OTA Frustration

[sqldude]

I've been struggling with picking up anything but 10.1 and 47.1 in my location. I have a CM-3020 Long Range with a CM-7777 Preamp. Here is an image of the stations I should be receiving. I'm stumped!

 

[harshness]

Remove the pre-amp and see what happens.

No, pulling the plug on the power inserter won't work.

 

[sqldude]

I've tried removing the preamp and I then get no signals..... I've also tried pointing the antenna in different directions and the only place I receive signals is pointing north.

 

[harshness]

At six miles, you barely need an antenna to get the nearby big four. A bowtie or UHF hoop on the back of the TV would probably work for these.

I suspect a cabling problem or some wicked multipath.

What manner of tuner are we talking about?

 

[sqldude]

I've attempted the tuner in my LG flat screen and a Hauppage HVR-1600. I'll go over my cabling and see what I can come up with.

 

[No Static At All]

Yup,

You have 6 possible stations unless the 3020 is in the attic. (Fox does not look promising though) That antenna should work well for 1, or maybe 2 TV's.

The 7777 amp will do more harm than good as close as you are to so many TV & FM stations. The Winegard HDP-269 would be the only pre-amp I would recommend for your location. (If one is truly needed)

 

[sqldude]

The antenna is in the attic due to higher winds at my location. I did find one end that is suspect that I'll need to replace this evening (need to buy a tool to replace with). I'm also intending to replace the pole that I've mounted to to a PVC pipe instead of the metal pole that I used.

 

[No Static At All]

You don't really need such a large antenna. A Winegard HD 76xxP series antenna mounted on the roof would be your best bet in my opinion. I'd go with the 7698 or 7697, but one of the smaller ones should work well for most of your stations if you desire a very compact antenna.

 

[sqldude]

I chose this antenna because I was trying to pick up channel 3, 6, 8 which are a distance away. my town sits in a valley. I'm a noob.

 

[No Static At All]

3 & 6 are gettable UHF stations, but even the best VHF antenna would have a tough time getting 8 reliably. You may be better off with a roof mounted UHF only antenna since Fox 8 is iffy at best. The 91-XG is probably your best bet for UHF only. (Very low wind drag, & only 6 pounds) A less expensive alternative would be the Winegard 9032.

 

[sqldude]

So an antenna like the 91-XG with a channel listing (High gain across entire UHF band (UHF channels 14-69)) Should be able to pick up down to 3.1 and 6.1? That is where I guess I'm confused with the antenna selections......

 

[harshness]

Should be able to pick up down to 3.1 and 6.1?

As 3.1 broadcasts on UHF 15 and 6.1 broadcasts on UHF 34, you're within the range. The difficult part is going to be avoiding overdriving the nearby channels to get the distant ones.

 

[sqldude]

Ok. I've replaced the suspect end ( the center wire was bent ) and eliminated the preamp from the equation. So far I can still only pick up 10.1 and 47.1. I'll see if I can get ahold of 91-XG or something like it to see if my fortunes change.

 

[sqldude]

I sent a request to SolidSignal.com as well to see what they have to say.....

 

[jjnemoiii]

Several stations under 7 miles? Have you tried a paperclip? Bend it into an "L" and insert it into the antenna jack. While I can only get one channel that way, it like most of my digitals is between 25-30 miles away, Antennaweb recommends a red zone antenna. Can you try your antenna in the living room on the floor with different cable? I strongly agree with the cabling assessment, as well as going without the amp.

 

[sqldude]

I'm going to move the antenna to the roof (from the attic) to see if that helps. I really don't want to have to buy a new antenna if I don't have to. As far as the cabling goes, it goes straight from the balun on the antenna to the tuner on the TV (about 150' of RG6 cable).

 

[Jim5506]

What is your roofing material?

Any foil backed insulation in the attic?

At your distance and the signal strengths your TVFool report suggests, you should have not trouble with the top 4 stations.

As was said, rabbit ears should get your the top 4, something else is in the equasion here.