Dealing with signal loss with a outdoor TV antenna...

[maddythebeagle]

I have a roof mounted TV antenna that gets great signal on the 2 tvs directly below it (one in living room and 1 in basement, but can only get 1/2 of the stations in the 2 bedroom tvs...I am aware of the signal loss that I am getting in the 2 bedrooms after a long run and being split, Anybody know if any of these amplifier products work? or any other quick fix..."rabbit ears" dont work very well where I am so maybe I need to put up another outdoor antenna for the 2 bedroom tvs...

 

[youbet]

There's no quick fix, I'm sorry to say....... Unless you did something wrong or there is a fault in the feedline between the living room and bedrooms (since you mentioned the living room and basement tv's are working great and the bedroom tv's aren't.)

You didn't give any details on the feedline you're using or the split configuration, so I can only respond with general statements.

1. Yes, distribution amplifiers do work. They are more effective mounted at the antenna than in the house.

2. Whether you are using balanced twin lead or unbalanced coaxial feedline, use quality stuff. Install connectors with care. Keep feedline runs as short as possible. If there is extra line, cut it off, don't coil it.

3. If installing a second antenna for the bedroom tv's is feasible, I'd recommend that over using an amplifier.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I've used amplified splitters way back when with good success. You might want to try one with an adjustable amp...should have a knob on it. Sometimes the gain is a little excessive and gives you some noise, backing off a few db makes it smooth out.

Or you could build one of those home-made super high def antennas I pointed to a few weeks back. You DID get a bunch of free digital converter boxes, didnt you?

 

[maddythebeagle]

Thanks guys...I cant say to the quality of the cable......Yeah, I probably will look at one of those coat hanger antennas...that should save me some money...

 

[aenlighten]

Mine did terrible

until I noticed the weather had completely deteriorated it and I replaced it.

 

[travelover]

may not be relevant for you, but after I added the digital converter, I get much better reception from my roof antenna / analog TV setup.

 

[maddythebeagle]

may not be relevant for you, but after I added the digital converter, I get much better reception from my roof antenna / analog TV setup.

Nope, that's not it...it is all digital now... I will try doing a direct run to the upstairs tv and test the cable and probably could put a smaller additional antenna on the exisiting antenna mast also to connect the bedroom tvs...I have not seen the adjustable amplifiers...maybe radio shack...

 

[ziggy29]

How far are you from the transmitters? If you used an amplifier or a preamp -- especially before 2/17/2009 -- it could allow very close, strong analog signals to overpower more distant or less powerful signals. Most likely if some of the lines have strong reception, there is something going on with either the length of the line and/or the splitters reducing the strength of the signal coming in. If you're close to the transmitters, either a second, separate antenna or some amplifier to the bedroom lines might work (keeping in mind that an amplifier also amplifies line noise).

If you're far enough away from the transmitters (i.e. more than about 25 miles, plus or minus), a preamp installed at the antenna might be a good option (the Channel Master 7777 is one of the best). That could eliminate enough noise that the remaining signal to the bedrooms can be understood by the tuner. If you're in the fringe (say 40-50 miles or more away), most likely there's a fair amount of noise on the signal and using an amplifier "downstream" rather than a preamp will amplify a lot of noise.

 

[OAG]

Do you have a "auto program" function on the TV and/or the remote? - Maybe just a rescan will get the "lost" stations back.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Do you have AC power near where the splitters are currently? If not, some of the powered splitters can take their AC power over an extra piece of coaxial cable up to a specified distance.

My setup had a huge, and I mean huge, RS antenna in the attic hung from the rafters, with a 10db adjustable splitter and then two legs, one short and one long that was split twice. Worked great but at the full 10db the noise pickup sucked...7db was just about right for my setup.

Do a google on "amplifier splitter adjustable". You can amp and then split, its better to do both at the same time.

Mine looked sort of like this, but I think I got it at RS:
rackmount-devices.com: 013-0407 Low Noise UHF/VHF F-Type RF House Amplifier with Adjustable Gain and FM Trap (1, 2 or 4 Outputs)


A brief discussion on why adjustable amps are good...you'll like Harsh's avatar...:
OTA Amplifier / Splitter Recommendations - DBSTalk.Com