Help with NY OTA 11 PIX and 13 PBS

[rob316]

Heys guys I am kind of new to the OTA thing but I have a couple questions. I currently have a Haupaugge 950Q connected to my pc which is great but I am having a couple of issues. I first bough an Rat Shack UHF/VHF antenna with amp well I could only get 2,4,5,9 thats it. So I read that the Terk HDTVA was pretty good in picking up VHF since ABC NY is still on VHF band. So I picked up the Terk and with a little adjusting I was able to pick up cbs, nbc, fox, abc, and channel 9, but for the life of me I cannot pick up 11,13. I went to antennaweb.org site and 11 and 13 point to the same area as cbs, nbc. Any advice or input would be appreciated.

Here are my stats for from TV Fool
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...27ee7250637208

[mtownsend]

Hello and welcome!

It looks like you've tried the right things and still have not had complete success on all channels. Unfortunately, that is sometimes the way it is with indoor antenna reception. You can't always tell what is in the walls or other buildings that might be interfering with your reception (pipes, ducts, electrical wiring, wire mesh, insulation with foil backing, transformers, etc.).

With rabbit ears, the optimum reception for high VHF (since you're going after channels 11 and 13) is to have the elements extended about half of their maximum length and laid out fully horizontal (roughly 40" from tip to tip). If you extend the elements out too long, it will actually optimize the antenna toward lower VHF channels.

If this is not enough to help you, then the next thing to try it to move the antenna to the second floor, attic, or whatever you have that allows the signal to be received more directly (passing through fewer walls, trees, neighbors' houses, etc.).

Beyond that, the only other thing to do is get a higher gain antenna. For VHF, the next step up from rabbit ears is significantly larger. That's because lower frequencies mean longer wavelengths, and that means longer antenna elements are needed. It looks like you only need to focus on channels 7 thru 69, so a "small" antenna for this would be something like the Antennacraft HBU-22. A Winegard HD7080P would also work. These types of antennas are too big to be placed in the living room, so you're looking at either an attic or rooftop installation for something like this.

[rob316]

Originally Posted by mtownsend

Hello and welcome!

It looks like you've tried the right things and still have not had complete success on all channels. Unfortunately, that is sometimes the way it is with indoor antenna reception. You can't always tell what is in the walls or other buildings that might be interfering with your reception (pipes, ducts, electrical wiring, wire mesh, insulation with foil backing, transformers, etc.).

With rabbit ears, the optimum reception for high VHF (since you're going after channels 11 and 13) is to have the elements extended about half of their maximum length and laid out fully horizontal (roughly 40" from tip to tip). If you extend the elements out too long, it will actually optimize the antenna toward lower VHF channels.

If this is not enough to help you, then the next thing to try it to move the antenna to the second floor, attic, or whatever you have that allows the signal to be received more directly (passing through fewer walls, trees, neighbors' houses, etc.).

Beyond that, the only other thing to do is get a higher gain antenna. For VHF, the next step up from rabbit ears is significantly larger. That's because lower frequencies mean longer wavelengths, and that means longer antenna elements are needed. It looks like you only need to focus on channels 7 thru 69, so a "small" antenna for this would be something like the Antennacraft HBU-22. A Winegard HD7080P would also work. These types of antennas are too big to be placed in the living room, so you're looking at either an attic or rooftop installation for something like this.

I usually don't watch 11 and 13 anyway so no big loss. I am the type of person to get everything I can out of something, but I can live without 11 or 13. Thanks for your help and this is a great forum.

[rob316]

Just an update after playing a little bit more with the positioning of the antenna and adjusting the length of the front antenna I am happy to say I now receive 11 PIX. I still cannot get 13 but no big deal I never watch it anyway. Thank you all for this forum, I would have never known about adjusting the length of the antenna made such as big difference, I just extended both as far as I could, but from reading here it seems the HI-VHF is picked up by adjusting the length of the front antenna.

[mtownsend]

Some day, you might also try experimenting with moving the antenna up into the attic and running a cable to your TV.

In many cases, channels become difficult to receive due to signal reflections (a.k.a., multipath) bouncing around the environment. In the days of analog TV, this is what caused "ghosts" to appear on the screen. Multipath is bad for digital signals too because it makes it more difficult to decode the stream of digital data. In other words, signal quality is just as important as signal strength when it comes to TV reception.

By moving your antenna higher (like in the attic or on the roof), you usually get above most of the clutter that causes multipath (e.g., shrubs, trees, walls, fences, vehicles, neighbors' houses, etc.). As a result, your signal might get significantly cleaner and easier to receive.

I understand that it might not be a high priority for you now, but I just wanted to let you know that there are a few simple things that try can make channel reception cleaner and more reliable all around.

[rob316]

Originally Posted by mtownsend

Some day, you might also try experimenting with moving the antenna up into the attic and running a cable to your TV.

In many cases, channels become difficult to receive due to signal reflections (a.k.a., multipath) bouncing around the environment. In the days of analog TV, this is what caused "ghosts" to appear on the screen. Multipath is bad for digital signals too because it makes it more difficult to decode the stream of digital data. In other words, signal quality is just as important as signal strength when it comes to TV reception.

By moving your antenna higher (like in the attic or on the roof), you usually get above most of the clutter that causes multipath (e.g., shrubs, trees, walls, fences, vehicles, neighbors' houses, etc.). As a result, your signal might get significantly cleaner and easier to receive.

I understand that it might not be a high priority for you now, but I just wanted to let you know that there are a few simple things that try can make channel reception cleaner and more reliable all around.

Thanks mtownsend you have been a great help. One last question about what you posted about the antenna being fully horizontal. I currently have both antenna's almost in a V shape, should I try to lower both antenna to be fully horizontal or in a straight line with each other? Will this help maybe to get PBS?

[mtownsend]

When rabbit ears are put in a "V" orientation, the gain is a little lower. You also need to lengthen the elements a little more to get them tuned to the same channel.

You get the maximum gain out of rabbit ears when the poles are exactly opposite each other in a straight line (both poles at equal length). For upper VHF stations (i.e. ch 13), you'll want the tip-to-tip length to be about 40 inches. For lower VHF stations (i.e., ch 2), you'll want the tip-to-tip length to be about 110 inches. Most rabbit ears can only reach to about 80 inches, but that's close enough to work for all the lower VHF channels.

If you need to tilt the elements up because you lack the space for a horizontal dipole, then you'll need to make the elements longer by 30% to 50% to maintain optimum tuning to the channel you want. As the elements get closer together (narrowing "V"), the effective gain will decrease.

All TV signals are broadcast with horizontal polarization, so for optimum reception, you should also have your antenna in a horizontal position. It is not very sensitive to polarization (you can be off by +/- 30 degrees and hardly notice any difference) so anything roughly horizontal is good enough.