Installed new antenna but can't get 2 channels still.

[medic7603]

I am in a bind. I had the Mohu indoor antenna and got some of the channels, but if I wanted ABC I had to move it to a different spot and then back to get NBC/FOX. CBS is out of the question with it as well as PBS. I'd really like to be able to get CBS/ABC. Both are showing as VHF Red on antennaweb. I have the Winegard MS 2000 mounted on the top of the mount of a Dish that I took off the mount that was on my roof prior to moving in. It's 10, maybe 15 feet up in the air on the roof. Now I can get PBS super clear as well as FOX/NBC(Just like before), but still can't get CBS or ABC. Any thoughts?

[Electron]

Do as the other question askers do and Do This -> http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=4.

Use the Exact address to make the tvfool radar plot report.

Make the antenna height 20 feet.

How many Tv's are/will be connected??

Are there any Big trees close to the house and what directions that would be in the way of reception with a antenna on the roof.

[medic7603]

Here's the TV Fool report.

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d9900f06c3b0238

I right now have it about I'd say 12, maybe 15 feet in the air, it's on the lower end of the roof on an old Dish mount.

I plan to have 2 total tv's hooked up to it eventually.

I have a splitter outside from a Comcast install and was hoping to use that to split it outside as there's already a hole for the upstairs tv and the downstairs one existing and I'd rather not drill more holes in my house if I don't have to. However, I've found when hooking it up I get the channels I want with the exception of WWMT and WZZM but only if the antenna is sent directly to the upstairs TV(don't have a digital ready one downstairs yet.) and not through the splitter. If I put the signal through the splitter it shows no signal found.

The antenna is a Winegard MS 2000.

Hopefully that's enough information, if not let me know. Thanks again!

[medic7603]

Oops. No big trees close to the house, not even on the same side of the street. From what I can find online the two stations I need to pick up are 153 degrees and 341 degrees from me at 20 and 30 miles respectively.

[Electron]

MS2000 antenna is mounted horizontal like a flying saucer in level flight.

Do not install/mount the MS2000 tipped at odd angles.

The MS2000 is to be installed above the roof in such a manner that roof and etc. is not blocking reception in any direction.

The MS2000 says it is omni directional.

The MS2000 is not 100% omni directional , turning the antenna to find a sweet spot will often improve reception.

Here are some above the roof antenna mounts , http://www.ronard.com/909911.html , http://www.ronard.com/34424560.html , http://www.ronard.com/ychim.html , http://www.ronard.com.

Buy the ronard antenna mounts at solidsignal by typing the word ronard in the solidsignal search box.

Here are places to by antenna mounts and etc. , http://www.solidsignal.com , http://www.winegarddirect.com , http://www.channelmasterstore.com , http://www.amazon.com.


Some splitters pass electric power through the splitter and some do not.

The power supply/power injector can be connected on the other side of the splitter so the power supply/power injector is feeding power through coax to the amplifier that is in the saucer unit with out going through the splitter.

Or can install a power passing splitter.

The splitter will be labeled power passing. Most common power passing splitters pass power through one leg of the splitter , through one output and one input.

Here are some High Quality power passing splitters that are beyond the common power passing splitter , and Yes a common one leg power passing splitter is Ok to use.

http://www.hollandelectronics.com , also available at , http://www.solidsignal.com.

HFS-2D , 2 way splitter.

HFS-3D , 3 way splitter.

HFS-4D , 4 way splitter.

[Electron]

If after making the reception improvement changes , the reception still is not acceptable.

Then try a ANT751 mounted up high and clear of obstructions.

Aimed at about 327 degree magnetic compass , here is how to aim antennas , http://www.kyes.com/antenna/pointing/pointing.html.

HOW MANY Tv's are/will be connected??

[medic7603]

Thanks for all that it helps. I attached it to the second cord going downstairs and connected it to a new vizio tv I just picked up. It receives both the channels I couldn't grab with the other one(a Philips), but the one channel is choppy and I imagine a greater height would be good. I'll try that next. I'll also try the power passing splitter on the outside and the injector inside that way I can keep the injector inside since I found out its not approved for outdoor use.

Does that sound like a good idea. Cable from antenna to power passing splitter to the two cables indoor to the injector(up or downstairs cable? Or both?) and then to tv? Thanks again for helping this newb.

[Electron]

HOW MANY Tv's are/will be connected??

It is best to Not chain splitters one after the other.

Do Not have a splitter connected to another splitter connected to another splitter.

Each time a split takes place the signal is -> Reduced.

So at the end of the chain of splitters there will be very little signal to receive.

The Correct Way is to use a splitter that is for the number of Tv's connected.

For one Tv connected use No splitter.

A 2 way splitter for 2 Tv's connected.

A 3 way splitter for 3 Tv's connected.

A 4 way splitter for 4 Tv's connected.

[medic7603]

Right now one. Ultimately still just two.

Assuming the power injector counts as a splitter as well?

[GroundUrMast]

The power injector does not count as a splitter. It does not divide the signal the way a splitter does. The typical power injector has less than 1 dB of loss. The typical 2-way splitter has 3.5 to 4 dB loss.

[medic7603]

Ok. Good to know thanks. So does an outdoor power passing splitter to cords foun inside work? I have one power injector on one tv now and would that be sufficient with said splitter or do I need a second?

[GroundUrMast]

This diagram may fit your situation: http://www.antennasdirect.com/cmss_files/attachmentlibrary/Using_A_Preamplifier_With_A_Splitter_Opt2.pdf

If you need a power passing splitter but don't yet have one, here's a source: http://www.antennasdirect.com/store/splitters.html

[medic7603]

Thanks for that diagram, it really helps. The only other question I guess I have is, is it imperative that I have a 2 way splitter with only one power pass port, or would one with two power pass ports work as well? I just want to get this done and there's some local stores that have splitters with power pass to all ports. Would that work?

