[InHam] TV is bad, Radio is good

Wed Feb 11 16:50:09 EST 2009

Maybe people ought to just uplung their TV sets and just forget about it. 

500 channels of nothing to watch can be yours for only $89.95 a month. 

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Paul Webster 
  To: KA9QJGREPEATERS at yahoogroups.com ; CountryLifeandHomesteading-owner ; handiham courage.org ; InHams ; ragchewers post 
  Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 3:05 AM
  Subject: Re: [InHam] [KA9QJGREPEATERS] Digital conversion could be rough forrural areas

        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.Unfortunately,
 for most rural television viewers, the real answer may be to watch and see. Copyright © 2009 nwi.com------------------------------------Yahoo! Groups Links<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KA9QJGREPEATERS/<*> Your email settings:    Individual Email | Traditional<*> To change settings online go to:    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KA9QJGREPEATERS/join    (Yahoo! ID required)<*> To change settings via email:    mailto:KA9QJGREPEATERS-digest at yahoogroups.com     mailto:KA9QJGREPEATERS-fullfeatured at yahoogroups.com<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:    KA9QJGREPEATERS-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:    http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ 

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