[Mike Lang]

South Bend's local ABC station is "low power" so I never get ABC in HD, but it will hurt the most this weekend.

 

[newsposter]

no waivers? That stinks.

wow..assuming you mean wbnd 58kw. That is bad.

Not sure what antenna would help you at almost 70 miles out. Have you tried any? That must be frustrating.

 

[darthrsg]

none here either, but my SD is way better than my neighbors SD...

 

[HiDefGator]

Too bad DirecTV doesn't think your box physically resides in New York city that weekend. Then you could get all the national HD network feeds for the whole weekend.

 

[tedkunich]

South Bend's local ABC station is "low power" so I never get ABC in HD, but it will hurt the most this weekend.

Well, if it makes you feel any better, most of all my OTA channels have been sporadic at best this past month... one of the local the station keeps having antenna/tranmistter issues so they have to turn off ALL DTV transmissions from that tower, i.e. all HD's save one (NBC). It sucks when it goes out in the middle of a show... like 24, NFL playoffs, etc... I'm a little reluctant to throw a SB party this year cause we all might be watching the game in SD due to the cheap ass networks not wanting to upgrade the DTV towers till the mandated 2009 switchover date.

T

 

[jimisham]

South Bend's local ABC station is "low power" so I never get ABC in HD, but it will hurt the most this weekend.

That little problem didn't stop Sears from advertising HD sets "in time for the Super Bowl" in this area, which is part of the South Bend market.

 

[rjfrandle]

I feel your pain. I get all the big 4 in HD, except ABC. I wish the Superbowl was on FOX this year. ABC in Minneapolis won't grant me a waiver even though I'm over 100 miles from there. They say I can get them from a nearby UHF tower in SD. What a crock of %#*@. I was thinking of "moving", but then I would have to move back when Twin City locals come in a few months.

 

[gregl]

I won't be getting it in HD either. D* royally messed up my HD upgrade order and even though I originally ordered it on Jan 10, my re-re-scheduled install won't be until Feb 15. I guess that's what I get for deciding against doing an OTA install myself... Figures.

 

[TyroneShoes]

There is "low power" and then there is "low power". A true LP station is only licensed for a fraction of the power of normal TV stations. If they are truly a LP, you are SOL. But these days many stations are operating their DT station at a fraction of their rated power in an effort to save money while there are fewer DT viewers and no paid spots or ROI.

I would take a shot and talk directly to the engineering department or the GM at that station, and see if they would be willing to raise the power level just for the game. They may already be thinking that way and may do it anyway (as this is their biggest PR program for the next 4 years), or you may give them a good idea that they just hadn't thought of. It's worth a shot, and you have little to lose.

 

[bidger]

I called my local ABC station (Grade A signal) and left a message on the Engineer's voice mail asking about HD since I know they'd been granted an extension by the FCC. He called back and left a message that said if I were a TWC sub, he had good news. They'd be broadcasting the game in HD for cable. If it was OTA, it would be later this Summer. My guess is in time for the NBA Finals, which is really low on my Sports priority viewing list.

I was really hoping they'd start HD OTA somewhere in the middle of the NFL Season, but they waited until the big game and then only offer it over cable. More HD available is always nice, but now that ABC doesn't have the NFL, it's less useful to me. I don't watch any off their shows, so I'd be watching HD for the sake of just watching HD. That's OK, but the content does matter to me.

 

[Mike Lang]

There is "low power" and then there is "low power". A true LP station is only licensed for a fraction of the power of normal TV stations. If they are truly a LP, you are SOL. But these days many stations are operating their DT station at a fraction of their rated power in an effort to save money while there are fewer DT viewers and no paid spots or ROI.

I would take a shot and talk directly to the engineering department or the GM at that station, and see if they would be willing to raise the power level just for the game. They may already be thinking that way and may do it anyway (as this is their biggest PR program for the next 4 years), or you may give them a good idea that they just hadn't thought of. It's worth a shot, and you have little to lose.

Nope, a true low power analog only station. TiVo even lists it as "WBNDLP". Our WB station is the same thing...same tower in fact.

 

[Stanley Rohner]

I plan on going to a movie theatre to see a movie or 2 during the superbowl so I don't care if the superbowl is SD, HD, B&W.

 

[AVPhan]

No ABC nor NBC.

ABC is low-power, NBA on ch 2 (VHF) which is not receivable with a Silver Sensor. And Waivers are absolutely denied (3 times).
Antenna installer wanted $200 but no garuantee of receptions, which is too risky to spend two bills to hope to get one channel.

Why did I move to this fr..kng town.

 

[disco]

Living 80 miles from the closest tower, I get absolutely no signal on ANY digital channel (or analog, for that matter...I get repeaters out here in the sticks).

Yet I only got a waiver approved for CBS HD from NYC...NBC/ABC/FOX all said no.....a$%^*(^s....



And no MPEG4 HD's until late March/early April...damnit!!

 

[vertigo235]

ABC is hit or miss for me, even though I'm only *10* miles from the tower, it comes and goes.

I have no problem picking up other stations that are ~37 miles from my house.

What gives?

 

[newsposter]

ABC is hit or miss for me, even though I'm only *10* miles from the tower, it comes and goes.

I have no problem picking up other stations that are ~37 miles from my house.

What gives?

It could be that it's in a different direction than the other channels...did you check here?

www.antennaweb.org

also what's the call sign of your station?

http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/audio/tvq.html

you can see on that page the height and power of the tower if you enter it in on that page. Alternatively, you can enter your city and see all the DT stations in your area for comparisons sake.

 

[vertigo235]

I know where it is, trust me, thats how I know it's only 10 miles from me (ok ok, so it's actually 10.9 miles).

It's WSOC
Looks like it's 1000.0kW

Interestingly enough
The WAXN tower is supose to be right across the street, and it's only 50. kW, but I pick that one up fine.

WIERD

 

[vertigo235]

Is it possible that the signal is too strong? Is there any way to attenuate only that one channel?

 

[newsposter]

i'm sooo jealous 1000kw!!! It's probably possible but I dont know how. If someone doesn't reply here, try posting, searching

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=381623

 

[Budget_HT]

In those areas with low power OTA HD, are the HD channels carried on the local cable system?