HDTV Antenna

Is there a way to check for signal strength in the coaxial cable from my HDTV antenna with an ohm meter? Or is there a meter for signal? Like a lot of people, we paid to get an HDTV and a HDTV antenna, and it all worked for a couple of months after "the Big Switch" but a couple of weeks ago, we lost all HDTV channels. Earlier this year, I had to hire someone to put up the antenna, 30 ft up, and now, if I could check the cable for signal where it connects to the TV, that would save taking the antenna back down. Thanks.

i recently added a tv that had a signal meter built in. Maybe you do also?

Check your e-mail , sent you the info you need.

There are signal strength meters for co-ax and atnennas but they are very expensive. You can't use a simple ohm meter to test it. My guess is that a co-ax connector has gone bad or something
similar to that.

I just ran the channel search in the antenna menu, and just for grins, ran the channel search in the cable menu. Nothing.
When the new antenna was installed, I bought a 100 ft coax so there wouldn't be any connectors in the wire. Looks like I will need to get the antenna down and check the upper end.

I don't have a TV, so I just have to concentrate really hard to see all of the channels in my mind. After all, the little rays are flying around everywhere, not just to satellite dishes.
Zach

I live in a woods and have been fighting this signal thing since the change over.i've tried different antennas,added tower sections for height,and a few other things.Sometimes i get a good picture,but mostly channels come and go.The wind,clouds,fog etc. effects the signal.I have a signal meter in my tv,but sometimes it shows a good signal and the picture still freezes or gets static lines.Cable should be available for me next summer,so i might try that.

Actually you can use an ohm meter to a limited extent. You should be able to read continuity between the center conductor and the outer conductor at the bottom end of the cable, if not something is open.
Resistance should be pretty low, 300 ohms or less?
But not a dead short 1 ohm or less.

Try a telescope or something to examine the wiring at the top. If a matching transformer was used at the top to connect to the antenna I expect one of the leads is broken off.

btw there are no HDTV antennas. They are just old channel 2-83 antennas.
The HDTV signal is weaker or should I say it takes more of it to give you a picture than the old analog signal so you might need a higher or bigger antenna. Also signal amplifers help a lot.

Oops one more thing use the RG56U cable not the little stuff. The 56 cable has less loss the than smaller rg59u? cable. You can also use flat twin lead it has less loss when dry than coax, but more loss when wet. The foam filled flat twin lead is the best of the twin lead cables.

Spend a few bucks and get a satellite system. $30 bucks a month won't kill anyone and the signals are great.
Walt
PS 150 channels are nice too.

I had the same problem you had.

I even asked around here.

Ended up building a tall tv tower, and running two antennas. Also have a rotator up there.

I am using a UHF, and a seperate VHF antenna, a signal combiner/amplifier with an FM trap mounted at the antennas, and a rotator. Works like a champ, I can get stations in Nebraska and Wichita and I live in BFE nowhere. Not nearly as good as the old analog, where you would get something, even with a not so good signal, but I did get to watch the world series for free. Even had some salted peanuts while I watched it, just like in the ball park. Damn Yankees.

Boy, I remember this was your answer when I was asking about OTA signals.

I just can't see how you can PAY to watch advertisements.

Remember not everyone has the $$ to throw at a problem. My system was cheap, and already paid for itself. Remember when Americans would think on a problem, do a little hard work and get it whooped? Now-a-days, the attitude is just to roll over I guess.

I just put up a rotating antenna on a 20 foot mast and receive stations fairly well. As soneone mentioned above, I will not pay to watch advertising on cable or satelite so limp along with the alternative.It was a curious thing.... my wife had put the antenna up temporarily until I could mount it properly. She had it on the ground but it was under the TV cable (about 30 feet away) that runs down the road and we were pulling in channels off the cable. I wondered if putting it close as possible to the cable would pull an even better signal from the cable. ( I have enough stuff to do ....I aint about to relocate the durn antenna again), but was curious.
Cal

230 are even better! But ya gotta pay for it!

