Better Reception Advice

Coldtrail · 1-Dec-2014, 1:24 AM

I have an attic mounted VHF/UHF antenna. I get every channel that the report (link below) says I should get except for WFXR 27.1. I can occasionally get it, but it is either hit or miss and most of the time when I do get it, it is pixellated. I really want to get this station as it is my local Fox HD station, and nobody wants to watch football in standard definition! I was wondering should I just buy a UHF only antenna and add it to my current setup or is there something else I can do? My current setup is the antenna, approximately 40' of Rg6 to a distribution amp, to a 2 way splitter, through 12'ish of Rg6 to my wall plates. Any help is appreciated, thanks!

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...d24325c170db86

ADTech · 1-Dec-2014, 2:18 AM

Most likely, you need to move the antenna.

Coldtrail · 1-Dec-2014, 6:56 PM

By move the antenna, do you mean re-aim it, or move it to a roof mount? Because I have tried re-aiming it with a compass and I get the same results, I always miss the one channel.

ADTech · 1-Dec-2014, 7:44 PM

Pick it up. Put it down somewhere else. Raise or lower the antenna. Repeat as needed.

The incoming signals are not homogenous, that is, not of uniform strength and quality. This results in "dead" spots for certain channels, a situation that an attic location only makes worse. It's your goal (and mission), to continue trying spots to see if you can find one where everything "plays nice" and works. This would be referred to as a "sweet" spot. For UHF frequencies, the difference between a dead and a sweet spot can be as little as 6-12".

Jake V · 1-Dec-2014, 7:51 PM

Do as AD Tech recommended. I'd aim the antenna at magnetic 242 to focus first on the Fox station, then adjust for the other stations as necessary (probably moving towards 258 degrees). Make sure that the antenna does not "look" through any metal and try to place it as far from metal as is possible (including any heating/ac duct work that might be in the floor of the attic or metal kitchen/bath vents).

You might also post the model number of picture of the antenna you are using for the experts to evaluate.

As Fox is your strongest signal, it should be pretty easy to get.

Coldtrail · 1-Dec-2014, 9:15 PM

JakeV,
My antenna is a ChannelMaster CM2020. And I will try relocating the antenna.

Jake V · 1-Dec-2014, 9:30 PM

The ChannelMaster CM2020 has a gain of 7.5 dB VHF and 10 dB UHF. With Fox at 69.6 dB you should pull it in easily, assuming your attic is not wrapped in metal or concrete.

You probably don't need the distribution amp. The first thing I'd try is simply to bypass it to one television and see what happens (use a female-to-female coax adapter for this, or run a fresh length of coax from the antenna directly to one tv). Or replace it with a non-amplified splitter if you have one or can borrow one. It's possible amplifying the signal is overloading the tv tuner. [Note that unplugging an amp doesn't just stop the amplification - it also stops almost all of the signal so unplugging the amp from it's power source is not an option.]

ADTech · 2-Dec-2014, 12:53 AM

Jake

He has two Fox stations on his list. WFXR is down about 50 dB from the strong one and is calculated as a "1-edge" diffraction.

Jake V · 2-Dec-2014, 4:49 PM

I missed that. Thank you for the correction!

Coldtrail · 2-Dec-2014, 10:42 PM

Ok, I changed some things around. First off I forgot about a connection I had. There was a grounded terminal block (fem x fem) that my coax was running through between my amp and splitter. I removed the amp and the grounded terminal block connection and attached my antenna directly to my splitter input. In doing this my spotty HDFox 27 station's signal strength (as measured by the built in meter on the TV, however accurate that is?) went from reading a peak value of 30 to a value of 52, with a SNR (db) value of 21. I did not move my antenna, but I did completely eliminate the two connections. I think I will wait and see how this works out in the near future. As of now I've had the HDFox 27 station pixellation free for a few hours which is great!
My only question now is, should my antenna and or coax be grounded at any point. As of now there is no ground connection in my system outside of the two TVs.

ADTech · 3-Dec-2014, 12:44 AM

There is no requirement to ground an antenna that is not outside.