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Old 12-Feb-2016, 9:52 PM   #1
Sev
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Arrow Equipment & Antenna advice please. Also looking to combine ATSC tuner and Kodi

Hello.
This is for the Elizabethton TN, 37643 area.
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...51344f06feb1cd

Currently for OTA I man using an old Realistic antenna and Lava 2605 for testing purposes. No idea what the model number of the realistic is. Its condition is deteriorating.

I have done a 360 degree sweep at 5 degree intervals and have plotted all the reception values.
All the data points were collected with the antenna connected to an Avermedia H387 Hybrid stick plugged into a Dell Precision M6600.
No pre-amp was used.

The attached data point files are in saved in OpenOffice ods format. I can add Microsoft xls if if needed.
Transmitter distances and frequency ranges are included in the spreadsheets.
The main channels have been highlighted in yellow.

Antenna-TV Station Spred Sheet 1. Yagi East..ods

Antenna-TV Station Spred Sheet 2. Yagi west.ods


Surprisingly I have reached out and touched about 73 channels. Some as far out as 120 miles.
What I have found is that the Avermedia stick is a more sensitive tuner than either my sat STB or the tuner in my Samsung DLP.
My understanding is that newer TV's generally have good tuners in them. However I will not be upgrading from the Samsung at the moment.
I have run the Avermedia in the laptop and shot the picture to the DLP through an HDMI cable with no problem. Other than it occupying my laptop.

Since plotting the points I have added an RCA Pre-amp. The power source for the Pre-amp is 20 feet from the antenna and 50 feet from the TV.
I have not had a chance to rotate the antenna to the strongest signal positions as of yet.
However for the current position of the antenna. According to the meter on the DLP. I received a 2 bar bump to the max of 8 bars on several channels. And an across the board 2 bar bump on the rest.

I am currently getting ABC, CBS, NBC and the CW from the closest towers.
However I am unable to receive FOX. The only time I picked up was in the 70/290 of the antenna using the Lava.
At first I thought it could be an antenna restriction or a problem with the Avermedia. I checked the transmitter elevation. It appears to be about 66 feet lower than some of the other transmitters in the cluster. It is pumping out 1000KW.
I find it odd that I get nothing. Based on the MHz of the transitions the Realistic is receiving I dont believe it is a limitation of the antenna itself.
I did not get anything with the tuners in the STB or the Samsung either.
So I just may be locked out by geographical conditions.

I have been looking at getting a used Mediasonic HomeWorx HW150PVR for testing purposes.
If anybody has any experience or advice on these units or something similar. Feel free.

Now I was able to pick up a strong signal from WTNZ Foxville43 100.3 miles out.

I would greatly appreciate some recommendations on an antenna or stacked antenna setup that would allow me to pick up the fringe stations.
At some point I am hoping to find a crank up Rohn tower to increase the antenna elevation. I missed a 40 footer last year for 250 bucks and have been kicking myself ever since.

I currently have on hand an RCA rotor that allows 12 positions to be programmed in.

Next
I am currently using an Apple ATV2 for streaming. I am however hoping to simplify my setup and get a bit more processing power.
I have been looking at the MyGica ATV 586 ATSC TV Recording PVR Android TV Box
http://www.mygica.tv/smart-tv-boxes.php?model=ATV-586
It appears to receive good reviews. I was wondering if anybody has any real world experience with the unit?
This one is supposed to come out later this year.
http://www.geniatech.com/pa/atv1950.asp?vd=rj Comes with a 2Ghz quad processor and 2gigs of DDR3 and handles 4K.

My streaming will be going through a VPN client on a router.

Another route I am considering is an FTA STB that uses Android and has an ATSC tuner in it. I know the Korean Dreamlink T6 is one.

If combining all the components together complicates the plumbing and sacrifices quality
I can always keep my ATSC tuner and KODI box separate.

Any advice and experience in these matters would be appreciated.
Looking forward to any and all information that is provided.

Thank you.

Last edited by Sev; 14-Feb-2016 at 2:08 PM.
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Old 14-Feb-2016, 1:03 PM   #2
Sev
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Forgot to post the link.

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...51344f06feb1cd

Also if you plot 240 degrees off the WCYB antenna you will intersect my position.

Last edited by Sev; 14-Feb-2016 at 2:07 PM.
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Old 15-Feb-2016, 7:44 PM   #3
Sev
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Major Tom to ground control.
Is anybody out there?

Anybody have feedback on the Channel Master CM7500BDL2?

Thoughts on using a DB4e or a DB8 in an attempt to catch FOX?
The transmitter is geographically challenged for me.

