Signal dropping out

[rbanke]

Hello, a few years ago I received some excellent help in choosing an antenna and it has been great up until a few months ago when reception of some channels started cutting out. Trees in the neighborhood have grown and Florida can be tough on equipment outside so I'm here to ask for some advice before I go and purchase a new bigger antenna.

Original Thread (http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=6962)

Updated Analysis (http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d8e038da9ffd717)

Currently I have an RCA ANT751R pointed at 292 magnetic north mounted outside at the peak of our house. coax runs to a 4 way 5-900MHz splitter (outside within the cable box) and then to 4 tv's. Dropouts happen on all tv's and seems worse when more than one tv is on but that may just be my imagination. I was considering purchasing one of the other recommended models from that original thread but noticed one of them is no longer produced. I also saw the 'Flatwave' outdoor antennas on Winegard's site but don't know if those are better or worse than a 'normal' antenna. Powering the flatwave antenna should not be too much of an issue if it's substantially better to have.

Thanks in advance.

[Jake V]

Your TV Fool Report shows you have strong signals coming from the west. The RCA ANT751R is usually a very good antenna for your situation.

It this happened to me the first thing I would do is to check the connections. It is quite possible that a connection has come loose. Since you mention that it happens on all televisions, I'd especially check the connections from the antenna to the splitter. Weather can degrade the connection at the antenna or the bauln maybe faulty.

If that does not help then try bypassing the splitter and send the signals to one television and see what happens.

[rbanke]

Your TV Fool Report shows you have strong signals coming from the west. The RCA ANT751R is usually a very good antenna for your situation.

It this happened to me the first thing I would do is to check the connections. It is quite possible that a connection has come loose. Since you mention that it happens on all televisions, I'd especially check the connections from the antenna to the splitter. Weather can degrade the connection at the antenna or the bauln maybe faulty.

If that does not help then try bypassing the splitter and send the signals to one television and see what happens.

I should have mentioned, I have already checked and retightened all the connections as necessary. I'll give bypassing the splitter a try. There is also a grounding block before the splitter I forgot to mention but I'm guessing they are too simple to go bad as long as they're not corroded. I'll bypass it also for the test to be sure.

Thanks

[WIRELESS ENGINEER]

If it worked well before then as posted, check or re-do the outside connections and check for signs of water intrusion and corrosion

You should always use "coax-seal" to weather proof outside connections when you are done

It's also possible you now have interference that wasn't there years ago

This could be ANYTHING electronic

I've seen twist and LED bulbs pixel a tv as well as anything that has a microprocessor

So remove the power to anything you want to test to see if it's causing interference

Also those pesky wireless outdoor motion detectors and thermometers can cause OTA interference as well

And something that has appeared EVERYWHERE in the last cople years is 4GLTE cell phones and towers

They use the 700mhz frequencies so they can be amplified by tv antennas and preamps and can overload or desense TV receivers as well

Your cell phone also uses these same frequencies now so it too can cause interference

With all the FCC actions in recent years there are now police and fire radios, and wireless internet transmitters operating inbetween OTA tv channels so they too can be an issue