I just bought an RCA 1250 antenna for my new Sharp Aquos 42", and can't seem to get it to work. The antenna is pretty straight-forward despite that there's no owner's manual in the box.

Anyway, the coax cable comes out of the wall and into the antenna. An integrated coax goes from the antenna into the TV.

I can fiddle with the rabbit ears and UHF loop on the antenna to clear up the signal on the local analog channels (Fox, NBC, KRON, CBS, ABC), but no matter what I do, I can't get the digital channels to work.

I've looked on AntennaWeb and it shows that all all of the local stations are within 7 miles from me. And my house is about halfway down a hill.

Any ideas on what I might be doing wrong? I am a newbie at this after all.

thanks :o

OK from what I can piece together, it should be set up like this.....


<AC Adapter> ---> |Power Inserter| <--- Antenna
........................................|
.......................................\|/
....................................<TV>

That is, ,AC Adapter on one end, Antenna on another, going into a splitter'y looking gizmo, which then leads to the TV.

Sound about right?

A couple ideas come to mind... you could have the power and antenna plugged into the wrong plugs on the Inserter. Double-check those connections. Also, make sure the power is plugged in. Antennas with built-in amps tend to suck if you don't give the amp some power.

Also, while you should be getting something, regardless of where you are, try moving the antenna around., You might be in a dead zone.

How does it do with analog stations? Can you at least receive them a bit?

My Aquos has a port specifically labeled "Air In" in a Digital section (next to the Cable In, and separate from the Analog in). Make sure you're plugged into the right port, and then do a Channel Scan (Menu -> Setup -> CH Setup -> CH Search -> DIGITAL(AIR))

Edit: had to add some dots to make my picture line up right

Also forgot, if you have any other coax cables in your collection, try swapping them around in case one of them is bad.

Thanks for that input, but I don't see how I could have plugged anything into the wrong place. There's only one coax input in my Aquos, and only 1 coax input and 1 coax output in the antenna (+1 AC adapter hole). I know the antenna's power is on because the LED light comes on.

After moving the antenna around a bunch, I can get the analog channels fairly clearly. But not a single digital channel comes in. The TV says "Failed to receive broadcast".

I should definitely be getting at least 1 digital channel. The NBC broadcast tower is less than 3 miles from my house. I get it perfectly clearly with the QAM tuner built into the TV.

I just bought an RCA 1250 antenna for my new Sharp Aquos 42", and can't seem to get it to work. The antenna is pretty straight-forward despite that there's no owner's manual in the box.
The RCA 1250 is an amplified antenna and if you are that close to the broadcast towers, an amplified antenna can hurt more than it help by overloading the digital receiver. Dial down the amplification if you have not tried that.

Just to be sure, you did do a digital scan for OTA or ATSC stations, correct? I'm also confused about the coax cable coming out of the wall and into the antenna? Is this the coaxial line from the cable company? You can't mix OTA and cable signals on the same coaxial line as they use the same frequencies.

If you provide your zip code, we can look up the stations and see what channels are they digitally broadcasting on.

The antenna I bought has a coax input in the back so that the user can switch between antenna and cable without unplugging anything.

I did do an analog & digital scan, but it comes up with only analog channels.

With cable, I only get 3 local digital channels. The reason I bought the antenna was to get another 2-3. But it gets nothing but analog.


By the way, when I scan for channels, how do I know if I'm using the QAM tuner or the ATSC tuner? I must be doing something wrong if the analog channels come in clearly, but the digital channels don't appear at all.

Exactly which Aquos do you have? Specifically, I'm asking for the Model Number so I can go dig up the user manual.

Mine has 3 coax inputs.. Analog, Digital Antenna, Digital Cable.

I then have to go into the Menu, go to "Setup" and "CH Setup", click down to "CH Search" and make sure the Digital(Air) is set to YES and initiate a channel scan.

It's possible your model doesn't have an ATSC tuner

Exactly which Aquos do you have? Specifically, I'm asking for the Model Number so I can go dig up the user manual.

Mine has 3 coax inputs.. Analog, Digital Antenna, Digital Cable.

I then have to go into the Menu, go to "Setup" and "CH Setup", click down to "CH Search" and make sure the Digital(Air) is set to YES and initiate a channel scan.

It's possible your model doesn't have an ATSC tuner


Hey, thanks for that tip about switching to Air. I was using Cable because the picture seemed to be the same either way, and it was technically using the cable (through the antenna).

It works now. :)

I appreciate all your help.

Hey, thanks for that tip about switching to Air. I was using Cable because the picture seemed to be the same either way, and it was technically using the cable (through the antenna).

It works now. :)

I appreciate all your help.
Good to hear that it works! Always helps to double check the setup and look at the manual! :cool:

If you can't get all your HD local stations, post back here with your zip code and we can suggest the right antenna for your situation. You should also find the local thread for your city or region in the Local HDTV Info and Reception forum to find out about your local stations.