Evening All,

I've got a little problem with local Over The Air (OTA) HDTV reception.  Anyone here an expert in the field?

E-95

Some jobless homeless vet named Paul has his shit in one sock when it comes to all things TV.

I'm not an expert but there are a lot here: AVS Forums Local HD

Quoted: I'm not an expert but there are a lot here: AVS Forums Local HD

Holy shit!  There are 47 pages on the thread about HDTV in the Memphis area!  Looks like I have some reading to do.

Paul, if your willing to try tackling the problem I'll give it a shot.  I'm not sure how much it has to do with the fact that it's HDTV.  I think it actually breaks down to a UHF reception problem.

E-95

Will do Paul.  Thanks for the input guys.  

E-95

KA3B:

That might possibly have been one of the most random.. yet GD funniest things I have ever heard/read...
by the way.. I know Paul.. and he wants his sock back.

so what's the problem?  Kinda hard to tell from your post.  

I had problems with OTA HDTV reception with the antenna that was supplied with my satellite dish.  I solved the problem by buying a much larger antenna.  The new antenna was so much larger than the original one that it was stealing all of the amplifier power from the receiver box, and the satellite dish couldnt bring in a signal anymore. I solved that problem by using a diplexer (spiltter) that only allows amplifier power to pass through to one device, the satellite dish. The antenna is large enough that it doesnt need any amplifier power.  The system works perfectly now. It is also essential that your antenna be pointing in the right direction.  This site can tell you exactly where to point your antenna based on your address.  Good Luck!

Quoted: so what's the problem?  Kinda hard to tell from your post.

You asked for it so here it comes!

DirecTV sent out three installers last Friday to upgrade my system for HD.  The satellite portion works great and I couldn't be happier with the picture.

Before I start into the problem, let me give you a description of my (Over The Air) OTA setup.  I have a Samsung SIR-TS360 with a RG-6 out to a diplexer where it joins with the Satellite-In RG-6. A single RG-6 from there into the wall and out to the roof where it splits into the separate satellite and OTA RG-6's through another diplexer.  The final RG-6 run is connected to a Winegard GS-1000 pointed at about 0°.  The total cable run is around 130'.

Now the guys moved the dish from one corner of my house to the opposite corner for satellite reception purposes.  They could have made the cable run to my receiver in about 30' but they apparently decided to use the already existing cable from the original dish position.

I live in Germantown, TN (Memphis suburb) and according to AntennaWeb, all the major network’s (ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, UPN, and FOX) broadcast antennas with the exception of FOX lie at a bearing between 354° and 10°, a maximum distance of 13.7 miles, and a yellow antenna is recommended.  The FOX antenna is currently at a bearing of 290°, 7.5 miles from my house, and requires a violet antenna.  As of now, I receive ABC, CBS, PBS, and UPN through my OTA antenna.

I'm not surprised that I don't get FOX since my Winegard GS-1000 falls in the yellow category and AntennaWeb recommends a violet.  I'm also not too worried about that since FOX has a construction permit filed that should put a new antenna at a bearing of 348° and 6.6 miles at some point in the future.  However, I don't receive NBC which falls in the yellow category.

Here's the part that has me stumped:  The FCC TV Database Query shows the NBC, ABC, and UPN broadcast antennas are all at the same latitude and longitude.  Now I know the area and there is only one tower at that location.  I would think this means that all three station's broadcast antennas are on the same tower.  So why am I not receiving NBC?

What am I missing here?  Is my logic and/or knowledge flawed in some way?  How can I resolve this problem?  

E-95

Welcome to OTA HDTV. It usually sucks and 85% of folks do not get all HD channels. What did you expect for free any more.

Well, there is a guy around the corner from me that gets all the local digital channels OTA.  His house is actually about a quarter mile further away from all the broadcast antennas.  Of course he has a Channel Master 4228 mounted on a 20' mast behind his house.  I'd rather not have to throw that 39.5" x 36" monster up on my roof if I don't have to though.

E-95

Is your OTA antenna amped?  It has a "non-amplified" reference in the description, but then has an amplified gain reference as well.  Have you tried a signal booster?  Did you install it yourself?  

Quoted: Is your OTA antenna amped?  It has a "non-amplified" reference in the description, but then has an amplified gain reference as well.  Have you tried a signal booster?  Did you install it yourself?

No, the GS-1000 is not amplified.  They make another model that is basically an amplified version (GS-2000A).  Everything has been installed by the pros.

I'm having the installing company send some guys back out tomorrow to run that cable right:  short run into the attic not all the way around the back of my house and then into the attic.  Oh, and I'm going to make them run two lines since I know I'm getting some attenuation through those two diplexers.

If that doesn't fix the problem I guess it's time to start looking for a new antenna.

E-95

My own battle with OTA HDTV was quite entertaining...one day when I have more time, I'll give you a rundown...short version is there's a 500,000 watt radio transmitter about 1/2 mile from my house that prevents any kind of reception...so it was DirectTV for me...finally moved over to cable when they made the high speed internet available a few years ago.  It rocks, only thing I'm tempted to get on satellite is the NFL Sunday Ticket...cable still can't offer that.  

Well, it the installers came back out this morning.  Apparantly electrical code requires the diplexer to be less than 20' from the meter on the exterior of the house.  Bottom line is that they won't change the cabling configuration.

So it looks like I get to spend the weekend running new cable myself.

As far as NFL Sunday Ticket, I've heard that the DirecTV contract is up next year so it should be available for other providers (Time Warner, Comcast, etc.).

E-95