1. Where are you located in relation to KETC’s tower? Our antenna is located on Butler Hill Road in South St. Louis county. A good resource to find out how strong KETC’s signal is in your area is http://www.antennaweb.org.

2. Do you have an indoor antenna (“rabbit ears” ) or an outdoor antenna?

Though an indoor antenna brought analog Channel 9 into your home, it might have done so with some interference or “snow” in the picture. A digital converter box will not broadcast channels with “snow” and instead displays a black screen with a “no signal” message. This is known as the “cliff effect”.

If you’ve already tried to change the direction of your indoor antenna, double check that your TV and antenna aren’t set up by a window with tall trees or other outside interference. Sometimes the solution is as easy as moving your antenna to a different part of the house. In other cases, a stronger “amplified” antenna could help. These are modestly priced and available in most electronics departments.

Outdoor antennas are more powerful, but again the “cliff effect” applies. If you live in an area where Channel 9 used to come in, but with a fuzzy picture, the digital stations will likely not come in. Make sure your antenna is set to the UHF function and not the VHF. A professional might need to change the direction of your outdoor antenna. Again, http://www.antennaweb.org is a good resource to find out how strong KETC’s signal is in your area and what type of antenna you need to receive the digital stations.