over-the-air television - tucson computer society - … · •implementing over-the-air television...

1

OVER-THE-AIR

TELEVISION

http://aztcs.org/

http://aztcs.org/

2

Web location for this

presentation:

http://aztcs.orgClick on

“Meeting Notes”

3

SUMMARY

You can ditch your cable,

satellite, or phone company's

expensive television service by

receiving high definition

television stations over-the- air

for free (= "cord cutting").

4

TOPICS

• Television Systems Around the

World

• ATSC Basics

• Implementing Over-The-Air

Television At Your Home

• Internet-based Site Survey

5

TOPICS (continued)

• Antenna Basics

• Antenna Placement

Complexities

• "Do It Yourself" Stick Antennas

• "Do It Yourself" Array Antennas

6

TOPICS (continued)

• Antennas Direct's

"Clearstream Eclipse"

Amplified Antenna

• Mohu's "Sky 60" Amplified

Antenna

• Hauppauge 1191 WinTV-HVR-

950Q USB TV Tuner

7

TV STANDARDS AROUND THE

WORLD

• Most of the world does not use the

"ATSC" television standard that we

use in the United States, Canada,

and Mexico as shown in the colored

map at

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVB-

T#Countries_and_territories_using_D

VB-T

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVB-T#Countries_and_territories_using_DVB-T

9


WORLD (continued)• "DTMB"

= "Digital Terrestrial Multimedia

Broadcast"

(Mainland China and Cuba)

• "ISDB-T"

= "Brazilian Digital Television

System"

(South America and Central America)

10

TV STANDARDS AROUND THE WORLD

(continued)• "DVB-T"

= "Digital Video Broadcasting -

Terrestrial"

(Europe, Africa, and Southeast Asia)

• "DVB-T"

is also called "DTT" in Germany

(= "Digital Terrestrial Television")

• "DVB-T"

is also called "Freeview"

in the United Kingdom

11


WORLD (continued)

• When buying television equipment

online or downloading television

software for a computer, tablet, or

cell phone, it is easy to accidently

end up with equipment or software

that is not compatible with the ATSC

television systems here in the United

States

12


WORLD (continued)

• If a television device or software

does not have "ATSC" in it's

specifications, it will not work

here in the United States

15

ATSC

• "ATSC" stands for

"Advanced Television Systems

Committee" and it is sometimes

called "digital television"

• The former "NTSC" standard

stood for "National Television

Systems Committee" and it was

often called "analog television"

16

ATSC (continued)

• According to

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AT

SC_standards

ATSC replaced much of the

analog NTSC television

system in the United States on

June 12, 2009..

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATSC_standards

17

ATSC (continued)

• On September 1, 2015, all

remaining low-powered NTSC

television stations in the

United States were either

turned off or converted to low-

powered ATSC television

stations.

18

ATSC (continued)• ATSC uses

8VSB

(8-level vestigial sideband

modulation)

In some software, "8VSB" is used

as a configuration selection instead

of "ATSC" so be sure to select

"8VSB", if you are given a choice

when configuring a TV or software

19

ATSC (continued)

• Dash nomenclature in FCC

assigned call signs

-TV means "television station"

-LP means "low power station"

-CA means "Class A low power"

-DT means "digital television"

-HD means "high definition"

-SD means "standard definition"

20

ATSC (continued)• RF channel number

and

RF channel frequency

and

FCC assigned call sign (K* or W*)

and

FCC assigned virtual channel

number (= PSIP channel number)

are the same for all sub-channels

21

ATSC (continued)

• "PSIP" means

"Program and System

Information Protocol"

This information consists of a set

of tables that is constantly

transmitted by every ATSC

television transmitter.

22

ATSC (continued)

• The "PSIP virtual channel" and the

"PSIP virtual subchannel" is

displayed by set top boxes, TVs, and

software in one of four formats:

12.1, 12-1, 12-001, or 12001

• When television viewers say

"channel", they usually mean the

"PSIP virtual channel" and the "PSIP

virtual subchannel"

23

ATSC (continued)

• The "PSIP Short Name"

is usually also displayed by set top

boxes, TVs, and software:

Can be up to 7 characters.

