Problems with tuner
 

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...46ae10f81364e4

My situation is difficult, I realize, but to make a long story short (very long story) I'm able to find a spot on the roof that gets decent reception via the Antenna's Direct C2V hooked up to a portable RCA television (RCA DPTM70R). I can get nearly all channels of interest to me with this (virtual 4; RF 38 seems tough for reasons that confuse me... multi path?).

For example: without working very hard to "aim" this system (with antenna just a few feet above roof level... about 25 feet AGL) I can get virtual channels 5,7,9,11,16,33,51 (and a few others, less interesting to me). At times I can even get virtual 4.

But here's the thing: I then attach this EXACT same set up (cable run about 30-40 feet without splits, into the house, into one 32 inch Samsung LCD TV) and I get almost no channels! Some will be present (with 5-6 out of 10 "strength") but others are gone. Then, I rescan, and some of the absent channels reappear (with good strength) but the previously present channels are now gone.

Is the tuner on my 32 inch Samsung bad? How can I test this? From reading other posts it seems like Samsung tuners are generally highly regarded.

Additional info:
The Samsung is model LN32D403E4D
I just looked up their support and found a firmware upgrade that (among other things) says it "corrects "no tune" issue"

Will post after I install to see if this actually makes a difference

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Aim the C2V , at about 180 degree magnetic compass direction.

Here is how to aim antenna , www.kyes.com/antenna/pointing/pointing.html

Use a Real and Actual magnetic compass to aim antenna.

Should be easy to get all your Seattle stations
 

Tristan, you're just down the road from me. Your Tvfool report shows great signal strength for all the Seattle stations, so not sure why you say your situation is difficult.

Unless you have hills/trees blocking your path.

Given the tall Douglas Fir trees that you and I have to contend with here in western WA, you may find it necessary to go up in antenna performance...

But first, let's see if the firmware helps.

Update: no change with new firmware. So the behavior is this:
1) perform double rescan, only pick up some channels (virtual 11,33,51 but not 4,5,7,9,16 for example)
2) repeat double rescan, making no other changes to system, now get different assortment of channels (virtual 9 might now come in, for example, and seem to have reliable signal).

It seems somewhat random: sometimes channels are picked up, sometimes not. Those channels appear to have adequate signal (5-6 of 10 bars, for example), and I can watch them for many minutes without signal loss, so it seems unlikely that they would have "dropped" just at the moment the tuner was attempting to find those frequencies.

I'm assuming this means the tuner in the TV is bad... I don't suppose there is anyway to replace it? Probably just need a new TV unless anyone has other ideas

Thanks in advance, you guys have been extremely helpful in the past

If the tuner has failed, consider an HD capable set-top tuner. This assumes you have at least one unused HDMI port free. http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=2882

However, your inability to receive KOMO reliably with the RCA TV leads me to conclude the surrounding vegetation and/or buildings and terrain are going to force you to consider a larger antenna.

Until a year ago, I lived in the north end of Seattle. An Antennas Direct 91XG and Antennacraft Y5713 were not overkill due to conditions common to the Seattle area. My old TVFR looked better than yours on paper.

A Winegard HD7694P or Antennacraft HBU-44 would also be worth your consideration.

Interesting link, thanks for the ideas. I've thought about trying to get a jointenna to isolate RF33 from Cougar Mountain (the only channel I really care about that direction... virtual 7, or RF51 from Cougar Mountain is pretty easy to get from Queen Anne Hill on RF39).

Anyway: you are right that I need a larger antenna ultimately, and I have tried a ridiculous number of combinations and spent some time "walking the roof" (flat roof here in Seattle).

I have a DB8e which is noticeably more powerful (as it should be) than the C2V, but is quite directional. When I started to rotate the two panels out (reducing gain but making it more multidirectional), I could get everything but started to have trouble reliably picking up virtual 4 (RF38). I was planning to combine it with a C5 for VHF if I could get all UHF channels of interest.

Anyways, this tuner issue within the TV itself is obviously causing problems, and needs to be solved before I can proceed.

Update: purchased a HomeWorx HW180STB as a tester, and indeed it seems to be getting many more channels (most over 70% strength). This is with the identical setup as my Samsung.

Very frustrating: I wasted countless hours trying to optimize my antenna, only now to realize the tuner seems bad. Sigh.

Anybody know if it is worth trying to replace a tuner, or should I just get a new TV?

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I do not recommend replace tuner in the Tv.

Here are some other tuner / recorders.

www.epvision.com

And

www.channelmasterstore.com

Has tuner/recorders.

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The Samsung quality has dropped so low that I will no longer recommend Samsung.

So now , it is , LG and Sony .