Yearly antenna problems....

[kdonnel]

I have reliable reception issues with my local ABC station (Digital 39) this time every year. I thought I had found a spot in my attic that was going to work year round but no such luck. I recorded Lost fine the past Wednesday but Dancing with the Stars was unwatchable last night.

I am tired of moving the antenna around so I have two options.

1. Move the antenna outside. It will gain 6-10 feet and no longer be blocked by the roof or shingles. I will however piss off my neighbors and the HOA. I know they can't keep me from putting my antenna up but I will have to answer a letter or two. There is no guarantee that moving the antenna will solve my reception problems.

2. Call DirecTV and "upgrade" to their new HD DVR and the new slimline MPEG4 dish. I would only need to use it for ABC if i don't like the interface.

In either case the cost will probably be around $200. I am not getting out on my roof (4 stories up in the back) to mount the antenna and DirecTV's website says I can get the HD DVR, new dish, multiswitches, and installation for $199.

Which should I do?

[jpeckinp]

I recorded Lost fine the past Wednesday but Dancing with the Stars was unwatchable last night.


So what is your problem? :D

[Hersheytx]

I have reliable reception issues with my local ABC station (Digital 39) this time every year. I thought I had found a spot in my attic that was going to work year round but no such luck. I recorded Lost fine the past Wednesday but Dancing with the Stars was unwatchable last night.

I am tired of moving the antenna around so I have two options.

1. Move the antenna outside. It will gain 6-10 feet and no longer be blocked by the roof or shingles. I will however piss off my neighbors and the HOA. I know they can't keep me from putting my antenna up but I will have to answer a letter or two. There is no guarantee that moving the antenna will solve my reception problems.

2. Call DirecTV and "upgrade" to their new HD DVR and the new slimline MPEG4 dish. I would only need to use it for ABC if i don't like the interface.

In either case the cost will probably be around $200. I am not getting out on my roof (4 stories up in the back) to mount the antenna and DirecTV's website says I can get the HD DVR, new dish, multiswitches, and installation for $199.

Which should I do?


Get the new dish and Directv HD DVR.
You might think its a pain at first after using TIVO, but it really is a great DVR.
I play around with my friends Verizon Fois DVR almost every week and I still can't believe how much better the Directv DVR is compared to it.
I know we are all spoiled from TIVO, but its a stable system with quite a few features that TIVO does not have for our Directv boxes.
In the end you will want the new HD channels coming out and you will be happier you did it now instead of waiting until you have no choice. THen there will be a line of customers trying to upgrade.

[AccidenT]

Maybe I'm sadistic, but I'd move it outside because it would piss off the neighbors. I wouldn't be able to resist provoking ungrounded, unreasonable, ignorant complaints from people who have nothing better to do than worry about something like a (GASP!) antenna on the roof. If you can find a model with red blinking lights to warn airplanes, even better! :D

[DLR]

Maybe I'm sadistic, but I'd move it outside because it would piss off the neighbors. I wouldn't be able to resist provoking ungrounded, unreasonable, ignorant complaints from people who have nothing better to do than worry about something like a (GASP!) antenna on the roof. If you can find a model with red blinking lights to warn airplanes, even better! :D
:up: :up:

How long does this "yearly" problem last? Any idea what it is related to? (leaves on trees?) Would raising the antenna 6-10' solve this problem?

[stiffi]

I have reliable reception issues with my local ABC station (Digital 39) this time every year. I thought I had found a spot in my attic that was going to work year round but no such luck. I recorded Lost fine the past Wednesday but Dancing with the Stars was unwatchable last night.

I am tired of moving the antenna around so I have two options.

1. Move the antenna outside. It will gain 6-10 feet and no longer be blocked by the roof or shingles. I will however piss off my neighbors and the HOA. I know they can't keep me from putting my antenna up but I will have to answer a letter or two. There is no guarantee that moving the antenna will solve my reception problems.

2. Call DirecTV and "upgrade" to their new HD DVR and the new slimline MPEG4 dish. I would only need to use it for ABC if i don't like the interface.

In either case the cost will probably be around $200. I am not getting out on my roof (4 stories up in the back) to mount the antenna and DirecTV's website says I can get the HD DVR, new dish, multiswitches, and installation for $199.

Which should I do?

How high is your roof? I have the exact same situation as you. Each season brings a new problem with reception in my attic.

I climbed to roof edge on my 2 story house with a 25 foot ladder to temporarily test the difference. I lashed the antenna to my chimney while I climbed back and forth testing the signal. Interestingly, the signal actually got worse when I had the antenna outside!

Climbing 25 feet in the air was scary at first, but once I was on the roof, it was not that scary at all. I was surprised how 40 feet didn't seem that bad, once I was up there.

[primetime73]

I've noticed that my OTA reception of CBS gets horrible every year during the NCAA basketball tournament. I constantly have to fiddle with the antenna to keep the signal. I have a season pass for CSI and it is also nearly unwatchable during that same two week period. I always wondered if it was some weird sunspot or equinox affect since it is spring but the signal is fine now and I rarely have to adjust the antenna for CBS.

