4DThinker
01-18-07, 08:44 AM
Oh what a difference a few degrees of direction change can make in how well an antenna can pick up signal!
My major OTA networks are all from 40 to 50 miles away, and all within 13 degrees of each other from my house (according to antennaweb.org). Using a magnetic compass I carefully aimed my large Radio Shack UHF directional antenna at the center of that ten degrees so that none would be more than 7 degrees off center.
I've been very frustrated since Christmas when I last aimed the antenna after making some upgrades to it all. All of my ATSC channels were coming in strong and steady except one (CBS). I bought a signal amp yesterday which proved to be defective, and decided I'd climb back into the attic just to verify all my cables were tight and such. On a whim I rotated the antenna 2 degrees south to point it closer to CBS (the southern most tower). I had resisted doing this for fear of reducing the good reception I was getting from everyone else.
Amazingly that 2 degrees of change not only fixed the CBS signal, but it also upped the signal from everyone else by about 20%.
So for anyone struggling with OTA reception, a little change in direction can make a HUGE improvement in reception.
One thing that helped is that I have a Pinnacle USB HD tuner (BestBuy) for my laptop. The Mediacenter software that came with it has a signal strength meter function. My antenna(s) are in a spacious attic. I took the laptop/HD tuner into the attic with me and hooked it directly into the antenna cable (before the preamp, distribution panel, etc.). I tuned into the weak channel, then called up the signal meter. I could dynamically see what effect each little bump of the antenna had on the signal strength. Once I found the optimum position to get that channel at best strength, I checked the other channels. In my case the 2 to 3 degrees I rotated my antenna improved ALL the channels so I didn't fuss with it much more.
My major OTA networks are all from 40 to 50 miles away, and all within 13 degrees of each other from my house (according to antennaweb.org). Using a magnetic compass I carefully aimed my large Radio Shack UHF directional antenna at the center of that ten degrees so that none would be more than 7 degrees off center.
I've been very frustrated since Christmas when I last aimed the antenna after making some upgrades to it all. All of my ATSC channels were coming in strong and steady except one (CBS). I bought a signal amp yesterday which proved to be defective, and decided I'd climb back into the attic just to verify all my cables were tight and such. On a whim I rotated the antenna 2 degrees south to point it closer to CBS (the southern most tower). I had resisted doing this for fear of reducing the good reception I was getting from everyone else.
Amazingly that 2 degrees of change not only fixed the CBS signal, but it also upped the signal from everyone else by about 20%.
So for anyone struggling with OTA reception, a little change in direction can make a HUGE improvement in reception.
One thing that helped is that I have a Pinnacle USB HD tuner (BestBuy) for my laptop. The Mediacenter software that came with it has a signal strength meter function. My antenna(s) are in a spacious attic. I took the laptop/HD tuner into the attic with me and hooked it directly into the antenna cable (before the preamp, distribution panel, etc.). I tuned into the weak channel, then called up the signal meter. I could dynamically see what effect each little bump of the antenna had on the signal strength. Once I found the optimum position to get that channel at best strength, I checked the other channels. In my case the 2 to 3 degrees I rotated my antenna improved ALL the channels so I didn't fuss with it much more.