I bought the Terk HDTVO antenna before doing much research (yes stupid mistake). I bought it online so I'm pretty much stuck with it and would really like to avoid replacing it with another antenna if at all possible.

The antenna is currently installed in my attic. I am not opposed to mounting it on the roof and that's actually what I was going to do but I wanted to test it in my attic first. I hooked it up to my tv tuner card in my computer and I get all the channels I want except for one VHF channel which is a must channel. I then tried it hooked up directly into my TV and I get all the channels including the same VHF channel on my TV. The signal strength on my TV for this VHF channel is only 60% but the picture is crystal clear and I haven't noticed any drops or anything.

I was wondering why I couldn't pick up this channel on my tv tuner card on my pc and found out the card actually splits the signal internally into two for dual recording. I believe this split reduces the signal enough to the point where I can't see the channel on my computer. So I asked my Dad if he had any advice and he recommended a stronger amplifier. Now I'm new to amps/preamps/power injectors etc so this is where my main question lies:
The HDTVO has a power injector that I am currently using and without it I can't receive crap. Can I replace this power injector with another power injector I buy? Can I add a preamp like the channel master 7777 to the line instead of the power injector? It's my understanding that a amplifier has two parts:
1. The preamp - near the actual antenna
and
2. The power injector
I only see the power injector on the HDTVO. Does the HDTVO have a preamp installed internally? If so can I put a stronger power injector at the other end and will it work with the built-in preamp?

Alternatively should moving the antenna up to the roof solve my VHF channel problem?

I am about 35 miles from towers and need UHF and VHF-high reception.

Sorry for the long post but I wanted to give as much info as I could. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

The power injector is just passing DC power to the preamp built into the antenna, it's not boosting your signal directly in any way. Not powering up the preamp in the antenna could actual degrade it's performance. Basically you need to leave it as is. You may be able to put an amp between the inserter and your PC but it could also amplify any line noise and cause problems also.

Personally I'd try getting it up on the roof, that should give you better reception over all to begin with. If that doesn't work, cut your losses and get the proper antenna for the job.

What about replacing the Terk power injector with a more powerful one? Or can I replace the preamp built into the antenna with a nicer one like a channel master 7777?

What make/model tuner card do have in your PC?
Is is a hybrid card with one analog tuner and one digital tuner?
If yes what VHF channel are you trying to receive using witch tuner?
What is VHF channel number is it that you can receive using your TV are you using the TVs analog or digital tuner to receive it?

What about replacing the Terk power injector with a more powerful one? Or can I replace the preamp built into the antenna with a nicer one like a channel master 7777?

There is no "more powerful one". The power injector is only a transformer, it just supplies power to the pre-amp built into the antenna. the antenna will not work unless power is supplied to the preamp.
Similarly you can't replace the preamp with a different one.
You could add an in-line amplifier but you might find no or little improvement, or it could get worse because of signal overload on the stronger stations. The basic problem you have is not enough signal coming from the antenna. Putting it outside should help a lot, you are losing 50% or more of your signal by putting the antenna in an attic. Or just get a better antenna. For the price of the CM7777 you can almost buy a decent Winegard VHF/UHF antenna.

I'm trying to post some links in my response but it says I must post at least 3 responses first before I can post links. Sorry for the filler but this is my third. My response is the next post of mine.

What make/model tuner card do have in your PC?
Is is a hybrid card with one analog tuner and one digital tuner?
If yes what VHF channel are you trying to receive using witch tuner?
What is VHF channel number is it that you can receive using your TV are you using the TVs analog or digital tuner to receive it?

My TV tuner card is the WinTV-HVR-2250:
http://www.amazon.com/Hauppauge-1229-WinTV-HVR-2250-System-Builders/dp/B001E2T6Y4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1236784981&sr=1-2

It has dual hybrid analog and digital tv tuners.

The VHF channel I'm trying to receive is 10 (11.1). I can receive it and view it on my TV when I hook in my antenna directly into my TV. However I want to view it through my PC so I can record shows etc via Media Center but I cannot receive 10 nor view it through my TV tuner card on my PC.

