[Wino]

Just had an interesting conversation with an engineer from the one TV stations that used to be good now no good or iffy in response to my email to them. He said they changed from UHF to VHF when they went straight digital as required. They were initially VHF at 17000 (I think he said watts) then kicked it up to 20000 recently (old UHF was 30K). He also said that a lot of the problems are due to FM being on VHF and he said the antenna has trouble sorting out the signals, radio & TV. In any case, he is leaving a VHF filter at their front desk for me to pick up (free) to see if that will help. He also stated that the VHF has more difficulty penetrating walls and obstructions than UHF. He said to call him back if the filter doesn't do the trick. He also told me my RadioShack antenna was a piece of junk (which it wasn't up until the change).

[Drabdr]

That is interesting, Wino.

I was eating lunch with some guys and brought up the subject. One guy noted something he heard on KRLD radio about one of the local stations. He said they were having to increase wattage output due to pixeling complaints. They had to install a bigger output box or something.

I'm not too bright on RF, but I don't think there is a demand factor. Saying, I don't think increased demand "drains" the existing signal (mere speculation on my part). So... I'm wondering of some of what Tom posted is happening, where they have lowered output.

[Wino]

Picked up the FM filter mentioned in above post. No change. Same terrible reception.

[docaudio]

I would also look at the tuner. I know nothing of the converter boxes, but I have a Mitsubishi DLP HDTV and a Sony Bravia LCD HDTV. Both are fed from the same rooftop antenna, and the Mits (about 3 years older than the Sony) often has trouble getting a good signal, whereas the with the Sony, I have yet to see a problem.
My worry is that the government subsidized converter boxes got the cheapest tuner chips available.

[JohnWill]

I'm sure the $40 tuner boxes didn't get the best quality parts.

[Elvandil]

There aren't very many that are not "government subsidized". You can still get a more expensive one and get the $40 off. I got 2 $40 ones from Radio Shack that work just fine.

[JohnWill]

I picked one up, just because I figured I might want to tinker with it or give it to someone. It's still in the box, but I'm thinking about hooking it up to see how it works.

[LauraMJ]

You can give it to me......my in-laws just gave us a TV so now we have need of another converter.

[Elvandil]

LOL. When the government offers to help pay for something, you may as well grab one, for yourself or someone else. I got 2 thinking I only needed one. But both are in use now.

(Actually, Laura, you are getting advice from at least one person who himself has no TV reception right now. I got a new antenna with a powered, on-board amp, but I can't seem to get any power up there. The cable seems intact, there is power inside, but not on the roof. I must have an internal break somewhere. Probably a whole new cable before I'm done. It's a little discouraging to think that the cable was defective and I could have had much better TV all these years.)

[Drabdr]

Originally Posted by Elvandil

(Actually, Laura, you are getting advice from at least one person who himself has no TV reception right now. I got a new antenna with a powered, on-board amp, but I can't seem to get any power up there. The cable seems intact, there is power inside, but not on the roof. I must have an internal break somewhere. Probably a whole new cable before I'm done. It's a little discouraging to think that the cable was defective and I could have had much better TV all these years.)

Wires and cables typically don't go bad. However, if you have had people in the attic who could have stepped on it or something like that, it could generate a problem. Or, if you have rats that can chew on it, that's another matter.

Connectors can cause a problem. You want to be sure that the outside of the connector is firmed touching the outside wire shield.

If you have an ohmmeter, you can disconnect at the antenna and in the house and make sure there is no resistance (between the inside probe and the outside shield). Then if you short those together (on one end, the inside probe and the outside of the connector), you should have some estimated resistance, given the length of wire. But... it should be fairly close to 0.

How do you know you have power up there (I'm assuming on the antenna)?

[Elvandil]

No connectors. No frays in the wire. I've followed every inch of it from the basement to the roof. That is what is so mysterious. No shorts, either.

No power on the voltmeter, even though I used to have another powered amp up there that worked, but that was long ago. Something has obviously changed. Same cable, too.

[Drabdr]

Originally Posted by Elvandil

No connectors. No frays in the wire. I've followed every inch of it from the basement to the roof. That is what is so mysterious. No shorts, either.

No power on the voltmeter, even though I used to have another powered amp up there that worked, but that was long ago. Something has obviously changed. Same cable, too.

Have you ohmed it out? That coax cable is not impenetrable. I have seen them get stepped on and stuff and get bent. Just a thought..

If you think it's the cable, you can go two routes (if you're doing it yourself). 1) Measure it out and buy one pre-made at Home Depot or somewhere. They're a little more, but in the end, it's nice not having to crimp the ends. 2) Buy the cable, crimper and crimps to make your own. Not hard to do, but you need to take some time making up the tips, and assuring the shield wire goes into the outside part of the connector effectively.

If you want to do this, just string it on the ground for now. It will let you know if it's the cable.

Oh... on the ends of your existing cable, the inside part should be sticking out the right length. I think it's like 3/4 of an inch or so.

Is any of it going through a surge suppressor? If so, take it out of the loop and see if it makes a difference.
****
A very interesting thread, and I'm glad Laura posted about this. I agree with Wino and the others that I think something is hinky with the transmissions of these signals.

[Elvandil]

I have all that. I worked for a few years putting in satellite dishes until everyone had one. No crimpers needed any more (though I have one of the few that are actually good and tough from Radio Shack). Even Comcast uses the instant connectors that are a lot better than the old screw-on ones.

I already have the cable, but I'm thinking of making some cuts along the way to see if I can narrow down where the problem exists, just out of curiosity.

[JohnWill]

I have one of the compression crimpers that uses the connectors that Comcast and Verizon uses, they work great and are very easy to get a great waterproof connection job.

[Elvandil]

Those are tools that most people don't use very often, but are worth their weight in gold when needed. After all, they are cheaper than a Comcast visit (unless it is their fault) or any other repairman you could find to do it for you. I paid almost $40 for my Radio Shack crimper, but here it is 10 years later and 100's of crimps made and it is still like new. I used probably 3 cheap ones before that and broke them..