Roof top antenna/analog tv/DTV converter box

[truck]

Is this happening to anyone else?
I used my $40.00 goberment coupon and got a $40.00 DTV converter box so no direct out of pocket cost to me.
BUT...on previously good TV channels on the analog tv, when I view them through the converter box the picture sometimes freezes and pixilates and the sound goes out for 4 to 10 seconds and sometimes the screen goes blank with a note NO SIGNAL.
I don't want to spend $50.00 a month for cable or satellite tv.
What can I do other than stop watching tv, or put up with the loss of information when the signal goes out?

[bigblock6912]

cross your fingers that it will be alright once they convert to digital. by the way what brand was it? i haven't hooked mine up yet. guess i better try it before d-day

[Clintster]

Where did you find one for $40, got my coupons, need to pick them up?

[shobby dobby]

i think i seen them at Target  they were i think  49.00


                                                       shobby dobby

[Juice]

If i read it correctly I don't think its a full signal yet
My box is doing the same thing, with about a 4 sec delay to anolog tv in the other room, for fun  (sometimes) I turn it up and wait for her to yell       

[truck]

Where did you find one for $40, got my coupons, need to pick them up?

It is a Magnavox converter bought at Wal-Mart

[Faast Ed]

My buddy has one that's working fine. The stations that are currently digital come in better than any broadcast signal he's ever seen, the others are fine too.
Not sure the brand, but he paid $59 - the $40 ($19).  Perhaps it's the location where he's using it? Works fine, I was over there today as he was going thru the channels.

[HotRock]

You may have to do something to get a stronger signal.   Rooftop antenna pointed in right direction?   Perhaps a better antenna with more gain(stronger signal)?   Maybe the old transmission line from the antenna to the converter box may be deteriated?  Just a few things to think about.

[JohnC]

truck,

The pixelation and sound drop-outs are signs of a weak signal.  This can either be because the transmission towers you're pointing to are too far away or because your antenna is not precisely aligned.  You might check to see if your DTV box has any kind of diagnostic or self-test mode that will display your antenna signal strength.  With the signal strength displayed, you can then fine-tune your antenna to make sure you are getting the strongest possible signal.

If that doesn't help and you find that the antenna signal just isn't strong enough, you might find that your local stations will increase their digital output once they turn off their analog signals and this might help improve your reception.
_________________
JohnC - Kechi, KS

[truck]

The signal strength varies as evidenced by the signal strength feature on the box.
According to antennaweb.org I'm good to go!
I also lost a station that is in my antenna's very good reception area.
I just checked signal strength of the channel my wife is watching and it wavers between 19% and 48%.
Why don't the give the emergency services the digital service and let us enjoy our analog?
That is the whole reason for the conversion, to make more airspace available to the civil service people, isn't it?

[bigblock6912]

they say you may lose a station or two even when they roll over to digital

[chopper]

All convertors are NOT equal.  I did a LOT of research before I bought mine, and went with a Zenith 901.  Couldn't be happier.  I live way out in the boonies, so have a tower/antenna/rotor.  I haven't used the rotor once since I hooked up the converter.  I get probably 2-3 times as many stations as I did before. 
  The 901 cost 70 bucks but was really highly rated..

[truck]

All convertors are NOT equal.  I did a LOT of research before I bought mine, and went with a Zenith 901.  Couldn't be happier.  I live way out in the boonies, so have a tower/antenna/rotor.  I haven't used the rotor once since I hooked up the converter.  I get probably 2-3 times as many stations as I did before. 
  The 901 cost 70 bucks but was really highly rated..

So...I got what I paid for...paid nothing....got the same.

[Faast Ed]

Good info here, the general public hasn't had them long enough for it to be common knowledge yet.

[harleyjt]

You might want to look into a decent digital antenna.  Although I'm still using my old analog antenna, it works well on all local stations but one.  I understand its the lowest power broadcast in the area, so I do get some drop out and pixelation.  I'm considering upgrading to a digital antenna. 

Also, when I bought my first digital TV a couple of years ago, I spent some time researching the digital thing.  I found a good website that gives you aiming information for each channel in relation to your location.  It also recommends what type of antenna you should use for your area. 

http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx

jt

[Bigs]

I have the Wal-Mart DTV Magnavox converter and it works as well as my Sony Digital TV in picking up the signal as long as my antenna is pointed in the right direction. I also checked with antennaweb.org for my location but my antenna doesn't seem to go along with what they say on antenna directon so I just rotated it until the signal came in the strongest.
  Bigs

[CraigArizona85248]

Truck,

You asked the question "why are we switching".  You are correct that part of the reason for the switch is to free up part of the spectrum for police, fire, etc.  Additionally there is quickly increasing demand from wireless broadband service providers for a larger allocation of the spectrum.  Finally, the broadcasters will be able to provide us with a much "richer experience" using a digital signal while using a smaller part of the spectrum.  By "richer experience" I mean things like, multi-channel audio, high definition content or several channels of standard definition content, etc.

