Poor Reception but only on certain channels

[Suzanne]

This is so frustrating to me because it's not something that occurs regularly but it happens enough that it is annoying. Certain channels will have bad reception while others are perfect. It's not just high band channels either. The one time they came out it played fine (darn it). The next day, it happened again. What am I supposed to do?

 

[Jason Fritz]

Welcome to the forum!

Are you using an antenna to receive over-the-air channels (which is what I assume) or do you subscribe to Comcast cable services?

 

[MrPogi]

The one time they came out it played fine (darn it).

yes, more info is needed

I'm assuming comcast, because it's in the comcast category

 

[Suzanne]

Yes it's Comcast. It'll be fine one day and then be bad the next. Like sci fi channel will be okay today but tomorrow it will be weird, like pixeling. It'll happen on the discovery channel too and some others.

 

[dkreichen1968]

Keep complaining to Comcast until they fix it. Keep a record of when you have problems and demand a credit. You're paying for a service, and they need to provide that service, or you need a refund.

 

[Suzanne]

I write down everything. They are a service and I'm not getting my money's worth right now.

 

[n2rj]

Do you know the actual QAMs (physical channels) your bad channels are on? It could be ingress from any number of things. I had a bad problem with GSM cell phones messing up NatGeo HD for me.

If you get to talk to a tech (not customer service, but the guy in the truck) ask him if any of the problem channels are on channel 18, 61 or 129. If it's on 129 you're experiencing interference from GSM cellphones. If they're on 18 or 61, it's from VHF/UHF ham radio transmissions. If it's getting in to the cable system then there's a leak somewhere that they need to fix. This can become a problem for them because if they have leaks and any of their channels are on aircraft frequencies the FCC tends to fine them. They have to do a sweep and a fly over test every few years to maintain compliance.

It could very well be that the problem is in your house too. If you have old wiring, all sorts of signals can get in there and interfere.