Question about Panasonic TH-50(or42)PX60u tuner

Hello,

Any 60u owners out there? I have a question about the tuner on this
unit. I want to use a roof-mounted VHF/UHF antenna to pick up as many
digital channels as I can manage.

I have my antenna mounted on my roof with a rotator. The majority of
the available digital channels are east of me, and I can pick up an
additional 4 or 5 in the northerly and southerly directions.

My problem is that I don't seem to be able to figure out how to get the
Panasonic to tune in all of these channels. Let me explain:

For example, suppose I can get channel 10-1 with the antenna pointed
north, 20-1 to the east, and 30-1 to the south. First off, if I point
the antenna north, I don't see any way to "manually" tell the Panasonic
to tune in that channel. In the "manual" channel add mode, I am only
able to add/remove channels that have been previously detected by an
autoscan. So the only way I can initially add 10-1 is to have the TV
do an autoscan - then I can either include or exclude 10-1. So let's
say I include it. Now, I want to add 20-1, so I rotate my antenna to
the east. As before, there is no way to manually add 20-1, as it isn't
listed as an available channel, so I need to autoscan again. But since
the antenna is now pointing east, the autoscan no longer "sees" 10-1,
and that channel is now omitted from the list. So I seem to be able to
have 10-1 or 20-1 available, but not both.

Is this tuner really limited this way, or am I missing something?

Thanks for any help...

"Mr. Land" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hello,

Any 60u owners out there? I have a question about the tuner on this
unit. I want to use a roof-mounted VHF/UHF antenna to pick up as many
digital channels as I can manage.

I have my antenna mounted on my roof with a rotator. The majority of
the available digital channels are east of me, and I can pick up an
additional 4 or 5 in the northerly and southerly directions.

My problem is that I don't seem to be able to figure out how to get the
Panasonic to tune in all of these channels. Let me explain:

For example, suppose I can get channel 10-1 with the antenna pointed
north, 20-1 to the east, and 30-1 to the south. First off, if I point
the antenna north, I don't see any way to "manually" tell the Panasonic
to tune in that channel. In the "manual" channel add mode, I am only
able to add/remove channels that have been previously detected by an
autoscan. So the only way I can initially add 10-1 is to have the TV
do an autoscan - then I can either include or exclude 10-1. So let's
say I include it. Now, I want to add 20-1, so I rotate my antenna to
the east. As before, there is no way to manually add 20-1, as it isn't
listed as an available channel, so I need to autoscan again. But since
the antenna is now pointing east, the autoscan no longer "sees" 10-1,
and that channel is now omitted from the list. So I seem to be able to
have 10-1 or 20-1 available, but not both.

Is this tuner really limited this way, or am I missing something?

Thanks for any help...

This works with my Sharp, if I punch in the real channel number after
turning the antenna. For instance 26, NOT 3.1. Channel 26 will then ID
itself as 3.1, and next time I can input either 3.1, or 26.

Tam

Tam

Tam/WB2TT wrote:
"Mr. Land" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hello,

Any 60u owners out there? I have a question about the tuner on this
unit. I want to use a roof-mounted VHF/UHF antenna to pick up as many
digital channels as I can manage.

I have my antenna mounted on my roof with a rotator. The majority of
the available digital channels are east of me, and I can pick up an
additional 4 or 5 in the northerly and southerly directions.

My problem is that I don't seem to be able to figure out how to get the
Panasonic to tune in all of these channels. Let me explain:

For example, suppose I can get channel 10-1 with the antenna pointed
north, 20-1 to the east, and 30-1 to the south. First off, if I point
the antenna north, I don't see any way to "manually" tell the Panasonic
to tune in that channel. In the "manual" channel add mode, I am only
able to add/remove channels that have been previously detected by an
autoscan. So the only way I can initially add 10-1 is to have the TV
do an autoscan - then I can either include or exclude 10-1. So let's
say I include it. Now, I want to add 20-1, so I rotate my antenna to
the east. As before, there is no way to manually add 20-1, as it isn't
listed as an available channel, so I need to autoscan again. But since
the antenna is now pointing east, the autoscan no longer "sees" 10-1,
and that channel is now omitted from the list. So I seem to be able to
have 10-1 or 20-1 available, but not both.

