So - it's DTV day! Did anyone pick up any new channels they didn't get before?

**Locke09** · June-13-09, 08:50 AM

Originally Posted by pkbroch

I am also in Detroit, 8 mile and Woodward. Have all channels plus ch 56.1.56.2and 56.3.
Bur I had to scan several times. I am still getting pixtellating, guess that's the word, but have been having the same on my Comcast cable for months now.

Has anyne had the same problem, in our area several poeple are having problems with picture distortion with Comcast.

I switched from Comcast to Uverse because of that.

I've scanned several times on the portable tv in question, with no luck. I'll try it in another location sometime this weekend.

I'm sure the answer is just going to be, "buy more powerful antennas". Don't know how that's going to help for portable tvs used in emergency.

**Bigb23** · June-13-09, 10:16 AM

I'm out by 32 mile, and I have no problem other than 50. And even then, they come in perfect every so often. Try this homemade indoor antenna. Remember to grind off the shellac on the coat hangers at the contact points and strip off the insulation on the speaker wire. No need for a wire backing on it, but you can, if you want a boost. I made this out of junk I had around the house. More pics are on the old forum. This antenna beats all the expensive store bought stuff I've tried, made in China.

Attachment 1705

**Bigb23** · June-13-09, 01:55 PM

I've been using my digital box since last summer with no problem. Now after scanning several times today, I found out I lost 4.1, 4.2, 56.1, 56.2, 56.3 and the usual channel 50. Whats up with that ? Is there a WDIV engineer on here that can explain that ?
If not, so long to more advertisers.

**texorama** · June-13-09, 02:21 PM

I'm getting all the 4's, 7's, and 56 better than I was before, but have lost Channel 2. It was coming in fine for several days but has now completely disappeared. I live in Ann Arbor. Can anyone shed light on this?

**catch22** · June-13-09, 03:54 PM

Originally Posted by texorama

I'm getting all the 4's, 7's, and 56 better than I was before, but have lost Channel 2. It was coming in fine for several days but has now completely disappeared. I live in Ann Arbor. Can anyone shed light on this?

Did you do a rescan on your TV or converter box? WJBK-DT changed its RF channel from 58 to 7. Also, since they changed from UHF to VHF you might have antenna issues.

**Funaho** · June-13-09, 04:08 PM

Originally Posted by texorama

I'm getting all the 4's, 7's, and 56 better than I was before, but have lost Channel 2. It was coming in fine for several days but has now completely disappeared. I live in Ann Arbor. Can anyone shed light on this?

Did you rescan? WJBK is the one Detroit station that moved their digital channel on Friday [[they're now on ch 7). Also I believe they're running on the new digital frequency at low power until they finish building a new transmitter, so it's possible that at the moment the signal is too weak to make it to Ann Arbor.

**CornBot** · June-13-09, 04:51 PM

I don't reside in the Detroit area anymore, but TV out here in the south mitten hinterlands has always sucked. We get no reception without cable or a dish. External aerial got us 2 fuzzy local channels. We have cable. Neighbors had satellite for a couple of years, but recently switched back to cable, which they say is better. How bad is that? Especially since our only cable "choice" is Comcast.

We don't receive the variety of stations that I wish we did, and we don't have a say in getting 2 of each network, one sort of local [[i.e., Grand Rapids); the other from an out-of-state town like South Bend. Both show the same crap at the same time. It's a giant waste of bandwidth or air waves or whatever TF television signals use. Locations like South Bend do not report Michigan weather or news.

Digital switch has exponentially compounded the crap. Now I have duplicates of duplicates. CBS comes from Kalamazoo on one channel, plus its digital twin is alive and half-a-step behind in timing on channel 200-something. Plus it's still coming from Elkhart or somewhere, which I'm sure is doubled too. Sigh. One small good thing... going digital apparently descrambled an HBO channel and a couple of other ones I don't/won't pay for. Heh.

**reddog289** · June-14-09, 01:42 AM

This is one of the worst moments in my Dads life.My "Gramps" up north say's "He should just run cable".Lost my signal too. Have to go to the old site.

**Bigb23** · June-14-09, 04:07 AM

I still think this was a grab to enrich Comcast and a few wireless providers. Thanks Washington for selling out the public for a few dollars. And to all the Lobbyists - a big F*ck you.

You make used car dealers and terrorists look good. Apologies to used car dealers. And to ALL the Cheeks in Congress, a big F*ck you for taking the bribes.

**Bigb23** · June-14-09, 04:31 AM

Did you do a rescan on your TV or converter box?
Did you rescan?

