HDTV Wonder - won't decode all channels

  • Thread starter Thread starter Skip
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Skip

I've got an HDTV Wonder card. Everything works fine in DTV except it won't
receive one channel (Ch 38 in Chicago) It's not a signal strength problem.
I think Ch 38 is in the Sears building and I can see that out my window.
I'm using a fairly large VHF/UHF antenna on the roof. When I go to Ch 38,
it shows 6 channels of Ch 38 (38-1, 38-2 . . .) Also says the name of the
channel like PAX-38,PAX MTN and the format (SD480i). I'm guessing the HDTV
Wonder doesn't handle all DTV formats? I wonder if there will be upgrade
s/w available?

Anybody else see this?
 
Skip said:
I've got an HDTV Wonder card. Everything works fine in DTV except it
won't
receive one channel (Ch 38 in Chicago) It's not a signal strength
problem. I think Ch 38 is in the Sears building and I can see that out my
window.
I'm using a fairly large VHF/UHF antenna on the roof. When I go to Ch 38,
it shows 6 channels of Ch 38 (38-1, 38-2 . . .) Also says the name of the
channel like PAX-38,PAX MTN and the format (SD480i). I'm guessing the
HDTV
Wonder doesn't handle all DTV formats? I wonder if there will be upgrade
s/w available?

Anybody else see this?
Click to expand...

If you're pointing a high gain antenna at a strong station that is nearby
you may have _excess_ signal strength. Try an attenuator--you can find
them at Radio Shack--they have a nice adjustable model.

Might also be multipath (reflections off of buildings and whatnot).
 
Skip said:
I've got an HDTV Wonder card. Everything works fine in DTV except it won't
receive one channel (Ch 38 in Chicago) It's not a signal strength problem.
I think Ch 38 is in the Sears building and I can see that out my window.
I'm using a fairly large VHF/UHF antenna on the roof. When I go to Ch 38,
it shows 6 channels of Ch 38 (38-1, 38-2 . . .) Also says the name of the
channel like PAX-38,PAX MTN and the format (SD480i). I'm guessing the HDTV
Wonder doesn't handle all DTV formats? I wonder if there will be upgrade
s/w available?

Anybody else see this?
Click to expand...
Sounds like multipath (receiving one or more reflected (canceling) signals).
I'd try using the antenna that came with the HDTV Wonder &/or putting an
attenuator on the line. Turning the antenna(s) away from the signal would be
another cheap thing to try. The answer to multipath can be much more
complex.
YMMV
 
They sold us digital with the promise it would eliminate multipath and
overload. You don't mean they lied to us????? Horrors...

Jim
 
Jim said:
They sold us digital with the promise it would eliminate multipath and
overload. You don't mean they lied to us????? Horrors...
Click to expand...

Put enough power into it and you can overdrive _any_ receiver. Digital or
analog doesn't matter. Whoever claimed that it would eliminate that
problem didn't have a clue what he was talking about. As for multipath,
newer software seems to deal with that better than older software did but
it's not perfect.

The trouble with digital is that it doesn't degrade gracefully. The picture
is either perfect or nonexistent. I'm not sure that that is an
improvement.
 
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