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Old 8-Oct-2013, 12:57 PM   #1
tarheel
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Can I get these channels?

I do have a very minor problem, there is one channel I would love to pick up but don't. It's only for football purposes, as of right now I get the loathed Panther broadcasts in my region and would love to get Redskins broadcasts. Here is what TVfool says I get (pay particular attention to 7.1 CBS and 27.1 FOX):

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...46ae5546cd678c

I can receive 7.1 fine (4 bars out of six signal in WMC), but 27.1 and 10.1 I can't get and I occassionally get 13.1 and 38.1 (even 21.1 at night due to tropospheric scatter). I have a directional antenna (clearstream4) mounted to an antenna rotator with a preamp (ChannelMaster 7700 Titan 2). I have no splitters other than the internal one on the HDHomerun. I would think it would be Co-channel interference except for the fact that with the directional antenna the interfering channel (17.1) does not get detected at the direction I point to get the 27.1 signal. However I can get 17.1 fine when the antenna is pointed in the towers direction. Is this the fault of entering the zip code, allowing only channels located in that zip code to be shown? Or is it a limitation of the tuner being unable to distinguish co-channel interference.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions,
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Old 8-Oct-2013, 3:27 PM   #2
GroundUrMast
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You can bypass the media-center software and access the HDHomeRun tuner directly. In Windows, look for the program: Start > Programs > HDHomeRun > HDHomeRun Config (GUI)

When you launch this utility, you can enter a real channel number directly, eliminating the possibility that the media-center software is limiting your choice of signals. Though raw signal strength is relevant, it alone is not the sole factor that determines reliable reception. Signal quality needs to be high enough to provide enough error free data to decode a viewable signal. (see the screen shots in post 1 of http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=820)

If you see signal quality of <60%, you may need to make changes to your antenna, it's location, aim or have other problems with cable connectors or amplifier noise/distortion.

If you're at the edge of reliable reception now, I would consider a Winegard HD-9095P + an RCA TVPRAMP1R preamplifier dedicated to azimuth 337° (magnetic) and terminated in a dedicated HDHR tuner. There are other options to consider when using more than one antenna, http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=2882.
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Last edited by GroundUrMast; 8-Oct-2013 at 3:30 PM.
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Old 8-Oct-2013, 3:48 PM   #3
tarheel
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I did that and got a signal strength of 100%, but absolutely no signal quality or symbol quality. I had to strip my coaxial RG6 cable to shorten it. I used some compression fittings and crimped them with a RG6 clamp(?). Could that be my problem?
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Old 8-Oct-2013, 4:05 PM   #4
ADTech
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A power level of 100% with the other parameters at zero suggests that the tuner is receiving "garbage". It might be noise ingress, but I'd suggest that it's either amplifier/tuner overload (IMD) or it might be a defective amp that's oscillating.

A CM7777 is way too much amplifier for your TVFool plot and is inappropriate for your signal levels. Remove it completely and retest the system "barefoot".
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Last edited by ADTech; 8-Oct-2013 at 4:19 PM.
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Old 8-Oct-2013, 5:26 PM   #5
teleview
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Disconnect and Remove the , amplifier unit , power injector , power supply.

As a Test to prove reception.

Run a New Continues Length of Coax from the antenna through a open window or door direct to 1 Tv , No couplers , No splitters , No coax ground coupler , No etc. .

Digital Broadcast Tv Tuners can develop - Digital Glitches - that are not cleared out with simple channel scans.

Do Double Rescan , http://www.wchstv.com/DoubleReScanAlert.pdf.

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Last edited by teleview; 8-Oct-2013 at 5:31 PM. Reason: Clarify information and typos.
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Old 8-Oct-2013, 5:59 PM   #6
Tower Guy
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Your problem with 27.1 is that WFXR shares channel 17 with WNCN. WNCN is predicted to be 5.4 db stronger than WFXR. In order to pick up WFXR you will need an antenna with roughly 25 db rejection of WNCN. To do so would take a pair of identical antennas such as the 43XG or 91XG stacked horizontally with an exact spacing of 29 inches. You can read about ganging antennas at hdtvprimer.com/ganging

Last edited by Tower Guy; 8-Oct-2013 at 6:07 PM.
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Old 9-Oct-2013, 4:29 AM   #7
GroundUrMast
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To scan or not to scan...

If you were working with a typical TV set, the rescan advise would be relevant. There is no need to rescan the HDHR when you are using the HomeRun Config (GUI). You are able to directly enter the real channel number and PID, so the tuner has no need to be rescanned. In fact, rescanning may impact your WMC configuration,

You have an excellent test tool at your disposal in the HDHR and HomeRun Config (GUI). I agree with ADTech and Tower Guy, 100% signal strength while getting 0% signal quality makes me think you have a lot of interference or you are over amplifying your signal... Or both.

Signal strength indicated by the HDHR can run at 100%, but strive for high signal quality values. When dealing with a weak signal, I'll gladly settle for 60% signal strength if I get stable signal quality of 60% or higher.

I wish all tuners gave you the option to directly enter real channel numbers and PIDs like the HDHR does. The more I use the HDHR as a test tool, the less urge I feel to spend a bunch of money on a commercial grade signal meter.

It's worth repeating, until the antenna can deliver a usable signal into a single tuner though a short coax, you don't have a signal worth amplifying. And in your case, amplifying a good signal may be destroying it.
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Last edited by GroundUrMast; 9-Oct-2013 at 4:34 AM.
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Old 9-Oct-2013, 12:18 PM   #8
tarheel
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I originally didn't have an amplifier and was satisfied for the most part. The main reason for installing the amplifier is that I was having issues with DVRing shows in WMC, because the antenna was not positioned right. Stations around me are in all different locations and I bought the long range directional antenna to get the most channels I could. However the downside was that I couldn't get all the major networks in a single antenna position and in hindsight I wish I would have gone omnidirectional.

So in comes the preamp and now I can get all the major channels and then some in a single position. I can now get two regions major network channels in two positions. The only issue I have, and it is very minor, is not getting that one Fox station out of Roanoke. Which sucks a little, because I have to get NFL game rewind in order to watch Redskins games, although I made use of the Madden 25 anniversary edition which included Sunday ticket for this year.

From what I've been reading I would have to go to extreme measures like ganging antennas in order to achieve one channel, which right now doesn't seem justifiable. Thanks again everyone, you guys are extremely knowledgeable in this area and I appreciate the suggestions.

Tarheel
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Old 9-Oct-2013, 12:54 PM   #9
elmo
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Do you have one of the first gen dual tuner HDHR's? The beauty of those is that they accepted dual coax inputs, one for each tuner; the 2nd gen dual tuner models only have a single coax input. So those first gens can take two different antenna inputs, making the job of joining antennas completely foolproof. I have one antenna pointed north and another pointed south, joined at the HDHR, seamlessly aggregated with WMC. That way I get the best reception for each direction. Maybe that could be an option for you.
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Old 9-Oct-2013, 1:23 PM   #10
tarheel
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I used to have the old HDHomerun, but it recently died on me so I got the newer version. Oh well....
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