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KBTX reception in Houston


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I'm in 77027, an involuntary cord cutter living on the 3rd floor of an apartment building.

 

What's neat though, is that I seem to get KBTX very reliably, using a $9 RCA VHF/UHF antenna that I duct taped to the outside of my window. Since I get KBTX and it's CW sub-channel, I get some syndicated programs at different (more convenient) times, and Craig Ferguson at it's intended time.

 

Do I have an advantage being on the 3rd floor? This isn't some sporadic DX (I used to document my adventures in DX on the old Radio Discussions forum), this is reliable consistent reception. Google Maps says their transmitter is roughly 75 miles away.

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Television transmission is line-of-sight, like FM; that's why all the Houston stations are on the very tall towers at Mo City.  You are being helped a little by being on the third floor; might not be able to get it as reliably on the ground floor.  I have gotten it occasionally on the far SW side of Houston with rabbit ears on a window sill of a ground floor window (facing away from BCS).

 

I wonder how tall their tower is but I'm too tired to look it up at this hour.

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I'm not too surprised he gets reception of KBTX down in the Galleria area, especially on the 3rd floor. Before the KBRZ 1460 translator fired up at 95.1, "Candy" from Bryan/College Station made regular appearances all over the Galleria and Bellaire areas on the frequency.

From North Houston, I get nary a trace of channel 3. Go figure.

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I'm not too surprised he gets reception of KBTX down in the Galleria area, especially on the 3rd floor. Before the KBRZ 1460 translator fired up at 95.1, "Candy" from Bryan/College Station made regular appearances all over the Galleria and Bellaire areas on the frequency.

From North Houston, I get nary a trace of channel 3. Go figure.

 

Its funny you mention this, becasue I was about to get on here and mention that I have been able to hear KNDE Candy 95.1 in Downtown Houston a couple of years ago.

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KNDE was one of the more reliable Aggieland signals that showed up in Houston, citykid. That is, until the Sugarland translator showed up last year. I still get Candy up in north Houston, but it's a battle between them and KBRZ every day now. Amazing what a really tall antenna can do for such a flea powered signal!

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The coordinates I gave for KBTX's location are what's filed as the main transmission site. I'd have to do some digging to find out what is housed behind the studio, but my best guess would be that it's an auxiliary.

It probably does re-transmit.

There's a substantially higher tower a few miles away that does Candy 95 and a few other stations.

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The tower behind the main studio is just for the microwave link to their main transmitter (thats what the two round antennas near the middle are, If look where they are pointed on a map, its towards the Anderson tower). The shorter tower with the movable dish on it is for the microwave truck.  The rest of the stuff on the tall tower appears to be probably 2-way radio and maybe some more  stationary microwave truck antennas at the top.  I think I remember hearing from a friend who works at their sister station in Waco they also have a microwave link to them, so the top one could be that also.

 

 

If you want another example, take a look at KPRC's tower along 59.  They have 2 large microwave dishes pointed toward Missouri City, plus looks like maybe 2 smaller ones.  The big dome at the top is doppler radar, and the smaller dome just below it is for their microwave news trucks.  Looks like they may also have a stationary one pointed towards maybe Reliant stadium.  

Edited by technoevil
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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 9 years later...

I know it's been some time since anyone's posted in this topic, but figured I'd add my two cents. I hadn't had much success getting KBTX in the Houston metro over the years in either the analog or digital eras until the last few years. I know they had to deal with the repack a few years back - but I was already having more success getting them prior to that.

Growing up, my base was in Rosenberg, so I'd have some occasional success getting them OTA with my rabbit ears when the weather was right. Fairly often KIII in Corpus Christi would be better. I do recall actually recording part of a newscast from KBTX with either a camcorder or VCR ('98 or '99 or so) while a thunderstorm was taking place just to prove to myself how odd the circumstances would have to be to actually get the signal fairly clear from not-so far away.

Since my family stays in a hotel when we're in the area, we tend to stay near Rosenberg/Sugar Land just due to convenience most times. The Home2 Suites at 99 & the Southwest Freeway is usually where we go and I tend to choose a room between the 3rd & 5th floors and facing west. I've stayed on the east side and that does little to disrupt the signal, but it gives an edge to the local stations (especially the LPs) as it's facing the tower farm in Missouri City. KBTX generally comes in clear as a bell, but only during certain times. I've used both amplified and simple rabbit ear antennas and both are just about as successful. The best time to catch them generally tends to be between 8P - 9A assuming there aren't any major atmospheric issues like storms. 

Was wondering if anyone had any success catching their NextGen signal on KNXG-DT locally? Even on the fringes of the metro? I don't have a tuner that can view them just yet but am thinking about getting one sooner than later. I think it's interesting they already have started mentioning that separate station in their station IDs. Hadn't seen that anywhere else so far.

 

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