I'm not receiving any hd signals. Have a digital stream 9550 box and a cheap rca antena that has a loop and two extendable ears. Problem is I live 30 miles east of Yuma, Arizona and have a small group of mountains in between. Currently I receive about 10 sd channels on the ears, some look ok others are pretty bad looking. I know of one hd channel availabe, but when I look online there seems to be quite a few close and some not so close like within 50 miles of 85356.

Problem is I hooked up the new receiver box with the rabbit ears but can't even get a signal. Always at 0. Tried hooking the ears up outside but same thing. I was wondering if I live too far away to receive channels or I need a stronger/bigger set of ears, or even a booster. Don't know anything about this stuff. Any recommendations???

Post your TVFool info, first.

You sure you are using the CECB correctly?

Check the local reception info section of the forum for a thread for your local DMA also, it'll put you in touch with other viewers in your area.

I believe I'm using the box correctly. It doesn't detect any channels at all. The local thread on this forum hasn't been updated in a few years so that doesn't help. Here is the tvfool information. Hope that is what you wanted.


http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn212/fryeguy211/Radar-Digital.png

CM,

Forgive me, but did you do a channel scan? It's not like the old days when you just clicked and a station was tuned in.

Tommy

Yes, I did do a channel scan. Nothing. Shows a signal level of 0. Forgot to mention the tv is a Sony HDTV

So, does the Sony have a digital tuner also?

yes, but it doesn't pick up anything as well. Sony 34xbr970

Just an idea. If you have an analog set, take that set outside and set it up with the antenna and converter box.

Also, reception is better just after the sun goes down. Might be a time that you can see some life with your D2A tuner.

its also conceivable with mountains in between you and the towers that you might be inclined to try a preamp and a larger antenna....if your partial to an indoor setup then perhaps trying something directional. I personally have a Terk HDTVa which i can pick up DTV signals about 50 miles in toronto. The Terk HDTVa includes a fairly simple 12dB preamp. If you want a steady signal to watch OTA DTV then perhaps something like a Antenna's Direct DB4 and a smaller preamp would provide you what you are looking for

For some reason I'm getting one hd signal now with the tv and ears. Just had a monsoon storm move through and i'm getting one spanish hd station KYVE which is about 43 miles away but nothing else. Have never received a hd signal in the 2 yrs I've been here. I'm wondering why I'm getting one signal and not the others?

Have you also checked antennaweb.org for recommended antennas for your location?
If your TV has a digital tuner why are you trying to use a CECB box which downscales all the HD programs to SD to feed your TV over RF or S-video?
The storm probably changed some of the atmospheric conditions that effect trasmission distance temporarily.

My tv wasn't picking up any signal until now, so i figured I would try the box out. I have also tried the box and ears on another tv which is sd but still can't pick up anything. If I'm getting one station, do i need to get a different set of ears or a booster? Antennaweb says I need a large directional with pre-amp since i have mostly blues and purples. Don't understand why I would need something so large since I'm getting the sd channels somewhat ok at times.

Most of the current HD channels are UHF channels and UHF signals do not bend with the curvature of the earth very well and often you need line of sight to receive them. The mountains and distance between you and the transmitters therfore require better antennas than you do with VHF channels.
Also digital tuners will receive nothing unless the signal strength is strong enough not like analog channels which just get poor/snowy video with low signal strengh.

Most of your analog channels appear to be VHF, but the digitals are UHF.

If your antenna is a pure set of rabbit ears (two extendible rods), it's for VHF only and won't pick up UHF well at all, even for an indoor antenna. Even if it has a UHF section (usually a circular loop), I would not expect a small indoor antenna to work well at that distance.

KYVE is your strongest digital signal so it's not surprising that you did manage to pick up that one with the help of favorable weather conditions. Your other stations (KSWT, KECY and KYMA) are much weaker, accoridng to tvfool's Rx(dBm) column. The other two (K52EG and KESE) are low-power stations that probably haven't actually gone digital yet. Tvfool is probably showing data from the construction permits for their digital transmitters.

For some reason I'm getting one hd signal now with the tv and ears. Just had a monsoon storm move through and i'm getting one spanish hd station KYVE which is about 43 miles away but nothing else. Have never received a hd signal in the 2 yrs I've been here. I'm wondering why I'm getting one signal and not the others?

Only KVYE appears to be operating at full power right now. The other locals are on UHF and at low power. Until the others get up to speed, you probably won't have much luck.

KECY and KYMA will be moving back to VHF eventually, but it might take some time after the transition. Delays in Mexican approval seem to be part of the problem.

You'll need a good quality, outdoor VHF/UHF antenna.
I agree. At 43 miles with mountains, a Channel Master 4228 would be my choice and it should pick up the 5 mile single VHF station also. Don't waste your time with indoor antennas.

Stupid question but how do you guys recommend hooking up one of these. I'm living in a rental house and have direct tv. Can i hook the antenna into dish or something so i don't have to figure out a way to run an additional wire.

Stupid question but how do you guys recommend hooking up one of these. I'm living in a rental house and have direct tv. Can i hook the antenna into dish or something so i don't have to figure out a way to run an additional wire.
What is the model number of the DirecTV box? Look for the model# inside the access card door on the front of the box.

d10-200

That D* box won't get any OTA channels, but your TV has a built in OTA digital tuner, so you don't need the 9950 DTV converter.

You mentioned that the analog channels only come in "at times" so they are also weak. Since the DTV channels may be at low power until Feb., for reliable reception you'll need a good outdoor antenna like the previously mentioned CM 4228 (http://www.warrenelectronics.com/antennas/4228.htm) and a low noise preamp like the CM 7777 (http://www.warrenelectronics.com/antennas/7777.htm). If you have a balcony or patio, install the antenna there. Or use your apartment's roof antenna, if there is one.

If you have a patio, porch, balcony, etc, a good cheap mount would be to put an antenna mast into a cheap plastic bucket of cement.
Otherwise, use an eave or j-mount as they are easy to remove and only leave 4 small screw holes.
Try just the antenna without a pre-amp first as I think it will do the trick.
You don't need the converter box and it will only downgrade your HD channels to SD.

I know I don't need the convertor box for my television but the other 2 tvs do. I live in a rental house and with my parents. We need a way to hook up the other 2 tvs to the antenna without running a new wire which my mother won't have.

Can I hook the antenna into the direct tv cable on the roof and then split the cable inside the house before it reaches the cable box so we still have a direct tv signal and an antenna signal????

If the two services are sharing the same cable today then I don't see why they would not share the same cable after the cutover since the digital channel use the many of the same OTA frequencies as the analog channels use today.
Otherwise you wil need diplexers to merge the services on the roof and to split them back apart at the other 2 tvs.

I know I don't need the convertor box for my television but the other 2 tvs do. I live in a rental house and with my parents. We need a way to hook up the other 2 tvs to the antenna without running a new wire which my mother won't have.

Can I hook the antenna into the direct tv cable on the roof and then split the cable inside the house before it reaches the cable box so we still have a direct tv signal and an antenna signal????It's possible, but if you've never done it before, you should probably get someone who has to help you. And you must use diplexors on each end of coax, NOT regular "splitter/combiners".