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Old 14-Oct-2015, 3:48 PM   #2
rabbit73
Retired A/V Tech
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: S.E. VA
Posts: 2,753
Welcome to the forum, FC:

You do seem to have tried the right things, so a little more experimentation is needed. If you are willing to put a little time, effort, and money into tests to try for ABC and Fox with no guarantee of success, I can suggest some things to do.
Quote:
Do I have the right antenna?
Based on your tvfool report, that looks like a suitable antenna because you have VHF-High and UHF signals.
Quote:
-If so is orientation/height an issue?
You have tried adjusting aim and height, but sometimes it is necessary to move the antenna location left or right if it is in a bad spot for the KTMF signal. I realize that it isn't convenient to move the antenna location, but there might be terrain obstructions in the present signal path that interfere with the signal.

At my location I was having trouble picking up CH42 because my antenna was facing the wrong direction. It didn't show after a scan, so I didn't know how much stronger it needed to be for reception. I made a temporary setup across the street with a 2-bay UHF antenna, my signal level meter, and a preamp. I was able to get a nice scan and a stronger signal with the antenna aimed at the transmitter for CH42.



Interestingly, when I moved the antenna a few feet left or right, without changing the height or azimuth, there was a big difference in the signal strength and scan quality. This is most likely because of the tree line in front of the antenna about 200 ft away.

Based on those tests, I developed a technique that makes it possible to find and measure the strength of channels that don't show up after a scan, but it requires a signal level meter which most users don't have.

http://www.avsforum.com/forum/25-hdt...l#post22105317

Quote:
Do I need a different pre-amp?
Maybe. Have you tried to scan for KTMF without the preamp? There is such a thing as too much signal if it causes partial overload that wouldn't affect the strongest signals but might harm the weakest signals. It is my understanding that the LNA200 was redesigned to meet the price point of the big box stores, and the specs aren't quite as good as the original LNA200.

Quote:
If antenna is not correct
The Stacker seems to be working. If there was a problem with the UHF section, you probably wouldn't be able to receive K14IU, but KTMF is weaker and has a 1Edge path because of terrain interference.



Notice that only about 30% of the max power is aimed in your direction because of the directional pattern of the transmitting antenna.

Using other profile software:



You can see how the terrain might interfere with the signal on its way to your antenna. The tvfool report simulation doesn't take into consideration ground clutter like trees or buildings. UHF signals can't diffract over terrain obstructions as easily as VHF signals.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg FrenchConnectionTVFp1KTMF.JPG (61.9 KB, 2113 views)
File Type: jpg FrenchConnectionTVFp2KTMF.JPG (119.3 KB, 2104 views)
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Last edited by rabbit73; 14-Oct-2015 at 11:54 PM.
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