Milwaukee HDTV User Group

I need a new softener to replace our 19 year old Culligan unit. I'm thinking of a GE, which is highly rated on Hone Depot's website.

Does anyone have a specific recommendation?

Thanks.

Good luck. What incompetence !

The post about DIRECTV I hoped I'd never have to write. Long-time members here know what a DTV fanboy I've been. This is so sad.

As a customer since 1999, I couldn't wait to get my Genie/wireless setup back after 3 months of Spectrum in our temporary apartment while we built a new home. With a move-in date of Dec 22nd, I scheduled my install a week ahead just in case we ran into problems with our wooded lot.

Tech guy arrived on time. We walked the lot to determine dish placement, and decided on a pole mount just to right on the front porch so I could brush the snow off the dish. Technician confirmed view of the SW sky, scheduled digger's hotline to make sure the site was clear, and scheduled my install for Thursday. Day before move-in, so everything appearing to work out perfectly.

Thursday, the tech arrived, looked at the site and said there's no way the dish could see the satellite from there. We walked the lot and I showed him all the other locations the previous tech also told me would work. This tech said none of them would work. I showed him a spot that had a clear view of the entire southern sky from east to west. He said he was worried about the length of the cable run, so he requested a "Second Opinion" from a supervisor. He had me confirm that with someone on the phone. Thinking supervisor is on the way, install can still happen on moving day, and we'll be good to go.

3 days, and phone calls that had me talking to at least 10 different ATT/DirecTV CSRs and supervisors later... I'm watching locals with my antenna, and streaming what I can from my phone. Despite two supervisors assuring me they'd take personal responsibility and would call me back within two hours with the plan to resolve it, as of 4 O'clock yesterday I still had no idea when/if I'd be installed.

Every time I called..or was escalated to a supervisor, the person I'd speak to had absolutely no information about my situation. Last night I finally got escalated high enough to talk to someone who had record of everything. He apologized for my frustration, but the best we could do is schedule another install tech for this Thursday, with no assurance that I'll even be able to get DirecTV. He said he'd be emailing the local supervisor to fill him in on my situation. I asked him to have the person receiving that email call me to confirm and discuss. He said he'd request that, but it was unlikely I'd get a call.

They've already taken my payment out of my account, offered me free HBO if I can get installed, made some suggestions that I could qualify for some mysterious cloud-based streaming solutions that may, or may not, have DVR capabilities.

A Facebook post cannot express the comedy/tragedy/customer service fail that occurred with every single touchpoint over the past week. I have never had a more maddening experience with a company/brand in my adult life. It's amazing to me that after 18 years as a customer and advocate, they could not be doing more to lose me if they were trying.

It will be a shame if they give me no choice but to switch to Spectrum, an option that I loathe, especially if, had I made that decision two weeks ago when they came to install my internet, I'd have had my TV/Theatre setup before the move in, rather than sitting in limbo.

To be continued....

Quote from: techguy1975 on Thursday Apr 13, 2017, 07:57:52 PM
Looks like there will be some changes coming to the Milwaukee TV dial.  4 stations will be leaving the air, surrendering their license as part of the FCC spectrum repack.  Those leaving the air will be

• WMVT
• WCGV
• WMLW
• WVCY

Read more about it here: http://www.northpine.com/, or here:http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2017/db0413/DA-17-314A2.pdf

WMVT 36-1 and some of it's sub-channels will clip on WMVS ch. 8 transmitter and transmit 36-1 alongside 10-1, 10-2, etc..

WMLW will share it's programming over WDJT's transmitter.  I think they do now as one of the 58 sub-channels, but maybe they will change the 58 sub-channel for that with 41-1. After the changes something different here. It is not what I posted here.

WVCY, TV 30 will tag along on WITI's transmitter currently on 33, thus 6-1, 6-2, 30-1.  WITI will be changing it's RF transmitter from 33 to 31 in the summer.  Sorry, the RF change will take place in Fall of 2019.

WCGV will tag along on ch. 18's transmitter as 18-1, 18-2, 24-1, 24-2, 24-3 all over ch. 18, but in the summer the rf will be changed to 27. Sorry this RF change will take place in Fall 2019!


So this could mean that if you are watching TV using an antenna, you will be require to rescan your TV daily or once a week through out the summer. Starting January 8 in order to get 36 and 30 and 24 since some will be shutting off their transmitters on January 8th.

-John L.

Quote from: larsob on Monday Jul 24, 2017, 07:39:21 PM
The FCC has set a deadline of January 23 2018 for WCGV, WMLW, WMVT & WVCY to turn off their transmitters.

Info comes from northpine.com

They must have changed the date to January 8 somewhere along the line.

-John L.

So now that I am in the time of year that I can get WMLW via my antenna (see post above).

This morning while doing some chores around the house, with a TiVo-ed show on in the background, there was an announcement from WMLW during one of the commercial breaks that they will be moving to their new OTA frequency on January 8 at 5am.  Of course, rescan will be required. FYI. 

Sigh...I realize these things can take years (thinking of the analog/digital transition the the late '00s)...I am waiting breathlessly for WMLW to get repackaged to a different frequency.  For some reason they are the only channel I get an unstable/useless OTA signal most of the year (across the street neighbor's Oaks and Maples block line of sight from my "illegal" attic antenna I installed in the common area attic above my unit...HOA hasn't busted me on it yet ). Hopefully changes come sooner than later with this!

What is your favorite Chinese/Thai restaurant in the area? Somewhere between Brookfield and Oconomowoc.

Thanks.

Sounds about right...   

Quote from: larsob on Monday Jul 24, 2017, 07:39:21 PM
The FCC has set a deadline of January 23 2018 for WCGV, WMLW, WMVT & WVCY to turn off their transmitters.

Info comes from northpine.com

So what will happen here is WCGV will shut down their transmitter on ch. 25 and move 24-1, 24-2, and 24-3 programming on ch. 18 transmitter and continue on there with 18-1, and 24-1 both full HD along with 18-2, 24-2, and 24-3.  I don't know who WVCY is going to go with as far as continuing it's broadcast, Maybe they will lease space on the ch. 18 transmitter to?  Or maybe go with WTMJ, WITI, or WISN or whatever.

Once ch. 24 moves to the ch. 18 transmitter I assume they will take the ch. 25 transmitter, retune it, align the antenna for channel 27 and then in summer 2018 they will shut down the ch. 18 transmitter and move 18-1, 18-2, 24-1, 24-2, 24-3 onto ch. 27.

-John L.