Struggling to get two specific stations in Portland Oregon

[djbreslin]

Location: NW Deerfoot Ln, Portland, OR

I'm 5-6 miles from the towers. They are all in the same direction (109-110 degrees).

I've tried three different antennas. I've tried them indoors as well as outdoors (but not seriously installed outdoors, just holding them at the top of a ladder as an experiment). Outdoor experiments are over the coax that cable used to come in on, ~50 ft run.

I cannot pick up KATU-DT 2.1 or KOIN-DT 6.1 at all. Not even a hint of reception.

Other stations come in well, even indoors over the simple $10 antenna. I easily get KGW, KPDX, KOPB, KPTV (a mix of VHF and UHF), though I struggle with KRCW too (but at least was able to get it with the outdoor experiments).

Antennas tried:
RCA ANT111
RCA ANT1050
AntennasDirect ClearStream 1

Any advice? I can't figure out why, at my distance, and with success of other channels, these two give so much trouble. All I can think of is:
- misunderstanding of VHF/UHF on my part
- line-of-sight issue that I'm not aware of (trying to look at terrain now)
- a setting in my TV that I haven't discovered

What I'm trying to avoid is buying an expensive antenna, having it professionally installed, only to find no change in result. Some just "feels wrong" to me, but I'm not knowledgeable enough to know what.

Thanks in advance...
-DJ

[tigerbangs]

You have multipath issues that require that you install an outdoor antenna: No indoor antenna is worth anything for VHF digital reception. Please give me your zip code in order to make a better recommendation.

[djbreslin]

97229

[tigerbangs]

And what are you using for a TV and/or tuner?

[djbreslin]

In Nov 2009, I bought a Samsung UN46B8000.

[tigerbangs]

You really need an outdoor antenna. You don't need a huge antenna or complicated installation, just enough antenna to solve your multipath issue: I would suggest using an AntennasCraft HBU-22 mounte on your rood or on a garage roof aimed at the transmitters: you'll find that all of the Portland stations will come in without a problem once you have installed the antenna and rescanned your tuner.

http://www.antennacraft.net
http://manuals.solidsignal.com/AntInstallGuide.pdf

[djbreslin]

If this helps, here is my TV Fool report:
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3dfaad1087d9060e

That and the other tool they have that shows color on top of terrain suggest to me that channels 2.1 and 6.1 should be no harder to receive than the others... which again makes me thing there's something worth knowing about the antennas I've been using and the fact that the numbers are 2 and 6. (But this is where I question my knowledge.)

[djbreslin]

Whoops, I didn't see that you posted before I posted.

Thanks for the antenna recommendation. I'll give it a shot.

[ycman]

I am just a few yards away from you at NW145th lane near the thprd maintained park.

Any luck? Any suggestions for the antenna? I am chucking cable out of my house.

[bfan1]

Hi djbreslin,
Were you able to resolve your reception issue for katu and koin? I'm living in the same area (97229) but struggling to get these channels. I can get kgw, opb, and kptv fine. Appreciate your help on this. Thanks.