Seattle, WA - OTA - Page 6

Hi all,
Where can I get the channel master antenna? Havent seen it in any stores.
Using the jenssen indoor now, reception is good surprisingly (i live off of avondale road in redmond, behind a hill, but can point sort of south to southwest). But i have to turn it manually to find each channel. Want to try channelmaster outside.
Bob.....NOOB but loving it.

Bob:
Heres the locals -
Pringle Electronic Dist.
2911 Marvin Road North East
Olympia, WA 98516
Phone: (360) 459-5577
Phone Number 2: 0


Pringle Electronic Dist.
1021 North Broadway
Everett, WA 98201
Phone: (425) 258-6161
Phone Number 2: 0

For cost reasons, I prefer online ordering from Warren Electronics or others - see www.channelmaster.com for other online shops.
Tom

HI everyone

Hey Quarque.
I just dot back from Vacation on Sat. I finally set up my Samsung T151 and channel master 4221 on my house. I was able to get all of my main stations. The PBS HD last night, the "Over Canada" thing was amazing and some of the other one's locked very good. Thanks for your help, but I have a couple questions.
Anyone please give me feedback.

1.
I'm in the silver firs area of Everett and my samsung t-151 only has a signal Bar with no number rating like some people talk about. It locked on right about 50% on the bar. Is that the best I can expect? My point is about 182 degrees due south.
2.
I mounted my channel master on south side of the house under my roof hanging since I used 12 in. brackets I could twist the antenna and get it pointed in the right direct. But I could add a 5 foot extension and take it up over the roof line and get a little clearer shot. Is it worth it and will my signal get stronger and maybe I can get some channel north of me? what do you think.

3.
Can someone give a complete list of what channels I should be getting on my samsung. They don't match up with what I downloaded from the ant. site.

New toys are so much fun. I must say hanging out on that ladder and installing that antenna was a little scary. Alright alot scary. I just want to get right and be done...Thanks to everyone

Big - if you are getting 50% on your 151 (9 bars?) then you are doing great. I am much closer than you and never see more than 8. I doubt the 5 feet would make any difference. If you have a lot of dropouts consider adding 10-15 feet of height. A complete list of channels can be found by searching back through this thread. I don't think you could get anything north of you (Canada). All the locals are south, southeast and southwest of you. The southeast ondes like PAX may not be worth your time and effort (depending on your tastes). All the WA stations are listed at: http://100kwatts.tmi.net/tv/WA.html

Larry

Hey Tab! Thanks, found out that Lowes sells channel master and got the stealth there. Next question any antenna installers in seattle/eastside area. I want to raise it, put on an amplifier and rotator and its starting to look like faster to pay someone if reasonable. nyone know any installers?
Thanks
Bob

Hi guys,

Thanks for being patient with me. I finally am doing tests with some antenna's. Here is my situation at this point. Let me know what you think about all this:

Today I purchased the Samsung SIR-T151 receiver as an open box purchase at Best Buy in Bellevue for $359. (for anyone who's interested, they have another open box unit there for $299 - it just doesn't have the remote). I purchased a Channel Master model 3010 from Lowes. I know you suggested to purchase the model 4228. Since I cannot find a place to easily buy it locally, I went with what Lowes carries for testing purposes. I think a lot of people do this, because every item I bought today was "open box".

I've hooked everything up, and have set the Channel Master antenna out on my upper deck, running a 50' RG59 coax cable down the hall into the T151. (My wife is going to allow this beautiful cable to run through our bedroom, and down the hall for about a week).

I found that I have a very small window of angle to get the antenna pointed right. The signal strength is showing at 11 ticks from the left (out of 24 ticks). It tends to fluctuate down to 10 or 9 ticks at times (could this be from the trees blowing in the wind?).

After doing a channel scan, here is a list of what is being picked up:

TV 4-1 KOMO-DT Strong Signal Dolby 2-0 Surround
TV 9-1 KCTS-DT Fluctuates from TV image to "No Signal"
TV 9-2 Kids Black all the time with "Digital Sound" at bottom
TV 9-3 Learns Black all the time with "Digital Sound" at bottom
TV 9-5 KCTS-HD Fluctuates from TV image to "No Signal"
TV 13-1 KCPQ-DT Strong Signal Dolby 2-0
TV 13-2 KTWB-DT Strong Signal Dolby 2-0
TV 22-1 KTWB-DT Strong Signal Dolby 2-0
TV 22-1 KCPQ-DT Strong Signal Dolby 2-0

That's all I'm getting. I was hoping to pick up King5, but that is nowhere to be found. I moved the antennae inside the condo right outside the room where the TV is, and the results are the same, except I was able to pick up the KONG channel. That tells me that the signal is being picked up about the same through the outer walls of the condo unit.

Any thoughts on achieving better reception? Should I order the Channel Master 4228? I did notice that it has a 60 mile UHF range, while the model 3010 unit I got from Lowes has a 30 mile range. Would that make all the difference?

