View Single Post
Old 25-Mar-2013, 11:49 PM   #8
GroundUrMast
Moderator
 
GroundUrMast's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Greater Seattle Area
Posts: 4,773
Quote:
Originally Posted by ADTech View Post
Forget the preamp. You are far too close to several towers and almost any pre-amp, but especially the one you have, will overload causing a "no reception" situation. You don't need one in any event.
Yes, I agree completely.

Signals with a noise margin (NM) in the air of 30 dB and greater should be able to drive a passive 8-way splitter with no amplification and still leave power to drive long coax runs. The signal from WFXV is far more powerful, enough to easily overload most preamplifiers.

You started your trouble shooting well. You've proven you have a usable signal at the antenna and at the end of a moderate length of coax. What you have not proven is the integrity of the coax from the roof to the basement.

I strongly agree with the suggestion of removing both the preamp and power injector. Then, connect a TV to the coax in the basement. You should have no trouble getting enough signal power there. If you don't get reliable reception on a single set in the basement, it suggests you have a bad coax or connector (or both).

I won't dispute that you see a change in the symptoms when you add the amp into the mix... I'm suggesting that there is an underlying problem that needs to be found and fixed... once you do that, the amplifier will not be needed or even helpful.

Last edited by GroundUrMast; 26-Mar-2013 at 3:36 AM. Reason: agreeing with sound advice
GroundUrMast is offline   Reply With Quote