[pointer]

I installed a new Winegard HD-7084P antenna months ago. Now I have frequent dropouts ("no signal" on the TV), which I'm pretty sure are due to fluctuating multipath.

I had to add a rotator, and now I have to nudge the pointing angle as much as 30 degrees to find a strong spot. Sometimes the signal fluctuates in a few seconds from strong to weak while I'm watching the signal strength monitor on the converter box. Sometimes it varies slowly, over a few days, then I have to move it. Often drop outs correlate with the weather. There are times when I have to point it 70 degrees North of Mt. Wilson, which is line of sight East by SouthEast of here. I can see it from the antenna. But there are mountains running from NorthEast of here across the North to the West.

When I get it pointed right, almost all the signals are good, with a few working at medium. Then the signal moves; I get some dropouts and have to move the antenna.

Apparently the antenna beam is narrow enough to capture the strong point. There are also a few other points spread over 90 degrees where the strong stations come in but not the weaker ones. I think these are multipaths, not sidelobes, because these signals are fairly strong. (In a highly directional antenna the sidelobes are small.)


Is there a way to at least minimize the frequent need to move the antenna? Or do I have to accept Mother Nature as is?