Trouble with Reception on only 1 TV

[ryukyo]

I’m having trouble with my reception on one of the three televisions I have connected to an Antennas Direct ClearStream4 HDTV Antenna.

TV 1 – upstairs

TV 2 – basement

TV 3 - main level

The antenna is attic mounted and feeds 3 tvs thru two splitters. I splitter splits in the attic and feeds TV 1 and runs to a second splitter in the basement that feeds TV 2 and TV 3.

TV 2 and TV 1 pick up all the channels I want. There is no additional equipment connected to the coax line run to the 3rd tv that would inhibit its signal strength.

The channels I cannot receive are CBS, WGN, and PBS. Despite a very strong signal strength, between 60-90, these channels just will not display on the 3rd TV as they do on TVs 1 and 2. TV-3 is the furthest away, in cable length, from the antenna, but in order to eliminate some possibilities I moved TV 1 to the connection location that TV 3 uses and it will show all the channels. This leads me to believe that the signal strength is fine and it’s an issue with the television itself.

Are there any tricks to getting the TV to work with these channels? I’ve tried disconnecting the feed and running a channel search to clear the memory, then reconnecting the feed and searching again and it doesn’t help. The TV is an RCA Scenium 50” DLP that was bought in 2005.

Also, other channels come in just fine on TV 3 at the same signal strength, 65-90, as the channels that will not display, which further confuses me. I had an Antennas Direct PA18 Antenna Kit hooked up initially, but it was over amplifying the signal, according to their customer support, and was resulting in poor to no reception on all TVs.

My TVfool.com analysis is attached, if needed.

I appreciate any suggestions you might have.

Thanks,

[ADTech]

It's the TV set's tuner. You're probably going to have to go to extra lengths to feed it a better quality signal, perhaps at a higher power level. Older, early generation tuners were far less capable of handling quality-impaired signals, especially in regards to multi-path than were subsequent generations of tuners.

I may sound like a broken record, but, if you get your C4 out of that attic, your reception will almost always improve. Since the problem with the RCA is undoubtedly short-delay multipath, the attic is likely the biggest contributor as signals are probably echoing around up there.

One other point is that WBBM would benefit from strapping on a VHF dipole (intended for the C2 but will help a C4) to the reflector. Email us at info (at) antennasdirect.com for the tip sheet.

As an additional troubleshooting step, bypass all those splitters (use F81 couplers) to have a single coax run to TV #3 and see if that helps it any.

[GroundUrMast]

As ADTech has already stated, signal quality is more important than signal strength.

Improve signal quality by placing the antenna in a location that gives it access to better quality signals. (Consider: If you are trying to record someone speaking, do your get better quality with the microphone in a closet, or in the same room with the person that's speaking?)

The PA-18 is a good option for folks with no strong signals... It's not intended to serve in applications such as yours.

As an additional troubleshooting step, bypass all those splitters (use F81 couplers) to have a single coax run to TV #3 and see if that helps it any.

Agreed... a helpful test to determine if any amplification is likely to help your existing configuration. http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=13646

[ryukyo]

Originally Posted by ADTech

It's the TV set's tuner. You're probably going to have to go to extra lengths to feed it a better quality signal, perhaps at a higher power level. Older, early generation tuners were far less capable of handling quality-impaired signals, especially in regards to multi-path than were subsequent generations of tuners.

Is there any hardware I can buy, perhaps a better quality set top digital tuner to remedy this?

Originally Posted by ADTech

As an additional troubleshooting step, bypass all those splitters (use F81 couplers) to have a single coax run to TV #3 and see if that helps it any.

I get that, but regardless of the results I'm still going to need to split it somewhere to get it to all three TVs. If it's the difference between all channels on TV 3 only or TVs 1 & 2 with all channels and TV 3 missing a few, I'll have to take the latter. Unless I'm missing something.

[ADTech]

The point of the troubleshooting it to eliminate one of the variables (splitters) with their attendant attenuation loss. Once the circuit is down to a single set, the antenna's location can be adjusted to see if you can find a better spot where the signals happen to cooperate. Putting an antenna in an attic in a location where it might be convenient for you, is rarely a successful proposition. You usually need to go on the equivalent of an Easter egg hunt to see what you can find.

Yes, there are external boxes. You can pick up an SD box for $50 from Walmart. However, if you want HD output, then a more expensive box like the KWorld SA295 series, will run $75-100 online. You'll have to look at your RCA for available inputs as the SA295 comes in separate models based on the output port. Other options would be to set up a home theater PC or use a Tivo or one of the Tuner/DVR combos available. A lot will depend on what capabilities you'd like and what your budget might be.

Do try the troubleshooting including experimenting with the location of the C4 if that is needed.

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[ryukyo]

Originally Posted by ADTech

The point of the troubleshooting it to eliminate one of the variables (splitters) with their attendant attenuation loss. Once the circuit is down to a single set, the antenna's location can be adjusted to see if you can find a better spot where the signals happen to cooperate. Putting an antenna in an attic in a location where it might be convenient for you, is rarely a successful proposition. You usually need to go on the equivalent of an Easter egg hunt to see what you can find.

Yes, there are external boxes. You can pick up an SD box for $50 from Walmart. However, if you want HD output, then a more expensive box like the KWorld SA295 series, will run $75-100 online. You'll have to look at your RCA for available inputs as the SA295 comes in separate models based on the output port. Other options would be to set up a home theater PC or use a Tivo or one of the Tuner/DVR combos available. A lot will depend on what capabilities you'd like and what your budget might be.

Do try the troubleshooting including experimenting with the location of the C4 if that is needed.

I appreciate your input on this. I do have the signal split twice before it reaches TV-3 so I think my next step is to run a direct test line to see if it's even possible to get the a signal that the older TV can use to get the channels. Then probably reduce to one, 3 way splitter and run individual lines to all TVs. Any recommendation on a good 3 way splitter?

thanks,

[ADTech]

Let's do the test first... Need those results because, if it fails, the splitter question is moot.

[ryukyo]

Originally Posted by ADTech

Let's do the test first... Need those results because, if it fails, the splitter question is moot.

I ran a direct line from the antenna to TV3 and the 3 channels still won't show. The signal strength on CBS increased from about 61 to 74 but still no picture. So I'll try the set top tuner box next.

[ryukyo]

Originally Posted by ADTech

Let's do the test first... Need those results because, if it fails, the splitter question is moot.

I ended up buying the KWorld SA295 and now I get all the channels on the tv. Thanks for all the help, guys.

On a side note, in review of the KWorld box, while it does work well as a replacement tuner for my television, the interface of the device and remote are very poor. It looks like graphics from the 90s and remote difficult to use because the icons on the remote are confusing. I also find it annoying that the CC turns on every time you change the channel and have to be turned off constantly.

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