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chlim
 
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Default Better TV reception

Hi,

I stay in an area where TV reception is rather bad. Others staying on the
same street and location seem to be suffering from the same problem too.

I have adjusted my TV antenna a couple of times and even bought a new one.
But all that do not work.

I have seen an advertisement on TV on a kind of device where you plugged
into the wall AC outlet. There is a the coaxial RF outlet where the TV
antenna cable plugs into on the device. The idea is to use the whole house
internal wiring as TV antenna and at the same time filter and boost the
reception signals.

Can anybody tell me does this type of device works?

Thanks,
lim


  #2   Report Post  
Joseph Meehan
 
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chlim wrote:
Hi,

I stay in an area where TV reception is rather bad. Others staying on
the same street and location seem to be suffering from the same
problem too.

I have adjusted my TV antenna a couple of times and even bought a new
one. But all that do not work.

I have seen an advertisement on TV on a kind of device where you
plugged into the wall AC outlet. There is a the coaxial RF outlet
where the TV antenna cable plugs into on the device. The idea is to
use the whole house internal wiring as TV antenna and at the same
time filter and boost the reception signals.

Can anybody tell me does this type of device works?


Sure it works for it's intender use. The intended use is to make money
for the manufacturer.

You need to find out why you have bad reception. How far are you from
the source? What directeion(s) are the sources? Do you get shadows on the
screen? What kind of antennas have you tried (indoor or outdoor)?

The type of antenna you will need will depend on your problem(s).

I assume cable is not available.


Thanks,
lim


--
Joseph Meehan

26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math


  #3   Report Post  
 
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Check www.antennaweb.org. With your street address they have a program
that will recommend an antenna, show which direction/how far various
stations are, etc.

In some locations, because of geography, the only solutions are cable
or sat.

  #4   Report Post  
Mikepier
 
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I am assuming you live in a remote or rural area. You mentioned you
purchased a new antenna, so I will assume you got the biggest antenna
you could get.
Make sure you use twin lead antenna cable. It has low loss. I have a
house in upstate NY in the mountains and live about 40 miles away from
TV stations and I have the biggest antenna you could buy from Radio
Shack mounted on a rotary motor so I can turn the antenna in any
direction. The twin lead is far superior than regular RG6 cable since
the reception is very sensitive in that area. If you want to conduct a
test, take some twin lead and run it down to your TV temporarily and
try it. You should see a big difference.
If you are using twin lead and still have bad reception even after
adjusting the antenna, consider mounting the antenna at a higher
location, if it's not already at the highest spot on your house.

  #5   Report Post  
 
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You might want to look into digital TV. I hear that the reception is
much better, even in places like where you live.



  #6   Report Post  
SQLit
 
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"Mikepier" wrote in message
ups.com...
I am assuming you live in a remote or rural area. You mentioned you
purchased a new antenna, so I will assume you got the biggest antenna
you could get.
Make sure you use twin lead antenna cable. It has low loss. I have a
house in upstate NY in the mountains and live about 40 miles away from
TV stations and I have the biggest antenna you could buy from Radio
Shack mounted on a rotary motor so I can turn the antenna in any
direction. The twin lead is far superior than regular RG6 cable since
the reception is very sensitive in that area. If you want to conduct a
test, take some twin lead and run it down to your TV temporarily and
try it. You should see a big difference.
If you are using twin lead and still have bad reception even after
adjusting the antenna, consider mounting the antenna at a higher
location, if it's not already at the highest spot on your house.



Mikepier has good suggestions. Check the stupid stuff first.
Added to his suggestions
Check the conductor, if clean fine if not clean the corrosion from the
conductor. Then use grease to prevent new corrosion from forming.

There are powered TV signal boosters. They do some good and some bad.
So be aware before you plunk your money down. It should be placed as close
to the antenna as possible. NO I am not saying run a extension cord to the
roof. I installed my booster just before my set in the living room.


  #7   Report Post  
Art
 
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Dish Sattelite tv will solve your problem if you have line of site of the
satellite.



"chlim" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I stay in an area where TV reception is rather bad. Others staying on the
same street and location seem to be suffering from the same problem too.

I have adjusted my TV antenna a couple of times and even bought a new one.
But all that do not work.

I have seen an advertisement on TV on a kind of device where you plugged
into the wall AC outlet. There is a the coaxial RF outlet where the TV
antenna cable plugs into on the device. The idea is to use the whole house
internal wiring as TV antenna and at the same time filter and boost the
reception signals.

Can anybody tell me does this type of device works?

Thanks,
lim




  #8   Report Post  
Brian O
 
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"chlim" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I stay in an area where TV reception is rather bad. Others staying on the
same street and location seem to be suffering from the same problem too.

I have adjusted my TV antenna a couple of times and even bought a new one.
But all that do not work.

I have seen an advertisement on TV on a kind of device where you plugged
into the wall AC outlet. There is a the coaxial RF outlet where the TV
antenna cable plugs into on the device. The idea is to use the whole house
internal wiring as TV antenna and at the same time filter and boost the
reception signals.

Can anybody tell me does this type of device works?

