Colorado Voomers

[sat4me]

Question for the experts.

Is there anything that might work in the metro area to get consistent reception on channel 7 (ABC)? I have the amplified Stealth antenna that comes with Voom, and I get 2,4,9 and 31 very well, but 7 is a problem. Many people have posted about the Square Shooter as a possible solution. Do we actually know when this tower on Lookout Mountain is going to be a reality for all locals?

Dude, you are up way too early to be asking questions
4 AM? wow..

Well, first off, if your other chanels are good, then ch. 7 should be too and I don't see you needing a different antenna. the stealth is a very good antenna. My stealth in Littleton is awesome, all channels PERFECT!
I also have VOOM in CA and the stealth doesn't work there, no LOS there anyway.

I think your problem with channel 7 is possibly one that will correct itself in a few weeks when VOOM will rid us of channel-mapping.
The next big program download will switch our VOOM receivers to a auto scanning method.


In short, the current "forced" mapping has some problems in, when moto set the codes for your zipcode DMA, that one channel freq. may have not been programmed correctly. I have heard of several others in CO and CA that have this same problem. I know this because a friend of mine actually tried this by connectiong the OTA directly to his DTV HD box and channel 7 came in fine. So in otherwords, your antenna is probably receiving channel 7, but the VOOM box can't. You won't be able to just connect your OTA to your TV to see this, due to the OTA stealth needing power from the VOOM box through the diplexer.

Hang in there, just a few more weeks should fix it..

 

[sat4me]

You're right & You're right ... my post was too vague I have corrected it, also you are an expert Technically I am not as I have no current certs, just lots of experience.

Now to clarify ... if your signal is a turd to begin with, don't try to polish it. If you have strong signals to begin with, the diplexers will not affect your configuration. However, if you live in the sticks (like me) they can kill it if you don' use caution.

As Sat4Me can vouch for 45 miles is "out of range" for a DTV signal for my TV-55 antenna ... but I get it.

I appreciate your correction to your comment.

My point, like yours, is if you have a turd then no matter what you do, diplexer or not will be a turd.

Lets talk about your "turd" Your Terk 55, in my opinion, is not good for anything other than being a big stick to wack the guy who sold it to you!

Ok, seriously, try the Stealth that comes with your VOOM. It may work very well. If not, then the installer may decide to ask VOOM to upgrade to a 4 or 8 BAY UHF HD antenna. That should do the trick assuming you don't have any huge obstructions looking south toward Denver.

The "BAY" antennas are not amplified but are considerably larger with very high gain aspect. The Stealth with the amplifier powered from the STB through the diplexer has a range of 40-45 miles.

Good luck!

 

[The Stone Man]

Thanks sat4me. I've been patiently procrastinating, waiting for the end to channel mapping. I hope that gets channel 7 to come in, because that's the only problem I have.

I've been getting up at between 3:30 and 4:00 for so long that it is a habit. I haven't set an alarm clock for years. But as I get older, naps on the weekends are almost a must. The only time I really sleep well is if I'm on vacation, and the pager is turned off.

 

[satguro]

slacker-
I would have to agree with sat4me try the 8 bay antenna, It may be the solution. A good Instalation company should have those in stock at all times.

Have fun!

 

[The Stone Man]

Sat4me if you are out there....

Nice assist on the guy in Phoenix with the acacia tree. He pinpointed the problem as a tree branch, and is now happy. After reading that, I experimented a little, by doing the following:

1. Put finger inside dish perimeter.
2. Put hand inside dish perimeter.
3. Put hand in between dish and LNB.
4. Draped leather barbecue cover in between dish and LNB.

No loss of signal at all!! Tested using ESPN, so tested satellite and not OTA. I thought for sure that #4 would cause signal loss, but it didn't, so I'm happily mystified.

 

[sat4me]

Sat4me if you are out there....

Nice assist on the guy in Phoenix with the acacia tree. He pinpointed the problem as a tree branch, and is now happy. After reading that, I experimented a little, by doing the following:

1. Put finger inside dish perimeter.
2. Put hand inside dish perimeter.
3. Put hand in between dish and LNB.
4. Draped leather barbecue cover in between dish and LNB.