Is this tuner really limited this way, or am I missing something?

Thanks for any help...

This works with my Sharp, if I punch in the real channel number after
turning the antenna. For instance 26, NOT 3.1. Channel 26 will then ID
itself as 3.1, and next time I can input either 3.1, or 26.

Tam

Tam

Hey, thanks, I will give that a shot.

Tam/WB2TT wrote:
"Mr. Land" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hello,

Any 60u owners out there? I have a question about the tuner on this
unit. I want to use a roof-mounted VHF/UHF antenna to pick up as many
digital channels as I can manage.

I have my antenna mounted on my roof with a rotator. The majority of
the available digital channels are east of me, and I can pick up an
additional 4 or 5 in the northerly and southerly directions.

My problem is that I don't seem to be able to figure out how to get the
Panasonic to tune in all of these channels. Let me explain:

For example, suppose I can get channel 10-1 with the antenna pointed
north, 20-1 to the east, and 30-1 to the south. First off, if I point
the antenna north, I don't see any way to "manually" tell the Panasonic
to tune in that channel. In the "manual" channel add mode, I am only
able to add/remove channels that have been previously detected by an
autoscan. So the only way I can initially add 10-1 is to have the TV
do an autoscan - then I can either include or exclude 10-1. So let's
say I include it. Now, I want to add 20-1, so I rotate my antenna to
the east. As before, there is no way to manually add 20-1, as it isn't
listed as an available channel, so I need to autoscan again. But since
the antenna is now pointing east, the autoscan no longer "sees" 10-1,
and that channel is now omitted from the list. So I seem to be able to
have 10-1 or 20-1 available, but not both.

Is this tuner really limited this way, or am I missing something?

Thanks for any help...

This works with my Sharp, if I punch in the real channel number after
turning the antenna. For instance 26, NOT 3.1. Channel 26 will then ID
itself as 3.1, and next time I can input either 3.1, or 26.

Tam

Tam

Um, how do I get the "real" channel numbers for the digital
subchannels? I tried antennaweb.org but it isn't showing me all the
digital channels I am picking up in my various locations.

Thanks.

"Mr. Land" wrote in message
oups.com...

Tam/WB2TT wrote:
"Mr. Land" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hello,

Any 60u owners out there? I have a question about the tuner on this
unit. I want to use a roof-mounted VHF/UHF antenna to pick up as many
digital channels as I can manage.

I have my antenna mounted on my roof with a rotator. The majority of
the available digital channels are east of me, and I can pick up an
additional 4 or 5 in the northerly and southerly directions.

My problem is that I don't seem to be able to figure out how to get the
Panasonic to tune in all of these channels. Let me explain:

For example, suppose I can get channel 10-1 with the antenna pointed
north, 20-1 to the east, and 30-1 to the south. First off, if I point
the antenna north, I don't see any way to "manually" tell the Panasonic
to tune in that channel. In the "manual" channel add mode, I am only
able to add/remove channels that have been previously detected by an
autoscan. So the only way I can initially add 10-1 is to have the TV
do an autoscan - then I can either include or exclude 10-1. So let's
say I include it. Now, I want to add 20-1, so I rotate my antenna to
the east. As before, there is no way to manually add 20-1, as it isn't
listed as an available channel, so I need to autoscan again. But since
the antenna is now pointing east, the autoscan no longer "sees" 10-1,
and that channel is now omitted from the list. So I seem to be able to
have 10-1 or 20-1 available, but not both.

Is this tuner really limited this way, or am I missing something?

Thanks for any help...

This works with my Sharp, if I punch in the real channel number after
turning the antenna. For instance 26, NOT 3.1. Channel 26 will then ID
itself as 3.1, and next time I can input either 3.1, or 26.

