49% problem 811 vs 622

[MikeF]

Can anyone tell me if the 622 has a better OTA tuner than the 811. My local ABC station is just oh so close to being able to lock it in. It might be worth the price to upgrade if it is a better tuner.

 

[gdarwin]

211/411 and the 622 have better OTA tuners than the 811. You will still need a good signal for it to lock in. I had 49% problems with my 811's until I moved the antenna out of the attic to the top of the roof. 811's don't handle multipath problems at all...

 

[gbjbany]

ok im going to have to ask ....... what is a 49% problem ?

 

[MikeF]

what is a 49% problem

The receiver will not lock the desired digital station. It just sits there and show "49% Signal Strength". It is very annoying IF you want to watch that station. Like posted above, the 811's have some signal issues. I was inquirering if they had been addressed in the newer models. I live almost 100 miles from my CBS OTA station, 75 from my FOX. The ABC and NBC are in the same city as the CBS but still are using the strongest transmitter for analog at this time. NBC is a no-go, can't even get it in a channle scan. The ABC I can at least scan it. It will lock once in every 60 days if every condition is just right. The CBS station gets here at around 82%, FOX about 87%. Maybee with the 622 I can finally rely on the ABC. I was hoping to buy some HD time until they start beaming the KC locals in HD some time this year.

 

[gbjbany]

ok thanks and 49% is always the number it shows, hence " a 49% problem" i assume. I had never heard of it before. you learn something new every day here.

 

[mebgardener]

I use the Winegard Squareshooter antenna in my attic and the channels that were %49 on my 811 does not show up on the VIP622. However, the channels that were on the "edge" (%52-%59 and pixalation) with the 811 are now at %65 and steady with the VIP622. The channels with much better strength had at least a 10 percent increase in signal strength.
Hope that helps.

 

[mike123abc]

I used to have the 49% problem. I got rid of it with a bigger antenna on the roof instead of in the attic. The tuner on my 622 locks in better than my 811.

 

[cincyguy2k4]

The 622 made some channels that I couldnt get in at all come in and I am using an indoor antenna (The Zenith Sharp Shooter). Granted the furthest tower is only 20-25 miles away but I can now get a watchable, locked in signal at 75 to 80 percent where I couldnt lock in at all on my old OTA tuner in my TV.

Quite impressive considering my TV is on the First floor of my house and the signals have to come through at least one or 2 houses because my street has houses very close together.

 

[mdonnelly]

...I was hoping to buy some HD time until they start beaming the KC locals in HD some time this year.

KC digitals may be added sooner than you thought.

http://www.dbstalk.com/showpost.php?p=537944&postcount=24

 

[bhelms]

I had the ubiquitous "49% Blues" as well (jumped from 0% to 49% and back, no lock) on all but 1 series of PBS HD/DTV subs, from a tower at about 25 miles. I'm in a fringe and my 25 year old OTA has a B-T hi-gain amp (~50 ft cable between the preamp and ps) then split, then about 50 ft more to my 811's location. Just for the heck of it I inserted a cheapo 10dB amp into the line after the split. Voila! 1 new HD channel (ABC) with 3 more subs on 2 different virtual channels (CBS and FOX - neither is HD yet - towers are both about 40 miles away). So far this has worked fairly steadily, but I may lose it all when the leaves are back, etc. I'm not done playing yet, tho' - I still need to get NBC HD at about 60 miles. BTW - the OTA tuner in my TV is a bit better than the 811's, but I like having these channels in my program mix so I generally tune with the 811. Can't wait for the 622 improvement - might be enough for the NBC digitals (real channel 34).

 

[MikeF]

I am running the largest RS antenna with a preamp now to get what i do. So unless I can get better tuner performance, with the distance I am trying to pull the signal in from it is always going to be iffy at best.

mdonnelly, does this mean that since they got uplinked they should be available in April's round of additions? It looks like that is what happened to the recently added 7 locals.

 

[MikeF]

Well, I hope I don't regret this but ordered my 622 today. I could have gotten the install on the 21st but didn't work out as my Wife is not going to be home then. So had to push it to the 28th. But that should be just in time for the Kansas City locals in HD and then who cares about if I can pull in an OTA from 100 miles. It is a mute point then .

Thanks for the info guys