Milwaukee HDTV User Group

Thing is, if it's a TV channel and digital, the only RVs that will be able to receive it are ones that have a built-in digital tuner or another means to receive/convert the digital to analog.  I'm not knowledgeable in the RV markets, so maybe there is a high percentage of people that will have that ability.

But I would guess there's a higher percentage of people with a smart phone or a laptop with a wireless connection.  I would agree with the previous poster saying a website may be a better way to go.  Whether that's just a regular website being provided, or you go with a larger plan to try and provide wifi access to that full square mile, I'm not sure where you draw the line.

Keep us all updated with what you find out, as I don't think any of us know the costs of the TV equipment, but most people have an idea on the costs of hosting a website and it's not expensive at all.  Going with providing wifi access to the while RV park could get costly, but who knows...maybe that is already in place?

If it was for your place in Oconomowoc, I know a good one in WAUKESHA.  But I don't think he'd go out to Madison for side work.  You know the deal...they all work for a company during the day, but are will to do cash work off hours on the side.

In City of Waukesha, we have to take it to the dump...they have a special area for all kinds of paints.  Sadly, every city/town is different, so you almost need to either call the city or check their website to verify what your options are.

Quote from: murdoc;59332I'll take my chance with this one, thanks. http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7674736&Sku=S874-5004
Shame I missed out on the $300 off special a few weeks ago.

The CNET review of that TV wasn't very good.  Good marks using native 4K content, but anything 1080P that had to be scaled ended up looking worse than on a native 1080P TV.

I realize its just 1 review, so definitely worth looking for more opinions before deciding if it's right for you.

Speaking of new model year, did anyone read the article about the new Panasonic ZT60, which is being called a potential Kuro Killer.

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1467720/panasonic-zt60-is-a-potential-kuro-killer-plasma-not-dead-yet

Of course, no mention of price, so it may be way out of hand.

Just a guess, but isn't PBS the only area channel using VHF (I'm going off knowledge from a few years ago...maybe that changed)?  If that's all you're picking up now, maybe you have a VHF only antenna?

Before buying anything, you may want to see if anyone you know has a small portable VHF/UHF antenna, just do to a quick scan, and see what you get.  Even if things break up a bit, getting them at all is the first step.  If you get that far, then you could invest some money into a decent antenna and know you'll pick up all the channels you want.

Not sure if it would help, but when I last had a tech out, he was able to pull up schematics on his computer showing where the nodes were in the area.  He told me I was the last one on the main line from the node before going into an amplifier that then fed more people on the street.  I imagine if your tier 3 tech would find a 2nd or 3rd person with dropouts like you, they'd backtrack to the previous node to see if it is displaying errors.  Who knows, just having the tech look at that info may spark another idea of something to check.

As for your modem errors, if you aren't already, you may want to export them to a spreadsheet to save and show.  I found everytime my modem was unplugged (my way of resetting it when it wasn't working), I'd lose most/all of the log info.  So having the previous logs was useful to show the pattern of errors.

I had the same problems you are currently having (both the symptoms and the specific error messages in the modem's log).  My issues went on for about 9 years and I finally left TWC internet.  Looking back on it, I can't believe I stuck with them for so long before leaving.  I think the fact that they kept giving me discounts every year kept me signed up.  Even though the dropouts happened to me fairly often, they only got bad enough (or happened at a time I NEEDED a quality connection) a few times a year, which would cause me to call and complain.  They'd come out and check the signals, maybe change some connections.  From the time I moved into my house, over the next 5 years they ended up changing out ALL the cable wiring from the pole to my house and all the cable in my house.
I also had the modem swapped out 3 times in the 9 years, but it never really fixed the problem.

In my case, everything was fine using the same modem and router when I was renting in Waukesha from 2001-2002.  Then in 2003 I bought a house in Waukesha, and the issues started.  Took me a long time to figure out it was the line.  I assumed it was the router or ethernet card or computer.  I eventually changed out all the items except the modem and wiring, which is when I started calling TWC for help.

I do hope it's an easy fix for you, but be prepared for it to be a long, annoying road ahead.  I ended up going to AT&T Uverse (for internet only...still happy with Dish Network for TV) and have not had ANY drop outs in 6 months.  Same router(s), same computers.  I basically took their required gateway and made it my first node, then connected the rest of my network to it, which confirmed those devices still work and were not a problem.

