OTA channels change every time I rescan

[blackjackmark]

just got a free OTA antenna and dual-tuner dongle from Dish. First time we ran the scan I got 19 channels. We repointed the antenna hoping to gain Fox, and ended up losing NBC and ABC, so we returned it to the first position, scanned again, and only got 4 channels? Scanned several times since, and it changes every time...sometimes 13, sometimes 17, etc.

Weather has been consistent all day.

The dongle they left is a black box with “Dish” embossed in the plastic, and a USB connector at the end of a 4-5” wire. I had a second dual-tuner dongle (the one that plugs directly into USB) and tried that and got similar results.

What the heck is going on? Is it just the inferior OTA dongles? Bad antenna? Other ideas?

 

[Peter Parker]

There are several recent threads discussing results with the various dongles. Do a search.it might help you to identify the specific dongle you have and the way it behaves.

 

[Tampa8]

I can scan different times with my TIVO or even just with my TV and get different results. One reason could be a couple of channels that are barely being received one time, then not being received. Could be channels you got on skip that come and go. This could be especially true because you moved the antenna and it may not be quite where it was when you moved it back. If I go a little to the south I get a couple of channels I don't if the antenna is aimed just a little more East.

 

[blackjackmark]

I can scan different times with my TIVO or even just with my TV and get different results. One reason could be a couple of channels that are barely being received one time, then not being received. Could be channels you got on skip that come and go. This could be especially true because you moved the antenna and it may not be quite where it was when you moved it back. If I go a little to the south I get a couple of channels I don't if the antenna is aimed just a little more East.

Thanks for the ideas. Regarding the signal strength issue, I have noticed that I’ll see one at 85% on a scan that then disappears on the next one!

 

[Bobby]

What kind if antenna are we talking about here?

 

[blackjackmark]

What kind if antenna are we talking about here?

This one.

Amazon product ASIN B01BYIUYHA
It’s directional so that’s the issue, since I have stations all around me. So pointing to one particular one means others are less than optimal. It is mounted at the peak of a single-story house. RG6 coax into the house, then into the booster, then into the dongle.

I didn’t have a say in the antenna choice since Dish gave it to me but it seems to be decent..,just not optimal for my location.

 

[HipKat]

You're picture's not showing, but I'm guessing it's the Diginova?

Your picture's not showing up. If you want to PM me instead of post, what town are you in? If you're in the Blooming area, in parts of it, you'll want to repoint it towards Champaign, if it's Peoria locals you're trying to get. Peoria is in a lower elevation, due to the Illinois River Valley, and in my experience, it's tougher to hit some of the channels, but I had real good success pointing it south east.
\
Also, I know some of our guys are getting lazy about installing these, now that the take down is over, like not wanting to climb ladders, for example. How high is the antenna mounted?

 

[The Fat Man]

Long story short there are numerous factors. Strength of your antenna, strength of the dongle, location of the towers, and time of day all play a part. On a summer night, I can pick up CW 28 from Rhode Island. I live on the New Hampshire-Massachusetts boarder. Sometimes my local FOX affiliate cuts in and out. The easiest for me is NBC, as NBC 10 Boston is on a HD-2 subchannel for a Telemundo O&O, a LP in Boston, and they recently bought a LP in Nashua, NH which is within a short distance of where I live. None of these are ironically on channel 10. The HD-2 is for channel 60, the LP in Boston is on channel 8, and the LP that I get is on channel 15. NBC placed it on cable and satellite channel 10, hence the name.

It sounds like you might have some distance from your towers, where the signal is much weaker certain times of the day. Test it directly with your TV.

 

[blackjackmark]

You're picture's not showing, but I'm guessing it's the Diginova?

Your picture's not showing up. If you want to PM me instead of post, what town are you in? If you're in the Blooming area, in parts of it, you'll want to repoint it towards Champaign, if it's Peoria locals you're trying to get. Peoria is in a lower elevation, due to the Illinois River Valley, and in my experience, it's tougher to hit some of the channels, but I had real good success pointing it south east.
\
Also, I know some of our guys are getting lazy about installing these, now that the take down is over, like not wanting to climb ladders, for example. How high is the antenna mounted?

Yeah it’s the diginova. Mounted at the apex of a one story house so probably 20 feet in the air.

I’m on the northwest corener of Champaign, so I’ve got Fox to the east-northeast and NBC and ABC west northwest , and CBS and PBS yovyhe south.

 

[comfortably_numb]

Also, I know some of our guys are getting lazy about installing these

Very lazy. At my dad's house they installed it on the Dish pole about 3 feet off the ground.

 

[HipKat]

Very lazy. At my dad's house they installed it on the Dish pole about 3 feet off the ground.

I've done that, but was very close to the transmitting towers, and picked up the channels just fine, but I've seen some like that which were 40+ miles away

 

[HipKat]

Yeah it’s the diginova. Mounted at the apex of a one story house so probably 20 feet in the air.

I’m on the northwest corener of Champaign, so I’ve got Fox to the east-northeast and NBC and ABC west northwest , and CBS and PBS yovyhe south.

THe problem with your area is that your channels that are close enough to pick up come from 3 different directions. Looking at Antennaweb.org, here are the results for 61822.
I would point it at about 20 degrees and forget about getting channels 15 and 46 and then adjust slightly more to the left for better reception of 17 and 3, but you might lose Fox 27, in that case and there is no Fox Broadcast from Decatur that I know of. Keep in mind, too. Most of these guys are just winging it, pointing where they think they might get good reception without checking a site like antennaweb


Stations Antenna FCC Repack
WICD-DT 15.1 ABC
RF Channel: 32
18 miles at 108°

Yellow

WCIA-DT 3.1 CBS
RF Channel: 48
11 miles at 261°

Yellow

WBXC-CD 46.1 BOX
RF Channel: 46
2 miles at 173°

Yellow

WILL-DT 12.1 PBS
RF Channel: 9
23 miles at 256°

Green

W07DD-D 7.1 3AB
RF Channel: 7
6 miles at 339°

Green

WAND-DT 17.1 NBC
RF Channel: 17
33 miles at 251°

Red

WBUI-DT 23.1 CW
RF Channel: 22
34 miles at 250°

Blue

WCCU-DT 27.1 FOX
RF Channel: 36
21 miles at 59°

Blue

 

[Jim5506]

I might try a 4 or 8 bay bow tie type antenna without the rear screen, then try to work out a way to get channels 7 and 9 if they don't come in on the UHF antenna, maybe a UVSJ with a VHF high band antenna.

 

[blackjackmark]

THe problem with your area is that your channels that are close enough to pick up come from 3 different directions. Looking at Antennaweb.org, here are the results for 61822.
I would point it at about 20 degrees and forget about getting channels 15 and 46 and then adjust slightly more to the left for better reception of 17 and 3, but you might lose Fox 27, in that case and there is no Fox Broadcast from Decatur that I know of. Keep in mind, too. Most of these guys are just winging it, pointing where they think they might get good reception without checking a site like antennaweb

He actually used antennaweb and pointed it south- southwest (shooting for 200 degrees). So that’s why I cannot get Fox. I would think for Champaign a good omnidirectional that was mounted high enough would bring in the big 4 in, so I don’t know why they use a directional.

But now in reading some of the other threads, I see that my original issue of gaining and losing channels seemingly at random every time I rescan seems to be a problem with the dual tuner adapter. I’ve even got the new Lark and it’s not doing very well. It’s a shame that Dish goes to the expense to pay to install antennas yet cannot make a decent dongle!

 

[NABRIL]

But now in reading some of the other threads, I see that my original issue of gaining and losing channels seemingly at random every time I rescan seems to be a problem with the dual tuner adapter. I’ve even got the new Lark and it’s not doing very well. It’s a shame that Dish goes to the expense to pay to install antennas yet cannot make a decent dongle!

I was going to open a new thread, but this comment above appears to be a common occurrence. So I will jump in.
I have the Digiboss Telenova antenna, going to the USB dongle to my Hopper. I have a 2 story house and the antenna was moved to the apex of the roof recently by Dish after I called to complain; the previous installer left it 8 feet off the ground and pointed incorrectly. In the settings OTA screen, I have 100% on all of my locals and they all show STRONG signal, obviously. On any given moment, I will tune directly to any local channel, and I will get the unable to locate OTA channel screen; this may last for 5 minutes or more without ever tuning to that channel. If I go into the screen for editing my favorites list and select 1 local channel, it will reacquire the signal, show STRONG, and I can then tune to ANY local channel - I can only do this on the Hopper and not the Joey. So, it's almost as if the Hopper "forgets" that it scanned those channels and got a good signal at some time.

Can we get DIRT involved, if it hasn't happened already?