No loss of signal at all!! Tested using ESPN, so tested satellite and not OTA. I thought for sure that #4 would cause signal loss, but it didn't, so I'm happily mystified.

Thanks, I like to surf around and see what's going on out there. As soon as he said lost signal at PM, that's a no-brainer for me, either the LNB or tree issue. (Was he Phoenix or Las Vegas? Doesn't matter..)

1. From experience, a finger at the side will not have any effect, not sure what he was doing, but that's an odd finding.

2. Hand also would not effect either.

3. Hand between LNB and antenna surface, can and usually does, as you are blocking the reflected signal. Keep it there long enough an it will cause the signal to go away. Just waving your hand will not. So, don't put you hand there and you'll be just fine...

4. Covers on the dish are not going to adversely affect the signal. I'm sure you've heard of dish covers?

Bottom line; anything that can block the broadcast signal between the bird and the dish will effect the signal performance, so watch for those branches.

TIP: The actual signal does NOT come straight into the dish surface. The signal actually comes in at an angle approximatly 22 degrees higher then the perpendicular angle of the center of the dish. That's why your dish looks like it's pointing straight out at the horizon or in the west-coast, into the ground. The signal is not actually on the horizon, it's 22,300 miles above the equator!

 

[slacker9876]

I appreciate your correction to your comment.
Lets talk about your "turd" Your Terk 55, in my opinion, is not good for anything other than being a big stick to wack the guy who sold it to you!
Good luck!

I agree, against my better judgment I purchased the TV-55 because I did not desire a metal monstrosity on my roof I plan to take it down tonight and use what ever the VOOM installer provides. I understand they provide both quality antennas and quality amplifiers. So if anyone can get my locals in HD I am sure they can.



On a side note the guy who sold me the TV-55 did say it would not work. I got it to work from Lookout Mountain and Cheyenne J

 

[sat4me]

I agree, against my better judgment I purchased the TV-55
On a side note the guy who sold me the TV-55 did say it would not work.

Ok, I'll go easy on you then. That TERK sure knows how to market a product at least.. So don't wack the guy that sold it to you..

If I recall you said Loveland, the powered stealth MAY work, if not I would imagine the installer should have the 8 bay antenna to try as well. Really depends on whats around you as far as obstructions.
Neither of those antennas will receive mulitdirection too well, even though the stealth is called a multidirectional antenna, so don't expect both N & S signals but who knows. I'm not even sure the mapping will show for both, even though antennaweb does.

Who is your assigned installer? Call and ask if the tech carries the 8 bay in case

 

[The Stone Man]

Thanks sat4me. Now that I think about it, the acacia guy was in Vegas. Nice to know about the location of the satellite, and how the dish is pointed to make it work. I had to re-point it once when I hit the dish accidently with a shovel full of snow. Fortunately, it only required a vertical adjustment and not horizontal.

 

[slacker9876]

Oddly enough from my location, on a compass, Lookout Mountain is 178 degrees, and Cheyenne is 356 degrees. Those two numbers workout well when trying to get multi-directional signals!

I am optimistic that the installer will be able to pull the signals with a better antenna as I am able to get them with the TV55 now. If he cannot that may be a issue but I'll see first.

My installers name is Mike ... but as I said they wouldn't let me call him. I have found it is best to let the installers (Voom) install and the tweakers (me) tweak. All I know is D* or E* never came out to fix my install ... it was the other way around. So I'll let them do the work and I'll do the fine tuning, unless I don't need to. On DTV my weakest transponder hits 86 and the strongest is 100 ... I'll be looking for the same from the Voom install. Any insight on this?

No need to "quote" I think we are cluttering the board.

 

[sat4me]

Oddly enough from my location, on a compass, Lookout Mountain is 178 degrees, and Cheyenne is 356 degrees. Those two numbers workout well when trying to get multi-directional signals!

I am optimistic that the installer will be able to pull the signals with a better antenna as I am able to get them with the TV55 now. If he cannot that may be a issue but I'll see first.

