Free HD thru the airwaves--Football in hi-def widescreen!!

[lonewolf]

All the local TV stations are now broadcasting digital HD signals that you can pick up over the airwaves with an HDTV and ATSC tuner. By federal law, all new HDTVs now have built in ATSC tuners with their own connection.

It just so happens that all the local stations are broadcasting on regular UHF channel frequencies. You will see all kinds of "HD" antennas going for ridiculous prices, but all you really need is a good UHF antenna for excellent reception. VHF "rabbit ears" really suck for this and once you are getting the digital reception, you can throw them away--keep the adapter if there is one.

UHF antennae are not all that complicated and the "bowtie" is a proven time tested design that beats just about everything else. You can get one at Radio Shack for $4.19 and start watching HiDef football in a few minutes. You will also probably need a 300ohm to 75ohm converter to connect it to the TV. Here is the antenna at RadioShack.com

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... Id=2062017

[songsmith]

I got one of the digital conversion boxes sort of on a whim, went through the whole coupon deal and all, and I'm kinda surprised at the picture and sound quality, even converted for old analog TV's. I paid a total of $20 after the coupon, and expected a $20 dollar picture, and it works really well. I had to go out and get another.
One caveat: I'm just outside Bellwood, with direct line-of-sight of Wopsy, where the transmitters are, so I expect to get the local CBS, ABC, and CTN affiliates. I didn't expect Fox 8, but they're there, and WJAC comes in on the bedroom TV only.
I went to Big Lots and found an amplified antenna for under ten bucks, it brings in Chan. 8 pretty well, but it's ugly. I'm even considering an outdoor antenna with a lead-in, do you think I'd get anything from Pittsburgh, or even east of here? When I was a teenager, we used to get UHF TV stations from Harrisburg, Baltimore, and even D.C. occasionally. I wonder how the digital transmitters stack up that way? Area coverage, I mean.------------>JMS

[lonewolf]

I'm even considering an outdoor antenna with a lead-in, do you think I'd get anything from Pittsburgh, or even east of here? When I was a teenager, we used to get UHF TV stations from Harrisburg, Baltimore, and even D.C. occasionally. I wonder how the digital transmitters stack up that way? Area coverage, I mean.------------>JMS

You would probably need an outdoor directional UHF antenna aimed right at the transmitter to get stuff more than 50 miles away. Pittsburgh is a stretch, but you might add WB and UPN to your list. The rest are just the same networks with local Pittsburgh news.

There are no "digital transmitters" per se. They are just piggybacking a digital signal on an old analog UHF carrier frequency. Everybody (in our area) has gone to UHF channels:

WPSU -- 15
WJAC -- 34
WATM -- 24 (& WWCP in eastern counties)
WWCP -- 29 (& WATM in western counties)
WTAJ -- 32
WKBS -- 47

The big difference with digital is that unlike varying degrees of snow with analog, you either have the signal locked or you don't. Sometimes the signal will lock-unlock-lock and the screen will freeze.

[songsmith]

Thanks. I get all those except for WPSU, which I'd like to get. I'm thinking either adding another antenna for that direction, or even the old rotor antenna. Way back when, the UHF channels we could get were all east of our house, so we only needed the one. It's surprising the range the old analog UHF had with very simple equipment. I found an old set-top double bowtie as a teen, and took it home hoping I could pick up FM stations better, but when I hooked it to the TV, it got stations we'd never even heard of. I literally nailed it to a tree outside, and it was like having cable (sort of... we went from having two channels, to at least seven, in one accidental day). I wonder how well we'd have done if we actually spent the money for a real antenna!
Maybe this is over-the-air TV's second wave. If I weren't such a media junkie, I'd just cancel cable and watch the digital. It still might happen, junkie or not.-------->JMS