Tam

Tam

Um, how do I get the "real" channel numbers for the digital
subchannels? I tried antennaweb.org but it isn't showing me all the
digital channels I am picking up in my various locations.

Thanks.

Go to www.antennaweb.org , and put in your zip code. If you want exact
antenna headings, also include your street address (or something close to
it)

Tam

Tam/WB2TT wrote:
"Mr. Land" wrote in message
oups.com...

Tam/WB2TT wrote:


This works with my Sharp, if I punch in the real channel number after
turning the antenna. For instance 26, NOT 3.1. Channel 26 will then ID
itself as 3.1, and next time I can input either 3.1, or 26.

Tam

Tam

Um, how do I get the "real" channel numbers for the digital
subchannels? I tried antennaweb.org but it isn't showing me all the
digital channels I am picking up in my various locations.

Thanks.


Go to www.antennaweb.org , and put in your zip code. If you want exact
antenna headings, also include your street address (or something close to
it)

Tam

No, that does not help because antennaweb is not showing all the
digital channels that he is getting OTA. Antenneweb is rather
conservative on what digital stations people can get. For example, if I
enter my address in antennaweb.org and select multiple story building &
no local obstructions, it shows me 11 digital stations along with 1 that
is not even on the air. In reality, I get 17 digital stations OTA with a
Channel Master 4221 4 Bay bowtie antenna mounted in my attic.

The stupid part of this is that many ATSC receivers, if not most, do
not show the actual broadcast channel numbers, but only the mapped
displayed channel numbers.

There is also no consistency also in how the ATSC receivers work in
terms on entering the actual channel number. The Samsung SIR-T451 allows
me to directly enter the digital channel and will automatically add that
channel to the scan list if it finds a station there. Of course, the
Samsung jumps to the mapped channel number. This is not in the manual. I
discovered this feature purely by accident when I entered a wrong
channel # of a station that had gone full power since the last scan.
OTOH, the Sony DHG-HDD250 DVR receiver does NOT allow you to enter the
digital channel #. You have to do a scan or an update scan (which the
Sony at least does have) to add channels.

To get back to the question above, one solution is to enter a zip code
a lot closer to the station or city in question and get the actual
broadcast channels that way. Another is to go to the FCC database -
http://www.fcc.gov/mb/video/tvq.html - and enter the call sign for the
station. TV or NTSC is for the analog station, DT or ATSC is the field
for the digital station. There is a lot of information at the FCC web
site, but it does require careful reading to sort through it correctly.

Alan F

"AlanF" wrote in message
...
Tam/WB2TT wrote:
"Mr. Land" wrote in message
oups.com...

Tam/WB2TT wrote:


This works with my Sharp, if I punch in the real channel number after
turning the antenna. For instance 26, NOT 3.1. Channel 26 will then ID
itself as 3.1, and next time I can input either 3.1, or 26.

Tam

Tam

Um, how do I get the "real" channel numbers for the digital
subchannels? I tried antennaweb.org but it isn't showing me all the
digital channels I am picking up in my various locations.

Thanks.


Go to www.antennaweb.org , and put in your zip code. If you want exact
antenna headings, also include your street address (or something close to
it)

Tam

No, that does not help because antennaweb is not showing all the digital
channels that he is getting OTA. Antenneweb is rather conservative on what
digital stations people can get. For example, if I enter my address in
antennaweb.org and select multiple story building & no local obstructions,
it shows me 11 digital stations along with 1 that is not even on the air.
In reality, I get 17 digital stations OTA with a Channel Master 4221 4 Bay
bowtie antenna mounted in my attic.

The stupid part of this is that many ATSC receivers, if not most, do not
show the actual broadcast channel numbers, but only the mapped displayed
channel numbers.

