Sure it works for it's intender use. The intended use is to make money for the manufacturer.
You need to find out why you have bad reception. How far are you from the source? What directeion(s) are the sources? Do you get shadows on the screen? What kind of antennas have you tried (indoor or outdoor)?
The type of antenna you will need will depend on your problem(s).
I assume cable is not available.
Check
In some locations, because of geography, the only solutions are cable or sat.
I am assuming you live in a remote or rural area. You mentioned you purchased a new antenna, so I will assume you got the biggest antenna you could get. Make sure you use twin lead antenna cable. It has low loss. I have a house in upstate NY in the mountains and live about 40 miles away from TV stations and I have the biggest antenna you could buy from Radio Shack mounted on a rotary motor so I can turn the antenna in any direction. The twin lead is far superior than regular RG6 cable since the reception is very sensitive in that area. If you want to conduct a test, take some twin lead and run it down to your TV temporarily and try it. You should see a big difference. If you are using twin lead and still have bad reception even after adjusting the antenna, consider mounting the antenna at a higher location, if it's not already at the highest spot on your house.
You might want to look into digital TV. I hear that the reception is much better, even in places like where you live.
Mikepier has good suggestions. Check the stupid stuff first. Added to his suggestions Check the conductor, if clean fine if not clean the corrosion from the conductor. Then use grease to prevent new corrosion from forming.
There are powered TV signal boosters. They do some good and some bad. So be aware before you plunk your money down. It should be placed as close to the antenna as possible. NO I am not saying run a extension cord to the roof. I installed my booster just before my set in the living room.
Dish Sattelite tv will solve your problem if you have line of site of the satellite.
Hi,
I stay in an area where TV reception is rather bad. Others staying on the same street and location seem to be suffering from the same problem too.
I have adjusted my TV antenna a couple of times and even bought a new one. But all that do not work.
I have seen an advertisement on TV on a kind of device where you plugged into the wall AC outlet. There is a the coaxial RF outlet where the TV antenna cable plugs into on the device. The idea is to use the whole house internal wiring as TV antenna and at the same time filter and boost the reception signals.
Can anybody tell me does this type of device works?
Thanks, lim
There are basically three things that will affect your TV reception that are in your control. Firstly the antenna "gain". That is basically relative to how long your antenna is. The more elements it has the better. Secondly the height of the antenna. If your getting bad reception, raising the antenna can only help, unless its near power lines. Be careful! Thirdly is cable loss. Twin lead has less loss but is very susceptible to other types of interference (cb radios, amateur radios, electrical noise, etc.) If the cable run is not very long (under 25 feet) RG6 will probably not be any worse than twin lead as far as being able to tell the difference in picture quality that is actually seeable. Make sure the antenna is pointed toward the station you want to receive, SMALL END POINTS TO THE STATION, not the big end. If you're pointing it with the larger elements toward the station, then its pointing in the wrong direction. If you are still having problems, an inline amplifier might be used. They make various types, even some that mount right at the antenna with power cables that run down with the lead in cable and plugs into the nearest available outlet. The closer to the antenna the better. Less possibility of it amplifying the noise along with the signal that way. If all this fails, you will probably benefit with a satellite that offers local stations in its package. B
I assumes you are in a weak signal area.
If you decide to go full out for the ultimate in TV reception then follow this checklist. The first item being the most important.
Will a brick chimny located 20 feet from the antenna attenuate the signal very much, if at all ??
--James--
No. I may have a slight effect if it has a metal liner.
As I said before, twin lead has lower loss than coax. If you had a strong signal, maybe it would not matter, but if you are getting a weak signal it will be greatly attenuated by the coax. You might not even need the amplifier at the antenna if you use twin lead.
I've tried both methods for DX TV. As long as you use a good amplifier at the antenna there will not be enough loss in the coax to create a low signal level at the TV.
The disadvantage of twin lead even though it is lower loss is that it is not shielded. This can and most likely will cause interference with the desired signal present at the antenna. Interfering noise can more easily be induced in twin lead as compared to coax. The interference could come from sources like ignitions, electric motors, fluorescent lights ect. Twin lead can also create ghosting, especially at the lower frequencies.
Remember that amplifier introduce noise themselves, reducing the S/N ratio. And an amplifier can over drive the TV set. I had one that was oscillating a bit.
The distortion products of a good amplifier are far outweighed by the amplifiers benefits.
Your AGC wasn't working correctly
You can't say that without seeing the setup. There AGC can only cope with a certain range of signal and can't do miracles. I proved the signal level was too high by putting in one (and two) 40db attenuators.
Without even knowing the type of amplifier I was using or its design, you cannot say that it doesn't add a lot of noise. Noise is not a "distortion product".
80db of amplification needed to be attenuated? I'd like to see an amplifier with that type of gain.
A TV should work just fine within a quarter mile of a TV transmitting antenna. The induced voltage at that point can be handled by the AGC circuit and that voltage is much higher than the best amplifier can produce from a weak signal.
I said "good amplifier".
Whether the noise is atmospheric, molecular, IM, or anything else, a "good amplifiers" benefits far outweigh its "noise".
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