Antenna/ Signal issue!

[madmac]

Hey all,

Last week I watched golf on TV as I always like to do. I get my TV signals (DTV) over the air using an antenna I have situated on my roof. Well, upon turning the TV on, I get an excellent HDTV signal with no problems. At around an hour and a half in, the signal pooped out and started to fail.......then it failed altogether!!. ARGH.....right at the end of the tournament!.

This Sunday, I wanted to watch the Barclays tournament final and of course at the beginning, I got a perfect signal and sure enough, an hour and a half into it the signal started to poop out once again!. The first time this happened, I thought that there might be something outside interrupting the signal but when it happened at exactly the same time and the same way the week after, NOW I have my suspicions!

I think I have narrowed it down to some sort of short in my antenna's amplifier that slowly heats up and then causes problems with the antenna amp, causing the signal power to weaken. It's related to the rotor motor and the power thats used to make the antenna turn on the roof.

Anyone got some clues that I could check on??

ps.....It's got nothing to do with the TV (I'm convinced of this now). It's antenna related!

[Kevin P]

Is your antenna amplifier powered continuously, or does it power up only when you have your system on?

If it's powered continuously, it wouldn't be a heating-up issue after being on for 90-odd minutes, in the amplifier anyway. It could be the TV itself (or whatever box handles tuning duties). If you turn it off and back on, does the signal come back? How about if you leave it off for 10 minutes, then turn it back on?

[knowledgebass]

Could also be atmospheric conditions as you imply that it occurred the same time of day. Did you try the same channel at different times of day for greater than 90 minutes?

[madmac]

I'm convinced now that the signal loss is due to the antenna amp. Yes, the amp is on continuously but the amp box also contains a power system for the antenna rotor. In other words, I am able to turn the antenna on the roof using power from the same box (Amp box is Located in my living room) as the amplifier. I believe now the rotor motor was shorting and not working properly. I disconnected all the rotor wires on the amplifier box and the signal has vastly improved. I haven't watched much TV since last Sunday so time will tell. I never use the rotor on the antenna anyway. Once it's pointed in the right direction, I get all broadcast TV perfectly. If this does not fix the problem, I will try another antenna amp.

The DTV signal is decoded by my TV itself because it has a digital tuner inside it. I hope that's not the problem. Also remember that I am only losing certain channels but not all when this happens so I doubt it's the TV itself.

[madmac]

Update !! (for all those that care??)

Turns out my theory was correct and it was indeed the rotor power supply that was causing my antenna signal to malfunction. Watched the US Open tennis for hours yesterday without an issue.

Amen.