Joel Schectman

NYC Dude

I just read the posts about people in NYC not getting reception. I'm one of them too!
DTV is great when you can see it. Can you help me out to find what the problem is?

I recently brought an indoor dtv antenna (RCA ANT1500 Flat Multi-Directional) that is not amplified. My HDTV has it's own, built in amplifier, that, when turned off, my reception is non existant. Like your previous post, I went to TV Fool (my test) and found out that I'm only 9 miles from most of the channels that I want to catch. I can only get WNYW-DT and WWOR-DT the clearest, and WNBC-DT and WCBS-DT with skips and artifacts. According to TV Fool and to DTV.gov most of these stations, including a station that I'm not getting at all (WABC), are being broadcast from the same location.

My location is typical for New York homes--I live in a two story town house on the first floor. There are attached homes on both sides of me and a house close to the back of my apartment (maybe 25-30 feet away). My hdtv is close to a window in the living room that is at the back of the house.

What should I do to get better reception and the channels that I'm missing?

Piggie

I am thinking your problem is mulitpath in all the buildings, not so much a lack of signal. As the stations you pick up and don't pick up, then don't follow a pattern of the strongest to weakest.

You might want to try a Silver Sensor antenna which is a non amplified UHF antenna. It doesn't have VHF build in it. But it might be step one of your solution.

WABC is on VHF as well as a couple others you didn't mention.

If a Silver Sensor works on the UHF channels it will answer the question of mulitpath. If it does, you may need something as simple as rabbit ears for WABC. If rabbit ears work on WABC, and the Silver Sensor on the UHF channels from the ESB, then you can buy an inexpensive combiner to join them for one input.

__________________
The more I understand, the less I know.

cycler

Thanks! I did that and it located the same channels. I guess that I'll call 21 and see if they've got any ideas - after all, they are a PBS station and they NEED their viewers so it's in their interest to get that channel to us!

BTW - because I am limited in where I'm able to put my TV, I was only able to keep the antenna in one location. Last night I moved it to a place that I hadn't thought it's be able to stand but that that improved the reception greatly! I was able to watch 2 different channels and not need to move the antenna at all!

Piggie

I have seen dozens of people that went back to the store and bought a 10 feet cable and a barrel and extended the range of where they could place indoor antenna and totally solve their reception.

With an outdoor antenna, radio waves are pretty much there. But once they enter a house, it's very hard to guess without trial and error the best spot in the room for an indoor antenna.

__________________
The more I understand, the less I know.

NYC Dude

I'll try it out and let you know what happens. Thanks.

JEM40

It is unfortuante that although I get clearer and allegedly more chanels, I looses chanels on a rotating basis. Chanel 7 out form 9am to 2pm, then with spotty reception. NO 21, 50, 55 at all. Chanels 2,4,5/9,11,13 and 25 all alternate when I can get a clear signal. I mean isn't 11 on 42nd Street??? All I have to say is WOW!

Jay

Welcome to the forum JEM40. What kind of antenna are you using? Have you been to www.tvfool.com and filled out the address information to see which channels you should be receiving?

Yes616

I beleive 2,4,5,7,9,11,13,25 and 31 are all coming from the Empire State Bldg. 50 is in NJ, 21 and 55 in Long Island.

It looks like we can all forget about any kind of set top antenna. For reliable reception, that antenna must be on the roof.

Trip

25 is on 4 Times Square.

- Trip

__________________
KJ4IEA

Comments are my own and not that of my employer or anyone else.