Sometimes bigger isnt always better......and higher isnt always better

[Mr Tony]

So I've been tinkering with my antenna trying to keep the 43's (KMBD-LD) stable and without glitches. There were some issues with glitches but DTV America got those fixed (and rescanning fixed that too). But I learned something while trying this out

Bigger isnt always better
and higher isnt always better either

I remember in the analog days get a huge antenna and aim it as high as you can. Well with digital that is not always the case, I took my XG91 clone and put it as high on the pole as I could (which was probably 8-9 feet up) and the signal would crap out constantly. So I got mad and took it down and pretty much gave up.

So figured "I'll just slap up the 2 bay to get 23-4 (GetTV...which isnt on cable anymore)" so bolted it to the deck railing. When scanning I noticed that 43 came in BETTER on the 2 bay then what was on my giant XG91. Also 41 (KPXM Ion...which is about 80 degrees off the other stations) came in real good too. Hmmmmm....so did some testing

Put the mast on the deck railing so it was up probably 9 1/2-10 feet. Put 2 bay on top of mast with booster. Signal was "eh" but not the best. 52-54 on the Tivo HD (scale of 100). But as I slid it down the mast the signal got better. I have the 2 bay resting on top of the deck railing and it went up to almost 70. Interesting. Put the XG91 in that same spot and got 81-83 on channel 43 but 41 crapped out (50's)..the 2 bay shows 90+ on Ion.
But I know my apartment complex might throw a hissy seeing a huge antenna hanging off the deck (and my neighbor if they looked out their window would see it too)

So right now I put the stubby mast and have the 2 bay resting on the deck railing and all the stations are working fine on the Tivo and the TV. This is mainly set up to record a few stations that are not on cable (Cozi, Laff, GetTV) and to view the subs on Ion like Qubo and IonLife.

So if you're having issues with a station, try moving it up and down the mast. The results might surprise you
(some pics...the 2 with the neutered VHF on top I might put back up. But NBC11 works fine on the 2 bay and FOX9 has a signal on UHF too. Buzzr is what I would miss on RF9 but its on cable)

 

[. Raine]

I had similar here, when I put up the HD8200U a few years back. I initially had it 6' above the peak of the roof and it performed only a little better than the DB4 antenna, was one of those what the hell moments. I lowered it down to a foot above the peak and that's where it works best, great signal. With the DB4 though, a foot or so above the peak was crappy and higher worked better on it, go figure.

 

[Mr Tony]

I know when I lived at the lake house the VHF antenna (for KCCW 12) had to be right near the top of the tripod. If I put it as high up on the mast as I could the signal would crap out

Another oddball thing is I tried a 4 bay (well it was the solid signal 8 bay but one half broke so I made it a 4 bay) and the 2 bay I have was BETTER...

 

[larrykenney]

This stuff is what makes playing with antennas so much fun!

 

[Mr Tony]

looks like at the peak of sunlight the signal drops down to about 60 but at night it goes back up to 70/71 on the TIvo

was nice to record 2 hours of Night Court and 2 hours of Baywatch with very minimal glitches

 

[Mr Tony]

This stuff is what makes playing with antennas so much fun!

very true!
Although I miss playing with it at the lake house....or my old house. kinda limited here at the apartment

 

[Mr Tony]

So I just spent the last hour or so trying out different antennas to see what would give me the most options and the most signal.,......and its weird

antennas tried
-Eagle Aspen 2 bay
-Solid Signal XG91 clone (last piece of antenna removed so its not so long)
-AntennaCraft HBU22

All in same spot on mast and hooked up to the Radio Shack amp. Numbers are from the Tivo Series 3 and go from 0-100. I wait until the numbers stabilize before moving on. I do not have RF9 or RF11 included as only the HBU22 truly has VHF elements....and its not a big deal as those stations are on cable too. Mainly wanted it for 23-4 (GetTV...which isnt on cable anymore), 41-X (Ion mux) and 43-X (for Laff and Cozi)

Its interesting the differences in some of the numbers. With the HDB91X if I turn the antenna about 15 degrees then Ion (RF40) comes in at 92-93 but 43 cuts way down to mid 50's and every now and then pixelate. I also had a 4 bay (well it was an 8 bay but some of the elements broke so its now a 4 bay) and the numbers were a little better or similar to the 2 bay except 43 which stayed around 61-62.

I'm going to do some more comparing between the 2 bay and the 91X but I might have to switch it out. I like the programming on Cozi and Laff and it sucks when it pixels because of the wind