mth
12-23-05, 06:51 AM
My installation has a cable come into the house, then there's a "single connection" right after it comes in. Meaning, instead of running the cable all the way to the receiver, there's just a connector in the basement that the outside cable comes into, and then the cable to the TV runs out of. It's not a splitter, just a "joint".
Anyway, that cable to the TV was an older cable that also ran a much longer route than necessary (it used to go to the front room, and the TV is now in the back room).
So, a couple days ago, I finished and capped an RG-6 that I had, kept it to a minimum length and ran it to the receiver.
Now, I didn't keep a log or anything, but about that time, I've noticed that ONE of my OTA stations has had a drop in signal strength from about 75-68. That seems to be a critical point for losing quality. The others have dropped a little, from about 80-77. But, one day they all randomly went up from 76 to 80 so I just considered that natural variation.
But I wonder if anyone of you know if the cable could be causing it. I know your answer could be "swap them out and see" but actually, accessing that connector, and running the cable through the floor is a pain in the ass.
Second question: I live 1.3 miles from a giant antenna. Should I be getting better than "80" for signal strength using a rooftop antenna? Whenever the strength is greater than about 70, I've seen no artifacts with sound or video so I'm not that concerned, but I'd think I could rabbit ear a signal that good with a big antenna so close.
I have 2 antennas up there and the installer only hooked one of them up. He said it was a multi-directional uhf. But, I'm not getting any stations outside of a narrow range, so why have the multidirectional, especially if I'm getting a weaker signal because of it.
The other one looks like a "typical" antenna. Flat, sort of v-shaped, with a lattice.
Thanks for any thoughts on the subject.
Anyway, that cable to the TV was an older cable that also ran a much longer route than necessary (it used to go to the front room, and the TV is now in the back room).
So, a couple days ago, I finished and capped an RG-6 that I had, kept it to a minimum length and ran it to the receiver.
Now, I didn't keep a log or anything, but about that time, I've noticed that ONE of my OTA stations has had a drop in signal strength from about 75-68. That seems to be a critical point for losing quality. The others have dropped a little, from about 80-77. But, one day they all randomly went up from 76 to 80 so I just considered that natural variation.
But I wonder if anyone of you know if the cable could be causing it. I know your answer could be "swap them out and see" but actually, accessing that connector, and running the cable through the floor is a pain in the ass.
Second question: I live 1.3 miles from a giant antenna. Should I be getting better than "80" for signal strength using a rooftop antenna? Whenever the strength is greater than about 70, I've seen no artifacts with sound or video so I'm not that concerned, but I'd think I could rabbit ear a signal that good with a big antenna so close.
I have 2 antennas up there and the installer only hooked one of them up. He said it was a multi-directional uhf. But, I'm not getting any stations outside of a narrow range, so why have the multidirectional, especially if I'm getting a weaker signal because of it.
The other one looks like a "typical" antenna. Flat, sort of v-shaped, with a lattice.
Thanks for any thoughts on the subject.