I finally put up my HD7697P this weekend at our cabin using a gable mount, and I'm suspicious that there's something wrong with the uhf section.
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...e1c6130cd88638
I'm pointed at 315 and only interested in channels from that direction. Channel 8 tunes showing 100% signal on the tv, and channel 10 is reliable showing 75-100% signal. But that's it. The TV did include channel 17 once or twice in the auto-scan, but there's never been enough signal to get more than a few broken frames of picture.
The complete failure on low uhf when there's such excellent signal on hi vhf seemed suspicious to me, so I followed the troubleshooting procedure on the phasing lines from winegard:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlQke5QYbng
That test produced no improvement on low uhf using the clipped-on 75ohm connector, so I'm at a loss. Tuning in that state included a very weak channel 10, but that's it. I checked the uhf lines for grounding per the video, but they look just fine.
This installation is going through a few feet of light tree foliage in the immediate vicinity, and then a few evergreens at about 150' feet and then a lake for the next 1/2 mile or so. I'm not using an amplifier anywhere, but the tuning test was completed with a direct connection to the antenna using only 35' of RG6. I don't know if it could be a factor, but this installation is above metal roof on this cabin.
Anyone think this is suspiciously dropping out on the UHF end? I realize the trees become more of a concern as the frequency increases, but the difference from just 10 to 17 seems extreme. I could try adding a HD-9032, but from the specs it seems that the uhf section of the 7697 should be pretty close in performance.
Thanks for any insights if you're reading. -Jim