Upgraded OTA Antenna, what type & Range?

[wase4711]

well, I too have had problems with reception on 2 of my local channels; CBS and FOX ..I live around 25 miles from the tower, and even though CBS has upgraded their antenna a year ago, they are notorious for being impossible to recieve in the Chicago land area..also, after about 90 days of Voom, I am having drop outs on FOX..Not a good thing, especially since most Football games are on these 2 channels..

Emailed Voom through their website, and 24 hours later got a phone call from a CSR. Of course she wanted to set up a service call so a tech could "inspect" the installation..

I told her not to waste the service call for an inspection; I need a better antenna due the problems with CBS in my area, and the fact that the reception has gotten worse. After about 10 minutes of arguing with her, she agreed to authorize the antenna upgrade. I mean why send a guy out here twice; have him bring the upgraded antenna, and if he doesnt need it, then he doesnt have to use it. But to send someone out twice seemed stupid to me..

Anyway, when I called Installs, later, to confirm they had been given the authorization to install the upgrade, they said there was no such note on their service ticket!! I knew that would happen...

Well, I had a long talk with the person at Installs, Al is his name, and he agreed that the tech should bring the upgraded antenna with him, in case he needs it. The call is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon, so I will post the results here..

Its stuff like this that brings to light the $$$ problems that Voom is experiencing. I mean, why make 2 or 3 service calls to a house, becuase of not bringing equipment you MIGHT need, when making one call, properly equpped, would solve the problem??

So far, there have been no discussions about charging me for this upgrade..We will see...

 

[wase4711]

Well upgraded to Winegard 7082 antenna today, and all I can say is WOW!!!

all locals are now at 93-99, CBS and FOX are PERFECT, and it didnt cost me a cent..Avant wireless authorized the large antenna, and I am very impressedwith the install that occurred..
Problem now is the jerk from the townhouse association saw all this, ordered me to take it down, since a rooftop antenna/driling into their roof is a violation of the association rules..Told him to pound off, so I am sure I will be visiting the FCC website soon to print the rules regarding this kind of stuff..
Has anyone else had this problem with their association???

I know the FCC has ruled in favor of consumers every time, but I dont know about how they support associations who try to ban this by saying no drilling into your shingles.Funny, some folks in this association have satalite dishes just sitting on their front steps, and they arent being hassled..

Oh well, I guess I will deal with that when the time comes..But that Winegard 7082P is one awesum antenna!!!

 

[kaiz]

The service guy showed up yesterday. He said I needed a pre-amp. He put the pre-amp and I lost all my local channels. Then, he said the pre-amp boosted the signal to a level that the receiver could not handle, so there was nothing he could do to help !! He suggested I buy my own antenna. He gave me addresses to couple of local stores. I asked him to take out the pre-amp and leave it with me. I have it and I think I will research on how to install it properly. I think the service technician did not know how to install the pre-amp. If I fail with my efforts I plan on calling Voom and have them send me a Winegard Metrostar (MS-2000) antenna. I also plan on having them send a technician from a different company. I will keep updating my progress.

 

[Sean Mota]

kaiz,

how far are you from your local stations transmitting digitally? There is some truth to his theory but if you do not need a pre-amp then you should be able to get the locals.

 

[kaiz]

Sean,
Antenna web lists 11 digital stations near my house.
2 stations are about 2.5 miles.
7 stations are about 7.5 miles.
2 stations are about 10.3 miles.
My issue has been with local channels fading in and out.
I have not had any issues since last Sunday !! I am not sure what has changed except for the weather being great. We are expecting rain today, Sat and Sun. I will keep you guys posted on how things go.
Thanks..

 

[kaiz]

As I guessed the first day it rained all my locals started fading in and out. This started on Wednesday (9/29/04). Something else happened this time in addition to my problems with OTA channels, my satellite channels started fading in and out as well !! This problem has not stopped to date though the weather has been great since Friday (10/1/04).
The signal quality for both OTA and Satellite channels seems to be great (90+), but the signal power is very low for both OTA and Satellite channels (30+). The signal power for OTA channels fluctuates heavily between (30 and 70). Is my receiver broken ? Should I not use a diplexer ? Should I use a different antenna (I currently have PR-8800) ?
I am seriously considering canceling the service.
This is my last desperate plea for any suggestions on solving my OTA and newfound Satellite channel issues.

 

[Sean Mota]

Is your antenna a directional one? what type of OTA antenna are you using?

So you are getting pixelation on both Satellite and OTA channels? Is that correct? And your satellite signal is still in the 90's?

 

[kaiz]

Sean: Is your antenna a directional one? what type of OTA antenna are you using?

I think the antenna is directional. It is a Winegard PR-8800. On Winegard's website it is listed under "Prostar 1000", "UHF Only" antennas. Here is the link to Winegard's site http://www.winegard.com/offair/prostar1000uhf.htm#all

Sean: So you are getting pixelation on both Satellite and OTA channels? Is that correct? And your satellite signal is still in the 90's?

My Satellite channels have pixelation. My OTA channels keeping going in and out - It will be fine one minute and the next minute I get a message saying searching for signal. Few of my locals (For e.g. NBC) I always get the Signal not available message. My satellite signal quality is always greater than 90. My OTA signal quality ranges between 80-90. My signal strength for both Satellite and OTA is very low (30-40).
__________________

 

[Ilya]

kaiz, PR-8800 is "UHF Only". So, if some of your stations (e.g. NBC) are VHF, you won't be able to get them with this antenna.

The problems you described could've been caused by bad cable connections and water that got into them. If you can, check and reconnect all your outside cables or request a service from VOOM.

 

[kaiz]

Ilya, Thanks for replying.
All my OTA digital stations including NBC show up as UHF when I go to antennaweb.org.
I am not sure what is causing my problems.
My OTA channels are very unstable. They will work one day and they wont the next. Usually the problem seem to start with a bad weather. If you read all my postings on this thread you will see that I have reached out to Voom several times and they have not yet fixed my problem.
One thing I have noticed with the issue I am having is that the signal strenght is very low and it fluctuates a lot. My signal quality is great, but it fluctuates for OTA channels.
What is causing this ? How can fix this ?

I will call Voom on possible bad cable's.

 

[Ilya]

Do you have a diplexer? Multiswitch? Or is this a separate cable for OTA?
As one of your installers said, this might be an interference problem. What bothers me though is that you are having similar problems with satellite reception. That's why I am suspecting your wiring.

 

[kaiz]

I have a diplexer.
Every time I try to get a separate cable for my OTA Voom keeps telling me they wont cover it !!

 

[Ilya]

I have a diplexer.

That's what I would check first. Is it on the roof? On the side of the building? Does it have waterproof connections?