[rminsk]

Get the new dish and Directv HD DVR.
You might think its a pain at first after using TIVO, but it really is a great DVR.But do not rely on the HR20. It still misses or has blank/instant delete recordings almost weekly for me.

[newsposter]

Interestingly, the signal actually got worse when I had the antenna outside!


dont post that in avs. I got jumped all over when i told them putting mine higher didnt help. they insisted higher is better 100% of thet time. Left to right made all the difference in my case (shooting between a house and tree). And i have a $400 labor bill to prove it :) Chimney 10 ft high sucked, lower down 3ft off the roof is perfect

[kdonnel]

:up: :up:

How long does this "yearly" problem last? Any idea what it is related to? (leaves on trees?) Would raising the antenna 6-10' solve this problem?

It lasts for about a month while the leaves are coming in. Once they are in I have no problems. When they are falling I have no problem. While they are gone I have no problem.

It is irritating. Two weeks ago Lost did not record properly but Desperate House Wives and Dancing with the Stars did. Last week Lost was fine but DH and Dancing with the starts stunk. This week the Monday Dancing was unwatchable but last nights results show was OK, it had a few multi second drop outs but it also had long stretches without them. I am not sure what will happen tonight.

Last year I moved the antenna to the left about a foot and was able to raise it 6 or so inches. The signal meter went from a fluctuating low 70's to a solid mid 80. Once the leaves are completely in I get a low 90.

It seems like the extra 6-10 feet would make a big difference.

None of the other digital stations have a seasonal problem.

I guess a third option would be to get a weather machine and set the atmospheric conditions just right....

[kdonnel]

How high is your roof?

Where I would want to mount it is the equivalent of 4 floors off the ground. Adding in the roof and it would easily be 45 feet from the ground.

[kdonnel]

Not a single drop out tonight during Lost.

Maybe my seasonal problem is over.

[stiffi]

Where I would want to mount it is the equivalent of 4 floors off the ground. Adding in the roof and it would easily be 45 feet from the ground.

Can you climb to the ledge at a lower level? That's what I did. Where I mounted it was 45 feet off the ground, but the bottom of my roof (where I placed the ladder) is only 22 feet up. I then just walked up the roof to the top.

[fasTLane]

kdonnel,
I emailed the station a few days ago to report this and they might be looking into it. The wind seems a factor but I have not proven that conclusively. What I do find is that the signal on this channel falls way too much for a minor reception fault, dropping to zero in an instant then back up to an unsteady 65-75 when this condition occurs.

All my other channels are consistently showing an 85 to 90 reading rock solid using a chimney mounted Channel Master 4228 with amp.

I have seen some improvement in the past 12 hours as well.

[WaarrEagle]

kdonnel,
I emailed the station a few days ago to report this and they might be looking into it. The wind seems a factor but I have not proven that conclusively. What I do find is that the signal on this channel falls way too much for a minor reception fault, dropping to zero in an instant then back up to an unsteady 65-75 when this condition occurs.

All my other channels are consistently showing an 85 to 90 reading rock solid using a chimney mounted Channel Master 4228 with amp.

I have seen some improvement in the past 12 hours as well.
What kind of amp are you using with the 4228? I also have a 4228 and I need a slightly stronger signal for my CBS signal. I get drops outs just enough to be annoying. Does that sound like something that an amp could fix?

[fasTLane]

I am running a Winegard amp on the mast with included power supply inside, not very expensive. Don't have the model number just now but do a search and you should find one. Amplifiers can make a big difference especially in the UHF band, as we have here the most. I've never had any problem with CBS in the Atlanta area. About 30 miles from the transmitter.

[WaarrEagle]

Does the amplifier you have look like the top one from this page:
http://www.teeveesupply.com/product_pages/video_amplifiers/video_amplifiers.htm

[fasTLane]

Sorry about the delay. It is from the Winegard preamp series Model AP-8700 75 ohm version as shown on this page.

http://www.teeveesupply.com/product_pages/video_amplifiers/video_preamplifiers.htm

[WaarrEagle]

Sorry about the delay. It is from the Winegard preamp series Model AP-8700 75 ohm version as shown on this page.

http://www.teeveesupply.com/product_pages/video_amplifiers/video_preamplifiers.htm
I have been looking at info on the AP-8700 and noticed that it is just a preamp. I read somewhere that preamps only overcome losses associated in the wire from the antenna to the box. If I only need a slightly better signal will that probably work or do I need a real amplifier?

[fasTLane]

The 8700 has gains of VHF 17db and UHF 19dB which would qualify them as amps. The difference is that it boosts at the point where signal is least degraded.

However, you should be ok with either type. Try one and see.

[appleye1]

It lasts for about a month while the leaves are coming in. Once they are in I have no problems. When they are falling I have no problem. While they are gone I have no problem.

It is irritating...I sympathize. Unlike you I only get ABC when the leaves are actually fully on the trees. So during winter and part of fall and spring, I have no HD OTA for ABC. There's a huge mountain between me and the ABC affiliate. I figure the leaves somehow help the signal get reflected over the mountain. Who knows!

I last saw Lost in HD about the third episode in last fall. If I'm lucky I will get Lost back in HD within the next week or two. I really hate watching it in SD, seeing all the lush Hawaiian scenery and thinking how nice it must look in HD. :mad: