TV Fool  

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

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 30-Jun-2018, 8:34 PM   #61
rabbit73
Retired A/V Tech
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: S.E. VA
Posts: 2,747
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tower Guy View Post
The FCC uses AGL to describe the height of the transmit antenna on a TV tower.
That is true.

Attached Images
File Type: jpg DagwoodTVF-WUHF-AGL.JPG (165.3 KB, 1433 views)
__________________
If you can not measure it, you can not improve it.
Lord Kelvin, 1883
http://www.megalithia.com/elect/aeri...ttpoorman.html
rabbit73 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 1-Aug-2018, 2:34 AM   #62
Dagwood
Senior Member
 
Dagwood's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: NYS, Finger Lakes area
Posts: 106
Thanks Rabbit.

UPDATE:

For several days now PBS (21) has been edgy -- audio breaking up, slight pixelation. It has been probably my strongest signal; have never had a problem with it since 2011 when I installed my present system.

So I put the new box thingy in that goes under the antenna (that the coax screws into) that I bought last winter. Didn't help at all.

So I started rotating the antenna. One way, no good. Went the other way and it's coming in fine, along with the other channels.

I'm thinking I should probably put a rotor on it, so I can compensate for what I assume are slight changes in the atmosphere, weather, seasons, etc. that are causing my occasional problems. Tweaking it from the living room seems a lot better than crawling up on the roof and having the ladder blow down like it did last December.

Thirty-some years ago I had a rotor, but after a while it would mess up and not work right. It ended up being a big PITA so I didn't use it anymore and eventually took it down.

I'm assuming today's rotors are much better . . . ?
Dagwood is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 1-Aug-2018, 12:33 PM   #63
Nascarken
Banned
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 346
Hello there yes by hi gane
Nascarken is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2-Aug-2018, 1:50 AM   #64
RF Steve
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 14
While the low cost rotors sold for TV antennas have probably not improved much. If you wish to spend the money you can purchase an amateur radio antenna rotor which will likely be much more reliable. Hy-Gain, or Yaesu.
http://www.hy-gain.com/Categories.php?sub=0&ref=64
https://www.universal-radio.com/cata...ot/ysurot.html
RF Steve is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 4-Aug-2018, 9:06 PM   #65
Dagwood
Senior Member
 
Dagwood's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: NYS, Finger Lakes area
Posts: 106
Wow, that's some pricey stuff. FWIW, I would probably only use it 5-10 times a year, and only tweaking it a short distance either way when I do use it.

I'll be 68 in a couple of weeks and will probably be either dead or severely demented in 10 years -- do you think a cheaper one will hold up that long?
Dagwood is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 4-Aug-2018, 10:15 PM   #66
JoeAZ
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Posts: 413
Greetings Dagwood,

Happy, Happy Birthday to you!
Having lived in W.N.Y. for my first twenty years and seen
the fun weather, I'd say yes. Given the infrequent use and
minimal rotation, you should be good to go. I would avoid
using the rotor when there is icing, whenever possible. That
would cause problems long term. Be safe on that roof and
be sure to alert someone where and when you'll be up there!

Joe in Prescott, AZ
JoeAZ is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 4-Aug-2018, 11:05 PM   #67
Nascarken
Banned
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 346
Rotor

Quote:
Originally Posted by RF Steve View Post
While the low cost rotors sold for TV antennas have probably not improved much. If you wish to spend the money you can purchase an amateur radio antenna rotor which will likely be much more reliable. Hy-Gain, or Yaesu.
http://www.hy-gain.com/Categories.php?sub=0&ref=64
https://www.universal-radio.com/cata...ot/ysurot.html
By-,gain yes it's $300dollars shiped to your door
You call that cheep lol I Don T think so just buy another HDB91
For $40dollars with the free shipping and put them in a v pattern
And for get the rotor it can be a problem some time,s
Nascarken is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 4-Aug-2018, 11:16 PM   #68
Nascarken
Banned
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 346
Ha joeaz

Quote:
Originally Posted by JoeAZ View Post
Greetings Dagwood,

Happy, Happy Birthday to you!
Having lived in W.N.Y. for my first twenty years and seen
the fun weather, I'd say yes. Given the infrequent use and
minimal rotation, you should be good to go. I would avoid
using the rotor when there is icing, whenever possible. That
would cause problems long term. Be safe on that roof and
be sure to alert someone where and when you'll be up there!

