[InHam] [KA9QJGREPEATERS] Digital conversion could be rough for rural areas

Wed Feb 11 03:05:43 EST 2009

I can't imagine anyone out in the rural areas trying to pick up an
analog tv signal w/rabbit ears, not to mention a digital tv signal. 

They need a kick butt fringe tv antenna on a tower feeding a signal
into a kick butt amp that feeds signal into a kick butt converter box
or a digital tv. 

I thought that all the tv veiwers out in the country already had towers
for their tv antennas, but now that I think of it, the last time I was
out in the country to visit family who live in rural Renselear,
Indiana, I didn't see a lot of towers at all, & being a ham, I
notice towers. 

Maybe the gov should give $s/coupons to people to buy antennas, towers, coax, & amps also. 

73/75 de ka9jwx, Paul Lewis Webster

John 3:16

Proud member of the;

ARRL

AARP

NRA

Handihams

LiveFreeUSA

Long:-87.334L (-87*20'3"W)

Lat:41.4967N (41*29'48"N)

EN61HL

Merrillville, Indiana, USA 

;-)

--- On Tue, 2/10/09, Don <KA9QJG at WOWWAY.COM> wrote:
From: Don <KA9QJG at WOWWAY.COM>
Subject: [KA9QJGREPEATERS] Digital conversion could be rough for rural areas
To: KA9QJGREPEATERS at yahoogroups.com
Date: Tuesday, February 10, 2009, 7:13 PM

I guess by Now Everyone knows about the deadline for Switching over 
has been extended until June 12 09, Well that is fine but I think 
most Freqs have already  been sold And Most will be Ready or have 
already Switched ,

I did get My 2 Coupons but have not used them yet I am trying to find 
a converter box with a build in DVR , after reading this article I 
have a Question That Maybe Our Member Tom W9SRY In the Business or 
Mark KA9OOI  can Answer . And that question is,

  We know in Ham Radio We have used Converters And Transvertors , 
Built repeaters . Worked UHF . 900 Mhz  , Used Preamps Etc. and Every 
time We added Coax , Connectors Etc.  we got LOSS .

So will a new TV with a Built in Digital tuner out Perform a 
Converter Box 

73 De Don KA9QJG 

Jackson Township resident Wayne Weaver said that if his television 
reception during stormy weather is any sign of the troubles to come, 
then he is certainly concerned about losing broadcast signal after 
the nation's analog to digital conversion.

Even though Weaver has a large antenna mounted on his roof, he says 
he still cannot receive a digital signal during bouts of bad weather.

"During a heavy rainstorm, either here or directly south of us, I 
will lose signal. I cannot get channel 5 and I have never been able 
to get channel 7. My concern is when everything is digital, I'll be 
without a signal," Weaver said.

He said he has contacted Chicago television stations to inquire if 
they will increase their output or keep it at the same strength as 
analog, but he has been unable to get an answer and fears the answer 
will come after conversion.

Toni Falvo, vice president of research programming and press at WMAQ 
in Chicago, which owns and operates NBC5, says the signal strength 
will not change from what now is being broadcast.

"The digital signal we have replicates the analog, so it's just the 
same strength as the analog," Falvo says.

For those in rural areas, like Weaver, and others who may not have 
rooftop antennas, this may mean problems.

"It all depends on the individual and the antenna they have," Falvo 
said.

Dale Kempf, adjunct professor in Valparaiso University's electrical 
and computer engineering department, agrees and said the problem has 
to do with the nature of the digital signal versus the analog signal.

"With digital broadcasting, there is an error-correcting code built 
in, so if you receive an error in the signal, but there aren't too 
many errors, the picture can correct itself. But too many errors in 
the signal and it can't correct itself, so you won't get a picture at 
all. With digital broadcast, it's either an all or nothing picture," 
Kempf said.

That means for people like Weaver, they may be left with a black 
screen. And Kempf knows what that looks like, since he is not only an 
expert in the field, but also a consumer.

"I live about a half mile south of highway (U.S.) 30 in Valparaiso. I 
have a pretty good antenna and have a converter box and it still 
depends on the weather if I get a signal or not. Sometimes I have 
trouble with channel 7's digital broadcast, and have problems with 
channels 26 and 62," Kempf says.

And these are the residents who have rooftop or large digital 
antennas. For those residents who have been getting by with a snowy 
or fuzzy but acceptable analog signal picture for the past number of 
years, chances are slim they will be able to get a digital picture, 
said Greg Clark, who is in system design and integration with Omni 
Entertainment in Valparaiso.

Although it is difficult for experts to pinpoint who will receive a 
quality digital signal and who will not, www.tvfool.com does have a 
listing of the regional stations' digital signal strength. While 
WMAQ, or channel 5, has a digital broadcast strength of 350 
kilowatts, WLS's digital broadcast strength is only 153.6 kilowatts, 
so weaker channels may not be picked up in rural, wooded areas, 
especially by set top antennas.

"Bottom line is, you have to have good equipment to receive a good 
picture on the TV. There's just not enough signal strength to go all 
those miles, especially not to rabbit ears on top of a TV. That will 
not be good enough to pull in the signal," Clark said.

What's the solution? Clark said, "They need a bigger external antenna 
to pull the signal, and not just an antenna, but an amplifier as 
well."

He also says that the quality of the converter box is an issue.

"If it's a digital tuner that costs $40, as much as the coupon, then 
it's just not the same as a $60 tuner because you get what you pay 
for. A more expensive tuner has better circuitry that captures the 
most from the antenna," Clark said.

And there is some hope, Clark said, that the current situation may 
not be reflective of what will come.

"Currently broadcasters are sending signals in analog and digital, so 
the airwaves are crowded with both digital and analog signals. Once 
the transition occurs, the airwaves will become less crowded with 
just digital," he said.

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