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DefDude

Last reply Apr 28, 2008 · posted in Over the Air Television By RabbitEars.Info

How can I boost my signal ?

I need some help to get a more consistent signal if possible. I have dish 722 with ota, my zip is 32547 I can get all but fox out of mobile / pensacola. I have the following setup http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=AD-DB8 ,http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=10G212, http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=DGCBL100, my property is about 40 feet above sea level and I recently raised my antenna up to about 45 feet, My problem is that most of the time I can get good signal strength on abc , cbs, nbc, pbs between 70-100 but sometimes during the day and early eve I will get alot of fluctuation and lose the signal mainly on cbs and nbc. at other times during the day these will be 75 -95 even up to 100. Is there a way to fine tune my set-up by adding something that will boost it more so I won't get any dropouts? thanks for any help

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Buzzdar

Apr 21, 2008

i need something too to help with the signal

Jim5506

Apr 23, 2008

Perhaps a better antenna, look at the Antennas Direct 91-XG.

You will have one VHF (ABC) out of Panama City in 2009 so yo might add a CH 13 yagi and combine them with a CM7777 pre-amp.

More height will also help.

The three basics are: the best antenna, as high as possible with an excellent pre-amp. You can't do any more.

dish_in_the_sky

Apr 25, 2008

Weak signal reception

He's right...

Get the best antenna, high, in the clear line-of-sight path to the station, good preamp and coax.

Now comes the fine-tuning:

1. The preamp must be at the antenna, with as little loss between the antenna connection and preamp as possible. Even 1/2 dB improvement helps!

2. Your preamp at 3.5/4 dB noise is not very quiet. A Channelmaster 7777 is 2.8 dB (VHF)/2.0dB (UHF) NF. If a bigger antenna is not an option, and stacking isn't either, then try a quieter preamp such as the one I mention here.

There is a 0.4 dB preamp out there, but it's over $300! Some people use one if even towers and stacking don't get it in.

3. Minimize the line loss. With a good preamp, this won't be much of an issue, but every little bit helps.

4. Optimize antennas for each difficult channel, such as build that very high gain Yagi for the tough channel, using its own preamp

5. Find the "hot spot(s)" for the difficult channel(s) (locaton/height) and position/aim each antenna to get the best reception possible.

6. You can go to serious extremes, choose your efforts wisely.

7. Antennas and preamps designed for a single channel are used to obtain the last bit of performance avalable.

8. The lowest practical receivable signal level at UHF with hard work is around -106 dBm, isotropic. Extreme antennas might get to -110 dBm. VHF is somewhat thigher due to man-made noise.

9. Refer to tvfool.com for a guide as to signal strengths. Antennaweb is not as accurate.

DefDude

Apr 25, 2008

dish_in_the_sky said:
He's right...

Get the best antenna, high, in the clear line-of-sight path to the station, good preamp and coax.

Now comes the fine-tuning:

1. The preamp must be at the antenna, with as little loss between the antenna connection and preamp as possible. Even 1/2 dB improvement helps!

2. Your preamp at 3.5/4 dB noise is not very quiet. A Channelmaster 7777 is 2.8 dB (VHF)/2.0dB (UHF) NF. If a bigger antenna is not an option, and stacking isn't either, then try a quieter preamp such as the one I mention here.

There is a 0.4 dB preamp out there, but it's over $300! Some people use one if even towers and stacking don't get it in.

3. Minimize the line loss. With a good preamp, this won't be much of an issue, but every little bit helps.

4. Optimize antennas for each difficult channel, such as build that very high gain Yagi for the tough channel, using its own preamp

5. Find the "hot spot(s)" for the difficult channel(s) (locaton/height) and position/aim each antenna to get the best reception possible.

6. You can go to serious extremes, choose your efforts wisely.

7. Antennas and preamps designed for a single channel are used to obtain the last bit of performance avalable.

8. The lowest practical receivable signal level at UHF with hard work is around -106 dBm, isotropic. Extreme antennas might get to -110 dBm. VHF is somewhat thigher due to man-made noise.

9. Refer to tvfool.com for a guide as to signal strengths. Antennaweb is not as accurate.

thanks for the great info, but since I first posted Dish has launched the locals in HD out of mobile but with no nbc yet, and now all I have to do is get a solid nbc signal from my ota until they get it up. I swung my 129 around and got 61.5 locked in for the hd locals. Now if they get nbc up I will then swing my ota around and I can pick up the channels from dothan and panama city, I can get all of them pretty good except I have never been able to pull in nbc from panama city, their tower is over 75 miles from me, I think it's located in youngstown which is even father east. thanks again and I will use your advice when I point my ota east.

dish_in_the_sky

Apr 28, 2008

Enjoy and good luck!

There's MANY variables involved when trying to get distant OTA stations. No guarantees.

