Tom, Did we all hit a nerve?? Hehehehe
Regarding the February changeover date - the FCC could still have set another date in June 2009 (or April for that matter - anytime when the weather in 2/3 of the country was a bit more tolerable) but *chose* not to do so. I deal with government on a daily basis in my primary job, so I know that a LOT of times there is no rhyme or reason as to what dates are set for anything - other than there was a blank spot on a calendar somewhere... Also, DTV may have been around for 2 -3 years, but until late last year, I was unable to find converter boxes that I wanted (with pass-through) locally - so I ended up going online to get the ones I own. Availability also needs to be figured into the equation - and I'll accept *some* responsibility for not beginning to prepare early enough - but the supply side also needs to be considered. I understand that you're in the business, and as you stated - it has been the "Bain of your existence" lately. Maybe a little less caffeine, or a little more Jack Daniels will help you cope. (All in jest!!) I do like the suggestion about the pre-amp - I may give that a try this afternoon (if it isn't too cold in my attic!) and I'll report my results. (BTW - mine is not a "hardware store" variety, it's a Winegard that I spent probably $70 on about three years ago.) Mark - N9WYS -----Original Message----- From: Repeater-Builder@yahoogroups.com [mailto:repeater-buil...@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of TGundo 2003 The bain of my existance the last few weeks.....DTV. Several Points of order: DTV Myths, Comments, Q&A: I hear once a day: DTV doesn't work as good as analog. My Response (based on experience): Does not work as good is from a point of view. The fact is DTV is more effiecnt, the stations are typically running a fraction of the output power and achieving the same footprint of coverage. It takes far less signal to noise to pull out a clear, high quality picture than it does with analog. Can you make out an analog station with a ton of snow, lines, sparkles, etc when you might not pull in a DTV Station? Sure! Do you enjoy watching a crappy picture? Do you like to listen to the guy on his flea power portable noisy into the repeater or the guy on a good mobile who is full quieting? I hear once a day: The antenna in my attic/ my old antenna system does not get the DTV stations that I get in analog. My Response: Well, this is a technical group with a high level of RF knowledge. How well does your 440 antenna (or any band) work in the attic compared to on your roof or tower? There is some implied responsibility on the part of the end user to ensure that their equipment is optimized for the best performance. That being said, I have many many clients with antennas in the attic that work just fine. What I do find to be the typical problem is that most people with antennas in their attics have an amplifier installed to make up for being in the attic. I'm sorry to say that the $15-20 amplifier you pick up at the hardware store sucks, to prove that just bench test it on your specturm analyzer & look at a DTV signal. They typically distort the waveform badly and that is more common a problem why you can't tune the DTV station. I have pulled those from an antenna system that were receiving analog but not digital. Once out of the system, while the analog was virtually unwatchable now (which the amp had boosted enough to tolerate), the DTV signal suddenly came thru with flying colors! Would you put a crappy preamp on your repeater receiver? I hear once a day: My converter box does not seem as sensitive as my new DTV set in the other room. My Response: Let's use some common sense here. The government mandated that the LOWEST COST possible converter boxes be made available for people to convert their OLD analog TV's. The bottom line: You get what you pay for. Was not that long ago a wise jedi master here on RB posted findings on PL circuits in radios with his test equipment and found that the cheaper radios did a poorer job. Your $50 converter box is not going to have as good of DTV tuner in it as your new $5000 Sony HDTV. This difference existed in analog tuners as well. Nuff said. *A side note: We have found that there are huge differences in converter boxes. For what it is worth the Zenith model seems to be one of the best, in case your shopping. I would stay away from brands you have never heard of at the big box stores. I hear every day now: The government screwed up & is running out of money for the program. My Response: We knew 3 years ago they only had so much money set aside for this. What did everyone think would happen? There are a ton of unclaimed cards out there right now, and as they expire they will put that money back in the pot. However, it was always first come, first serve, and the government should not be there forever to make sure you can still use your dads 40 year RCA TV. And, it's $50-70 for a typical converter box. Holy cow. If the $40 coupon makes the difference for you of eating or not that week, I think TV should be less of a priority for you. (Sorry for the social commentary) I hear every day now (This one is yours Mark;) ): Leave it to the government to make the change in Feb instead of June. My response: If I remember correctly the orignal cutoff date was in a June, but the lawyers fought & fought and got extension after extension. DTV has been around for 3-4 years now in most markets, and we have known this date was coming for roughly the same time. It's like high school: we knew for 2 weeks our paper was due, but still blamed the teacher when we were really tired on the due date because we stayed up really late the night before doing the paper. ;) Finally- I cannot speak for all the markets out there, but here in Chicago the DTV stations for the most part are at their full licensed power now, only changes left to come are some channel re-assignments when the switch happens. So go to work on your antenna that has been up for 30 years and get it in shape again! Tom W9SRV
