Ok I’ve tried a couple lower’ish end powered antennas and I’m in need of something more powerful to pull in fringe towers and just hold what I can get.
I have an outdoor pole that is about 15’ - 20’ above ground. Not the best but all I can do at moment…especially with the terrain I have to deal with.
What is something that people can recommend?
I haven’t used any of their antennas, but you might find the ChannelMaster guide helpful: https://www.channelmaster.com/Antenna-Selection-a/134.htm
TVFOOL shows this:
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3De6a4d2656906f6
problem I am having is I cannot hold 8, 13, 23, or 51. Yet 6 works solid. 6, 8 and 13 are in general the same position and distance.
I put a Winegate 200 preamp on my window antenna and I can pull in a dozen stations at 60 miles+ to the southwest but my locals are giving me fits. It’s a bit of terrain issue I believe but that’s a guess on my part.
maybe multipath on those particular frequencies??
at any rate i have the channelmaster CM-2016 in my attic and it works OK for stations that are “in front” of it, but every so often i have to repoint it depending on the weather. it’s probably 30’ above ground level.
When setting up my Antenna I used an iPhone App called Signal GH By Generally Helpful Software. It is like three dollars. It connects to your WiFi network, then lets you tune in each station using your HDHomerun device. Best part is you can use it wirelessly, so you can stand next to your antenna and move it around and see each channel’s strength and quality. It will also show you where each station tower located on a map in the app, so you can point your antenna based on your iPhone campus. Well worth the 3 bucks.
As mentioned above it might be a multi path problem. I had real problems with the close stations. One in particular I can see the tower from my house! From what I’ve read the Hdhomeruns seem very susceptible to multipath interference and too strong signals. I would show 100 percent strength and 50 percent quality.
I made a folded dipole antenna which is just a piece of 14 gauge bare copper wire and 300 to 75 ohm transformer screwed to a block of 2x4. Total cost was about 3 dollars. I wish I had a picture…
This antenna is weak enough that it works perfectly on the close stations. I have 2 Hdhomeruns with one attached to the diy antenna and another attached to a big yagi antenna pointed at the distant stations.
Thanks for the tips.
I got the “Signal GH” app and it is a big help in identifying signal strength/issues.
I am sticking with a powered omni-directional antenna for the time being.
I currently have an old HDHR Dual and a new Connect. I made up some new RG6 patch cords for the splitter to the HDHRs and shorten up the RG6 run to the antenna to about 25’.
I am now able to hold NBC, ABC, CBS, PBS right around “the green line” in the Signal GH app…which must be around 80%. The CW and MyTV are flirting with “the red line” in the app. These have occasional pixielations/dropouts.
Probably due to terrain, I cannot get FOX…will not lock in at all. I’m on the blind side of a ridge. I can only get 45% strength and 40% quality. I may attempt to raise my antenna another 15 feet…
I may also play with a directional antenna and if I can get it to pull in a couple of weak signals, then I’ll figure out how to tie into what I have currently… fun fun
Hi, on the Signal GH App, use the second page view for all the details of strength and Quality. see screen shot:
.
Also, I noticed on your TV Fool link, that NBC, ABC, CBS (and even PBS) are closer ( between 15 & 20 miles) and in the same general direction (NNW) where FOX is 33 miles away and is NNE. CW and MyTV are very close, around 8 miles, but like FOX they are in the North direction at 4 degrees.
So, you do have a challenge with FOX at 29 Degrees then around to ABC at 291 degrees. That is 98 Degrees total and most directional antennas suggest they are good for around 90 degress. But, i agree you should try a directional. Get it from Amazon, send it back if its not better. I use a RCA yogi style directional antenna. Its outside on the corner of the roof above the gutter. It says it is a 60 mile reach, I am only 10 miles away so can't say i need it, but I am getting 90 - 100% on most stations.
One other idea for you is on your cable connections. A splitter will steal a ton of signal from you. As a test, try connecting the cable from the antenna to one of you HDHR's without any splits and see if you pick up more signal in the Signal GH app. I had a 6 way splitter I was using but did not need, cut back to a 2 way and my CW became a watchable channel.