DATA COLLECTION: OTA Problems

[Allen Noland]

Since L216 was a disaster for OTA, lets try this again. Please, if you are still missing and/or cannot ADD or SCAN in any of the OTA channels that you should be able to receive, please post where you are and the channel name and number (both RF and PSIP remapped) that you're having problems with. There have been reports in prior versions about lost channels, so this time around, we're trying to pull all of that data into one location, before it gets lost in the shuffle.

Thanks!

[Mark Lamutt]

BTW, the L216 problems should now be fixed. Everyone should be able to scan and tune to their OTA digital channels regardless of whether or not you choose to subscribe to your dish locals package.

And, just a reminder to those of you that had your locals turned on for one month - if you intend to cancel, don't forget to call and do so before your month is up.

[Tweeterhead]

I've been through 3 updates now and don't have all of my OTA guide data. WGN 9 Chicago and Channel 11 PBS say Local Programming while CBS, ABC , NBC and Fox all of the right info. I've done the whole deleting and rescanning thing, including hard resets and reseting the whole unit to defaults. I just want all my channels to have info for easy recording. Is it that hard?

Intermittant problems with weak OTA since 215. 30-70 signal strength when I used to have in the 90's. I've replaced cables and added an amplifier with no luck.218 didn't help.

Crystal Lake, IL. 30 miles NW of Chicago

Model ID: DishDVR 921
Card Revision: DNASP103 Rev302
Boot Version: 140B
Flash Version: F052
SW Version: L218HECD-N

[SteveB]

OTA seems to be working OK with L218 in the L.A., CA area. Cancelled locals package and guide data went away. I want L215 back - guide data without a $6.00/mo. subscription. Dish is shooting themselves in the foot over this issue. Since I am in the TV business, I am often asked for advice on satellite/cable providers. I am getting less inclined to recommend Dish.

[pdlittle]

I am still having a problem with reception of one station (KGAN out of Cedar Rapids, IA) This station has collocated it's antenna on the same tower with two other stations KCRG (ABC) and KRIN (PBS) in the local area. The reception from KCRG and KRIN is outstanding at any time day or night. However, I continue to have significant issues with the signal from KGAN. I cannot hold a reliable lock on the station at any time when it is first selected. After approximately five to ten minutes it will finally stabilize to the point where it will at least not completely loose lock, but it will still occasionally pixalate or have audio dropouts. I have compared the signal between the 921 and my Sony 57XBR2 internal HD receiver and the TV receiver does not exhibit the problem that I am seeing with the 921. Because of this and the fact that none of the software updates has made any difference in the quality of the signal reception, I am convinced there is some kind of reception issue with the 921 tuner for KGAN's frequency (UHF 51) at least in my unit.

I brought this to the attention of the advance techs at Dish and was promissed a call back from their engineering department, which I have never received.

I would like to know if anyone else is seeing a similar issue to mine, before I press Dish for a replacement unit. I also know that it could well be that something in the PSIP data from this station could be affecting the signal, so I have included the contact information for KGAN so you can contact them for additional information as appropriate.

Paul


KGAN STATION INFO

UHF 51.1 and 51.2

Channels Remapped to 2-1 and 2-2 respectively.

Street Address
KGAN-TV
600 Old Marion Rd. NE
Cedar Rapids, IA 52402

Mailing Address
KGAN-TV
PO Box 3131
Cedar Rapids, IA 52406

Business Hours
8:00 am - 5:00 pm (Monday - Friday)

Email-
kgan@kgan.com

Phone Numbers
319-395-9060 or 800-642-6140

[jsainz]

I have had a problem with KXAS in Dallas Tx on DVR 921 (1) the old 6000 (now retired), but not on DVR 921 (2) or the DVR 942?

How do I fix this on DVR 921 (1). I have rescanned the digital channels.

KXAS-D channel 41

DVR 921 (1) channel 41-1 really appears as 41-3 (Rf41-3) 107 signal strength.

The mapped 41-1 --> 5-1 shows 112 signal strength but blank screen.
The mapped 41-2 --> 5-2 shows 107 signal strength and works fine?

DVR 921 (2) works OK.