My installers name is Mike ... but as I said they wouldn't let me call him. I have found it is best to let the installers (Voom) install and the tweakers (me) tweak. All I know is D* or E* never came out to fix my install ... it was the other way around. So I'll let them do the work and I'll do the fine tuning, unless I don't need to. On DTV my weakest transponder hits 86 and the strongest is 100 ... I'll be looking for the same from the Voom install. Any insight on this?

Well, as far as the OTA pointing toward lookout mnt; for your VOOM to work in digital, as that's all that will aquire through the 8uvsb digital tuner modual, the point direction is actually to Downtown Denver.

The 8bay antenna is very directional, so you may need to decide where you want your OTA channels from if both areas are mapped, for at least this time frame.

Expect to see 90-96-ish signal after your unit has taken the update download the night after your install. At time of install the best you might see is in the 50-60's

When are you scheduled for installation? Who does Mike, the installer work for? DishConnect did my installs, they were really good, I had a guy named Erik, but I live south in Littleton, he may not go to Loveland.

Good luck.

 

[slacker9876]

Sat4Me:

I think Mike works for DishConnect also. Voom Rep said we was out of Ft Lupton, that is all they would give me. If they can get me NBC that is all I care about. I'll let everyone know how it went tomorrow. Looking forward to VaVaVooming!

 

[The Stone Man]

What's up with channel 2??? Voom program guide is now listing 2-1, and 2-2. I think it just used to list 2-1, which I was able to get. In the last 2 days, I can't get either of the channel 2's. Still get 4 and 9 very well, but no signal at all on 7. Short of fiddling with height and direction of the StealthTenna, I'm not sure what else I can do. Any suggestions?

 

[slacker9876]

My Hughes HTL-HD gets both 2-1 & 2-2, they are the same progreamming but I have had them for 6 months. No instight here but by 10:00 pm tomorrow I should have a lot of answers ... need to see the equipment to answer with any education

 

[sat4me]

My Hughes HTL-HD gets both 2-1 & 2-2, they are the same progreamming but I have had them for 6 months. No instight here but by 10:00 pm tomorrow I should have a lot of answers ... need to see the equipment to answer with any education

Hey slacker,
I pulled an antennaweb for Loveland.
Doesn't look like you will receive too many Denver channels.. Infact looks like 2.1 is about it, you'll be really lucky to get 31.1.
The majors ABC, CBS, NBC, aren't even listed on this list.
Hard to say if even the Stealth or an 8-bay will do much.
Good luck tomorrow let us know, but have to tell you doesn't look to good for at least the majors from Denver or anywhere.

green - uhf KTVD-DT 19 UPN Denver CO 01-05 178° 49.1 19
* lt green - uhf KWGN-DT 2.1 WB DENVER CO 178° 48.9 34
* lt green - uhf KLWY-DT 28.1 FOX CHEYENNE WY 4° 43.9 28
* red - uhf KDEN-DT 29 IND LONGMONT CO 145° 25.6 29
* red - uhf KPXC-DT 43 PAX Denver CO Currently Not Available 176° 52.9 43
* blue - uhf KBDI-DT 38.1 PBS Broomfield CO 191° 55.9 38
* blue - uhf KCEC-DT 51 UNI DENVER CO Testing 178° 48.9 51
* blue - uhf KGWN-DT 5.1 CBS CHEYENNE WY 356° 46.3 30
* violet - uhf KTFD-DT 15.1 TFA BOULDER CO 176° 53.0 15
* violet - uhf KDVR-DT 31.1 FOX Denver CO 178° 49.2 32
* violet - uhf KFCT-DT 21.1 FOX Fort Collins CO 35° 20.8 21
* violet - uhf KRMT-DT 40 DAY DENVER CO Awaiting FCC Permit 175° 57.8 40

 

[The Stone Man]

Sat4me....please look back 4 posts. Any clue on channel 2?

 

[sat4me]

Sat4me....please look back 4 posts. Any clue on channel 2?

Sorry I missed your post..

Yup, we now have 2.2... Maybe more HD programming???
My VOOM works on both freq's and is the same program as 2.1, so for now you're not missing anything.. yet..

