It looks like the switch to digital TV will go as planned in February. Recent articles in the Idaho Statesman quotes Idaho Public TV as saying that several Treasure Valley areas may not be able to pick up the new signals, specifically Emmett, Idaho City and Harris Ranch. Rich Van Genderen of Idaho Public TV kindly sent me two maps showing the results of a digital TV reception study in Boise. High strength is in warm colors and low strength in cool colors. In these maps you can see Columbia Village has high signal strength. Harris Ranch, outlined by the 
red box, is dark blue, a poor reception area. With our location tucked up against the foothills the Harris Ranch neighborhood is in a reception shadow. According to Rich, this area will need "deep fringe antennas" to even try to receive the DTV signals.The transmitters are not far away, only about 13 miles due north near Bogus Basin. Results for digital channel 12 is the top map and channel 21 (IPTV) is on the bottom.
A weak signal on analog TV is snowy and fades in and out, but at least there's something to watch. Digital TV, however, requires a consistently strong signal for the receiver to decode the information, otherwise
the screen is blank. In addition, these signals don't 'bend' around obstructions like lower frequency analog signals. You would likely need to install a 100 to 150 foot tower to pick up the DTV signals here.
So if you don't already have cable or satellite to watch TV, you are out of luck for the time being. Rich said there is an effort to buy and operate 'translators' that will cover the area, but funding is not certain.
If you still want to try to receive free digital TV, by federal law you may install an antenna in order to receive local
channels. It must be a safe installation and not higher than 12 feet above the roof. Any higher could require an engineer's review. The homeowners association can not stop you from installing an antenna and is only allowed to regulate where the antenna is located. You still need a review from the ACC for the location of the antenna.
Read more about the issue in this article from Idaho Statesman. If you've tried to receive the digital signals in Harris Ranch, let us know in the comments.
A weak signal on analog TV is snowy and fades in and out, but at least there's something to watch. Digital TV, however, requires a consistently strong signal for the receiver to decode the information, otherwise
the screen is blank. In addition, these signals don't 'bend' around obstructions like lower frequency analog signals. You would likely need to install a 100 to 150 foot tower to pick up the DTV signals here.So if you don't already have cable or satellite to watch TV, you are out of luck for the time being. Rich said there is an effort to buy and operate 'translators' that will cover the area, but funding is not certain.
If you still want to try to receive free digital TV, by federal law you may install an antenna in order to receive local
channels. It must be a safe installation and not higher than 12 feet above the roof. Any higher could require an engineer's review. The homeowners association can not stop you from installing an antenna and is only allowed to regulate where the antenna is located. You still need a review from the ACC for the location of the antenna.Read more about the issue in this article from Idaho Statesman. If you've tried to receive the digital signals in Harris Ranch, let us know in the comments.
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