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ATi HDTV Tuner help

F

fallguy

2[H]4U
Joined
Sep 8, 2001
Messages
3,969
So I got the tuner today, and its working pretty well. I just have very poor reception for HDTV with the stock antenna. I am not near a window, so I dont have that option. When setting up the DTV part, it showd me my signal strength, like on a cell phone. There was 6 bars, and didnt even have one. :( I cant find that option now, so I cant check if moving the antenna around the room helps. Anyone know where it is without going thr the setup again?

So my question is, are there certain brands of antenna's that are better? Do they all hook up the same way, via coax? Best place to get one? Ive never fooled with one before, and dont really like the thought of putting on my roof, looks kinda ghetto. But it seems I need to get a signal. I cant get anything, with the exception of one station that cuts in and out.
 
If you are getting zero signal from that antenna, you are better off getting an outdoor antenna.

To get to the signal strength, right click on the video screen and select setup. In setup go to the channels tab and the signal bar is near the bottom.
 
Ok found it, thanks. It still shows zero, but shows 11 channels.

So is there a best brand, of antenna? Do I need something fancy, some $100 jobber, or will a $20 blue light special do?
 
I had the same problem as you, only I'm in a basement. Moving the antenna around helped a little bit but not enough to be effective. I ended up buying another antenna. Here is the website I ordered from.

Antennas

I went with the exterior roof mount antenna, if that isn't an option for you I would suggest the powered indoor antenna.
 
Whoa, thats expensive.

Hows about something like this... http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=2625047

Am I supposed to guess where to point it? Im guessing towards the major city Im closest to.

edit, does the cable have to be a " Satellite TV Compatible" coax, or is it just the same as regular cable coax, I have a ton of that. Does it have a special shielding or something. Or just fancy marketing.
 
Yeah, that antenna should work. as for the coax cable, I just used a 100 foot long peice of generic coax. Nothing fancy.
 
No, you can't base your antenna purchase on the cheapest price alone. You need to buy one that is appropriate for your location.

Fox example, you need to know how far you are from the stations that you want to recieve, if there are any large trees in the area, buildings over 4 stories, etc.. And then, pick an appropriate antenna color-code for your situation.

AntennaWeb.org antenna selector - you give it an address, it will spit out stations likely available to you, and the likely antenna color codes needed to get them.

AntennaWeb links to antennamakers . FYI, in various forums I've perused on the OTA cable/HDTV subject, ChannelMaster's seem to be the most popular.

Descriptions of the various types of antennas.

I noticed, while @ BB last weekend, that they have some roof mount antennas, one for $55 [a Terk], if I recall, but not sure of the model, it may not be right for you anyway. And the site doesn't seem to be much help, the cheapest roof mount shown is an RCA @ $60, but I swear the one I saw had a 90+ inch boom on it.

[edit]
In my particular case, I basically have all the problems..I live like 2-3 blocks from the beach in Santa Monica - so you could imagine the amount of palm trees in around. And I live on a slope, and in the general direction of my local stations is 'above'. And within 1/2 block or so, theres a 3-story apartment building, with a steeple thing on top (kind of looks like a mosque).Then there's Sanata Monica Municipal airport - according to Mapquest 4.5 miles, but 'as the crow flies' is 1.5-2 miles :( .

So even though most of the stations are ~28.5 miles from me, with a handful 40-90 miles, I need no less than a Medium directional, on up to Medium & Large w/ Pre-Amp for the outer stations.
 
Sweet thanks. Im pretty close, or so it tells me.

Antenna.jpg


I have some pretty big trees in my backward, which is facing Knoxville. Not really any buildings though, but some rather large hills between here and there.

So I *should* get a good reception when I get an antenna. :)

Thanks again.
 
Try to help where I can :p . Of course take my suggestions with somewhat of a grain of salt - I am still in the 'looking' phase. Moved to this place about a month ago, still no satellite, nor done anything about [actually getting] an antenna. There's [a big] one already on the roof, but it's rusted to shit, and I don't know if it even works.

I figure though, that AW.org is a good resource for this, as they give you the [approximate] locations of stations and other info, as well as seemingly not exactly pimping one maker exclusively over others. As best that I can figure by the site info, it's an association of the various involved companies in the satellite/cable/OTA/etc biz.

Kinda wierd though in your s/s..You are really close to some stations, but the included antenna doesn't pick up *anything*? Perhaps it's a DOA antenna, or just a plain POS.
 
Going by their software, I get between 0% and 8& signal strength. It kinda just bounces between there. I have a one story house, so Im not in a basement or anything. Ive doubt checked the connections, and the antenna seems to be hooked up well. I do have some large trees in my yard (just cut down two... ) but other than that, not much else in the way.
 
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