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Updated: 1:22 PM Jul 17, 2009
DTV Trouble Shooting: Antenna Plays Key Role
Lincoln If you know someone who isn't able to get Channel 10/11since our digital conversion, they may need a new antenna.
Posted: 10:31 AM Feb 28, 2009Reporter: Keller Russell Email Address: Keller.Russell@kolnkgin.com |
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4 Comments 
While most of you have adjusted to the digital switch KOLN-KGIN made on February 17th, you may have friends or family who are still aren't receiving our channel.
We want to help fix that, so we spoke with Gary Zager, Owner of T.V. Reception Technologies. His business deals strictly with antennas and has been helping a bunch of viewers since the switch.
Zager says if you know someone who isn't able to get Channel 10/11 but did get a converter box, the issue may be a simple fix by rescanning the channels on the box.
KOLN moved channel 10 from a UHF channel 25 frequency, to the original channel 10 VHF frequency.
Zager says if viewers were on their digital boxes before the switch, they had to do a scan to get the boxes to recognize the new frequency -- the channel 10 frequency which is now a VHF signal, as before, channel 10 was an analog or UHF signal.
To rescan the channels for the converter box, go to the "menu" on your television and look for "auto-scan" or "find new channels" (each television set will present it slightly different).
If you are still unable to get channel 10 after the rescan, Zager says you need to look into your antenna. Because the digital signal requires a VHF antenna, you may need a new one.
"UHF requires a different antenna than VHF does and so when they came back to the original frequency of Ch. 10, they had to get an antenna that works for Ch. 10," said Zager.
Zager says his business is seeing a lot of customers who were watching channel 10 using a set-top antenna, or rabbit ears but those will not work with the digital conversion.
"With digital we have whats called a cliff affect -- where the signal has to be above a certain threshold before you'll get any signal and it needs to remain above the threshold, if it doesn't, it pixilates and drops out completely," said Zager.
And, as you may have guessed, rabbit ears don't pick up a strong enough signal to meet the threshold for digital.
To solve this, Zager says they can try to put an antenna in your attic, but more than likely you will need to install a VHF antenna either outside, or on top of your roof. Zager says the height of the antenna is key in receiving the signal.
And, it's not just rabbit ear antennas. If you have an antenna that is supposed to be picking up all 16 local channels (for Lincoln) but you're still not receiving all of them, you may need a new antenna to pick up the frequencies you want.
Latest Comments
We have a Radio Shack indoor/outdoor antenna as of February this year & for the 2nd time now, no channels come through. Everything is hooked up properly & yet when you run a channel scan, no channels come up. Is anyone else having this problem, any advice?
to save money I got rid of my cable connectio and bought an antenna. I am able to pick all the stations except 10/11 CBS which is where all my favortie shows are. Is there any hope of me every getting these channels again and what can I do. I bought what I thought was a good antenna from Radio Shack that I put on the roof. any suggestions?
I feel the DTV would be great IF it was a legitimate update for all of us! Now I get one station which is Fox 42 1 & 2. Before I could get several with my rabbit ears which contained a booster. Now you tell me I need to add an antenna or subscribe to expensive television service! Not fair to us who live in the country & there are a lot of us besides in Nebraska.
I really wish we'd been told that we needed roof-top antennas before the switch. I double-checked to make sure I had the correct equipment before the switch and was told several times that the setup I had should work, only to find out that I need a $400 antenna. Since I can't afford a $400 antenna, I'm without a televison until I can save that amount up.
While this change will mark the end of the traditional analog method of broadcasting over-the-air television, it won’t signal the end of free broadcast television, and your favorite broadcast programs and local television stations will still be available.
Consumers who subscribe to a "pay" television service such as cable and satellite aren’t likely to be affected by the switch, but if you currently receive analog television over the air or via an antenna, you’ll need to take action to continue watching your favorite stations.
However, TV sets that rely on "over the air" broadcasting with an antenna (set-top or rooftop) to receive a signal will be affected by the cutoff of analog broadcasts in 2009. You will need to consider one of the following options:
