I recently switched from cable to Dish, which left me without the broadcast channels in HD> :( A friend gave me a Radio Shack OTA antenna to use with my VIP612 receiver. The antenna is an Amplified VHF/UHF/FM Indoor Antenna, Radio Shack brand (Sorry, can't post URLs yet).
Hooked it up and scanned it into my Dish no problem. I live less than 9 miles from every station antenna in Dayton. The signal on all channels never shows less than 70 signal strength, and some even show over 95.
No matter what though, I lose signal during any program. If I turn the channel and turn it right back, the signal is there. This is extremely frustrating. Is it just the antenna or could other factors be causing this drop?
Your signal strengths are way too high for an amplified antenna. Pre-amp and tuner overload are very likely in your situation (read poor reception). Tvfool results are attached for a generic Dayton location. The situation gets slightly better after the transition but you still will not be able to use an amplifier. Purchase similar antenna that is not amplified and you should have improved tv reception.
Goto Tvfool.com to read their detailed FAQ on signal analysis.
HTH
Rick
Thanks for the reply. I never would have thought than an amplified antenna would hurt my reception. Attached are the TVfool results for my actual address, digital only - frankly, I don't care about the others. :)
I will check out a non-amplified antenna.
Thanks for the reply. I never would have thought than an amplified antenna would hurt my reception. Attached are the TVfool results for my actual address, digital only - frankly, I don't care about the others. :)
I will check out a non-amplified antenna.
At 9 miles away, your signal levels are probably in the low to mid 20dBmV range. Preamps in those antennas want a whole lot less than that. All of the Dayton stations are staying UHF, so a 4-Bay UHF antenna would be perfect.
This one (http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3364954) or this one (http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103088) would be fine. Note that the $60 one is online only and is out of stock. The other one is in store only.
Another antenna option for UHF only would be the Antennas Direct DB2 or the Eagle Aspen equivalent. Very small and could mounted indoors.
Great, thanks again to you both.
I just wanted to post a follow up to this to help anyone else:
Today, I went to HHGregg and they didn't have many options for antennas, so I ended up picking up an RCA Indoor Antenna - ANT111 for $10. It works beautifully. No drops, great signal strength.
I never would have guessed that something this cheap and small would work so well. Thanks for all the help, I would never have picked up something like this without the help of this forum.
Thanks for the follow-up report remwin! Congrats! Great news and enjoy your HD!
Best,
Rick
Glad to hear it. Not even women can say that bigger is always better. ;)