Some software and some of the

cheaper set top boxes display the

"PSIP short name" in the channel

field or instead of the "PSIP channel

and PSIP subchannel"

24

IMPLEMENTING OVER-THE-AIR

TELEVISION AT YOUR HOME• Step 1:

Internet-based site survey

• Step 2:

Pilot test of actual television reception

• Step 3:

Procure equipment and software

• Step 4:

Install and configure equipment and

software

25

STEP 1 DETAILS

: INTERNET-BASED SITE SURVEY

• Start off by getting a "short list"

of viable television channels at

http://antennaweb.org/Address


31

STEP 1 DETAILS:

INTERNET-BASED SITE SURVEY

• At http://antennaweb.org/Address

the color code for each of the listed

stations represents the type of

outdoor antenna that is required as

described at

http://antennaweb.org/Info/AntennaIn

fo:


http://antennaweb.org/Info/AntennaInfo

34

STEP 1 DETAILS: INTERNET-BASED

SITE SURVEY (continued)

• Then, get more details for your

specific location by running the

more-elaborate site surveys at

http://copradar.com/dtv/index.html

or

http://www.tvfool.com/index.php?opti

on=com_wrapper&Itemid=29


http://www.tvfool.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29

35



• http://copradar.com/dtv/index.html

only shows the

"PSIP virtual channel" for each

television station that you can

receive.

They call the "PSIP virtual

channel" the "TV Channel":


36




only shows the true heading for

each television transmitter.

After they show you a list of

television stations, click twice on

heading of the "Signal" column to

sort from strongest to weakest.


37




gives you a more accurate and more

up-to-date listing of "PSIP virtual

channels" relative to

http://www.tvfool.com/index.php?opti




42



• http://www.tvfool.com/index.php?

option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29

only shows the "PSIP virtual

channel" and the first "PSIP

virtual sub-channel" of each

television station that you can

receive.


43



• http://www.tvfool.com/index.php?opti


shows both the true heading and the

magnetic compass heading for each

television transmitter.

The list of television stations is

automatically sorted by their estimate

of signal strength:


48

STEP 2 DETAILS: PILOT TEST

• Borrow or rent a television set (or a computer with a television tuner) and perform an on-site pilot test to check television reception at your location.

• Build a simple "stick antenna" if you do not already have an existing television antenna.

49

ANTENNA BASICS

• Place the antenna on the side

of your house that is nearest

the transmitters of the

television stations that you

wish to receive.

50

ANTENNA BASICS (continued)

• With the exception of the

simple stick antenna (which

you can build), most antennas

are directional (even if the

manufacturer claims that it is

omnidirectional)

51


• Use the RF channel of a

television station instead of the

(displayed) virtual channel to

determine if you need an antenna

that emphasizes VHF or UHF

reception:

52


• If your antenna comes with an

amplifier or you add an amplifier

to an existing antenna, the

amplifier needs to be placed as

close as possible to the antenna

(with as short a run of coaxial

cable between the antenna and

the amplifier as possible)

53


• Use RG 6 coaxial cable instead

of RG 59 coaxial cable, since

RG 6 has much lower signal loss

55

ANTENNA BASICS (continued)• When your power adapter or your

cable going to your power adapter

or your amplifier (if there is one)

fails, you will be unable to receive

any television channels.

However, you can use the antenna

without the amplifier as follows

(while waiting for replacement

parts to arrive):

56


• Using your amplified antenna

without the amplifier will usually

reduce the number of television

channels that you can receive:

58


• For each "channel", your television

set needs to receive a signal from

-5 dBm to -65 dBm

("dBm" =

"decibels relative to a milliwatt")

The following chart can be found at

http://copradar.com/dtv/index.html#

install:

http://copradar.com/dtv/index.html#install

60


• The channel listing tool at

http://www.tvfool.com/index.php?

option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29

will show you an estimate of the

dBm value for each television

station that you can receive at

your location.


