# Google Map your post-transition OTA coverage



## Stuart Sweet

I stumbled into this site, which allows you to show your OTA coverage after the transition in an interactive map. It's very well done actually:

http://www.fcc.gov/mb/engineering/maps/


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## mhayes70

Nice find! Thanks for sharing!


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## ziggy29

Neat tool, but it seems to be based on Antennaweb's overly conservative estimates. It says I get "no signal" for all the full-power Austin locals (60 miles away), when in fact I get a strong and very consistent OTA picture for all of them. It would be an even better tool if it used TVFool's results.


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## hdtvfan0001

Thanks for sharing Stuart....while I'm "almost all green" on this great mapping tool...I suspect many others can use this to prepare and/or "brace themselves" where appropriate.


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## Stuart Sweet

Based on what I'm seeing now on the antenna, I find the results for my house are actually quite accurate. They even properly forecast that I can't/won't get KVCR 24.1 even though it's physically close (it's on the other side of a mountain range.)


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## hdtvfan0001

Stuart Sweet said:


> Based on what I'm seeing now on the antenna, I find the results for my house are actually quite accurate. They even properly forecast that I can't/won't get KVCR 24.1 even though it's physically close (it's on the other side of a mountain range.)


My OTA antenna also maps perfectly to the list of stations and their results here.

Stuart - this is a very easy-to-use and helpful tool that I hope many use to check out their own situations, which obviously vary based on location.


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## ziggy29

Stuart Sweet said:


> Based on what I'm seeing now on the antenna, I find the results for my house are actually quite accurate. They even properly forecast that I can't/won't get KVCR 24.1 even though it's physically close (it's on the other side of a mountain range.)


Interesting. What I am seeing is almost exactly what I see with Antennaweb. Here's what I get with this tool and with TVFool:

















Looking at it some more, it looks like all the stations are in the same relative order of signal strength, so maybe they account for terrain and signal strength in a similar way. Perhaps the FCC tool just has a different definition of "no signal" than TVFool does -- or maybe it assumes you don't have a good, outdoor antenna.


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## cdizzy

Wow, this is nice. Thanks.


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## Stuart Sweet

As with all things, it's likely the FCC's tool will be better for some situations and worse for others. I think the FCC's approach probably makes a little more sense when you're talking about a government web site. You don't want it seeming like they're promising coverage they can't deliver.


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## ziggy29

Stuart Sweet said:


> I think the FCC's approach probably makes a little more sense when you're talking about a government web site. You don't want it seeming like they're promising coverage they can't deliver.


That makes sense. But on the other hand, erring on the side of fairly extreme conservatism may convince some people that OTA isn't a feasible option even with a high-gain outdoor antenna setup, and it might well be. Looking at my results above, a lot of people could be excused for thinking OTA would be hopeless out here.


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## Jimmy 440

Thank you for that website.I sure am going to miss my Philadelphia stations that I get up here now in north eastern coastal Jersey. Bummer !


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## n3ntj

Stuart Sweet said:


> I stumbled into this site, which allows you to show your OTA coverage after the transition in an interactive map. It's very well done actually:
> 
> http://www.fcc.gov/mb/engineering/maps/


Not terribly accurate, I presume. Several stations I get now that aren't changing anything show as 'No signal' at my location. Should be interesting on the 12th. Thanks for the link, however.

AntennaWeb appears to be more more accurate in my area.


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## Drew2k

ziggy29 said:


> Interesting. What I am seeing is almost exactly what I see with Antennaweb. Here's what I get with this tool and with TVFool:
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> Looking at it some more, it looks like all the stations are in the same relative order of signal strength, so maybe they account for terrain and signal strength in a similar way. Perhaps the FCC tool just has a different definition of "no signal" than TVFool does -- or maybe it assumes you don't have a good, outdoor antenna.


You can specify the height of your antenna at TVFool, while the FCC site may make an assumption that the antenna is indoors or is outside at 20 feet, so that may make a difference.

The FCC page includes the following note:

Actual signal strength may vary based on a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, building construction, neighboring buildings and trees, weather, and specific reception hardware.


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## Jim5506

TVFool maps are much more flexible and show actual (estimated) signal coverage by terrain.


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## mishababy

thanks thats a great tool.


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