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General Reception Help

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General tips on resolving low signal strength include the following:

A good first step is to re-scan with your TV and/or receiver. Note: Scanning for channels when a signal is out will erase the missing channels from the TV, making them impossible to pick up again without re-scanning. So, re-scanning should always be done after a signal outage.

Use a good outdoor VHF/UHF antenna, and feed it directly to a TV or converter box without splitting. Splitting a signal with a two-output splitter will cut your signal in half. If you need to feed multiple TVs, you may need to buy an amplifier, which you should install in the line before you split it.

If you are very close to the transmitter site, you may need to install an attenuator to decrease the signal. They are available in various sizes, from 3 dB to 12 dB. You may have to experiment to find the correct size for your application.

Re-peaking your antenna frequently improves the signal. You can find assistance on where to point your antenna, and your likely reception issues, by using one of several websites devoted to assisting viewers. They include:

Finally, make certain that your antenna, cable, and balun (the transformer that connects your cable to the antenna) have no cracks that could allow moisture into them. After years of weather exposure, these components frequently need to be replaced.

An excellent site to help with these issues can be found at http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/fixes.html

 
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Article details
Article ID: 10
Category: Viewer Help
Date added: 2012-08-31 13:14:26
Views: 9813
Rating (Votes): Article rated 3.1/5.0 (21)

 
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