Will this antenna & wire work?

[detroit_fan]

ok thanks. so i don't even need this extra power cord that they sent with the am 21 then?

 

[Mr Tony]

once you are booted up if it doesnt ask you to set up antenna do this
menu
settings
settings
sat & antenna
antenna setup
initial setup
enter zip for Toledo
then follow the screens

 

[Mr Tony]

ok thanks. so i don't even need this extra power cord that they sent with the am 21 then?

no

 

[detroit_fan]

thanks again. looking forward to getting this bad buy up and running. METV has some good shows i'm missing

 

[Mr Tony]

also your guide may only go out a day or two after loading but overnight it will get up to the 14 day guide for the OTA channels

 

[detroit_fan]

finally got it all hooked up, i am getting every toledo station and their sub-channels, 12 channels total. already watching METV and the picture is even better than I expected. i can't thank you guys enough for all your help on this project, you really helped me out.

i'm not getting detroit locals because the antenna is directional and pointed south, but D* gives me them anyways so all i am missing is their sub-channels.

in the last 10 days i have upgraded to an HR34, MRV and the OTA integration, and you guys helped me out on all of it. my system is now so much better than it was just 10 days ago. you guys are the best!!

 

[Mr Tony]

very cool to hear its all working!

What kind of signal are you getting? (if you go into the menu/setup/setup/sat and ant then edit channels it shows the option to check OTA signal on each station logged in

Did it log in any other stations (since you mention 12 that is all the stations in Toledo)

 

[detroit_fan]

11.1 TOLEDO CBS 85%
11.2 METV 85%
13.1 TOLEDO ABC 69%-75%
13.2 LIVE WELL NETWORK 75%
13.3 TOLEDO WEATHER 73%
24.1 TOLEDO NBC 85%
24.2 RETRO TV 85%
30.1 TOLEDO PBS 65%-85%
30.2 FAMILY NETWORK 67%-81%
30.3 CREATE 66%-79%
36.1 TOLEDO FOX 85%
36.2 COOL TV 85%

I entered toledo and detroit zip codes, and it did pick up channel 20 out of detroit but the signal was not strong and was cutting out so i just deleted it from the guide since i get that channel anyways with my detroit locals that D* gives me.

i suppose if i wanted to get fancy i could get a multi-directional UHF antenna and use a signal combiner to tie the RCA751R to the UHF antenna and I may get detroit stations too since they are all UFH (other than WJBK). But i would still need the RCA751R to get WTOL & WTVG out of toledo since they are VHF. The detroit stations are about 40 miles away and the UHF antenna would have to be in the attic too, so i'm guessing i would need a pretty good one to get them.

here is my TVFool if anyone is interested-

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id=9900c34bca9e41

 

[Mr Tony]

looks good

 

[detroit_fan]

how low can the signal strength go before it starts to cut out typically?

 

[Mr Tony]

around 50% if I remember right....maybe lower

 

[detroit_fan]

ok thanks. got to watch gumby with the kids this morning thanks to METV, i love this channel!

 

[detroit_fan]

well i have 85% showing on channel 24-2, but this morning my wife said a message kept popping up on the screen that said "searching for off air tuner" about 10am. so i went to the recording i had set for 10-10:30am on that channel and sure enough it was cutting in and out. wonder why with such a a strong signal?

 

[boba]

OTA signals are not as consistent as satellite signals. I have one that pretty much shows 70-75 but will suddenly drop to 0 and pop back up to the 70's in a few seconds to a minute. I have another couple that are pretty consistent 80-100 but some mornings due to atmospheric skip a channel from outside my DMA comes in and interferes with the signal usually by 9am the interference is pretty much history.

 

[detroit_fan]

OTA signals are not as consistent as satellite signals. I have one that pretty much shows 70-75 but will suddenly drop to 0 and pop back up to the 70's in a few seconds to a minute. I have another couple that are pretty consistent 80-100 but some mornings due to atmospheric skip a channel from outside my DMA comes in and interferes with the signal usually by 9am the interference is pretty much history.

ok thanks, that's probably what happened to mine because now it is working great.

 

[SatelliteAV]

There may be another reason for the signal loss..

Living in the Sierra foothills and down in a valley, I have no line of sight for any stations. The usual channels duct in or are second or third reflections from the Sacramento market. While during the mid-day, channel reception is quite predictable at 30% Signal Quality until an airplane is visible. The signal reflection from the plane, no matter if a jet at 20,000 or a Cessna at 2,000, will cause signal loss and to momentarily drop out due to the multipath (reminiscent of the analog ghosting that would occur with passing aircraft).

I have learned to take advantage of this time to quickly scan. Have scanned some channels that are over 100 - 200 miles away without tropo, but they are gone as quickly as the jet passes. Often dream of putting a reflective dirigible at 2,000 feet so I could enjoy the passive reflection of more than a few terrestrial channels.

 

[richyrich]

Well, actually, any waveguide (wavelength) used for terrestrials (FM->UHF) would work. The cables always need to be replaced, or multi-directional antenna would easily replace it, depending on the area. Channel Master makes a huge 10' antenna where gain is needed compared to medium or long range; and the new digital are very directional type antenna sets required and made for your spot on the map. Going multi-directional is beneficial when not wanting to "motor" for channels by allowing all directions required at once by putting up 3 or even 4 antennas on your mast. My HDTV now has low-signal ok typed input, so it can receive long range digitals; or switch to a higher attenuation typed input for hopefully only strong one's to come in.

There are now many towers sending many local channels, all over the Country (USA), and they also have lower power locally owned digital that are too close, so attenuate.