[housecor]

I have an Zenith SS connected to my TH-42PD25U/P and can't figure out a way to get all the available digital stations in my area scanned into memory because my antenna can't pick up all stations from a single location. I have to aim it in slightly different directions to get a few of the signals. This Panny doesn't allow me to manually add channels it can't find on the initial scan so I keep only getting a subset of the available channels added to memory.


Do you guys have a tip on how to get all the available channels into memory? Do other sets make this process easier by allowing you to manually add channels? This is maddening.

 

[Paul Bigelow]

Have the manual instructions on page 37 (bottom) been consulted? It appears that channels can be scanned and manually added and deleted.


Online manual here:

http://service.us.panasonic.com/OPERMANPDF/TH37PD25.PDF (used for the 42" as well)


Paul

 

[jph]

I posed this question last week but no one had a solution.


I have yet to figure out how to add digital channels manually. My antenna is pointed in the correct direction (I'm able to tune the stations with my Dish 6000 receiver).


I'm hoping that someone has a solution.


-john

 

[housecor]

Quote:

Originally posted by Paul Bigelow Have the manual instructions on page 37 (bottom) been consulted? It appears that channels can be scanned and manually added and deleted. Online manual here: http://service.us.panasonic.com/OPERMANPDF/TH37PD25.PDF (used for the 42" as well) Paul

Yes, I saw this on page 37 of the manual, however, you can only add channels that were found on the initial scan. And if another scan is performed, the channels found on the previous scan are overwritten so there's no way to add to the list by scanning again. I (and apparently jph as well) need a way to manually add channels it didn't find in the initial scan.

 

[Paul Bigelow]

I have the Panasonic TU-DST52F, the last version of their OTA HD tuners. If I manually tune in a station and press info, not only am I presented with the station info, but also the ability to select to add and remove channels.


See pages 21 and 30. It looks like channels can be added to a "Favorites" list with this method using the "Recall" button.

 

[housecor]

Paul - Thanks for the quick response. Interesting - It appears I can directly select a digital channel and add it to my favorites using the recall button, but what is still unclear is whether this adds the station to memory so it will display as I'm surfing outside of favorities. I overlooked this on my initial read of the manual. Can't wait to try this as soon as I get home to see if it adds the station to the standard channel list as well. Again, thanks for the input!

 

[Bob Pariseau]

Another solution is to temporarily borrow a second antenna from a friend and hook them up together via an antenna splitter/coupler widget. Then you point the two antennas in different directions and do your scan.


In fact some folks who have strong enough signals to be able to use small antennas, leave two antennas hooked up all the time so they don't have to futz with rotating a single antenna.


The HDTV equipment forums here will undoubtedly be able to offer you expert advice on such hacks.


But in your case it probably IS easier to figure out how to manually add stations after a scan. The HDTV equipment forum will likely also have more people with experience regarding specific HDTV tuners such as the DISH tuner.

--Bob

 

[housecor]

Bob - That's a great idea that I plan on implementing anyway since we have one VHF station here the SS won't pick up.


If Paul's suggestion doesn't allow me to add the channels manually, then I'm going for a goofier route: Hold the antenna in the air during scan and reaim to the proper directions as it scans each channel. Fun.

 

[PanamaMike]

Would it be possible to employ multiple antennas for one tunner? That is, have the two antennas combined with some sort of splitter device. Would this increase the signal power or is it just not worth it.


Mike

 

[Joxer]

You can use an RF combiner avaiable at Radio Shack, its basically a 2way splitter in reverse and accepts two RF coax inputs (from 2 antennas) and outputs a combined RF coax output. However in some cases the 2 antennas can cause multipath interference if they both receive the same channel but shifted in time/phase.

 

[PanamaMike]

Is this a problem that makes this approach impractical?


Mike