Boston TV transmission problems continue

[QuantumMechanic]

Saw this and though I'd pass it along for those of you who watch OTA....

Several TV stations still have antenna problems

 

[QuantumMechanic]

Did anyone experience actual problems today?

 

[FCB02062]

I watched in the white mountains (on a long wknd w the fam) on time Warner in a hotel... Had a few glitches and completely lost signal for a couple minutes at beginning of 2nd half....

 

[bbobbo]

crap, no wonder i'm missing most of the second half. my recording stops at around the 14:00 mark of the 3rd quarter.

patriots 5th quarter too, my recording stops shortly after brady took the podium.

 

[Ross12]

[insert "cheapskate Kraft" post here]

 

[Jackson 2]

No, but watching the Celtics on CCSNE HD the last 2 games has been ridiculous.

 

[Silver Blue&Red]

Did anyone experience actual problems today?

I wonder if that would have contributed to my vey bad streams today. It was frustrating, to say the least. I will be watching a lot of highlights this week.

 

[Tony2046]

I didn't notice any issues but had to leave at 5:40 for my sons flag football game. ( He kicked ass btw)

And caught the last half of the fourth quarter without any issues.

 

[Nellie]

Saw this and though I'd pass it along for those of you who watch OTA....

Several TV stations still have antenna problems

Thanks for the article QM. I lost what used to be a very strong signal on my antenna for CBS and ABC about a month ago. On the plus side the antenna is picking up signals from stations I never had previously. But cable still works, so all is fine.

 

[Bill Lee]

Saw this and though I'd pass it along for those of you who watch OTA....

Several TV stations still have antenna problems

Thanks for the new thread.

I haven't had any signal problems since the big issue a month ago (Oct 23rd). Well, to be honest, CH25 has been an ongoing problem but that's independent of the problems on the tower that has CH2/4/etc. I just bought a good pre-amp mounted at the antenna to get rid of loss in the cable from the attic to the TV. I was thinking I might mount it outside (now it's in the attic) and pick up more signal that way, but one short attempt to walk on the roof convinced me otherwise. Now with the pre-amp I can keep 25's signal good enough to watch the game. There are occasional digital glitches, but they quickly pass. Before the pre-amp I could only hold the signal around 50% of the time, depending on conditions. Also the pre-amp lets me get Ch 38's signal whereas below it was below the threshold. So, all in all, it was worth the expense.

Thanks for the article QM. I lost what used to be a very strong signal on my antenna for CBS and ABC about a month ago. On the plus side the antenna is picking up signals from stations I never had previously. But cable still works, so all is fine.

We have a thread about the problems that occurred a month ago at WBZ-TV4 Signal Problems: No Game Over The Air Or Satellite?

It seems the problems are more difficult to solve than originally anticipated. Tower and Transmission Signal Updates has a running account of what is going on.

The latest update from Friday is:

Friday, November 18, 2016, 9:00am

The testing and analysis over the past few days revealed the need for additional repair work in order to get back to normal operation. A multi-step plan is in motion to regain broadcast range while more parts are fabricated.

Tests from the previous night confirmed that we could safely put WGBX, WBZ, WCVB, and WSBK back on the upper main antenna at about 40% power. That move was completed yesterday. And despite the reduced power, the effective reach covers approximately 95% of our over-air viewers, which is significantly more than we had on the temporary antenna.

Next, sometime this morning, the stations will switch positions on the main antennas – WGBH will move to the upper antenna at full power, and WGBX and the networks will move to the lower antenna, also at full power. Again, based on the previous night’s testing, running WGBH at full power alone on the upper antenna is below the power threshold that the four stations combined (WGBX, WBZ, WCVB, and WSBK) would be on that antenna.

If this works as planned, and no reflected power or other issues are exhibited, the stations will stay in this configuration until after the Thanksgiving holiday when new parts will be ready. However, should problems develop, the stations will have to revert back to the previous configuration on the temporary antenna.

The issues that the tower crew, engineers, and station staff are managing are extremely complex, and they are doing everything possible to resolve them as quickly and as safely as possible. We’re sincerely grateful for the continued patience and understanding of all of our viewers who have been affected by the outage.

 

[Kontradiction]

 

[rfh]

Didn't have a transmission problem, but did have a MAJOR annoyance. I pause the game at kickoff and wait about 20 minutes to start watching it to avoid commercials. Then, as I sat down to watch it, Comcast decides to do their Emergency Test, or whatever it is called, and that wipes out the memory of the cable box, so I was instantly "live" with 2 minutes left mark of the 1st quarter. So I missed the Edelman TD and had to wait another 20 minutes to start watching the game.

Why would they do that idiotic test during a Pats game? Usually it's done in the wee hours of the morning.

 

[FalconHeavy]

I have problems on and off with CBS and FOX channels since the Oct-22 tower issue. But yesterday went fine for me (Worcester area)

 

[SHOWTIME15]

It's goondell - he's messing with pats fans

 

[Bill Lee]

It's goondell - he's messing with pats fans

Roger Dodger is prepared whenever he steps out of the Park Avenue bunker:

 

[BradyFTW!]

Roger Dodger is prepared whenever he steps out of the Park Avenue bunker:

I think he's just excited that he finally has an explanation for the lower ratings. It's the networks' fault!

 

[Nellie]

Thanks for the new thread.

I haven't had any signal problems since the big issue a month ago (Oct 23rd). Well, to be honest, CH25 has been an ongoing problem but that's independent of the problems on the tower that has CH2/4/etc. I just bought a good pre-amp mounted at the antenna to get rid of loss in the cable from the attic to the TV. I was thinking I might mount it outside (now it's in the attic) and pick up more signal that way, but one short attempt to walk on the roof convinced me otherwise. Now with the pre-amp I can keep 25's signal good enough to watch the game. There are occasional digital glitches, but they quickly pass. Before the pre-amp I could only hold the signal around 50% of the time, depending on conditions. Also the pre-amp lets me get Ch 38's signal whereas below it was below the threshold. So, all in all, it was worth the expense.


We have a thread about the problems that occurred a month ago at WBZ-TV4 Signal Problems: No Game Over The Air Or Satellite?

It seems the problems are more difficult to solve than originally anticipated. Tower and Transmission Signal Updates has a running account of what is going on.

The latest update from Friday is:

Thanks for the info.

I just had the opportunity to rescan for the OTA signal and my antenna finally picked up CBS and ABC for the first time since the original outage. The antenna I'm using is amplified and I'm well within the range for the antenna. The signal will probably be flaky until they get the additional repair work completed.