Does anyone else have horrible reception on WFAA (Channel 8) with a digital antenna?
Posted by 2-tree@reddit | Dallas | View on Reddit | 23 comments
I have a digital antenna to receive free TV over the air, and the WFAA channels all have horrible reception, except for one. They have 6 different OTA channels: 8-1, 8-2, 8-3 8-4, 8-5 and 8-8. 8-1 and 8-8 are the exact same except one 8-8 says it's HD even though they're both HD. That one (8-8) comes in fine but all the others have such horrible reception to where it gets better or worse depending on how close or far you are from the TV.
TexasReallyDoesSuck@reddit
get it crystal clear with rabbit ears. close to downtown with an unobstructed view of the entire sky from east to south to west. so thats likely what helps a lot
but rabbit ears are clutch!
ZRMQ27@reddit
"chutch" ??
2-tree@reddit (OP)
Mine already has rabbit ears unfortunately, extended out as far as they go. https://www.terk.com/indoor-antennas/?sku=LOGTVAZ
TexasReallyDoesSuck@reddit
i'll say wfaa has been notorious for years & years with this. even with your setup it might need even somethin more specific. i have a $10 rabbit ears lol, but unfortunately the wfaa signal is just trash cuz they switched a long time ago to a different signal than what most use.
could be your location as well. there should be some websites that tell you the best spot for your antenna and the direction of the towers so you could try that. but might be outta luck with wfaa
ZRMQ27@reddit
Same issue here. Using an antenna in my attic I get the channel 8 stations (8.1, 8.2... 8.8) intermittently. With an antenna on the roof it works great. Channel 8 does appear to have a weaker signal than the others.
I have a DirecTV TiVo satellite dish that gives me all the channels, but I like having a backup because sometimes DirecTV has a dispute with broadcasters. Heavy rain is rarely a problem with the satellite dish, maybe 5 or 10 minutes per year.
MrsPatty60@reddit
Pluto is free and has most of them.
Ok-Calligrapher7577@reddit
Requires internet. OTA television only requires electricity.
Traditional-Hall-591@reddit
What’s VHF and channel 8?
SimpleVegetable5715@reddit
Yes, mine won’t even pick up 8.1 anymore.
truth-4-sale@reddit
I intentionally use 8.8 for WFAA because it comes in better from my location in North Irving.
I do the same for Channel 4. I use 27.4 instead of 4.1
My guess is that 8.8 and 27.4 are sent from different towers than 8.1 and 4.1 or something like that.
Sometimes, for 13.1, I watch that on their Roku channel if the OTA feed is not good.
Big_Service7471@reddit
WFAA has always sucked with their digital signal. I just can't get it even with an aerial exterior antenna on my chimney. I can pull in with that antenna Tyler and Sherman TV stations from Lake Highlands. WFAA is a no-go. I contacted WFAA years ago about it and got lashed at by one of their engineers. The OTA digital signal for stations is always clearer than AT&T cable. You really notice it watching sports like NBA basketball playoffs.
Radixx@reddit
Yeah, 8.8 is the UHF version and should be fine. I guess they're keeping the sub-channels on VHF. Back when HD was first starting in Dallas there was a small local HD forum with an WFAA engineer on it. He took pictures of their HUGE VHF antenna installation on top of their tower. They paid big $$$ for it so I guess they're gonna use it.
MethanyJones@reddit
Yeah I think channel 2 in Chicago had similar ATSC remorse. They stayed on 2 originally but are now on 11.
And we’re mid way through migrating from the original digital TV standard to the new one. ATSC 3.0 is on the air although Fox in Dallas has chosen to make themselves unwatchable to most early adopters by adding DRM
RandomRageNet@reddit
A lot of digital channels are on UHF bands so most digital antennas are UHF only. You've got to find an antenna that explicitly says it does UHF and VHF for channel 8 to come in clear. WFAA knows people were struggling with this, though, and that's why they have 8-8 now.
anyoutlookuser@reddit
I’ve been pulling digital tv since before the full switch to atsc. 8 has always been problematic.
fuelvolts@reddit
Weird in my area I only get 8.1, I don’t get any other sub channel. It comes in fine.
electricgotswitched@reddit
WFAA gas a history of being ass reception
danielkim90@reddit
Same issue until I got an antenna extender that connects to the antenna and is powered by a wall plug.
2-tree@reddit (OP)
Mine already has a wall plug, AND rabbit ears that extend out. And I still have an issue with just WFAA, no other channel that I tested. https://www.terk.com/indoor-antennas/?sku=LOGTVAZ
MethanyJones@reddit
https://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3db0fe875c27bd5c
if you look at the table in the link look at the "real channel" second column from the left. WFAA is the only major channel with a VHF signal.
4, 5, and 11 are on "real" UHF channels that are easier to receive with a small antenna.
TheRamblerJohnson@reddit
YES! It's consistently the only one I can't get. Too bad they don't have an alternate channel, like 48 or something, we can tune into.
Severe-Post3466@reddit
yes!!! I will get every channel other than WFAA easily
2-tree@reddit (OP)
I get Fox 4, NBC 5 and CBS 11 all fine. Only ABC 8 (WFAA) is an issue.