Ok, here is my problem. My FOX is on channel 68 OTA. I was getting it with no problems up until 2 weeks ago. Then all of a sudden it was just gone. I confirmed with the engineer at the station that it is still available and working properly. My 622 cannot get a signal on it any longer. It doesn't even get a little signal. I get all my other locals with no problems so I am just confused at this point. I have a Channel Master 4228 antenna with a Radio Shack pre-amp at the pole and also one that I plug into before the cable goes into the Dish 622. I got both the Radio Shack ones in one package. Unsure if I need both but I have always used both. Can anyone figure out why I wouldn't get 68 all of a sudden? Is there something that I should try to replace? I am roughly 11 miles away from the FOX towers. Thanks all in advance.
What is wrong with this picture? Need help figuring out problem.
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I had a friend of mine confirm that his was working and it was. I just don't know where to go from here. 
The issue can be a few things
-the power supply of the amp failed or no power is getting to the preamp
-if diplexed with satellite, there is an issue with that portion of the wiring. run a cable direct from the cm4228 direct to the tuner and test and disconnect the preamp and powersupply. The diplexors need to be of the power passing variety and properly installed (using the right ports if one is power passing).
diplexing can be troublesome.
ch 68 is high in frequency and attenuation is most noticeable there...especially if there is a wiring or an amp issue present.
diplexing attenuates at 2 places. at the antenna and at the tuner and that can starve the higher frequencies...ch 68.
if no power is getting to the amp or the amp is not functional, you should notice attenuation on the entire uhf band and will be most noticeable at ch 68.
-replace the radio shack preamp with a winegard hdp269 preamp. the radio shack amp has a lot of gain, too much that close to the towers, and I can not use that one here. I am farther away from the towers than you here in Clay, new york.
-inspect your wiring...corrosion, bad connectors, diplexors, and terminate all unused ports. Start from the antenna and work your way down to the tuner.
confused...are you sure you have everything hooked up right? is the thing near the 622 the power inserter for the preamp?
ch 43.1 is off the air btw...for a while I understand..some kind of failure at the tower.
-the power supply of the amp failed or no power is getting to the preamp
-if diplexed with satellite, there is an issue with that portion of the wiring. run a cable direct from the cm4228 direct to the tuner and test and disconnect the preamp and powersupply. The diplexors need to be of the power passing variety and properly installed (using the right ports if one is power passing).
diplexing can be troublesome.
ch 68 is high in frequency and attenuation is most noticeable there...especially if there is a wiring or an amp issue present.
diplexing attenuates at 2 places. at the antenna and at the tuner and that can starve the higher frequencies...ch 68.
if no power is getting to the amp or the amp is not functional, you should notice attenuation on the entire uhf band and will be most noticeable at ch 68.
-replace the radio shack preamp with a winegard hdp269 preamp. the radio shack amp has a lot of gain, too much that close to the towers, and I can not use that one here. I am farther away from the towers than you here in Clay, new york.
-inspect your wiring...corrosion, bad connectors, diplexors, and terminate all unused ports. Start from the antenna and work your way down to the tuner.
confused...are you sure you have everything hooked up right? is the thing near the 622 the power inserter for the preamp?
ch 43.1 is off the air btw...for a while I understand..some kind of failure at the tower.
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Thanks for the response Rick0725. I guess it does pay to put your location.
I did hook it directly into my JVC HD-ILA tv and I did get a Fox signal but it was very bad and I couldn't even get a clear picture. I will try swapping out the pre-amp first. The family wants American Idol in HD so bad. Are you getting your signal through a 622 to get the 90% plus? I used to get that with my 942 but since I changed to the 622 I can't get anything over the mid 70's. Thanks for the info. Now to try and pick a day when I won't freeze my butt off outside swapping the pre-amp out.
Thanks for the heads up on 43. I had already contacted the engineer there and he told me that their antenna has to be sent back to Maine to be remade. I am going to take your suggestion and pick up the Winegard pre-amp. Does anyone here locally here sell them? I have Monday off and would like to install if I could. Otherwise I will have to order it online and install next week. Does it come with a power supply or do I need to buy a separate one? Thanks for all the info.
I did hook it directly into my JVC HD-ILA tv and I did get a Fox signal but it was very bad and I couldn't even get a clear picture. I will try swapping out the pre-amp first. The family wants American Idol in HD so bad. Are you getting your signal through a 622 to get the 90% plus? I used to get that with my 942 but since I changed to the 622 I can't get anything over the mid 70's. Thanks for the info. Now to try and pick a day when I won't freeze my butt off outside swapping the pre-amp out.
Thanks for the heads up on 43. I had already contacted the engineer there and he told me that their antenna has to be sent back to Maine to be remade. I am going to take your suggestion and pick up the Winegard pre-amp. Does anyone here locally here sell them? I have Monday off and would like to install if I could. Otherwise I will have to order it online and install next week. Does it come with a power supply or do I need to buy a separate one? Thanks for all the info.
