call the local station the managers are going to be able to justify the expense of a higher kW broadcasting strength.
On a funny note. I was able to receive video but no audio from one station's first sub-channel, it wasn't a channel I cared about, 24-hr local news. I mentioned this to the engineer, he told me to hold. He came back and said "looks like we have a problem, is there a number I can call you back?" The next morning I received a phone call and the engineer asked me how long it had been since I got audio from that channel. I told him that I've never in two weeks, since I got my integrated HDTV and tuner, gotten audio from that channel. He said "Oops, looks like our equipment has been broken for a while now, thanks for making us aware of it."
The point to this long post is: annoy, annoy, annoy your local stations until you get an acceptable signal. In the U.S. we have a saying, "the squeeky wheel gets the oil." You will be doing all of your neighbors a favor.
Even though the FCC, the regulatory agency here in the U.S., has mandated HDTV broadcasts all of the stations here are operating at the FCC minimum power, 500kW. This makes it very difficult for me to get good reception on any channel except one. That's because I'm literally two city blocks from the transmission tower. I am going to be forced to buy a $200 amplified directional antenna and will probably have to constantly readjust it as I change channels.
I learned much of this information by speaking directly with the engineers at the local stations here. All were suprisingly helpful and offered a wealth of information about their broadcasting strength, transmitter location, and their bosses budget concerns over the amount of power transmission towers consume. I even had an offer from engineers at one station to come out and adjust my antenna for me, once I had it installed.
Next week I'm going to call the station owners and complain about my having to invest in a very expensive antenna to receive their broadcasts. If enough people in your area call the local station the managers are going to be able to justify the expense of a higher kW broadcasting strength.
On a funny note. I was able to receive video but no audio from one station's first sub-channel, it wasn't a channel I cared about, 24-hr local news. I mentioned this to the engineer, he told me to hold. He came back and said "looks like we have a problem, is there a number I can call you back?" The next morning I received a phone call and the engineer asked me how long it had been since I got audio from that channel. I told him that I've never in two weeks, since I got my integrated HDTV and tuner, gotten audio from that channel. He said "Oops, looks like our equipment has been broken for a while now, thanks for making us aware of it."
The point to this long post is: annoy, annoy, annoy your local stations until you get an acceptable signal. In the U.S. we have a saying, "the squeeky wheel gets the oil." You will be doing all of your neighbors a favor.