Digital TV great until it isn't; Boston stations report issues with antenna

The issue is two fold:

1. The repack on 8/2 moved the channels from UHF to lower (& less desirable) frequencies in the VHF band. As a result, some will need to get VHF antennas--which are the old rabbit ears. (Channels 7 & 56 weren't impacted by this repack, and it's likely you'll still have great reception for these channels.)

2. It seems that since the repack, all of the switched channels (pbs, cbs, abc, nbc & fox) appear to be running at low power for some reason. A conspiracy theorist would likely say the networks are intentionally making it difficult/impossible to receive the OTA signal, as they want you to switch to cable or satellite (where they get $2-3/month per network in carriage fees)

I'd STRONGLY urge people with signal issues to complain to Congress & our AG because without complaints they have zero incentive to boost their signal. It's insane that practically no one in the city of Boston is able to receive local tv stations, especially since the towers in Needham are only ~10 miles outside the city!

I'm in Marlborough. I lost the HD version of 2 and 44, but I have the sub-channels. I also lost 27, and that had always been the strongest channel, digital or analog. I agree with roadman that 38 is gonzo. However, 25 comes in better than ever. When I was first rescanning, It took me three tries to get both 4 and 5. Other channels are about the same as before. In my location, reception can be iffy at times, but it would be nice to have the channels to begin with. The TV is in my kitchen as a backup and to watch some programs when I am in the kitchen.

For antennas, get the ones with poles that you can move around. The flat ones are useless.

Yes - there's a real reason why almost all of us outside Boston lost access to the HD signal (channel 2.1). WGBH lost signal strength and coverage when it changed its frequency, due to the spectrum allocation auction. The REAL problem is that the FCC won't allow WGBH to install repeater stations. This is a problem all over the region affecting several stations. WGBH's suggestion is to contact your congressional and senate offices. Senator Markey is on the telecommunications committee.

Contact engineering manager at tv wcvb under "contact us" on their web page. They will give you a complete explanation of what's happening. They are operating on a low auxiliary antenna and they don't have a date when the station will be back.

Maybe they don't care. After all, if you can't afford cable you probably won't buy their junk either.

In a nutshell: over time the FCC has been taking "spectrum" that was previously allocated to TV broadcasting and selling it off for other uses.

This has been made possible by the nature of digital television transmission. In analog, you needed a lot of space between channels so they wouldn't interfere with each other. With digital, you can put stations right next to each other without interference. Therefore, the FCC has been "repacking" TV stations into lower frequencies that are right on top of each other so that the higher frequencies can be sold off.

What is monumentally confusing about all this is that the number associate with the station's brand no longer has any connection to the actual frequencies those stations used to use in the analog days. For example, WCVB still brands itself as "Channel 5", but here in the digital era they actually broadcast on the frequencies that would have been considered Ch. 33 back in the analog era.

I know all this because I work with wireless microphones, and most of them operate on the same frequencies at UHF television. We need to keep up with what TV transmitters are moving where so that we can avoid those frequencies for our mics. As the FCC has been slowly selling off more and more spectrum, more and more of our wireless kits are becoming illegal to use in the sold-off parts of the spectrum, and it's harder and harder to find unused space in the legal part.

The Fenway only gets 7 & 56 reliably and one or two of those Dominican rebroadcast channels that I think use the same tower as 7 & 56. Unless there are helicopters overhead for the Red Sox games. Then there isn't any reception anymore. =(

Or change entirely, either way is okay with me.

You should point to something newer than a 6.5 year old article.

I'm in the burbs and I can't even pull up one channel that doesn't go in and out.
I had to watch Jerry Springer and Maury this afternoon on channel 56 as that was the best reception I could get. I wish the guests wouldn't shout so much!

I guess we will have to watch TV/Movies on Amazon Prime and listen to talk radio from 8 pm on (WBZ) The cost is less than cable...

Goodbye, TV.

Ask the Manager!

Update:

I decided to try a new antenna, a small plug-in amplifier with rabbit airs and I was able to put it way up high and near a window.

Before connecting the new antenna however, I scanned (with no antenna connected twice, once for air and once for cable. Then connected the new antenna and scanned for air one more time.

Success! Decent reception and I am picking up the court tv.

So, don't give up yet.

While longer wavelengths are easier to transmit and receive, they also require larger antennas with longer elements. In particular, low-VHF (RF channels 2-6) frequencies, 54-88MHz, require antennas that are 6-8ft. wide--which makes them unpopular among HOAs, historical societies, and even some municipalities. Consequently, most OTA antennas manufactured today make no attempt to support low-VHF channels; in order to minimize their visual impact and maximize their potential customer base, some don't even support high-VHF (RF channels 7-13, 174-216MHz, which require antenna elements that are about 3ft. wide), and limit themselves to UHF frequencies.

Prior to this market's recent repack, only WENH (NH PBS) was broadcasting in the VHF band, on high-VHF channel 11. Fortunately, only a small number of channels have now joined it: WPRI 12.x (CBS Providence) on high-VHF 7, and WGBH-HD 2.1 and WGBX-HD 44.1 (PBS Boston) on low-VHF 5. So if a rescan isn't bringing back these particular stations, the problem is likely that your antenna simply isn't capable of receiving signals in those bands.

Watching the Pats game last night and all of a sudden Plex reported the dreaded weak signal. Switched over to locast to finish watching the game, thank God for that app. Re-scanned this morning and completely lost all Boston stations with the exception of channel 7. I've never had an issue with CBS in the past. Do they switch over to lower power on nights and weekends? That seems to be when I have all the problems. Will try rescanning Monday morning.