Technical difficulties. Receiving Bills Games over the air

[jaybee]

Damnit man. I dug out some un-used equipment out of my barn. A 20" HD TV, Radio Shacks top of the line unidirectional antenna (advertised at ~150 miles), a powered signal booster. RF cables etc...blah blah blah.

 

Why you ask? Because I like watching the games and draining my 16 beers back in my barn...like I used to when analog signals ruled, and before they converted to digital. (prior to June, 09) .

 

Plan was to install the antenna INSIDE the barn since outdoor antennas amoeba themselves out fairly quickly in wind storms. Something I've experienced over the years.

 

Did some testing with the antenna on saw horses...about 3 feet high. I am supposed to get 26 channels here based on web research. Well...I get 25. AND THE ONE CHANNEL I CANNOT GET IS ROC CHANNEL 8....the one that carries the Bills games.

 

My life is horrible.

 

Thanks for listening.

[San Jose Bills Fan]

My life is horrible.

 

Thanks for listening.

 

I'm VERYJEALOUS that you have a barn.

 

So there's that.

[BillsfaninMyrtleBeach]

If you have kids get them to stand on the saw horse (or the hayloft) and turn the antenna till it comes in. Then when it does have them hold it there during the game. Just get them a pizza or something, they'll be fine.......

[Max997]

Damnit man. I dug out some un-used equipment out of my barn. A 20" HD TV, Radio Shacks top of the line unidirectional antenna (advertised at ~150 miles), a powered signal booster. RF cables etc...blah blah blah.

 

Why you ask? Because I like watching the games and draining my 16 beers back in my barn...like I used to when analog signals ruled, and before they converted to digital. (prior to June, 09) .

 

Plan was to install the antenna INSIDE the barn since outdoor antennas amoeba themselves out fairly quickly in wind storms. Something I've experienced over the years.

 

Did some testing with the antenna on saw horses...about 3 feet high. I am supposed to get 26 channels here based on web research. Well...I get 25. AND THE ONE CHANNEL I CANNOT GET IS ROC CHANNEL 8....the one that carries the Bills games.

 

My life is horrible.

 

Thanks for listening.

 

Might want to try a couple different locations for the antenna or another antenna...think you can find a decent over the air HD antenna

[jaybee]

Might want to try a couple different locations for the antenna or another antenna...think you can find a decent over the air HD antenna

 

Yea man ! I did that this afternoon. I think its the location of the transmitter. I get EVERYTHING....even with the antenna laying on the ground. And....facing the wrong direction even. This is a brand new Tandy VHF / UHF / FM antenna. Its 15 feet long. The signal is blasting into the tube....except for channel 8.

 

I was up on ladders etc....the whole deal. I DID get the signal with antenna outside at 10 feet. BUT...I know from experience this antenna wont stand up to the wind I get out here. Hence my desire to keep it out of the elements.

 

Me gonna skin this cat if its the last thing I do ! They seem to win when I watch them in the barn so I really gotta make this happen. LOL !

 

Thanks.

 

jb

[BillsfaninMyrtleBeach]

Maybe you could build a copula on top of the barn to enclose the antenna from the wind?

[boyst]

There are ways you can stretch wire out to the antenna to pick up more signal. In Toledo we would get Ft Wayne signals to watch the Colt games by stretching wire around the house with an antenna on top.

I'm VERYJEALOUS that you have a barn.

 

So there's that.

I have 2... So there is that.

[OhIDunno]

 

 

Yea man ! I did that this afternoon. I think its the location of the transmitter. I get EVERYTHING....even with the antenna laying on the ground. And....facing the wrong direction even. This is a brand new Tandy VHF / UHF / FM antenna. Its 15 feet long. The signal is blasting into the tube....except for channel 8.

 

I was up on ladders etc....the whole deal. I DID get the signal with antenna outside at 10 feet. BUT...I know from experience this antenna wont stand up to the wind I get out here. Hence my desire to keep it out of the elements.

 

Me gonna skin this cat if its the last thing I do ! They seem to win when I watch them in the barn so I really gotta make this happen. LOL !

 

Thanks.