Enjoy watching... that's what it's for. Good luck getting NBC.

osu1991

Pub Member / Supporter

Last reply 9 minutes ago · posted in The Chit Chat Club

USA Healthcare Costs are Ridiculous

Pissed off at the crappy healthcare costs

My health Insurance renewal for 2027 just came in. Going from $827 a month to $1,187 a month. Deductible going up a $1k to $9,350. Max out of pocket also going up $1k to $11,000. Doctor co-pay of $40. Urgent Care co-pay $50. ER 50% coinsurance after deductible. That's all in network. Out of network is double, should it be needed.

Have to think about this. I'm really tempted to just go without now. I only go to the doctor once or twice a year. I pay out of pocket for Tirzepitide and can do without the Rosuvastatin (crestor) now. Really tired of spending over $10k a year and getting nothing out of it.

After years with Blue Cross I switched last year to Ambetter as my Blue Cross premium was going from $1200 to $1800 for a Silver plan and the Bronze plan was still going to be $1300 at BCBS. Ambetter was $827 for the same coverage with a Bronze plan. Didn't think it would jump this much so soon.

I'm guessing a Silver plan is probably over $2,000 a month for 2027.

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b4pjoe

Today at 3:49 PM

osu1991 said:
Pissed off at the crappy healthcare costs

Are you employed with no work insurance or that is what you are paying for your workplace insurance? Or is that through Healthcare.gov? Retired? Eligible for medicare?

vazhog

Today at 4:05 PM

that cut is only for illegals to get off the rolls and I was being sarcastic before -

osu1991

Today at 4:28 PM

b4pjoe said:
Are you employed with no work insurance or that is what you are paying for your workplace insurance? Or is that through Healthcare.gov? Retired? Eligible for medicare?

Started my own business in 2006, been self employed for 20 years this year.

Reactions: b4pjoe, meStevo and dishstaller

meStevo

Today at 4:52 PM

vazhog said:
that cut is only for illegals to get off the rolls and I was being sarcastic before -

Even sarcastically it's wrong. Undocumented immigrants already weren't eligible for federal Medicaid, so there's no one to "get off the rolls." The immigrant-related pieces are a small part of the ~$1 trillion. They cut the federal match for emergency care from 90% to the state's regular rate and end eligibility for some lawful immigrants like refugees. Most of the "savings" come from work requirements, more frequent eligibility checks, and provider tax limits, which hit citizens.

Either way, the cost doesn't disappear. It shifts to states, hospitals, and everyone else's premiums and will only serve to make issues like those raised in this thread worse.

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dishstaller

Today at 5:05 PM

meStevo said:
Undocumented immigrants already weren't eligible for federal Medicaid, so there's no one to "get off the rolls."

That's only part correct. Actually I had to look it up to make sure. There is NO Federal money going to Medicaid for illegals but there ARE some states that use State money to pay for Medicaid for illegals. Here's the list

- California: Covers all income-eligible undocumented adults. [1, 2]
- Colorado: Covers specific adult demographics (with upcoming budget caps in 2027). [1]
- Illinois: Covers specific adult age brackets. [1]
- New York: Covers specific adult demographics. [1]
- Oregon: Covers all income-eligible undocumented adults. [1, 2]
- Washington: Covers specific adult demographics. [1, 2]
- Washington, D.C.: Provides adult coverage through the D.C. Health Care Alliance. [1, 2]

meStevo

Today at 5:55 PM

dishstaller said:
That's only part correct. Actually I had to look it up to make sure. There is NO Federal money going to Medicaid for illegals but there ARE some states that use State money to pay for Medicaid for illegals. Here's the list

California: Covers all income-eligible undocumented adults. [1, 2]

Colorado: Covers specific adult demographics (with upcoming budget caps in 2027). [1]

Illinois: Covers specific adult age brackets. [1]

New York: Covers specific adult demographics. [1]

Oregon: Covers all income-eligible undocumented adults. [1, 2]

Washington: Covers specific adult demographics. [1, 2]

Washington, D.C.: Provides adult coverage through the D.C. Health Care Alliance. [1, 2]

Fair point, but it's consistent with what I said: no federal Medicaid money goes to undocumented immigrants. Those programs are state-funded, so the federal ~$1T cut can't touch them. Whatever states decide to do with their own programs is a separate budget decision.

Reactions: osu1991 and Bobby

vazhog

9 minutes ago

The feds give money to the states for them to use - Cutting the fed funding only means the taxpayer savings will passed onto the states that need to make up the Fed dollars cut -See the list above for those states affected

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TWiT Tech Podcast Network

Today at 7:12 PM · posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network

Rest in Peace Walter Koenig & Patrick Stewart

Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxc8oEnTTpc

Direct YouTube Link - Rest in Peace Walter Koenig & Patrick Stewart
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed

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Scott Greczkowski

Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU! Cutting Edge

Last reply Today at 5:53 PM · posted in The Chit Chat Club

Song Name Game Part 3!

Sometimes a thread gets so many posts in it that is can cause issues for the server so that why today we introduce The Song Name Game Part 3!

So let the game continue!

The last song was added by Bobby who posted...

One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters

CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!

Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game

Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.

