Does OTA TV have a Program Guide Like Cable? ( YES, it does! )

DTVpal converter box program guide. A number of former pay TV users have lamented the lack of a program guide when they switched to free OTA TV. The problem doesn't lie so much with OTA Digital TV as much as it does with the manufacturers of televisions and converter boxes. You see, the Digital TV standards provide for a rich set of features, including an EPG - an electronic program guide. Most TV stations broadcast their EPG info, which is embedded in the DTV signal. The information they provide includes the time, program name and a description. Some stations are very good at providing EPG info, while others fail miserably. Some stations will provide several days of EPG with detailed descriptions, while others provide only a few hours of program names or nothing at all. The worst offenders are LPT - Low Power Television - and independent TV stations. PBS stations generally do the best job with their EPGs.

Missing In Action: Channel 9 KUEN from Mt. Pisgah, Cache Valley

Sometime on weekend of January 8, 2011 , KUEN-TV 9 - broadcasting on Cache County Translator K46JK-D disappeared. It's still down as of today, 01/12/11, with no services and no signal. But I think I have a clue: I now have 3 instances of channel 5, KSL. One is the original KSL 5 signal from Mt. Pisgah, and one is from the Franklin County Translator District. And now - there's a third. I am assuming - because as usual, nobody here knows anything, so I am making this up as I go along - that somehow KUEN's translator got switched over to broadcast KSL's signal. I have also been having issues with FOX13's signal breaking up, both on the Cache and Franklin transmitters. The problem is more pronounced on the Cache translator, rendering it unwatchable at times. I will try to contact the county about this, but I don't expect them to be of much help. I'll let you know if I do get any information.

UPDATE: I did a rescan on my TVs on 1/18/2011, and channel 9 is back up, after a one and a half week outage. And nobody at the County offices could tell me a thing about it.

Make Your Own TV Antenna

If you want to try free OTA digital TV, but don't want to spend a lot of money, here's a project that will only cost you a few dollars and about a half hour of your time. Keep in mind that this antenna is NOT for outdoor use, but it is great for mounting in a closet, in your attic, or it could even be hidden in a picture frame with a little modification. It's also a great way to see how many TV channels you can get for free before investing in a commercial antenna.

You could easily re-design this antenna using durable materials to make it suitable for outdoor use.

Watch the video here:

Announcement!

I will be posting television related articles at DTV USA Forum, where I am a contributor. I will post links to relevant articles from this blog, as well as my other blogs. I will continue to work on these pages to help everyone in Logan, Cache County and Northern Utah enjoy...

 Cache Free TV

But, REMEMBER, even if you don't live in these areas, there's still LOTS of good information here about CUTTING THE CABLE or DITCHING THE DISH!

And, if you would like advice on how to live below your means and pocket your savings, please visit

...A Nickel Earned.

Coming soon to DTV USA Forum :

Do-it-yourself TV antennas! 

Build this antenna for free, or with very little out of pocket!

We'll give you instructions to build this compact 12" x 20"' DTV
urban / near suburban attic / rooftop antenna for next to nothing.

And many more, so you can enjoy FREE Digital OTA TV.
Coming soon to DTV USA Forum!