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Old 11-Sep-2020, 12:11 AM   #38
rabbit73
Retired A/V Tech
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: S.E. VA
Posts: 2,747
Quote:
Originally Posted by verder
I ran the RG6 to a cheap MediaSonic digital tuner I picked up from Amazon that was connected to a TV via HDMI. I used that to get a rough signal quality reading and also would watch one channel on each carrier frequency for a minute or two to look for drop-outs or pixelation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by verder
You asked in the thread about Tablo vs the TV tuner. I've only really used the TV tuner to do the original setup (finding the sweet spot.) From that point it's been pretty much using the Tablo exclusively. I have not used the MediaSonic TV tuner for an extended period of time.
That said, I'll do some experimentation and some longer viewing with it on the channels I've had issues with to see if there's anything unique with that (drop-outs or what-have-you.) Thankfully the Tablo has been recording what station, day, and times the problems are occurring. I'm starting to record that info in a spreadsheet to see if I can see a pattern or anything emerge.
Quote:
Originally Posted by verder
I'm considering getting either a cheap HDHomeRun or perhaps a Hauppauge TV tuner. These include signal meter, signal quality, and symbol quality information that are provided by GUIs / phone apps. Curious if others out there have gone this route and what signal information they've been able to use to their advantage.
Quote:
Originally Posted by verder
Unfortunately, the Gray-Hoverman frame turned out to be too big for my rafters, so I switched over to the Mclapp. I used a 50' dual-shield RG6 coax line to run from my rafters to a splitter on my workbench. The splitter feeds 2x identical Dynex TVs. One was set to the internal digital tuner and the other was connected to a cheap MediaSonic digital tuner via HDMI input. The Dynex TVs have a "Channel Strength" reading and the MediaSonic has a "Quality" reading that I referenced.
It turns out that Channel Strength and Quality don't amount to much. In the rafters with the antenna pointed towards the northwest towers, I'd have "Good" (highest Dynex reading) and would see pixelation / drop-out. With the MediaSonic quality almost always about 50%, I'd see it drop-out down to 0% (signal loss).
Quote:
Originally Posted by verder
Unfortunately, I do not own an HDHomeRun yet so I don't have access to that additional signal information.
Your comments about the Mediasonic converter box made we wonder about how it would compare with the HDHR at weak-signal dropout.

Tyler the Antenna Man did two reviews about converter boxes, the Mediasonic Homeworx HW-150PVR and the Ematic AT103B:
Mediasonic Homeworx DTV Box with DVR Review - Record OTA Antenna TV
May 14, 2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LO7h1YIMv4

Ematic AT103B Digital Converter Box + DVR Recording Tutorial & Review
Dec 21, 2018
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9KUAjjcDww

The GUI for the Mediasonic looks a lot like the GUI for the Channel Master 7003. I have a 7003, so I compared it with my HDHR4-2US using a variable attenuator and a splitter on my best channel (RF 16). I increased the attenuation to bring it down to dropout for the 7003:

Code:

                                         7003 > TV
                                          /
Ant > Variable 0-10dB > Fixed 20dB > Splitter 
        Attenuator      Attenuator        \
                                         HDHR > Laptop




The variable attenuator was set at 6 dB, so the margin to dropout for the 7003 was 26 dB for channel 16. The signal quality varied from 39 to 41%. The HDHR tuner was a little more sensitive; margin to dropout was about 28 dB.

Using a converter box and a variable attenuator is almost a useful as the critical 50% signal quality point of the HDHR.

I found this on eBay; had to add BNC to F adapters:



I have some fixed attenuators like this; they can be stacked
1-3dB
1-6dB
1-10dB
2-20dB



https://mjsales.net/products/fam-att...ant=1083705673

https://www.newark.com/webapp/wcs/st...4899&mf=106654
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Last edited by rabbit73; 11-Sep-2020 at 12:57 PM.
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