DTV reception help needed.

X

xantom

DTVUSA Rookie
#1
#1
My Antenna
TV FOOL Report
Top view of my house
Side view of my house facing north
Cable provided internet, no cableTV.
Phone is OOMA VOIP.


I have mounted my antenna in the North west corner. It is mounted to steel siding and is right below the soffit. I have cable provided internet that runs into a media box in my basement. I placed and mounted a splitter outside on the siding. HDTV and internet feed into one line. I have a powered booster in my media box that feeds 12-14 outlets and 8 TV's. I get 3.1-3 10.1-3 with good reception and I get 6.1-2 and 47.1-2 sometimes good with fairly consistent drops. I have moved the antenna to all corners of the roof and peak and didn't get any better reception, many times getting no channels at all. The antenna was never mounted when I tested for channels on the roof. How much of factor is cable length from the antenna to my booster? I am open to replacing the antenna I have. My goal is to get ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox mainly to watch the NFL. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Let me know if more info is needed.

Edit: I have 3 very large maple and elm trees to the west, with 5 more large pines to the west of those. I have 2 large pines to the east with a smaller tree center of my front lawn to the east.

Thanks!
 
Last edited:
R

RF Steve

Contributor
#2
#2
Thank you for including so much information.
HDTV and internet feed into one line
Click to expand...
You can not run OTA TV HDTV signals and cable internet on one line!! Not only will it not work, but it is radiating cable internet signals which can create interference to other radio services and land you in trouble with the FCC.
Your antenna is also introducing out of band interference to the cable companies system.
The ANT751 is great little antenna for areas where all signals are line of sight and in the green on a TV Fool report, and would probably work fine at my location for the line of sight signals down in the yellow. With first, and second edge signals down in the yellow I would never recommend the RCA ANT751. One of the larger Winegard antennas will probably be needed. Most of your available signals are coming from the south west at about 207*. The placement of the antenna and the metal building is definitely affecting reception. I would suggest getting 5 feet above a metal building. Even 3 feet might help. Even at that it will still affect reception. I'm quite certain that signals on both my antenna test stand out back and the main TV antenna are being affected by multi path from the metal siding on the building 20 feet away from the antennas, but at my location, and where the antennas are located it does not create a problem.
You first need to run one coax from the antenna to one TV when you have an antenna in place, and have established good reception on one TV on one short run of coax then you can start thinking about what will be required to build an eight way distribution system. Simply tying into an existing satellite or cable built system is normally a recipe for trouble. The guy that built it had plenty of signal to work with.
Steve
 
X

xantom

DTVUSA Rookie
#3
#3
Thanks for the reply. I didn't know that. I will have to run a new line to the basement then. I wanted to avoid that as it will be hard to get a new line back there.

Can you suggest an antenna?
How long can/should a cable be that runs from the Antenna to my powered splitter be. I am guessing at the farthest point on my roof the cable would need to be 95'?
Should I run a powered booster from the antenna to my splitter in the basement?
 
R

RF Steve

Contributor
#4
#4
With your NBC signal being on real channel 10 high VHF you will need to stay with an antenna that has high VHF capability.
While I'll suggest the Winegard HD7697P the smaller Winegard HD7694P might be enough to do the job.
http://www.amazon.com/Winegard-HD7694P-High-Definition-Antenna/dp/B001DFTGR4
Winegard HD7697 High Definition VHF/UHF Series TV Antenna (HD7697P) from Solid Signal
I would not be real fast to give up on the ANT751 even though I would have started with a bit more antenna in an area where signal levels are not predicted to be very strong. I don't think you've given it a fair chance yet. Hooking into an existing 12 way distribution system is likely to be plagued with problems. Do not use more splits then necessary. Here is a good page explaining splitter loss.
How Much Signal Do I Lose Going Through A Splitter? – Support
I don't know what you are using for a distribution amplifier or how your system is wired. Yes 95'of coax presents some signal loss. An eight way distribution system that was not designed for OTA signals can present a major problem.
First you need to establish reception to one TV on one coax run. You can't amplify, and split signal that you don't have.
Steve
 
X

xantom

DTVUSA Rookie
#5
#5
I will find out what the make and model of my powered splitter is in the basement. I am getting pretty good reception with my current setup. Do you have any idea why I received less channels, or many times no channels, when I moved the antenna to various points on the roof? Would mounting it help, or possibly grounding it? Thanks so much for your help.
 
X

xantom

DTVUSA Rookie
#8
#8
Thanks for the info Steve.

Do you know if the HD7697P comes with a mast and a roof mount? I couldn't find that anywhere. I assume it comes with the mast and not a tripod mount, but wanted to make sure.
 
R

RF Steve

Contributor
#9
#9
No the mast and mounting hardware is normally sold separately as there are so many different mounting options. I've always been able to find mast locally. I've used chain link fence top rail.
Steve
 
Top