There is also no consistency also in how the ATSC receivers work in terms
on entering the actual channel number. The Samsung SIR-T451 allows me to
directly enter the digital channel and will automatically add that channel
to the scan list if it finds a station there. Of course, the Samsung jumps
to the mapped channel number. This is not in the manual. I discovered this
feature purely by accident when I entered a wrong channel # of a station
that had gone full power since the last scan. OTOH, the Sony DHG-HDD250
DVR receiver does NOT allow you to enter the digital channel #. You have
to do a scan or an update scan (which the Sony at least does have) to add
channels.

To get back to the question above, one solution is to enter a zip code a
lot closer to the station or city in question and get the actual broadcast
channels that way. Another is to go to the FCC database -
http://www.fcc.gov/mb/video/tvq.html - and enter the call sign for the
station. TV or NTSC is for the analog station, DT or ATSC is the field for
the digital station. There is a lot of information at the FCC web site,
but it does require careful reading to sort through it correctly.

Alan F

He is only looking for the HD RF channel numbers for known stations.
Antennaweb will give that. You can also go to
http://radiostationworld.com/default.asp , click on North America, scroll
down to your state, click on it, and choose Quick List for the city. This
has links to the FCC web site.

Tam

Tam

Tam/WB2TT wrote:
"AlanF" wrote in message
...
Tam/WB2TT wrote:
"Mr. Land" wrote in message
oups.com...

Tam/WB2TT wrote:


This works with my Sharp, if I punch in the real channel number after
turning the antenna. For instance 26, NOT 3.1. Channel 26 will then ID
itself as 3.1, and next time I can input either 3.1, or 26.

Tam

Tam

Um, how do I get the "real" channel numbers for the digital
subchannels? I tried antennaweb.org but it isn't showing me all the
digital channels I am picking up in my various locations.

Thanks.


Go to www.antennaweb.org , and put in your zip code. If you want exact
antenna headings, also include your street address (or something close to
it)

Tam

No, that does not help because antennaweb is not showing all the digital
channels that he is getting OTA. Antenneweb is rather conservative on what
digital stations people can get. For example, if I enter my address in
antennaweb.org and select multiple story building & no local obstructions,
it shows me 11 digital stations along with 1 that is not even on the air.
In reality, I get 17 digital stations OTA with a Channel Master 4221 4 Bay
bowtie antenna mounted in my attic.

The stupid part of this is that many ATSC receivers, if not most, do not
show the actual broadcast channel numbers, but only the mapped displayed
channel numbers.

There is also no consistency also in how the ATSC receivers work in terms
on entering the actual channel number. The Samsung SIR-T451 allows me to
directly enter the digital channel and will automatically add that channel
to the scan list if it finds a station there. Of course, the Samsung jumps
to the mapped channel number. This is not in the manual. I discovered this
feature purely by accident when I entered a wrong channel # of a station
that had gone full power since the last scan. OTOH, the Sony DHG-HDD250
DVR receiver does NOT allow you to enter the digital channel #. You have
to do a scan or an update scan (which the Sony at least does have) to add
channels.

To get back to the question above, one solution is to enter a zip code a
lot closer to the station or city in question and get the actual broadcast
channels that way. Another is to go to the FCC database -
http://www.fcc.gov/mb/video/tvq.html - and enter the call sign for the
station. TV or NTSC is for the analog station, DT or ATSC is the field for
the digital station. There is a lot of information at the FCC web site,
but it does require careful reading to sort through it correctly.

Alan F

He is only looking for the HD RF channel numbers for known stations.
Antennaweb will give that. You can also go to
http://radiostationworld.com/default.asp , click on North America, scroll
down to your state, click on it, and choose Quick List for the city. This
has links to the FCC web site.

Tam

Tam

Hey Tam, Alan,

First, thanks very much for your help.

antennaweb
When I enter my location at antennaweb, it only lists about 5 available
digital channels, while I can in fact receive many more than that.

FCC link
Thanks, I will definitely check that out.

