Poor television reception

Hi...

Wrong cable impedance? (59/75/300, etc)

Don't know the antenna, but no balun at the head end?

Ken

What is a "balun"? What is the "head end"?

Hi...

Balun is silly talk for balanced/unbalanced... the little transformer that connects the 300 ohm antenna to the (hopefully)

75 ohm coax.

The head end is silly talk for the antenna proper...

Ken

The antenna has a 300-ohm matching transformer to which is attached the

75-ohm round coax cable.

Hi, Art:

According to the support-people at Terk (the manufacturer of the antenna) "The TV38 is more than enough antenna for where you are".

The coax cable runs from the antenna to an antenna amplifier (about 20' away) then out to the TV.

Gary

Art wrote:

professionally.

the

are there hills or mountains in the 50 mile path to Mt Wilson?

what kind of reception do your neighbors get and what kind of ant are they using?

what kind of reception do you get with the rabbit ears?

How is your FM radio reception from Mt Wilson in the car or at home?

Mark

First, replace the 300-ohm transformer. Half of the baluns that come in antenna kits these days are bad (Channel Master, Jerrold, Winegard...rotten quality baluns) Second, bypass the amp. If signal/picture improves, the amp is toast. You can get 75 0hm barrels at Rat Shack, or any electropnics store. Third, if you wired the cabling up, make sure you havent shorted out the coax connector. Check all coax connectors. LOOK CLOSELY! One tiny strand of wire, between the center (copper) conductor, and the wire mesh shield, and its toast, and everything goes to hell. If someone else wired it up, or you bought it refab, check the connectors anyway. Fourth, if you have a small, portable television, and a long extension cord, take it up and hook it directly to the antenna, and see how much snow you have. Fifth, how is the cabling run? Has some moron put a staple thru it? Staples will not only kill your signal, but they could short out the power to the amp, and blow up the power supply. Sixth, is the amp a two piece unit? If so, is the power supply, usually down in the house, plugged in? Seventh, take the Terk back, and buy a real antenna.

Here is a homemade balun page link...

It gives you an idea. Try looking up more on baluns on google.

On 1 Apr 2005 07:43:18 -0800, snipped-for-privacy@co.riverside.ca.us put finger to keyboard and composed:

The best location for a masthead amp is on the mast. ;-)

- Franc Zabkar

--
Please remove one 's' from my address when replying by email.

How much do you lose in 20' though?

--
N

On Sat, 02 Apr 2005 23:20:17 GMT, "NSM" put finger to keyboard and composed:

Attenuation data for RG-59 B/U:

MHz dB/100 feet ----- ----------- 1 .6 10 1.1 50 2.4 100 3.4 200 4.9 400 7.0 700 9.7 900 11.1 1000 12.0

At 500MHz the attenuation is about 8dB/100'. Over 20' there would be a

1.6dB loss. This doesn't sound like much, but in my case a 3dB loss means the difference between an excellent picture and an unwatchable one. This 3dB loss results when I try to add a second TV to an unamplified antenna feed via a 2-way splitter.

In any case, the question has to be asked, if the loss is insignificant, then why aren't all antenna amps installed behind the TV, or under the roof away from the weather?

- Franc Zabkar

--
Please remove one 's' from my address when replying by email.

Cos you're in Oz mate, not in the US. Sometimes people have to put the antenna on a mountain 2000 feet away. Other times you have to snake cable down 300 feet of wiring closet in some building. You have to choose the way to do the job.

--
N

You can cut those losses in half with Belden 1694. Freq MHz loss dB/100' 1 0.24 3.58 0.45 5 0.54 10 0.72 100 1.84 540 4.25 750 5.00 1000 5.89 1500 7.33 2000 8.57 2250 9.14 3000 10.67 This is a partial copy from the Belden catalog.

If there are no mountains blocking the line of sight path, 50 miles shouldn't be a problem for a good antenna. Personally I'm partial to Winegard units. For 50 miles I'd use an amplifier directly on the biggest antenna I can install/afford to boost before the cable losses. The 1694 was the lowest loss cable I found in RG-6 size. I use it for my OTA HDTV. I'm only 35 miles out so I can use the SquareShooter (DTV is all UHF in LA). GG

I live in Riverside, CA (about 50 miles east of Los Angeles).

I do not have a cable system nor a satellite ("dish") system.

Except for small "dish"-type antennas, the condo-rules allow "yagi"-type antennas only in the attic of each house. But, knowing how much signal is lost by attic-installation, my Terk TV38 antenna is laying on a flat roof (so it's not too conspicuous to the condo-board). A coax cable runs across the roof for 15 feet, goes down 4 feet into the attic and is connected to a Radio Shack signal amplifier. A coax cable goes from the amplifier, through the attic for about 30 feet to the TV set.

Here are the channels I get:

Note: KVCR 24's broadcast tower has a compass orientation of 51 degrees and is 9 miles from my house. The towers for all of the other channels have a compass orientation of 287 degrees and are 43 miles from my house.

