Assistance in Nashville with NBC and PBS

smcquary · 26-Mar-2020, 4:19 AM

Hi all,

I am just outside of Nashville and can get all channels well except NBC and PBS, which are very hit or miss if they will come in. I have a Winegard Platinum Series HD7694P Long Range TV Antenna and a Channel Master Amplify preamp. Any suggestions as what I may try to get NBC and PBS?

Below is my report.

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...9038b0eb098d91

Thanks

OTAFAN · 26-Mar-2020, 8:08 AM

Hi smcquary:

Here is your rabbitears.info report, which is probably more accurate or up to date especially regarding Repack:

https://www.rabbitears.info/search.p...pe=dBm&height=

Your TV Fool report showed 2Edge at your location, which if true will make reception more challenging. Are you down in a hole, as they say? Any obstructions around your location that may be blocking those stations that you are trying to receive? Trees and foliage in between your antenna and towers?

Answers to these questions might help the forum resolve your issues.

All the best.....

smcquary · 26-Mar-2020, 2:24 PM

Not down in a hole really. I do have this in an attic and the attic does have techshield on the plywood on the roof. The sides of the house so not have techshield and the antenna actually points out the side of the house.

I notice these are both the only 2 VHF channels I am trying to receive. Is there perhaps a different antenna that may be better for VHF than the one I currently am using? UHF comes in very strong. I have noticed if it is clear these channels will come in, but if cloudy they do not come in.

Thanks

Tim · 26-Mar-2020, 5:21 PM

There's a good chance your antenna would work just fine if outside. Is an attic install your only option?

Are you using your amplifier on the high or the low setting? What difference do you see when changing from one to the other?

smcquary · 26-Mar-2020, 6:39 PM

Unfortunately attic installation is my only option. I currently have the preamp on low, but have tried high and without preamp with no change.

Thanks

FoxPopuli · 27-Mar-2020, 2:39 AM

I'm subscribing to this thread to perhaps learn more about in-attic installations.

Tower Guy · 27-Mar-2020, 1:57 PM

There is sufficient signal at your house for NBC and PBS. What's different about those two channels is that they are on VHF. The others are UHF. You have the right antenna for VHF.

So I would guess that the problem is caused by interference or something in your system that passes UHF but not VHF.

Typical sources of interference are:

LED lightbulbs
switch mode power supplies
Solar panel inverters, etc.

RMinNJ · 29-Mar-2020, 2:28 PM

Im in the middle of the woods, 34 miles from the transmitters. When trying antennas I always tried my attic....its standard plywood shingled. I never got a good single in the attic..
This summer with the leaves on the trees I will start up my "antenna project" again. I'll definitely try any antenna I purchase in the attic...but an outside install is assumed.

Tower Guy · 29-Mar-2020, 8:00 PM

Is your reluctance to mount on the roof a deed restriction or a desire to keep a low profile? The ANT-751 antenna is excellent for VHF and can be mounted on the side of the gable end facing the transmitters and hidden by the eaves.

smcquary · 30-Mar-2020, 12:52 AM

So I have figured out I'm getting interference from something and not in my house. I get full signal all afternoon and lose signal about 5 until the next afternoon. Any thoughts on this?

OTAFAN · 30-Mar-2020, 2:28 AM

I think your TV Fool report which shows 2Edge probably is right. Which means there is some kind of interference between the towers and your location; particularly in your case, with those two VHF channels you want to receive. If you go to your report and click on each of those channels, you'll see for yourself.

I haven't seen him posting recently, but you could try to PM rabbit73 with your query. He's a whiz at "graphing" these kind of issues so you could see what you're up against. It would be worth a try. Or maybe there's another Tech who will chime in with similar information.

Another thought I had was since your antenna is sticking out of your attic, I presume that means the front end, which is the UHF elements; your VHF elements are still inside on the back of the antenna. Since OTA reception is primarily LOS, any antenna inside a home will usually have lower signal levels. And in your case with 2Edge plus inside home antenna, that could be just enough drop in signal strength to eliminate those VHF channels you want.

Tower Guy is the real Tech on this thread who has had a career in the TV industry, as I understand. Perhaps he will bail me out if I've misunderstood your issues. If not, I hope my "best guessing" has helped.

Tim · 30-Mar-2020, 3:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smcquary

So I have figured out I'm getting interference from something and not in my house. I get full signal all afternoon and lose signal about 5 until the next afternoon. Any thoughts on this?

Any outdoor LED floodlights that turn on in the area about that time? I had a friend who had VHF reception wiped out by interference from LED flood lights.

Tower Guy · 30-Mar-2020, 5:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smcquary

So I have figured out I'm getting interference from something and not in my house. I get full signal all afternoon and lose signal about 5 until the next afternoon. Any thoughts on this?

Because the interference is coming from another house, moving the antenna onto the roof won’t help much.

I have heard stories about cheap Chinese grow-lights that make tons of RF noise. They are commonly used by hemp operations.

To trace the source of the interference, you would need a VHF receiver that can measure the strength of the noise and a directional VHF antenna. An FM receiver can’t help. An AM decoder is needed. The most common AM receiver would be a scanner with an aircraft mode. Another choice would be an all-mode amateur rig that covers the two meter ham band. Then it’s make measurements from several locations until you can triangulate the source.

Tower Guy · 30-Mar-2020, 5:13 AM

This article may be helpful:

http://www.arrl.org/files/file/RFI/Thompson%20Noise.pdf

smcquary · 31-Mar-2020, 4:23 AM

Figured out it is my neighbors living room lights. When the lights are off full signal, but when lights are on weak to no signal. I have the antenna on the side of my house closest to their house. I wonder if I move the antenna to the other side of the house if that may help?

Tower Guy · 31-Mar-2020, 3:33 PM

I would consider buying new good quality LED bulbs for your neighbor. Take the old ones home and give them to someone in the country with satellite TV.

ADTech · 31-Mar-2020, 3:56 PM

Quote:

I wonder if I move the antenna to the other side of the house if that may help?

Maybe. You'd have to actually move the antenna to find out as we do not know how strong the interfering noise actually is. Increasing the distance between the source and the receiving antenna is a common countermeasure for mitigating noise interference. If you can physically locate the antenna so that the source is outside its primary reception lobe, and, even better, in a null of its pattern or shielded by the bulk of a structure, that would also be expected to help.