OTA TV

[GP403]

Old topic, but I got problems. My "smart" antennas are now stupid. They can only pull in about 48 channels. (I know- don't hit me!) I put the old school aluminum UHF back up and pulled 74 stations. That doesn't make sense. I used a splitter and two TVs worked just as well. So I went and connected all 4 of my TVs to the UHF and I lost several key channels. Is it because I overloaded the antenna? I don't want to use an amplifier. I think just add another antenna in the attic for the other two?I have one like this^^^^^^^^ I was thinking a bow-tie type like this.View attachment 167058 View attachment 167057

Yeah all these "for HD" antennas are stupid. It's just radio waves, your ordinary old school TV antenna will work just fine, but...

... as you've discovered it looks like your signal is just a hair too low and splitting it four ways drops each just enough. It might even be that or you might have a flaky cable that's shorting out (which would kill all the signals at the splitter) or otherwise attenuating the whole mess. I'd disconnect them 1 by 1 at the splitter and see if the other three get better or not.

Problem with amplifiers is they amplify all the noise, too. In an old NTSC analog setup that's not so bad, you're still going to get a picture, probably even a good one. But with digital you have to have a clean signal strength past a certain point (I forget exactly) or you don't have enough information to construct the program. My experience with amps on ATSC is it almost always makes it worse.

 

[Bonnewagon]

Well what I did was disconnect two of the TV sets from the system. That leaves two at the same end of the house on the aluminum UHF antenna. The upstairs set now gets 74 channels clear as a bell no problem. The downstairs set is almost as good, with 69 channels. Only one major channel, WPIX-11, is missing or pixilating. Perhaps the distance is the issue. So I figured I could just add another UHF antenna at the other end for the other two sets and see what happens. What is this ATSC 3.0? Because if we made a change it is for the better. I used to use three "smart" electronically tuned antenna DTA 5000s for each of three TVs and it has a signal booster built in. That is because you can only have one set on the antenna at a time. The fourth I had hooked to the aluminum UHF because it was less than 10 feet away and worked great. The best I could get was about 30 channels on the DTA and on the last with the UHF I got almost as many. Then lately the DTA was missing channels but the UHF got more. That is when I rewired them all to the UHF and was getting at most 74 channels. Could the 3.0 be doing that?

 

[Supercharged111]

A 2 way splitter causes each receiving end to get half the power, i.e. a 3dB drop in power. A 4 way would have each only receiving 25%. GP403 keeps bringing up that an amp amplifies everything, but I think the point he's trying to make is that is does nothing for your signal to noise ratio or SNR. The only way I know of to boost that is by getting the antenna a stronger signal or to get an antenna with more gain. Your cookie sheet doesn't look very directional. Was that yagi that sucked more directional? If it's all pulling from the same tower, I see no reason not to use something more directional as that would help with the gain. Also, when aiming the antenna, don't forget to account for magnetic declination. I'm guessing the site you used for heading used coordinates for both you and the tower to produce a heading? Pay attention to if that number is true or magnetic. Or just mess with it until you see the highest signal strength. The whole point of aiming with a compass is to get you into the ballpark anyway. I suspect you're past everything I just typed.

 

[64nailhead]

Whew - all I can add is that I'm glad I don't watch TV anymore - you guys are nuts! Last itme I watched the local weather we were predicted to get 12-18" of snow and I awoke to 40+". That's when I threw in the towel.

YouTube and Amazon Prime for me - $20 a year, and $60 a year for motortrend.

 

[UNGN]

You guys would know - Did they take Comet TV off the air? I watched Battlestar Galactica front to back twice, then late last year I couldn't get the channel any more so I hooked my laptop to my TV and forgot about OTA.

 

[Bonnewagon]

Yes, I used TVfool to get a compass heading. I then made small adjustments until I got the best signal. What I don't understand is that a lot of stations use the same transmitter. If so, why would one come in strong and another be so weak? Anyway I was wondering what is the best type antenna for covering transmitters that are very close together but not exactly. I am about 20 miles away in Queens and all the transmitters are in Manhattan or Jersey but maybe a few miles apart. So my antenna points due West and if I use a single TV with a single UHF antenna I get everything. Splitting loses a channel or two so what you said makes sense. If I have to I will get an antenna for each set. I thought either of these would grab all the channels without being a huge obnoxious presence in my attic. So feel free so suggest options.

Q

 

[303'505rollin]

You guys would know - Did they take Comet TV off the air? I watched Battlestar Galactica front to back twice, then late last year I couldn't get the channel any more so I hooked my laptop to my TV and forgot about OTA.

Yeah it's still going it's just in and out reception

 

[303'505rollin]

I get Amazon prime from my phone service included so I save on that and you can add your smart tv as one of the devices but I do got YouTube for my kids as an app for my tv, I really just watch TV for sports and the news

 

[Bonnewagon]

So I found this model and it had great revues. It cost between $20-$40 all over. I found a supplier in South Dakota selling it for just $10 each so I ordered 5. The next thing I know the order is cancelled as "Discontinued". Rats.

 

[jiho]

Whew - all I can add is that I'm glad I don't watch TV anymore - you guys are nuts!

They can't live without their Saturday morning cartoons. And they can't afford cable, because they spend all their money on all the cereal and other stuff that's in the ads.

It's just an ever more finely detailed view on an ever vaster wasteland.