HEY DISH, got yer ears on???

[whatchel1]

I am currently running a Winegard HD-8200 (14 foot long) and Antennacraft XG91 through a Channel Master 7777 preamp. The problem is not signal. All of my HDTV's get plenty of signal even though I am about 50 miles from tower in miserable OTA location. When watching OTA on any of my HDTV's without the sat receiver in the chain there is no problem, it is only with my VIP722 and VIP612 that there are occasional "dropouts" even though SS is very high and steady. I attribute this to poor quality tuners. I guess I should not complain because the tuners don't cost extra (well maybe figured into the price of unit) and DISH does not charge extra for OTA, but if I could purchase a higher quality tuner and install it I would be over the top thankful. That's all I'm saying.

Sounds more like multipath problems to me. That is the reflection someone mentioned above. Also the Hi VHF channels have (9 & 10 get it worse) due to harmonics of FM stations that are much stronger than the OTA digital signals.

 

[david_jr]

Thanks for the input. Yes I understand there are multipath problems and I do use an FM trap on the CM7777. I am still baffled at the difference in performance on my 5 HDTV's own internal digital TV tuners and one Channel Master STB tuner and the tuners in my 2 DISH VIP sat receivers. I can watch OTA for hours on end, on any of the TVs through their internal tuner (sat box turned off) and never see a dropout. If I record just one of the same OTA channels through one of my VIP boxes and watch it, I almost never get a dropout free recording. Somehow my HDTV's are able to keep the signal on for hours at a time without a dropout, but not the sat boxes. I understand that I am in a difficult OTA location. Very mountainous here and I'm a long way from the tower over rugged terrain. Somehow all of my TV's (brand new to 4 yrs old) outperform the DISH equipment and I suspect it is the quality of the tuners. I could be wrong though, but it is still frustrating.

 

[Jhon69]

Thanks for the input. Yes I understand there are multipath problems and I do use an FM trap on the CM7777. I am still baffled at the difference in performance on my 5 HDTV's own internal digital TV tuners and one Channel Master STB tuner and the tuners in my 2 DISH VIP sat receivers. I can watch OTA for hours on end, on any of the TVs through their internal tuner (sat box turned off) and never see a dropout. If I record just one of the same OTA channels through one of my VIP boxes and watch it, I almost never get a dropout free recording. Somehow my HDTV's are able to keep the signal on for hours at a time without a dropout, but not the sat boxes. I understand that I am in a difficult OTA location. Very mountainous here and I'm a long way from the tower over rugged terrain. Somehow all of my TV's (brand new to 4 yrs old) outperform the DISH equipment and I suspect it is the quality of the tuners. I could be wrong though, but it is still frustrating.

Then you may try to think in reverse?.What I mean by that is we have always been told the higher the antenna the better,well somewhere at your place, at a certain height, is the sweet spot your looking for.I use to run my antennas at 25 to 35 feet,but this new antenna I'm using is mounted no higher than my 1K.4WA dish and it's in front of it,in fact it's a little lower(reason: severe crossing signal issues overhead.

So unless you have already tried your antenna at different heights that is what I would suggest and maybe you will be able to find that sweet spot you need for the best performance at your residence.Good Luck!