Out of boredom, I decided to hook up a piece of wire to act as an antenna for my upstairs TV. And behold, I was receiving all local High Definition channels in all their glory. Crystal clear with no disruptions. So, why pay $75/mo to the cable company? They have been eliminated from my monthly bills. Ta ta.
Cable TV in my part of the world is a racket. When you sign up for service, they ask you for your address. Your rates are based on your location, i.e. if there is no competition in your neighborhood, up go the rates. I had been paying $75/mo for it in the Town’N’Country area of Tampa. They also force you to rent their cable box which requires extra power, wires and remote control. But as it turns out, there are a lot of channels available off the air for free. Things have become really good since the advent of digital broadcasting. You don’t really need a large antenna for it. For example, with rabbit-ear antenna, NBC analog is barely visible, but the HD simulcast is of perfect quality. Apparently, analog stations will disappear in 2008 (but I have heard this before).
Anywho, long story short… here is the list of channels I can watch over the air. See for youself if you really need Cable TV. The only channels which I miss are Travel Channel, Science Channel and Discovery. Thankfully, PBS HD is broadcast locally. FYI, most transmitters are about 20-25 miles away from me. A piece of wire works to pick up all channels, but I bought a $10 antenna because it hides well behind the TV and provides a stronger signal. The stronger signal has no affect on digital channels, however. TV says average signal strength is around 60. I am not sure what the units of this measurement are – Pints? Donkeys? Fathoms? Decibels? Who-knows! If you do, please drop me a note.
How to build your own antenna
List of OTA Channels in Tampa
| Channel | Designation | Network | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | WEDU-SD1 | PBS | Educational programming, digital |
| 3.2 | WEDU-SD2 | PBS | Educational programming, digital |
| 3.5 | WEDU-HD | PBS | High Definition Widescreen, excellent programs |
| 8.1 | WFLA-HD | NBC | Some programs in high definition |
| 8.1 | WFLA-WX | NBC | Live weather radar |
| 10.1 | WTSP-HD | CBS | Some programs in high definition |
| 10.1 | 10WxN | CBS | Weather |
| 13.1 | WTVT-DT | FOX | The Simpsons |
| 15 | ??? | HSN | Home Shopping Network, ANALOG |
| 16.1 | WUSF-D1 | PBS | University of South Florida |
| 16.2 | WUSF-D2 | PBS | University of South Florida |
| 16.3 | WUSF-D3 | PBS | University of South Florida |
| 16.4 | WUSF-D4 | PBS | University of South Florida |
| 20 | WARP-CA | BOX | Analog, ??? |
| 22.1 | WCLF-DT | CTN | Something religious |
| 22.2 | CTN | CTN | More of the above |
| 28.1 | WFTS-HD | ABC | Some programs in high definition |
| 30 | ??? | ??? | Spanish language, analog |
| 32.1 | WMOR-DT | IND | More TV 32 |
| 38.1 | WTTA-HD | MNT | Religious |
| 44.1 | WTOG-DT | CW | Used to be UPN |
| 46 | WVEA-LP | UNI | Jewelry Television, Analog |
| 49 | ??? | ??? | Spanish language, Analog |
| 50.1 | WFTT-DT | TFA | Telefutura |
| 62.1 | WVEA-DT | UNI | Univision |
| 66.1 | ion | ION | ??? |
| 66.2 | qubo | ION | ??? |
| 66.3 | ion-W | ION | ??? |
| 66.4 | Worship | ION | Religious |
VHF Television Frequencies
BAND CH # FREQUENCY BAND CH # FREQUENCY
------------------------- -----------------------------
VHF LOW 02 54-60 Mhz VHF HIGH 07 174-180 Mhz
VHF LOW 03 60-66 Mhz VHF HIGH 08 180-186 Mhz
VHF LOW 04 66-72 Mhz VHF HIGH 09 186-192 Mhz
VHF LOW 05 76-82 Mhz VHF HIGH 10 192-198 Mhz
VHF LOW 06 82-88 Mhz VHF HIGH 11 198-204 Mhz
VHF HIGH 12 204-210 Mhz
VHF HIGH 13 210-216 Mhz
UHF Television Frequencies
CH # FREQUENCY CH # FREQUENCY CH # FREQUENCY
------------------ ------------------ -------------------
14 470-476 Mhz 38 614-620 Mhz 62 758-764 Mhz
15 476-482 Mhz 39 620-626 Mhz 63 764-770 Mhz
16 482-488 Mhz 40 626-632 Mhz 64 770-776 Mhz
17 488-494 Mhz 41 632-638 Mhz 65 776-782 Mhz
18 494-500 Mhz 42 638-644 Mhz 66 782-788 Mhz
19 500-506 Mhz 43 644-650 Mhz 67 788-794 Mhz
20 506-512 Mhz 44 650-656 Mhz 68 794-800 Mhz
21 512-518 Mhz 45 656-662 Mhz 69 800-806 Mhz
22 518-524 Mhz 46 662-668 Mhz 70 806-812 Mhz
23 524-530 Mhz 47 668-674 Mhz 71 812-818 Mhz
24 530-536 Mhz 48 674-680 Mhz 72 818-824 Mhz
25 536-542 Mhz 49 680-686 Mhz 73 824-830 Mhz
26 542-548 Mhz 50 686-692 Mhz 74 830-836 Mhz
27 548-554 Mhz 51 692-698 Mhz 75 836-842 Mhz
28 554-560 Mhz 52 698-704 Mhz 76 842-848 Mhz
29 560-566 Mhz 53 704-710 Mhz 77 848-854 Mhz
30 566-572 Mhz 54 710-716 Mhz 78 854-860 Mhz
31 572-578 Mhz 55 716-722 Mhz 79 860-866 Mhz
32 578-584 Mhz 56 722-728 Mhz 80 866-872 Mhz
33 584-590 Mhz 57 728-734 Mhz 81 872-878 Mhz
34 590-596 Mhz 58 734-740 Mhz 82 878-884 Mhz
35 596-602 Mhz 59 740-746 Mhz 83 884-890 Mhz
36 602-608 Mhz 60 746-752 Mhz
37 608-614 Mhz 61 752-758 Mhz