San Diego, CA - HDTV - Page 27

Anybody out there having trouble with ABC (10.1) and CBS (8.1) in san diego?

I just got my antenna set up a couple weeks ago and at first it was working great, but the last couple days 8.1 and 10.1 have been struggling. I am up on a hill in Escondido and have a great line of site shot South where most of the towers are. All other channels come in great, im using an amplified indoor antenna (from big lots) in a window sill upstairs. The most interesting thing is that CBS (8.1) comes in fine half the time, other times is struggles, where as ABC (10.1) doesnt really work at all anymore. According to antennaweb.org they are both exact same distance/direction away, and 10.1 is actually a more powerful signal, yet im having more trouble getting it.

Any reccomentations? Can anyone otherwise suggest a good outdoor antenna that isnt too large that may work better? CBS is my main concern since Charger season is coming up soon

Channels 8 and 10 are located in La Jolla, the rest of the SD stations transmit from either south and east of El Cajon or Tijuana.

My first guess is that the junk amp in the Big Lots special is getting clobbered from interference, possibly from FM or other local sources of RFI.

In parts of Escondido, there are some hills between you and Mt Soledad, reducing Ch8/10 signal levels.

You didn't say which "Big Lot" antenna you were using.....nor which way the window looks...

If it doesn't have something like the old Rabbit Ear whiskers, it probably is UHF only.

It would help if you could post the RESULTS URL (http, etc.....at top of your browser) after
entering your location into www.tvfool.com

North County Valley Center area on top of a Mountain with a top notch

antenna and R-6 cable run feed ; Intermittently loose 39 all three and 51

sometimes 15. NEVER in the day time , only at night say 9:30- 10:00 PM

sometimes just a few minutes other times 10 minutes .

Anybody know why this happens and is it Network related ? ,so as too force

one into satellite or cable service !. It NEVER seems to occur during stations

News broadcast only with programming ; Which makes me suspicious !.

1) Exact address TVFool, please...
2) Your assessment of a "top-notch" antenna doesn't tell us what you have, where it is mounted, or where it is aimed. Details, please...
3) Describe the rest of your antenna system include cable lengths, amplifiers, splitters, etc. Again, details...
4) Never ascribe to malice or avarice that which can be adequately ascribed to technical concerns.

Specifications: Similar too HD 1850 ,Mine advertised 110/65 Miles

http://www.starkelectronic.com/ac.htm

* Extreme Deep Fringe UHF/VHF/FM TV Antenna
* 84 Active Electronic Elements
* 180" Boom Length
* Max Width: 112"
* Vertical Height: 38"
* Turning Radius: 102"
* UHF Range: 60+ Miles (Ch. 14 - 69)
* VHF Low Range: 100+ Miles (Ch. 2 - 6)
* VHF High Range: 100+ Miles (Ch. 7 - 13)

Mast mounted 40 Ft. sets at 1877 Ft elevation Direction Slightly Southeast

optimal signal strength for capture on all available channels . Connections

Ultra clean silicone sealed W/ rubber boots .

RG-6 cable run Approximately 77 Ft one splitter at TV / FM receiver

short run 3 FT. of RG- 59 too FM ; NO Signal Amplifiers .

Don't cut and past ad-copy crap, just provide concise answers to the specific questions posed.

Need the TVfool plot, still....

A single antenna is a poor choice for the majority of the San Diego area because of the 3 distinct broadcast sites. At a minimum, one should consider a VHF high antenna for KGTV/KFMB and a UHF antenna for the rest of the American broadcasts. A separate UHF antenna may also be needed for XETV/CW 6 and the other Mexican broadcasts.

The Antenna isn't the problem an it's both as good as they get .

Prior to installing the new one I had two large separate UHF an VHF/FM

antennas they actually were worse . It's the digital broadcast which

breaks up and 98% of the time 9:30-10:00 PM 39 15 or 51 some times 69

however with far less frequency . What relevancy is the TV ?

Since you're not providing all the specific info requested, in particular the TVFool.com info, it's unlikely we can help.

As noted, due to the different locations the towers are, a single antenna probably won't be sufficient. Maybe a rotor would work.

Valley Center is pretty far inland and potentially a good ways into the mountains/hills. It would be helpfully to go to www.tvfool.com and plug in your address to see what your reception looks like.

Just using "Valley Center, CA" as an address, the best channels available appeared to be the high band VHF channels, CBS and ABC out of La Jolla. The Mount San Miguel channels such as PBS, NBC, Fox and KUSI looked pretty challenging.

The TV is relevant because newer DTV tuners may be able get a signal lock in considerable more challenging multipath environments. As for the antenna that you listed being "as good as they get", I'm not sure that's the case...

