Clearstream C4 HELP!!!!!

[solidsnakeiv]

I have a Clearstream C4 antenna mounted in my attic directly to a truss and pointed southwest. I live at zip code 32446 and the main channels I want to receive are (NBC,CBS,ABC,FOX). They basically all broadcast from the same general direction at about 30-35 miles away. The RG6 cable running to my tv from the antenna is about 80 feet long. My house is a single story with a normal shingle roof and the antenna is mounted approx. 15 feet high. RIght now all I can receive digitally is 4.1(CBS), 13.1(ABC)....I can't get a signal for 7.1(NBC) or 28.1(FOX). Does anyone have any type of advice? I REALLY don't want the antenna mounted on my roof. I want to keep it in the attic and eventually run it to three other rooms. SOMEONE PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!

 

[boba]

Doing an internet search I can't find much for technical specs. on your C4 besides the dimensions. It really looks like a HDTV con job. The stations you are receiving are UHF and the stations you are not receiving are VHF so with the lack of specifications on the C4 I would guess you need to buy a UHF/VHF antenna such as the Winegard HD1080 or GS2200.

 

[solidsnakeiv]

It was recommended to me by a tech from solidsignal.com, so a couple of websites with some information are solidsignal.com and antennasdirect.com

 

[Don_M]

You need a rotor. All of your desired networks are within 34 miles, but are coming in from at least four different directions. Stronger network affiliates (at the top of the list) lie in directions other than southwest.

As a very general rule, attic antennas can work well out to about 20 miles, perhaps even 30 miles under completely ideal conditions. Many of your stations are at or beyond that farther limit. Make sure the antenna isn't pointing toward anything metal, either inside or outside. Air handlers, metal ducts, a radiant roof barrier, steel/tile roof, stucco siding (applied to steel mesh) or aluminum siding are all signal killers. You may have no choice but to take the antenna outside and install it above the roof.

If its gain figure is accurate, C4 isn't a "bad" antenna, even if it is expensive. As noted, the Clearstream series antennas are really designed for UHF stations, not VHF, despite advertising claims to the contrary. That's going to make 7.1 difficult to capture with it.

You have two choices:

a) Try to return the C4 if you can and replace it with a good antenna for channels 7-69. The Winegard HD-7695 is a strong candidate; the Sensar and the HD-1080 are way too weak to work in your location.

b) If you can't return the C4, a pre-amp may help (YMMV). You're going to need one to split the signals three ways regardless of what you have for an antenna. Please consider the Channel Master 7777 for low noise and high gain.

 

[solidsnakeiv]

Thanks for the advice....I guess I'm going to try and order the channel master preamp and hope and pray that it works.

 

[primestar31]

Thanks for the advice....I guess I'm going to try and order the channel master preamp and hope and pray that it works.

You can't amplify a signal that doesn't exist in the first place! You'd be better off putting the money you'd spend on that amp, with getting a better antenna, and/OR mounting it outside, and/or putting a rotor on it.

Something real cheap to try: Try moving the antenna to a couple different places around your attic. Aim it towards different directions, etc. You might get lucky, and find a good "hot spot" that will make a big difference in the signal you receive right now.

 

[KenSoren]

Got a C4 and love it

I live 60 miles from the LA transmitters with some sizeable hills between. I replaced a five year old Channel Master 3671 and a 7777 preamp with a C4 using the same amp a couple of weeks ago and get much better results with the C4 with about 10% of the antenna size. Not higher signal levels, but much more stable reception plus it picks up three channels the CM didn't before. All of our HD channels are currently in the UHF range but the antenna is supposed to be designed to work well within the channel 7 to 69 range, but I won't know from personnel experience until the February changeover. According to its literature it is supposed to have a 70 degree spread (not sure what to call this) so the rotor will be necessary if your channels come from different directions, but once you get the preamp and rotor installed you might get what you are looking for in the attic. If not a move outdoors will be necessary.

Something I noticed is that it has problems with the old analog channels so my guess is it is designed specifically for the digital signals.

I am interested to hear what your results are in getting the 4.1 and 7.1 channels so please keep us posted.

 

[solidsnakeiv]

I'll keep you posted....I'm gonna order a preamp and try to install in some different spots in the attic.......the channels I'm am trying to get are from compass readings 203 to 288 degrees......With the C4's viewing angles...it should be able to pick up when pointed at that general direction........I hope...

 

[primestar31]

I'll keep you posted....I'm gonna order a preamp and try to install in some different spots in the attic.......the channels I'm am trying to get are from compass readings 203 to 288 degrees......With the C4's viewing angles...it should be able to pick up when pointed at that general direction........I hope...

Take a small tv set up into the attic with you. Use it to move the antenna, and tweak it in the best location as best you can. Then, hook it up to your main wire going downstairs, and see what happens. Otherwise you will be making 100 trips back and forth, or having to rely on somebody downstairs to yell up to you all the time. That's a PITA way to have to do it, let me tell you.

 

[Jim5506]

CAUTION, the Winegard 1080 is an ugly sculpture masquerading as an antenna - very low gain - use a coat hanger instead.

And get that antenna out of the attic and into free air, you are losing half of your signal.

 

[Don_M]

CAUTION, the Winegard 1080 is an ugly sculpture masquerading as an antenna - very low gain - use a coat hanger instead.

