Televsion amplifier bad

[calliopeguy]

My TV system is going whacko!. I have one of the new digital antennas or whatever they are called and I have the worst kind of problem....intermittent reception. After setting up camp I did the standard auto search for channels and it found 28 channels....more than its ever found before. Six hours later it only had 2 channels. I switched the TV amplifier to cable and I got 8 channels even though I was using the antenna. Next morning I got 1 channel without touching a thing. Last weekend I switched it to off and got 10 channels. So the question is; can I swap this TV faceplate that I assume has the amplfier attached to it with another brand? Are they about the same? It would be time consuming for my dealer to putz with it waiting for it to break down so I would just like to swap it out and see it thats the problem. Both the bedroom TV and living room TV have same symptoms. Once the TV has found the channels doing the search they stay on as long as the TV is on. So I just want to know if I can swap this thing out with another "standard" brand? I'm hoping they are not expensive

[dalemac377]

First thing I would do is check all the cable ends and cable connections to make sure they are good. Sounds like some kind of intermitent signal loss.

[calliopeguy]

Dale -

Thanks for the reply. I did have my service tech take a look at it once before and he did find a loose cable, repaired it, and it looked like I was going to live happily ever after. I don't think it is a loose connection however because once the channels are found correctly it will contiue to work without flaw until I turn the TV off.

[Greg Morin]

digital can be spotty

[SWAILES]

Digital signal is not the same as the old analog there is little to no fade margin so you either have a usable signal or it is gone like an on off switch. So, you could be on the fringe and then loosing signal.

[ClassicHammond]

The weather can affect the digital also and yes either it works or not, the days of snow are gone! You could try turning off the 12 v. amp and just put a new 120v amp inline, it will boost all of the tv's no matter where you place it. I doubt it'll cost more than 20 bucks. I was thinking of replacing mine because when the inverter changes gear the power must drop and the signal gets interupted.

[pulpwood007]

Assuming you live in a metropolitan area with several local stations, how about trying it at home. If you know there are several stations that provide a strong digital signal you can rule out loss of signal in marginal areas. Obviously, if you still have problems it's in the antenna cable (coax or connectors) or amplifier.

[calliopeguy]

I agree that with digital the old weak signal snow is history. However a weak signal does show up on digital but intermittent "pixelation (sp?) where some or all of the pixels freeze. And I suppose it could well be that when I had the really good reception that conditions were really good. I will admit at least some of the stations at that time did have intermittent freeze frame indicating marginal reception but its hard to believe the majority were fringe reception. I currently have my rig at the repai shop and the Rvtech said he would swap out the wall mounted amplifier so we can see if thats the problem. I'm also hopng to go out again this weekend so I can simply ask other people how many channels they receive and compare. I don't think its a problem of anything loose because once the channels are set I don't experience anyproblems during that episode of TV watching. I would be curious to hear from other people that have the new fixed style of antenna and see if they have compared with people with the traditional movable antennas.

[sheltieRV]

Originally Posted by calliopeguy

I agree that with digital the old weak signal snow is history. However a weak signal does show up on digital but intermittent "pixelation (sp?) where some or all of the pixels freeze.

Not always. It can lose bits, but needs the stream intact. In the analog days, whatever came across went to the screen. But in Digital days you need to get most all of the bits so that the receiver can decode them. Pixelation can be a loss of a bit or two, or that the TV processor got "confused".



DTV signals will vary with the weather and atmosphere conditions. For example, we stay at a fringe campground, so I can pick up 3-5 signals during most days, and by evening I am only getting the closest one. I would agree with a previous poster, try it in a known environment (e.g. home) and see what happens.



Also, don't forget that the 12v booster can be affected by other 12v noise if you are not running through the batteries (e.g. shore power with batts off). To test that, turn off other 12v sources (usually the bath fan in the Kingston is the biggest culprit).

Edited by: sheltieRV

[calliopeguy]

Well last weekend was good/bad with the TV. On arrival we got 12 channels...including the one that was going to cover the foorball game (Mn Vikings). The channel was kinda weak (pixalation and frame freeze). I know people keep saying you can't have a weak signal with digital but to me if you get an occasional pixalation or frame freeze, the signal is not as strong as it should be. That night reception dropped down to 2 channels and remained that way the next morning. About 9:00 A.M. my wife suggested retuning just in case moisture had something to do with and the sun was now shining full strength. We re-tuned and got 10 channels including the one I want. It was a little weak (occasional pixalation) so I just left it on that channel for the rest of the day. As the day wore on the signal improved to perfect! I watched the entire football game that night! The next morning we got one channel and after an hour it dropped out also. I have ordered another wall amplifier from my dealer and will have to start the process of elimation. It could also be the omnidirectional antenna or maybe the 12vdc supply to the amp. Just another one of those "but it's only 3 months old!" stories.

[artgpo]

Do you have the standard Winegard bat wing antenna orthe new flat, round type? I just bought a Winegard "Wingman" for our bat wing antenna. It is supposed to enhance digital TV reception. I have not yet installed this so I cannot comment. Just a thought. It was about $23 on sale at CW. It just snaps on to the existing antenna.

[calliopeguy]

I have the new flat round fixed antenna. I talked to a guy at the campground last week end that installed the wingman on his standard crank-up type antenna and he absolutely loves it....dramatic improvement!

[KennyB]

Yep Wingman really mad a big difference on mine too, I love it!

[Russb]

http://kingcontrols.com/surelock/digital_tv_signal_finder.asp





Has anyone had any experience with this signal finder? Sounds like it is a good way to get the antenna pointed correctly before doing a channel scan.