Need help-new location

scootermcb · 3-Oct-2016, 11:23 PM

Hi Guys,

I'm back again in need of some help-you guys were great with advice last time!

Anyway, here are the reports I generated for the address

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=90

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...e2cb9fbccc3455

It is a very tough location

https://www.google.com/maps/place/41...5!4d-72.072451

It is the first floor of a brick apartment building. The apartment faces (mostly) east, and the building is on quite a hill. Only indoor antennas are allowed. I'm wondering what can be done to receive at least WTIC-TV (or a local station that features local news/weather).

rabbit73 · 4-Oct-2016, 12:13 AM

Welcome back, scootermcb:

Thanks for the report and the map; the first link just goes to the page to enter information. The map gives us a good idea of the reception problem.

Quote:

It is a very tough location

I agree, you are on the wrong side of the building.

Have you made any tests for reception at your new location? Do you still have the Clearstream CSM-1 and Winegard LNA-200 amplifier from your previous location? Do you have a TV or converter box?

You might at least get WHPX ION.

rabbit73 · 4-Oct-2016, 12:52 AM

Using the coordinates from your Google map, it looks like the WTIC signal will have to go through your building to get to your antenna, unless you have a north facing window.

I thought you might have a chance for ABC, until I did a report using the Google map coordinates:
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...e2cba340503809

rabbit73 · 4-Oct-2016, 1:22 AM

You are on the fringe for WTIC coverage:

BUT being on a hill helps

rabbit73 · 4-Oct-2016, 1:56 AM

If you get WHPX ION with your Clearstream CSM-1 and Winegard LNA-200 amplifier, but not WTIC, try a "brute force" approach with an Antennas Direct DB4e and a CM7777 preamp, but it's a gamble. There are other 4-bay antennas, but the DB4e is safer to handle indoors.

If WHPX, real channel 26, overloads the 7777, insert a ChannelPlus Model NF-471 RF Notch Filter between the antenna and the preamp input.

NF-471: Notch Filter
Removes CATV channels 75-80 and UHF channels 24-29
Notch filter frequency 529.25 MHz to 559.25 MHz
24 530-536 MHz
25 536-542
26 542-548
27 548-554
28 554-560
29 560-566

Tigerbangs · 4-Oct-2016, 3:03 AM

Looks like you are in Groton, and I grew up in Waterford, so I am intimately familiar with the pitfalls of reception in New London County: I put up antennas there back in the awful days of analog, and have found that the digital revolution has brought its own set of challenges.

If you can't get an antenna on the roof, or are unwilling to get cable or Satellite (Groton is unusual in that it has two competing cable TV companies) you are just not going to see major network TV reliably, no matter how high you may be. You might get a whiff of WTIC when the wind is blowing right, but no way will you see WTNH without an outdoor antenna. As for WFSB, I was able to receive it a couple of years ago in Ledyard using an AntennasDirect 91 XG and a PA-18 amplifier mounted on the roof, but I didn't have to aim through the WHPX transmitter, either.

Let me see if I can guess what comes in: PBS from Norwich and 8 channels of ION, four from WHPX, and four from WPXQ. With an indoor antenna, that's about it, I'm afraid. Sorry!

scootermcb · 4-Oct-2016, 5:29 AM

Thanks for all of the information!

This is my daughter's apartment. She gets most of her content online, but she is a college student and does not want to pay for satellite or cable.

I have hooked up the Clearstream CSM-1 and can only receive WHPX and WPXQ (both with 4 channels each). Worse than what Tigerbangs predicted lol. The Winegard LNA-200 is still in use at my location, but I would be willing to purchase another if necessary.

Is the CM7777 preamp better suited than the Wingard LNA-200?

rabbit73 · 4-Oct-2016, 2:01 PM

Thanks for the additional information.

The only advantage of the CM7777 is that it has more gain, but it is more sensitive to overload. I was thinking of the best equipment for the weakest signals, which would indicate an amp with more gain and an antenna with more gain.

Since we don't really know how strong the signals are in the apartment, I suggest some tests in stages to see what is needed.

First try your LNA-200 with the Clearstream CSM-1. If that works, buy one for her.

If that doesn't bring in WTIC, upgrade the antenna to an Antennas Direct DB4e with the LNA-200.

The DB4e is quite directional, so you must try different locations and aim in the apartment.

If you still don't get WTIC, substitute a CM7777 for the LNA-200 as a last resort.

scootermcb · 4-Oct-2016, 8:04 PM

Great! I'll give that a try and will report back in a few days with the results. Thank you again for your help!

Tigerbangs · 4-Oct-2016, 9:50 PM

When the digital era was just starting, back in 2007-2008, I was living in a high-rise in New London, about 3 miles west, across the river from your daughter, I was on the 8th floor, facing Northeast, on a hill high overlooking Downtown New London. I had bought a new LG plasma with an ATSC tuner, and really wanted to avoid cable and its costs if I could.

Having grown up just a couple of miles away, I remembered the big Channel Master Crossfire 3610 with an Alliance U100 rotator and a Channel Master 0021 preamp that we had. I remember that, with all that hardware on the roof, we got WTNH pretty well, and WFSB ok, depending on the weather. Our NBC came from Providence on Channel 10, and was usually snowy. We also got WTEV-WLNE, the ABC station out of New Bedford, and WPRI, CBS, from Providence also came in, but too snowy to enjoy most of the time. No UHF at the time: NO such thing as FOX, and NBC was on WHNB from Hartford, but was too weak to reach Waterford.

I got myself an AntennasDirect 91XG, and aimed it out the window, hoping for any glimpse of a signal. I crossed my fingers using the 91XG, and tried it in just about every corner of my apartment, and you know what I got? 4 channels of WHPX, and 4 channels of WPXQ, and 4 channels of WEDN from Norwich. No major networks of any kind.

Moral to the story: where she is, it's a roof-antenna, which can be iffy, cable or satellite in S.E.CT

scootermcb · 5-Oct-2016, 5:49 AM

That's exactly what I'm afraid of, Tigerbangs...but I gotta give something a try. She's a good kid trting to support herself and not paying for "extras" like cable.