Thanks for your continued help and advice.

-Mike

Mike,

This is a shot in the dark but if it is not too much hassle, try with a shorter cable then tune to 39 and 48 for KIRO and KING. If it works, you may want to use RG6 cable and perhaps with some amp. I have a hunch that 50ft of RG59 may (i) reduce the primary signal, and (ii) absorb reflections.

Best of luck.

Thanks tuquet,

I brought in the antenna last night and put it outside the door, still using the 50' cable. My signal strength ticks went up to 13 on the scale, but still no difference in channel reception.

I had a 10' thicker coax cable left over from the cable company. I switched out that cable. My signal strength is the same, and all the channels picked up are the same.

I tried punching in manually 39 and 48, and there is not even a hint of a signal. Channel 38 (KOMO) is still very solid and strong.

Thanks for your input.

-Mike

I am stumped! The only other wild guess is that you pick 38 from some reflection. Difference in wavelength prevents 39 & 48 from landing on your balcony. Or someone in your path sucks all the power from those channels. Enough! About 9-x, they are all the same channel thus the same reception. 9-2, 9-3 weekends, 9-5 evening. They go off air around 11pm. They go on air sometime between when I leave for work (weekdays) and when I wake up (weekends). When they are on air but the sub-channel has no programs you get the black screen.

What do you think about the fact that I'm picking up KCTS-HD as another HD channel, as well as the other digital signals, including KONG? The KCTS-DT channel comes in weaker than KCTS-HD.

I found that I had to point the antenna just about perfectly west, and slightly downward. Getting the signals is like an on-off switch. If I move the antenna slightly either way, the signal strength is gone.

As a frame of reference. Our unit is literally right on the northwest shore of Lake Bellevue (the condos are all on pylons). Pointing the antenna westward is the direction right over the railroad tracks. The antenna at this point would be approximately 100 feet above the lake level.

-Mike

Have you tried different types of antennas? I wonder if you get a lot of reflections from building walls, appliances in the surrounding units. Or may be the box fails to tune in to certain channels? I use a SS (directional) but it seems very tolerable with placement. Where are all the experts? We need help here! Buy me a 6-pack and I'll come over with my equipment and see if it makes any difference. Seriously, I wouldn't mind doing some experiment with you except that I will be busy for the next 2 weeks. You will probably have switched to cable or satellite service by then.

9-1 and 9-5 are the same channel 41, the signal quality should be identical (so I think). The box may combine other parameters into the "signal strength" display.

I do also own the Radio Shack amplified digital indoor antenna. It's about a year old, and cost $80. I tried that as well and could barely pick up anything. The signal strength was all the way at the bottom.

Help/advice from other experts?

-Mike

Another try. This is a little involved. Get a different receiver (better different brand) and test it out. At least you can throw one variable out of the equation unless fate has it that both of them screw up in exact the same way. You can always return the unit.

Mike - my 2 cents. I think your antenna is good enough for signal strength because of the levels you report on several channels. The missing 7 & 5 could be multipath reflection problems. A more directional antenna might help or other locations (if there are any). Pointing your antenna 'down' seems counterintuitive. The towers are 'up' from your elevation, so you may be getting reflections galore. Amplifiers probably won't help. It may be '4228' time. BTW, I don't see the 3010 model on the ChannelMaster website - are you sure about the model #?

Larry

quarque,

Here is a picture of the 3010 from Lowe's website. At this point I'm leaning towards ordering the 4228. Hopefully that might solve my problem.

-Mike

OK, found it. It was under "special market antennas". In their master reference chart it is listed as "Large Multidirectional" under 'type'. This would make it more sensitive to reflected signals from all directions than other designs (and hence poorer digital reception). It is also low UHF gain (-1.6db!). A coat hanger would almost do as well. Try Pringle Electronics in Everett for the 4228 or buy it off the net. I got mine on sale for $25 last year + $15 shipping at spectravox.com (there are lots of places selling the 4228 so shop around).

Larry

Thank you Larry,

That is really helpful. I think I'll return that $50 coat hanger to Lowe's.

One last question about the 4228. If I'm going to get it in my attic, I've got to be able to get it through the ceiling door. I measured my attic ceiling door entrance and it is 29.5 x 22.5 inches.

The specs on the 4228 tell me it's 6.5 x 39.5 inches. What is strange to me is that the pictures don't look like 6.5 x 39.5. Can you confirm that is the correct size? If so, then it sounds like I shouldn't have any problem getting it up into my attic.

I checked spectravox. They are listing it as "out of stock". That's too bad because they have a really good price. I'll keep looking around, and I'll contact Pringle Electronics on Monday.

Thanks again for all your help.

-Mike

Larry,

I have been lurking for a while and am trying to figure out my OTA reception chances before purchasing a STB and TV since the only HDTV channels I could get now are a couple on DirecTV. Could you check my address please?

