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Why do you need to know if your local channel is UHF or VHF?

posted on January 9, 2009 at 5:17 PM

Q:  Why do you need to know if your local channel is UHF or VHF?

A:  In short, you might need a different antenna to pick up the different frequencies (channel numbers.)

Here are some of the differences between them. 

Low band VHF channels 2-6:

  • need the largest antenna for good reception
  • are more susceptible to electrical interference (like sparkles when someone’s running a vacuum cleaner nearby.)
  • take less energy to broadcast (so saves the TV station’s electricity budget)

High band VHF channels 7-13:

  • need a mid-sized antenna
  • are less susceptible to electrical interference
  • take a medium amount of electricity to broadcast

UHF channels 21-51 (were 14-69):

  • only needs a small antenna
  • are immune to electrical interference
  • are the most expensive to broadcast

Here is a video that explains this further.

 

 

Tags: conversion converter box digital dtv dtv converter Iowa technology television

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