62


• The size and design complexity

of an antenna is more

important than whether on not

it has an amplifier:

• To illustrate this, look at

Antenna Direct's line of

antennas:

63


• Antenna Direct's 25-mile antenna

is not amplified:

66



is amplified:

69



is not amplified:

72



is not amplified:

75

ANTENNA PLACEMENT

COMPLEXITIES

• According to

http://www.hdtvprimer.com/antenna

s/siting.html:

http://www.hdtvprimer.com/antennas/siting.html

76

ANTENNA PLACEMENT

COMPLEXITIES (continued)

• <start of quote>:

Diffraction is the ability of a wave to

bend around into the shadow formed

by an obstruction. It doesn’t matter

whether it is an absorbing or

reflecting obstruction. Most OTA

viewers depend on diffraction for their

reception:

<end of quote>

77

ANTENNA PLACEMENT


• Tangent (opposite over adjacent) of

0.025 for 40 mile distance

and a 1 mile high antenna site:

Result =1.43 degrees

Reference:

http://www.rapidtables.com/calc/mat

h/Tan_Calculator.htm

http://www.rapidtables.com/calc/math/Tan_Calculator.htm

78

40 Miles distance to Mount Wilson

Location of television set in mid-Orange County

Television transmitter altitude is 1 mile upat Mount Wilson

adjacent side of triangle

opposite side

Upward slope of 1.43 degrees

79

ANTENNA PLACEMENT


• At the very shallow slope of travel of

1.43 degrees, when the antenna is

placed below the prevailing roof

height of your neighborhood, the

signal then has to travel through

dozens of houses before getting a

clean path to Mount Wilson

80

ANTENNA PLACEMENT


• The Federal Communications

Commission (FCC) has their own

mapping and channel listing tool at

http://transition.fcc.gov/mb/engineerin

g/dtvmaps/

that we can use for illustrate the

shallow slope of travel for television

stations:

http://transition.fcc.gov/mb/engineering/dtvmaps/

82

ANTENNA PLACEMENT


• Enter in your address

• Click on the "Go" button

88

ANTENNA PLACEMENT


• Use the + button to zoom in

• Select satellite view from the pull-

down in the upper-right corner of

the map

• Click on the call sign of a television

station

• A black line shows the "line of sight"

path from the transmitter:

98

"DO IT YOURSELF" STICK ANTENNA

• 15 Mt. Wilson/Mt. Harvard

television stations received in

Huntington Beach, California:

99


(continued)

• Virtual channel 2.x KCBS-HD

• Virtual channel 4.x KNBC

• Virtual channel 5.x KTLA

• Virtual channel 9.x KCAL-TV

• Virtual channel 13.x KCOP-TV

• Virtual channel 18.x KSCI

100


(continued)

• Virtual channel 28.x KCET

• Virtual channel 34.x KMEX-DT

• Virtual channel 40.x KTBN-TV

• Virtual channel 44.x KXLA

• Virtual channel 46.x KFTR-DT

• Virtual channel 50.x KOCE-TV

101


(continued)

• Virtual channel 52.x KVEA

• Virtual channel 58.x KLCS

• Virtual channel 63.x KBEH

105


(continued)

• Remove the F-connector from

one end of a RG6 coaxial cable

• Remove 36-inches of outer

insulation

• Remove 36-inches of braided

shield

• Remove 36-inches of foil shield

106


(continued)

• Remove 35 inches of insulation

from the center conductor

• Make sure that the braided shield

and the foil shield do not touch

the center conductor

• Attach something to the end for

safety to prevent poking

someone in the eye

107


(continued)

• Lowest possible cost

• This antenna is multidirectional

and does not have to be

pointed toward the television

transmitters

108


(continued)

• At less than 15 miles from a

television transmitter, anything

else is probably overkill

• At greater than 15 miles from

the transmitter, this antenna

will fail to pick up the weaker

TV stations

109


(continued)

• Easiest antenna to conceal in

a window

• Use this antenna as a baseline

for evaluating other antennas

110


(continued)• Use this antenna as a baseline

for evaluating other antennas:

Since this antenna is not

amplified and has no technical

complexity, it will not have

designed-in failures to receive

specific RF television

channels.

