dtv signal problems in chicago

mookiemookie · 06-25-2009, 03:20 PM

help... i live in chicago near the lakefront and have a kitchen tv with an indoor antenna and a zenith dtv box....

i receive 99 percent of the chicago tv stations and 5 indiana tv stations but can not get channel 7 ( abc) and substations or wciu tv( independant) and there 5 substations...

we have been told that there are issues with channel 7 by the tv station itself, however with channel 26 i am told all is well and it must be my box and it is defective... but it can not be as i get the other 36 stations without a problem...

i have been told that there might be an issue with channel 26 getting into high rises and such and this problem was not figured out before the switch and they are going to " upgrade or tweek" there signal sometime this summer to fix this...

they also tell me i need an better antenna but how am i able to get every other station in chicago with my current antenna, it must be them...

please help.....

Trip · 06-25-2009, 03:30 PM

Where, specifically, are you? Are the Indiana stations you receive from South Bend? There's a station on the same channel as WCIU in South Bend. WCWW-LD.

- Trip

1inxs · 06-25-2009, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mookiemookie

help... i live in chicago near the lakefront and have a kitchen tv with an indoor antenna and a zenith dtv box....

i receive 99 percent of the chicago tv stations and 5 indiana tv stations but can not get channel 7 ( abc) and substations or wciu tv( independant) and there 5 substations...

we have been told that there are issues with channel 7 by the tv station itself, however with channel 26 i am told all is well and it must be my box and it is defective... but it can not be as i get the other 36 stations without a problem...

i have been told that there might be an issue with channel 26 getting into high rises and such and this problem was not figured out before the switch and they are going to " upgrade or tweek" there signal sometime this summer to fix this...

they also tell me i need an better antenna but how am i able to get every other station in chicago with my current antenna, it must be them...

please help.....

mookiemookie, Welcome to the DTVUSA Forum. Have you tried to rescan for available channels since June 12, 2009? If you haven't try that first. The stations have been doing some adjusting since that date. If that doesn't help, post back and we will try to find a solution.
Thanks

mookiemookie · 06-26-2009, 07:18 AM

i live in chicago, near the lake front, and yes i have rescanned twice... i do live in a high rise

all of the indiana stations i get are from southbend, channels 16,22,28,56 and 40

here is a even stanger fact... this tv is in my kitchen and if i open the kitchen cabinet above the tv and converter box... presto channels 26 and its substations appear, but if i close the cabinet they disappear

my view faces east..

wciu tv 26 comes in on digital channel 27.5( though the display says 26.1, etc)

please help!!1

thanks for your immediate responses

O-O · 06-26-2009, 01:51 PM

I'm going to recommend going to TV Fool, entering your address information, and posting your results here. Your address won't be displayed, but it'll help us help you.

mookiemookie · 06-26-2009, 02:03 PM

please find attached to this the results of the tv fool website...

thanks for the heads up...

hope this info helps

mookie

Piggie · 06-26-2009, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mookiemookie

i live in chicago, near the lake front, and yes i have rescanned twice... i do live in a high rise

all of the indiana stations i get are from southbend, channels 16,22,28,56 and 40

here is a even stanger fact... this tv is in my kitchen and if i open the kitchen cabinet above the tv and converter box... presto channels 26 and its substations appear, but if i close the cabinet they disappear

my view faces east..

wciu tv 26 comes in on digital channel 27.5( though the display says 26.1, etc)

please help!!1

thanks for your immediate responses

Signals do odd things indoors, which probably explains the cabinet door.

I didn't see what type of indoor antenna you are using.

ABC on Channel 7 is VHF and that might be an issue receiving it if your antenna is UHF only.

Probably the best thing to try for wciu is to move the antenna to a new location. Even though you are high in the air and close to the transmitters, the tall buildings around you cause reflections and create a situation called mulipath where the direct wave and a reflected wave interfere with each other destructively.

another possibility is your antenna is powered then it's overloaded.

Trip · 06-26-2009, 04:34 PM

As I've already said, the reason you cannot receive WCIU is that it is on the same channel as a station from South Bend, so the two clash with each other. You need to make the South Bend stations weaker in order to bring in WCIU.

- Trip

Piggie · 06-26-2009, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trip

As I've already said, the reason you cannot receive WCIU is that it is on the same channel as a station from South Bend, so the two clash with each other. You need to make the South Bend stations weaker in order to bring in WCIU.

- Trip

The only way to try and make it weaker, is to find out which type of indoor antenna you have. Once that is known what you might try to accomplish that can be considered.