My TV's tuner
I seem to have some weird/unexpected behavior happening. Did I do
something wrong in the following test? First I had the TV do a channel
autoscan with the antenna at heading 23 degrees - the tuner picked up
all of the digital channels I expected it to. (For reference below, I
checked this list and channel 40-1 was not on it.) Then I rotated the
antenna to 120 degrees, where I knew from previous autoscans that
additional subchannels 40-1 and 40-2, both on RF channel 57, had good
signal strength. Without autoscanning, I manually keyed in 57-1 and
got a blank screen with a flashing "Channel Not Available" box. Then I
tried keying in 40-1 and 40-2 with the same results. Now here's where
it gets weird. At this point I gave up, rotated the antenna back to 23
degrees, and turned everything off. Later, my wife was surfing
channels using the up/down key on the remote, and called me in to ask
me why 40-1 had no picture! So now 40-1 was in the TV's channel list.
Baffled, I rotated the antenna back to 120 degrees, and it came in
perfectly. Any idea what happened?

Hey Tam, Alan,

First, thanks very much for your help.

antennaweb
When I enter my location at antennaweb, it only lists about 5 available
digital channels, while I can in fact receive many more than that.


You could do what Alan suggested, put in a zip code closer to the town the
stations are in. Antennaweb will give a listing of all the channels in an
area, the FCC sites I have looked at do one channel at a time.

FCC link
Thanks, I will definitely check that out.

My TV's tuner
I seem to have some weird/unexpected behavior happening. Did I do
something wrong in the following test? First I had the TV do a channel
autoscan with the antenna at heading 23 degrees - the tuner picked up
all of the digital channels I expected it to. (For reference below, I
checked this list and channel 40-1 was not on it.) Then I rotated the
antenna to 120 degrees, where I knew from previous autoscans that
additional subchannels 40-1 and 40-2, both on RF channel 57, had good
signal strength. Without autoscanning, I manually keyed in 57-1 and
got a blank screen with a flashing "Channel Not Available" box. Then I
tried keying in 40-1 and 40-2 with the same results. Now here's where
it gets weird. At this point I gave up, rotated the antenna back to 23
degrees, and turned everything off. Later, my wife was surfing
channels using the up/down key on the remote, and called me in to ask
me why 40-1 had no picture! So now 40-1 was in the TV's channel list.
Baffled, I rotated the antenna back to 120 degrees, and it came in
perfectly. Any idea what happened?

There will be a lot of variation from day to day as to which stations come
in, especially if they are distant. Also, the stations may not be on all the
time, or they may still be doing transmitter adjustments. When you initially
punched in 57, you probably got enough of a signal to get the translation to
40.1, but not enough to enable video output. At any rate, it seems that the
TV does what you want it to if you enter the real RF channel number.

Tan

Since you all were nice enough to offer help, and also, in case anyone
else has a similar problem with this set, I thought I would post my
results.

First off, I'll mention an item of note. Having just purchased this
unit, I called Panasonic Plasma support for help with this issue.
After carefullying explaining (twice) what it was I was trying to do,
the support person finally admitted that she didn't know and said she
would elevate the support case. Later, I received an e-mail from
Panasonic support flatly stating that the TV would not do what I wanted
- that is, that I would have to do a complete channel rescan every time
I reoriented my antenna in order to pick up the stations in that new
direction. It turns out that this answer is completely wrong, that you
folks here actually knew more about the behavior of this set than
Panasonic support. I found this very interesting.

OK, with that out of the way, the truth is that the first suggestion
made here actually works, that is, manually entering the "carrier"
channel for the digital channels you're trying to add to the TV tuner's
known channel list. If the target channel's RF level is really weak, I
occasionally saw some slightly erratic behavior: once, when trying to
add the subchannels of an RF channel having an especially weak signal
level, the tuner failed to pick up the channel in question, but instead
"jumped" down to a lower channel that I wasn't even aware of, and added
those subchannels instead.

But to anyone reading this with a similar problem, for the most part
this technique worked very well.

Thanks again.