111

"DO IT YOURSELF" ARRAY

ANTENNAS

• This "bow tie antenna" is a

popular home-built antenna

that we found in the attics of

several homes while we were

house hunting in Orange

County in 2013:

112


ANTENNAS

• All of the "elements" of this

antenna should be 8-inches in

length and the adjacent tips

should all be 3-inches apart

from each other

113


ANTENNAS

• The elements can be made from

electrical wire or coat hangers.

If you use coat hangers, you

have to use sandpaper or paint

remover to remove the finish from

the center of each v-shaped

element.

116


ANTENNAS (continued)

• For detailed instructions and

designs for making a bow tie

antenna from wires, see

http://www.popularmechanics.

com/culture/tv/how-

to/a6608/build-your-own-

digital-tv-antenna/

http://www.popularmechanics.com/culture/tv/how-to/a6608/build-your-own-digital-tv-antenna/

117



• Or see

http://www.diytvantennas.com/

bowtie.php

• Or see

http://m4antenna.eastmasonvil

leweather.com/

http://www.diytvantennas.com/bowtie.php

http://m4antenna.eastmasonvilleweather.com/

118



• Or see

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag

/ditch-cable-diy-hdtv-antenna/

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/ditch-cable-diy-hdtv-antenna/

119


ANTENNAS

• A bow tie antenna can also be

made from aluminum foil:

121



• For instructions on making a

bow tie antenna from

aluminum foil, see

http://hubpages.com/art/make-

this-powerful-hdtv-antenna-

out-of-cardboard

http://hubpages.com/art/make-this-powerful-hdtv-antenna-out-of-cardboard

122



• Or see

http://www.instructables.com/id

/Powerful-Modern-Homemade-

HDTV-Antenna/

http://www.instructables.com/id/Powerful-Modern-Homemade-HDTV-Antenna/

123



• For additional antenna

designs, see

http://www.diytvantennas.com/i

ndex.php

and


dipole.php

http://www.diytvantennas.com/index.php

http://www.diytvantennas.com/dipole.php

124



• and


sbgh.php

http://www.diytvantennas.com/sbgh.php

125



• All of these antennas require a

balun matching transformer

such as the RCA model

VH54R:

129



• See http://www.amazon.com/RCA-

VH54R-Matching-Transformer--

VH54R/dp/B00005T3EY/ref=sr_1_4?

ie=UTF8&qid=1458611243&sr=8-

4&keywords=balun+for+antenna

http://www.amazon.com/RCA-VH54R-Matching-Transformer--VH54R/dp/B00005T3EY/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1458611243&sr=8-4&keywords=balun+for+antenna

130

ANTENNAS DIRECT

"CLEARSTREAM ECLIPSE"

• 25 Mt. Wilson/Mt. Harvard stations

received in Huntington Beach,

California

• In the following list of television

stations, the ones that we were

unable to receive by means of the

unamplified stick antenna are in

red font:

131

ANTENNAS DIRECT "CLEARSTREAM

ECLIPSE" (continued)• Virtual channel 2.x KCBS-TV



• Virtual channel 7.x KABC-TV


• Virtual channel 11.x KTTV


132


ECLIPSE" (continued)• Virtual channel 18.x KSCI

• Virtual channel 20.x KNLA-CD

• Virtual channel 22.x KWHY-TV

• Virtual channel 25.x KNET-CD


• Virtual channel 30.x KPXN-TV


133


ECLIPSE" (continued)

