WPXD Move

[Music Of My Life]

While it's nice to have other options from WPXD, a signal strong enough to come in most of the time with just an indoor antenna in many Metro Detroit areas, TV manufacturers need to standardize their scanning procedures and menus for adding stations. When I programmed my Panasonic TV, I could not find an option to just add channels. And the incomprehensible variations in PSIP channel mapping made it impossible to just tune in a Channel 50, as it is already mapped from WKBD-TV, which really operates on Channel 14. In the rescanning process, I lost frequent troposheric, barely out of market stations WTOL 11, WTVG 13, and WCMZ 28, because the antenna wan't pointed just right, or they weren't quite there in signal quality. And each of those has three separate programs. The signal meters are also just too flaky to use on many TVs. Just give us a signal strength meter that zeros in on a consistent carrier, and we'll be the judge of digital signal quality, so we can point our antennas even when a picture may be pixilated or intermittent . And a single button to push to get to the signal meter.

[Mike Austerman]

I agree MOML. The PSIP thing must be very confusing for the average viewer who for so long just turned the dial or punched in the number of the station they wanted and that was all they needed to know.

There are many that just don't "trust" automatic programming options and would much prefer to set things manually.

Hopefully TV manufacturers will recognize these shortcomings and find a way to adapt. My Sony TV does have the option to 'Add digital channels' that doesn't remove channels it's found previously.

Does your Panasonic provide a way to direct select channels even though they aren't programmed in? In the cases of WTOL, WTVG, and WCMZ they're all using their original channel numbers, so remapping to a virtual channel number isn't an issue with them. With my TV, I can manually enter a channel (28.1 for example) and the TV is smart enough to 'add' it if there is enough signal found.

For what it's worth, I've got my admittedly small antenna pointed in a 'sweet' spot for me. I'm able to get 2 (7), 4 (45) , 7 (41), 9, 18, 20 (21), 23 (8), 28, 31 (50), 32, 38 (39), 50 (14), 56 (43), and 62 (44) very reliably. I've been receiving WLPC Ch. 40 about 75% of the time, but have yet to get a signal from WHNE Ch. 26 or W47DL Ch. 47 with the antenna pointed the way it is right now. Same with the Toledo stations - no sign of them either.

[Audio]

The scanning stinks! Should be able to do one at a time.

[Music Of My Life]

Neither of the Sony TVs I have has a signal meter that I can find in the Menu. Let me know if you found one. And it's impossible to DX analog 2 and 4 because the PSIP maps 7 to 2 and 45 to 4. Have you found a way around this besides trying to rescan when an analog signal is present? I would think that tropo would bring in 2 and 5 from the Soo with a decent antenna. I've seen tropo from analogs hundreds of miles away in Canada in other areas where I've tried on an analog TV, since there is virtually no cochannel interference except during Sporadic E.

I have tried to explain to viewers that TV stations often don't operate on the old channels, and frequently on UHF channels, but they get glassy eyed. I instructed a friend in East Lansing how to program her portable HDTV for emergencies. The only channel that scanned was 6 (36), even though there are a few more within a few miles, and some further out like 12, 49 (48) and 66 (16) that were crystal clear there on an analog handheld TV in a second floor bedroom or hotel room.

And certainly 31 will be lost to East Lansing, where it was once one of the clearest channels.

[Mike Austerman]

My digital signal meter is under 'Settings', 'Product Support', and 'Signal Diagnostics'.

This TV is old enough that the analog tuner is separate from the digital on every channel. I just punch in a regular number without the subchannel (just 2 for instance) and it shows what the analog tuner is receiving. To tune in DTV, I have to enter a subchannel, ie 2.1.

[Music Of My Life]

Thanks, Mike. That works. I would never have looked under Product Support, as any option named that rarely results in anything of interest. But its still a long process to get to it. I have one converter box that has a button for it like they all should.

The Zenith Coverter Box I use occasionally shows a signal level even when it can't get a lock on it, but it jumps all over and is nearly useless for antenna adjustment.

[Mike Austerman]

Received a nice phone call yesterday from Ion TV's VP of Engineering in Clearwater, FL.

Officially, WPXD is testing the Southfield facilities and there will be periods of it going off and on. Indeed, at some point early yesterday evening they took RF 50 offline. I haven't had a chance to check to see if it's back on or not this morning. He explained they didn't want the public to be expecting full service quite yet as there is still quite a bit of engineering work to be done before they declare it ready.

MOML, Lansing-area viewers should be able to get the same programming on WZPX 43 (RF 44). That station should be just as strong as the old WPXD facility.

Glad you were able to get a meter up. On my TV, when I have the meter displayed, I'm able to change channels to get readings on other stations too. I played with that while I was aiming my antenna to be able to get both 28 and 32.

[umfan]

When using a converter box, if a station isn't picked up in the scan and you want to try to play with your antenna to receive it, do you go to the station it's mapped to (e.g. 31.1 for RF50) or do you go where the PSIP would have it had it scanned?

For whatever reason, I'm not picking up Channel 9 on my converter. I have it on cable but, who knows, at some point maybe I'll drop cable. Does Channel 9 broadcast on RF9? Somehwere else? What channel should I manually put in to try to get signal for it.

Thanks!

[Mike Austerman]

It's on RF 9.

If you have a UHF-only antenna you probably won't have any success getting CBET. If you can pick up CICO (TV Ontario) on Ch. 32, you shouldn't have any trouble with CBET unless your antenna is UHF-only.

[umfan]

It's rabbit ears. I have an aerial on the roof. I need to add a connector to its line and give that a shot. Thanks for the information.