omnidirectinal anteanna option

tcpuccio1

SatelliteGuys Pro
Original poster
Feb 4, 2007
164
28
Lancaster, NY
So I am a happy DirecTv subscriber up till this week my local CBS/CW networks were cut from DirecTV I'm in the Buffalo NY market. so I lost WIVB (4-1 and WNLO 23-1 I'm sure at some point in time they will get it resolved and bring it back BUT until then I like watching both of those channels. Here is my dilemma sort of I have 6 TV's in the house my main TV sony 55" old 9 years or more. I have 2 Samsun tv's newer with in the past 3 years 22,24 inch I have a Insignia 42" 3 years old and 2 Vizio Tv's 24 and 26" my 2 Vizio Tv's will not pick up our local channel 4 all the other tv's pick up 23 and 4 and a lot of other channels. I have an OLD Radio shack omni directional antenna in the attic it's amplified and has works great I rarely use OTA unless we have a bad snow storm (dish blocked) or a bad thunder storm well now that the channels are gone I'm using OTA more for our local news. The act that just the 2 Vizio Tv's will not pick up the channel and the other 4 tv's do is it a TV software glitch or my dated Antenna 19 years old just doesn't pull in a strong enough signal for the Vizio Tv's to pick it up on a search. I tried to do a rescan today on both and still no dice. looking for idea's Upgrade my antenna? And is which one is the best there are a ton of options out there! when we first built the house back in 200 I had the antenna dialed in I could get TV channels from Toronto Canada crystal clear no that the area has built up I lost them and I get it but my local's are missing on just the 2 tv's/
 
If you can tune those channels on the other TV's, it sounds like either the Vizio's tuner is weak(er), or perhaps the splitter is too far away. What kind of splitter are you using?
 
I have "regal" brand splittershttps://www.ebay.com/itm/Regal-ZDS4DGH10-4-Way-Splitter-120dB-EMI-ISOLATION/183783084071?epid=1611755771&hash=item2aca535027:g:sCYAAOSw3x9cvMJX I have a 2 way splitter same kind ter in the system. I may run them straight from the antenna amplifier right to the Tv's to see if that's the case ??? It's just odd that the 2 Vizzio's are the culprit's I hope the interruption in service is short lived NFL season is coming and I live in a AFC town=CBS games :( all my Coax ends and butt connectors are very high quality I have the nice weather seal crimper end maker and the barrel butt connectors are this kind F81 Barrel Connector 3GHz Coaxial Female Adapter RG6 TV Internet Coax Cable Dish | eBay
 
Splitting six ways is a lot to ask. Reducing the number of splits may help.

Using a single larger splitter will insure that all tuners get the same level of signal but at six tuners, you might consider a distribution amplifier.

Amazon product ASIN B00695G11M
Using a barrel to route signal directly to the Vizios will tell you if their respective cables (or splitters) are compromised and that's probably where you should start.
 
well I ran the cable right from the antenna amplifier straight into the back of the one Vizio tv and still no dice will not pick up my CBS channel I guess I need hope they resolve the issue with DirecTV before the fall TV season and football season get here :( Not buy new tv's so I can get the channels. I really do like the 2 small Samsung tv's that are in my kids rooms! :)
 
You need to enter your address into tvfool and find out which direction or directions you actually need and get a directional antenna with gain to compensate for the obstructions and loss caused by trees.
.......
The 30-2431 8 bay bowtie by stellar labs has two 4 bay bowtie antennas that can be pointed in different directions.
Newark.com has them for $57
Run that to a channel master cm-3418 8 port distribution amp
 
  • Like
Reactions: navychop
By a generic look at Lancaster, WIVB should be LOS (~16 miles) south of you, whereas WNLO is 1edge 48 miles NW.

I'm amazed you can get WLNO on an omni antenna with any tuner.
 
Note that WIVB was sold in the auction and now channel shares on WNLO. WNLO, in turn, now holds a permit to move back to the WIVB transmitter site, but that is not yet implemented.

- Trip
 
Yes I was looking at a web site yesterday called channel masters they sell amplifiers and antenna's and I saw the distance from me to the transmitting towers. I was looing at their onmi antenna and it was good for 50 miles so I'm with in that distance and they are not too expensive. . this one I have like I stated when I built the house I could get 2 channels from Toronto And could watch hockey night in Canada :) not any more as the area around my house has built up! I do have an Android TV box with KODI ;) but I can't get NFL games on it. It has to be something with the Vizio tv's when I do a search my channel 4-1 is in the list but I just get a blue screen both tv's do the same thing all the others including a crappy Best buy Insignia Tv pull it in no problem..

That
30-2431 -
HDTV 80 how much do you think the signal will be diminished by having it in my attic? it's a 2 story house and it's almost up into the peek of a gable roof so it's close to 30' off the ground.
 
About 50% depends on the how much roofing it needs to go through and the type of siding.
Bob
Yep, I had a neighbor that couldn't figure out why she lost so many stations after having a new roof installed. I took a look, and saw that she was using an attic antenna and the new roof was steel panels instead of the original asphalt shingles. After a quick look at my OTA locator app, I moved her antenna from the middle of the attic to one end, and her reception was fully restored. Fortunately she had vinyl siding, not aluminum... ;)
 
Still perplexing as to why the vizio tv's will not pick up the channel? . I have an old sh!tty flat panel TV that is a a no name norcent that I use as an extra monitor for a lap top tv and on the one lead in that the Vizio tv is on that crappy TV picked up 4-1. so It has to just be something in the tv software that doesn't like that frequency? my antenna is in the middle of the attic I have 1 layer of asphalt shingles and vinyl siding so it shouldn't effect it that much. I think a metal roof would cut it down by more the 50% the whole tin foil hat theory! LOL!
 
Perhaps the Vizio TVs are still looking for 4-1 on channel 39. Try deleting 4-1 from the existing channel list and then rescan.
 
Still perplexing as to why the vizio tv's will not pick up the channel? . I have an old sh!tty flat panel TV that is a a no name norcent that I use as an extra monitor for a lap top tv and on the one lead in that the Vizio tv is on that crappy TV picked up 4-1. so It has to just be something in the tv software that doesn't like that frequency? my antenna is in the middle of the attic I have 1 layer of asphalt shingles and vinyl siding so it shouldn't effect it that much. I think a metal roof would cut it down by more the 50% the whole tin foil hat theory! LOL!

Disconnect the antenna coax line from one of the Vizio's. Run a channel scan, and it'll clear the present channels matrix. Then, hook up the antenna coax line again, and run a fresh scan.

See if that channel now comes in.
 
I looked for software updates the other day there are none. and you lost me on the 4.1 channel 39 thing? I did make it tryt o learn channels in (cable) mode then rescanned it again on antenna and lot 4.1 altogether now. at least before it was in the list and it had a blue screen of death. no it blows right past it...…… I do still have 23.1 if that is ant consolation. some of the shows news shows they run in simulcast some they do not and 23.1 doesn't have football :(