BWAHAHAHAHAHA. ROTFLMAO!

 

[KenSoren]

BWAHAHAHAHAHA. ROTFLMAO!

OK - I give up - what does this mean!

 

[charper1]

Rolling
On
The
Floor
Laughing
My
Ass
Off..

 

[KenSoren]

Rolling
On
The
Floor
Laughing
My
Ass
Off..

OK - must be text shorthand. Guess you can guess I am not of the texting generation.

 

[solidsnakeiv]

Well I finally hooked up a Antennas Direct CPA-19 Preamplifier to the C4 in the attic. I can now get my analog NBC and FOX almost perfect...however I still can't get the Digital signals...however I noticed on TVFOOL.com that both of those channels are going to increase their digital power at transistion. I think I'm going to leave it in the attic until February and if after the transistion I still can't get the digital signal then I will mount it on the roof. It is amazing what a difference the preamp made...WOW!!!!

 

[Vinny111]

Adding My Own Two Cents on the Clearstream C4

I just stumbled upon this thread via a Google search. I live in the mountains NW of Frederick, MD, in a small valley/canyon, with a heavily forested yard. My horizon is blocked in all directions by (very close) nearby mountain ridges and by thousands of nearby as well as medium-range tall trees, averaging 55 to 70 feet tall.

After much deliberation and research, I recently decided to purchase a Clearstream 4 (C4) (along with a mast-mounted preamp [2.8 db NF] and 170 feet of quad RG-8U coax cable), which I mounted on a 22 foot tall homemade mast in my (heavily forested) backyard. Despite an amazing level of signal blocking by nearby mountain ridges and by nearby tall trees, the C4 is doing an amazing job in picking up 38 digital TV channels and 19 analog channels. The antenna's performance exceeded my wildest expectations, particularly because I live in a very difficult location for TV reception, a setting where numerous TV antennas have failed, or largely failed, in the past.

In fact, I am so impressed with the performance of this setup, and also so intrigued by some of the things that I learned along the way, that I am in the process of writing up the tale of my entire adventure in trying to get decent off-the-air TV reception here. When I am done I will post the tale to a page on one of my websites and will come back here and share the link.

 

[KenSoren]

I'm glad to hear that someone besides me are happy with their C4. I am 60 miles from the LA transmitters with a substantial set of hills between me and them, and the C4 has done an outstanding job for the last couple of years. It replaced a huge Channel Master fringe area antenna, picks up more channels, and has much more stable reception with just a fraction of the footprint.

If anyone is looking for a good set of reviews go to Amazon dot com and check it out. There are a few bad luck stories there, but most are good experiences.

 

[No Static At All]

In fact, I am so impressed with the performance of this setup, and also so intrigued by some of the things that I learned along the way, that I am in the process of writing up the tale of my entire adventure in trying to get decent off-the-air TV reception here. When I am done I will post the tale to a page on one of my websites and will come back here and share the link.

You may want to wait until June 13th before you make any final conclusions. You've got a few stations going back to digital VHF frequencies in your area. You will most certainly lose WBAL-DT 11(NBC) & WJZ-DT 13 (CBS) from Baltimore. If you receive any DC stations now, you will probably lose WUSA-DT 9 (CBS), & WJLA-DT 7 (ABC) also. While the C-4 is a great UHF antenna, it is a poor fringe VHF performer. You will need to augment the C-4 with a dedicated VHF-HI antenna if you desire these channels.

 

[KenSoren]

You may want to wait until June 13th before you make any final conclusions. You've got a few stations going back to digital VHF frequencies in your area. You will most certainly lose WBAL-DT 11(NBC) & WJZ-DT 13 (CBS) from Baltimore. If you receive any DC stations now, you will probably lose WUSA-DT 9 (CBS), & WJLA-DT 7 (ABC) also. While the C-4 is a great UHF antenna, it is a poor fringe VHF performer. You will need to augment the C-4 with a dedicated VHF-HI antenna if you desire these channels.

According to the manufacturer specs this antenna is designed to cover the 7 to 13 VHF-HI digital channels but we won't know until the changeover happens. Currently I get our ABC-7 analog channel just fine so the UHF signal should come thru OK, but again we just don't have any actual performance to look at.

Personally, I am going to trust the people that designed the thing and expect to get good performance on our channels 7, 9, 11 & 13 after the changeover. If I don't I will be the first one to post my complaints in this forum.

 

[No Static At All]

According to the manufacturer specs this antenna is designed to cover the 7 to 13 VHF-HI digital channels but we won't know until the changeover happens. Currently I get our ABC-7 analog channel just fine so the UHF signal should come thru OK, but again we just don't have any actual performance to look at.

Personally, I am going to trust the people that designed the thing and expect to get good performance on our channels 7, 9, 11 & 13 after the changeover. If I don't I will be the first one to post my complaints in this forum.

If you read the manufacturers site, the C-4 was designed for the "core" DTV stations (UHF) with additional capabilities on "higher level" (strong) VHF stations. I have to applaud the manufacturer for being truthful, but the clever wording can mislead those that aren't very familiar with the jargon. The C-4 isn't much better on VHF than a 91-XG from my experience, but it is quite impressive with UHF for such a compact antenna.