 

jb

 

Well.... I wish you luck, if only for your life to not be horrible... And I too wish I had a barn to kick back in!

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

Damnit man. I dug out some un-used equipment out of my barn. A 20" HD TV, Radio Shacks top of the line unidirectional antenna (advertised at ~150 miles), a powered signal booster. RF cables etc...blah blah blah.

 

Why you ask? Because I like watching the games and draining my 16 beers back in my barn...like I used to when analog signals ruled, and before they converted to digital. (prior to June, 09) .

 

Plan was to install the antenna INSIDE the barn since outdoor antennas amoeba themselves out fairly quickly in wind storms. Something I've experienced over the years.

 

Did some testing with the antenna on saw horses...about 3 feet high. I am supposed to get 26 channels here based on web research. Well...I get 25. AND THE ONE CHANNEL I CANNOT GET IS ROC CHANNEL 8....the one that carries the Bills games.

 

My life is horrible.

 

Thanks for listening.

 

16 beers in 3and a half hours? That is some solid work. Any chance you can squint really hard by beer 12 and convince yourself it's the bills on tv? Be it another game, another sport or just static.

[GG]

Try this guy for $10. When broadcasters switched to digital many also switched broadcast frequencies, so the old Ch. 8 may not be broadcasting on the old Ch. 8 band. Try the cheapie in the link. It's about the cost of a 12-pack.

[The Wiz]

Try this guy for $10. When broadcasters switched to digital many also switched broadcast frequencies, so the old Ch. 8 may not be broadcasting on the old Ch. 8 band. Try the cheapie in the link. It's about the cost of a 12-pack.

Also this website has help me in the past if you know what your doing.

 

http://antennaweb.org/Stations.aspx?Address=&City=Rochester&State=NY&ZIP=14623&Housing=S&Accuracy=4&Height=6&Obstructed=False&StationList=&Lat=43.0915814&Lon=-77.6421577

[San Jose Bills Fan]

If you have kids get them to stand on the saw horse (or the hayloft) and turn the antenna till it comes in. Then when it does have them hold it there during the game. Just get them a pizza or something, they'll be fine.......

 

Now we're getting into Green Acres territory.

 

[Nanker]

Well, here's a picture of their broadcast footprint.

So, if you're located north of their transmitter - you could be plain out of luck.

 

"Channel 8" is their virtual channel.

Could be you'll find them on digital Channel 8.1 or 8.2.

Then again, they could be on Channel 45 which is their broadcast channel.

Could be. Just sayin'.

[jaybee]

Well, here's a picture of their broadcast footprint.

So, if you're located north of their transmitter - you could be plain out of luck.

 

"Channel 8" is their virtual channel.

Could be you'll find them on digital Channel 8.1 or 8.2.

Then again, they could be on Channel 45 which is their broadcast channel.

Could be. Just sayin'.

 

Interesting. Thanks for this. I am indeed north of the transmitter. When I experimented with the antenna outdoors it did find (via a to d converter channel search) and receive channel 8.1 and 8.2...WROC. The signal just doesn't seem to be strong enough to be picked up within the confines of the barn. Its the only channel I cant get....and as luck would have it the one the Bills are shown on. I'll fart around with it some more and see what I can do. I dont see why the Bills cant be on channel 10 !!!

 

Thanks everybody !

[Just Jack]

I dont see why the Bills cant be on channel 10 !!!

 

Because CBS has the rights to the Sunday afternoon AFC games, not NBC.

 

http://www.ehow.com/about_4796056_nfl-broadcasting-rules.html

[The Wiz]

Interesting. Thanks for this. I am indeed north of the transmitter. When I experimented with the antenna outdoors it did find (via a to d converter channel search) and receive channel 8.1 and 8.2...WROC. The signal just doesn't seem to be strong enough to be picked up within the confines of the barn. Its the only channel I cant get....and as luck would have it the one the Bills are shown on. I'll fart around with it some more and see what I can do. I dont see why the Bills cant be on channel 10 !!!

 

Thanks everybody !