Hate to say, I have all my Denver channels and working awesome with my Stealth with diplexers... In fact my VOOM is working perfect with my Samsung 42 plasma. I have not had any glitches what-so-ever...

I know you didn't want to hear that, knowing we're not too far apart. (you posted your area earlier)
I'm University and Quebec in H.R.

Try unpluging your STB for a few minutes then after reboot, select channel 31.1 and using the channel down button to 2.2 and 2.1, then channel back up to 31.1, then channel down again..
Don't direct-access the channels and see what happens.. I hope your STB just needs to "aquire" the freq.

I have a feeling your channel map is different than mine.

Sorry I can't be any more help.. have no idea what 2.2 will have for us..

 

[The Stone Man]

Tried the above and no luck. Zip code 80122 at County Line and Colorado. CH 2 used to work, but now it doesn't. Ch 7 used to come in halfway decent, but now no signal. I put in a service call last night, so they are coming out on 6/2 to see what's up. Still get 4, 8-15, 9, three channel 12's, and 31 in good shape. Very weird. Gotta be LOS on the Stealth, now that the trees on the South Suburban golf course have full leaves. I think I either need a higher mast or a different antenna.

 

[slacker9876]

Hey slacker,
I pulled an antennaweb for Loveland.
Doesn't look like you will receive too many Denver channels.. Infact looks like 2.1 is about it, you'll be really lucky to get 31.1.
The majors ABC, CBS, NBC, aren't even listed on this list.
Hard to say if even the Stealth or an 8-bay will do much.
Good luck tomorrow let us know, but have to tell you doesn't look to good for at least the majors from Denver or anywhere.

That TV-55 is starting to look pretty good ,eh? With my Hughes setup (HTL-HD) I currently receive 32.1 (FOX, channel map off?) 12.1,12.2,12.3 (PBS) and 2.1, 2.2 (WB) All I want is 9 which comes in and out with the weather and my bitrate meter shows it is flaky as all get out. These channels are OTA, not satellite.

AntennaWeb is only a guideline and a very conservative one at that. They updated their site statistics about 8 months ago to be conservative. Before the update last fall, they had all the lookout mountain stations (digital & analong) for my address listed as yellow. Now they are all Blue or Violet (I think) but I DO RECEIVE them with my Lt Green rated TV-55.

I get all the analog channels and other digitals from Denver to Cheyenne. This is with the use of a 10dB gain amp supplied with my antenna. LOL with a diplexer in the mix my signal is gone.

I am ready to face the reality that with VOOM I may not get channels with the antenna they supply unless they install a large directional antenna. I never took the TV-55 down so I'll have the installer try it first (if he ever gets here ... tick tock). The antenna I use will be based upon the rating of the one they supply.

We'll just see what we see ... he should be here within an hour.

 

[slacker9876]

I am now Vooming!

Well my installer (Mike) left at about 1:00 so I have been VaVaVooming for about 40 minutes. I LOVE IT, PQ is great and I am very optimistic about about the locals.

Locals:
I have the stealth antenna wich is out performing the Terk TV-55 I had in place before. I say this because I am getting channel 9 (NBC) WOOHOO! My receiver is currently listing all the locals from Denver and Cheyenne. I do not if I will get all those channels but Mike did say it can take a day or two for all of them to come in. Right now I am receiving NBC, FOX 31 and KBDI. I do expect this will grow overnight based upon what I have read.

Voom:
My receiver is a little pokey, expecially when changing channels, I called Voom and they said if I hit the SAT button at night it will put the receiver in standby mode and I will get updates to help with this and other bug fixes. I am looking forward to seeing how the next week pans out as I'll use the SAT botton nightly.

Well time to get back to jaw-dropping imagery on my TV and seeing what I can tweak! Just curious my signal is currently listing between 45-55 ... is this the norm? Is does not seem to effect the PQ so I am not too worrired but I am thinking I may want to tweak it so i do not get rain fade ... your thoughts fellas?

Oh FYI, the installer was knowledgable and all but it did take almost 4 hours to complete the installation.