The mapped 41-1 --> 5-1 shows 120 signal strength and works fine.
The mapped 41-2 --> 5-2 shows 125 signal strength and works fine.

DVR 942

The mapped 41-1 --> 5-1 shows 60 signal strength and works fine.
The mapped 41-2 --> 5-2 shows 60 signal strength and works fine.

All systems use the same OTA antenna. OTA signals sent through diplexer down one of the satellite cables then diplexed back into OTA input.

Puzzled, how do I fix DVR 921 (1)?

:) OK, the solution was to DELETE ALL OTA channels, then to rescan.

Now I can watch LENO in HD!

I guess I had a left over problem from the original installation, that rescanning alone did not fix.

[aginzu]

With 270 I'm still missing OTA guide data for KION (CBS) and KCAH (PBS) in the Monterey Bay area. KCAH was never there, but KION went away with one of the releases (213 or so) and never came back. Guide data is o.k. for KSBW (NBC) and KCBA (Fox)

[onethree]

L270 fixed most of my OTA problems. NBC and CBS fixed, PBS (KETA 32, remap 13-1,13-2,13-3,13-4 - still no guied information) in Oklahoma City.

[langlin]

After L270, I stil have NO guide info of OTA KOZK in Springfield MO, remap to 21-001

[Damiang]

With 2.70, one Guide data channel was fixed -004-01.

Now all I have remaining to be fixed is the below guide data...

Station - Call Letters - Guide Data received...

002-01 wgrz No (Please can we fix this one, DISH, I beg you please fix this one; I had it before so I know you can do it ) :grin:
004-01 wivb YES (fixed)
007-01 wkbw Yes
023-01 wnlo Yes
029-01 wutv Yes
049-01 wnyo No
043-1 wned No Odd to note that this HD one has no guide but the sub (below) does
043-2 wned Yes

[Damiang]

I am pleased to report that last Friday, 002-01 channel guide data was made available again. I cannot begin to say how pleased I am about that! I guess my pleading and begging to implore and challenge Dish as below is what did it. See how this forum makes a difference. Now all I need is 49-01 and 43-01! Thanks to all :D

With 2.70, one Guide data channel was fixed -004-01.

Now all I have remaining to be fixed is the below guide data...

Station - Call Letters - Guide Data received...

002-01 wgrz YES FINALLY (Please can we fix this one, DISH, I beg you please fix this one; I had it before so I know you can do it ) :grin:
004-01 wivb YES (fixed)
007-01 wkbw Yes
023-01 wnlo Yes
029-01 wutv Yes
049-01 wnyo No
043-1 wned No Odd to note that this HD one has no guide but the sub (below) does
043-2 wned Yes

[JPC]

I'm have a very similar situation to jsainz: one tower, four tramsmitters.

UHF 58 (mapped to 10-1) is rock-solid
UHF 16 (mapped to 21-1) is unreceivable, and always has been
UHF 59 (mapped to 13-1) does not lose lock but "black's out" for one second at regular intervals
UHF 28 (mapped to 31-1) was okay until L270 and is now unreceiveable.

I'm using a CM3010 Stealthtenna and have tried bypassing the preamp and have placed a 6dB pad before and after it with no improvement.

[jergenf]

I'm have a very similar situation to jsainz: one tower, four tramsmitters.

UHF 58 (mapped to 10-1) is rock-solid
UHF 16 (mapped to 21-1) is unreceivable, and always has been
UHF 59 (mapped to 13-1) does not lose lock but "black's out" for one second at regular intervals
UHF 28 (mapped to 31-1) was okay until L270 and is now unreceiveable.

I'm using a CM3010 Stealthtenna and have tried bypassing the preamp and have placed a 6dB pad before and after it with no improvement.
I'm having no problems with 31-1 and 21-1 thru 21-4 in fact they have always been my strongest channels both with and without the preamp. The analog counterparts come in lousy with extreme ghosting because I'm in a valley but to my surprise the digital have been problem free.
Also you didn't mention UHF 45 (mapped to 8-1) this is my weakest digital station because it's still at low power and not HD ready.
My guess is that you'll need a better antenna.