• Virtual channel 35.x KTAV-LD






• Virtual channel 57.x KJLA

134




• Virtual channel 62.x KRCA


• Virtual channel 64.x KILM

138

ANTENNAS DIRECT


(continued)

Many rave reviews:

• http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/b

est-indoor-hdtv-antenna/

• http://www.businessinsider.com/b

est-hdtv-antenna-indoor-buying-

guide-2016-2

http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-indoor-hdtv-antenna/

http://www.businessinsider.com/best-hdtv-antenna-indoor-buying-guide-2016-2

139

ANTENNAS DIRECT


• http://the-

gadgeteer.com/2014/09/29/clearst

ream-eclipse-hdtv-amplified-

indoor-antenna-review/

• http://www.gadgetreview.com/free

-tv-is-the-best-tv-so-says-the-

clearstream-eclipse-amplified-

indoor-tv-antenna

http://the-gadgeteer.com/2014/09/29/clearstream-eclipse-hdtv-amplified-indoor-antenna-review/

http://www.gadgetreview.com/free-tv-is-the-best-tv-so-says-the-clearstream-eclipse-amplified-indoor-tv-antenna

140



• Has a "lifetime" warranty which

implies a warranty without an

expiration date

• Failed after one week of use

(and we returned it to Amazon

when it's amplifier apparently

failed")

141



• This antenna is truly

multidirectional and does not have

to be pointed toward the television

transmitter.

142



• Smallest possible design for an

amplified antenna:

Easy to conceal in a window

143



• Works horribly when the bundled

amplifier is not installed:

Unable to simulate a simple,

unamplified stick antenna when

the bundled amplifier is not

installed

144

MOHU "SKY 60"

• 25 Mt. Wilson/Mt. Harvard ATSC

television stations received in

Huntington Beach, CA:

• In the following list of television

stations, the ones that we were

unable to receive by means of the

unamplified stick antenna are in

red font:

145

MOHU "SKY 60" (continued)

• Virtual channel 2.x KCBS-TV



• Virtual channel 7.x KABC-TV


• Virtual channel 11.x KTTV


146


• Virtual channel 18.x KSCI

• Virtual channel 20.x KNLA-CD

• Virtual channel 22.x KWHY-TV

• Virtual channel 25.x KNET-CD


• Virtual channel 30.x KPXN-TV


147


• Virtual channel 35.x KTAV-LD






• Virtual channel 57.x KJLA

148



• Virtual channel 62.x KRCA


• Virtual channel 64.x KILM

149


• Has a one-year warranty

• Still working fine after 14 months

of use

154


• Many of their "marketing" claims

(at gomohu.com and amazon.com

for this antenna are totally

erroneous and ludicrous) and

these claims detract from the end

user's perception of an otherwise

great product:

155


• <Start of quote:> Free TV For Life:

60 mile range HDTV Antenna to

access High Definition Over-the-

Air TV channels without a cable or

satellite subscription, including

ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, Fox,

Univision and more

156


• Crystal-Clear TV for Free:

CleanPeak Filter technology filters

out cellular and FM signals

resulting in low noise, a clearer

picture and access to more free

hdtv channels in 1080 HD

157


• A Completely New Take on the

Roof Top / Attic Mounted HDTV

Antenna: derived from advanced

US military technology,...

158


• TV Antenna comes with a 1-

year Warranty. Email us at

[email protected] for help

setting up your product. You can

also visit www.gomohu.com or call

1-855-4GOMOHU (855-446-6648)

<end of quote>

159


• See

http://www.k3dav.com/mohusky60

antenna.htm

for a very negative review of this

antenna

http://www.k3dav.com/mohusky60antenna.htm

160


• Fairly large-sized relative to other

amplified antennas:

Hard to conceal in a window

161


• Works well when the bundled

amplifier is not installed:

This antenna is able to simulate a

simple, unamplified stick antenna

when the bundled amplifier is not

installed. (In contrast, the Antenna

Specialists "Eclipse" is unable to

do so.)

