ERRATIC RECEPTION

[GBKING]

I recently ran a new coax from my existing OTA antenna in the attic down to the multisiwitch on my dinosaur one-satellite Direct TV system. Connected it to the OTA input of the multiswitch and installed new diplexers at each TV/receiver location. Weird thing is, I get different OTA channels at each lcation - 29 channels in the most "remote" location, 24 right next to the multiswitch, and 21 in the "middle". Naturally, the two local HD channels I want most are missing from the location where I do most OTA watching. Would a signal amplifier help this situation, and where should I install it, upstream or downstream of the multiswitch?

 

[boba]

How about a little more information?Where are you? What are you using for tuners, AM21/converter boxes/ATSC in TV /DISH receivers? What type of TV antenna? What multiswitch?

 

[Splicer]

You can swith the outputs around on the multiswitch to see if the number of channels changes at the desired location. eg...connect the outlet that provides the 21 channels to the outlet that provides the 29 channels and see if the amount of channels has swapped locations now.

 

[GBKING]

Splicer - Thanks, I didn't think of that. Basically, I have four SD Direct TV receivers, two of which are DVRs. Antenna in the attic is 20+ years old and I believe it came from Radio Shack, so it's probably an Archer or something like that. It is an old-style combo VHF/UHF beam about 6 - 7 feet long. One TV has a D/A converter box (Zenith) and that one gets the most channels. I am in semi-rural Texas outside of Houston on dead flat ground about 20 - 30 miles from most of the towers in the area. The thing that bothers me is the discrepancy in the number of channels on eaqch TV. Shouldn't they all get the same signals off the same antenna, or is my ignorance shwoing again?

 

[boba]

There are at least 5 generations of ATSC tuners and there ability to tune channels varies. If you had a RCA DTC100 the first Directv HDTV receiver with an ATSC tuner built in I would expect much poorer reception than what a DTV PAL PLUS tuner would do. The TV antenna circuitry in your multiswitch may not be equal on all ports the length of cable also affects signal loss. Some multiswitches even have TV amplifiers built in (powerd multiswitches ) and usually 8 way or higher outputs

 

[CowboyDren]

With your antenna in the attic, age shouldn't be a factor, since it's not exposed to weather. A quality antenna preamp may help your reception issues, but I'd rather spend time troubleshooting your multiswitch. I'd probably replace that before I went so far as to drop $40-60 on an antenna preamp.

 

[Splicer]

Shouldn't they all get the same signals off the same antenna, or is my ignorance shwoing again?

Yes. All the locations should get the same channels depending on the tuner type/sensitivity. As has been said, cable length plays apart of the equation as well as the multi-switch. It sounds as if you have some swapping around to do to eliminate possible problems.