HDTV Forum

I have a situation where my local CBS affiliate seems to have no interest in providing CBS HD programs. I just got thinking of an end run.

I read that the digital CBS affiliate in Spokane, WA KREM-DT may be going to full power this summer. They are on channel 20 with power reported at 893 Kw, and they carry all the CBS HDTV. Their elevation is high as they are on a mountain top(elev.??), and I am on a hill top unobstructed at 520 ft elevation. However the distance is 130 miles.

Is there any chance of picking them up, or is this beyond the UHF propagation possibility considering the digital cliff where reception just stops at a minimum signal strength?

Many years ago in the early days of analog many here picked up their channel 2, but that is a different propagation story in the low VHF band and analog tolerates a little snow.

Don,
I can at most times get a digital station out of Paducah, Kentucky which is 136 miles away from my house. I have to use my rotor and point the antenna toward the south to get it but I can get it. I have watch it a few times but it is an NBC station and I already can get the St. Louis NBC channel with good results so I just have not watched it that much. It sounds like you are in a pretty good location and I would bet that you may be able to get it. Good luck to you.

Don- In most cases the FCC sets TV power limits so as to limit reception to 60 miles, though not necessarily 100% of every place within that radius. In hilly regions more power is allowed so that more signal reaches into the valleys that are within 60 miles. As a result, people who live on hilltops far beyond 60 miles often get good reception.

In the general case, people beyond 60 miles should not expect useful reception. For those that can, most of them will see dropouts occasionally, perhaps 1 day in 10, perhaps worse.

An exception is when the receiving antenna can see the transmitting antenna. In this case there is no distance limit, though a 16-bay or 32-bay might be necessary for dropout-free reception.

I once consulted with a guy who was often getting UHF DTV stations 160 miles away. I am not sure how often his reception was dropout-free, but I doubt it was very often. Due to a fluke of geography the only obstacle in his path was the curvature of the Earth, and the midpoint of the path was the Sacramento Delta, a very flat place. His antenna was a 4228 about 3 feet above the ground. An 8-bay can be as strong as a 32-bay if it catches the ground refection just right.

For most people the odds of getting good reception beyond 100 miles is far below 1%. But if you can get channel 2 with only a little snow then your odds are much better than that. -Ken

Ken, thanks for the expert info as always. Spokane is about 2000 feet elevation and the KREM-DT tower considerably higher- probably at least 2000 feet higher than me and all downhill. However they might aim their transmission horizon low and block me. Probably contact their engineer when they are running.

I still have my 25 element corner reflector UHF and a spare 7777 preamp. So when they go up to full power, I can do a temp install and test for a "hint" on my meter. I detected channel 8 from 66 miles as a "10 to 20" on my meter on that UHF antenna without a preamp and it was 40 degrees off azimuth too. With a new antenna and 7777 they lock at "85" now. They have only a 6Kw power I read.

So if the test towards Spokane shows even any detectable signal I may invest in an GOOD antenna. That seems the only way to get CBS HD. Dropouts 1 day in 10 would be fantastic! It's a fun puzzle anyway.

Don