OTA Signal Help

J

jpa25

SatelliteGuys Family

Original poster

Aug 2, 2005

61

0

• Oct 17, 2005

• #1

My OTA signals jump all over the place, making HD almost unwatchable. Bouncing between 70%-93% most of the time, with dips below 50% that cause the picture to drop out.

Its the Winegard Sensar. I'm in 01890 about 12 miles out of Boston. What can I try to correct this?

 

Hogarth

SatelliteGuys Pro

Sep 15, 2004

474

0

Somewhere, OK

• Oct 17, 2005

• #2

Get thee an attenuator.

If you're too close to a signal, you can get bounces of signals which can cancel each other out. This is called multipath interference.

http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&product%5Fid=15-1257
$4 and will fix you perfectly.

H

 

J

jim tressler

SatelliteGuys Pro

Oct 15, 2004

170

0

• Oct 17, 2005

• #3

do you have a direct line of site to the towers? if so, then the atenuator will fix that.. if you are behind a hill or other obstruction then that could be your problem.. need some more info on your situation.. but at 18 miles with a free line of sight, then the sensar should work fine.. (assuming your digital stations are at a decent power output level)

jim

jpa25 said:

My OTA signals jump all over the place, making HD almost unwatchable. Bouncing between 70%-93% most of the time, with dips below 50% that cause the picture to drop out.

Its the Winegard Sensar. I'm in 01890 about 12 miles out of Boston. What can I try to correct this?

Click to expand...

 

J

jpa25

SatelliteGuys Family

Original poster

Aug 2, 2005

61

0

• Oct 17, 2005

• #4

The Boston area has lots of hills/buildings, but I SHOULD be fine in that department. Though I don't get Fox local at all, I'm 28 miles from their tower and the antenna is not on the highest rooftop, its on a lower addition. Its a cheap fix, I'll try the attenuator and see what happens.

 

J

jim tressler

SatelliteGuys Pro

Oct 15, 2004

170

0

• Oct 17, 2005

• #5

28 miles is beyond the range of the sensar - at that point you will need something bigger - but it sounds like you may be hitting buildings, on some of the towers.

 

umbighouse

Member

Feb 28, 2005

11

0

• Oct 18, 2005

• #6

Any chance you're using a diplexor in your line with the OTA antenna? I had this setup and was seeing the same signal bounces. Once I dedicated the OTA line to a direct run to the receiver, I increased signal strength about 10-20% and it remains very strong.

 

S

snarkout

Member

Sep 13, 2005

5

0

• Oct 18, 2005

• #7

dumb attenuator question - do I connect that where the line goes into my receiver or on the roof at the antenna?

I have a similar problem with my signal strength jumping all over the place, and I'm less than four miles from the signal (washington, dc - 20009)

thanks.

 

Hogarth

SatelliteGuys Pro

Sep 15, 2004

474

0

Somewhere, OK

• Oct 18, 2005

• #8

I have my attenuator right between the line and my receiver.

H

 

S

snarkout

Member

Sep 13, 2005

5

0

• Oct 18, 2005

• #9

I'm off to radio shack then. thanks!!