TV broadcast reception in the Cookeville area and emergency communications (Knoxville: house, buying)

[Jumeby]

I currently have Dish satellite service and my house does not currently have a TV antenna but I have noticed many homes do have an antenna. So I did a look-up on TV Fool for local broadcasts that I should be capable of receiving (depending on the antenna location and height) and it claims I should have access to ~40 broadcast stations. So I was just curious if anyone receives local TV broadcast stations, what set-up they use and how well it works?

On a slightly related subject ...
What would you use for emergency communications if normal communications (landline telephone, Cell Phone, Internet) was down? I guess this might have been an issue last winter when we had the severe ice storms and power went out for extended periods in some areas. Do people use HAM radios, CB and other hand radios or other means? What does Putnam county 911 services use as a back-up? I would imagine they use HAM radio in conjunction with the local HAM radio operators. So there is back-up emergency communications with 911 and then there is back-up communications with non-emergency people including family and friends.

[Sparkman]

Do not believe TV Fool, they will tell you that Nashville, Chattanooga and Knoxville stations are available OTA. They truth is none of these can be received. The only station you can get OTA is the Cookeville PBS station, WCTE, ch 22. GO to antennaweb.org and type in the exact address and you will get a much better list.

[RestArea]

Originally Posted by Sparkman

Do not believe TV Fool, they will tell you that Nashville, Chattanooga and Knoxville stations are available OTA. They truth is none of these can be received. The only station you can get OTA is the Cookeville PBS station, WCTE, ch 22. GO to antennaweb.org and type in the exact address and you will get a much better list.

There is something very wrong with antennaweb.

Right now at my current and soon to be abandoned location, I am getting all the major TV channels OTA using a high gain UHF antenna mounted at 25 ft. There are a couple of hundred feet of trees between the antenna and clear air. All the stations are on Sharps Ridge in Knoxville, except Crossville 20 which we receive off the back of the antenna. The antenna is pointed directly at Sharps Ridge.

According to antennaweb, we can't get any signal here. On the other hand, TVFool's two inner circles accurately predict our actual reception.

I installed the antenna five years ago. As I recall, antennaweb was much more accurate back then, indicating that we would receive at least some of the channels. Something has changed.



.

[Sparkman]

Originally Posted by RestArea

There is something very wrong with antennaweb.

Right now at my current and soon to be abandoned location, I am getting all the major TV channels OTA using a high gain UHF antenna mounted at 25 ft. There are a couple of hundred feet of trees between the antenna and clear air. All the stations are on Sharps Ridge in Knoxville, except Crossville 20 which we receive off the back of the antenna. The antenna is pointed directly at Sharps Ridge.

According to antennaweb, we can't get any signal here. On the other hand, TVFool's two inner circles accurately predict our actual reception.

I installed the antenna five years ago. As I recall, antennaweb was much more accurate back then, indicating that we would receive at least some of the channels. Something has changed.



.

What part of Cookeville do you live in? Or are you up on the Plateau?

[Jumeby]

I'm not in the Cookeville city limits. I'm about 10 miles south west on a ridge and probably a clear line of sight over Center Hill Lake. I do notice several homes in my area with tv antennas so I would imagine they get more than just one station unless these antennas are old installs when non digital broadcasting was mainstream and could be picked up.

[Sparkman]

I was wondering what area RestArea was in. I can't imagine anywhere down the plateau picking up anything from Knoxville.

[RestArea]

I'm moving to the Plateau, but right now I'm closer to Knoxville than Crossville. I was trying to point out that antennaweb seems to have issues right now, but wasn't too clear in how I said it.

Basically, it is claiming that my current location can't get any stations, while we actually do quite well. That is a change from what it used to say. Based on what I am seeing here, I don't trust their system.

TVFool seems accurate but is much harder for the average person to understand, since it shows all stations for any given location, including those that would take exceptional measures to bring in due to very weak signals and distant interfering stations.

