Strange reception problem

[Irony58]

I'm working on cutting the cord and starting DIY as much as possible. I built a Gray-Hoverman and tried it indoors, but no go there. I live in a concrete block house with no attic, but even aiming it out the window didn't help. So I weatherized it and put it up on an 18-ft mast.

I live in Manchester, NH, north of many Boston stations and west of the station in Manchester. I've got the antenna going through a splitter to, eventually, two TVs. To set this up I started by only connecting one TV. I can't receive both the Boston and Manchester area stations, so I aimed it toward the Manchester one. I mostly use this for local news anyway. I started with TV #1 and got good reception on the Manchester station, but very poor reception on the strongest Boston station. But when I connected TV #2, I got strange results.

First, connecting the second TV really screwed up reception on TV #1. It was more than I would have expected due to the splitter, so I thought maybe a problem in TV #2's cable. I then unhooked TV #1, but still no reception on TV #2. I did a scan and ended up seeing several of the Boston station, but still no Manchester. I never changed the orientation of the antenna. When I switched back, TV #1 got Manchester and no Boston.

So why is that happening? Why would one TV get stations the the other one doesn't, and vice versa? And could a splitter mess up the signal that much?

 

[MrPogi]

I've had bad splitters before. Avoid the cheap splitters.

 

[Tim58hsv]

If it's one of the cable companies splitters, that could be a problem too since it would be designed for different frequencies.

 

[Rickideemus]

I'm working on cutting the cord and starting DIY as much as possible. I built a Gray-Hoverman and tried it indoors, but no go there. I live in a concrete block house with no attic, but even aiming it out the window didn't help. So I weatherized it and put it up on an 18-ft mast.

You're planning to cut the cord and built a Hoverman without even consulting us on the installation??? I can't even imagine. Read the first post by SWHouston here: http://www.dtvusaforum.com/dtv-hdtv...n/18697-getting-started-over-air-tv-faqs.html Then read these two posts: http://www.dtvusaforum.com/dtv-hdtv...cussion/18368-how-ask-dtv-reception-help.html Don't go to antennaweb.org, the experts have learned TVFool is far more accurate. So use the detailed instructions from SWHouston, and post the link to your Fool report below.

when I connected TV #2, I got strange results.

First, connecting the second TV really screwed up reception on TV #1.

You mean connecting the splitter screwed up reception on #1.

It was more than I would have expected due to the splitter,

Of course the splitter automatically cuts the signal in half to both TVs.

so I thought maybe a problem in TV #2's cable. I then unhooked TV #1, but still no reception on TV #2.

You didn't expect unhooking #1 to make a difference on #2, did you? :huh:

I did a scan and ended up seeing several of the Boston station, but still no Manchester.

??? Was this the first scan you did on TV #2? In that case none of your previous results mean anything.

I never changed the orientation of the antenna. When I switched back, TV #1 got Manchester and no Boston.

What do you mean "switched back"? Did you take out the splitter?? Or did you just disconnect TV #2? If we're going to diagnose something that stumped you, from our armchairs hundreds of miles away, we need very precise, detailed information.

So why is that happening? Why would one TV get stations the the other one doesn't, and vice versa? And could a splitter mess up the signal that much?

Short answer: YES. Or it could be something about the different tuners, or the luck of the draw on the scans in a poor signal area, or just a bad cable. Without a page full of exact, unambiguous information, there's no way for us to figure it out. But a cheap thing to try is swapping out the splitter.

Rick