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Old 8-Nov-2015, 3:54 PM   #1
agmccall
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No Better Off

Well, I am no better off than before, in fact, worse off.

Here is the link to my original thread: http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=14718

I got the Wineguard antenna mentioned in this thread as well as the channelmaster preamp. I bought a compass to get the direction right. I hooked everything up and double checked all my connections.

I scanned for channels at one of my rg6 outlets in the house and got no channels at all. So I took the tv to the basement where all the connections come in and removed the line going into my splitter and connected directly to the tv and scanned again.

I ended up getting channels 2-3, 13-1, 13-2, 13-3, 45-1, 45-2

13-1 and 13-2 are basically what I had before, 2-1 and 2-2 except now I am getting the Albany stations instead of the Utica stations. 13-3 is just doppler radar.

I have a couple more channels but, they are unwatchable as they pixelate continuously and I can only get them in the basement directly connected.

Any suggestions..

I went back to my $29.00 RCA antenna (Looks like a Shark Fin) mounted on the east side of my house and picks up the Utica stations, west of me. I would have thought over $200.00 worth of antenna equipment would have at least gotten me decent reception considering the antennas I am pointing at are closer than the ones in Utica

al

I got the Wineguard antenna mentioned in this thread as well as the channelmaster preamp. I bought a compass to get the direction right. I hooked everything up and double checked all my connections.

I scanned for channels at one of my rg6 outlets in the house and got no channels at all. So I took the tv to the basement where all the connections come in and removed the line going into my splitter and connected directly to the tv and scanned again.

I ended up getting channels 2-3, 13-1, 13-2, 13-3, 45-1, 45-2

13-1 and 13-2 are basically what I had before, 2-1 and 2-2 except now I am getting the Albany stations instead of the Utica stations. 13-3 is just doppler radar.

I have a couple more channels but, they are unwatchable as they pixelate continuously and I can only get them in the basement directly connected.

Any suggestions..

I went back to my $29.00 RCA antenna (Looks like a Shark Fin) mounted on the east side of my house and picks up the Utica stations, west of me. I would have thought over $200.00 worth of antenna equipment would have at least gotten me decent reception considering the antennas I am pointing at are closer than the ones in Utica

al
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Old 8-Nov-2015, 7:20 PM   #2
rabbit73
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Sorry to hear you are having trouble.
Quote:
I bought a compass to get the direction right.
What direction? Should be 92 degrees magnetic.
Quote:
So I took the tv to the basement where all the connections come in and removed the line going into my splitter and connected directly to the tv and scanned again.
Where is the power inserter for the 7777?
Are you using any other amp besides the 7777?
Quote:
I went back to my $29.00 RCA antenna (Looks like a Shark Fin) mounted on the east side of my house and picks up the Utica stations, west of me.
What direction is the RCA aimed at? Are you using an amp with the RCA antenna?
Quote:
I would have thought over $200.00 worth of antenna equipment would have at least gotten me decent reception considering the antennas I am pointing at are closer than the ones in Utica
I agree. Something is obviously wrong, but I haven't figured it out yet.

Where is the 7777 mounted, near the antenna?

How long is the coax run from the antenna to the power inserter?

I wonder if the inverter is causing interference to TV reception?
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Last edited by rabbit73; 8-Nov-2015 at 7:44 PM.
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Old 8-Nov-2015, 7:48 PM   #3
StephanieS
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Replied in original thread to keep from redundant threads scatting everyone around.
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Old 8-Nov-2015, 11:44 PM   #4
agmccall
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Quote:
Originally Posted by StephanieS View Post
Replied in original thread to keep from redundant threads scatting everyone around.
Started new thread because nobody was responding in old thread

Sorry

Al
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Old 9-Nov-2015, 12:39 PM   #5
agmccall
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rabbit73 View Post


Sorry to hear you are having trouble.
What direction? Should be 92 degrees magnetic. According to previous thread I should be pointed79 degress, basically east

Where is the power inserter for the 7777? Preamp mounted to mast below the antenna and power inserter is in basement

Are you using any other amp besides the 7777? No

What direction is the RCA aimed at? Are you using an amp with the RCA antenna? Almost East maybe 5 degrees south of east it is powered

I agree. Something is obviously wrong, but I haven't figured it out yet.

