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Old 17-Mar-2011, 1:00 AM   #1
hockeyrcks9901
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Quick Question

Well, for starters, I was getting "free" cable for some time so I never bothered with an antenna as I was satisfied with the quality of the cable channels. That ended recently and because I'm a cheap college student I decided I would try and build my own antenna.

I found some plans for a DB4 antenna and it works much better than I anticipated. However there is a tiny issue. I receive all the channels I want on the TV however, over at my computer/htpc, I am missing a couple of channels. The most important one is 56.1 - ion.

Just wondering what I can do to improve the reception on the computer. Not sure if I should add an amp or try and remove some cable length. I have used a manufactured antenna (Winegard Freevision) at this location before and didn't near as good reception as my homemade antenna.

TV Fool report: http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...ccd1bb0b464743

I also attached a crude drawing of my setup.
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Old 17-Mar-2011, 9:09 AM   #2
GroundUrMast
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Signal levels at your location are far in excess of the input capacity of many amplifiers. An amplifier is one of the very last options I would suggest in this case.

A few possibilities:
(1) Your home made antenna is badly de-tuned at channel 48 (WOPX's real broadcast channel). -- What happens when you remove all splitters and connect the antenna to the 2250 only?
(2) The antenna is OK and you are receiving enough signal (TV + FM) to overload the Hauppauge 2250 front end. -- Have you tried installing a passive FM trap?
(3) There is a bad splitter, cable, connector, etc. -- Have you done a thorough inspection? Including the parts that "can't be bad"?
(4) You have the antenna located in a cold spot for a couple of signals. -- Have you tried adjusting aim and the location of the antenna? Is it inside or out?

Mounted outside, in the clear, a factory built DB-4 would be PLENTY of antenna for all of the UHF signals south east of you.. An RCA ANT-751 would be quite sufficient and it would cover the high VHF signals also. Either antenna should recover enough signal to drive a 4-way split with no amplifier.
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If the well is dry and you don't see rain on the horizon, you'll need to dig the hole deeper. (If the antenna can't get the job done, an amp won't fix it.)

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Last edited by GroundUrMast; 17-Mar-2011 at 9:19 AM.
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Old 17-Mar-2011, 1:27 PM   #3
hockeyrcks9901
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Damn. I had a long post typed up and I lost it.

Anyways, I can't remove the first splitter because the coax would not reach the computer tuners, but if I remove the first splitter and connect directly to the tv, the signal improves from 59% to 62%.

If I disconnect the tv, and remove the second splitter and connect directly to the computer tuners, the signal strength shows no improvement. If I replace the first splitter with the second one, there is still no signal improvement at the computer. There is a 1% improvement at the tv.

I leaning towards it being an antenna issue. I'm on the third floor of a three story apartment building. I have the antenna mounted a 10 foot mast that is attached to my balcony floor and we have 10 foot ceilings. So that puts the antenna near the roof line. I could try moving the antenna around but there is an oak tree near one side of my balcony and I currently have the antenna in the spot farthest from the tree. It is pointing at 120 degrees.

I can try a FM trap, any recommendations?
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Old 17-Mar-2011, 2:06 PM   #4
Tower Guy
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hockeyrcks9901 View Post
I can try a FM trap, any recommendations?
In your case a HLSJ with nothing (or a 75 ohm terminator) connected to the L port would be the best choice.
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Old 17-Mar-2011, 2:10 PM   #5
hockeyrcks9901
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Wouldn't that restrict my ability to receive channel 2-1?
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Old 17-Mar-2011, 3:06 PM   #6
mtownsend
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Originally Posted by hockeyrcks9901 View Post
Wouldn't that restrict my ability to receive channel 2-1?
Nope. WESH is on real channel 11 and virtual channel 2.1. The HLSJ would screen out low VHF (ch 2 thru 6 and FM) while allowing high VHF to pass (ch 7 and up).
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Old 17-Mar-2011, 3:17 PM   #7
hockeyrcks9901
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Originally Posted by mtownsend View Post
Nope. WESH is on real channel 11 and virtual channel 2.1. The HLSJ would screen out low VHF (ch 2 thru 6 and FM) while allowing high VHF to pass (ch 7 and up).
Okay. I thought it blocked all vhf channels not just low vhf.
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Old 17-Mar-2011, 3:20 PM   #8
mtownsend
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The UVSJ splits between UHF and VHF, the HLSJ splits between high-VHF and low-VHF.
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Old 17-Mar-2011, 3:26 PM   #9
hockeyrcks9901
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Originally Posted by mtownsend View Post
The UVSJ splits between UHF and VHF, the HLSJ splits between high-VHF and low-VHF.
Stupid acronyms...lol

I'll give one a shot and see if it helps.
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