Regarding the problems you are seeing.  As chopper pointed out not all converters are created equal.  If you can find a way to improve your signal strength (rotating the antenna or purchasing a better antenna), chances are many of your problems will disappear.  But a higher end converter box can also help.  The higher end boxes have better error handling capabilities.  The software inside the box that is used to decode the DTV signal is more robust in that way the transmission errors are delt with.  It is likely to recover more quickly from errors or use creative ways to hide the errors all together.  In my current job I'm writing software for demuliplexing MPTS (multi program transport streams) like those that your DTV converter receives.  It's an incredibly complex piece of software.  When I started working on this project I had no idea how complex it was going to be.  And all the complexity is in the error handling.  Spending a few extra bucks on a better converter is probably a good investment and will reduce your frustration.  But no matter what, you also need a decent signal strength.  Even a high-end box can't deal with errors that occur too frequently.

-Craig

[twincamzz]

I also live out in the boonies. Hooked my DTV box up the other day to try it out & did not get a digital signal of any kind. Have analog antenna on roof & also tried an "amplified" antenna with same results. Did I see someone mention a digital antenna? I'll have to pick one up & check it out.

[biker4christ]

got two boxes ,one stopped workin after 1 month ,the just didnt help. it freezes the picture ,scambles and shows no signalesp. in a storm,lotta good that does,

[hdjax2]

We shut off sattelite T-V a couple months ago and bought 2 converter boxes and a small multi directional amplified antenna. I mounted the antenna on the short mast that the sattelite previously used. Our reception is good most of the time but breaks up occasionally. I'm thinking about extending the mast to raise the antenna up some to improve reception.
Anyone with experience on this type of set up?
How high should I raise the antenna?
We are less than 20 miles from most of the transmission stations.
Any and all advise would be welcome. Thanks DJAX..

[truck]

I stopped in at my wife's cousin's tv shop and asked what I could do.
The short answer....nothing.
Lots and lots of people with digital tvs and converter boxes are experiencing pixilation, freezes, and periods of no signals, and those are the lucky ones. The others can't get any channels at all.
He is not pushing "stronger" antennas because it won't fix the problem, he said the cure is for the tv stations to turn up the transmitter power.
On February 17th when the transition takes place he is considering closing the shop because he doesn't want to deal with all the phone calls about "my tv doesn't work".
His shop is in another town but he lives about three miles from me and he is experiencing the same problems the rest of us are.

[gtmalone]

I'm using an FM radio antenna in the attic.  Got it at Radio Shack.  I think I paid about 35-40 bucks for it. It looks like a smaller version of the old TV antennas and it's about 4 feet long.  I'm about 40 miles away from the TV towers in the Dallas area.  I have it on a sat box to pickup the local digital stations.  Works great.  The "digital TV antenna" stuff doesn't hold water. It's a marketing thing.   Those are no different than ones made 40 yrs ago.  The number of elements determines the distance you can be to get a signal.  Rabbit ears will work fine if you are close enough.  Digital is either off or on which is why you get the breakup instead of a snowy signal.

[truck]

Below are the stations I am trying to watch. Sometime the signal strength is 48 and sometimes there is NO SIGNAL.
The transmitters or rather the antennas are slightly north of Philadelphia, as you can see by the bearing and distance, they are on the same plot of ground.
I don't know where I am going with this, but I do know that for the longest time I had good tv and now technology might force me to pay to watch what was free for years.
And it looks like channel 6 is going to be even harder to get after the transition, they are going from blue to violet in the difficulty to get color wheel.

DTV Antenna
Heading Miles

blue
vhf WPVI 6 ABC PHILADELPHIA, PA  152° 35.7 6
blue
vhf WCAU 10 NBC PHILADELPHIA, PA  152° 35.9 10
blue
vhf KYW 3 CBS PHILADELPHIA, PA  152° 35.7 3
blue
uhf WTXF 29 FOX PHILADELPHIA, PA  152° 36.0 29

blue
uhf WPHL 17 MNT PHILADELPHIA, PA  152° 35.9 17
* violet
vhf WPVI-DT 6.1 ABC PHILADELPHIA, PA Feb 17, 2009 (post-transition) 152° 35.7 6
violet

[gtmalone]

Truck - don't know what the stations power ratings are but that's a little less than the distance I have to the Dallas stations.  This FM antenna is working fine. Depends on terrain, too.  If you have lots of hills, trees, buildings, etc between you and the transmitters, you could loose some signal.  The advice about the boxes is correct. Not all are created equal.

[pan64]

Don't fall for "digital antenna" ads. they are no different. Here analog stations were mainly on VHF and so far all digital broadcasts are on UHF, so nobody had the right antenna. They are now saying you will have to reprogram your converter box on February 17th, like they're changing to digital on their old channel.