W. MA doesn't get Boston TV channels anymore

[Mark Laurence]

On Sep 1, 2010, at 6:08 PM, Mark Casey wrote (or quoted, it's hard to  
tell who said what)

> Can't speak to the 8-vsb debate but agree with the 2nd part
> of Sid's statement...
>
> I haven't seen any Boston TV here in Western Mass.
> since the digital conversion last year. And I don't expect to see
> any at my location 64.2 miles from the WBZ-TV plant.

I've gone to great lengths to get any off-air TV reception using a  
roof antenna in Rutland, 12 miles NW of Worcester and 38 miles from  
WBZ's antenna.  Before digital we got 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, and sometimes 19,  
not perfect but quite watchable.  After digital, none of these  
stations appear.  After dozens of trips to the roof to tweak the  
antenna by a half inch or so, I finally succeeded in getting WNAC in  
Providence, but it cuts out often enough to make viewing almost  
impossible.  Oddly, that's not among the stations that are predicted  
for my location on the FCC website.  None of those appear except  
WUNI.  Maybe WUNI should put an English broadcast on one of their sub- 
channels, since they seem to have exclusive service to a fairly large  
area of English speaking people.

I've also tried off-air reception in Shrewsbury, 24 miles from WBZ,  
using a high quality indoor antenna, and get 3 channels instead of the  
14 indicated on the FCC website for a moderate or better signal.

Finally, in Boston, within the city of license and 4.4 miles away, I  
can't watch WHDH consistently if I have the antenna oriented toward  
the majority of other stations (WGBH, WBZ, WCVB, WSBK, WFXT, WGBX,  
etc.).  Sometimes WHDH comes in, sometimes it freezes and drops out.   
That's with a roof VHF/UHF antenna.

When the picture is clear, it's better than cable, but for reception,  
the digital system is pathetic.

Mark