[ultimate]

I finally got in my Channel Master 4228 8-bay UHF bowtie antenna and also my 8VSB module for the Dish 6000. I'm going to be putting it up next weekend, but couldn't resist playing around with it today.


First, I tried to see if I could see anything looking through a screen window, but had zero success. Not surprising since I figured the screen mesh on the storm window and even the aluminum frame would cause problems. Then I took it outside the front door, put it on a 10-foot high tripod and pointed in the general direction of the TV antenna farm 45 miles away.


I was able to "get" all the UHF stations I'm supposed to with snow and audio. I also pointed it in the general direction of a low power station located about two miles away and it was the same story -- snow and audio.


Should I expect more given that the bottom of the antenna was only about seven feet off the ground? I was planning to mount it on the side of my house, which would put the top of the antenna at about 25 feet.


The biggest concent is that the house is located about 100 feet from some major power lines that run along the side of my street. In order to get the one DTV station broadcasting, I will have to point the antenna through the lines, but there are no major obstacles for more than a mile. Do you think the power lines will just be a deal killer for this application? If they are causing interference, is there any way around that particular problem?


Thanks,


Dennis


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Dennis Whiteman

FastPipe Media, Inc.

 

[thomasb]

I am able to get good UHF reception looking through power lines

about 70-80 feet in front of my antenna. The angle between my line

of sight and the power lines is about 60 degrees.


Height is important and you need to avoid trees too. I moved up

from a Winegard CA-9065 to CA-9085 which helped a lot.

 

[ultimate]

That's encouraging. I can go up to roughly 25 feet without actually installing on the roof -- about five feet above the gutter using wall mounts. If I decide to buy a tripod for the roof, the antenna will likely be about 35 feet off the ground.


The angles sound almost identical to what I'm facing. Do you have an amplifier? How far are you from the towers?


Thanks,


Dennis


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Dennis Whiteman

FastPipe Media, Inc.

 

[TomM]

I'm pointing my radioshack double bowtie right through three sets of high voltage powerlines at antennas about 30 miles away from a second story window and I get all the digital UHF stations crystal clear.


Which brings me to my next question. Are you tuning in digital or analog stations? To my knowledge the digital stations are an all or nothing deal. If you are getting "snow" you must be tuning into the analog channels? Just wondering.

 

[Bob Smith]

Good thing 8VSB is the broadcast standard. It rejects power line interference much better than COFDM.


I agree, in your location height is everything. The power lines should cause no problems at all.


Bob Smith

 

[ultimate]

I didn't even get a signal in the DTV setup window for channel 27, which is 45 miles away, so I was mostly checking to see how well I could get analog signals. The analog and digital signals are similarly situated so quality of the analog signals should be some indicator of whether I can receive the digital signal.


Keep in mind that this was a quick test with the bottom of the antenna at about seven feet. Next week, I'm going to raise it up to the point where I hope to mount it. If I get no signal from channel 27, then I'll have to consider an amplifier...


I also need to call the local engineer today so I can determine whether they're broadcasting 24/7...


Dennis


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Dennis Whiteman

FastPipe Media, Inc.