Here is a list of my available channels:
http://www.2150.com/broadcast/default.asp?latitude=33.9490&longitude=-83.7768&magnetic_north=-4.833&range=60&sort=distance&show_expired=True&show_construction=True&show_analog=False&show_low_power=False&action=Show+Stations

There is no "more powerful one". The power injector is only a transformer, it just supplies power to the pre-amp built into the antenna. the antenna will not work unless power is supplied to the preamp.
Similarly you can't replace the preamp with a different one.

You could add an in-line amplifier but you might find no or little improvement, or it could get worse because of signal overload on the stronger stations. The basic problem you have is not enough signal coming from the antenna. Putting it outside should help a lot, you are losing 50% or more of your signal by putting the antenna in an attic. Or just get a better antenna. For the price of the CM7777 you can almost buy a decent Winegard VHF/UHF antenna.Thanks for the advice.

However I want to view it through my PC so I can record shows etc via Media Center but I cannot receive 10 nor view it through my TV tuner card on my PC.

Does it show up at all in the MCE channel guide? All I can suggest is trying to manually add the missing channel to Media Center.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/mce/expert/elsbree_dec2004.mspx

Does it show up at all in the MCE channel guide? All I can suggest is trying to manually add the missing channel to Media Center.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/mce/expert/elsbree_dec2004.mspx

Yes it shows up in the guide and yes I can manually add it or any channel. I've tried it in more than just Media Center as well including 3 other TV viewing programs on the computer and none of them lock onto that channel during a channel scan. Again it seems as though the internal splitter on the card reduces the signal strength to point at which I can't view it on my PC.

This is why I'm wondering if an additional amplifier will solve the reduction in signal strength caused by apparently the TV tuner card splitter.

Apparently channel 10 stopped their analog tranmissions on Feb 17th and moved their digital broadcast from whereever it was to channel 11 and is now broadcasting as 11.1.
Many users have had trouble with chanels that switched from temporary UHF digital channels to VHF digital channels on Feb17 when the suspended analog VHF broadcasts.
As suggested above you will have to manually edit the guide data and hopefully get the right data or at least be able to select the channel in MC.

Trying to amplify DTV signals from an inadequate antenna is an exercise in futility, more often than not. A bigger/better amp usually does no good and, as others have pointed out, can actually make things worse.

A good antenna like a Winegard HD-7694 or Channel Master 2016 won't cost any more than the CM 7777 pre-amp you proposed buying -- and it's not likely either would need amplification for two tuners, judging by what you're getting for reception now. By all means, try moving the HDTVo to the roof first, but if that doesn't work, get a new antenna.

Bleh... just looked at that "antenna". The VHF portion isn't worth a damn and the UHF is nothing but a Silver Sensor copy.

At your distances from the VHF x-mitters and the "size" of the VHF portion... you may be better off just replacing the antenna with a "real" VHF/UHF combo. The roof/outdoors could help, but you'd have to go the effort to be sure.

Just for kicks.... if you have a set of "rabbit ears" (antenna) laying around, try connecting directly to the PC and see if you get reception (of course, it may take some finesse with placement).

Welcome to the AVS Forum

Tell us how antenna and coax cable is setup.

1. Using RG-59, RG-6 or RG-6Q ?
2. How long the coax is?
3. Are you using splitter? If yes how many receivers are hook up to it?


Willie

Kevin,
I just reviewed the available channel list.
Do you know if MC is looking for 10-1 or 11-1?
And still think that the problem is caused by the MC guide.
Have you tried using the Hauppauge WinTV application instead of Media Center to watch 11-1?

Apparently channel 10 stopped their analog tranmissions on Feb 17th and moved their digital broadcast from whereever it was to channel 11 and is now broadcasting as 11.1.
Many users have had trouble with chanels that switched from temporary UHF digital channels to VHF digital channels on Feb17 when the suspended analog VHF broadcasts.
As suggested above you will have to manually edit the guide data and hopefully get the right data or at least be able to select the channel in MC.I have no interest in any analog stations only digital. 10 is 11.1

It's not the MCE guide that is the problem as it's actually listed in the guide and I have used many other programs to scan for channels and none of them find 11.1 or 10.