Some people are not idiots. I've used my box since last August. There is a low wattage problem with the stations, and I will spend my money, on that assumption.

**Prodigal_Son** · June-14-09, 06:14 AM

I bought one of the recommended boxes from consumer reports, and I am more than happy with the results. At times, it freezes, but the picture quality is infinitely better.

Could the problems described above be because of the box, and not the antenna?

**texorama** · June-14-09, 10:44 AM

Originally Posted by catch22

Did you do a rescan on your TV or converter box? WJBK-DT changed its RF channel from 58 to 7. Also, since they changed from UHF to VHF you might have antenna issues.

'

Yes, I did rescan, and I have a flat RCA antenna that's supposed to work for both UHF and VHF. It's now even getting some of the low-power Detroit UHF stations like Channel 38 intermittently.

It's interesting, though, that nothing from the old VHF spectrum [[2 to 13) is coming in. I also heard that WJBK is on a temporary transmitter until August, and I'm curious as to whether either or both of these is the cause. Guess I could hook up my old VHF rabbit ears--if that received WJBK but nothing else, I'd know I had an antenna problem.

Not that big a deal. Sometimes I watch the 11:30 "Seinfeld" rerun to unwind, but that's about it.

**Ray1936** · June-14-09, 12:22 PM

I've had cable for 25 years, so not a problem.

However, I have an old 12" analog TV in the garage hooked up to rabbit ears [[no cable outlet in the garage, and I'm too lazy to run a line there), so I got a converter box for it.

Now, I'm in a valley surrounded by mountains, and the TV signals just don't reach here very well, especially on rabbit ears. Bottom line? I get one English channel [[local CBS outlet) and four Spanish language channels.

Ay, caramba........

**Hypestyles** · June-14-09, 12:50 PM

WDIV's signal gives me the most headaches on my Magnavox converter, and i already have a modern antenna... grrr...

**Jimaz** · June-14-09, 04:28 PM

The only TV that I have that would have been affected was a pocket-sized one that I never use anyway. Curious, I tried it today and all it could pick up was Fox 2 which was running a video loop explaining how to convert.

I guess I have a pocket-sized parts donor now.

**wash_man** · June-14-09, 07:57 PM

I went to my cabin up north on Friday. I thought I would relax up there and watch the Wings. I prepared for the transition last year by getting a converter box. I went from from 1-2 channels to 8 with the box [[some are duplicate PBS). However, when I got up there on Friday, all I could get was 3 PBS stations. I re-scanned, still 3. Argh! I went outside to adjust the antenna [[with plenty of bug spray on) and still only 3 PBS. I gave up after an hour and a half when I smelled a nearby skunk. No Wings game for me! Anyway...the next day I went online and got some antenna directing information. I went outside and "eyeballed" it to the proper direction. Voila! all my stations are back with a signal better than ever. I've read that some stations switched towers on 6/12 because they had been running two transmitters, analog and digital. Whatever, it works great now. I'm near Higgins Lake and if I aimed it to the south, I could even get Saginaw stations. I aimed north for more local news coverage.

Also, a friend of mine in Almont already had his box but could never get 50. Friday night he re-scanned and now he gets 50.

Here's a website with some good info. After you enter your zip, you'll get a list of what is available to you. Click on the station and you'll get their information and a direction from your location to their tower. BTW, Ch 2 info says tower fully operational in August.

http://www.fcc.gov/mb/engineering/maps/

Ravine · June-14-09, 08:32 PM

Originally Posted by 313WX

Uh, what exactly were you expecting?

All they did was eliminate the use of an antenna [[analog signal).

I promise that I won't devote too much time to this rant, but one of the things I most hate, on internet fora, is the bit where a post begins with "Uh," "Ummh," or another similar noise which is followed by an obnoxious, insulting, down-talking tone, especially irritating when the intoner is speaking out of their rectum.
313WX, find some fuckin' manners. Lizaanne's inquiry was 100% sensible, given the fact that numerous local broadcast outlets repeatedly urged viewers to re-scan, after June 12th, because new channels may become available.
She didn't find any new ones [[and neither did I,) but she did not appear to be in Oh My God What Just Happened? Mode and, most likely, did not require your explanation of the event, nor did she deserve your snotty-ass air of condescension.

**ridgeabilly** · June-15-09, 04:49 AM

All this commotion over a switch from analog to digital- but the fact remains that it's just more of the same old crap content. Time to get off the grid.

http://www.hulu.com/

**Maxine1958** · June-15-09, 11:15 AM

I upgraded to a Phillips MANT antennae this weekend. I got better results with it than my old rabbit ears, but here's the most surprising outcome. I get better reception on all channels with the antennae on the floor!

