Sorry for the delayed response BIJ, 6 weeks of training on various shifts at work has left the brain and body a little sleep-deprived.
1) Don't bother with the shack amplifier. Go online and search for a Blonder-Tongue amplifier with a minimum of 25db gain, and also have a tilt control. 2) Do install the amplifier to the closest point of entry to the dwelling as you can get. If the signal is noisy at the TV set, an amplifier at that location will simply amplify the noise. 3) Before you buy an amplifier, buy a grounding block and install it at the entry point to the dwelling and ground it really good, buying an 8 dollar ground rod and driving into the ground. My guess is that is where your problem lies. There is a bad connection in the shield somewhere, most likely right outside of your house on a pole, or in a splice-box in the ground. Shitty grounding/shielding = shitty signals...especially in the VHF band. My guess is if you scanned through the other cable channels, you will also have a block of others that are week as well, unless the mid-band V's are all dedicated to digital signals. What you are likely seeing is not really a weak-signal noise, more likely OTA signals bleeding, which appears as random noise on an analog tuner. Hope this helps. If not, I do service calls, but your mileage charge is gonna be a little steep! Jeff On Thu, May 20, 2010 at 9:52 PM, Bob in Jersey <bob.in.jer...@juno.com> wrote: > The folks and I have been having signal-weakness issues with the > cable. > > I've checked all the connections (that aren't buried inside walls), > and things appear to be OK there. Dad J has a newer set which can > boost weak signals internally, but the other sets and the VCRs are > having significant problems, esp. with channels up to 13, which > accounts for the slight majority of our recording. > > I've finagled a connection between a freestanding RF modulator and the > VCR on our console set, without plugging the mod into AC, and it > improved the signal considerably. Dad originally got the mod because a > previous VCR didn't have the appropriate jacks to connect a separate > compact DVD player he also has, but the current recorder apparently > has such jacks. > > Normally I would have done the CBS shows tonight (20) upstairs, but I > switched them down to the one on the big set in part because the > Grey's Anatomy finale is (no spoilers) compelling enough to keep > Mother J awake through its end. Tomorrow, before the Medium finale, > I'll switch the mod to the upstairs set. > > These weak signals have only been occurring in the past two weeks or > so. You'd think Service Electric would be diligent in keeping the > lower channels working in part because their local-origination channel > (Go IronPigs!) is down there. Am I wrong in thinking they should > install, or upgrade, a signal amplifier going into the house, or would > it make more sense for me to go buy one? "The Shack", let it be said, > wants $40 for theirs. > > > > -- > BOB > > -- > TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "TV or Not TV" group. > To post to this group, send email to tvornottv@googlegroups.com > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > tvornottv-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to tvornottv@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to tvornottv-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
