Need Help on OTA

[RMuzquiz]

Last month I had Voom installed. The installer who came out installed a Winegard antenna for my locals and I was able to receive all of my locals except PBS. The installer first told me that I was lucky to get the channels I was getting and added that out of all of the installs he had done (3 including mine) I was the one getting most channels. I pressed on so he called someone and they told him to check antennaweb to see what channels I was going to be able to see. I told him I had already checked the web site (read as much as I could about installs here) and that it indicated I was in a location that should receive all of the locals.(I have a two story house that sits up in a hill...the farthest tower is approx. 29 miles away and i am receiving that channel clear). He then said he would request an antenna upgrade. I waited a few weeks and got no word so I called voom and after many attmepts and missed appointments by my installer they finally sent me someone yesterday. When he arrived he brought a new reciever (one of the problems I was also having was that Starz and ESPN were in the wrong place). I respectlfully explained to him that I had been reading up on this problem and was pretty certain that a bad diplexer was at fault regarding the out of place channels. He went ahead and went through the whole process of changing the STB and still the same problem (imaging that)...He decided to call several people "who know a lot more about satellites" and while he was on the phone I asked him if I could just borrow a diplexor. I traded out the diplexor and the problem was fixed....( I wish some of these guys would just visit this site)
Now to my locals problem. Yesterday he tried to repeak the Winegard but I still wasn't able to get PBS. He said he would come back on Friday with a "new and better" antenna that would fix the problem. This morning he showed up with an RCA antenna (dont know the model, but this sucker is big) and as soon as he hooked it up all of the locals came on. This is were my problem came up. When he hooked up the OTA antenna I lost all signal from my satellite. He explained that the RCA was somehow sending power to the satellite dish which would make it loose the signal. He suggested he place yet another diplexor betwenn the dish, the diplexor which both the satellite and OTA antenna are already connected to and the new OTA antenna. I still dont see how this would fix the problem but he said there was no other way for him to do this unless he ran two more lines straight from the OTA antenna to the receivers. He wasn't able to try this today because he didn't have a tall enough latter. The main diplexor is under the roof overhang and he cant reach it with his latter....I have a 2 story house and he was aware of this. He is returning on Monday. Has anyone else had this problem and is there a way around it. I already have two lines being fed from the dish/OTA antenna to the inside of the house( I originally had DTV so they just replaced the dish and the STBs). I have two STBs installed therefore I am assuming I have no other coax lines to spare. Sorry for the long post and if anyone has any suggestions I would appreciate it.

RM

 

[Seawaves]

What would it take to run another line?

Seems to be a pretty sipmle fix. If you read all the problems here, you'd know seperate lines for the dish and the OTA are a must. What is your OTA signal power now, by the way-

 

[CraziFuzzy]

my 2 box install included 4 coax runs of 175' each (per the invoice), so I think they should be able to do the runs.

 

[RMuzquiz]

Seawaves and Crazi, my house came pre-wired so they would actually have to run the line from the outside through the attic then fish it through the wall. I am trying to keep holes to a minimum but I am thinking that if it is going to require running two new lines I am probably going to have to live without PBS. Right now my dish signal is coming in at about 91. OTA signal is in the mid 30s. I dont loose signal on any of the OTA channels except on the WB. Is there anything the installer can do to my winegard antenna to amplify the signal or to the RCA antenna to keep it from interfering with the dish signal (other than running an independent line).

 

[TheTimm]

What would it take to run another line?

Seems to be a pretty sipmle fix. If you read all the problems here, you'd know seperate lines for the dish and the OTA are a must. What is your OTA signal power now, by the way-

I'm new to all this, and having Voom installed in a week. Why is it so important to have seperate lines for the dish & OTA? Should I expect an argument from the installer over this?

 

[Sean Mota]

I'm new to all this, and having Voom installed in a week. Why is it so important to have seperate lines for the dish & OTA? Should I expect an argument from the installer over this?

Welcome. There's seem to be very successful stories installations with diplexers. However, some prefer (myself included) prefer not to have it. Some installers would not like to do it because it is more work for them to add another line. However, the free installation does include up to 4 lines of coax at no extra charge. So it really depends on the installer you get;

 

[CraziFuzzy]

Some diplexers cause a loss of signal strength, so if you are in an area that already has weak OTA signals, the additional loss of signal due to the diplexer could make the channels unwatchable. If you are currently wired up correctly with the diplexer, and are having problems pulling in the locals, it may be a reasonable suggestion to try a second run. As a test, you could try disconnecting the diplexers, and using the existing cable just for the OTA and see how it improves your signal strength. If it makes no noticeable difference, than running a second run would not be worth it. Keep in mind that a lot of times the quality of pre-installed cabling (which is designed for stronger cable systems) is not quite up to par for SAT and OTA signals.