Eastern NC Reception Help

SteveP · 25-Jul-2011, 2:53 AM

I live in rural eastern NC and recently dropped my satellite service and started using OTA. I’m getting marginal reception and want to update my setup to get the very best reception possible. Your expert advice would be greatly appreciated.

Here’s my report:

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...03f3eab83fe7ae

My current setup is:

Old Radio Shack antenna (some damage) mounted on chimney, about 30’ above ground.
Flat terrain but some big trees.
Rotor
No Pre-amp
25-year-old cable to basement
1st 2-way split between master bath and Living room
Living room has 3-way split between DishTV DVR (OTA), LR 55” Vizio LCD and bedroom analog TV with converter.

Channels 7.1 and 9.1 come in the best; 12.1 requires antenna rotation; 19.1 is sporadic even with rotation; 14.1 doesn’t come in at all.

A “would be nice” feature would be to have the DVR record shows from 7.1, 12.1 and 19.1 using its timer without having to rotate the antenna.

So…with all that said, recommendations please. I’m ready to buy a new antenna (or antennas), amplifiers, wiring (can old satellite cables be used? monoprice.com OK?), splitters, …

Thanks in advance for any help.

Steve

John Candle · 25-Jul-2011, 4:10 AM

I recommend a Antennacraft U8000 aimed at 245 degree magnetic compass. The U8000 has extended reception ability in to the VHF high channels. The U8000 will receive WUND-DT 20 PBS through the back side of the antenna. Also install a Channel Master CM 3414 four way distribution amplifier. I strongly recommend not using all those splitters , splitters reduce the signal strength each time a split takes place. I suggest having a single run of coax from each output of the 4 way distribution amp. And have one 2 way split for the Dish DVR and Vizio Tv. Here are places to buy Tv antennas and etc. , http://www.solidsignal.com , http://www.starkelectronic.com , http://www.amazon.com , http://www.3starinc.com

John Candle · 25-Jul-2011, 4:13 AM

Read and understand about , REAL Digital Broadcast Tv Channels , Virtual Digital Broadcast Tv Channels , Analog Broadcast Tv Channels , http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=695

John Candle · 25-Jul-2011, 6:21 AM

Replace all of the outside coax with new RG-6 coax. I all so recommend grounding the shield part of the coax use a coax ground block connected to ground.

SteveP · 25-Jul-2011, 2:21 PM

Thanks John for the quick and detailed response.

OK, I'll run new RG-6 coax with grounding and get the recommended distribution amplifier eliminating the splitters.

Antenna clarification please...You mentioned that the U8000 also receives high VHF but it's sold/advertised as UHF only. From your experience, is the VHF reception very, very good or somewhat of a compromise? Real channels 10 and 12 are must-have and I'm willing to get a separate VHF antenna if necessary.

Thanks again,

Steve

John Candle · 25-Jul-2011, 3:58 PM

8 bay panel antennas will receive the vhf high channels , 10 and 12 are strong at your location.

GroundUrMast · 25-Jul-2011, 4:10 PM

Some DVR's supplied by satellite service providers will continue to function after terminating the service subscription. You would need to search online with the model number of the existing DVR.

There are several options for OTA DVR functionality if you need to replace the existing unit. (A tuner plus a PC, Channel Master CM-7000PAL, Magnavox MDR513H & 515H, Hauppauge 1192... and others)

SteveP · 25-Jul-2011, 5:05 PM

OK John, I'll go for the U8000. Thanks!!

SteveP · 25-Jul-2011, 5:16 PM

Thanks, GroundUrMast, for the DVR comment. I actually bought an OTA DVR named DVRPAL made by DishTV but now discontinued. The functionality and user interface is the same as the DVR I had with DishTV. I'm pretty happy with it EXCEPT for one very, very annoying problem...its clock drifts off the correct time ramdomly. The first day it might be correct, the next day 20 mintues, then 90 minutes. Now to record anything, I set the timer to 2 hours before the actual start time...what a pain. My next mission is to try to fix this.

Steve

John Candle · 25-Jul-2011, 5:39 PM

Here are some more recorders , http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=380

SteveP · 2-Aug-2011, 9:20 PM

The results turned out GREAT! I installed the AntennaCraft U8000, new RG-6 cable, the Channel Master CM3414 distribution amplifer and eliminted all splitters. All the expected UHF and high VHF channels are coming in strong and clear without the need to rotate the antenna. Even my DVRPal time is being set correctly...at least for now...maybe from the newly acquired PBS station.

Thanks again for all your help and expert advice.

Steve

John Candle · 4-Aug-2011, 6:40 AM

Very good , An other advantage of the U8000 is the reflector bars can be turned so the reflector bars are almost length ways with the metal bars the bars are mounted to. This will allow the V shaped metal receiving elements to receive more signals through the back side of the antenna and this makes the U8000 more of a 2 directional antenna. And yes some PBS stations transmit a time signal along with the Tv programs , this time signal keeps some electronic devices in sync with the atomic clock in Colorado.

rickcain · 2-Sep-2011, 9:42 PM

I'm a big U8000 fan too. I had one VHF channel that was a tad weak so I just added a Y5713 and a UVSJ and now my VHF reception at physical channel 7 is quite strong now. Not a big investment and an easy fix.