OTA TV signal fades 50 min into program

[RedDirt]

This is a question for those getting the new digital TV signal over the air via an antenna and specifically addressed to those in deep fringe areas.

Many, many times we get decent signal and viewable reception for the first 3/4 of a 1 hr show and then the signal fades in the last 10-15 minutes into the program...blue screen. At the top of the hour the signal strength goes back up to viewable. This is VERY annoying.

Does anyone else experience this phenomena or is it just us?

FYI-We are in Northern California pulling signals from Sacramento from what is considered a "deepest fringe" location. Antenna farm is 78 miles away through a forest of trees and two mountain tops. We've upgraded our antenna to high gain UHF only w/high gain/low noise pre-amp and new coax. I researched a lot and got the best equipment I could find for our location. Signal often fluctuates widely from good to bad (aggravating but understandable) but it is extremely odd to regularly loose an excellent signal 50 minutes into a 1 hr program.

I was perfectly satisfied with analog TV, snow and all. This digital dung is for the birds! I personally think the digital change, despite some valid and worthwhile reasons, was overall a ploy to switch us all over to cable and satellite. I now wonder if the signal reduction just before a show ends is an extension of this evil game. Please tell me you too are in a deep fringe OTA location but are not having the same signal loss just before a program ends.

 

[tommu56]

I am in the same boat at my cabin 70-80 miles from the stations and I wonder what antenna you picked.
I was happy with analog and don't spend enough time for dish and no cable or power available.

From what I'v been reading some of them are really directional.
If you have a rotor maybe tweak it a point or 2 in each direction to see if it gets better?


It almost sounds like a heat issue,

Borrow a converter box plug it in to the game ports and eliminate the tv's tuner as the problem.

Do any other tv's on the system have the same problem?
tom

 

[Skyco]

Thats a strange one. So you do nothing to correct the problem it just starts working again at the one hour mark? No power cycle, no switching channels etc?
It does this on more than one station? If so it has to be your equipment.
No idea what it could be though......can't wait to hear what it is if you ever resolve it!

 

[GT2]

Might ask the guys here http://www.highdefforum.com/local-hdtv-info-reception-9/
Thier pretty smart

 

[charlz]

This digital dung is for the birds! I personally think the digital change, despite some valid and worthwhile reasons, was overall a ploy to switch us all over to cable and satellite.

Actually it is a plot to move 'over the air' TV into a very small section of spectrum so the government can auction off the relatively large section of spectrum used by analog TV. They made billions auctioning off spectrum to cell phone companies and they are looking for a repeat.

 

[RedDirt]

Thats a strange one. So you do nothing to correct the problem it just starts working again at the one hour mark? No power cycle, no switching channels etc?
It does this on more than one station? If so it has to be your equipment.
No idea what it could be though......can't wait to hear what it is if you ever resolve it!

Yep, I do nothing to correct the lost signal and ten minutes later, usually at the top of the hour, the signal returns. This happens on many channels but I have not tried to single out specific channels except I know it occurs often. Often meaning about 30% of the time when watching first run popular shows. It rarely happens when viewing garbage "fill-in" reruns though I can't say for sure since I rarely watch them except occasionally while channel surfing waiting to regain signal.

My solution may be to succumb, kicking and screaming, to satellite. The only good news is that DigitalPath internet (wireless) is now in the neighborhood so I may be able to switch my very expensive satellite internet (WildBlue-$80/mo) and get twice the speed at half the price and with that savings pay for the satellite TV.

Before satellite I may try one more thing and build a super antenna. Here's a link:

Design of The Gray-Hoverman Antenna - Digital Home Canada


Tommu,
Only have one TV. It's analog and I'm getting digital through a DitalStream converter box.

Antenna is Terrestrial Digital XG91 which was rated higher than the best ChannelMaster or Winegard. Pre-Amp is Winegard Chromstar 2000. Pre-amp is mounted on antenna mast just below antenna with new short length of coax and new coax run directly to converter box, eg no splitters, etc. Total run of coax is 40ft-50ft.