I'm not sure the quality of your barn but if it's nothing special(a **** shack) to you why not leave the antenna in the barn and cut a part of the wall (2'x3') out and stick up a piece of plexi. Not sure if the signal would be better or not but always another option.

[Nanker]

Here's a nice article that speaks about digital tv transmission and the use of amplifiers. It may or may not help you if you don't get the signal at all. A quick google search produced this array of potential candidates.

 

P.S. Warning: I know next to nothing about TV and digital broadcasting. I was intrigued by your question/plea, and am just trying to help. There are others here that know a lot more about electronics than I do.

 

Good luck, and keep us posted.

[CodeMonkey]

Here is a good one for pointing digital antennas.

http://www.antennapoint.com/

[jaybee]

I'm not sure the quality of your barn but if it's nothing special(a **** shack) to you why not leave the antenna in the barn and cut a part of the wall (2'x3') out and stick up a piece of plexi. Not sure if the signal would be better or not but always another option.

 

Maybe so. Yup.....Its pretty much a sh*t shack as seen in the background here. Too busy planting today to get back to this activity today but I will get back to it. Some beautiful storms today BTW.

 

Much appreciate ALL the replies of ALL you derelicts. And..YES, I will report back when I get this thing sorted out.

 

Many thanks.

 

jb

[Greybeard]

Damnit man. I dug out some un-used equipment out of my barn. A 20" HD TV, Radio Shacks top of the line unidirectional antenna (advertised at ~150 miles), a powered signal booster. RF cables etc...blah blah blah.

 

Why you ask? Because I like watching the games and draining my 16 beers back in my barn...like I used to when analog signals ruled, and before they converted to digital. (prior to June, 09) .

 

Plan was to install the antenna INSIDE the barn since outdoor antennas amoeba themselves out fairly quickly in wind storms. Something I've experienced over the years.

 

Did some testing with the antenna on saw horses...about 3 feet high. I am supposed to get 26 channels here based on web research. Well...I get 25. AND THE ONE CHANNEL I CANNOT GET IS ROC CHANNEL 8....the one that carries the Bills games.

 

My life is horrible.

 

Thanks for listening.

 

Television broadcasting is basically line of sight. The curvature of the earth limits the distance you can receive the signal. So if you want to receive the signal, higher is better. Note that television antenna's are directional so you also have to point in the correct direction. Size/design also matters.

 

When I first moved to Central NY in the 70's, the antenna route was the only way to go. I purchased the largest antenna I could get, and the Rochester signal was still intermittent. There are times you will get some skip and the signal will be better but it never seemed to happen during Bills games.

 

As a side note, when the Bills sucked in the 70's, the games were carried in Syracuse rather infrequently.

[Fan in San Diego]

Maybe so. Yup.....Its pretty much a sh*t shack as seen in the background here. Too busy planting today to get back to this activity today but I will get back to it. Some beautiful storms today BTW.

 

Much appreciate ALL the replies of ALL you derelicts. And..YES, I will report back when I get this thing sorted out.

 

Many thanks.

 

jb

 

That's a nice looking barn IMHO. I'm building one now but it has to be made of steel now in San Diego county. Too many wild fires to build a wooden barn. What are you planting?

[jaybee]

That's a nice looking barn IMHO. I'm building one now but it has to be made of steel now in San Diego county. Too many wild fires to build a wooden barn. What are you planting?

 

Thanks. I like those steel buildings. They look good and seem pretty reasonable ($$) for what they are. Good luck with yours, sir. Planting?...nothing major. I have a couple of veggie gardens I like to fiddle with.

 

 

Last years onion crop !!

 

[Fan in San Diego]

Thanks. I like those steel buildings. They look good and seem pretty reasonable ($$) for what they are. Good luck with yours, sir. Planting?...nothing major. I have a couple of veggie gardens I like to fiddle with.

 

 

Last years onion crop !!

 

 

Nice crop, I'll post some pictures after I get my grapes planted in a few weeks.

[San Jose Bills Fan]

Damn Jaybee.

 

I already told you I was jealous and then you had to post pics!