Samsung HDTV LED ( New less than a month old ) It also didn't make any

difference with my 1 year old Samsung LCD TV or My Sony .

Current data base ALL CHANNELS 40 Ft.including LA Area .

Antenna is at 172 degrees / I'm open for antenna suggestions ?.

Convert my Old C band 12 Ft. dish an hoist it skyward ?

It sets about 20 Ft behind my pole mounted antenna . All bases are

set into Solid Rock an 3 cable guide wire stable . I did have a rotor set up

it didn't help other than directional for LA which I could care less about .

One of the main reasons I chose this particular antenna as it had 84

elements and excellent gain 110/65 miles and being at

1877 Ft. above Sea Level I'm up above most obstacles .

Do Swaying tree limbs affect digital signals , Say 40 Yards away ? Never mind looks as if

I'll be chain sawing 3-4 tree tops this afternoon !.Hope that will cure it ?.

If your signal analysis looks like this:
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...a362625178cad3
then you have some hills in the way.
You could try without the splitter and if that helps, try an antenna preamp.

I have a clear line of sight to the transmitters and never have signal drop outs so it is not a station or network problem.

DocCarbon,

If you haven't thrown away your separate UHF and VHF antennas, you might want to mount the UHF antenna as high as possible on your antenna mount and point it optimally for Mt. San Miguel reception. La Jolla reception should be much easier.

Use a UHF-VHF separator-joiner to combine the UHF and VHF antennas. Hollands and some of the other guys here in the San Diego area are pretty knowledgeable about over the air reception.

Thanks Guys I'll give your suggestions a try . Cutting trees didn't help

at all . 39 is by far the worst offender . So use a separate UHF Antenna with

my current antenna ( Old stuff is GONE recycled scrap ) then use a

UHF-VHF separator-joiner to combine the UHF and VHF antennas .

Or will I now need to purchase a NEW VHF antenna as well ?.

I never had a problem with Analog signals only the digital .

I can ( on a Clear day ) see Coronado and San Clemente Islands from our

house although I know where Mt. San Miguel is I can't see it .

I have a preamp antenna booster that I could try .

ProjectSHO89 SORRY ! My ignorance is an was showing , I didn't even pickup

on TVFool.com ,as I thought it was a smart remark . I again apologize for

my mistake !.

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...a362cca2e500e7

This is what I now have or as near as I can tell ;

AntennaCraft HD1850 Heavy Duty VHF UHF FM HD TV Antenna (HD1850)

Will the above antenna work in conjunction with a New UHF set up such as below , or am I whistling

Dixie ?. Antennas Direct 42XG UHF HD TV Antenna (42XG) ?.

No one thinks it's suspicious that he has trouble at a consistent time of day? Also, he's far enough north that all 3 San Diego locations are within a tight radius. Just pointing his antenna 'south' (as he is) should be sufficient, I would think.

DocCarbon, does your TV have a 'Signal Strength' meter? I believe it would really be more of a signal-to-noise reading than a 'strength' reading, but still it would be interesting to know if your normal reception is 100% or 51%

re your antenna, it looks like it's a large yagi,
http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp...0Antennas&sku=

In my personal experience (fyi - I am not a radio engineer!) bow-tie antennas are much better at UHF. Here's the large Antennacraft U-8000 bow-tie model,
http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp...0Antennas&sku=

Comparing the two by their UHF specs:
1850 = 10dB gain, 13.7 dB front-to-back (directionality)
8000 = 12dB gain, 17.3 dB front-to-back (directionality)

Doesn't seem like a big difference on paper?

No one thinks it's suspicious that he has trouble at a consistent time of day? Also, he's far enough north that all 3 San Diego locations are within a tight radius. Just pointing his antenna 'south' (as he is) should be sufficient, I would think.

An why don't I lose them in the day time ? . I don't watch TV during the day

but when I have , I've had NO ISSUES with dropped signal at all .

Here's a good one since the new season has begun

I haven't lost any signals ???. Now admittedly We haven't

been watching 39 ,as I'm not interested in their program schedule other than

SVU . I'm more than willing to purchase additional or better OTA antenna's

but want to make ABSOLUTELY SURE it's going to work prior to doing so .

First thing you need is to use a MAST-MOUNTED Preamp, such as CM7777,
which will improve your sensitivity by close to 10 dB. A Distribution Amp
located in your home will NOT provide this level of improvement.

It is also possible that the RG-6 downlead has deteriorated due to moisture
getting into the cable (even if it isn't very old). You should run a new RG-6
downlead (even if temporary) to see if it makes a difference.....
Be sure to use COAX-SEAL on the connectors to keep out moisture....those
rubber boots probably don't provide a tight seal....