I have a rotor but rotating does not improve reception when signal is "down".

GT2 - Thanks for the link. I'll check them out.

Charlz,
Yes I am aware of the govt sale of the analog bandwidth. I imagine a lobby campaign to rival the pharmaceuticals and much graft was in play.

 

[tommu56]

Red thanks for the info.
I have the same digital stream converter and a cheap old RS antenna.

I guess I will have to invest in a rotor and new antenna

tom

 

[RobertN]

Where are you? Here in Shingle Springs, we gained a bunch of channels in the switch to digital. We are not too far out of Sac though.

We put a TV in the 5th wheel. With the trailer plugged in to power, I get a ton of channels with the RV antennae, although I do turn on the amplifier.

It would be hard to say what the issue is. It happens on the hour, so that would rule out atmospheric issues. My first thought would be heat in the converter box, but that would just continue to get worse.

Have you recently did a "search" for channels to get any updates?

It would be worth it to try another converter.

If you are near me, I can bring the digital tv from the 5th wheel by and see if it is any different.

FYI-We are in Northern California pulling signals from Sacramento from what is considered a "deepest fringe" location. Antenna farm is 78 miles away through a forest of trees and two mountain tops.

 

[RedDirt]

RobertN,
We are north of Grass Valley, east of Oroville.

We gained a bunch of stations too with digital. The price has been any semblance of reliability. Reception is touch and go most of the time; some days fairly decent and reliable but other days hardly usable. Sometimes all signals fade away and other times just some of the channels go. Mostly it seems signal strength is normally better in daylight hours, often fades or diminishes at dusk and then rather spotty in the evenings. Maybe it is atmospheric but I have not been able to come up with any specific correlation night/day, summer/winter/ hot/cold, clear or stormy.

At least there has not been a flood of replies "Yeah I loose the signal too just at the end of a program". So maybe it's just a coincidence I loose signal then, or I notice the loss of signal more because it is at the end of the program. You do have to admit that it is odd, especially when we normally regain signal just after the program has ended.

I have not done a search in quite a while; I'll try that. Thanks.

Tommu,
Upgrading to a good antenna and pre-amp is not very expensive (especially compared to endless monthly satellite bills!). I got my equipment from solidsignal.com, a good company with good equipment selection and good tech info and very competitive pricing. My new pre-amp lasted only one day and they sent a new one immediately, no questions, no cost. You also need relatively good/new coax and good connections to get the best signal and no splitters between pre-amp and converter. I think replacing my antenna, preamp and some older cables cost about $120 -$140.

FYI - A pre-amp is placed as close as possible to the antenna and gets the signal down to the converter without further losses which normally accumulate with length of cable run and each connector. An amplifier is used when you want to split the signal and send it to several locations. It is the pre-amp that you need to get the best strength to the converter box.

 

[RobertN]

You know, just for grins and giggles, I would bounce a message off KOVR and KCRA. Maybe send it to thier "Call 3 for action" or "Ask Kurtis".

There are some Techie guys over at KVMR.org in Grass Valley. They may have some idea's.

 

[TBDonnelly]

I asked my antenna questions here:

Antenna Talk • HDTV Labs Forum

I followed their Antenna Guru's(screen name:tigerbangs) recommendation with great results.

I bought from Solidsignal.com. They are within driving distance of my place. I went and picked up the antenna I had purchased. The Solidsignal warehouse was nice, clean organized and appeared to be well stocked.

Don

 

[charlz]

Charlz,
Yes I am aware of the govt sale of the analog bandwidth. I imagine a lobby campaign to rival the pharmaceuticals and much graft was in play.