[Just Jack]

When I first moved to Central NY in the 70's, the antenna route was the only way to go. I purchased the largest antenna I could get, and the Rochester signal was still intermittent. There are times you will get some skip and the signal will be better but it never seemed to happen during Bills games.

 

My parents are still on antennas, north of Syracuse. From time to time when I still lived there, back when it was analog, we'd see what other areas we could pick up, usually just Rochester or Utica. But the most interesting one, and conditions must have been perfect for this skip, we picked up Channel 4 out of south Florida. It wasn't a perfect signal, but it was good enough that if you wanted to watch, you could.

[jaybee]

Damn Jaybee.

 

I already told you I was jealous and then you had to post pics!

 

LOL !!

 

I hung the antenna in the barn as high as I could put it...where it still had room for rotation. Still no channel 8. Again...I get every stinkin channel I'm supposed to get thru the air...except for the one that broadcasts Bills games.

 

I can get the channel 8 signal with the antenna outdoors as tested...and previously mentioned. Like I said also...I know the antenna will get destroyed in short order in the 1st wind storm if I mount it outdoors. Been thru it a time or two already.

 

So....It is time for plan B. I've done a little studying on antenna theory. I am going to try my luck at making a VHF antenna. Out of coat hangers perhaps, or maybe even copper tubing. The cost will be under a 12 pack of Genesee and I can mount it up high and not worry about it getting ruined by the wind. If it does (and hopefully I'll get a signal) I can just make another one but I think hangers will hold up well regardless of conditions.

 

I'm on it !! LOL !

 

jb

[jaybee]

My parents are still on antennas, north of Syracuse. From time to time when I still lived there, back when it was analog, we'd see what other areas we could pick up, usually just Rochester or Utica. But the most interesting one, and conditions must have been perfect for this skip, we picked up Channel 4 out of south Florida. It wasn't a perfect signal, but it was good enough that if you wanted to watch, you could.

 

Right on Jack. I never got south Florida (from here in Rochester) but I got a BUNCH of channels back in analog times with a high end roof antenna. It was cool as hell because when a Bills game didnt sell out I could latch onto the signal out of Syracuse......with a 90% success rate. Also....I got Toronto as clear as a bell and they always had different games on than our local channels here. Even the Buffalo channels (occasionally) had different 4:00pm games. Sometimes better match-ups than the Rochester channel games. Those also came in perfect as well as the Quebec channels. Quebec channels were french speaking....so I never paid much attention to those. They call all of this a high tech endeavor but low tech worked a lot better for me !!

 

jb

[CodeMonkey]

How about a temporary mount? Just keep the mount and mast outdoors and attach the antenna just for the Bills games.

Or even a completely portable one. I built one for a satellite dish that works great.

Edited June 3, 2013 by CodeMonkey

[San Jose Bills Fan]

How about a temporary mount? Just keep the mount and mast outdoors and attach the antenna just for the Bills games.

Or even a completely portable one. I built one for a satellite dish that works great.

 

That's not code compliant in Oklahoma.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(too early?)

[jaybee]

How about a temporary mount? Just keep the mount and mast outdoors and attach the antenna just for the Bills games.

Or even a completely portable one. I built one for a satellite dish that works great.

 

Very good idea, Monkey. My son suggested the same thing and if push comes to shove its certainly a workable solution. I was hoping to not have to do this....but I will if it means watching my boys play some football. Thanks. Neat little mobile unit you've got there btw. Nice work fer sher.

 

jb

[ExiledInIllinois]

 

 

Maybe so. Yup.....Its pretty much a sh*t shack as seen in the background here. Too busy planting today to get back to this activity today but I will get back to it. Some beautiful storms today BTW.

 

Much appreciate ALL the replies of ALL you derelicts. And..YES, I will report back when I get this thing sorted out.

 

Many thanks.

 

jb

 

 

 

Cripes and you are worried... Got all the room in the world. Just put the thing on top of the roof... Maybe "cloak" it into a weathvane or something. Heck, just let it degrade and change it out when that happens... (You) stll saving money OTA.

 

 

 

Very good idea, Monkey. My son suggested the same thing and if push comes to shove its certainly a workable solution. I was hoping to not have to do this....but I will if it means watching my boys play some football. Thanks. Neat little mobile unit you've got there btw. Nice work fer sher.

