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Update: OTA DVR question.
Posted on 8/25/14 at 8:28 am
Posted on 8/25/14 at 8:28 am
So I finally installed the antenna I bought. Tested it on my living room TV on Saturday and I was getting NBC, CBS, Fox, CW, and a few other channels. I'm not sure about ABC but I know the local affiliate was just sold to another party so I don't know if they're broadcasting anything. Everything worked fine, and NBC had a little lag in it, but when I shifted the antenna it picked up fine. I have two Samsungs, that are both about 3-5 years old. And then I have an older Magnavox. I know I had it in my old townhouse, which we moved out of over 7 years ago, so it is probably 8-9 years old. I hooked it up in the attic, ran a line down to a splitter, and then those are connected to each of the TV's. The one in the living room, the newest Samsung, I scanned and picked up all the channels I was getting before. The one in the playroom, the other Samsung, was getting all the channels but NBC had a little lag. In the bedroom, the Magnavox only found 6 channels. No Fox, NBC, or CBS. It basically picked up CW and for some reason the University of Alabama WVUA channel. And a couple others. Could this be something with the TV having an older Tuner? Do I need something else to get these channels? It is a Digital RCA brand Antenna, and it just seems odd that the channels are there on some but not all sets. When I input the channel number for NBC, it showed up for a second or two on the Magnavox, then it displayed a weak or no signal message. I don't really care all that much if I get everything in there since that is where I watch stuff streaming, and I'm glad I get CBS, NBC, and Fox for football down in the living room, but if it is something simple I'm overlooking then I'd like to fix it.
This post was edited on 9/30/14 at 10:39 am
2
Posted on 8/25/14 at 9:41 am to TU Rob
is the run longer?
each time you split the signal you lose signal quality as well
if you don't care about that TV, I'd suggest not splitting the signal 3 times
each time you split the signal you lose signal quality as well
if you don't care about that TV, I'd suggest not splitting the signal 3 times
Posted on 8/25/14 at 9:52 am to TU Rob
The quality of the tuner has a lot to do with it too. A high-end TV will have a more sensitive tuner. You might try putting a pre-amp at the antenna before it feeds into the splitter.
Posted on 8/25/14 at 9:59 am to Salmon
Yeah the way I have it set up is antenna > 2 way splitter. From there one goes to the nearest TV and the other down to the basement to another 2 way splitter and back up to the other two TVs. The run is about the same to those two. But one is the newest Samsung and the other the oldest Magnavox. The Samsung down there is fine. I could reroute it so that there is only one splitter and each goes directly to a TV.
Posted on 8/25/14 at 10:01 am to Layabout
Does a preamp require power? I'm guessing it does. I still may need to tweak the antenna to see if they come in clearer but if something powered would help I have some lines in the attic that feed a plug I never use that I could splice into and put a plug in the attic wall.
Posted on 8/25/14 at 10:36 am to TU Rob
Yes, a pre-amp does require power. I have an equipment closet on the second floor for my network and home theater gear and originally planned to put the antenna in there as well but I never could get all of the stations in the area. I finally moved the antenna to a section of the attic that had no obstructions other than the roof between the antenna and the stations. All of the stations now come in like gangbusters, even the ones at the fringe compass points. This is the antenna I have, about $38 at amazon. I have it attached to an articulating arm TV wall mount so I can aim it and have it stay in place.
This post was edited on 8/25/14 at 10:41 am
Posted on 8/25/14 at 10:40 am to Layabout
quote:
I finally moved the antenna to a section of the attic that had no obstructions other than the roof between the antenna and the stations
That's how mine is. I may need to rotate it to see if I can get rid of the lag but it is mounted to a stud and about 3 feet shy of the roof.
And in my situation, I'm thinking about getting another antenna and mounting it in the other attic and feeding it directly to this older TV. Then there would be no splits to that one, since it is the only one giving me issues. Or I may just get a new TV.
Posted on 8/25/14 at 10:49 am to TU Rob
They're supposed to be omnidirectional but they still benefit from aiming. I got the compass headings for the stations from antennaweb and used the compass in my phone to get it in the best position. That worked a lot better than trial and error.
Posted on 8/25/14 at 11:10 am to Salmon
Also, there is a lot of excess line. I bought some really long lines with the attachments already on each end. Would it benefit me to get one of those tools, cut the lines, and reattach the ends?
And this is the Antenna
LINK
And this is the Antenna
LINK
This post was edited on 8/25/14 at 11:17 am
Posted on 8/25/14 at 11:32 am to TU Rob
The cable might have something to do with it. Solid copper is the best but I had a hard time finding it locally. I finally ordered it HERE. Their web site was very helpful. The antenna they recommend I think is the one you have. It's the RCA Ant design. These folks were very helpful when I had occasion to call them on the phone. I spoke with Denny himself.
Posted on 8/25/14 at 11:54 am to TU Rob
quote:
Also, there is a lot of excess line.
yep
for every 10 ft of line you lose some signal
I have the same antenna and will be cutting off about 50 feet of line this weekend.
Posted on 8/25/14 at 12:52 pm to Salmon
quote:
yep
for every 10 ft of line you lose some signal
I have the same antenna and will be cutting off about 50 feet of line this weekend.
Thanks. I think if I cut out all the slack and aim it a little better I might be able to get those channels on the old TV. That is probably the longest distance in feet from the splitter, and I don't know exactly how much line is in there. Are those cutting/crimping tools pretty simple to use? Seems like you just cut it, rotate it a few times to expose the line, then put a cap on it. I've done all kinds of wiring but never really dealt with coax.
Posted on 9/30/14 at 10:38 am to TU Rob
Update:
I cut out all the slack, and even ran a new line through the attic to the bedroom instead of going down to the basement and back up. Took a little work to get it over the staircase that split the floor of the attic into two sections, but I found an old suction cup on a pole extender thing I bought years back to replace bulbs in my floodlights, and tied the cable to that and forced it over. Reception is way better on that TV now, but I'm still missing Fox and ABC. I get plenty of channels otherwise, and all the channels come in on the other TVs still. ABC recently switched over to broadcasting from Birmingham, and is on 68.2, and the Samsungs pick it up crystal clear HD Quality. The old Magnavox still doesn't. I think a new bedroom TV is in order, but it can wait until we move back downstairs to that bedroom. That way I can get a 40 inch instead of the 32 we have in the cabinet upstairs.
And to branch off a little, does anyone have experience running a whole home DVR using OTA signals? I read a few reviews and it seems like it would be nice to have. Upfront costs can be a little high but no monthly fees if I don't use the TiVo version would be great. Some even have built in streaming, but the only one I looked into so far was just Vudu. I'd like to have Hulu and Amazon but if that's not an option I can just pick up another Roku instead. The main thing I would use it for is a couple of CBS shows that do not currently stream anywhere, as well as sports so I can start recording a game in case I can't watch the whole thing live.
I cut out all the slack, and even ran a new line through the attic to the bedroom instead of going down to the basement and back up. Took a little work to get it over the staircase that split the floor of the attic into two sections, but I found an old suction cup on a pole extender thing I bought years back to replace bulbs in my floodlights, and tied the cable to that and forced it over. Reception is way better on that TV now, but I'm still missing Fox and ABC. I get plenty of channels otherwise, and all the channels come in on the other TVs still. ABC recently switched over to broadcasting from Birmingham, and is on 68.2, and the Samsungs pick it up crystal clear HD Quality. The old Magnavox still doesn't. I think a new bedroom TV is in order, but it can wait until we move back downstairs to that bedroom. That way I can get a 40 inch instead of the 32 we have in the cabinet upstairs.
And to branch off a little, does anyone have experience running a whole home DVR using OTA signals? I read a few reviews and it seems like it would be nice to have. Upfront costs can be a little high but no monthly fees if I don't use the TiVo version would be great. Some even have built in streaming, but the only one I looked into so far was just Vudu. I'd like to have Hulu and Amazon but if that's not an option I can just pick up another Roku instead. The main thing I would use it for is a couple of CBS shows that do not currently stream anywhere, as well as sports so I can start recording a game in case I can't watch the whole thing live.
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