26018 NE 27th Dr
Redmond, WA

I have looked at a couple of free topo sites on the net and figure my elevation at around 360' and I know that the Sammamish plateau is in the way at 550'+. I wanted to know based on my distance to the plateau (if it is 2 + miles), if there is even a marginal chance with an antenna say on a 10' mast on the roof.

I can get all analog channels fine OTA with the Lowes $50 'hanger' but from another post, checking 16 or 22 UHF analog as an indicator if I would be able to get digial channels reveals no picture at all, just snow. I still need to try the roof (of this I am pretty sure I need to do to even have a chance) and am going to try the CM 4248 as well.

Thanks,
Chris

Mike - the 4228 is 39.5 x 39.5 x 6.5 deep. Your diagonal opening is 37" so you will need to partially disassemble the antenna. This should not be difficult. As I recall the screen comes off easily and that may be enough to get it through the opening because it extends a few inches beyond the bowtie elements on each side. Other places on the net to try are starkelectonic.com and http://www.warrenelectronics.com/antennas/4228.htm
If you can find it locally you will save $15-$20 on shipping.

Larry

My map shows your elevation at around 340 feet. The plateau is 581 feet and 2.8 miles away. Your situation is marginal and it all depends on getting your antenna high enough. If you have a 2-story house and put even a 20 foot mast on the roof it may not be enough. The LOS point is about 50 feet above ground at your location. However, many people have used a high gain antenna like the CM4228 or 4248 and gotten reception in similar marginal conditions. The 4228 has been called the "best UHF antenna made" by many people. You might also do a survey of your neighborhood. Knock on any doors where you see roof antennas and ask if they get HD. Or pay a pro to evaluate your site. Good luck!

Larry

Larry,

I'm at the 14000 block of Siliver Firs Dr, Everett 98208 very close to BJM and Big_Dawg (what's up guys? How's the HD?).

Would you mind checking your topo for me? Just curious as I bought an OTA HD receiver today.

Also, assuming my line of sight is good, any advice on antenna's? Possibly the 4228?

-EJ

Eric - you have a slight hill SSW to overcome. But it is only 40 feet or so. If you can get your antenna 20 feet off the ground you should have good reception. I would use the 4228 or 4248 on the roof. It might work in an attic of a 2-story.

Larry

My location is the 900 block of Madison Street in Everett (98203). I can only get KIRO HD Ch. with my outdoor antenna that is about 30' high. Thanks

Hi Everyone
Hey EJ.
We sure have alot of silver firs guys on this thread. I hiked my channel master 4221 up another 4 ft. and locked it in a little better. I get a solid 9 bars now. I sure watch some strange stuff this nights just because it's in HD. I watched this thing on bears last night on PBS. Very cool.

I got a question for everyone that has the t-151 OTA box. I've tried using the searching feature for loading up my menu with what's on and I mostly get "no information" and it takes along time to tell me that. I'm i doing something wrong or is that a weakness in that box?.
Hang in there BJM. We will get you over to see my set-up in the next couple days and I'II help you set up yours if you go with the OTA set-up...Big Dawg

well. i don't understand?? I have a CM4248 ant. & amp up 55' and can get 4-1 all the time,no drop outs, and at~1/2 scale on sir-t165 signal meter, 5-1,7-1,11-1,9-2, all of these don't even register on the meter and no picture. same transmitter local, same power levels, etc, but no signal here.
any idea's, suggestions. help. thanks mike

Mike - about the only thing left is mutipath interference. You must be getting reflections off of something (water?). Tilting the antenna up can help to some degree. Many people install a precision tilter along with their rotor. Have you tried rotating a little off-axis?

Hmmm, Bears in HD - I didn't think NFL preseason was in HD I wish the the GB-KC game was in HD tonight!

Wait a second, I just checked again and it IS in HD!!!! They must have changed formats when I wasn't looking...

The GUIDE you speak of is also slow on my T150 as well and I think on other receivers also. Many stations are still not inserting useful data anyway so I never use it. I use titantv.com to see what is coming up in HD.

Well, first of all, you can't live in Everett and call yourself richmondbeach.

But ignoring that for now, your elevation is about 460 feet and you have a 580 foot hill about 1 mile SSW. A direct LOS from QA hill ends up about 50 feet above the top of your antenna. I am surprised you get anything at all. KIRO is probably reflecting off something. Do you have any dropouts on it? You could try swinging your antenna around 90 degrees each way and see if you can get any others by reflection.

I get KIRO-HD with out any loss of signal, I have rotated my antenna but can't pick up any other stations. Thanks, R. Beach

Larry,

Drove up to Everett yesterday to visit Pringle Electronics. I picked up a Channel Master 4228. They were very nice people.

I plan to test it out later this week, so I'll let you know my results. It will definitely be easy to get into my attic...the two screens should remove easily just like you said. I'm going to need to run a 100 foot coax cable to get up into my attic...hopefully that shouldn't be a problem.

Thanks again for your help. I'll keep you posted.

-Mike