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Sunday, April 29, 2007
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 Sunday, April 29, 2007
started 4/29/2007; 6:18:55 AM - last post 4/29/2007; 6:18:55 AM
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Doc Searls - Sunday, April 29, 2007 
4/29/2007; 10:18:55 AM (reads: 7551, responses: 0)
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A special message for Santa Barbarians 
| | Craig Smith reports on the absence of KEYT's new HD (High Definition) signal on Cox cable in Santa Barbara. Says Craig, |
| | So who's at fault? Cox points the finger at KEYT saying they are demanding too much money for the right to carry their signal. KEYT says they merely want to be treated like the other local network affiliates. Cox counters by saying if that's all they wanted they would be on the cable system right now. In the meantime all I want is my ABC HD! |
| | If I read my FCC info right, KEYT's over-the-air digital signal is on Channel 27. (Not just Channel 3-1, as the station says here.) You need an HD tuner to get it; but all HD TVs are required to have them. |
| | So chances are, if you have a HD TV set (or "flat screen", as they are often known) and you're within sight of Broadcast Peak (which is the case for most Santa Barbarians), the signal should be receivable with an ordinary UHF loop or bowtie antenna on the back of the set. |
| | You may not even need anything that fancy. Just try jamming a 5" wire into the middle of the coaxial connector on your HDTV, tune to digital channel 27, and see what happens. You might be surprised. (UHF antennas have active elements that are only about 5" long. That's roughly what a UHF "rabbit ear" is.) |
| | Digital signals are either there or not there, so you'll either have the picture or nothing. Not snow or static, as with old-fashioned TV. |
| | We are not among the lucky many who can see Broadcast Peak, but we have a clear shot across the water at San Diego. That's why our rooftop directional UHF antenna is pointed at San Diego, about 200 miles away. We get the stations form there (and Tijuana) about a quarter of the time — though we expect to do better in the late spring and summer, when wave propogation across water improves. Here's how they looked on New Years Day, with the Rose Bowl. |
| | Wish I could be there to check for ya'll; but we're in London. Kinda hard to tell from here. But I'll see how things look after we're back on Thursday. |
Blog ya later
| | IOS in Brussels was an excellent workshop that I'm looking forward to writing about (at Linux Journal). Als had a great time hanging with friends old and new. Look here and here for pictures, eventually. |
| | Now I'm in London with family, vacating professional as well as worklike avocational activities (such as, y'know, blogging). If you see me here, it's because I'm busy waiting for The Others, or something. |
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