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I purchase the hdp269 at warren electronics and takes 2 or 3 days. It is not available locally and comes with power inserter.
http://www.warrenelectronics.com/antennas/hdp269.htm
I have a separate distribution system for off air, use directv equipment, and do not combine off air with satellite...use separate lines.
if you can not get a clear picture on ch68 with a cm4228 12 miles away...it is a wiring/component issue. the cm4228 should be strong even without amplification. check the balum while you are snooping around.
http://www.warrenelectronics.com/antennas/hdp269.htm
I have a separate distribution system for off air, use directv equipment, and do not combine off air with satellite...use separate lines.
if you can not get a clear picture on ch68 with a cm4228 12 miles away...it is a wiring/component issue. the cm4228 should be strong even without amplification. check the balum while you are snooping around.
Thanks. I already looked it up on Warren Elec and saw that it was just a little over $50. I can't wait to see what the difference is. I thought the bigger the better but that doesn't seem to be the case. I'll let you all know what happens.
I use my Dish 622 so I can DVR off them if needed. I was thinking about getting a separate receiver for the OTA but I live the DVR feature too much.
I use my Dish 622 so I can DVR off them if needed. I was thinking about getting a separate receiver for the OTA but I live the DVR feature too much.
I am a little new to this so you will have to excuse my question. What exactly is the balum? The problem I think I am having is that I cannot mount the antenna on my house so it is in my backyard mounted to my shed. Its running on roughly 100' of RG6 cable so I am sure I am losing some signal going that distance. I can't put it on the house due to issues with the owner not wanting anything drilled into the roof. As for your question earlier, I have the RG6 coming from the pre-amp outside into the power supply inside and then to my Dish 622. When I had my 942 I used to get most at 90% or at least high 80's using the same set up. Now with the 622 I am lucky to get mid to upper 70's. Know of any good OTA stand alone receivers that won't cost me a fortune?
Should I stick with the same pre-amp that you previously suggested? I was about to purchase it but then thought I should make sure first.
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the balun is the matching transformer at the antenna.
I test antennas on my deck all the time the cm 4228 on the deck gives a stong signal for ch 68. so I would not be too concerned. can you mount the antenna to the side of the home instead of the roof though.
a wiring issue is a strong possibility. I am not familiar with dish equipment. if diplexing was used in the install, power needs to get to the amp. the diplexer needs to be power passing and installed properly to the correct ports. otherwise power will not pass. that is why i suggested to run a coax direct from antenna to tuner without preamp and powersuplly. get a signal strength then add the components and compare.
the hdp269 preamp is a better fit for you 12 miles from the towers. it is lower gain, less noise, and with a much higher overload tolerance.
you will only loose 6db with a 100' run. a preamp should accomodate you with no extra amplification.
I test antennas on my deck all the time the cm 4228 on the deck gives a stong signal for ch 68. so I would not be too concerned. can you mount the antenna to the side of the home instead of the roof though.
a wiring issue is a strong possibility. I am not familiar with dish equipment. if diplexing was used in the install, power needs to get to the amp. the diplexer needs to be power passing and installed properly to the correct ports. otherwise power will not pass. that is why i suggested to run a coax direct from antenna to tuner without preamp and powersuplly. get a signal strength then add the components and compare.
the hdp269 preamp is a better fit for you 12 miles from the towers. it is lower gain, less noise, and with a much higher overload tolerance.
you will only loose 6db with a 100' run. a preamp should accomodate you with no extra amplification.
I have the antenna on a continious run of RG6 with no breaks. The only place that my Dish equip comes into play is when I hook it directly to the receiver to receive the OTA channels. Other than that, nothing is hooked up to the dish itself. My setup is like this. From antena to pre-amp, pre-amp to power supply in house, power supply to my Dish 622 OTA input. Thats it. I'll order the pre-amp today and will hopefully get it installed this weekend. Unfortunately I cannto mount onto house either as its aluminum siding and they don't want the holes in the house. Verizon FiOS is supposed to be coming in the next month or so. I'll have to see if they will have locals in HD. If they do, then I won't even have to worry about it. I like using my 622 as I can use the DVR on it for my OTA channels. I also have some pine trees around me which I am sure are not helping matters.
Well, I went outside and climbed on top of my shed to disconnect the pre-amp and put it directly into the antenna. Damn! Its cold out!!!!! The line now goes directly from my antenna to my Dish 622 OTA input. I get the channels in briefly but it cannot lock onto them. The are some hills around us so that could be the problem. I'll wait for the new pre-amp to come in and see what happens. I won't be going back out today anytime, I can tell you that one!
Can somebody point me in the right direction to learn about pre-amp (which I'm assuming it's an amp close to the antenna... where does the power come from for an amp for a Terk (clip-on) antenna (TV42)? Does the voltage come from the satellite line? At the Terk antenna is some voltage being supplied to the amp housed there? Do you need to use power passive diplexers and if so... when?
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