Thread: ota and directv

Hi everyone,

i recently put up this antenna :
Antennas Direct C4 ClearStream4 Outdoor Digital HD TV Antenna (C4) from Solid Signal

actually works very well. i'm getting most stations at over 50%. i'm over 38 miles away from most of these stations. there are two which are at borderline coming in at 38-40%. that would be wsvn 7 and wplg 10 in miami. my question is can i add an amp? i'm using diplexers to combine sat and ota. for directv i'm using an swm lnb. does the power inserter help in anyway the ota signal from the antenna? if not, can i add an amp to this setup or is that not possible?

Are you trying to add an amp because of the two stations in question?

If so part of the issue is the antenna in general. It is a UHF only antenna (14-51). When the digital conversion happened most stations went to the UHF band. The channels remap to their stations we all know. So as example Rey Channel 4 (CBS) actually broadcasts on 22 but remaps to 4.

VHF Hi stations (7-13) in alot of cases went back to their old analog spot and went digital. The examples you gave are two of them. Both broadcast on VHF HI (7 & 10). While a UHF only antenna will work in some cases amplifying it may do more harm than good.

What are you using as the meter? a TV? converter box? AM21?
Also maybe if you could post the tvfool report we can get better info. It will show how far the towers are, where they are compass wise and if any obstructions on the way

TV Fool

yes its because of those two stations . according to tv fool all the channels are between 36-38 miles away.
TV Fool

i guess amplifying it is not a good idea because of what you mentioned. also is it normal for the signals to be better at certain times of the day? i'm using an am21. the HR20 doesn't display channels 7 & 10 while the am21 on the HR24 does at 35-40%

Have you tried adjusting the antenna? How high up off ground is it?

even 50 is low on the AM21. The lowest I had when I owned a AM21 was 72 and that was my Ion affiliate that is 90 degrees off the beaten path (all my stations are at 45 degrees on the compass..that one was around 340)

Looking at the tvfool all are in the same direction. I noticed the 2 VHF stations are lower signal wise and that is due to power output. Most of the UHF stations in your area broadcast at 1 million watts (the most allowed power) but the VHF ones the FCC had a brain fart and thought that really low power would be the samer on digital as the full power (316KW) was on analog. They were sadly mistaken. I do see both are around 125-150kw which should be fine. I'm 30 miles away and both of my VHF Hi stations are only around 50kw and I get them fine (100%) but then again I have a VHF/UHF antenna

Diplexers block about 3 1/2-4% of signal so borderline signals will drop with diplexers. Try it without that. Also try and adjust the antenna to see if that heps

also is it normal for the signals to be better at certain times of the day?

yes. Normally at night signals travel farther.