Lost favorite OTA channel

[ChrisMard]

I have a VIP622 (the original was replaced a few years ago) that has slowly started to lose my favorite OTA PBS station (PBS socal 50) . The signal swings from 38 to 56 and now and won't lock. I know its not the channel because it has the same signal strength as other channels on my 2 TV's ota receivers. The antenna is split to my tv and it has no problems. Most of my ota channels get at least a 98 signal on the VIP622 as I have a good signal to the station towers. I tried deleting all the local channels then re-scanning but the situation has not improved. I could use the Dish supplied PBS channel but then it would eat up one of the tuners. Using the ota receiver gives me another recording at the same time.
Any ideas? I did a reboot and didn't see any change. No other channel is affected.

 

[foghorn2]

That's an old dvr. Time to upgrade or live with the tv's tuner.

 

[dwarren2]

Possibly an in line amplifier to boost the signal. How far away is the tower?

 

[TheKrell]

That is bizarre. Interference from another source on or near the same frequency as the PBS channel? Was your PBS station formerly in the 98 range like your other channels? N.B. that the "signal strength" meter on our receivers isn't... It's more like an inverse digital error rate and can go down if the signal strength is too great. I know this well situated as I am 1.3 miles away from a station that overloads amps and tuners on my 612's.

A TVfool report might help us figure out what's going wrong.

 

[boba]

I replaced a failed VIP612 a few months back, the 612 replacement does not have as good an OTA tuner as my original. From my experience I would guess that the OTA tuner is showing it's age. But I am not going to jump on the Hopper bandwagon. My 612 has been dependable and has lower monthly costs. I would rather have reliable performance than fancy features that DISH can't seem to debug.

 

[ChrisMard]

The PBS signal was registering 98 a month back. That channel shows the same strong strength on the signal meter of my two TV's. Since Dish is showing very strong signals except for this channel, I think an amp would blow them out. I am thinking it has got to be something odd in the PBS digital signal as a failing ota module would affect all channels or at least more than one.

 

[Hall]

The PBS signal was registering 98 a month back. That channel shows the same strong strength on the signal meter of my two TV's. Since Dish is showing very strong signals except for this channel, I think an amp would blow them out. I am thinking it has got to be something odd in the PBS digital signal as a failing ota module would affect all channels or at least more than one.

Yeah, since other channels don't seem to be affected, it appears that the OTA tuner is fine. Check the OTA forum here or the 'local channel thread' for your city/market over at AVS to see if others have noticed anything odd.

 

[Bobby]

Especially the OTA thread at AVS....

 

[Grandude]

The PBS signal was registering 98 a month back. That channel shows the same strong strength on the signal meter of my two TV's. Since Dish is showing very strong signals except for this channel, I think an amp would blow them out. I am thinking it has got to be something odd in the PBS digital signal as a failing ota module would affect all channels or at least more than one.

I think the next thing I would try would be to add another splitter in the line to your dish receiver to reduce the signal strength. It is possible that the signal is too strong which would or could not be handled and cause your problem along with giving false signal strength indications.

It would be nice if you could post zip code so we could check what TVFool reports for your location. Too strong a signal can drive some receiver inputs crazy.

How close are you to the PBS channel tower?

 

[KazooGuy]

I had a similar problem with an OTA channel that was causing a problem on my television. I was certain that the OTA tuner was going bad and took it in and it checked out fine. So, I next figured it must be cabling and replaced all my connectors and that did not fix the problem. The problem would come and go with afternoons and evenings being the worst times. I soon discovered that one half a mile away right between me and the transmission tower in question had been placed an cell tower. I figured that must be what is giving me my problem and so I swung the rotor a few degrees to either side of the tower and it seems to have solved my problem.

 

[sam_gordon]

Does your TV's strength meter (yea, yea, it's an error rate meter, blah blah) change in conjunction with the 622's meter? It's possible the TV has a lower "acceptance" level.

 

[jerryez]

Record your OTA programs on a different channels and use the Dish PBS for recording PBS, therby not losing a tuner. Unless your other recordings are all on cable channels. That is what I have to do on my local Fox, since it is the only VHF channel in this area and has low signal power.

 

[dwarren2]

Have you switched the coax to the TV to the Dish receiver. If that makes a difference, it might be a cabling issue.

 

[ChrisMard]

thanks for the suggestions. I am in 91423. Probably 25 miles from most of the towers on Mt Wilson. This PBS station could have their tower farther away as they were originally an orange county station. The TV's meter registers most channels in the 90's....lower than the VIP622. It shows a strong signal at all times.
I will try tweaking the antenna.

 

[sam_gordon]

thanks for the suggestions. I am in 91423. Probably 25 miles from most of the towers on Mt Wilson. This PBS station could have their tower farther away as they were originally an orange county station. The TV's meter registers most channels in the 90's....lower than the VIP622. It shows a strong signal at all times.
I will try tweaking the antenna.

If you're not seeing a signal strength difference on the TV, I wouldn't try tweaking the antenna as a first step. As dwarren suggested, swap the cables feeding the TV and the 211. You could have a bad cable or a bad port on the splitter. If you swap the lines and have problems on the TV, throw away that cable. If the problem persists on the 211, bypass the splitter and feed the 211 directly and see if you have problems. If you still do after that, THEN it's either antenna aiming or a problem with the 211.

 

[ChrisMard]

Switched the cables...no difference. Tried tweaking antenna and saw very little signal change. At this point I am going to give it up. I have moved my daily PBS recording to the dish supplied channel and have gone to single mode. Managing so far.

I have to think its a problem at the station and not my box.

 

[sam_gordon]

Switched the cables...no difference. Tried tweaking antenna and saw very little signal change. At this point I am going to give it up. I have moved my daily PBS recording to the dish supplied channel and have gone to single mode. Managing so far.

I have to think its a problem at the station and not my box.

Didn't you say your TV picks up the signal fine? If so, then it's probably not the station. If you switched the cables and you still have problems on your sat receiver, I'm going to suspect the receiver. It is possible your TV handles a lower signal level better than the receiver. If you have an acceptable workaround, you're all good.

 

[Hall]

The PBS signal was registering 98 a month back.

Tried tweaking antenna and saw very little signal change.

By "tweaking", I presume you mean you tried to aim it even better. Since that PBS channel and the others get 98 "signal", you must have a pretty good set-up. Just for fun -- I realize you said you're done messing with it -- aim the antenna away from the towers. In case you're actually overloading the Dish receiver, maybe that will help.

I live southwest of Dayton OH and aim my antenna at the TV tower's for Cincinnati's stations. I'm so close to Dayton's towers (between 6-8 miles, same direction) that I still pick them up with an 85+ strength for the weakest station and the others are still 90+.

 

[dwarren2]

This is a test to see if my location shows up in my signature

Yes it does. So if you want to add your location, make a signature and enter it there.

 

[Hall]

This is a test to see if my location shows up in my signature

Yes it does. So if you want to add your location, make a signature and enter it there.

Wrong thread?