211 OTA problems

brian24740

SatelliteGuys Family
Original poster
Apr 30, 2005
57
0
Princeton,WV
I recentley switched from a 811 to the VIP211,I was able to pick up my local NBC OTA with the 811 now the the same set up with the 211 i cant pull any signal in?anyone have the same issue?is this a known problem?? :confused:
 
Did you scan for locals from the menu? Is the antenna attached to the correct input?
Always check the easy stuff first.
 
Similar Problem

Hi Brain,

I just swapped out two 811's for two Vip 211's and had a similar issue. I have a small Audiovox Terk HDTVo antenna mounted directly to my dish mast...with a 100 feet of RG 6 cable connected to my original cable wiring in the house (the loop through method using RG6). With the 811's I was pulling in 10 stations on both receivers with CBS (channel being one of the weaker signal strengths 69-75) and a couple of independent stations (channel 30 and 32 with strengths between 62-67). The rest of my signal strengths were all in the high 80's to low 90's

After swapping out the 811 receivers one of the 211's couldn't find the CBS (channel 11) but found the two weaker stations (although it can't display them effectively) the (signal strength has dropped to the mid 50's on those two). The second receiver (located on loop further in the house) could not find CBS (channel 11) nor the two weaker independent stations)

It seems odd to me that the first 211 found two weaker stations but failed to find the stronger CBS signal (channel 11). I'm betting it's because the CBS station is VHF rather than UHF (like the two weaker stations which are both UHF).

Regardless, there appears to be an issue with the Vip 211 and it's ability to pick up OTA stations compared to the older 811 model.

Since the problem has started, I've tried adding a 20 db amp and a 30 db amp 9not at the same time)..neither of which solved the problem...in fact neither amp boosted the sig strength of any channel beyond what the "power injector "10-12db amp) that came with the HDTVo antenna. In fact, with both amps I tried..I noticed a 5-10 db drop in signal strength compared to the smaller amp that came with the antenna. I can only attribute this to the factory matching of the amp and the preamp that is mounted inside the HDTVo antenna compared to me trying to "up" the signal strength with a different amp.

I'd sure like to find out how large of an antenna I'm going to need to grab the signals I used to get with the smaller HDTVo antenna.
 
Dennishp said:
Hi Brain,

I just swapped out two 811's for two Vip 211's and had a similar issue. I have a small Audiovox Terk HDTVo antenna mounted directly to my dish mast...with a 100 feet of RG 6 cable connected to my original cable wiring in the house (the loop through method using RG6). With the 811's I was pulling in 10 stations on both receivers with CBS (channel being one of the weaker signal strengths 69-75) and a couple of independent stations (channel 30 and 32 with strengths between 62-67). The rest of my signal strengths were all in the high 80's to low 90's

After swapping out the 811 receivers one of the 211's couldn't find the CBS (channel 11) but found the two weaker stations (although it can't display them effectively) the (signal strength has dropped to the mid 50's on those two). The second receiver (located on loop further in the house) could not find CBS (channel 11) nor the two weaker independent stations)

It seems odd to me that the first 211 found two weaker stations but failed to find the stronger CBS signal (channel 11). I'm betting it's because the CBS station is VHF rather than UHF (like the two weaker stations which are both UHF).

Regardless, there appears to be an issue with the Vip 211 and it's ability to pick up OTA stations compared to the older 811 model.

Since the problem has started, I've tried adding a 20 db amp and a 30 db amp 9not at the same time)..neither of which solved the problem...in fact neither amp boosted the sig strength of any channel beyond what the "power injector "10-12db amp) that came with the HDTVo antenna. In fact, with both amps I tried..I noticed a 5-10 db drop in signal strength compared to the smaller amp that came with the antenna. I can only attribute this to the factory matching of the amp and the preamp that is mounted inside the HDTVo antenna compared to me trying to "up" the signal strength with a different amp.

I'd sure like to find out how large of an antenna I'm going to need to grab the signals I used to get with the smaller HDTVo antenna.
I strongly belive, you got signal overload. I f you live close to the towers, and use an 12db amp, you overload the 211. The 811 had an older generation atsc tuner, thus not as sensitive. The fact that it gets the weak stations now and not the stronger one, is a classic case of signal overload.
 
Ralfguy,

The one thing I failed to mention in my previous post was that the other signals I was receiving (Fox, ABC NBC) were all in the high 80's and low 90's with the 811 receivers, Since changing to 211's I still receive these three stations with the same signal strengths as I had with the 811's.

If I turn the "Power injector off...the really strong channels drop to a strength of around 60 and I lose all the rest completely.

I'm still thinking this has to be a VHF vs. UHF issue in the Vip211. Since the receiver is the only thing I've changed in my setup.

I'm considering going to the local Radio Shack and pick up their VU 90XA antenna (which they say will pick up VHF stations up to 75 miles away and UHF's to 50 miles away.

All my stations are due North and the farthest is 35 miles.

I'm debating whether I'll need a Pre-amp /Amp combination on the RS antenna.
 
My crappy old Samsung 160 (D*) does OTA better than my shiney brand new 211. I can't get the local PBS to lock in on the 211 and it comes in perfectly on the 160. Both are fed from the same roof mounted Antennacraft AC-9.
 

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