After about a week of trying different UHF antennas and moving them all over the place, I finally got a solid signal of 78-95% on almost all channels. I accomplished this by hanging a Phillips Silver Sensor outside a window with a sheet of tinfoil hanging up behind it.

However, even with a solid signal, I get some periods of pixelation, especially at late night (with signal strength in the 80s). Is this common?

Here are my stats from antennaweb:

* yellow - uhf WABC-DT 7.1 ABC NEW YORK NY 63° 4.0 45
* red - uhf WXTV-DT 41.1 UNI PATERSON NJ 70° 3.7 40
* red - uhf WNJN-DT 51.1 PBS MONTCLAIR NJ 334° 12.9 51
* red - uhf WCBS-DT 2.1 CBS NEW YORK NY 70° 3.7 56
* red - uhf WNYW-DT 5.1 FOX NEW YORK NY 70° 3.7 44
* red - uhf WPIX-DT 11.1 CW NEW YORK NY 70° 3.7 33
* red - uhf WWOR-DT 9.1 MNT SECAUCUS NJ 70° 3.7 38
* blue - vhf WNJB-DT 8.1 PBS NEW BRUNSWICK NJ 267° 25.0 8
* blue - uhf WNET-DT 13.1 PBS NEWARK NJ 70° 3.7 61
* blue - uhf WFUT-DT 68.1 TFA NEWARK NJ 63° 4.0 53
* blue - uhf WNBC-DT 4.1 NBC NEW YORK NY 63° 4.3 28
* violet - uhf WNJU-DT 36 TEL LINDEN NJ 120° 1.7 36
* violet - uhf WPXN-DT 31.1 ION NEW YORK NY 120° 1.7 30


Thanks for any help.

Two possibilities come to mind:

1. Signal overload. You're very close to most of your transmitters. Does the Silver Sensor have an amplifier? If it does, can you turn it off? (I don't remember, although it's been mentioned here often enough)

2. Multipath interference. Do you have tall buildings nearby that could be producing strong reflected signals that can confuse your receiver?

Two possibilities come to mind:

1. Signal overload. You're very close to most of your transmitters. Does the Silver Sensor have an amplifier? If it does, can you turn it off? (I don't remember, although it's been mentioned here often enough)

2. Multipath interference. Do you have tall buildings nearby that could be producing strong reflected signals that can confuse your receiver?

there is no amplifier on the Silver Sensor. I am surrounded by tall buildings as I'm in downtown Jersey City. Is there anything that I can do for mutlipath interference if that is problem?

which antennas did you try.

models please...need a feel for what did not work.

which antennas did you try.

models please...need a feel for what did not work.

I've tried basically everything I could get my hands onto locally at Wal-Mart, Circuit City, Home Depot, and Lowes:

PHDTV1 (which I'm using now by merely hanging out a window, not pointed at anything)
PHDTV3 (indoor amplified ...no good)
MANT410 (indoor amplified ... no good)
MANT490 (outdoor ... would get a strong signal for several channels, but couldn't get them all at the same time)
RCA ANT3900 (which I'm amazed gave me a terrible signal strength from my roof) and a cheap GE non-amplied model with the rabit ears and circle (don't have the model number but it was $15 at Home Depot)

would like to try the DB2, but can't find one locally (actually attempted to build one but it didn't go well) ... I figured nothing would do any better then the PHDTV1 is doing for me now ..getting 75- 95% on all channels.

BTW, I'm on the ground floor (garden apt) in a Brownstone. I think the problem with the indoor antennas was getting through the brick walls.

Try a radio shack u75r mounted someplace outside....pass on the db2 and avoid the bowties.

I just replaced a db2 with the u75r because of multipath issues that the db2 were unable to tame.

if the silver sensor did not work for you, its time to move away from that class of antenna or indoor antennas in general.

From the recommendations for red, blue and violet antennas (and short distances), Antenna web is suggesting you have a big multipath problem. You need a very directional antenna and a means to rotate it, or you need to keep searching for the sweet spot to put your Silver Sensor and be willing to fuss with it as needed.
(Rotation: You could probably get on one heading the stations at 63 and 70 degrees, but you have at least four headings required to receive all the stations in that list with a highly directional antenna.)

I have a terrible problem when it is windy and trees are blowing around, pretty good on calm nights.