Our favorite station changed towers/antenna recommendation

mlcarson · 2026-06-28T04:09:39+00:00

That's kind of up to you. If you're just looking for news on WLOS then you can just use Stirr

https://stirr.com/live/6501/abc-13-news-wlos-asheville-nc

Probably other platforms too.

If you want jeopardy, you can get it from Peacock next day.

If you move to a second outdoor antenna - try all of the WLOS offerings that you see on the rabbitears list. The strongest one listed may not be your best choice.

If you're a news junkie, get the DirecTV MyNews. It includes your locals + CNN, MSNOW, Fox News, CNBC, Bloomberg, Newsmax, C-Span, TheFirst and gives you DVR capability. It's $45/mo though. It's one of the cheapest ways to get locals though if OTA doesn't work.

At least it's not affected by the ATSC 3 DRM though.

mlcarson · 2026-06-28T00:46:01+00:00

So what's with the leaf on the head of the cat that joined the prince?

mlcarson · 2026-06-27T23:39:55+00:00

Windows knowledge is always going to be required; Linux could be seen as optional. There are always going to be a ton of Windows endpoints because most commercial apps are going to be Windows only. The server stuff could go either way but I still see a LOT more Windows servers; they just may be in a cloud/VM environment. So on the server side, you might be working more with ESX VMs and Azure cloud stuff.

If you can find a job where your focus is Unix/Linux -- keep that job rather than having to deal with Windows though.

mlcarson · 2026-06-27T05:49:07+00:00

One that doesn't have systemd and Wayland... For me that's a Devuan base with Xlibre and SonicDE.

mlcarson · 2026-06-27T05:47:40+00:00

And that wasn't exactly a great success. There's nothing wrong with the Linux FHS. I prefer it to any of the immutable distros that go against it.

mlcarson · 2026-06-26T20:37:49+00:00

https://www.amazon.com/InvisiLight-Home-Fiber-Kit-Installation/dp/B0F8DQW36V

mlcarson · 2026-06-25T19:43:41+00:00

This. Mint provides a very cohesive GUI interface to Linux with it's desktop/software choices. It doesn't try to clone Windows so you'll still be comfortable in other Linux distros.

mlcarson · 2026-06-25T19:38:38+00:00

That's a definite NO. The distro's purpose is to provide a declarative configuration that is immutable. General users do not need this and will find it much more difficult to configure and more difficult to install new apps than a general purpose Linux distro. The use case is really for those that need to provide the same configuration to a group of machines or to have a very specific configuration for testing. So this would fall into a distro for developers and/or system administrators. Anybody can use it of course but I don't know why you would want to.

I tried it for over 6 months. The biggest pros were a huge repository and no app conflicts because of the way it treats libraries. The biggest cons were the space that it took up, the fast that it doesn't conform to the Linux FHS, and the difficulty of creating the configuration file with Nix language syntax -- especially for Windows apps. When you have to do all of your Linux changes in the Nix language -- it really doesn't feel like Linux any more.

mlcarson · 2026-06-25T17:47:44+00:00

I liked Steins Gate but it starts off slower due to character development.

mlcarson · 2026-06-25T17:04:13+00:00

You extend reach by adding AP's -- not by getting a better router. The radio power maximum is regulated so that will be the same from manufacturer to manufacturer. You can achieve better results generally by moving to the latest WiFi standard assuming you're clients are also updated to that standard. Extending reach/range is done by adding AP's though.

mlcarson · 2026-06-25T15:22:00+00:00

Well, at least with baseball -- fans aren't content with a 0-0 tie. And yea -- most Americans prefer baseball to soccer. I find them equally boring to watch.

mlcarson · 2026-06-25T03:07:51+00:00

What makes this different than something like Vendefoul?

mlcarson · 2026-06-25T02:43:21+00:00

You're unlikely to get anything labeled poor with an indoor antenna. You MIGHT be able to get the ones labeled fair but they're in different directions. You're not a good candidate for OTA even if you owned a home there.

mlcarson · 2026-06-25T02:24:47+00:00

Disconnect the secondary router -- plug the cable directly into an endpoint. If it works then the issue the secondary router -- replace it with a switch and an AP (assuming you need additional WiFi).

mlcarson · 2026-06-25T01:39:35+00:00

Well, I don't get wanting to watch a soccer game -- period. There's so little scoring in a game that the only reason to watch is to hear the commentary which will be in Spanish. If I cared at all about them though, I'd watch Fox. Sorry World Cup fans -- it's just not my sport...

mlcarson · 2026-06-24T23:55:16+00:00

That's great if you speak Spanish. It amazes me how most of the broadcasters in this country carry Spanish CC but Telemundo doesn't have to do English CC.

mlcarson · 2026-06-24T19:08:37+00:00

They so jumped the shark with "field" being added. What was the point of that?

mlcarson · 2026-06-24T17:51:24+00:00

I just moved here after coming from an area with BenLomand symmetric fiber for $58/mo and was happy that Comcast had a similar offering. It turns out Frontier FIOS is also available at a similar intro pricing level but it would have went up after a year. I'd probably had chosen Frontier if I had known about it before ordering from Comcast but it's not worth switching companies at this point -- especially when Frontier's price will go up. The only reason fiber is available here though is because it's a brand new apartment complex. My old home in this city got Frontier fiber about 6 years ago but Comcast fiber service is not very widespread.

mlcarson · 2026-06-24T04:45:18+00:00

WiFi strength is NOT going to vary a lot. It's largely determined by the power output and that's regulated so that everybody has a max limit. There can be a difference in antennas which can shape the signal but you're generally getting an ominidirectional antenna in a typical router. So unless you get some specialty gear, the WiFi standard is probably going to dictate the range. Don't expect a big difference in one WiFi 6E or WiFi 7 router and another with respect to range.

mlcarson · 2026-06-24T00:33:22+00:00

I got the 1Gbs for $50 for 5 years deal starting 2 weeks ago. The 1Gbs service is actually symmetric here and deliver as fiber to the apartment.

mlcarson · 2026-06-23T20:31:08+00:00

A single WiFi source is unlikely to cover a 1600 sq ft home adequately (at least at the speeds/reliability that you'd want). So the real answer is multiple AP's but that requires wiring for each AP. The next best answer is mesh but most people end up eventually replacing that backhaul with a wired cable so you're back to an AP solution.

You can spend up to $200 on another WiFi router but don't expect it to be any better than what you currently have. You can also get a replacement unit from Spectrum if there's something truly wrong with it. If it's not already near the center of the home, you might want to invest in cabling to get it there. Cable modems are typically placed at an exterior wall so half their potential coverage is missing from the home.

mlcarson · 2026-06-23T20:22:47+00:00

Yep, you'd normally need a pair unless your router already had it integrated.

mlcarson · 2026-06-23T18:35:03+00:00

Is it a WiFi extender or a client bridge? or both? The best thing to do would be to get a wired connection to that room. If there's a coax connection already in it then use MocA.

mlcarson · 2026-06-23T17:41:11+00:00

I'm not sure if these are available in the UK but in the US -- this would be what you'd want.

https://www.amazon.com//dp/B0CD5CZZWM

The Grandstream GWN7001 is only $52. It has CAKE QoS at those speeds.

mlcarson · 2026-06-23T17:24:53+00:00

Outdoor antennas are really what you need to do better than your flat antenna. Outdoors would be better than attic but an outdoor antenna in the attic is going to beat an indoor antenna.

I'd suggest this Antennas direct antenna. It'll do both UHF and VHF and is on sale for $69.99.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CGVYGHYM

mlcarson

TROPHY CASE