Possible antenna upgrades.
Winegard HD8200U or HD7698P. Using the later would require an extra antenna to pick up WCYB 5.1 as it is the only VHF Lo in the lineup.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Alternatives?

Last edited by Sev; 16-Feb-2016 at 12:16 AM.
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Old 16-Feb-2016, 1:10 PM   #4
rickbb
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I think your chances of getting Fox are not that good. If you click on the station in the list you can see the terrain profile that shows you are literally down in a hole from the transmitter.

You're in a radio shadow behind the various mountains between you and the tower.

It is only 7 miles and a good quality signal, but you're still in a RF shadow. You will need the antenna up as high as you can get it. You might pickup enough of a signal bounce or find a sweet spot in some multipath. But you will need a bit of luck and lots of trial and error to find it.

I think it's not so much which antenna as it is where.
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Old 18-Feb-2016, 1:54 PM   #5
jreese235
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Can't help you out with your antenna but as far as streaming i can chime in a little. I am currently waiting on delivery of an android streaming device called SkyStream X5. It operates on Kodi software and various other addons. I have been in contact with them and they took the time to see if the shows I watch are available within their platform which I thought was great. Another plus is that it acts like a DVR for your OTA channels, just plug your antenna directly into it. It saves them to a thumb drive or SD card. It will also connect to your surround if you have one so you can still have surround as long as it is broadcast that way. Here is a link to their website...

http://www.elitemodsfl.com/#!skystream-x5/c1wli
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Old 25-Feb-2016, 2:10 AM   #6
Sev
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rickbb View Post
I think your chances of getting Fox are not that good. If you click on the station in the list you can see the terrain profile that shows you are literally down in a hole from the transmitter.

You're in a radio shadow behind the various mountains between you and the tower.

It is only 7 miles and a good quality signal, but you're still in a RF shadow. You will need the antenna up as high as you can get it. You might pickup enough of a signal bounce or find a sweet spot in some multipath. But you will need a bit of luck and lots of trial and error to find it.

I think it's not so much which antenna as it is where.
That is most likely the case.
I am hoping I dont lose the signal on the rest when the leaves come up.
Been toying with getting an Antennacraft HD1850 off ebay. There is enough surface area on that to get some decent gain.
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Old 25-Feb-2016, 2:12 AM   #7
Sev
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jreese235 View Post
Can't help you out with your antenna but as far as streaming i can chime in a little. I am currently waiting on delivery of an android streaming device called SkyStream X5. It operates on Kodi software and various other addons. I have been in contact with them and they took the time to see if the shows I watch are available within their platform which I thought was great. Another plus is that it acts like a DVR for your OTA channels, just plug your antenna directly into it. It saves them to a thumb drive or SD card. It will also connect to your surround if you have one so you can still have surround as long as it is broadcast that way. Here is a link to their website...

http://www.elitemodsfl.com/#!skystream-x5/c1wli
I came across that one.
It looks promising.
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Old 25-Feb-2016, 11:48 AM   #8
jreese235
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sev View Post
I came across that one.
It looks promising.
I've had the box now for a week and love it. It takes a little more time to find the shows you want but its worth the $100+ savings every month. Gone are the days of channel surfing. We made a list of shows that we like and the addons that we have the best luck with. If one isnt working well on one we simply move on to the next. i watched live sports last night as well, Penguins and Bruins hockey game. My total investment with the C2V antenna that I have and the Skystream X5 is right around $350. It will have paid for itself in three months. Absolutely no regrets. One piece of advice if you go that route, be patient with the addons. Sometimes they go down for a few days or up to a week. These programs are not maintained by huge companies, usually its a few people. Generally speaking, the developers will push an update within a few days and everything is up and running again. Don't get married to one streaming addon, make sure you have a few that you like. This particular box comes with alot already loaded onto it. It is literally plug and play. Sorry to ramble on about it but i'm just very impresses with it. Good luck.
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Old 25-Feb-2016, 12:44 PM   #9
Sev
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jreese235 View Post
I've had the box now for a week and love it. It takes a little more time to find the shows you want but its worth the $100+ savings every month. Gone are the days of channel surfing. We made a list of shows that we like and the addons that we have the best luck with. If one isnt working well on one we simply move on to the next. i watched live sports last night as well, Penguins and Bruins hockey game. My total investment with the C2V antenna that I have and the Skystream X5 is right around $350. It will have paid for itself in three months. Absolutely no regrets. One piece of advice if you go that route, be patient with the addons. Sometimes they go down for a few days or up to a week. These programs are not maintained by huge companies, usually its a few people. Generally speaking, the developers will push an update within a few days and everything is up and running again. Don't get married to one streaming addon, make sure you have a few that you like. This particular box comes with alot already loaded onto it. It is literally plug and play. Sorry to ramble on about it but i'm just very impresses with it. Good luck.
Sounds like a good device. I am using Pheonix, Navi-x and the usual suspects.
I was just looking at a best "Live TV" addon review.
https://seo-michael.co.uk/best-live-...for-xbmc-kodi/
Anything in there you are pleased with?

