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Old 24-Jul-2012, 4:50 PM   #1
djangosChef
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periodic dropout

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...9900e697b063e8
The report is a bit off -- set-top gives us only WRLK and WLTX, both spotty enough to often be difficult to watch. This is likely because we are nestled in a cove with steeply rising grade to the N, E & S. To make matters worse, at the top of the grade, a block to our ENE is a several-stories-high building, covering an arc of maybe 55-65 degrees true. This blocks most of those xmitters to the ENE.
So, I put an Antennacraft HBU33 in the attic of our shed, which is as high on our lot as it gets, and as far to the east, and aimed it to peek around the corner of that pesky building. 150ft of RG6 (no amp), and a lot of crawling around under the house to pull it through the buried flex to the shed, and Voila! We now get WRLK, WLTX, WIS, WOLO, WACH, WKTC, WZRB nice and clean. TV claims signal strength for these of "85%" to "100%".
Except...
WRLK now drops out for about a second every minute or so (seems like about that long -- haven't broken out the stopwatch). TV claims "85%" steady right up until the drop-out, at which point it drops to "no signal" and then right back up. Never more than a word or two of dialog, but nearly impossible to watch.
So, maybe some equipment on the apartment building blasting us with RFI on a regular cycle? Some sort of capacitive buildup/discharge cycle in my setup?
I'd love to put a simple UHF antenna at the other end of the shed (15ft away) aimed at WRLK with a notch filter on the HBU33, and narrow bandpass filter on the UHF antenna, but I'm guessing finding such filters would be problematic.
Suggestions?
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Old 24-Jul-2012, 9:55 PM   #2
GroundUrMast
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How is the TV Fool report off? Is it for some location other than yours?

While the distant building may be a problem, lets deal with the easy one. Have you tried mounting (permanently or as a test) the antenna outside.
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Last edited by GroundUrMast; 24-Jul-2012 at 9:58 PM.
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Old 25-Jul-2012, 12:09 PM   #3
djangosChef
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Appreciate the reply, GroundUrMast!

To clarify: The report appears to be accurately for my location. By "off" I just meant to refer to the indications on the report that a number of channels could probably be received with a set-top antenna. I'm guessing the report would be spot on in that regard for our next-door neighbor, who's basement is at our roof level, and who's house is just out of the apartment building's shadow wrt some of those xmitters.

On top of the roof would not be a permanent option, although I could probably try it there temporarily, if the results might provide additional insight.

I would note that of the two channels we could (somewhat) receive with a set-top antenna, the strongest one then is now the one I'm having trouble with. Of course, it's the only one my new attic-mounted antenna is not aimed at.
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Old 25-Jul-2012, 3:31 PM   #4
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TVfool averages terrain into 100 square meter blocks. Large topographical changes within a block can't be precisely modeled.
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Old 25-Jul-2012, 3:38 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ADTech View Post
TVfool averages terrain into 100 square meter blocks. Large topographical changes within a block can't be precisely modeled.
Thanks ADTech. Not surprising, I suppose.
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