[GroundUrMast]

Avoid passing power to cable runs that don't need it. In some cases the attached tuner will load down the power supply or even short circuit it.

Take a careful look at this diagram: http://www.antennasdirect.com/cmss_files/attachmentlibrary/Using_A_Preamplifier_With_A_Splitter_Opt1.pdf

If you have power available at the splitter location or any other point between the splitter and the antenna, this option can be implemented with a splitter that has no power pass feature, or power pass on one or more ports.

[medic7603]

Ok, that's what I figured from looking at the diagram, but I wanted to double check. Thanks for the help, it helps a lot.

[GroundUrMast]

There are DC-blocks available. It's an option that would convert 'power-pass' on all ports to 'power-pass' on selected ports.

http://www.summitsource.com/aska-vbc-dc-voltage-block-coupler-adapter-52300-mhz-volltage-blocking-female-to-male-nickle-plate-insertion-voltage-block-1-pack-coaxial-coupler-audio-video-dc-volt-blocking-adapter-connector-part-vbc-p-11828.html

However, I would not install this in a wet location. It would also cost about the same by the time you had it shipped.

[medic7603]

So. I could put a 2 way splitter with a single power pass outside though?

[GroundUrMast]

So. I could put a 2 way splitter with a single power pass outside though?

Yes, that's true. Just be sure to use weather proof connectors or mount the splitter in a weather proof housing.

[medic7603]

Ok, update. Happened to find a 2 way splitter with power pass through on both ports. Hooked it up and went from getting full channels downstairs and nothing upstairs to full downstairs and a few(not nearly enough) upstairs. That being said the power injector is downstairs and not upstairs, does that make a difference? Would it work better or worse to have the 2 way splitter with single power pass through? I'm just wondering if it's not injecting the power back upstairs or something. I'm at a loss here now and want to get this done as soon and frankly as economically as possible.

[medic7603]

If I need to get a new splitter I was thinking maybe this one?

http://www.amazon.com/DIRECTV-SPLIT2-2-Way-Signal-Splitter/dp/B005AME1RG/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1342116475&sr=8-12&keywords=2+way+splitter+power+pass

Yes/No?

[GroundUrMast]

Ok, update. Happened to find a 2 way splitter with power pass through on both ports. Hooked it up and went from getting full channels downstairs and nothing upstairs to full downstairs and a few(not nearly enough) upstairs. That being said the power injector is downstairs and not upstairs, does that make a difference? Would it work better or worse to have the 2 way splitter with single power pass through? I'm just wondering if it's not injecting the power back upstairs or something. I'm at a loss here now and want to get this done as soon and frankly as economically as possible.

If I need to get a new splitter I was thinking maybe this one?

http://www.amazon.com/DIRECTV-SPLIT2-2-Way-Signal-Splitter/dp/B005AME1RG/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1342116475&sr=8-12&keywords=2+way+splitter+power+pass

Yes/No?

You seem to be passing power to the amplifier... good, or I'd expect virtually no reception at all. But, depending on the design, putting DC power into a TV tuner may saturate the core of an input transformer, making it fail to pass much signal. (Don't use a splitter that allows DC power to back-feed into the tuner... ie. use a splitter with power pass on only one port.)

The splitter from Amazon will work just fine. It has more bandwidth than you need, but the price is very competitive (I would avoid satellite grade splitters only if they cost more than OTA/CATV grade.)

[Electron]

The talk of , up stairs , down stairs , up stairs , up stairs , down stairs.

Has me thinking that splitters are being chained one after the other.

Chain connecting splitters will reduce signal strength and be the cause of other problems.

The best way to distribute signal is with a splitter that has the number of output s that goes to the number of Tv locations.

2 Tv's connected use a 2 way splitter.

3 Tv's connected use a 3 way splitter.

4 Tv,s connected use a 4 way splitter.

[medic7603]

There is no chaining of splitters. None.
Antenna, cable, splitter(to 2 cords(one up, one down)), power injector on one cable that is going to be connected to the power pass through port back to the antenna to power its internal preamp.

The plan is and always has been one and only one splitter. I just want to leave it outside because my house doesn't need any more holes.

[Electron]

Coax cables inside and outside walls and etc. can be bad.

An easy way to find out is to use a long length of known to be good coax and jump around coax.

Look inside the connector on the end of coax , where the center wire is , If the foil shield / shied wires are pushed in toward the center conductor wire or wrapped around the center conductor wire , this is a signal short out.

Remove any shied wires that are wrapped around or touching or close to the center conductor wire.

Push the outer foil shield away from the center conductor wire.

[medic7603]

Ok. So I got home tonight and the splitter was here. Hooked it up outside and came back in, rescanned and have fewer channels than I did with the mohu I had in my window, but not by much. This is considerably less than I get with the TV downstairs also connected to the winegard rooftop antenna. Why do I get such incredibly different channels on two different tvs? Could it be the coax going into my wall is just bad? Or could it be because the power injector powering the preamp in the antenna is connected to the coax downstairs and the upstairs suffers as a result? And yes, I made sure the downstairs(powered) coax is connected to the power through side of the splitter. Thoughts? If it's the coax I can look at that tomorrow I guess.

[medic7603]

I also still have to get the antenna up higher but I can't get WOOD, WZZM, or WWMT on the upstairs TV and I can get WOOD and WZZM downstairs(with power injector downstairs) and sometimes WWMT, but not often(assuming more height needed). Thoughts? Thanks.