Quote:
Originally Posted by rockstar45
Just want to find out if this is normal. I have two antennas, a XG91 for UHF in the attic and a YA-1713 for VHF outside on the roof. Both run into a wineguard 2870 preamp.
On a good day my signal meter on my TiVo HD reports 60-70 for my VHF channels (NBC, FOX), but when it rains or is very cloudy it drops in and out from 0-30. My Albany UHF stations (ABC, PBS, CW) are completely unaffected with signal strengths around 90-100.
TVFool report here http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...9fbede4326facb
Is this normal for VHF in the rain? Is there anything I could do to prevent the drop outs? All of my cable runs are with new RG-6 cable. |
Hi RockStar...Bill here in Glens Falls area...
I'm not sure what TVF report mtownsend was looking at, but yes, rf 6, 7, 12 and 13 are our VHF stations, and even tho you're only 45 miles out, TVF indicates they are 2edge, which could complicate matters in inclement weather. Are there mountains around your area, or in the path to the towers?
I actually get a better signal during rain, don't ask me why....but back to your issues...
What I would do, make sure you adjust the direction of the VHF antenna for the maximum signal strength on the TV SS meter while watching WXXA, as you didn't indicate you were using a rotor on the roof. I see the wineguard 2870 preamp is dual input, so any wrong connections there are out, and it's giving 17 db gain on VHF, which is pretty good....the 1713 is a 10 element fire-breather, with 9-10 db gain, so that's good too....
Other then the above direction adjustments, getting the antenna higher up would be my only suggestion, you've got a good system going there...you may find a different antenna direction may yield a higher, more stable SS, other then what TVF suggests the direction should be. Example, my DX stations WPTZ and WCAX
should be 24° from me, yet the best SS is at 0°. It may be worth some experimenting....and additionally, you've got one antenna in the attic and one on the roof...if there is a long coax run from antenna to pre-amp on the VHF side, some loss may be occurring with the VHF signal before it gets to the pre-amp...getting that pre-amp as close to the VHF antenna with a short coax would be advised, as the VHF stations are running 10 to 12 kilowatts of power, and the UHF's are in the 600 KW range....the idea of the pre-amp is to bump the signal from the amp to the TV...if you have a lower signal going into the amp, it will be lower out, the old "garbage in, garbage out" theory...my cables between antennas and amp are only 2 feet long...just a thought...
Good luck and let us know how you make out...