 

jb

 

Still... Try the cloaking route and disguise it in a weather vane or something? Are you more worried about aesthetics or degradation?

[bigK14094]

We really should discuss the root cause of the reception probem. I live in Niagara County, substantially north of the transmitters for the Buffalo area, which are all south of the city. In fact, we lost the ability to get any (digital) out of the air signals when the mandatory conversion to digital signals was implemented. So, we need to blame the FCC and the federal government in general for this problem. I my case, I bought, tried out, and returned 6 different antenna's, allegedly supposed to bring in digital, none worked and many were intermittant during questionable weather where electrostatic effects wiped out the digital signal. Folks, this was big government at its worst....they are forcing us to go to satellite TV or cable...consider us OTA (out of the Air) folks to be throwbacks and hicks. I now have directv, and it works fine almost all the time. Anyhow, just making the point here, not surprised to hear this war story from central NY....same all over. Many people got hosed by the digital conversion....that was the intent!. Its all about the money folks. The media industry lobbied the FCC to get into your pocketbook!!! They could have mandated higher power levels for digital, but then there would not have been all those new customers for cable and satellite! And, finally, you should be aware that the same lobby is now pushing to ELIMINATE OTA service, as it is a technology whose time is past! (yeh, it is about the money folks)

Edited June 3, 2013 by bigK14094

[CodeMonkey]

That's not code compliant in Oklahoma.

 

Probably not code compliant anywhere, but it works

[Fan in San Diego]

Very good idea, Monkey. My son suggested the same thing and if push comes to shove its certainly a workable solution. I was hoping to not have to do this....but I will if it means watching my boys play some football. Thanks. Neat little mobile unit you've got there btw. Nice work fer sher.

 

jb

 

Have you called the station for Channel 8 and talked to them about your problem? They may have a solution ready to go, you cant be the first person to have this problem.

[RyanC883]

Maybe you could build a copula on top of the barn to enclose the antenna from the wind?

 

Another Bills fan in Pgh. Nice. !

[jaybee]

Have you called the station for Channel 8 and talked to them about your problem? They may have a solution ready to go, you cant be the first person to have this problem.

 

I have not. Good idea though. I have a feeling I know what their answer will be: (buy a roof antenna cheap skate LOL !). Certainly cant hurt to give that a try though.

 

I hate like hell to do it but looking at some of the more recent designs of high gain antennas it looks like there are few that will hold up in wind storms. I may even consider buying one. I'm pretty sure mounted over the top of the barn I'll get channel 8. The one I have looks like this:

 

(Photo from google, not my set up)

 

 

Its a very good antenna but I would not recommend one of these because they are flimsy and fall apart the 1st wind storm you have. I suppose maybe I could try to re-enforce the elements? They are very cheap and flimsy. Not certain which way I'll go here. I've got time thats why I'm doing it now. Dont want to wait till game day week 1...when we destroy the Patriots !

 

I'll get that darn signal one way or another by golly !! LOL !

 

Again many thanks for all your input eveybody.

 

jb

[Greybeard]

I have not. Good idea though. I have a feeling I know what their answer will be: (buy a roof antenna cheap skate LOL !). Certainly cant hurt to give that a try though.

 

I hate like hell to do it but looking at some of the more recent designs of high gain antennas it looks like there are few that will hold up in wind storms. I may even consider buying one. I'm pretty sure mounted over the top of the barn I'll get channel 8. The one I have looks like this:

 

(Photo from google, not my set up)

 

 

Its a very good antenna but I would not recommend one of these because they are flimsy and fall apart the 1st wind storm you have. I suppose maybe I could try to re-enforce the elements? They are very cheap and flimsy. Not certain which way I'll go here. I've got time thats why I'm doing it now. Dont want to wait till game day week 1...when we destroy the Patriots !

 

I'll get that darn signal one way or another by golly !! LOL !

 

Again many thanks for all your input eveybody.

 

jb

 

Looks like the one I had. Very directional. Note that it is mounted to a rotor which I think is a really good idea.