[mythtv-users] ATSC channel not detected with ATI TV Wonder 600

[Devin Heitmueller]

> On 03/01/2020 18:36, Will Dormann wrote:
> Hi Will:  I thought the link that I posted was implying that the WPXI
> transmission on Channel 23 was analog, not digital, which might explain
> why your digital tuner finds nothing.  I would guess that analog
> nowadays might meet some availability stipulation while ensuring that
> very few people would actually use it.  But you need local info...

WPXI has been digital for years.  It's the local NBC affiliate.

The repacking referred to is about moving around the channels to free
up spectrum for other purposes.  Hence in many cases it results in
multiple digital channels being combined onto a single RF channel, in
other cases it's just a straight move because it's in the RF block
that is being sold off.

The TV Wonder 600 is a design that is more than ten years old (I did
Linux driver support for it a very long time ago).  It's entirely
possible the issue is simply the tuner RF frontend not being able to
handle poor signal conditions such as multipath interference or
adjacent channel noise as well as newer tuner designs.  For your TV
that works it might be useful to see if it has a debug menu which
shows the signal strength on the currently tuned channel - if it's
marginal for that channel then it might simply be that the signal is
too weak for the older tuner.

Unfortunately, without some expensive kit like a spectrum analyzer,
figuring out why the tuner doesn't pick up that specific channel is
not a task for mere mortals in most cases.

Devin

-- 
Devin J. Heitmueller - Kernel Labs
http://www.kernellabs.com