Call sign Network Channel Reception Rating *

KCBS CBS 2 F KNBC NBC 4 G KTLA WB 5 E KABC ABC 7 E KCAL IND 9 F KTTV FOX 11 P KCOP UPN 13 P KVCR PBS 24 P KCET PBS 28 F KOCE PBS 50 E KDOC IND 56 G KLCS PBS 58 E

• Reception ratings: E = excellent (crystal clear) G = slight snow F = moderate snow P = can't see picture

Any suggestions on what I can do to get better reception?

I live in Riverside, CA (about 50 miles east of Los Angeles).

I do NOT have a cable system nor a satellite ("dish") system.

Except for small "dish"-type antennas, the condo-rules allow "yagi"-type antennas only in the attic of each house. But, knowing how much signal is lost by attic-installation, my Terk TV38 antenna is laying on a flat roof (so it's not too conspicuous to the condo-board). A coax cable runs across the roof for 15 feet, goes down 4 feet into the attic and is connected to a Radio Shack signal amplifier. A coax cable then goes from the amplifier, through the attic for about 30 feet to the TV set.

Here are the channels I get:

Note: KVCR 24's tower has a compass orientation of 51 degrees and is 9 miles from my house. The towers for all of the other channels have a compass orientation of 287 degrees and are 43 miles from my house.

Call Sign Network Channel Picture Quality *

KCBS CBS 2 F KNBC NBC 4 G KTLA WB 5 E KABC ABC 7 E KCAL IND 9 F KTTV FOX 11 P KCOP UPN 13 P KVCR PBS 24 P KCET PBS 28 F KOCE PBS 50 E KDOC IND 56 G KLCS PBS 58 E

• Reception ratings: E = excellent (crystal clear) G = slight snow F = moderate snow P = can't see picture

Any suggestions on what I can do to get better reception?

I live in Riverside, CA (about 50 miles east of Los Angeles).

I do NOT have a cable system nor a satellite ("dish") system.

Except for small "dish"-type antennas, the condo-rules allow "yagi"-type antennas only in the attic of each house. But, knowing how much signal is lost by attic-installation, my Terk TV38 antenna is laying on a flat roof (so it's not too conspicuous to the condo-board).

A coax cable runs across the roof for 15 feet, goes down 4 feet into the attic and is connected to a Radio Shack signal amplifier. A coax cable then goes from the amplifier, through the attic for about 30 feet to the TV set.

Here are the channels I get:

Note: KVCR 24's tower has a compass orientation of 51 degrees and is 9 miles from my house. The towers for all of the other channels have a compass orientation of 287 degrees and are 43 miles from my house.

Call Sign Network Channel Picture Quality *

KCBS CBS 2 F KNBC NBC 4 G KTLA WB 5 E KABC ABC 7 E KCAL IND 9 F KTTV FOX 11 P KCOP UPN 13 P KVCR PBS 24 P KCET PBS 28 F KOCE PBS 50 E KDOC IND 56 G KLCS PBS 58 E

• Reception ratings: E = excellent (crystal clear) G = slight snow F = moderate snow P = can't see picture

Any suggestions on what I can do to get better reception?

[snip]

I have no experience (quality) with this specific TV antenna product (Terk

38). Having lived in a deep fringe (90 - 110 mile) area for 20 years - and only a few miles from the Winegard factory -- I only purchase Winegard antenna products.

You really need to get this yagi to have a clear shot at the horizon (LA broadcast towers).

You could complain to the condo association or suggest that they lower the association fees to cover the monthly costs of satellite dishes for all condo residents. The "discrimination" of the rules against on-air TV (decent signal and future HDTV) is unlawful. One antenna could serve the entire building (MATV)

If you don't want to petition or fight it, then you chose to live there -- with these covenants.

gb

Here is US LAW .. provide this to your condo association attorney. Section 207 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, FCC web site

You should exercise point #3 below. Q: What types of antennas are covered by the rule?

A: The rule applies to the following types of antennas:

(1) A "dish" antenna that is one meter (39.37") or less in diameter (or any size dish if located in Alaska) and is designed to receive direct broadcast satellite service, including direct-to-home satellite service, or to receive or transmit fixed wireless signals via satellite.

(2) An antenna that is one meter or less in diameter or diagonal measurement and is designed to receive video programming services via broadband radio service (wireless cable) or to receive or transmit fixed wireless signals other than via satellite.

(3) An antenna that is designed to receive local television broadcast signals. Masts higher than 12 feet above the roofline may be subject to local permitting requirements.

In addition, antennas covered by the rule may be mounted on "masts" to reach the height needed to receive or transmit an acceptable quality signal (e.g. maintain line-of-sight contact with the transmitter or view the satellite). Masts higher than 12 feet above the roofline may be subject to local permitting requirements for safety purposes. Further, masts that extend beyond an exclusive use area may not be covered by this rule.

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gb