Digital antenna
OK digital, here's one for you. I have a Sony in the living room with a digital tuner, a Panasonic in the computor room that is analog & converter box. I can have stations on the sony and the same station on the panasonic has no signal. Any ideas? Greg
"If I can't fix it, I can screw it up so bad no one else can either."
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DigitalDreams
Yes many:First let me answer the first question you didn't ask and that is why one not other when converter box is newer.
Well to answer your question based on my assumption is that before converter box both got signal,am I right so far,and you have antenna no amp or cheap amp and the signal is split at a splitter to the two sets.
First off when a signal is run through a splitter it is some what attenuated or reduced as well as split and depending on cable
gauge most people use RG-59 it is slightly cheaper than RG-6
but also loses more signal per foot of run and in a long home like most mobiles that can be a long way,especially if antenna is mounted not on house but on pole a ways away.
To set the stage for next part of question remember when cable was new thing in late 70's early 80's, tv's came out with tuner that could get cable as well as off air channels that is because they built
two tuners into one tuner because cable had a 10mhz channel width and off air only used 6 or 7 mhz width.
So your DTV still has analog tuner in it as well as a digital they just advertise the digital part ,all they did is add another section to the tuner and with micro electronics they have now thats one chip.
If you have gotten signal on digital tv when they have run the test where they switch off the analog for a half hour or so during a boring part of the programing day then it is a signal loss issue not enough overall signal as your dtv tv has a pretty sensitive tuner.
However if your not sure you have a signal on the digital sony when they do the tests it may be working with the analog tuner section which I guarantee is in there and you may not get a picture
there either when it goes totally digital.
One question for you is does your converter box have a analog button on the remote, if it does push it and see if you get a picture
if you do it is low signal strength on that line and you will need a amp.
Weather it be a line amp for just that line or a preamp at the antenna which will boost signal to splitter giving more signal on both lines.
Well to answer your question based on my assumption is that before converter box both got signal,am I right so far,and you have antenna no amp or cheap amp and the signal is split at a splitter to the two sets.
First off when a signal is run through a splitter it is some what attenuated or reduced as well as split and depending on cable
gauge most people use RG-59 it is slightly cheaper than RG-6
but also loses more signal per foot of run and in a long home like most mobiles that can be a long way,especially if antenna is mounted not on house but on pole a ways away.
To set the stage for next part of question remember when cable was new thing in late 70's early 80's, tv's came out with tuner that could get cable as well as off air channels that is because they built
two tuners into one tuner because cable had a 10mhz channel width and off air only used 6 or 7 mhz width.
So your DTV still has analog tuner in it as well as a digital they just advertise the digital part ,all they did is add another section to the tuner and with micro electronics they have now thats one chip.
If you have gotten signal on digital tv when they have run the test where they switch off the analog for a half hour or so during a boring part of the programing day then it is a signal loss issue not enough overall signal as your dtv tv has a pretty sensitive tuner.
However if your not sure you have a signal on the digital sony when they do the tests it may be working with the analog tuner section which I guarantee is in there and you may not get a picture
there either when it goes totally digital.
One question for you is does your converter box have a analog button on the remote, if it does push it and see if you get a picture
if you do it is low signal strength on that line and you will need a amp.
Weather it be a line amp for just that line or a preamp at the antenna which will boost signal to splitter giving more signal on both lines.
That was the same logic that I was using. I have already resigned myself to the fact that I will need more signal, plus if you factor in all of the connectors I am behind the 8 ball before I get started.
Now I just have to make up my mind about a new antenna also. Greg
Now I just have to make up my mind about a new antenna also. Greg
"If I can't fix it, I can screw it up so bad no one else can either."
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DigitalDreams
Greg you may want to do like Mark and follow a link in a earlier post I made.
It is a site that has a list of all the stations in the country and what their actual new digital channel is on.
Reasoning for this,is if you find they are all in the uhf band 14-74
you may want to buy just a good uhf antenna ,and they do make uhf
antennas that are optimized to just portions of a band range.
For example the one I use to put up for a off air subscription pay service ,I use to be a outer fringe dealer for ,was channel 23 optimized
and made it possible to get a great signal on just channel 23.
Do you remember the old cb radio whips antennas looked ugly as
heck on your car.
Well as a example they were 109 inchs long which optimized you to the center of the 23 channel cb radio spread about channel 14.
Same applies to any radio or tv signal if the antenna is designed for the range you need it will receive better , therefore more signal to start with,maybe eliminating the need for a additional amp.
If you find one that gets all the channels but one you want , you can
use it then get a channel specific Yagi antenna and aim it at just
the hard to get channel.
Please note tho,either way if your cable runs to the sets are really long you may still need a amp just due to signal loss from the wiring.
Example of that being my antenna is on a 30 foot tower next to my house and runs to a splitter, where one line runs into living room ,
which is close.
The other line runs 70 feet to other end of house.
I had to put a amp on to get signal to both converter boxes otherwise only the living room one worked.Sound kind of like your problem.
