Which side of the RG6 is the booster? The TV side or the antenna side?
Personally, I’d recommend putting the booster as close to the antenna as possible. Get the signal as higher as you can before the long run to the TiVO.
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Have you checked out sites that show the towers and location relative to your house?
The channel you are having problems may be off a tower in a different direction and that appears to be a directional antenna (as most are).
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You may do better by lifting the antenna up, or you may need to replace it w/ a larger one.
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I also told DirecTV to take a hike in November 16’. I’m 31 miles as the crow flies from the Antennas with an unobstructed line of sight however I live in a large metro area (phoenix) and I find that my signal strength as measured by the quality of my picture varies from day to day based on weather, pollution and ground temps (cooler days are better). My antenna is a 50mi antenna and then I’ve got a cheap signal booster just before the TV. It’s hit and miss for me on two channels but the other 3 are all solid 90% of the time.
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Any signal amplifier is most effective at the source of the signal, so place the pre-amp as close to the antenna as practical.
I believe that RG6 has a characteristic impedance of 50 (correction 75) ohms. Try to make sure that the pre-amp is designed for a 50 (correction 75) ohm cable.
With antennas, height is your friend. It has more to do with electrical characteristic rather than just line of sight issues.
Multi-element and directional antennas perform best.
Most antennas are designed for a band of frequencies. Which means that they perform ok across that band. If you continue to have issues with one channel you can get (or build your own) antenna tuned to that one frequency.
They do make devices to combine two antennas to feed through one cable, but most of them are junk.
The better approach would be having a mast mounted pre-amplifier that takes in two antennas and sends the signals down one cable, much like the DirecTv people with their antenna mounted dual LNAs.
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Ok, I picked the wrong one. It’s been a long time since my ham radio days. So, it’s RG-59U that’s 50 and the RG6 is 75.
Hey, I had a 50/50 chance.
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RG-59 is also 75 ohms. RG-6/RG-59 are basically interchangeable for CATV purposes.
Given the distance you’re at to the towers, you shouldn’t really have any issues.
Instead of spending $60 on a pre-amp, I’d spend $50 (well $42) on a different antenna:
https://www.amazon.com/Channel-Master-CM-4220HD-HDTV-Antenna/dp/B000XSAW9S/
You may be able to ditch the booster with a better antenna.
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I am 100% sure you already tried this… but, just in case. If your house EVER had CABLE - screw a cable into that cable outlet and then into your Tivo. If cable was ever connected, there is a very good chance that the OTA’s are still active. Every cable outlet I’ve tried in houses for sale, abandoned houses, purchased houses, apartment building… yada yada, has them working for OTA’s (and local FM as well)- as long as the cable is still connected outside. If it is not, then, well… you could… find where it is disconnected.
(grimacing and waiting for the full panoply of responses from electricity is dangerous to techno garbage someone just googled)…
Argh, I give up. I shouldn’t try to answer questions when I’m tired.
It’s RG8X that’s 50 ohms and DirectTV is a dual cable system from the dish…
That’s two strikes.
You may be able to ditch the booster with a better antenna.
Absolutely.
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No sir
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Take it back. I did the same thing several years ago. The first antenna I bought netted about six channels. I took that one back. Thinking that I was too far away from the antennas (about 60 miles) I stayed with cable a little longer. Then went to Best Buy and got the best antenna they had (about $150). I put it in the attic and aligned it is apps on the iPhone. I used the existing cable that feeds the entire house for all the TVs in the house. I now get 37 channels with a better picture than with cable. I never will go with cable again. Good luck!!
Is your antenna inside or outside? If outside, how high up and do you have any trees blocking the signal path? Do you have a rotor? I “did” antenna’s back in the 70’s and early 80’s before satt/cable was hatched.Clydo.
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There used to be a joke that went around in the amateur radio crowd.
I just set up my ham shack and I spent $1500 on my radio and $100 on the antenna.
Response: well you should have spent $100 on the radio and $1500 on the antenna.
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The house in the way could do it. I li in a valley in a apartment complex in baraBOO, and the baraBOO hills My antenna is only about 6 feet off the ground. I have a small RCA antenna from Wall Mart with a amp down on the 4 set coupler and the to numerous tv’s. I have problems when it rains and when we have heavy snow. Also when a vehicle with a lot of metal like garbage trucks, USPS ect. Down in the Milkaukee area where ou live you should easily get all the local channels and depending on here you live you may get some of the Madison channe on good days> I have found that if your off by a mere pubic air it can really affect your signals on less than prime days. I have never seen really good results from a attic mounted antenna. Height is your friend any any way you can get a clear shot around you it’s for the best.
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Trees are a real problem with digital TV signals. We live in a wooded area and even during the winter with no leaves we struggle. Windy days are worse as rocking trees tend to chop up the signal. During the summer when the leaves are on the trees it is almost unusable. Our antenna is about 40’ above the ground but 40’ below the tree tops.
Right now (winter) we do OK with the exception of one channel (ABC). We are about 40 miles from the stations. I have the best antenna and booster the much respected Antennas Direct offers. They also have great customer service. I have talked to them about the problem and they said if there are obstructions, no matter how good the antenna and or the booster you are prone to have problems. Digital really need clear line of sight or at least minimal obstacles.
Also, not all digital signals are the same. The station we receive with the strongest signal sits less than a mile from the one with the weakest signal.
Interestingly with the old analog system we had rock solid reception. For us digital offers beautiful HD quality - during the winter, when it is not windy, raining or snowing. The rest of the time it fairly well sucks.
I was getting thirteen channels with nothing more than an old set top antenna of rabbit ears and a loop. I used old wire and some cheap f connectors. what I had on my side was a very clear shot to the towers outside of town. My neighbor got a few more stations because he was able to go higher. When I used to put up systems we always tried to get maximum height. GO HIGH.
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Some channels are still vhf, you only have a uhf antenna. I know cause I did this.
Channel 4.1 in your area is uhf 28; 554-560 mhz. That antenna should cover that frequency the gain must be very low at that freq.
https://nocable.org/availability-report/zip/53222-milwaukee-wi
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If you want to get rid of cable then it makes sense to invest in a good antenna (UHF and VHF) with amps that improve the signal at the source. This will be an investment that you will install and ignore for many years, so get some good components to start with. I agree completely with Angus McLeod in his statements as when I installed my antenna (attic mount, restricted neighborhood) I had several hurdle’s to overcome. Long run to basement, inside roof, cable losses. etc. etc. but with an amp at the antenna (very large dual band) and an amp at the junction box (legrand OnQ) I get depending on which channel between 80% and 100% signal quality (according to television). I did a lot of reading when setting it up and it took about three different configuration before I found the importance of boosting the signal at the source before any noise.
P.S. I tried three different antenna before I learned the importance of a good one (thought they were all the same) and two different coax wires (went with quad shielded RG6).
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