Where is the 7777 mounted, near the antenna? About 12" below anetenna

How long is the coax run from the antenna to the power inserter? 50' I could probably shorten it by about 10'

I wonder if the inverter is causing interference to TV reception?
Thanks for reply

al
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Old 11-Nov-2015, 8:01 PM   #6
tclearinghouse
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The problem is that with a splitter you are losing some signal strength when you split the signal. Instead of a standard splitter I use this at my place:

http://www.amazon.com/4-Way-10dB-Vid.../dp/B000LY25FI

I use all 4 outlets and it works great however I don't use a preamp. My antenna runs about 15 feet to the amp and from the amp my longest run is around 75 feet. It's less than $18 I would try it and if you get no improvement return it.
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Old 11-Nov-2015, 11:46 PM   #7
Tower Guy
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The preamp has sufficient gain to overcome the loss of the splitter. There is no need for a powered distribution amplifier.
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Old 13-Nov-2015, 8:08 PM   #8
WIRELESS ENGINEER
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Preamps are only needed to compensate for the amount of loss you have in coax and splitters and pumping a signal that is already too high up ANOTHER 30db is never a good idea

The CM-7777 has WAY too much gain for a 50 foot run of RG6 and it's possible that the stronger local stations are desensing the TVs receiver and overloading the CM-7777

I just bought a CM-7777 to try and see if it would be any better than my old Winegard AP-8700 and the Winegard was actually slightly better than the CM-7777 so you can't always rely on all the hype and specs

The CM-7778 may have been the better choice for your situation

The massive Winegard VHF and the 8bay UHF bowtie are certainly the longest range antenna designs one could buy so can't improve much there

With as much as you already have invested I would recommend you call a local antenna installer who would have the field strength meters and expertise to find out waht's needed before you spendany more money
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Old 15-Nov-2015, 6:09 PM   #9
agmccall
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As suggested in another thread I was reading I did the double rescan. Disconnected the antenna and the power from tv, then plugged tv back in and scanned, as was stated I got no channels. Then I plugged the antenna in and scanned again with my new setup, still nothing. So I took the tv to the basement and did the double rescan again, this time from before the splitter, no channels at all. I did it a third time and unplugged the power to the preamp, still nothing, not even the channels I got before.

Question; In order to bypass the preamp, is it sufficient to just unplug the power or will I have to get up to the antenna and move the cable from the output of the preamp directly into the antenna

al
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Old 15-Nov-2015, 6:55 PM   #10
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Quote:
Question; In order to bypass the preamp, is it sufficient to just unplug the power or will I have to get up to the antenna and move the cable from the output of the preamp directly into the antenna
You will need to do both as the former simply turns the un-powered amp into an attenuator. You can leave the un-powered injector installed as long as you're able to accommodate its small (<1 dB ) insertion loss.
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Old 17-Nov-2015, 12:56 PM   #11
kach22i
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WIRELESS ENGINEER View Post
The CM-7777 has WAY too much gain for a 50 foot run of RG6 and it's possible that the stronger local stations are desensing the TVs receiver and overloading the CM-7777
That's what I was thinking, he's testing situations of too much gain and not enough gain.

Perhaps that RCA branded amplified booster splitter (linked to by tclearinghouse) working alone without the CM-7777 will be just the right amount of gain.

Reminds me of an old childhood story, Goldilocks and the three bears, gotta have your porridge at just the right temperature.

https://jility.wordpress.com/2013/06...e-three-bears/


Can you take a photo of your current splitter, or at least list the numbers labeled on it?

I went through a couple before I found the right one for me, at first tried reusing the old one from the cable company but it was all the wrong frequencies.

Last edited by kach22i; 17-Nov-2015 at 1:03 PM.
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Old 18-Nov-2015, 2:16 PM   #12
Tower Guy
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So far it seems like your inability to pick up the Albany stations can be due to the TV set's inability to add new channels. Therefore it is not possible to figure out if the antenna is working or not. It's time to try another TV set or other set top receiver. The advantage of an external receiver is that Utica and Albany can be received on separate antennas and switched using the TV remote.
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