Hi,
I previously set up a rooftop antenna with help of this site. Thanks much for helping me get it up and running! Here is the tvfool thread in which you all helped me get set up.
http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=13507
I was getting good reception. I have a rooftop antenna, a preamplifier, connected to a Hauppauge HVR-2250 in an HTPC, which then goes to my television.
Here's the thing. I've gotten good reception on lots of channels for months. Suddenly, within the last week, I'm getting pixelation on some channels and periodic complete dropouts on others. This hadn't happened before -- we were getting great, continuous reception.
We have had a little weather lately. A week or so ago, before we noticed these problems, we had some rain, and we've had earthquakes and some wind over the past week. I don't think there was anything drastic enough to knock our antenna around, but I want to acknowledge that it was there.
So the question is: What is the best way to troubleshoot the problem, given that we were getting good reception for a long time? I realize there are only a few things I can check: the antenna itself, the connections to the preamp, the cable, and the video card. But how do I check the antenna? From the ground it looks fine, but if I get up there, what should I be looking for? And is there a tester of some type that I could use to test the cable? Anything else?
Thanks!