Getting ready to watch LENO in HD....first night with the new setup. Can't wait!!!
Congrats! You will LOVE IT! I hope you can get more of your locals but understand that even one is GREAT!
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Took matter into my own hands!!!
- Thread starter Jimmy J
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Congrats! You will LOVE IT! I hope you can get more of your locals but understand that even one is GREAT!
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Do you get a blip of a signal for the other networks? If your 811 is stuck at 49% for those you might be able to get them with a newer tuner.
I'm also curious to how your analog reception looks.
I'm also curious to how your analog reception looks.
How'd you know? WETK-PBS (32) varies from 40-49, but usually stays put at 49. WFFF-FOX (43) & WCAX-CBS (53) only a 49 blip every 30-45 seconds.
If I'm not mistaken, doesn't the 811 have a 4th gen. tuner? I know there are 5th gen. tuners out there now, but the 4th gen's are no slouches.
Haven't tried the analog channels. Really don't want them.
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I only ask about analog becuase the digital signal is supposed to replicate the coverage area of the analog signal. You can also use it to see if you are getting multipath.
I've owned several OTA tuners and my 811 is the weakest, I don't know what generation it has but I think its too old to have a 4th gen. Usually my 811 will be stuck at 49% when my tv's tuner can decode the signal.
I've owned several OTA tuners and my 811 is the weakest, I don't know what generation it has but I think its too old to have a 4th gen. Usually my 811 will be stuck at 49% when my tv's tuner can decode the signal.
i have the 4228 gettin OTA 75 miles from raleigh stations and my friend has 4228 getting raleigh stations from 85 miles away all in the 70's-90's..sometimes even 100%
That's certainly possible, but what is the terrain like between you and the towers? How about from your buddies place to the towers? I'm willing to bet not much in the way of obstructions like hils/mountains.
Update:
Yup, just as I suspected. Just Google Earthed your location to the Raleigh area...flat as a friggin' pancake. That's why your able to pull the stations in without any problems. Much different terrain up here in New England!
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Like hpman247, I'm about 75 mi. from Raleigh (27870 zip). I'm tired of waiting to get HD locals through E* (ABC/PBS don't count in my book) but shudder at switching to D* just to get CBS. I don't have a problem installing the OTA antenna but the wife won't like the idea of a big antenna and pole on the roof. Any ideas about what kind of reception loss I would expect to get if tried mounting it in the attic(single-story)? Any suggestions on what antenna/pre-amp to to purchase? My TV doesn't have an HD tuner so I'm probably going to upgrade my package from the AEP-SD to the Top250 HD w/ DVR Advantage (I currently have a 522).
Any advice would be appreciated.
Any advice would be appreciated.
I've read that putting an antenna in an attic cuts the signal strength in half. That said the only way to know if it will work is to try
wparrot,
It's pretty much like the previous post states....expect about 50% drop in signal strength if not more for an attic install due to the roofing materials, and foil backed insulation, rafters, etc., it all cuts signals significantly. It would help a little if there's a window that you could shoot out of towards the towers, but if your really serious about the possibility of getting OTA reception... I'd go for an outdoor install with as much height as possible...especially at that distance!!! Use a good quality RG-6 coax, a good mast mounted pre-amp like the CM7777.
You wouldn't necessarily have to put it on the roof. You could mount the antenna anywhere...corner of the yard, out by the shed, on top of the shed, barn, you name it. As long as you have a fairly unobstructed path to the towers.
The good thing is that at your locale, your terrain is fairly flat...a definite plus! Go for an outdoor install!!!
It's a lot easier to ask the wife for forgiveness than it is to ask for her permission! Just do it, ask for forgiveness, then shower her with gifts, flowers, and a card or two. Then after she see's her shows in HD, she'll forget there's even an antenna out there!
I was in the same boat as far as the wife was concerned. She shuddered at the idea of putting an antenna up on the roof, but I did it anyway, and now that she's seen the results, it's moot! Besides what do you watch more the exterior of the house or the tv? And as far as neighbors...to hell with them. If they don't like it, they don't have to look at it!
It's completely doable. Although I haven't programmed them in on my 622 yet, I did have two Dallas stations on my old Dish 6000. The towers were approximately 120 miles from my location. I used the Channel Master 4228 and a cheap amp from Rat Shack. I could only pull in the stations after the sun set, but I could get NBC in HD. Our local NBC refuses to go HD and only went digital very recently with a crappy signal. If you are willing to invest the time and energy into it, you can stations in from amazing distances.
The 811's tuner certainly is the weakest I've encountered as well. However, my experiences are with a Zenith ATSC standalone STB, a Dish 6000 8VSB ATSC tuner, the 811 ATSC tuner, and now the 622 tuner. The 622 is definately the best. I actually was able to get three extra stations coming from a 90 degree rotation from where my antenna was pointed when I did my channel scan.
If you are having some blips of signal strength and it locks up at 49%, then you can bet any other ATSC tuner will be able to pull it in adequately to watch.
Hey thanks Stacy! Nice report.
On another note, I finally added a Winegard YA-1713 vhf antenna to my setup. I aimed it for the Burlington towers 73.8 miles away in hopes of pulling in the ABC (13) w/ 10kw erp, for the wifes GREY'S ANAT, but no lock. Only a blip every now and then. On the other hand I swung the antenna around towards the Albany towers some 77.8 miles away and get a lock on the NBC (12) w/ 9.1 kw erp, but no lock on the FOX (7) w/ 10kw erp. Go figure! So I now have 2 NBC's.
I talked with the engineer at the Albany FOX, and he mentioned from numerous field reports that people feeding E* receivers have had problems getting good locks on a number of channels. He seems to think that there may be a frequency band pass issue with the receivers.
I'm sure if I had the new SAMSUNG stb I'd probably be able to pull in a few more stations.
If I read your post right, your new Winegard vhf is in addition to the CM4228, both for digital? If that's correct you will probably have some issues trying to combine the two antennas. My father-in-law next door tried this, mounting one above the other making sure to keep enough clearance between the two. One was a vhf/uhf combo (a very large one) and one was a uhf only. He never was able to get it to work so he abandoned that for the uhf only.
No. I have a 91XG for UHF, and the Wingard YA-1713 for high band VHF (7-13). It works well with the CM7777 pre-amp...which has separate inputs for both VHF/UHF...serparate or combined.
If you FIL, used a CM7777 it would work fine. He'd use the UHF antenna in on on the pre-amp, and uhf/vhf combo just as a vhf into the VHF side of the pre-amp... making sure to use the separate setting inside the pre-amp.
Take a peek here at the pre-amp click on the different pics for larger views http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=ANC7777&xzoom=Large#xview
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That's a sweet little amp! I may have to consider one for myself if I continue to dabble in getting as many stations in as I can get. I'm lucky in my location because I'm smack dab in the middle between two DMA's and I easily get signals from each (Tyler/Longview and Shreveport). As I mentioned before, I can also receive Dallas locals from two stations after sunset. However, that amp may make that better. Right now though, I get ABC, CBS, NBC (the Tyler one that does HD now), and Fox and I really don't need anything more.
It sure is. Probably one of the best pre-amps made. Just be sure you could use one before you purchase, due to the high gain there maybe possibility of overload. I'm in a very weak signal strength area so I needed as much gain as I could get. Winegard makes one with more gain, but it also has a higher noise figure. That's why I went with the CM7777.
If your happy with your current setup, and reception, I wouldn't bother. On the other hand, if your at all like me and like perfection and wanna play a little...then $60 bucks ain't gonna break the bank and the results just might surprise you.
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