And if your antenna uses a standard 4:1 300/75-ohm Balun, REPLACE it
with a new, LOW-LOSS, Outdoor Balun from either Philips or Channel-Master.

FYI: Spec sheet for Antennacraft HD-1850:
http://www.antennacraft.net/pdfs/HD1850.pdf
So although it is a very good VHF antenna, the UHF performance is only so-so.
If the Preamp isn't enough, you might consider adding a UHF-Only antenna
(8-Bay, 91XG, etc), which can be connected directly to the UHF Input on the
CM7777, while the old antenna is connected to the VHF Input port....or replace
the HD-1850 with a YA-1713.

Thank You ; Your advice noted an will be implemented , right after heat wave

blows through and I'll post back the results . Doc ...

@ holl_ands,
Is this what you do for a living? :smile:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhtgsAXmz7U

That UTube video was taken down due to copyright complaint....

PS: I've been RETIRED for several years now....allowing me to spend time on what
I WANT to work on....and no more pesky managers, budgets & schedules...

holl_ands,

Any good local sources for COAX-SEAL? I'm getting ready to buy a stripper and compression tool and replace my mishmash of RCA audio cables and cobbled together antenna downleads with some decent cabling and connectors.

By the way, should I use silicone dielectric gel in addition to the COAX-SEAL to make sure that no water gets into the connector?

Finally, any good local sources for the Phillips or old American-made Channelmaster outdoor baluns? I want to buy best in class gear, but it seems like most of the stuff at Radioshack and Willy's Electronics is a little cheap in build quality as well as price. Then again, ordering $5 products off the internet and paying almost that much in shipping and handling is a bit of a pain.

I've seen Philips Baluns at Lowes and C-M Baluns at Fry's....but no guarantees they still have them.

Let your fingers do the walking:
http://www.ac6v.com/sandiego.htm

Anyone care to comment re suitability of Silicon Dielectric Gel?????

Well as promised I'm posting back results ; Sort of !.

Chock this up to strange occurrences ;

Since posting a couple of weeks back
about not being able to retain signal on a couple of channels and having them frag out at particular times of the evening . I was all set to order extra UHF antenna the special coupler and the mast pre amp . Then the new season started , an I waited so as to see what I would be missing .

NOW NOT LOSING SIGNAL ON ANY CHANNEL at any time !.
WTH is going on ???.

Now I'm not BS ing EVERY channel has come in crystal clear even in the wind

rain clouds or bone dry weather .
Where is Sherlock Holmes when you need him !? .

FYI ;My RG-6 cable is inside a buried pvc pipe an the RG-59 cable has one splice from the antenna too the RG-6 , all connections were thoroughly
clean tight sealed with RTV silicone and rubber boot slipped over both of the connections .

I never touched them only look inspected the connections , so that had no bearing on original reception problems !.

Hi, I did read through most of these pages but did not find a clear QAM setting for TBS HD. I'm on Cox South. I can watch 733 on the Cox cable box, but this is for the garage PC w/ tuner card. I have the other channels you would expect:
* 75.1 = Mi San Diego (SD)
* 75.2 = ABC HD
* 75.3 = NBC 7/39 Weather Plus (SD)
* 75.4 = NBC HD
* 79.2 = KPBS (SD)
* 79.3 = FOX HD
* 79.5 = PBS HD
* 91.2 = CW HD
* 91.3 = CBS HD

Any hope of watching some of the baseball playoff games?

Thank you very much.

Bill

In HD? Not until FOX gets involved. Try analog SD on channel 33.

OK, good to know - thanks. Yeah, have been watching on 33, but I think we would all agree the picture is crap once you get used to HD.

What's up with the short fat people on This TV San Diego? Does anyone have a decent contact in the engineering department at KSWB so we can turn off the stretch-o-vision? Surely Fox 5 San Diego wouldn't use stretch-o-vision on local weathergirl Chrissy Russo to produce a short, fat weathergirl. Why butcher programming on your new subchannel?

The frequently asked questions on This TV's national web site say that they send out a 4x3 SD signal; it appears that our local Tribune station is stretching the content. (They also haven't told sister company Tribune Media Services to add This TV's programming to the database that TiVo, Windows Media Center, and Zap2It use.)

If I really wanted to I could use my own TV or set top box to stretch This TV to fit a 16:9 screen. However, I cannot undo a stretch and distort that the local affiliate inflicts on its programming.

KSWB will add Antenna TV in Jaunary as a sub-channel according to rumors.

Nice. KSWB is listed on their site:

http://www.wgnamerica.com/shows/antenna/