Recently in HDTV Category

I was disappointed with my reception using my old Radio Shack 15-1868 indoor rabbit-ears antenna. I didn't receive channel 66, and I wanted to at least see what was on channel 66. I received the three major networks and Fox fine, but none of the fringe-UHF stations the FCC said I should be able to receive at my location.

I bought another Radio Shack antenna -- this time the "Outdoor HTDV Antenna," SKU number 15-2152 with the last money left on my two-year-old Radio Shack gift card. Since it was a huge, 80-something-inch antenna, it must receive better, right? I mounted it in my attic, two floors above the indoor rabbit ears, and hooked it up via quad-shield RG58. Excitedly, I ran back down to my man-cave and scanned through the channels again.

At first, I lost channels 4, 26, and 32. After minor direction adjustments, I received all previous channels as well as 23 (analog), 25 (analog), 30, 47 and 66. While there's nothing I'm going to be watching on channel 66, I definitely receive more stations than before. Best of all, the new stations are free, so I'm one step closer to eliminating my cable bill.

If you can run a cable to your attic, and you have a traditional, non-steel roof (like the asphalt shingle here), then you can mount your antenna there. I'm not about to distract from the beauty of my Icom Discone mounted on my chimney with a cheap aluminum TV antenna. And that antenna is cheap and I got aluminum dust all over my hands assembling it. Since it's going to stay in a corner of my attic, I don't mind. If you're looking for the 15-2152 antenna on Radio Shack's site, it's gone. It was discontinued and cheap to buy.

The information below is what the FCC has for the Washington DMA. If you ask most television stations what their frequency is, they don't have a clue. The FCC also says I should receive all of these stations at my house. These stations are VHF and UHF, so your standard TV antenna should work fine (see study). I contend there is no such thing as a "high-def" antenna. Radio waves are radio waves. The frequency is the same. If you're experiencing multi-path errors, then try using a directional antenna. (How do you determine if you're reception problems are multi-path errors? Well in the analog days, multi-path was ghosting. Generally, you should be getting good reception because you're close, but you can't lock on.)

If you're wondering why you can't receive a station, here's a study by the FCC on DTV reception in Washington, DC. If you have a hundred thousand dollars in equipment you'll be able to replicate their results: You're less likely to receive DTV signals than you were analog signals. You can improve your chances with a thirty-foot mast.

For the tripod-mounted, indoor-type antennas, SPI was 86% for WUSA and 84% for WRC when the better of either the bowtie antenna or the Silver Sensor directional antenna was used. These SPIs for the combined indoor antenna types exceed the above values for mast-mounted antenna reception computed in the 1998 study.

Station	Network	Analog Channel	Digital Channel Pre Transition	Digital Channel Post Transition	Virtual Channel	Transition Date
WRC	NBC	4	48	48	4-1	6/12/2009
WTTG	FOX	5	36	36	5-1	6/12/2009
WJLA	ABC	7	39	7	7-1	6/12/2009
WUSA	CBS	9	34	9	9-1	6/12/2009
WFDC	UNIVISION	14	15	15	14-1	6/12/2009
WDCA		20	35	35	20-1	6/12/2009
WHAG	NBC	25	55	26	25-1	6/12/2009
WETA	PBS	26	27	27	26-1	6/12/2009
WWPB	PBS	31	44	44	31-1	6/12/2009
WHUT	PBS	32	33	33	32-1	6/12/2009
WVPY	PBS	42	21	21	42-1	6/12/2009
WDCW	CW	50	51	50	50-1	6/12/2009
WWPX	ION	60	12	12	60-1	6/12/2009
WFPT	PBS	62	28	28	62-1	4/16/2009
WPXW	ION	66	43	34	66-1	6/12/2009

Many cable companies have a government-mandated monopoly. In exchange, they offer "basic cable" which was supposed to be a modestly priced service that includes little more than you could receive over the air. With the advent of DTV, does basic cable grow to include high-definition television? Of course not! Cable companies now charge more for you to receive lower-quality signals than you can receive over the airwaves. They also require you to rent an HD set-top box. If you have an HDTV manufactured in recent years, you can get it free over the air. Also, most of the local stations in DC offer more than one programming feed over the air. Cable companies charge extra for those same free signals.

WUSA and WRC are changing their frequencies on June 12, so be sure to scan through on your HDTV/receiver. Others may be changing, but information is not easy to find on their sites.

Station/Affiliation	Old Analog Number	Digital Channel	Programming, Format	Online Listings	Reponse to questions?
WRC/NBC	4	48 (674-680 MHz UHF)	4.1 HD 1080i 16:9 4.2 Weather 480i 4:3 4.3 Sports 480i 4:3 (mostly skiing this winter)	No	no response
WTTG/FOX	5	36 (602-608 MHz UHF)	Single DTV channel 720p 16:9	No	Fullest, fastest response to email inquiry.
WJLA/ABC	7	39 (620-626 MHz UHF)	7.1 HD 720p 16:9 7.2 Weather 480i 4:3 7.3 Classic TV 480i 4:3	No	no response
WUSA/CBS	9	34 (590-596 MHz UHF)	9.1 HD 1080i 16:9 9.2 Weather 480i 4:3 Transitioning back to VHF channel 9 on June 12th.	No	no response
WFDC	14		14.1 480i 4:3	?
WDCA	20	35 (596-602 MHz)	20.1 HD 720p 16:9	Yes
WETA/PBS	26 Analog goodnight 6/12/2009	27 (548-554 MHz)	26.1 HD 26.2 Create 26.3 Kids 26.4 WETA	Yes	Reponded, but without frequency information.
WHUT	32	33 (584-590 MHz)	32.1 480i 4:3	Yes
WDCW	50	51	?		unreceivable