Welcome to the AVS Forum

Tell us how antenna and coax cable is setup.

1. Using RG-59, RG-6 or RG-6Q ?
2. How long the coax is?
3. Are you using splitter? If yes how many receivers are hook up to it?


Willie1. RG6 quad shield
2. 50 feet
3. No splitters only hooked up to one receiver. But as I mentioned the TV tuner card itself internally splits the signal into two so technically that is a splitter.

Kevin,
I just reviewed the available channel list.
Do you know if MC is looking for 10-1 or 11-1?11-1

And still think that the problem is caused by the MC guide.
Have you tried using the Hauppauge WinTV application instead of Media Center to watch 11-1?Yes with the same results. In a channel scan it does not find 11-1.

I have also tried GBPVR and media portal. All channel scans on my PC do not find 11-1.

1. RG6 quad shield
2. 50 feet
3. No splitters only hooked up to one receiver. But as I mentioned the TV tuner card itself internally splits the signal into two so technically that is a splitter.

With that setup it is unlikely you have substantial enough signal loss AFTER the antenna that can't be boosted by your existing pre-amp.

A pre-amp is only useful for boosting whatever signal is receive so it is only useful for combating loss due to cabke length, interference from poor cable shielding, splitter losses, etc.

Now if you setup was something like RG59, 200ft to 8 way splitter, and then another 50ft-100ft per drop you may need a larger cleaner pre-amp.

You need an antenna w/ better gain and/or a better location (higher, less multipath, outside vs attic).

With that setup it is unlikely you have substantial enough signal loss AFTER the antenna that can't be boosted by your existing pre-amp.While I understand what you're saying why then can I view a VHF-hi channel (11.1) on my TV but not on my PC via my TV tuner card?

It seems as though the existing pre-amp isn't boosting the signal enough when I hook the signal up to my TV tuner card...

You need an antenna w/ better gain and/or a better location (higher, less multipath, outside vs attic).I'm gonna try to put it on the roof some time this week and hope that fixes the difference between the TV itself and the PC.

Thanks

Just a shot...
Have you tried manually adding 11-2, 11-3, 11-4, etc.? Sometimes stations don't use "1" as the primary subchannel and incompatibilities "hose up" the PSIP/channel mapping.

Afterthought...
Does the MCE signal meter show any signal strength for that channel. I would think it would since it "locks" into the main carrier and not a particular sub-channel. If the reading is around 60% (like the primary TV), my theory may hold water.

While I understand what you're saying why then can I view a VHF-hi channel (11.1) on my TV but not on my PC via my TV tuner card?

It seems as though the existing pre-amp isn't boosting the signal enough when I hook the signal up to my TV tuner card...

I'm gonna try to put it on the roof some time this week and hope that fixes the difference between the TV itself and the PC.

Thanks

Different tuners have different sensitivities. The signal received by the antenna may be just strong enough for the TV to get a lock but not the PC.

It is your $$$ but generally speaking unless you have a large complicated setup involving a lot of post reception signal loss (long runs, multiple splits, etc) trying to solve tuning issues with an amplifier is an exercise in frustration. Amps aren't a silver bullet.

When you consider that your ant already HAS an pre-amp it becomes even less likely that another pre-amp is the answer.

1. RG6 quad shield
2. 50 feet
3. No splitters only hooked up to one receiver. But as I mentioned the TV tuner card itself internally splits the signal into two so technically that is a splitter.

Everyone has pretty much hit the nail so far. Just try move the antenna up or down left to right to find the sweet spot. Your TV may have better tuner than your PC tuner maybe you just need to teak the antenna better. If you do move it on the roof if you putting new tripod up don't mount it right away put some 2x6 under each tripod and put a sand bag on each leg and move it around until find a sweet spot but step away from the antenna when you do the scan.

Just don't give up.

Willie