Not to sidetrack your thread but right on que:

Cell phone mania forces scramble for more airwaves - Yahoo! News

The cell phone companies are 'scared' that 'we' are going to run out of available spectrum Time for congress to put on their super-suits and 'rescue' us

 

[jinman]

Are there any other antennas in your area that could be transmitting info hourly and causing the noise level in the background to rise? Especially on weak signals, the background noise can cause auto-gain control to bring noise up to higher levels. Your converter box has signal level displays and you may be able to see if the signal seems to fade or if there is a sudden drop. Contacting the TV station gurus might be your best first step in finding the problem. They could tell you for sure if they modify their signal for any reason on an hourly basis.

 

[Skyco]

Your converter box has signal level displays and you may be able to see if the signal seems to fade or if there is a sudden drop.

Neither my convertor boxes, Magnovox IIRC, nor the Vizio LCD tv I recently purchased have any signal strength indications. IMO that really stinks. As we know digital can be "perfect" but on the edge of the antenna pattern meaning a slight degradation destroys the picture. Sure wish I could peak my antenna so it would tolerate fade better....good enough can be far from best but one can't tell by looking at the picture!

 

[RedDirt]

jinman,
Hourly interference is something we have suspected but have not known where to go to find if this is indeed the case. Everyone I know and all my neighbors have satellite TV so there is no reference point for local info. or comparison. (I do find it amazing that even the public assistance and low income families all have satellite TV (no cable here)...I'm a working stiff and prefer to spend my earned dollars elsewhere...(property, tractor stuff, shop equip)...health insurance...so WE can afford to insure them!).

Checking the local broadcast stations would be a good place to start. Thanks for the tip.

 

[tanglefoot]

My signal strength here in northeast Texas varies from day to day, but it never registers above 50%. We are 63 miles from the tower farm. Sometimes the signal shows to be 0%, but we still have two or three channels that come in. I suspect that the TV stations are using a lot less power to transmit their signals than they did with analog.
Butch

 

[winston1]

I'm a long ways off in East Texas but also have a little of your problem. I have a small (22") dish type antenna mounted on about a 35' mast. This antenna has a built in rotor. The direction is very important with it. In certain weather I can pick up Dallas stations which is around 120 miles as the crow flies. Normal stations we watch vary from 30 miles to 70 miles as the crow flies. Even some of these stations will cut out on me at times. I can normally regain them with the directional control. It seems digital signals are good pictures or "no" pictures. This antenna also has a booster built in it. Worst feature of the antenna is the directional controller doesn't let you know what direction you are pointing. It just has limit arrows that let you know you have gone each way to the end. I'm not advertising the antenna. I believe digital signals are helped by good antenna, booster, direction control, closeness to signal. Don't believe there is anything out there to help with atmospheric conditions. Hope you find a way to improve your reception, Winston

 

[jinman]

Neither my convertor boxes, Magnovox IIRC, nor the Vizio LCD tv I recently purchased have any signal strength indications. IMO that really stinks. As we know digital can be "perfect" but on the edge of the antenna pattern meaning a slight degradation destroys the picture. Sure wish I could peak my antenna so it would tolerate fade better....good enough can be far from best but one can't tell by looking at the picture!

I guess I made a wrong assumption. I bought my converter box at Radio Shack and it has a beautiful signal strength display that you can easily access with the remote. My Samsung digital TV also has a similar built-in display. However, I set up a new Sony Bravia for my in-laws last night and didn't notice that same type of display. It may have it, but I didn't see it. They sure are handy to give you a reference for how strong the signals are.

 

[RavensRoost]

To the OP:
I bet the tuner in the digital TV has more sensitivity than one in outboard converter feeding an analog TV. Borrow a digital TV with onboard tuner that is small enough to carry and try at your place?

Does not really explain the near-hourly issues you describe, but as digital is an all or nothing deal, signal strength is key. Plus, digital TV with onboard tuner makes it easy to check signal strength.

RavensRoost

 

[Highbeam]

Sounds like the preamp, the second one due to a faulty first, is getting hot and conking out. Once it cools, it works again?