The VHF's Return after UHF (was Re: CH 40 Analog was shut downSunnite)

[Jim Hall]

I think you may be right when you say people will be pleasantly surprised.

I live about 30 miles North of Boston along I-93, and there are lots of
people who don't have cable TV (the "I never watch TV and when I do it's
only PBS" crowd in Andover.)  I keep a rabbit ears antenna connected for the
few occasions when the cable goes out. When I got my digital set, I was
pleased to receive all the Boston and NH digital stations without any
adjustment or fiddling with the antenna. Channels 2, 4, and 5 analog were
always full of snow and multipath on the antenna; the digital versions come
in beautifully with the same antenna. This is at about sea level too...I am
not on a hill or anything. 

I do wonder what happens when 7, 9, and 11 go back to those channels: the
high-band VHF channels were usually pretty clear on the antenna, but it will
be interesting to see what the digital signals look like at those
frequencies.



-Well, it looks like some people will need to get basic cable to get the
--same
-stations they were getting before.  But I stand by my position that there's
-no need to panic at this time, that people should wait until the
change-over
-happens, and then access the situation. Sites like Antennaweb only offer a
-prediction based on predicted contours (and a very conservative one at
-that), I think many people will be pleasantly surprised on February 17.

-Isn't the real purpose of Antennaweb to sell antennas anyway?

Larry Weil
Lake Wobegone, NH