OTA CBS Signal Dropping

[nomar116]

My HR-20 is really struggling with my OTA antenna. I am trying to use an indoor powered phillips antenna to pickup the local CBS affiliate. The antenna is linked below, it is a Phillips MANT510. I use the HR-20 and can tune the antenna to around 65-70% signal strength WITHOUT amplification. The problem seems to be that even in the signal meter, every 1 - 2 minutes the signal will drop. When I amplify the signal it reaches between 95-100% but the signal still drops when I'm watching CBS programming. It is not a problem on other networks. Any suggestions on what could be causing the problem and/or what I might be able to do to correct it... The dropped signal results in a "hich-up" in my programming that is VERY annoying during tournament time!

(BTW, I live in Pensacola, FL 32507)

http://www.amazon.com/Philips-Performance-Amplified-Indoor-Antenna/dp/B000ES8EG0/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1206152166&sr=8-1

[litzdog911]

Antenna-related issues are truly more art than science. First suggestion is to check out the "Local HDTV Reception Forum" at http://www.avsforum.com and find the thread specific for Pensacola. There you can ask local experts who are familiar with your specific stations and reception issues.

That said, you may never be happy with an indoor antenna. There are so many variables involved. Your issues sounds like typical multipath problems, where reflected signals can selectively interfere or reinforce the desired direct signal. Indoors is a real challenge, because just moving around the room can cause significant multipath. And signal strength doesn't really matter. In fact a strong signal with multipath often causes much more challenging reception problems than a weak signal with no multipath because you can typically amplify the weak signal while amplifying a multipath-laden signal just makes things worse.

Have you tried moving your antenna to different locations? As high up as possible? Perhaps in your attic?

[jacksonm30354]

My HR-20 is really struggling with my OTA antenna. I am trying to use an indoor powered phillips antenna to pickup the local CBS affiliate. The antenna is linked below, it is a Phillips MANT510. I use the HR-20 and can tune the antenna to around 65-70% signal strength WITHOUT amplification. The problem seems to be that even in the signal meter, every 1 - 2 minutes the signal will drop. When I amplify the signal it reaches between 95-100% but the signal still drops when I'm watching CBS programming. It is not a problem on other networks. Any suggestions on what could be causing the problem and/or what I might be able to do to correct it... The dropped signal results in a "hich-up" in my programming that is VERY annoying during tournament time!

(BTW, I live in Pensacola, FL 32507)

http://www.amazon.com/Philips-Performance-Amplified-Indoor-Antenna/dp/B000ES8EG0/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1206152166&sr=8-1


Check with WKRG to see if they are at full power. They have the furthest tower from Pcola (37 miles). If they are not at full power, according to the map on fcc.gov, it just barely touches Pcola. Antennaweb.org for your zip code doesn't even list WKRG 5.1 as being available.

[Redlinetire]

But AntennaWeb can also be very conservative.
Someone here pointed me to TvFool.com which provides a much clearer picture of what's possible signal wise...

I agree with litzdog, indoor antenna, distant tower, volatile signal strengths - sounds very much like a multipath problem.