retrans tower ?

[jascott7]

Hi guys,

I live in Lovelock, NV 89419 which is 90 miles from Reno, NV. According to antennaweb there is a tower about 15 miles from here but I need a powerful antenna to pull it in. My question is, is it worth it to try and pull in Reno with a Winegard 8200hd or wait for satellite lil hd. Also are signals that are analog retransmitted going to be upgraded to digital in 2009?

Thanks,

Jay

 

[Jim5506]

Hi guys,

I live in Lovelock, NV 89419 which is 90 miles from Reno, NV. According to antennaweb there is a tower about 15 miles from here but I need a powerful antenna to pull it in. My question is, is it worth it to try and pull in Reno with a Winegard 8200hd or wait for satellite lil hd. Also are signals that are analog retransmitted going to be upgraded to digital in 2009?

Thanks,

Jay

Reno is not on the list for HD satellite LILs. Don't count on it.

FCC has yet to finalise rules for transponders to go to digital, but in most cases I would not count on your local station going to the extra expense of transmitting HD to a transponder and broadcasting it to the small number of viewers using the transponder - it's probably not economically feasable.

What kind of terrain is between you and the Reno transmitters. You might be able to pull them in with all factors being favorable. The 8200 is a good antenna, if you mount it as high as possible, with a matching amplifier (winegard makes a good one) and have no blocking mountains between you and the towers, you have a chance.

Are people in your area able to get analog reception out of Reno bypassing the local rtansponders?

 

[jascott7]

Where I live at is in a valley, but there are mountains about 20 miles from Reno. I have seen people around town with large OTA antennas, but they are all trained on the tower. Lovelock is about 1000 feet lower than Reno, and most of the towers on the sides of mountains. According to antennaweb I should be able to get the ABC affilate about 93 miles away if this helps. This is a small town, and I think I'm one of the few people here with a hdtv.

Thanks for any suggestions,

Jay

Just found this http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-123A1.pdf Any idea if this would apply to me?

 

[Jim5506]

Boy, that's almost like reading War and Peace in the original Russian.

Looks like there is a window in May 2006 for applications for the analog to digital change over, but no date for the switch is set. Stations can either flash over to digital on the same frequency or ask for a companion digital channel.

But, again, digital does not necessarily mean HD.

The analog-digital switch date for regular broadcast stations is February 17, 2009. I expect the LP/translator date will be 2-3 years after that.

 

[Jim5506]

Looks like ABC,CBS and NBC digitals out of Reno are broadcasting at about 10% of their analog counterparts.
http://radiostationworld.com/Locations/United_States_of_America/Nevada/tv_information.asp?m=ren

I don't see much hope of reception of a 16kw signal 100 miles away.

Fox on ch 44 and WB on ch 26 might be possible. They are at 1000kw.