The best advice I can give you is something they did not tell me until last year.  If you call to report an issue and have a technician out, you need to call back and report the same problem again WITHIN 30 days, otherwise they will treat it like a NEW issue each time.  The only way to get the problem escalated to a level 3 tech is to report the same issue multiple times within 30 days.

Mike

I have one of the cheaper Dish packages (Dish America Silver) and get Brewers & Bucks games, Big Ten channels, and NFL Network.  The Dish America packages were always the "HD only" ones, and by going with Silver or Gold, you get the sports channels.
It's possible you didn't know that because Dish doesn't advertise FSN Wisconsin as a full-time channel, but they do turn on the games on all the alternate channels.  I think they list FSN North as the full-time channel, which shows all the MN games.  When games are on FSN North, they are commonly blacked out.

Just curious, have you tried rebooting the box WITHOUT the HDMI but WITH the optical?  Just to help prove it is an either/or scenario.  You are probably right...they may not both work at the same time.  But at least if you can get it working with just the digital out, you'll satisfy that curiosity.  Otherwise you still have the question of whether it's a setting that is wrong keeping it from working.

Other option/question.  Does the  TV have an audio out?  You may be able to just send the audio back out of the TV to the stereo to the get the same result as if you sent both out from the cable box.

No interest in 3D here either.  I haven't even gone to see a 3D movie in the theaters...just been catching the cheaper 2D editions a few weeks later.

We switched from TWC (random disconnects for years) to Uverse for internet only about a month ago.  No dropouts now, so we're happy.

I too was surprised by the installation charge, so signed up for self-install and had to only pay the $100 for the gateway and first month's discounted rate.

I was surprised by a call from a tech the day our service was scheduled to be "activated" saying he had to verify the line into the house was good.  I imagine this is because we did not have AT&T for any services at the time (many years ago had phone service, so there was at least a line in the house).  I told him I did not yet have a phone line in the room we planned to connect the gateway, so he just added it free of charge (I verified again with him if there would be a charge for this because I had only signed up for self-install).

Maybe I got lucky, maybe this is pretty standard if you're a "new" customer.  But if the info helps you decide whether to pay for installation, that's great.  FYI, my basement ceiling is open, so there wasn't any work fishing wires.  He even used the existing hole in the room that the TWC line was going.

Mike

Make sure he also tries all the on/off combinations.  I've seen some equipment only work when the TV was on first, then the cable box...or the opposite way.  Something to do with the HDMI handshake.  That's usually older equipment, but still a good idea to verify it doesn't make a difference.

And don't forget, TWC typically leaves those frequencies open even if you have ONLY Roadrunner.  For us, if we're recording 2 channels on Dish and want to watch something else live on the local channels, we'll flip over to the TWC QAM channel.

Quote from: grenier;58495Things have been considerably better but I've been having weird things happen. Every few days the analog tvs get a fuzzy picture and if I check the the modem log it shows:

Critical (3) Started Unicast Maintenance Ranging - No Response received  

The levels at the tv are ok but it's showing corrected and uncorrected errors. It seems the signal level is dropping pretty low.

My thought is that it's an outside issue. It's actually happening right now, my Internet/phone just died for a minute.

Anyone have any ideas?

I fought with TWC about the same critical error you mentioned above (Started Unicast Maintenance Ranging), but they don't believe it is of concern.  I see the error, usually within a 10-15 minute range of when my internet connection temporarily dies.  Anytime I call with problems, they say I'm online, and it must be my router.  I've had the problem off and on for 9 years since I moved to this house.  They've replaced the line into the house and all wiring, all done 6-7 years ago.  I've gone through 2 routers, new computers, new modems...yet the random dropouts still exist.  They've been out a few times to check levels and never find anything wrong.  Common sense says I should go somewhere else, but the price/speed I get at TWC is better than what I've seen elsewhere, so doesn't seem worth changing.

Typically if I reboot my modem, I can connect again right away, so not sure if you've tried that and if it helps.

If you eventually find any link between the modem errors and your issue, please let us know.  I may be able to use that info to help get my issue fixed at some point as well.

Mike