I don't get WJBK [[Channel 2) or WKBD [[Channel 50), and PBS [[All the 56 channels) barely comes in at all, but WDIV, WXYZ, and WWJ are all clear as a bell. WYD [[Channel 20) and WADL [[Channel 38) come in well enough to watch without too much aggravating pixilation.

So for those of you struggling with your antennaes, try putting it on the floor. Can't hurt to try.

BTW, I live in Clinton Twp.

**texorama** · June-15-09, 11:33 AM

Yeah, mine works best at one particular spot on the windowsill. Very localized. If you have aluminum siding try moving the antenna to a window--metal supposedly interferes with the signal.

**rb336** · June-15-09, 12:53 PM

Originally Posted by ejames01

I miss my Atari 400 and Suede Puma sneakers.

you can still get the Pumas

i lost channel 2, channel 50 evidently moved to 14 [[it still comes up on 50 - its "virtual" station, but i noticed flicking through the stations that it came up, first time, as 14) channel 4 is now worse than before.

7.2 is lame unless you like that pointless remake of the munsters, watching 5 episodes of Ellery Queen on rotation, etc.

**detroitbred** · June-15-09, 12:59 PM

2 televisions at my house are only getting channel 9 now.....we used our $40.00 coupons for 2 converters from ABC Warehouse and after hooking them up last week, the converters are crap.....picture is ok, but the sound is so distorted that you cannot hear anything. ABC won't take them back or exchange, and the company who made them will take them back for exchange, but it will cost me $25.00 each to send them back!!! Anyone else experience problems with their converters? Not sure what we are going to do dow...new televisions are not in the budget.

**galv** · June-15-09, 01:06 PM

I live in sun city az [[outside of phx) and didn't have any problem with the re-scanning, making three "no signal" channels operational.my directions [[zenith converter ) says you can also manually add channels, have you tried that? The web is a good place to go for info too.
We also get channel 7 [[3 choices too) here. The picture on all three choices is really bad.i was looking forward to those old shows. Maybe i'll get better.

Hope this helps a little

**kit1007** · June-15-09, 01:27 PM

Originally Posted by detroitbred

2 televisions at my house are only getting channel 9 now.....we used our $40.00 coupons for 2 converters from ABC Warehouse and after hooking them up last week, the converters are crap.....picture is ok, but the sound is so distorted that you cannot hear anything. ABC won't take them back or exchange, and the company who made them will take them back for exchange, but it will cost me $25.00 each to send them back!!! Anyone else experience problems with their converters? Not sure what we are going to do dow...new televisions are not in the budget.

These converters are baloney as far as I am concerned.Being FORCED to cooperate is not my sense of freedom. Even with coupons some are such junk its nuts. Just another way our NEW government is doing what they want and to heck with anyone else. They should have offered free scanners, one brand that actually works, to anyone who needs one, especially now. I wonder how many were made in China? Most don't work and no options for replacement other than more $$$ . Just like Obama killed the car industry and ruined lives by closing at will successful dealerships. Yes this is a much smaller issue but again it puts people in financial hardship who can't afford it. Next thing you know come winter the government will require green furnaces and to hell with anyone who can't afford one. We better watch out or we'll all be wearing those furry big hat come winter afraid to speak our mind. They already search the web for un-kind words against Obama. You know who you are. I know I am already on the LIST! I am just waiting for the knock on the door. Till then I am going for a walk while I still can, WITHOUT asking someone for permission first.

**Maxine1958** · June-15-09, 02:13 PM

Originally Posted by detroitbred

2 televisions at my house are only getting channel 9 now.....we used our $40.00 coupons for 2 converters from ABC Warehouse and after hooking them up last week, the converters are crap.....picture is ok, but the sound is so distorted that you cannot hear anything. ABC won't take them back or exchange, and the company who made them will take them back for exchange, but it will cost me $25.00 each to send them back!!! Anyone else experience problems with their converters? Not sure what we are going to do dow...new televisions are not in the budget.

I don't know which brand of converter you have, but here's a couple of things I ran into when hooking up my new RCA converter. First, my TV has a button to switch between 'video' and 'TV'. I also was getting horrible sound quality until I switched that button to 'TV'. Also, the RCA converter has a menu option for 'Sound Quality'. It basically does a quick scan to hopefully improve the sound.

My other converter is a GE. That one gave me decent sound on with the button in either position.

My biggest improvement though was with the new Phillips MANT antennae. It was only about $40 at Walmart. I know $40 is still a chunk of money, but it's better than the $120 I was considering spending until someone recommended the Phillips.

Good Luck