Reception Problems

mdoverstreet · 2-Dec-2011, 3:21 AM

Hey ya'll! What's up? Got another reception question for ya. This is my girlfriend's grandmother's place. The only thing she can get is KAIT no matter which way the antenna is turned. Why is that? Looks like she ought to be able to get a couple more things. The antenna looks to be a HBU55. The only reason I say that is because it looks like the one I got for my uncle. It is on a rotor. The grandmother's son says it has an preamp on it, but I didn't see one. There is a weird-looking black deck-of-cards shaped amp-like thing inside that said it was an amp, so I plugged it in and connected it. No difference. On Thanksgiving night, I guess tropo was active. We were getting WSIL and WMC. We watched This on 5.2. Broke up a little but come right back. The next day nothing but KAIT. I messed with it a little bit more and got KTEJ. The weird thing is that the antenna was not even pointing toward Jonesboro. It was pointing toward Springfield. Decided to just leave it alone until I asked ya'll. Should she not be getting Springfield, K07XL, KEMV or anything else? I know there's no way possible to get Little Rock. I'm thinking the cable needs replaced, the antenna needs to be pointed upward a bit and definitely a good quality preamp. http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...ec12d69f871a6c What ya'll think?

GroundUrMast · 2-Dec-2011, 7:08 AM

An HBU-55 would be in the the class of antennas that I would recommend.

If you were starting over, I would favor a combination of an XG91 and a 10 element high-VHF (YA1713 or Y10713). An HD7698P would be a 'close second' option.

I would certainly look at the coax, if the connectors have not been sealed perfectly, and water has gotten in, replace the coax. If there is corrosion or damage to the antenna it may be time to replace it. If it's in serviceable condition then it sounds like you may want to start over with the amplifier to see what you can get with the existing antenna.

Use only one amplifier. The best place for the amplifier is at the antenna, not 30 or 60 feet down the line. The attenuation of the cable ahead of the amplifier input subtracts from the total signal-to-noise ratio and can not be recovered. Placing the amp at the antenna preserves the hard won signal quality. The low noise of the Antennas Direct CPA-18 makes it my choice in this situation.

MisterMe · 2-Dec-2011, 2:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mdoverstreet

Hey ya'll! What's up? Got another reception question for ya. This is my girlfriend's grandmother's place. The only thing she can get is KAIT no matter which way the antenna is turned. Why is that? Looks like she ought to be able to get a couple more things. The antenna looks to be a HBU55. ...

Your girlfriend's grandmother lives in an area with very weak signals. The primary reason that she receives KAIT is that it is one of her two strongest signals. The Antennacraft HBU55 is a High-VHF/UHF, but I am confident that the owner's antenna is an old antenna that only kinda looks like the HBU55. My bet is that it can receive UHF channels only weakly if at all. KAIT (RF-8) broadcasts on High-VHF. KEMV (RF-13) also broadcasts on High-VHF with a stronger signal, but she doesn't receive it. I suspect an old corroded antenna.

GroundUrMast has made excellent recommendations. I suggest that you persuade the owner to follow them. Before that, however, I would recommend that she check the preamp to ensure that it is actually working. If her antenna is in good shape, she might see a whole new world with a working preamp--or no preamp at all.

mdoverstreet · 3-Dec-2011, 2:40 AM

Thanks a lot ya'll. I'll pass the information along to my girlfriend's uncle. Probably wouldn't hurt to have a different converter box. She has a Maggotbox. I like the converter boxes that Radio Shack carries. Seems to work pretty good. What do ya'll think?

Electron · 3-Dec-2011, 4:35 AM

Here is my suggestion for reception of the digital tv stations. Aim a Winegard HD7698P antenna with a Winegard AP8700 preamplifier at 290 degree magnetic compass for the reception of , KSPR-DT 19 ABC , KOLR 10 CBS , KYTV 44 NBC and K07XL 7 - http://www.rabbitears.info/market.ph...allsign=130920 , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K26GS-D. And a second HD7698P antenna with a AP8700 preamp aimed at 124 degree magnetic compass for the reception of KAIT 8 ABC and KTEJ 20 PBS. Here is how to aim antennas , http://www.kyes.com/antenna/pointing/pointing.html. The 2 antennas will have Separate coax and preamplifiers all the way to the area of the tv where the 2 separate coax will be connected to a remote control A/B antenna switch , Model # AB-27RS. KEMV 13 PBS and KTEJ 20 PBS both have the same PBS programing , The Arkansas Educational Television Network. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkansa...vision_Network. Here are places to buy antennas and etc. , http://www.winegarddirect.com , http://www.solidsignal.com , http://www.amazon.com

mdoverstreet · 10-Dec-2011, 4:24 AM

Thanks for the comeback. Sounds like a little work, but might be well worth it.

GroundUrMast · 10-Dec-2011, 5:02 AM

@ Electron & mdoverstreet, An A/B switch is a valid option when using two antennas.

@ mdoverstreet, Because you mentioned the possible purchase of a replacement or second DTV converter, here is yet another option: http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=2882

mdoverstreet · 17-Dec-2011, 12:51 AM

Wow, that sounds pretty cool, but also a little advanced for me. LOL!