Need outdoor antenna advice please.

[Dave Loudin]

Originally Posted by tbird2340

OK, so I got the 91XG and it works pretty good. KDKA comes in perfect!

Are you getting any other Pittsburgh stations, like WPXI, WPMY, or WPGH?

[tbird2340]

Originally Posted by Dave Loudin

Are you getting any other Pittsburgh stations, like WPXI, WPMY, or WPGH?

Nope. I don't get any of those.

[tbird2340]

I think it's definitely 45.1 WNEO-DT.

[tbird2340]

Ok. Some strange things.. Even on NBC sometimes I get a NO SIGNAL for a second or two.. It's not often but it's often enough.. When I go to my diags it says the signal strength is 95 with the SNR (db) at 30.. AGC (%) at 35.. Any ideas?

[No static at all]

Are you using a rotator?

[tbird2340]

Nope.. Nothing but the antenna..

[No static at all]

Unless the 91XG is aimed fairly close to the signal source, it may be unreliable, even with strong local signals.(especially on windy days) You may get by with signals coming in directly behind the antenna if multipath isn't excessive.

[tbird2340]

So what do you suggest? Thanks

[No static at all]

You'll either need a rotator, or an additional small UHF antenna aimed at your local towers with a separate cable running to the TV. You would then use an A-B switch at the TV to select which stations are desired.

[John Candle]

W44CR-44 PBS translator station is the same as WNEO-45 PBS. WKNB-41 CBS , WFMJ-20 NBC , WYFX-19 FOX , WYTV-36 ABC , The only others that I can see that are worth going after are WPCW-11 CW , WPMY-42 MyNetwork , both at magnetic compass 146. . And maybe WPCP-27 if you can figure out what programing is on.

[tbird2340]

I am beyond mad.. KDKA is all jacked up and I don't understand why.. It is a beautiful day here, 68*, sunny, barely any wind.. I went out and looked at my antenna and it's not moving at all.. What the hell can be causing this and what can I do to fix it? All I care about is KDKA as I need to watch the Steelers games!

How can I watch a full game with no issues one day, and then have it skip all over the place the entire game another time?

Signal strength: 62-70
Errors: Tons
SNR (db): around 20
AGC (%): around 60

[John Candle]

Call the Tv station , talk with the engineering department. They can bring professional test equipment to your location to analyze the reception situation.

[No static at all]

Originally Posted by tbird2340

I am beyond mad.. KDKA is all jacked up and I don't understand why.. It is a beautiful day here, 68*, sunny, barely any wind.. I went out and looked at my antenna and it's not moving at all.. What the hell can be causing this and what can I do to fix it? All I care about is KDKA as I need to watch the Steelers games!

The atmosphere is experiencing a bit of enhancement this weekend in parts of the northeast which can actually harm normally reliable stations. You may want to experiment with the height/aim of your antenna to maximize KDKA to help improve reliability during times of unfavorable conditions. This is usually best done during more normal reception conditions.

[tbird2340]

So I'm still having this issue and it's driving me nuts.. It happens with all channels, not just KDKA.. Here is a video of what I mean:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSMgUGbEXAk&hd=1

I have replaced one of the coax lines that runs from the antenna into the house but I still have it connecting to a coupler and then another 25' that goes to the TV that I didn't replace (thought 50' would be long enough)..

I didn't have any of these issues with my old antenna using the same cables (before replacing the 50' coax).

Any ideas?

[mtownsend]

The sporadic dropouts are unlikely to be caused by your cabling. Anything that your cables/couplers do to the system is going to remain static as opposed to something that varies so rapidly.

I suspect that the problem is more likely to be related to the way your antenna is pulling in signals from the environment. I believe that you said your antenna is pointed directly at KDKA (138º). This means that channel 41 is coming in through the "back" side of the antenna, a little off center, but in part of the antenna's radiation pattern that has low gain.

Also keep in mind that TV signals can bounce around the environment (off buildings, terrain, trees, etc.). Your antenna is probably picking up a combination of the "strong" signal entering the "weak" side of the antenna plus a mix of randomly reflected signals that are entering the "front" of the antenna. This combination of signals (direct and reflected) can look like multiple overlapping echoes of the same signal to your receiver. This is also known as multipath. When the multipath corruption of a signal gets bad enough, the channel can no longer be decoded and you can end up with channel dropouts.

One way to fix this is to re-point your antenna. This will change the relative strength of the "echoes" contributing to multipath. As you turn the antenna, some of the signal paths will become stronger while others become weaker. With an antenna rotator, you would be able to slowly change the direction of the antenna until you find a spot that has minimal problems with channel dropouts. It's a lot more work without an antenna rotator, and the optimum position might change as the weather, seasons, and tree leaf density changes throughout the year (and change the amount of reflected signal hitting your antenna from various angles).

Your older antenna might have behaved differently because the hot and cold spots in the antenna's radiation pattern are in different places for each antenna.

[Tower Guy]

Originally Posted by tbird2340

So I'm still having this issue and it's driving me nuts.. It happens with all channels, not just KDKA..

Any ideas?

KDKA's signal is weak and 2 edge. It is normal for such signal to fade slightly. The other stations ("all channels")are not in the main beam of the antenna, so multipath is likely on those stations.

The question is what to do about it. You need a bit more signal from KDKA, but your antenna is as big as practical. Your feedline is new and RG6, the strong local stations prevent the use of a preamp.

If I lived in your house I'd get a channel filter tuned to channel 25, and use an HDP-269 preamp with the filter installed between the antenna and the preamp. The filter will prevent overload of the preamp.

Tinlee CF-7
Microwave filter 3303D
Blonder tongue BPF-U
Or build your own using this design web site;
http://www.wa4dsy.net/cgi-bin/idbpf

[tbird2340]

So I went up on my roof the other day to try and do some minor adjustments to see if I could get KDKA solid without any blacking out like in the past.. Now it's even worse, on all channels.. Here is how my antenna looks if this is any help what so ever..

[No static at all]

If I were in your shoes, I would first get a rotator. After installing, if still having problems with KDKA you can try raising/lowering the antenna in 6 inch increments to find a possible better sweet spot.

You could also likely benefit from some very conservative amplification to compensate for the line loss of the coax. The highly tolerant Winegard HDP-269 would likely be the best preamp choice, but still not sure if it can resist potential overload from the nearby locals.

I have personally had better luck when just a small of extra gain is needed using the Channel Master 3414 distribution amp. I've really been impressed with how well it can improve marginal signals in blistering strong signal areas.

Unfortunately no matter what you do, some occasional signal intrerruptions will still likely occur with the weak 2 edge signal from KDKA.

[tbird2340]

Originally Posted by No static at all

If I were in your shoes, I would first get a rotator. After installing, if still having problems with KDKA you can try raising/lowering the antenna in 6 inch increments to find a possible better sweet spot.

You could also likely benefit from some very conservative amplification to compensate for the line loss of the coax. The highly tolerant Winegard HDP-269 would likely be the best preamp choice, but still not sure if it can resist potential overload from the nearby locals.

I have personally had better luck when just a small of extra gain is needed using the Channel Master 3414 distribution amp. I've really been impressed with how well it can improve marginal signals in blistering strong signal areas.

Unfortunately no matter what you do, some occasional signal intrerruptions will still likely occur with the weak 2 edge signal from KDKA.

Any recommendations on rotators? How do people get power up to their roofs? That's something I don't think I'll be able to do so I doubt I can even get one..

[No static at all]

Either the Channel Master 9521 or Eagle Aspen would be a good choice. The power supply is inside near the TV, so no power outlets are needed outside.