Thanks,
lim

There are basically three things that will affect your TV reception that are
in your control. Firstly the antenna "gain". That is basically relative to
how long your antenna is. The more elements it has the better. Secondly
the height of the antenna. If your getting bad reception, raising the
antenna can only help, unless its near power lines. Be careful! Thirdly is
cable loss. Twin lead has less loss but is very susceptible to other types
of interference (cb radios, amateur radios, electrical noise, etc.) If the
cable run is not very long (under 25 feet) RG6 will probably not be any
worse than twin lead as far as being able to tell the difference in picture
quality that is actually seeable. Make sure the antenna is pointed toward
the station you want to receive, SMALL END POINTS TO THE STATION, not the
big end. If you're pointing it with the larger elements toward the station,
then its pointing in the wrong direction. If you are still having problems,
an inline amplifier might be used. They make various types, even some that
mount right at the antenna with power cables that run down with the lead in
cable and plugs into the nearest available outlet. The closer to the
antenna the better. Less possibility of it amplifying the noise along with
the signal that way. If all this fails, you will probably benefit with a
satellite that offers local stations in its package.
B


  #9   Report Post  
 
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I installed two inline TV signal amplifiers with the first
amplifying a single TV antenna line approximately 35 db, then
connected another 4-way TV amplifier to the first 35 db
amplifier and has an additional, approximately, 12 db gain for
that unit. I added the 4-way as this was for an apartment house
with 4 apartments. With changing an additional single
problematic cable to one apartment, all four apartments are now
getting great reception and pulling in an additional two
channels that were barely coming in at all. Our TV reception
looks as good now as cable reception and everyone is a lot
happier for this TV signal boost. We're also out in the
boondocks also.

chlim wrote:
Hi,

I stay in an area where TV reception is rather bad. Others staying on the
same street and location seem to be suffering from the same problem too.

I have adjusted my TV antenna a couple of times and even bought a new one.
But all that do not work.

I have seen an advertisement on TV on a kind of device where you plugged
into the wall AC outlet. There is a the coaxial RF outlet where the TV
antenna cable plugs into on the device. The idea is to use the whole house
internal wiring as TV antenna and at the same time filter and boost the
reception signals.

Can anybody tell me does this type of device works?

Thanks,
lim


  #10   Report Post  
 
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I assumes you are in a weak signal area.

If you decide to go full out for the ultimate in TV reception then
follow this checklist. The first item being the most important.

1. Install the antenna as high as possible

2. If need be use a rotator to point the antenna

3. Use a signal amplifier AT the antenna

4. Use a deep fringe antenna with the longest boom possible

5. Use coaxial cable instead of twin lead as long as you have
a signal amplifier at the antenna.




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James
 
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Will a brick chimny located 20 feet from the antenna attenuate the signal
very much, if at all ??

--James--


  #12   Report Post  
 
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On Tue, 1 Mar 2005 19:30:40 -0500, "James"
wrote:



Will a brick chimny located 20 feet from the antenna attenuate the signal
very much, if at all ??

--James--

No. I may have a slight effect if it has a metal liner.
  #13   Report Post  
Mikepier
 
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5. Use coaxial cable instead of twin lead as long as you have
a signal amplifier at the antenna.



As I said before, twin lead has lower loss than coax. If you had a
strong signal, maybe it would not matter, but if you are getting a weak
signal it will be greatly attenuated by the coax. You might not even
need the amplifier at the antenna if you use twin lead.

  #14   Report Post  
 
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On 2 Mar 2005 04:03:49 -0800, "Mikepier"
wrote:


5. Use coaxial cable instead of twin lead as long as you have
a signal amplifier at the antenna.



As I said before, twin lead has lower loss than coax. If you had a
strong signal, maybe it would not matter, but if you are getting a weak
signal it will be greatly attenuated by the coax. You might not even
need the amplifier at the antenna if you use twin lead.


I've tried both methods for DX TV. As long as you use a good amplifier
at the antenna there will not be enough loss in the coax to create
a low signal level at the TV.

The disadvantage of twin lead even though it is lower loss is that
it is not shielded. This can and most likely will cause interference
with the desired signal present at the antenna. Interfering noise
can more easily be induced in twin lead as compared to coax.
The interference could come from sources like ignitions, electric
motors, fluorescent lights ect. Twin lead can also create ghosting,
especially at the lower frequencies.

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Remember that amplifier introduce noise themselves, reducing the S/N
ratio.


The distortion products of a good amplifier are far outweighed by the
amplifiers benefits.

And an amplifier can over drive the TV set. I had one that
was oscillating a bit.


Your AGC wasn't working correctly

  #18   Report Post  
 
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Your AGC wasn't working correctly

You can't say that without seeing the setup. There AGC can only cope
with a certain range of signal and can't do miracles. I proved the
signal level was too high by putting in one (and two) 40db attenuators.


80db of amplification needed to be attenuated? I'd like to see an
amplifier with that type of gain.

A TV should work just fine within a quarter mile of a TV transmitting
antenna. The induced voltage at that point can be handled by the
AGC circuit and that voltage is much higher than the best amplifier
can produce from a weak signal.

Without even knowing the type of amplifier I was using or its design,
you cannot say that it doesn't add a lot of noise. Noise is not a
"distortion product".


I said "good amplifier".

Whether the noise is atmospheric, molecular, IM, or anything else, a
"good amplifiers" benefits far outweigh its "noise".
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