Check with Direct TV.In my area the local stations won't let Direct TV carry their stations
on their satellite so DTV put up an antenna for me it has some sort of built in booster now get
14 different channels off that antenna.I do pay a monthly rental on the antenna but its less than I was paying for 4 local channels with Dish and they maintain the system at their cost.

Just use the meter in your TV or converter box. They all have meters that give a reading that is a mix of signal strength and signal quality.
An ohm-meter won't tell you a thing.

Remember that you can't just rotate the antenna to look for signals. You have to rotate a few degrees and then do a channel scan. Then rotate a few more and rescan, over and over. The TV will only work on those it has found, locked-into, and put into memory.

There is NO such thing as an HD antenna. But, you must have the correct one. Many TV stations changed bands during the change. So, some that were on VHF went over to UHF, and vice-versa. 14 - 51 UHF are the most common now, but several are using VHF 2-13 still.

If you have a VHF antenna, you won't get the many that changed to UHF. And, the converse.

Also, many stations move to different transmitter towers that may be a lot further away from you now.

Also keep in mind that with digital - there are now two channel numbers for each. "Virtual" and "actual" and that can get pretty confusing. Your TV will usually only show you the "virtual" channel. If you want to improve reception, you have to know what the actual channel is.

This was done so old-time TV stations could keep their original names.

For example - in my area of NY -
Channel 12 is actually on VHF channel 7 now.
Channel 13 is actually on VHF channel 12 now.
Channel 10 is actually on UHF channel 26 now.
Channel 2 is actually on UHF channel 29 now.
Channel 40 (Fox 40)is actually on VHF channel 8 now.

Also, about coax, since somebody mentioned it. For your type of TV, RG59, RG6, or RG11 is used.
RG59 is the cheapest and fine up to around 50 feet. RG6 cost a little more an pretty good up to around 200 feet. RG11 is the most expensive and can be used up to 300 feet before line-amps are needed.

I agree with the others that something suddenly shorted or went open.
When up there install a "two part" amp.Those amps with the power supply and ampler module together at the TV are for the birds.
I use a wee dab if silicon grease inside the connector. And a blob of silicon around the connector to try and keep the moisture out.
If the end of the cable has been water soaked. The cable can be internally shorted 2-3 feet down it's length.
Rotor position is everything. 2-3 degrees is the difference between no signal or a watchable picture here.
The so called HD antenna tends to be a much more compact and sturdy unit that stresses the tower and rotor less.
The "HD" antenna is 2/3 sized, usually a channel 7-59 or 7-69 unit. If channels 2-6 are included it just adds all those wide elements which also pickup FM radio interference.
Those 5 channels 2-6 are not really lost. I cut my 2-69 HD antenna into a 7-69 antenna and picks up 2-6 just as well as it ever did.In fact better, there is less "herringbone" from the *(^%&*& FM transmitter 3 blocks away.

Everyone is calling their antennas "HD" now,regardless of size or age. They figure then can't sell them any other way. Some are antennas designed in the 1950s.

As to having a narrow point or field - not overall true. Some antennas yes, and some no.
Some bow-tie UHF antennas cover a very wide path like the DB8. On the other hand, some corner-refector Yagis like the 91XG are very narrow.
It's always been like that since TV was first invented.

Also, about herringbone that comes from FM interference. I don't think it can happen with a digital signal. You just lose the picture instead of seeing wavy lines like analog.

I agree about the amp. The issue isn't the amp itself. It's that the first amp that "sees" the antenna amplifes the signal and any noise that's there. The further away the amp is from the antenna, the more natural noise that might get amplified. Once the noise-to-signal ratio gets too high, the digital screen goes blank or pixelates.

Man if $30 bucks will put you in the poor house then maybe you need some type of Help. I hear that external_link is giving out free money go ask him for help.
Walt

Still have analog TV here, thus the herringbones are still around.

Yeah, I noticed. I've got a small farm near the Canadian border in Northern Michigan. I get a pile of Canadian channels in analog - CBC, CTV, bad-French TV, etc. Some come in pretty well from over 100 miles away and some from Sault Ste. Marie.