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I moved to Easley, SC about 9 months ago and got my antennas and amp aimed and mounted. I'm picking up about 54 stations from the upstate and Western NC. Everything comes in clear as a bell, even through the two hurricanes/Storms that came through. Over the past month, though, the signal on WLOS (CH.13) seems to drop off between 7pm and 8pm. Sometimes it's a little later and affects the Saturday night football games. The signal just seems to die off for about 30 minutes and everything pixelates. Then, like a light switch, it clears up and the signal is strong for the rest of the evening. I have spoken with my parents who live in Greenville and they report a similar problem. Does anyone else notice this and does anyone know what the problem is? Thank you.
I moved to Easley, SC about 9 months ago and got my antennas and amp aimed and mounted. I'm picking up about 54 stations from the upstate and Western NC. Everything comes in clear as a bell, even through the two hurricanes/Storms that came through. Over the past month, though, the signal on WLOS (CH.13) seems to drop off between 7pm and 8pm. Sometimes it's a little later and affects the Saturday night football games. The signal just seems to die off for about 30 minutes and everything pixelates. Then, like a light switch, it clears up and the signal is strong for the rest of the evening. I have spoken with my parents who live in Greenville and they report a similar problem. Does anyone else notice this and does anyone know what the problem is? Thank you.
In general, VHF is more subject to noise and interference than UHF. But not sure what localized interference may be occurring between 7pm and 8pm. Sometimes weather conditions become problematic between the overnight and the early morning hours, especially between 6am and 10am. Not sure what may be occurring during the early evening hours.
But in general to maintain reliable reception of WLOS on channel 13, a good High VHF antenna is recommended. Which would be the Stellar Labs 30-2475 High VHF antenna or the Winegard 7694 combo antenna. But in strong signal areas, WLOS can be received with a Clearstream 4V or 4MAX combo antenna, as the single VHF dipole may be adequate when combined with a moderate gain amplifier. Good amplifiers are the Winegard LNA200, Channel Master Amplify 7777HD, or possibly the RCA dual input preamp.
For more compact, discreet flat panel amplified antennas with VHF dipoles, you may consider Antop 400BV, Marathon Free Signal antenna, or Winegard 7500 Elite antenna.
Thank you TylerSC for your reply, but I think I figured out what the problem was last night. I got home early yesterday and decided to watch WLOS evening news and see when exactly the channel cuts out. It scrambled/pixelated at 6:35 pm last night, so I called my folks in Greenville to see if theirs had also done it. Their signal was fine, but my mom asked if anything had changed in the previous few minutes. I tried switching off lights and the oven to no avail, but realized that my landscaping lights are on sensor, and had just cut on as it was getting dark outside (and they automatically shut off after an hour or two, depending on how I set it...which explains why it was only a temporary problem in the evening). I unplugged the sensor and lights from the outlet outside and miraculously the signal cleared up and I had no problems for the rest of the night. I'm about 99% sure that there is some sort of problem with either the sensor in the lights, or there may be a problem with the outlet itself...I haven't checked to see if it reacts the same way if something else is plugged in, yet. I think my problem is solved; thanks to my mom for making me think about it.
What's funny about this topic is that I have YouTube TV and even on it, the WLOS stream is worse than any of the other networks. Very odd considering it's a stream that I would think is coming directly from the station.
I wonder if Sinclair broadcasting's bankruptcy will affect anything. They own WLOS and people have been on them for as long as I can remember to better their signal in the upstate, but unless the station comes under new management, I don't know if anything will change. I know that the decision to cut the cable off was partly based on me being able to convince the wife that she could get her evening TV shows on ABC. I'm sure there are lots of other people that would cut the cord if they knew that they could get ABC reliably in the upstate. It stinks that you can't even get a reliable signal through YouTube TV.
Thank you TylerSC for your reply, but I think I figured out what the problem was last night. I got home early yesterday and decided to watch WLOS evening news and see when exactly the channel cuts out. It scrambled/pixelated at 6:35 pm last night, so I called my folks in Greenville to see if theirs had also done it. Their signal was fine, but my mom asked if anything had changed in the previous few minutes. I tried switching off lights and the oven to no avail, but realized that my landscaping lights are on sensor, and had just cut on as it was getting dark outside (and they automatically shut off after an hour or two, depending on how I set it...which explains why it was only a temporary problem in the evening). I unplugged the sensor and lights from the outlet outside and miraculously the signal cleared up and I had no problems for the rest of the night. I'm about 99% sure that there is some sort of problem with either the sensor in the lights, or there may be a problem with the outlet itself...I haven't checked to see if it reacts the same way if something else is plugged in, yet. I think my problem is solved; thanks to my mom for making me think about it.
Outside lighting is indeed a known source of electrical noise and interference. The lights themselves or the sensors may very likely be the source of your localized interference. And 13 does not have as strong of a signal in this area as Channel 7 which is less vulnerable.
I wonder if Sinclair broadcasting's bankruptcy will affect anything. They own WLOS and people have been on them for as long as I can remember to better their signal in the upstate, but unless the station comes under new management, I don't know if anything will change. I know that the decision to cut the cable off was partly based on me being able to convince the wife that she could get her evening TV shows on ABC. I'm sure there are lots of other people that would cut the cord if they knew that they could get ABC reliably in the upstate. It stinks that you can't even get a reliable signal through YouTube TV.
Next year at this time as a result of the FCC repack, every major TV station in this market EXCEPT WLOS will change channels and optimize power for a better signal. Only WLOS will stay on Channel 13 and will not increase power or modify their pattern. All the Charlotte channels will change also, except WBTV, but they already have a very strong, omnidirectional full power signal. Unlike WLOS which mainly needs to modify their directional pattern which creates a null in Upstate SC. But I guess they still have to protect the other Channel 13, WBTW in Florence.
There is a channel on Roku called News On that carries many local news broadcasts in the major markets all over the US. You can watch WLOS live or podcasted as well as Charlotte and Greenville/Spartanburg channels. All free.
There is a channel on Roku called News On that carries many local news broadcasts in the major markets all over the US. You can watch WLOS live or podcasted as well as Charlotte and Greenville/Spartanburg channels. All free.
The NewsOn app offers live streaming newscasts from across the nation. But WSOC Channel 9 Charlotte and WSB Channel 2 Atlanta have their own direct live streaming news apps on Roku, Amazon Fire, and Apple TV. Very good direct access and very good video quality. Best live streams of local newscasts I've seen from the Cox Media stations. While WLOS can be received with an antenna, it can be problematic and the NewsOn app can offer alternative access for Western NC news. But for ABC programming you will have to use an antenna to receive 13 or utilize a paid streaming service which offers ABC.
Did WLOS do something with their signal? I'm getting it in clear on my antenna for the first time in many, many months. Go *****!!
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Update to WLOS Problem
