Smart Antennas - Page 2

I know a few of our stations are only at partial power.

Point-blank. If those knuckleheads at the FCC aren't allowing full power (for whatever reason...), HOW do we get the info as to their crippled status? I mean how are we to lookup the current -verses- projected output percentage to make decisions? I've seen the FCC sheets for my local stations. They DO NOT list pre-Feb2009 effective radiated power stats... How do we proceed?

The FCC approves a Maximum power level...as indicated in the database.

Each Station Engineer determines how much power they want to radiate, based on various
real-world engineering constraints such as ice buildup, problems in the feed lines, how much power
can be squeezed out of an old & decrepit hi-power amp whilst trying to extend it's lifetime,
operating with an old antenna while waiting for the new one to be delivered, operating on
the backup system rather than the primary transmitter, reducing power to reduce station-on-station
interference in accordance with "side agreements", trying to save a few bucks a month on the power bill, etc.

You can't go-out and buy an antenna based on current conditions, because current conditions expire February 2009. You should wait until March 2009 to see what the "permanent" landscape will be.

In my case I don't currently get channels 21 or 27 in Harrisburg, but after February 2009 the channels will be shuffled (some move to VHF, some move to UHF), and it's possible both 21 and 27 will come in nice and clear. So I'm just sitting back and waiting.
Yes, but they are still operating at the full, licensed power the FCC gave them. The fact that the FCC only allowed them 0.9 kW doesn't change the fact that the station IS broadcasting at its full, licensed power.

You're misrepresenting the issue of whether or not a station is broadcasting at what the Feb 2009 full power levels will be.

I like the concept behind the smart antenna. I live almost exactly between two television markets, and I do not want to set up a rotor.

BUT

I've not found any PCI-interface card that can connect to a smart antenna.

I also wonder if it is possible to connect two sets to a smart antenna and watch two different channels concurrently.

Only one box can CONTROL the Smart Antenna.
You could put a 2-way RF Splitter between the S-A's Power Insertion Module
and the first box in order to feed the adapted signal to the second box.

Results will vary depending on how "close" the settings for the first box
are for the channel being tuned in second box

If both channels are from same direction, you would think they would be same settings.
However, in DTA-5000, there appear to be switchable traps within each element,
which means the antenna configuration can be different for different channels.

I tried this method, feeding the analog tuner in my DTV....results were disappointing....

You could try it to see what happens for your channels....

Well, that takes the shine off of it for me.

I live between Huntsville AL and Nashville TN - almost exactly between. I'm about 50 miles from each market.

I have been re-testing my antenna recently, and I have found I can pick up the majority of the stations in each market with an amplified 8-bay at ground level. Aim north, and I get most of Nashville. Aim southeast, and I get most of Huntsville. I will have to study properly combining an antenna to get both directions at once, now that I see a smart antenna won't let 2 different sets tune different channels.

Currently available Smart Antennas are small, mostly intended for urban and indoor use....

CM-4228 will blow them away....

I recently got one of the RCA ANT2000s, and it performs quite well for an indoor antenna (beats my decades-old attic antenna with the broken rotor). But I paired it with an Apex DT502, which has many, many flaws. The worst being that the Apex's most widely known flaw (the inability to overscan new channels) is a major hindrance to the smart antenna. The LG box I have (Zenith/Insignia) is superior to the Apex in every way. The Apex has a lousy GUI, bad remote range, it locks up and requires a reboot, and I think the audio and video quality are inferior too. So I'm starting this thread to get feedback from those of you who've been using smart antennas. Which is the best smart antenna box? I'm looking for feedback on the following, or any others I don't know of:

RCA DTA800B1
Goodmind DTA1000
Alpha Digital AT2016
Tivax STB-T8, STB-T9

By the way, I'm 30 miles away from one market, and 40 from another, and there's only 1-2 available stations the RCA ANT2000 fails to pull in. The Apex's overscan flaw, however, necessitates moving the antenna and doing a rescan to get certain stations.

I posted DTA-5000 vs RCA ANT2000 Smart Antenna test as well as 3 CECBs in the OTHER thread:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...php?p=14996150

Hi I just purchased the new RCA 2000 smart antenna for my upstairs unit, right now I get a very low signal. Is there any way to get that signal up in the 80 or 90's range?

Depends upon your distance from the towers. Smart Antennas are not designed for fringe reception.

Look in the manual for or converter box or the menu system. The RCA boxes have a deep scan option to tune the antenna. Others like the Tivax have a Smart Antenna menu item to tune the antenna for the currently tuned channel.

Hope this helps.