[marcucci]

In a quest to find an OTA antenna for inclement weather, I landed on this Terk based on the simplicity of the install, looks, etc. I've seen it advertised & reviewed as working fine with the HR20. Well I bought one this weekend and hooked it up, and it caused my locals over DTV to stop working. I'd be Ok with this but it caused several other channels to stop as well.

I checked the install twice, made sure all the connectors were good, uninstalled it (verified channels came back), then reinstalled it with the same results.

As near as I can tell, in the signal strength menu, it caused a few of the transponders to drop out. I didn't write them down but it looked like the 99 degree and I think 113 c/s would drop to 0 strength with the antenna installed. Uninstalling it brought those back, along with the missing channels.

I'm OK with doing locals on the OTA only but I couldn't live with the other missing channels.

Has anyone successfully installed one of these? Any clue what's wrong? I installed the Terk antenna per the instructions with the dish on the INs and the DVR on the OUTs with diplexors between the OUTs and the BBC modules that the DVR came with. Installing on the DVR side of those caused none of the satellite signals to work.

When installed the locals worked great OTA.

FWIW, I can't remember the dish size but it was the "standard" new HD oval that is required to get all the HD channels and I've only got one recieved attached to it (and one pair of cables I ran through the Terk).

Any help is appreciated!

 

[texasbrit]

In a quest to find an OTA antenna for inclement weather, I landed on this Terk based on the simplicity of the install, looks, etc. I've seen it advertised & reviewed as working fine with the HR20. Well I bought one this weekend and hooked it up, and it caused my locals over DTV to stop working. I'd be Ok with this but it caused several other channels to stop as well.

I checked the install twice, made sure all the connectors were good, uninstalled it (verified channels came back), then reinstalled it with the same results.

As near as I can tell, in the signal strength menu, it caused a few of the transponders to drop out. I didn't write them down but it looked like the 99 degree and I think 113 c/s would drop to 0 strength with the antenna installed. Uninstalling it brought those back, along with the missing channels.

I'm OK with doing locals on the OTA only but I couldn't live with the other missing channels.

Has anyone successfully installed one of these? Any clue what's wrong? I installed the Terk antenna per the instructions with the dish on the INs and the DVR on the OUTs with diplexors between the OUTs and the BBC modules that the DVR came with. Installing on the DVR side of those caused none of the satellite signals to work.

When installed the locals worked great OTA.

FWIW, I can't remember the dish size but it was the "standard" new HD oval that is required to get all the HD channels and I've only got one recieved attached to it (and one pair of cables I ran through the Terk).

Any help is appreciated!

I am not 100% sure from your description how you have this system cabled. The clip-on Terk as I remember is designed to sit on a cable from the sat dish and dipexes the OTA cables onto that cable. That won't work because the OTA signals and the signals from DirecTV10 and 11 are in the same frequency band. You need an OTA antenna that has a completely separate cable down to the first diplexer, sitting on the DVR side of the BBC. Post back and explain exactly how the antenna and satellite are cabled.
The Terk is a very poor antenna anyway, and may not work for all the channels in DFW. What is your zip code, I can give you a good idea of what sort of antenna you might need.

 

[HD AV]

The HR 20 has a separate input for OTA signals. The response above is correct, but U should not have to diplex. U can split the single cable from another antenna and run to whatever TVs you have/need if the STB hooked to them has OTA. Texasbrit will help U with the appropriate antenna. If an indoor will work, the top of the line amplified RCA is the best I've found and I went through 5 until I got the RCA. Works like a champ and the transmitters are 32 miles from me. Has to be in/near a window facing that direction though. Have 30' of coax connected to it with a barrel connector. Works great for the bedroom H20..

 

[marcucci]

Thanks for the responses.

76063 is the ZIP. Mansfield. I'm less than 20 miles from Cedar Hill where most of the transmitters are, and I have an unobstructed LOS to them from my house (though the dish is on the other side of the house).

The cabling is:

LNB outputs (2) > 4' of RG6> Terk Inputs > Terk Outputs > ~100' of RG6 > Terk diplexors SAT/TV > Terk Diplexors SAT > 1' of RG6 > BBC module > HR20 SAT IN

One diplexor TV output is connected to the OTA input on the DVR, one is hanging open and eventually will go to my A/V reciever.

HD AV, do you know what RCA antenna you have (m/n or... ?). I have one of their cheaper amplified ones and it's a POS.

 

[evan_s]

Yeah that will never work. The only way you can diplex with the slimline dishes is either by moving the BBC before the diplexer (in this case the terk inputs) or by using a SWM. If you can I'd return the terk since you paid for a lot of stuff you really can't use in that setup.

 

[bobnielsen]

There is a good thread with comparisons of many indoor antennas at AVS Forum.

 

[HD AV]

Thanks for the responses.

HD AV, do you know what RCA antenna you have (m/n or... ?). I have one of their cheaper amplified ones and it's a POS.

It's their top of the line, I believe the model number is 50, but I'm not sure. I'm @ work so I'll have to check tonight. It's a slim sliver rectangle with rabbit ears and a small base so the rectangle is "L" shaped. Built in amplifier. Best Buy used to stock it @ 59.95 but RCA listed it @ 49.95 and they matched the MSRP when I showed them the print out from the web site. Tried to look it up and could not find, except for a picture @ http://www.rcaaccessories.com/home.html shown in Get the most from your HDTV investment. At least that will show you what it looks like. It's on the left next to the HDMI cables. Got one for my mother in VA and she lives in a depression, has it in a downstairs window, and still gets all the stations from 24 miles away.

 

[mdavej]

Marcucci,

I'm using a Terk44 with my HR20, but I had to give the Terk it's own dedicated cable run as well as a home made power supply for it, going into the diplexer, since it couldn't use the sat power anymore. Works about as well as a decent set of amplified rabbit ears ($30 Philips from Walmart is what I use on another H20 of mine). The main advantage is the Terk is it's out of sight. Actually I ended up flattening out the curve of the Terk, taking it off the dish and jamming it behind my downspout. It's stayed in place for 2 years now, and gets a better signal since I 've got it way higher than my dish.