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Old 17-Aug-2013, 7:15 PM   #1
bsp
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Join Date: Aug 2013
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Strange reception problem

I have a reception problem that doesn't seem to make any sense to me so I'm hoping someone else here might have some suggestions about what is wrong.

I live in a valley about 35 miles north of a couple of HDTV transmitters. They're located at the top of a mountain just a few hundred feet apart so effectively, it appears they are at the same spot from my house and I think I have direct line of sight of them, although they are very low on the horizon.

One of the transmitters is owned by Idaho Public TV and it is a shorter transmitter and broadcasts a weaker signal than the other larger transmitter. For some reason, I get the Idaho Public TV channels (K44KK-D)perfectly fine regardless of where I put my antenna but I can't get the channels from the other transmitter at all. I'm only trying to get the channels at 160 degrees azimuth.

Here is the TV Fool report for my location.

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...46aebb6da66cd4

I'm using a CM4228HD antenna without any mods and it's sitting outside about 15 feet above ground and slightly below the peaks of neighbouring houses. I have ~25 feet of good quality coax connecting the antenna to my TV with no splitters, amplifiers, etc.

When I scan for channels, I always get the K44KK-D channels but no other ones. I can even tune my TV to the real broadcast channels and again I get K44KK-D and nothing else.

I can't figure out why I can't get the other channels (e.g. K50GL-D) considering they are broadcast using more power and their transmitter is taller. Does anyone have any suggestions what might be wrong?
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Old 17-Aug-2013, 8:02 PM   #2
GroundUrMast
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Have you been able to inspect the combiner/balun on the antenna? Have you proven the coax is good, connectors solid, no shorts?

Can you test reception in different antenna locations?

Do you have access to another TV tuner to test with?

The CM-4338HD is an OK choice for antenna, there's some support for H-VHF reception (real CH-11 and 12 in your application). Though my first choice would be a Winegard HD7694P or larger.

With a 25' run to one TV, no amplifier should be needed.
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If the well is dry and you don't see rain on the horizon, you'll need to dig the hole deeper. (If the antenna can't get the job done, an amp won't fix it.)

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Old 17-Aug-2013, 8:21 PM   #3
teleview
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Aim the CM4228HD antenna at about 145 degree magnetic compass direction.

Here is how to aim antennas , http://www.kyes.com/antenna/pointing/pointing.html.

Use a Old School magnetic compass to aim antenna.

Higher above ground antenna height is better.

__________________________________

Digital Tv Tuners can develop -Digital Glitches-that are not cleared out with simple channel scans.

Recommend , Double Rescan.

Disconnect antenna coax from Tv.

Scan for Digital Broadcast Tv channels.

Disconnect electric power from Tv buy unpluging from electric power.

Wait a minute or so.

Plug Tv into electric power.

Reconnect antenna coax to the Tv.

Scan for Digital Broadcast Tv stations/channels.

http://www.wchstv.com/DoubleReScanAlert.pdf.


________

For the best and most accurate information about the Repeater/Translator transmitters , call Tv stations , using a telephone , and have real voice informational chats (not texts) with the engineering departments.

____________________

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idaho_Public_Television.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K11HM-D.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K46HZ-D.

http://www.rabbitears.info/market.ph...&callsign=6538.

Last edited by teleview; 17-Aug-2013 at 11:39 PM. Reason: Clarify information and typos.
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Old 30-Aug-2013, 4:37 AM   #4
bsp
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Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 2
I apologize for the late reply. Friends were visiting from out of town so I didn't have a chance to follow up on this.

It turns out I must have been tuning into a reflection or refraction. When I used a compass, I see my antenna was pointed about 20 degrees away from the transmitter. When I point the antenna in the right direction, I get no signal. It turns out there's a small hill just big enough to get in the way.

I'll have to move the antenna higher and try a few more spots to see if I can get a direct line of sight of the transmitter.

Thanks for helping me figure out what's wrong.
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