Example:

Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow

Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio

Another example:

Ride the Lightning -- Metallica

Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne

Get it?

An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....

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gms49ers

Today at 1:34 PM

Can't You Hear Me Knocking - The Rolling Stones

long_time_Dish

Today at 4:06 PM

I Can Hear Music - The Beach Boys

dishstaller

Today at 4:16 PM

Boom Boom ( Out Go The Lights ) - Pat Travers

sdfntx

Today at 5:30 PM

Palisades Park - Freddy "Boom Boom" Cannon

Reactions: RaiderPower and Bobby

RaiderPower

Today at 5:53 PM

Cherry Hill Park - Billy Joe Royal

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TWiT Tech Podcast Network

Today at 5:42 PM · posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network

Apple's New Touchscreen MacBook Pro with Tandem OLED Display

Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!

View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Obg_1yMsldU

Direct YouTube Link - Apple's New Touchscreen MacBook Pro with Tandem OLED Display
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed

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dishstaller

Pub Member / Supporter Lifetime Supporter

Last reply Today at 5:34 PM · posted in DISH Network Support Forum

Claude's site is still up and running. New link required

I figured some of the guys would be looking here for an answer. You'll need to use this link

DishRetailer

America's Oldest Satellite Forum!

satelliteretailer.com

I'll mention what happened over there. I don't want to cause Scott any issues or put him in a bad spot.

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dishstaller

Today at 5:34 PM

If any of you know some of the guys from the board and you have their contact info, please reach out to them....many failed to update their contact info and some even had starband email addresses.

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Linus Tech Tips

Today at 4:32 PM · posted in Linus Tech Tips

Ep. 35 - Best Tech for a Deserted Island...

Time for another AWESOME video from Linus Tech Tips!

View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/9st7OYkUHJk

Direct YouTube Link - Ep. 35 - Best Tech for a Deserted Island...
Linus on Facebook
The LTT Store

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dfergie

Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU!

Last reply Today at 4:12 PM · posted in What's Cooking?

What's For Lunch?

We have a Breakfast and Dinner thread so...

Continuing from the Breakfast thread, found Cornbread mix so ...
Yellow Cornbread Mix
2 Hatch Green Chiles -diced
1 Egg
2/3 cup of milk
add to greased pan
Bake for 400f 20-25 minutes(From instructions)
now to put together and try... this to go with pinto beans...

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dfergie

Oct 19, 2026

Chili dog bowl, water… (homemade chili)

Reactions: TRG, Bobby and Mr Tony

TRG

Monday at 2:53 PM

Leftover wanton soup and pork fried rice. Water.

dfergie

Yesterday at 1:26 PM

Sweet tea…

Reactions: Bobby and TRG

TRG

Yesterday at 1:50 PM

Tuna salad sandwich on toasted honey whole wheat bread with a handful of kettle chips. Water.

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TRG

Today at 4:12 PM

Breakfast for lunch. Crispy corned beef hash, home fries, two over easy eggs and sourdough toast.

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dfergie

Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU!

Last reply Today at 4:09 PM · posted in The Sports Section

Auto Racing 2026

New thread or keep this one?

View: https://www.youtube.com/live/AgOI9DNCmPg?si=l-YcZmHl7GXXF8fX

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dfergie

Sep 26, 2026

View: https://www.youtube.com/live/FN7KEVee0IY?is=G-gCAp4CudLNgaYP

Foxbat

Sep 26, 2026

Weird F1 weekend is already over with a Saturday race.

dfergie

Oct 9, 2026

Tried to watch the truck race but the stage c**p is why I don't watch NASCAR anymore…

Reactions: Yespage

Yespage

Oct 16, 2026

Today is the anniversary of Dan Wheldon's passing at Las Vegas in a dreadful crash that luckily didn't take more drivers' lives. I vaguely remember the crash, but I more strongly remember Paul Tracy trying to keep it together as he left the Medical Center knowing that Dan most likely wasn't going to.

The safety in these vehicles is beyond incomprehensible, especially relative to what it was 60 years ago, when dying wasn't unexpected. But it is still very dangerous. I always scoff at the prayer invocations, but never scoff at the risks these drivers take and the emergency workers out there who might need to pull short of a miracle to save a driver's life.

dfergie said:
Tried to watch the truck race but the stage c**p is why I don't watch NASCAR anymore…

HBO Max has the live in car streaming without commercials, which provides an interesting take, but you are driving blind, knowing only what the team is telling the driver about what is happening on the track. The stages definitely ruin the NASCAR set up.

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Yespage

Today at 4:09 PM

NASCAR is an abject mess, but at least it has Kyle Larson. Guy had the lead on the green/white checker, fell back to 12th or the like, kept his cool, and charged back to win with room to spare at the line. And win very cleanly!

NASCAR needs to stop racing at Talladega. Especially if they are going for elderly Sunday drives at the track! Stage racing is real stupid, but NASCAR should consider one half point a second per group gap as a bonus.

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TWiT Tech Podcast Network

Today at 4:02 PM · posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network