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Old 14-Mar-2018, 9:22 PM   #1
cflannagan
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Sudden loss of reception

Background: We have been receiving all major broadcast channels flawlessly since my last post in this thread nearly 2 years ago http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=16059

This morning, all of suddenly, we're not receiving good reception anymore. No new obvious obstruction in front of antenna, weather is beautiful, etc. The issue has been going on for at least 6 hours.

With my engineering background (albeit only in software engineering.. I'm pretty uneducated in matters of antennas), I looked for any obvious issues. Started at antenna - it's pointed in same general direction. No visible damage at all, cable seems properly connected to it, etc.

Have same antenna mentioned in the original thread still - the HD7694P. Checked my signal boosting device in attic (still using same one mentioned in the original thread: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....SR970,300_.jpg ), the red light is on, so I'm guessing it's functional?

Verified that the coaxial connections at critical junctions are secure (not loose).

Nothing unusual happened lately. I'm stumped as to what the issue could be. Am thinking of contacting local service to check everything here but before I do that (to save money), anyone have any ideas of what else I should check out? This issue is affecting all TVs in the house (3 of them). Poor/no signal for all broadcast channels.

Is there a possibility that the signal boosting device would give me the light, but it is no longer functional? I'm wondering if I should buy a new device at Radio Shack and try replacing that device to see if it resolves, or is that unlikely considering the device has its LED lit?

Last edited by cflannagan; 14-Mar-2018 at 9:27 PM.
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Old 14-Mar-2018, 10:10 PM   #2
ADTech
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Remove the amplifier completely and re-evaluate reception.

Quote:
Is there a possibility that the signal boosting device would give me the light, but it is no longer functional?
Absolutely. The LED simply means it's getting power.

Quote:
I'm wondering if I should buy a new device at Radio Shack and try replacing that device to see if it resolves,
Well, Radio Shack pretty much went out of business last year....

Try it with no amp at all. Your plot indicates that no amp should be needed.
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Old 14-Mar-2018, 10:59 PM   #3
cflannagan
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ADTech View Post
Remove the amplifier completely and re-evaluate reception.

Absolutely. The LED simply means it's getting power.

Well, Radio Shack pretty much went out of business last year....

Try it with no amp at all. Your plot indicates that no amp should be needed.
Yup - already tried that. The problem worsened.

What do you mean that my plot indicates no amp should be needed? What does "plot" refer to?

To clarify, I've never been able to get reliable reception unless I have the amp in place. So my understanding is that amp is critical to our continued stable reception. Not a single issue in the last 2 years, even during heavy storms.

And right now, with clear, beautiful weather, out of blue, we cannot get any channels with any stability at all.

Edit: Ah right, Radio Shack went out of business. Hmm.. I'm trying to think of an equivalent place I can go to, or at least a well-known chain store that we know sells those amps. Barring that, I guess I'll order from Amazon.

Edit 2: This seems to be the same model/device I had previously - let me know if you have recommendation of a reasonably priced amplifier other than this one - am thinking of ordering one in next few hours, so I can get the device replaced and tested tomorrow. https://www.amazon.com/1byone-Antenn...gnal+amplifier

Last edited by cflannagan; 14-Mar-2018 at 11:09 PM.
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Old 15-Mar-2018, 3:20 AM   #4
rabbit73
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cflannagan View Post
What do you mean that my plot indicates no amp should be needed? What does "plot" refer to?
He means the TVFool signal report. You gave this link for it in your previous thread:
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...e2cbfa8fc32d44

It has the database datecode 20165271215. It will probably be dropped from the TVFool server soon, so here is the image:



The strength of the signal can be stated in two ways, by signal power in dBm or by Noise Margin in dB.



Interpreting Noise Margin in the TV Fool Report
http://www.aa6g.org/DTV/Reception/tvfool_nm.html

I did the analysis in your previous thread, post #14:
http://forum.tvfool.com/showpost.php...3&postcount=14

Is your antenna outside or in the attic?

Try a test with the antenna going directly to one TV with a short coax and then with the amp going to just one TV to eliminate a possible problem in the distribution system.

You have three possible problem areas: the antenna, the amp, and the distribution system. Your troubleshooting technique must use the process of elimination.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg cflannaganTVFreportTVF.JPG (124.0 KB, 1247 views)
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Last edited by rabbit73; 15-Mar-2018 at 3:51 AM.
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Old 16-Mar-2018, 3:36 AM   #5
ZippyTheChicken
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I agree with rabbit you should be able to get something without an amp... but not if its passing through a half dozen splitters so don't put it through a splitter before it connects to your tv..

a way to test your inserter if you have a volt meter

up at your antenna remove the coax from the amplifier out port that goes down into your home and eventually to your amplifier injector.. you should get some voltage up at the preamp .. might be anything over 12v to maybe 21volts
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Old 18-Mar-2018, 12:27 PM   #6
mars1162
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Join Date: Feb 2015
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loss of reception

If you have a matching transformer ie. the two lead from 75 ohm coax fitting at the antenna make sure that one of the leads is not broke.. it will cause sudden loss if broke or has become disconnected
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