Currently I have an ATV2 with Kodi. It works well but the limited memory and CPU size really make the thing drag. Its responce time basically sucks. The cache size is really to small for adequate buffering.

Have you put a VPN in between you and your surface provider? I bought PureVPN for 2 years for 48 bucks. I picked up a Netgear R6300v2 with dd-wrt and working on configuring it. I am hoping the the 800MHz dual core processors will be enough to minimize any bandwidth loss.
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Old 25-Feb-2016, 1:01 PM   #10
jreese235
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I actually haven't done any live streaming other than on Sports Devil. So I can't really comment on any of the addons mentioned. I do everything with 1Channel, Exodus and Project Free TV for the most part. As far as a VPN, no. I just plug direct from my modem. I'm not technically savvy and don't even know what a VPN is, haha. I will take a look at the list you provided and check a few out. I'm still very new to the streaming community, but so far I really like it.
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Old 25-Feb-2016, 2:42 PM   #11
Sev
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jreese235 View Post
I actually haven't done any live streaming other than on Sports Devil. So I can't really comment on any of the addons mentioned. I do everything with 1Channel, Exodus and Project Free TV for the most part. As far as a VPN, no. I just plug direct from my modem. I'm not technically savvy and don't even know what a VPN is, haha. I will take a look at the list you provided and check a few out. I'm still very new to the streaming community, but so far I really like it.
Ah. I hear you.
VPN is a Virtual Private Network.
Your purpose in having an active one is for privacy. For streaming purposes is it to keep your service provider in the dark about what you are doing and where.
They frown upon certain streaming activities and may send you a disconnect warning.
You should check various forums to see where your service provider stands on the matter.
I have not had a problem personally. However, what they do not know wont hurt them.

What you need to look for are routers that can act as a VPN client. Not a server. Though many of them can act as both. Which is fine.
It should have a strong processor for decryption purposes. Everything over a VPN is encrypted and decrypted. This can effect bandwidth.

Another factor to consider. If you use an antenna to catch local stations you diminish your data usage on the net.

Last edited by Sev; 25-Feb-2016 at 2:44 PM.
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Old 25-Feb-2016, 3:01 PM   #12
jreese235
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I us an Antennas Direct C2V antenna and get most major networks NBC, CBS, FOX etc. Ill check my router to see if its acts as a VPN. A buddy of mine gets disconnect warning all the time. He's never been disconnected though. Truth is, the cable companies would rather have some of your business than none. I think they are blowing smoke with their warnings but its something to consider if I ever get a notice.
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Old 26-Feb-2016, 12:06 PM   #13
Sev
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jreese235 View Post
I us an Antennas Direct C2V antenna and get most major networks NBC, CBS, FOX etc. Ill check my router to see if its acts as a VPN. A buddy of mine gets disconnect warning all the time. He's never been disconnected though. Truth is, the cable companies would rather have some of your business than none. I think they are blowing smoke with their warnings but its something to consider if I ever get a notice.
The problem is once you are disconnected you may not be able to get another account with them under your name.
For a small investment to avoid the hassle it may be worth it.
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Old 7-May-2016, 8:03 PM   #14
Sev
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Just wanted to update.
I have been waiting to see what my reception would be once the leaves were out.
Same antenna in use.
Today I was out dropping trees located in the direction my closest transmitters.
I fired up the laptop to see how the reception was.
5.1,2,3 100%
11.1,2,3 100%
19.1,2,3,4 100%

And then

39.1 Fox and 39.2 Movies came in at 60%.

It is a clear blue sky out. Not sure if it is just perfect conditions today.
However, I will be moving to purchasing a Winegard HD7698P to start.

Streaming
I have since installed Kodi on Windows 7 and also installed Emby's Mediabrowser.
The laptop is working much better for streaming than ATV2 or the Androidnation box I had picked up.
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Old 12-May-2016, 9:04 PM   #15
Sev
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Decided to swing the antenna around to 255 degrees up to 280.
Still getting strong signals at up to 90% at 100 miles out.
The leaves dont appear to have done to much damage to the signals.

Last edited by Sev; 12-May-2016 at 11:59 PM.
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