Issue Statement: Two of my received DTV channels are crystal clear during the morning hours before pixilating and fading to a non-viewable state in the early to mid-afternoon. Clear reception returns around the midnight hour (EST). The daily pattern is persistent in all types of weather.
Market: Philadelphia, PA (TVFool Radar Report included below)
Hardware Setup:
SolidSignal HD200XL Extreme Antenna, attic mounted 30-36 feet above ground level. I have about six feet to work with in the attic. Suburban neighborhood with no large hills in Line of Sight. Some small-medium trees are in the path but are currently below antenna level.
Winegard LNA-100 (booster amp); intended for interior use only, fixed 20 dB gain.
75 feet RG6 Coaxial Cable
Winegard HDA-200 (distribution amp); FM trap and 18dB of adjustable gain. Delivers up to 24db gain.
Antenna is level on X and Y axis’ and is pointed at 60 degrees true (72 degrees magnetic). Note: I did use an Android Compass App to determine the azimuth (not sure if this is good or bad).
I have the LNA-100 connected directly off of the antenna balun and use it as a pre-amp. Following the amp, there is the 75 feet of RG6 Coaxial cable run to the basement where the local cable company (COMCAST) brings in their cable service. I disconnected the cable service and connected the antenna directly into an existing splitter that feeds two TV drops within the house. The builder installed RG59 cable (13 years ago) which added an estimated 50 feet or more to each drop.
Given my reported issue and after consulting with Channel Master and Solid Signal, I decided to purchase the distribution amp and installed it using about 3 feet of RG6 just PRIOR to the two-way splitter that feeds the TV drops.
Observations:
Total number of channels received is 57. All of the UHF and VHF channels that I am interested in receiving are crystal clear EXCEPT for channel 6.1 (ABC operating at 82-88 MHz out of Philadelphia, 37.6 miles) and channel 2.1 (an independent station operating at 54-60 MHz out of Wilmington, DE – 37.8 miles) during the stated timeframe. Engineering details for each channel can be found at the following link (select the channel call sign, then select detailed engineering information):
http://www.stationindex.com/tv/markets/philadelphia
Note: The station index site provided shows channel 2.1 is out of Wilmington but TV Fool shows the transmitter to be at the same location as channel 6.1. Both channels are at 60 degrees true and nearly the same distance.
TV Fool Radar Report included here…
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...51348fef88b8d5
I looked at the Interactive Map as well and found that my location is in a green-shaded region with an antenna height of 30 feet above ground.
I have spent numerous weeks trying different antenna mounting positions in the attic, removing and inserting the amplifiers and adjusting the variable gain on the distribution amp during the fading periods. I have not been able to resolve the intermittent fading of these two channels.
I also have an older Sharp TV (early 19” HDTV) where the ATSC tuner displays the signal strength of the selected channel (very helpful). The antenna should be adjusted until a signal level of 60 (out of 100) or greater to receive a clear picture. When fading occurs, the channel 6.1 and 2.1 signals drop to a 35 level while ALL other channels in the same azimuth (60 degrees) remain between 90 and 100 yielding exceptional pictures.
Summary:
DTV Reception of all received channels are crystal clear during the day except channels 6.1 and 2.1 which fade in the mid-afternoon and return to a viewable state around midnight. Multiple configurations have been attempted; including, moving the pre-amp from the middle of the run (initial setup) to the antenna transformer, removing the pre-amp all together, adding a three-way splitter (vs. a two-way to inject more loss), adding the distribution amplifier (with FM trap both in and out) and varying the gain on the distribution amp during times of fading. Following all attempts, the issue still remains.
I am interested in receiving all of the channels in the green background color of the report and the first two channels listed in the yellow background color; channels 61.1 and 12.1 (all of which are located at 60 degrees and ~37 miles out). Anything else is bonus.
Apologies if I’ve omitted any pertinent details in this post (my first since registration). Any suggestions, solutions or other guidance offered will be greatly appreciated.