162


• The manufacturer claims that this

antenna is multidirectional.

However, when we turned the

"front" side away from the

television transmitter site, we lost

reception from three of the

television transmitters on Mount

Wilson.

163


• (In contrast, the Antenna

Specialist "Eclipse" is a truly

multidirectional antenna.)

164

MOHU "SKY 60" (continued)• Mixed reviews at Amazon are

probably due to the relatively high

price compared to other models

both by Mohu and by competitors:

http://www.amazon.com/Mohu-

Lightweight-Detachable-

Performance-MH-110585/product-

reviews/B00AVWKUXE?pageNum

ber=2

http://www.amazon.com/Mohu-Lightweight-Detachable-Performance-MH-110585/product-reviews/B00AVWKUXE?pageNumber=2

165

INTERFERENCE ISSUES OF

MULTIPLE ANTENNAS

• When we placed next the Mohu "Sky

60" near an Antennas Direct

"Clearstream Eclipse" antenna, the

two antennas interfered with each

other unless we provided at least 11

inches of separation between the

edges of the two antennas AND kept

them in the same vertical radius

relative to the earth.

166

INTERFERENCE ISSUES OF

MULTIPLE ANTENNAS (continued)

• When we placed the Mohu antenna

above the "Eclipse" antenna (with

11 inches of separation), both

antennas worked well when we

turned to "SkyHD" horizontal

relative to the ground and the

"Eclipse" was in its normal vertical

orientation.

167

HAUPPAUGE 1191 WinTV-HVR-950Q

USB TV Tuner• After extensive testing, we do not

recommend the newer

Hauppauge

1191 WinTV-HVR-955Q USB TV

tuner (for Windows.. computers)

• Buy the older Hauppauge


instead

168


USB TV Tuner (continued)• Compared to the

1191 WinTV-HVR-955Q USB TV, the


brings in more television channels

and shows them clearer

and is compatible with more free

"Personal Video Recorder" software

programs

and is compatible with more distributions

of "Linux".

169


USB TV Tuner (continued)

• Due to high demand, the Hauppauge


is being sold for outrageously high

prices by some of the "marketplace"

dealers on Amazon so you should

either shop very patiently and

carefully on Amazon or buy one

directly from the Hauppauge

company instead:

172


USB TV Tuner (continued)

• You can buy one for a reasonable

price directly from Hauppauge at

http://hauppauge.com/site/products/pr

ods.html

but they do not always have it in

stock so check them more than once

and you will eventually find one there.

http://hauppauge.com/site/products/prods.html

175

REFERENCES

• https://www.maximintegrated.com/en/app

-notes/index.mvp/id/734

• http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Technology/T

V_Channels/8_Bit_VSB.pdf

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_subch

annel

• http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/print-

edition/2015/06/12/antennas-direct.html

https://www.maximintegrated.com/en/app-notes/index.mvp/id/734

http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Technology/TV_Channels/8_Bit_VSB.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_subchannel

http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/print-edition/2015/06/12/antennas-direct.html

176

REFERENCES (continued)

• http://www.hdtvprimer.com/issues/what_is

_atsc.html

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-

definition_television_in_the_United_State

s

• http://www.hdtvprimer.com/antennas/sitin

g.html

• http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ISSUES/erecti

ng_antenna.html

http://www.hdtvprimer.com/issues/what_is_atsc.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-definition_television_in_the_United_States

http://www.hdtvprimer.com/antennas/siting.html

http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ISSUES/erecting_antenna.html

177

REFERENCES (continued)

• http://mediashift.org/2015/04/5-tricks-for-

getting-the-best-possible-reception-with-

your-indoor-antenna/

• https://www.groundedreason.com/watch-

tv-free-antenna-guide/

http://mediashift.org/2015/04/5-tricks-for-getting-the-best-possible-reception-with-your-indoor-antenna/

https://www.groundedreason.com/watch-tv-free-antenna-guide/

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