I've had my 942 for about a month now and i love it. Went out and bought an OTA antenna to pick up HD locals. First tried the Terk indoor HDTVi and it worked ok. Had some trouble picking up ABC but it eventually came in. I could never get UPN to come in at all. I was also loosing signal a lot. Figured I would try the Zenith Silver Sensor. This antenna seems to be a little better. Channels are more stable, but I still can't get a signal from UPN. I live in spring TX about 35 miles away from the antenna farm and near the airport. I still figure I should be able to get UPN. I can get every other station. Just wondering if anyone else has seen this.
942 OTA Help
- Thread starter srbigbutt
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The UPN transmitting tower may be in a slightly different location, or may be broadcasting at less power than the other stations. If you go to antennaweb.org, you will find all the information that you need to aim your antenna for your locality and which stations you can expect to receive.
IIRC, the 942 OTA is digital only right now.
Did you tell antennaweb to only show you digital transmitters?
Did you tell antennaweb to only show you digital transmitters?
Here is another thing to check: Is UPN broadcasting their digital signal on a UHF carrier like most other stations? You can find that out on Antennaweb.org too. If it is on VHF, your Zenith antenna probably would not receive it.
-Ken (in Beijing for now)
-Ken (in Beijing for now)
The only thing that I might add is that you probably could do better with a full-size outdoor UHF antenna, but I don't know if your situation will allow that. I first tried an indoor antenna and then put an outdoor antenna in the roof truss area of my garage, and the outdoor antenna was much better. As far as indoor antennas go, the Zenith unit that you have is one of the best from what I hear.
srbigbutt said:
Does your TV have an integrated HD tuner? If so, try connecting the antenna directly to the TV's OTA input. There are some people, myself included, who are experiencing significantly lower signal strength with the 942 than we are with other OTA tuners. My Voom STB and my integrated tuner are both performing better than the 942 at the moment. Hopefully, the 942 can be improved with a software update. If you want to follow the discussion we are having, see:
http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=41135
&
http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=41157
Unfortunately it does not have an integrated tuner. I don't understand how one second I have a 97 signal and then it disconnects with no signal and then goes back to 97. I'm new to this antenna thing so I don't know if its my area, weak antenna, or receiver. I think i'm going to order the Double bow tie antenna from Radio Shack.
srbigbutt said:
Have you checked AVS forums for your local area HD discussion yet? This is a great reference as every post is about your area. I am sure someone could help you out there. I am not sure what city's locals you are trying to receive, but here is a link to the forum. Once you are here, do a search to find your city.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=45
You might try a preamp. I have a weak local channel that I couldn't get with my antenna alone, but when I added a preamp I was able to get it.
With a peak signal strength of 97 I am doubtful that a better antenna will solve the problem, but I am new to this OTA stuff so I could easily be wrong. To me it sounds like either a setup issue, an OTA tuner issue or a station issue.
If I were having this problem, I would try to locate a different OTA tuner. If Voom decides to let their subscribers keep their leased STB's, you should be able to find a great deal on one. I have two leased STB's and if Voom doesn't want them back, I will be selling one. The Voom OTA tuner is better than the 942 as of now. I am very hopeful that a software update to the 942 will improve its performance...
If I were having this problem, I would try to locate a different OTA tuner. If Voom decides to let their subscribers keep their leased STB's, you should be able to find a great deal on one. I have two leased STB's and if Voom doesn't want them back, I will be selling one. The Voom OTA tuner is better than the 942 as of now. I am very hopeful that a software update to the 942 will improve its performance...
srbigbutt said:
I forgot that you weren't even getting a signal from UPN. The upgraded antenna should definitely help that issue. How far away are you from your UPN and is it in the same direction as your other locals?
srbigbutt said:
I agree completely. Luckily for me, the only channel that the 942 is having trouble with is PAX which I never watch. Although every other channel is weaker with the 942 than the Voom STB, they are still plenty strong to watch without problems. I am very lucky since I live about 5 miles from the towers(PAX is much further away).
If the 942 OTA tuner can not be improved via software upgrades, then I see a long list of people who will be selling theirs. Recording in HD OTA channels is the main reason I got the 942. Since Dish only has a few HD channels of their own, I don't think that I would pay extra for a HD-DVR for only a few channels.
I'm pretty far away from all the antennas. They are all around 35 miles away and they are all in the same direction. I pick them up all about the same signal strenth. Anywhere from 75-95 depending on where i put the antenna. What type of antenna would you recommend. Some type of roof or attic type??
srbigbutt said:
From what I have read, 35 miles is not very far and if they are transmitting at full power you should have no trouble getting them with a roof antenna. I have been told that an attic antenna will work, but you do lose a lot of signal so you usually get a larger antenna for your attic than you would if you mount it on the roof.
Have you checked to see what power level these stations are transmitting at?
As far a specific antenna recommendation, I have heard great things about the Channel Master 4228. Someone else could probably give more info than I can about which antenna to try. Keep in mind if your channels are transmitting on UHF or VHF since this will make a difference in which antenna you choose.