Joe in Prescott, AZ
I dont think you will find a rotor for less than $145dollars
Trust and believe me IT'S cheaper to get an OTHER HDB91
And put it on the same pole position it in a v pattern set them and
For get them and sit back and relax and enjoy the football game and have a cold one lol
Nascarken is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 5-Aug-2018, 12:22 AM   #69
Dagwood
Senior Member
 
Dagwood's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: NYS, Finger Lakes area
Posts: 106
Quote:
Originally Posted by JoeAZ View Post
Greetings Dagwood,

Happy, Happy Birthday to you!
Having lived in W.N.Y. for my first twenty years and seen
the fun weather, I'd say yes. Given the infrequent use and
minimal rotation, you should be good to go. I would avoid
using the rotor when there is icing, whenever possible. That
would cause problems long term. Be safe on that roof and
be sure to alert someone where and when you'll be up there!

Joe in Prescott, AZ
Thanks Joe!

Heh, yeah I learned my lesson last winter about getting up on the roof out here and nobody knowing about it.

Any particular rotor you'd recommend that's less than an arm and a leg?
Dagwood is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 5-Aug-2018, 1:25 AM   #70
Nascarken
Banned
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 346
No nothing worth

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dagwood View Post
Thanks Joe!

Heh, yeah I learned my lesson last winter about getting up on the roof out here and nobody knowing about it.

Any particular rotor you'd recommend that's less than an arm and a leg?
Those day's are gone for ever the channel master rotor is not that good
The rca is junk and they get a lot of money for the junk the hi gane rotors
Are pricy but work well but it's a lot of money and no one else is making
Rotors no more for the tv antenna so either you point the ANTENNA just
Right or buy 2of the same antennas installed in a v pattern will work well
no b.s. antenna installers use it for a lot of applications becuse iT's better
Then using a rotor and one less thing to worry about its the way too GO
And you will never look back of get back on the roof like I said set it and forget it I am sure that you will not have a problem with setting it up if you use
2HDB91 2ft apart in a v pattern you will receive BROADCASTING station that you are looking too get in the different direction of the tower's good luck p.s.I
Suggests that you use the channel master 7777AMP with the one in and the one out.good luck and ask rabbit about this set up I guarantee it will work well for you and you will be happy than a pig in sht.lol and if you need some help with it I am a few hours away pay for my gas and I will help you set it up I am in mass well good luck and be safe on the roof!

Last edited by Nascarken; 5-Aug-2018 at 1:38 AM.
Nascarken is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 5-Aug-2018, 1:37 PM   #71
rabbit73
Retired A/V Tech
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: S.E. VA
Posts: 2,747
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nascarken View Post
.....no one else is making Rotors no more for the tv antenna so either you point the ANTENNA just Right or buy 2of the same antennas installed in a v pattern will work well.....no b.s. antenna installers use it for a lot of applications becuse iT's better Then using a rotor and one less thing to worry about its the way too GO.....you use 2HDB91 2ft apart in a v pattern you will receive BROADCASTING station that you are looking too get in the different direction of the tower's good luck..... ask rabbit about this set up I guarantee it will work well for you and you will be happy than a pig in sht.lol
Interesting idea.....I don't know how to do the v pattern. Are the antennas separate and you use a switch to change from one to the other, or are they combined together? If they are combined, what do you use to combine them?
__________________
If you can not measure it, you can not improve it.
Lord Kelvin, 1883
http://www.megalithia.com/elect/aeri...ttpoorman.html

Last edited by rabbit73; 5-Aug-2018 at 1:40 PM.
rabbit73 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 5-Aug-2018, 2:20 PM   #72
Nascarken
Banned
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 346
Hello there Rabbit 73, you can use a T connector and yes the ANTENNA's are combined into one I
Suggest you use a channel master 7777amp the ANTENNA's are separated 2,feet apart
And the feed line frum the ANTENNA to the T should be 2ft long.And out of the T should be as short as you can get it to the amp in put. Use RG,11, and this set up is for 2,HDB91,
That are only a UHF,outdoor tv antenna,good luck..And ha rabbit 73 hamer what else
Do you think you will receive with this antenna set-up tack a close look at the feed??

Last edited by Nascarken; 5-Aug-2018 at 10:25 PM.
Nascarken is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 5-Aug-2018, 10:28 PM   #73
rabbit73
Retired A/V Tech
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: S.E. VA
Posts: 2,747
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nascarken View Post
Hello there Rabbit 73, you can use a T connector and yes the ANTENNA's are combined into one I
Suggest you use a channel master 7777amp the ANTENNA's are separated 2,feet apart
And the feed line frum the ANTENNA to the T should be 2ft long.And out of the T should be as short as you can get it to the amp in put. Use RG,11, and this set up is for 2,HDB91,
That are only a UHF,outdoor tv antenna,good luck..And ha rabbit 73 hamer what else
Do you think you will receive with this antenna set-up tack a close look at the feed??
Thank you for the details.

