TMJ Problem solved..

[wrupp]

I picked up Delorme Topo USA on ebay and have been playing with it.. It does a good job explaining why I can't get 28 here in Muskego.  This is a cross section of the elevations from the Antenna location to me.  The Antenna is listed to be at 894'.  I'm at the right side..  Between me and them is that big hill..  Dang New Berlin!  Gett'n in the way of my TV!

 

Here's the same thing from me to the Sears tower.. They are at 1663'.  I have them in the 70% range.

 

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Bill in Muskego
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Mits 46809
RCA DTC-100
108 Hour DirecTiVo

[tenth_t2]

Can you receive their broadcast on ch4 OTA?  What about 24 or 36 analog?

This could likely prohibit viewing for a LOT of folks!  Do we know what their broadcast power is (probably on the FCC page somewhere) and how it compares to some Chicago stations?

Isn't the Milwaukee tower that was built to be shared at something like 1000'?  ruh roh...

Greg O.

[wrupp]

I get 8 and 46.  I've never got 28 at over 30%.  Terrain makes a huge difference..  So does the height.  I have 8 at 80%, 46 at 70%.

[oflaherty]

Bill – Nice job with the topographic maps. The engineering folks here at WTMJ took a look at them too. They want me to point out that the WTMJ-DT antenna is 894 feet above ground level.. and ground level here at Capitol Dr. is 640 feet above sea level. So on the graph the DT antenna would be at 1534 feet above sea level.
Assuming your antenna is 25 to 30 feet above the ground that should be more than enough height to clear that ridge in New Berlin.
If you can get channels 24, 36 and even 46, there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to get 28. The transmitting antennas are close together and at almost the same heights.
Have you tried rotating your antenna a little? Have you tried a different antenna or an old pair of rabbit ears?

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Sean O'Flaherty
at WTMJ

[Steve Mann]

Hi Sean,

Thanks for visting and offering information you have to share.

Just out of curiosity; I've been having problems lately receiving WTMJ. I've had no problems for weeks, then suddenly for the few days (including tonight at about 8:30) I can't tune in 28 (4-1). I can receive PBS and CBS58 as usual, but my Panasonic TU-HDS20 displays nothing but a black picture. When I enter channel 28, it maps to 4-1 and displays guide info but fails to display a picture.

Any thoughts or ideas?

Thanks and once again, welcome!

[mcq]

Does the topography mapping take in consideration curvature of the earth. I read somewhere that towers of the Golden Gate bridge are inches off parallel, and that's a not too very long.

[Gregg Lengling]

To Steve Mann,   If your receiver maps out the channel you are receiving it.  For some reason at the time there is no video feed to the transmitter.  You'll notice this all the time in the late afternoon on 28 when WTMJ is warming up their transmitter.


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Gregg R. Lengling

[oflaherty]

Gregg – If the WTMJ-DT transmitter is on there should be video of some kind, even if it's just a station ID graphic.
Sometimes we notice the guide data on the receiver even before the transmitter is turned on. It looks like the receiver stores the guide data in its memory from the night before.

Steve – One of our engineers had trouble getting 28 at home Thursday night too.. He thinks it could have been  interference from some other channel 28 in the Midwest. His problem cleared up by 9 p.m. Thursday night before we could pin down any source.


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Sean at WTMJ