Is the US Ready For the Switch To DTV?

Tag : switch

I live in a valley...
next to an HD-only transmitter.
Needless to say, analog *anything* has been an issue. Last spring,sensing there may a be rush later, I got our two coupons from UncleSam, and cashed 'em in. A few points on my experience:
o Direction and gain are definitely more of an issue. Since webarely got anything analog clearly on bunny ear/loop, we got nextto nothing with digital.
o With digital, it's all or nothing. Either you have clear signal,maybe with some artifacts, or you have black screen.
o *The* most annoying thing is that sounds cuts first.
o So, I did what any self-respecting tinkerer would do. I build agrey-hoverman antenna out of foam board, packing tape, tin foil,and picture hanging wire - all from from Walgreens (U.S. pharmacy) :-D. http://www.digitalhome.ca/ota/superantenna/ [digitalhome.ca]
o Obviously, with such rarefied materials I have aless-than-precise design - that works... really well.
o The GH antenna is highly directional. Since digital iscrystal-clear, we put up with adjusting the thing in the baywindow.
o We get 9-12 clear channels now, instead of 4-5 distorted ones.
o It's best to put it in an attic, or outside. Be sure to groundit, etc. The higher, the better - generally.
o Note that there are two ranges for VHF DTV, high channels and lowchannels. The Grey-Hoverman seems to do well with UHF DTV and highVHF. Most DTV seems to be UHF.
o Only some DTV is HD. Stations were given sub-channels. Some useonly the main channel and switch back and forth between HD. Othersput SD on one and HD on the other. Others use all for HD, withdifferent content. The public television stations, strangelyenough, seem to be making the best use of the sub-channels.
o The other prominent build-able design is called a Yagi. Itconsists of connected bow-ties, rather than zig-zag elements. TheYagi design is nice, because its gain is roughly even across UHF.The Grey-Hoverman seems to have better gain than the Yagi on someranges, but cuts out in others. Check the frequencies of your localstations and compare them to the two antennas' gain charts beforedeciding.
o Why the range of channels for me? Well, in a valley the signalhas echoes. Some echoes are stronger than others. Sometimes the ampmakes the two echoes the same strength. In that case the converterbox cannot lock in. Thus, if your location is subject to echoes(hills, valley, etc.), design your wiring to allow the easy removalof your amplifier.
o Also, atmospheric conditions seem to have an effect. On clear drydays we don't do so well; on wet or humid days, I think we couldget New York City, if we wanted (we're in southern N.E.).
o Finally, going digital with a converter has one interestingbenefit for you OSS fans. Since the Neuros OSD is still SD,converted DTV works nicely with it. I don't have one yet, but theyare now on Amazon, and I am strongly considering getting one.