It is a site that has a list of all the stations in the country and what their actual new digital channel is on.
Reasoning for this,is if you find they are all in the uhf band 14-74
you may want to buy just a good uhf antenna ,and they do make uhf
antennas that are optimized to just portions of a band range.
For example the one I use to put up for a off air subscription pay service ,I use to be a outer fringe dealer for ,was channel 23 optimized
and made it possible to get a great signal on just channel 23.
Do you remember the old cb radio whips antennas looked ugly as
heck on your car.
Well as a example they were 109 inchs long which optimized you to the center of the 23 channel cb radio spread about channel 14.
Same applies to any radio or tv signal if the antenna is designed for the range you need it will receive better , therefore more signal to start with,maybe eliminating the need for a additional amp.
If you find one that gets all the channels but one you want , you can
use it then get a channel specific Yagi antenna and aim it at just
the hard to get channel.
Please note tho,either way if your cable runs to the sets are really long you may still need a amp just due to signal loss from the wiring.
Example of that being my antenna is on a 30 foot tower next to my house and runs to a splitter, where one line runs into living room ,
which is close.
The other line runs 70 feet to other end of house.
I had to put a amp on to get signal to both converter boxes otherwise only the living room one worked.Sound kind of like your problem.
I was ready to get ready till I saw the above article. Will probably get boxes before the original cutoff date tho,wanna test My antenna for dig reception,plus,if some stations are going to totally switch and some reduce analog signal I may well lose reception anyway.
It is really hard to guess wich stations I get will lower analog power so I better at least have a digital box working for now. I can wait on other needed equipment till after We get going on projects(work)in April.
I can probably extend the height of My pole by 10' or so,going higher would require an antenna tower.Since I don't own the dirt I don't want to invest in setting a tower in it. The only way any of this will be worth it to Me is if the extra programming/sub-channels with dig is stuff I like,otherwise it is extra cost for the same shows.
Another question for digitaldreams and All;; Since the gov will be using some of the analog frequencies for emergency/police,will My old Bearcat scanner(programable)still get everything it currently does? Or will that be "up in the air" too!?
Dean
It is really hard to guess wich stations I get will lower analog power so I better at least have a digital box working for now. I can wait on other needed equipment till after We get going on projects(work)in April.
I can probably extend the height of My pole by 10' or so,going higher would require an antenna tower.Since I don't own the dirt I don't want to invest in setting a tower in it. The only way any of this will be worth it to Me is if the extra programming/sub-channels with dig is stuff I like,otherwise it is extra cost for the same shows.
Another question for digitaldreams and All;; Since the gov will be using some of the analog frequencies for emergency/police,will My old Bearcat scanner(programable)still get everything it currently does? Or will that be "up in the air" too!?
Dean
Well I buzzed to town and bought an RCA DTA800B1 converter box,set it up,scanned 4 times,,and,,,,,,NADA,,ZIP,,ZILCH,and,,nuthin.No digital channels whatsoever. Connected the antenna back the way it was and analog is fine like before,getting the same channels,one of wich is 80+ miles away. Living in this big earthen bowl is screwing Me just like I thought it might from the get-go,,didn't even kiss Me 1st!!
Getting digital may have to wait,it will probably take raising *and* replacing the antenna with a special one. I'm not sure wich I will try 1st tho,probably extending the pipe/pole and bracing partway up the extension to stabalize it for wind. 2nd might be the best antenna I can find and 3rd addition would be an amplifier.
This is just beginning to tick Me off. I,for One,have to thank the current admin for the delay till June.
Dean
Getting digital may have to wait,it will probably take raising *and* replacing the antenna with a special one. I'm not sure wich I will try 1st tho,probably extending the pipe/pole and bracing partway up the extension to stabalize it for wind. 2nd might be the best antenna I can find and 3rd addition would be an amplifier.
This is just beginning to tick Me off. I,for One,have to thank the current admin for the delay till June.
Dean
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DigitalDreams
Dean just a note that might be helpful if your anolog signal is really clear I mean the old saying 10 x 10 then and you are already running a amplifier it may just be your amp.
If it is like a old line amp I have around here which was just vhf and fm and not uhf it may not be passing the digital signal, remember digital is a whole new dog,your antenna don't know any different it either gets the signal or not , but amplifiers are tuned to amplify only certian signals and if your amp is from before the idea of switching to digital was thought up , it may,just not be passing the signal.
Before making multiple trips to town try removing amp from the system and see what you get if you get both analog and digital you are set.
If not then a new amp which amplifies the new digital frequency's
is probably the ticket.Just as a note to everyone on the forum
I want to say if your system has a amp on it and it is over 5 or 6 years old you may just need to get a new amp because excuse my
French if you are blonde but antennas unless they are the wrong band range such as vhf and you are trying for uhf are peroxide blonde as to what the signal style is.
Don't get me wrong a uhf antenna optimized for HDTV and digital will perform somewhat superior to a older uhf designed for analog but not enough to justify replacing it if a amp change will do.
