[john262]

Hi, I have a Winegard Freevision antenna mounted on the platform that my satellite dish used to be on before I took it down. I have it pointed at some transmitters located LOS 4.7 miles away. I know it's pointed in the right direction because I can actually see the transmitting towers from my roof so it was easy to point the antenna. I am not using a preamp or a distribution amp. I have it connected to a passive two-way splitter that feeds two TV's. Judging from my TVFool report I didn't think I needed any kind of amp.

Anyway, I get very good reception on every one of the channels that transmit 4.7 miles from my house but one. It's channel 17 or virtual channel 11. It keeps pixelating on me. Sometimes it will be good for maybe an hour or two at a time, then suddenly it becomes virtually unwatchable for a while, then it gets good again. This happens during all weather conditions.

The thing I don't understand is this channel has better signal strength than several other channels that don't pixelate, according to my TV's signal strength meter. Channel 17 usually has a signal strength reading of 68. But some of the other channels go as low as the low 50's yet they never break up on me like 17 does. I can be sitting watching channel 17 and suddenly it will start to break up on me and I will check the signal strength meter and it's 68. Then I switch over to channel 36 and it is at 52 yet it's coming in just fine.

So I'm wondering if anyone has an idea what's going on and if there is anything I can do about it. All of these transmitters that I get except for one are translators rebroadcasting distant stations.

I'm wondering if perhaps this isn't a problem with my antenna and maybe it's a technical problem with the channel 17 transmitter or perhaps with the fiber optic cable that feeds it. Thanks for your help.

John