what to try next? higher antenna, new preamp, or 2nd antenna

[kzimmerm]

Hi,
I could really use some expert advice on how best to proceed with my conversion form satellite to digital broadcast reception.

I’m having trouble receiving the one channel that two of the prediction tools (antenna web, tvfool ect.) indicate should be the easiest for me to pick up (see attached image from TVfool). It’s a PBS channel on real channel 3, about 15 miles from my location at 118 degrees; this is really about the only channel that we use to watch when we had a satellite dish (just recently removed). I live in Blacksburg, VA 24060. We are in a clear area in a small valley area between some surrounding hills with trees on most of the hills. I just installed a Winegard 8200u antenna with a radio shack 15-259 preamp on the mast and have about a 70 foot direct run R6 cable to a single analog TV, without splitters, using a radio shack digital to analog converter box (digital stream, 15-150). The antenna is on a chimney mount mast that extends about 5 feet above the chimney, which is located about ½ way down on the south side of the roof pitch. The antenna is pointed about 100 degrees (rooftop ridge line runs east to west and the antenna extends about 5 feet above top of roof line, and the pitch falls away from the direction it is pointing). I am getting real channels 17, 18, 30 and 31 (same location as the PBS station about 15 miles, at 118 degrees) and channel 13 which is 31 miles at 93 degrees. The PBS station (3) shows signal strength between 30-55 but the picture is as broken and pixilated with intermittent sound. I have tried turning the antenna at 5 degree increments between 70-150 degrees, turned the preamp on and off (dropped some of the other stations when off), turned the FM trap on and off (lost some of the other stations when off so its back on) but nothing seems to help channel 3. I’m seeking suggestion as to other things to try; I’m considering a different preamp (maybe one with less noise, don't know the noise level on the radio shack unit), a higher mast (another 5 or 10 feet), or adding a second antenna and combine the signal…..seeking your advice as to which option or other would be best to try next. Thank you!
k

tvfool report on my locaton at 24060

tvfool report.png (61.86 KB) Viewed 2265 times

[No Static At All]

There is plenty of signal available on channel 3 so it should be more reliable. I'm not familiar with that preamp & not sure how noisy it is since the specs aren't listed.

Did you ever try connecting the antenna directly to the TV? Both parts of the preamp must be removed to make a direct connection. Unplugging the power supply isn't enough.

[kzimmerm]

Hi,
No i have not tried a direct connection without the preamp; I'll find some cable connectors to temporally bypass the base and antenna components of the preamp and let you know the outcome, might be 24 hrs. And I could not find the specs on the preamp online, the package documentation was very sparse. thanks for the speedy reply!
k

[No Static At All]

Yes, you might want to wait till tomorrow if the wind is as strong as it is here today in northern VA.

I also noticed you have an FM station just outside town on 90.7. (See map below for WUVT) Not sure how close you are, but FM traps on preamps don't work well on stations between 88-92 MHZ, so that may be part of the issue. The only other thing I can think of would be electrical interference from overhead powerlines. Does reception of WBRA improve when it rains?

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q ... FM%29&om=1

[kzimmerm]

Yes lots of wind here too and we do have some subdivision power lines that are about 200 feet east of your home...maybe thats it, had not considered them before. If thats the cause then not likely much i can do to overcome that obstacle oh well, sadly PBS funding on the hatchet block anyway, my quest may be a mute point.
k

[No Static At All]

Don't get your hopes down yet. FM can have a profound affect on VHF HI, so I would assume the same may be true of VHF-LO.

You've got a great antenna for channel 3 so let's see what happens after a bit of experimentation. It's always a good idea to test reception without any amps or splits if a problem exists to develop a baseline.

[kzimmerm]

Regarding the FM station, we are about 5-6 miles on a 40 degree bearing from the station. Reception on the other channels was worse when i turned off the FM trap last weekend. Are there other ways to mediate FM interference if that ends up being a cause? thanks again for all of your input.
k

[kzimmerm]

mitigate might be better than mediate
k

[No Static At All]

There are other ways to better attenuate the FM band. Once the preamp is removed we'll know whether or not it may be part of the problem.

The best news would be that your big antenna is still up. I saw on the news that the wind gusts were over 70 MPH in your neck of the woods yesterday.

[kzimmerm]

Yes, still up, one advantage of a short mast and a strong chimney. OK, removed both components of the preamp from the system and rescanned the channels. Now only receiving real channels 18 and 36; real channel 3 is unchanged, in that it is stilled identified in the scan list but the image is intermittent with missing portions of image and sound. So removal of the preamp had no effect on channel 3's reception quality (virtually same with or without the amp) and lost channels 13, 17, and 30.
k