If it is like a old line amp I have around here which was just vhf and fm and not uhf it may not be passing the digital signal, remember digital is a whole new dog,your antenna don't know any different it either gets the signal or not , but amplifiers are tuned to amplify only certian signals and if your amp is from before the idea of switching to digital was thought up , it may,just not be passing the signal.
Before making multiple trips to town try removing amp from the system and see what you get if you get both analog and digital you are set.
If not then a new amp which amplifies the new digital frequency's
is probably the ticket.Just as a note to everyone on the forum
I want to say if your system has a amp on it and it is over 5 or 6 years old you may just need to get a new amp because excuse my
French if you are blonde but antennas unless they are the wrong band range such as vhf and you are trying for uhf are peroxide blonde as to what the signal style is.
Don't get me wrong a uhf antenna optimized for HDTV and digital will perform somewhat superior to a older uhf designed for analog but not enough to justify replacing it if a amp change will do.
No Sir,no amp here as yet,I didn't need one at all up on the ridge and got by decently down here in "the bowl",for analog that is.
My antenna is an estimated 16' up from ground level,the ridge around the bowl is considerably higher,not 100' feet or anything,but alot more than 16',with trees in most directions. Nice area to live,bad area for digital reception.
Maybe reception will be like water in the desert,,"100 miles from water,2 feet from Hell".
Dean
My antenna is an estimated 16' up from ground level,the ridge around the bowl is considerably higher,not 100' feet or anything,but alot more than 16',with trees in most directions. Nice area to live,bad area for digital reception.
Maybe reception will be like water in the desert,,"100 miles from water,2 feet from Hell".
Dean
Strike My last post!
I got it working! At 2AM!
Hooked it back up,read the big book instead of quick setup sheet,,,,,,,,nuthin. Thought I was still done-in,then one more try. Reset to factory settings,did channel scan,,,,,,,,,,,14 channels! Woooooo flippin hoooooo!!
A few channels are repeat ones and one is spanish wich does Me no good but I just don't care. I probably gained some that I will make use of. My old tv hasn't looked this good for quite a while.
Now,*if* it keeps working this good,satelite can take a flyin leap at fast train for all I care. I do miss The Science Channel but thats not gonna kill Me to live without.At this point saving $780 per year is more important.
This clear picture might twist My brain tho,I never knew Suzie Gharib was a hot lookin honey till just now!
Dean
I got it working! At 2AM!
Hooked it back up,read the big book instead of quick setup sheet,,,,,,,,nuthin. Thought I was still done-in,then one more try. Reset to factory settings,did channel scan,,,,,,,,,,,14 channels! Woooooo flippin hoooooo!!
A few channels are repeat ones and one is spanish wich does Me no good but I just don't care. I probably gained some that I will make use of. My old tv hasn't looked this good for quite a while.
Now,*if* it keeps working this good,satelite can take a flyin leap at fast train for all I care. I do miss The Science Channel but thats not gonna kill Me to live without.At this point saving $780 per year is more important.
This clear picture might twist My brain tho,I never knew Suzie Gharib was a hot lookin honey till just now!
Dean
It seems I'm talkin to Myself here,but then that's nuthin new. Maybe this info will help somebody somehow.
Well it seems My reception likes night time.I woke about 7:00 and lost all channels by about 9:00. I didn't look at the signal meter last night but it showed 24% this morn wich dropped to 14% before losing it all.
I can try aiming the antenna to see if there is a better position,then I will wrestle between DigitalDream's suggestion of an amplifier,and, raising the antenna. It should be easy to snag a deal on pipe to extend it upward. I'm expecting the signal to lessen as the trees leaf-out come Spring,less just won't be enough.
I'm thinking I should do *at least* 2 more things to insure I get/retain signal in all but the worst weather,maybe more,maybe going as far as a rotor and upgraded antenna.
Dean
Well it seems My reception likes night time.I woke about 7:00 and lost all channels by about 9:00. I didn't look at the signal meter last night but it showed 24% this morn wich dropped to 14% before losing it all.
I can try aiming the antenna to see if there is a better position,then I will wrestle between DigitalDream's suggestion of an amplifier,and, raising the antenna. It should be easy to snag a deal on pipe to extend it upward. I'm expecting the signal to lessen as the trees leaf-out come Spring,less just won't be enough.
I'm thinking I should do *at least* 2 more things to insure I get/retain signal in all but the worst weather,maybe more,maybe going as far as a rotor and upgraded antenna.
Dean
They say digital signal is all or nothing.
I wanted digital in the store so I could watch a few basic channels without the need to pay. But after adding up all the costs of a roof-mounted antena with all the tweaks, I think I'll just opt to pay the $9.95 a month for very basic cable and be done with it!
Mark
I wanted digital in the store so I could watch a few basic channels without the need to pay. But after adding up all the costs of a roof-mounted antena with all the tweaks, I think I'll just opt to pay the $9.95 a month for very basic cable and be done with it!
Mark
You can't fail if you don't try!