I don't need to set up two UHF antennas now aimed in different directions but I wanted to know how you did it. Calaveras has two 91XG antennas aimed in the same direction and he connects the two feedlines in parallel which is like using a T adapter. This gives an impedance of 37.5 ohms, which is converted back to 75 ohms using a 1/4 transformer section of 50 ohm coax going to the input of the preamp.

__________________
If you can not measure it, you can not improve it.
Lord Kelvin, 1883
http://www.megalithia.com/elect/aeri...ttpoorman.html

Last edited by rabbit73; 5-Aug-2018 at 10:43 PM.
rabbit73 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 5-Aug-2018, 10:59 PM   #74
Nascarken
Banned
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 346
I Don T mean to be a problem with recving but I am old school and Rf will
Never change if you have the right ANTENNAs to receive it and the right ANTENNA
Set up,he'll and for that guarantee Don T for get about the channel master 7777AMP??
Look rabbit for some reason yes some one hoo is good for the ANTENNA installed it
Will cost you ha rabbit WHERE Did you find that bs fru m lol and with the channel master 7777amp and the way I explained it to everyone on here I should probably get a 10% charge for my experience the feed line frum the ANTENNA to the T is a diepole
For hi vh F with the channel master amp it will receive the vhf hi pleas do your
Homework and stop snowballing me becuse I know what it takes to get the job done?
So rabbit not to bust your bubble I think you are why in over your head ,lol

Last edited by Nascarken; 6-Aug-2018 at 5:08 AM.
Nascarken is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 7-Aug-2018, 12:32 AM   #75
Dagwood
Senior Member
 
Dagwood's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: NYS, Finger Lakes area
Posts: 106
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dagwood View Post
Thanks Rabbit.

UPDATE:

For several days now PBS (21) has been edgy -- audio breaking up, slight pixelation. It has been probably my strongest signal; have never had a problem with it since 2011 when I installed my present system.

So I put the new box thingy in that goes under the antenna (that the coax screws into) that I bought last winter. Didn't help at all.

So I started rotating the antenna. One way, no good. Went the other way and it's coming in fine, along with the other channels.

I'm thinking I should probably put a rotor on it, so I can compensate for what I assume are slight changes in the atmosphere, weather, seasons, etc. that are causing my occasional problems. Tweaking it from the living room seems a lot better than crawling up on the roof and having the ladder blow down like it did last December.
Well I lost 21 again. I was on the roof today (took cordless phone with me!) moved the antenna back and forth but could not pick up 21 at all. This has never happened before.

So last week I replaced the junction box under the antenna, which didn't help at all. Is there another obvious weak spot in my system? It was all brand-new in 2011 and has worked flawlessly until last December.
Dagwood is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 7-Aug-2018, 1:32 PM   #76
JoeAZ
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Posts: 413
Greetings Dagwood,
I have a couple thoughts you may consider. I'd test an 8 bay bow tie antenna
or similar on your roof, completely independent of your current system. That
means trying new wire directly to the tv along with the new antenna. You will
need another person at the antenna or tv to complete the test. If reception improves,
you will have to look at your entire current system for issues. My opinion is that
the test will yield about the same results as you currently experience. In my head
I believe that all those trees are the real culprit........
JoeAZ is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 7-Aug-2018, 2:49 PM   #77
Nascarken
Banned
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 346
Yes. They are the problem of the RECEIVE wate till the fall.lol
Nascarken is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 7-Aug-2018, 6:36 PM   #78
JoeAZ
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Posts: 413
WXXI PBS Rochester, N.Y. suffered a major transmitter failure.
See story below.

http://www.wxxinews.org/post/update-wxxi-tv-reception

My guess is that they were operating at reduced power prior to
the failure which would explain your reception issues.

Last edited by JoeAZ; 7-Aug-2018 at 6:40 PM.
JoeAZ is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 7-Aug-2018, 9:19 PM   #79
Nascarken
Banned
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 346
Hello well that sucks but I am sure it will be back up and running as soon as possible
It does happen some times
Nascarken is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 7-Aug-2018, 11:19 PM   #80
Dagwood
Senior Member
 
Dagwood's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: NYS, Finger Lakes area
Posts: 106
Quote:
Originally Posted by JoeAZ View Post
WXXI PBS Rochester, N.Y. suffered a major transmitter failure.
See story below.

http://www.wxxinews.org/post/update-wxxi-tv-reception

My guess is that they were operating at reduced power prior to
the failure which would explain your reception issues.
Ha! Joe I owe you another one! Yes, that explains everything. One doesn't normally expect a TV station to go down for days, so I assumed it was me.

And I had just composed a huge message, outlining everything I could think of, and came here to post it and saw your new post about WXXI (which is coming in fine now).

From everything that happened in the past several days, it finally all makes sense.

Thanks again.
Dagwood 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 12:06 PM.


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