[JPC]

I would agree if it weren't for the fact that UHF 59 and 28 were fine right before L270. There was a period where UHF 28 was a problem and I think it was after L216 (?) but the next release cured it. There's just too much correlation between software releases and reception quality for them to be unrelated.

[WGreen]

Can anyone recommend a antenna amplifier/booster for my OTA rooftop antenna that is attached to my Dish? Constant interuptions in the OTA viewing.
DVR 921
L270HEED-N

[PittsbuRgh R]

NBC ota (pittsburgh channel 11) every time I record this channel, the time left in the programming never correctly displays (most of the time showing in excess of 2000 minutes to complete) and frequently the program will jump back to the beginning of the program when either using fast forward and hitting the play button or when using the 30 second advance button will cause it to freeze or will jump back to the beginning of the show. Don't know if anyone has experienced this but It is repeatable for me on a daily basis. Almost seems like a conspiriacy of NBC as I can watch the show if I don't fast forward - aka watch every commercial. Anyone else having this issue.

[glytle]

I get the same problems (freeze or jump back to beginning when I skip ahead) with NBC OTA shows on KGW 008-1 in Portland, except that the timer intially shows between 1500-1600 minutes remaining. I assumed it was all OTA channels, but now that you mention it, I've only seen it with NBC. I've also noticed that if I fast forward through the program, the time remaining jumps to normal time about halfway through.

Gary

[jergenf]

Can anyone recommend a antenna amplifier/booster for my OTA rooftop antenna that is attached to my Dish? Constant interuptions in the OTA viewing.
DVR 921
L270HEED-N
As a general rule the Winegard AP4800 preamp is a good overall choice with 19db gain you can amplify distant stations without overloading locals. However what's most important is the type of antenna you're using now. I can only imagine it's a small one if it's mounted to your dish mast.

[jergenf]

I would agree if it weren't for the fact that UHF 59 and 28 were fine right before L270. There was a period where UHF 28 was a problem and I think it was after L216 (?) but the next release cured it. There's just too much correlation between software releases and reception quality for them to be unrelated.
I noticed that around the release of L215 (early July) my signal levels seemed to improve. From that point I received digital 8 (RF45) when I was never able to get that channel locked in before. Have not noticed any changes in signal levels with any software releases after that. Even if these software releases are affecting receiver sensitivity you'll need to re-examine your antenna again. Check your analog reception and try manual adjustment for your digital channels. This means moving your antenna and observing the signal bar.

With 031-01 I'm getting 125 signal strength even when the antenna is facing toward Syracuse. WXXI 021-XX is 116-120 as long as it's facing in the general direction of Rochester. Channel 010-XX is 110-120 (with preamp installed) and the same situation as 021-XX. With 013-01 it does flucuate a bit 80-100 with less margin of error as far as aiming is concerned. Same situation with 008-01 is 75-80 but as I stated that's still at low power so dropouts are understandable. I'm 5.5 miles NW from the transmitters and in a valley. Have fringe VHF/UHF antenna with 19db preamp but presently below ground level (need to raise the mast 20 feet to peek over the valley). The preamp did reduce dropouts for 021-XX, 010-XX and 013-01. Don't believe I could even get any signal for 008-01 without it.

[JPC]

Thanks for the info Jergen. I'm still not convinced that this isn't software related, but I'm going to try moving the antenna anyway. I hope I don't make a bad situation worse.

[jergenf]

Thanks for the info Jergen. I'm still not convinced that this isn't software related, but I'm going to try moving the antenna anyway. I hope I don't make a bad situation worse.
It won't make the situation worse. In worse case you put things back the way it was. A tip is if you have a portable or battery operated TV then run another coax up to your roof. Connect one end to your 921 RF chan 3 output and the other to you TV on the roof. Using your UHF remote control you'll be able to operate your menu adjustments. If you can't do that then you'll need help from another person.

One more finding, two weeks ago I had to replace my 921. I ran my antenna input to a distrubution amp so I could supply my TV, VCR and 921 at the same time with signals. I discovered that I was only able to get 031-01 and 021-XX. The amplifier was either adding noise or overloading the signal (although signal levels were gone for the rest of the digital channels). I then connected the main antenna directly back to the 921 and was able to get everything back. Just in case you're using amplifiers (not preamps) try bypassing it to see if any change.