Stopped Receiving Channels

PeteyMcp · 24-Oct-2013, 12:39 AM

I'm not sure what happened, but all of a sudden yesterday I stopped receiving every channel except one. I have roof mounted Winegard HD7697P antenna and an Antennas Direct CPA-19 Pre-amp wired direct to TV, no splitters. Nothing of note happend, but I started to lose CBS, which is the channel that I have the hardest time receiving on Sunday night. I still didn't have it on Monday, but I still had everything else. Then I started to struggle with channels last night and now I only have ABC, which tends to be one of my stronger channels, if not the strongest. If I unplug the preamp power cable, I lose ABC, but it comes back if I plug it back in. I checked cable tightness behind the TV, but not up at the antenna. I assume if I had a lose connection I would lose everything, but maybe not.

When I was first working on setting up the TV a couple of months ago I had a similar issue. I had left the signal strength indicator on for a while to see if I ever got anything from the one channel I just can't get. When I went back to the other channels, I had nothing. I tried a few things and ended up unplugging the Pre-amp and the TV for a while. When I plugged them back in, every thing was back. I tried that for a few minutes tonight, but still get nothing except ABC.

Any ideas?

PeteyMcp · 24-Oct-2013, 12:42 AM

And I should point out that I normally have pretty strong signal strengths on all of these.

Stereocraig · 24-Oct-2013, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeteyMcp

And I should point out that I normally have pretty strong signal strengths on all of these.

Process of elimination, is the way to go.
Start by removing the preamp and injector and proceed to remove splitters and additional TVs and coax runs.

It may be a long shot, but also check that there is no continuity between any of the driven elements and the boom/ mast.
I have a 7698p and it had a dangling chad that was making contact w/ the rivet all the way in the rear that connects the two phasing lines together.

I had to drill it out and ream the hole bigger and replace it w/ a bolt.

ADTech · 24-Oct-2013, 1:06 PM

The pre-amp must be completely bypassed to test without it, unplugging the power supply turns it into a brick and causes different symptoms that don't help narrow down the issue. Check the power supply to see if it's excessively warm to the touch. If it is, the amplifier has likely failed.

Your symptom can also be caused by water infiltration into an outdoor coaxial cable. Something else to check.

PeteyMcp · 25-Oct-2013, 1:33 PM

Thanks guys, I'll remove it tonight and see what happens. Couple of notes: I checked DC voltage coming out of the power supply going up to the antenna and got 18V. Does that tell me anything? Also, a few channels have come back in, but the don't have great signal and I'm still missing a few.

It looks like the CPA19 is discontinued, if I have to replace it, what preamp should I be looking at?

ADTech · 25-Oct-2013, 3:35 PM

It says the power supply is working, but that's all.

Yes, the CPA19 is discontinued. We'd need to see your exact location TVFool plot in order to accurately prescribe a different pre-amplifier.

PeteyMcp · 26-Oct-2013, 2:30 AM

Ok, bypassed the pre-amp and power supply and not only did I get back everything, but with much stronger signals than I've had since I swapped out to the larger antenna, but I also am getting some form of signal from NBC (44), but not enough to keep a picture.

The pre-amp is less than a year old, so it's disappointing that it's stopped working. I wonder if it's ever been functioning fully since I got the newer antenna a few months ago. The stronger signals may just be a function of the trees losing most of their leaves, but it's hard to say.

Most of the channels are now coming through over 90% according to my TV except CBS and NBC. CBS is around 50% but the picture is solid. NBC jumps up to 35-40 or so, but drops off completely as well. I think right now the antenna is almost directly pointed at CBS. I'm going to try to shift it towards NBC to see if I can find a position where I get both. If I can, I'll keep everything as is until the spring and see what happens when the leaves grow in.

Any chance that adding a new pre-amp back in might get me both if I can't get them as is? Any chance I overpower the stronger signals if I add in a Pre-amp as it stands?

Thanks for the help so far, great forum.

Brian

GroundUrMast · 26-Oct-2013, 3:24 AM

Related thread: http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=12715

PeteyMcp · 26-Oct-2013, 10:43 AM

Thanks GUM, I started this new thread because it started as a different topicn but I suppose this has morphed back into the same questions. Hopefully I'm not violating and rules, you have all been very helpful, wouldn't want to piss anyone off.

GroundUrMast · 26-Oct-2013, 5:51 PM

No worries... just trying to make the relevant info easy to access.

Let's give AD time to respond re. the CPA-19. I don't know if they view this as a warranty issue. I don't want to presume either way at this point.

ADTech · 26-Oct-2013, 8:49 PM

Since the warranty on our electronics and accessories is ninety days, it's a moot point.

GroundUrMast · 26-Oct-2013, 10:14 PM

While I'm looking forward to AD offering a preamp suitable for use with a combination of strong and weak signals, the RCA TVPRAMP1R is a very good option.

PeteyMcp · 28-Oct-2013, 1:54 PM

AD,

I understand that it's out of warranty, I was hoping for a suitable replacement suggestion.

Is it normal for the Pre-amps to fail within a year? Is it possible that I did something that might have caused premature failure?

GUM, thanks for the recommendation, I'll look into that model.

PeteyMcp · 29-Oct-2013, 12:32 PM

GUM,

That Pre-amp that you recommended is significantly cheaper than the previous one I purchased and seems cheaper than most of the pre-amps I see out there. I can get it for $24 delivered, I may just give it a shot since it's so cheap. What is the chance that I overpower some of the stronger signals? I can occasionally get NBC to come in right now with a signal of 35-40, which seems to be the minimum I need to get a picture, I'm hoping a working pre-amp might get me a solid signal, at least through the winter.

Brian

GroundUrMast · 29-Oct-2013, 7:13 PM

The reports I've read and my personal experience with the TVPRAMP1R show it to be very tolerant of strong signals. In fact, in my application, I've seen it tolerate a bit more signal than my CPA-19.

http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=13530

PeteyMcp · 25-Nov-2013, 12:22 AM

Wanted to follow up on this one time. I have the RCA pre-amp in and it works great, no issues at all and everything is coming in very clearly. I still struggle with NBC though. Tonight, because I wanted to watch the Pats game, I went up on to the roof and manually rotated to aim at NBC. I went from sporadic reception to 90%. This unfortunately means i lose CBS and PBS. I think it's time I bit the bullet and put in a rotator. Any suggestions for a decent, reliable option? I want to do this once, so I want to do it right.

Thanks in advance.

Brian