7 channels, free, no subscription, from the Austin
transmitters roughly thirty miles west of us. An antenna and a modern TV is
the whole equipment list.
channel
call
network
actual RF
note
7.1
KTBC
FOX
7 (VHF)
The only VHF signal in the market - a UHF-only antenna will miss it
14.1
KBVO
MyNetworkTV
27
18.1
KLRU
PBS
22
Austin PBS
24.1
KVUE
ABC
33
36.1
KXAN
NBC
21
42.1
KEYE
CBS
—
RF channel not confirmed at build time
54.1
KNVA
The CW
23
The thing that catches everybody out. KTBC broadcasts
on RF channel 7, which is VHF. Most antennas sold today are UHF-only, because
almost everything else moved to UHF. If you have every channel except FOX, that
is why — you need an antenna that covers VHF-high, not a bigger one.
What you need out here
Pointing
West, towards Austin. Most Austin signals come
from the West Austin antenna farm near Loop 360, and from Mount Larson. From
Bastrop that is a fairly consistent bearing, which makes a fixed directional
antenna practical.
Outdoor, not indoor
At thirty-plus miles an indoor antenna is
optimistic. An outdoor or attic-mounted directional antenna is the difference
between most channels and all of them.
The Lost Pines
Tree cover genuinely attenuates UHF. A house
in heavy pine can perform noticeably worse than one a quarter mile away in the
open, at the same distance from the transmitter.
Rescan
Stations change RF assignments more often than
people expect. If a channel vanished, rescan before buying anything.
Note on one entry. KEYE's RF channel was not
confirmed when this page was built, so it is left blank rather than guessed.
Everything else here was verified. Corrections welcome:
wholetechtexas@gmail.com