TV Fool  

Go Back   TV Fool > Over The Air Services > Help With Reception

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 8-Mar-2010, 1:33 AM   #1
conket
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 1
Please help with antenna signal

Hello,

I am using this antenna from Radioshack http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...ductId=2253765 .
Here is my TVFool link: http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...b7c87d46fbf9d9

I put this antenna on my roof next to chimney. I could not get channel 7(wjla). But I got all others, 4(nbc), 5(fox), 9(cbs)...Please help.

Thank you,
conket is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 8-Mar-2010, 7:30 PM   #2
Dave Loudin
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: King George, VA
Posts: 659
WJLA is the lowest frequency (RF 7) station that you are trying to receive. Generally, lower frequencies need larger antennas to work well. Yours is a small antenna that uses a strong internal amplifier to compensate. I do not see what else you can do except to raise the antenna higher to see if you can catch more signal. Your best bet is to find another antenna that is designed for both VHF and UHF without having to include an amplifier. The moderator has some solid suggestions.
Dave Loudin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 9-Mar-2010, 3:50 PM   #3
mtownsend
Moderator
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 632
Hello and welcome!

As Dave said, what you need is an antenna with VHF reception capabilities. You have two local channels broadcasting in VHF. WJLA (ABC, ch 7) and WUSA (CBS, ch 9). The other low numbered channels you see (4.1 and 5.1) are actually broadcasting on UHF frequencies (48 and 36, respectively) and only "show up" as low numbered channels through the magic of virtual channel mapping (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_channel). With digital TV, the channel number you see on the screen is not necessarily the same as the channel it is being broadcast on.

The Radio Shack DA-5200 is designed for UHF-only. You might get lucky an get a little bit of VHF signal through this antenna, but it's not what it was designed for.

A good high-VHF and UHF combo antenna for your situation would be something like the Antennacraft HBU-44 or Winegard HD7695P. These kinds of antennas are too big for a living room installation, so you're looking at either an attic or rooftop installation.

Signal quality is better if the antenna is installed on the roof (less building material to go through and fewer objects to get in the way), but some people prefer an attic installation because of the better protection from the elements. It may be necessary to go up one antenna size (like HBU-55 or HD7696P) for attic installations to compensate for the building loss, but that really depends on the building construction, and can vary from one situation to another.
mtownsend is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Go Back   TV Fool > Over The Air Services > Help With Reception


Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off




All times are GMT. The time now is 12:13 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Copyright © TV Fool, LLC