Local TV Channels on Satellite

[Dimitrios Paskoudniakis]

I live equidistant to both DC (the capital of the free world) and Baltimore, (blue collar, crabs, John Unitas, and Cal Ripken). I am about 30 miles north of DC, and 30 miles west of Baltimore.

My cable TV provider provides local channels from both cities. However, they are nickel and diming me to death with the TV converter boxes, so I'm looking into satellite, which provides many more HD channels, costs less, and is much less for the TV receiver boxes.

Unfortunately DirecTV says my exact location means they can give me local channels from Baltimore only (shudder).

I need my Redskins games and inside the real Beltway news.

Here's my question:

Won't the satellite dish receive local DC over the air signals and into the coax cable so that if I want to watch a local DC TV channel, I can just switch my TV from "Cable" to "Air" and watch local DC channels over the air?

The antenna would point south toward the equator (and therefore, toward DC).

Will this work or is there another viable solution? My decision to switch hinges on knowing in advance whether or not this will work.

[Dean Hoffman]

Have your tried Dish Network? Maybe they would give you a choice. I think they charge 5$/month extra for the local stations. Possibly the changeover to from analogue to digital TV will help you. I put a Terk TV 42 antenna on my satellite dish. It didn't work all that well so I added the local stations to my Dish network service.

=20 Dean

[Mikepier]

If you get a decent OTA antenna with a rotor on your roof, you won't need any satellite. You should be able to pick up DC and BAL stations with no problem

[HeyBub]

No

The satellite dish is not an antenna - it is a satellite dish. The business part of the system (the LNB converter on the feedhorn of the dish) has about

50 volts flowing through it (via the coax).

There are several possibilities:

1. Erect a regular antenna and switch between it and your satellite service.
2. Subscribe to the satellite company's sports package. It will no doubt provide coverage for your beloved team.
3. Tell your cable company you're going to drop them like a two-dollar hooker unless they cut you some kind of deal. They WILL make you an unbelievable offer - especially if you keep saying "Not good enough."*
4. You may be able to buy your own damn converter box.

------

• My son just told AT&T that he was going to switch his internet access from DSL to cable and AT&T cut his charge in HALF as a "gesture of good will." I presume, in the parlous times, that the highest priority is KEEPING customers.

[Jim Yanik]

"Dimitrios Paskoudniakis" wrote in news:glj27d$5cl$ [e-mail]:

No. MUCH different frequencies for satellite dishes.WAY different. satellite dishes receive frequencies much higher than over-the-air(OTA) TV broadcasts.So,they are not able to receive local broadcasts.

also,the new digital OTA broadcasts are going to have less range than the older analog transmissions.

If you get a $40 coupon from the FCC,it will cover most if not all of the cost of a DTV converter to receive the digital OTA signals,and you can test it with a good VHF/UHF antenna,preferably an amplified antenna,to see if you can receive the desired local stations.

There's a website that gives predicted coverage patterns for metro areas,at the FCC.gov wwebsite,I believe,or DAGS for it.

[G. Morgan]

You would need one of these:

Clip-on OTA Antenna for DirecTV oval dishes

[AZ Nomad]

Considering how nothing terk makes is worth their weight in dogshit, I doubt your suggestion is worth the money either.

Spend half the money and get a real tv antenna. Unfortunately, you won't get the pride that comes from spending too much. Nor the amplified static.

[hallerb]

federal law prevents satellite tv from offering more than one local set of stations. relly dumb but thats our federal government at work:(

a good OTA antenna will likely get you the vstations you want

[G. Morgan]

I used to have a Terk t-55 and it worked great.

There's a positive attitude.

My suggestion was $72, and has the added benefit of not having to run an extra COAX. A good outdoor antenna is gong to be more than $50, then add cost of wiring and time.

My way is cheaper.

You don't know that.

[borealbushman]

One has to wonder where Dimitrios Paskoudniakis got the idea that DC--- or Washington---is the capital of anywhere other than just the USA ... which is just one of MANY countries in the free world. Maybe "Dimitrios Paskoudniakis" is a pseudonym for "George Bush?"

[HeyBub]

Possibly because the U.S. IS the world's policeman. Why is that, you may ask?

Because we're here, lad. Nobody else. Just us.

Face to the front - mark your target when he comes. That's a good lad.

At one hundred yards! Volley fire, present!...

[Robert Neville]

Federal law (actually FCC rules) does not _require_ that the sat companies carry more than the main local channel. There is a difference. Given that most local secondary channels are weather slides or 40 year old reruns, I'm not so sure you're missing much.

[hallerb]

true the secondary digital channels are not required carriage but in nearly all cases satellite is limited to one city....

this law favors cable is anti competive and should be changed......

there are really 2 issues here

[Chuck]

I have Directv and they provide 7 local channels for $5.00. The 4 network channels, ABC, CBS, NBC, and PBS, and some local secondary guys. About all I view on the local stations is the local news. I really wouldn't miss them as I can get the local news on the internet or radio. CB

[AZ Nomad]

A mediocre $25 outdoor antenna and $10 worth of wire is going to blow the terk away.

[Mark Lloyd]

[snip]

I suppose you realize that "a satellite dish is a satellite dish" is a statement that provides no information at all.

A satellite DISH is a reflector that operates at the frequencies the satellite used,

The feedhorn contains the antenna (for satellite) which is very small.

For DirecTV, it is either 13VDC or 18VDC (controlled by the receiver, to select the feedhorn polarization). I would expect Dish Network to use the same.

[snip]

[HeyBub]

Your points are well taken, but I don't think I was misguided.

True, but the phrase was for emphasis and does provide more information than "it is a toaster." The important part of the statement was "The satellite dish is not an antenna."

Actually, the DISH part doesn't "operate" at all - it just sits there as a completely inert device. I confess to the admittedly inaccurate terminology of "DISH" consisting of all the stuff at the end of the cable.

I defer to your greater specificity on the voltage. The underlying point I was trying to make was that the LNB - and by extension all the apparatus at the end of the cable - is a live electronic device in contradistinction to a TV antenna which is more passive than a weather vane.

I appreciate the clarifications.

[aemeijers]

Oh, lighten up. He is either a True Believer, or he was being humorously sarcastic. Either way, no biggie.

-- aem sends...

[hallerb]

another approach if the OP lives in baltimore but prefers DC locals create a fake DC address so you qualify for those locals and put up a OTA antenna for your real baltimore stations.

use a friends address in DC,

in some areas american direct bcan get you national nets

[Mark Lloyd]

And I agree with your underlying points.

I used to have DirecTV (and quit because of customer "service". etc...) and have some familiarity with their hardware (although not the KaKu stuff).