Here is what TVFool says regarding its results:

How to Read the Signal Analysis

The Signal Analysis Report lists the broadcasters in your area, ranked from strongest to weakest, according to 3D propagation modeling of the location and height (optional) that you entered. The background color of each transmitter in the table will be color coded as follows:

Background color

Green - An indoor "set-top" antenna is probably sufficient to pick up these channels

Yellow - An attic-mounted antenna is probably needed to pick up channels at this level and above

Red - A roof-mounted antenna is probably needed to pick up channels at this level and above

Grey - These channels are very weak and will most likely require extreme measures to try and pick them up

Please understand that this is a simulation and can only be treated as a rough approximation. Reception at your location is affected by many factors such as multipath, antenna gain, receiver sensitivity, buildings, and trees - which are not taken into account. Your mileage may vary.

Bear in mind that while TVFool is accurate for me down here, I have a very high gain antenna mounted above my roof, which TVFool is not taking into account.

My synopsis is as follows. Antennaweb is grossly pessimistic with its predictions. TVFool is somewhat optimistic and its results which require an antenna require a properly installed high gain antenna, not an el cheapo from the box store.

Sorry if any of this is confusing.

[Sparkman]

I have used TV Fool before and in town in Cookeville I've had very poor luck getting anything but Ch 22.
I could invest some $$ in a little better antenna, but have decided that it's really not worth it. Disappointing since I moved here from an area halfway between Chicago & Milwaukee and received both cities OTA perfectly with an roof based antenna with a rotor.

[Jumeby]

Originally Posted by RestArea

I'm moving to the Plateau, but right now I'm closer to Knoxville than Crossville. I was trying to point out that antennaweb seems to have issues right now, but wasn't too clear in how I said it.

Basically, it is claiming that my current location can't get any stations, while we actually do quite well. That is a change from what it used to say. Based on what I am seeing here, I don't trust their system.

TVFool seems accurate but is much harder for the average person to understand, since it shows all stations for any given location, including those that would take exceptional measures to bring in due to very weak signals and distant interfering stations.

Here is what TVFool says regarding its results:

How to Read the Signal Analysis

The Signal Analysis Report lists the broadcasters in your area, ranked from strongest to weakest, according to 3D propagation modeling of the location and height (optional) that you entered. The background color of each transmitter in the table will be color coded as follows:

Background color

Green - An indoor "set-top" antenna is probably sufficient to pick up these channels

Yellow - An attic-mounted antenna is probably needed to pick up channels at this level and above

Red - A roof-mounted antenna is probably needed to pick up channels at this level and above

Grey - These channels are very weak and will most likely require extreme measures to try and pick them up

Please understand that this is a simulation and can only be treated as a rough approximation. Reception at your location is affected by many factors such as multipath, antenna gain, receiver sensitivity, buildings, and trees - which are not taken into account. Your mileage may vary.

Bear in mind that while TVFool is accurate for me down here, I have a very high gain antenna mounted above my roof, which TVFool is not taking into account.

My synopsis is as follows. Antennaweb is grossly pessimistic with its predictions. TVFool is somewhat optimistic and its results which require an antenna require a properly installed high gain antenna, not an el cheapo from the box store.

Sorry if any of this is confusing.

This is the kind of information I was looking for. Thanks!

Out of the ~40 broadcast stations TVFool listed the majority are color coded grey with 10 broadcasts above -10dB signal strength. The 10 broadcasts include the major networks.

I was thinking about finding an antenna tower that could raise a decent high gain antenna up over 30ft. I was also thinking about mounting communication antenna(s).

[RestArea]

Originally Posted by Jumeby

This is the kind of information I was looking for. Thanks!

Out of the ~40 broadcast stations TVFool listed the majority are color coded grey with 10 broadcasts above -10dB signal strength. The 10 broadcasts include the major networks.

I was thinking about finding an antenna tower that could raise a decent high gain antenna up over 30ft. I was also thinking about mounting communication antenna(s).

What column is that -10 db coming from? Is it from NM or Pwr? If it is from Pwr it must be a typo and you mean -110 db. Either way, those aren't good numbers.

If you plan on installing a tower, I highly recommend the Rohn 25G series. I have installed a number of them. They are often guyed, but can be installed freestanding at lower heights. They can also be braced against a structure by the use of a house bracket.

We used to do 35 foot high 25Gs by buying three standard 10 foot sections and one top section. We then dug a 4' x 4' hole six feet deep, tamped 12 inches of gravel into the bottom, and buried one of the 10' standard sections in five feet of concrete with plenty of rebar. I had one of those come through a hurricane unscathed.