You guys have gotten awfully wound up with very complicated research and "information" concerning the reception of television signals. You sure do rely on TV Fool a lot. I've been to their website and was overwhelmed by the complex information presented there. After studying the information presented there, and the subsequent information that I had already gleaned from hours of basic Internet searches, concerning the problems that I am having with "antenna tv", I came away with the conclusion that I may never receive "antenna tv" without huge quality issues remaining.
It boils down to this. You shouldn't have to be a "rocket scientist" in order to receive a decent quality tv signal. You shouldn't have to be one, to get a fairly reliable signal either. In the "old days", right here in the same location we were able to get color tv that was of decent quality and was reliable unless our area was having severe weather. Yes, we didn't have as many stations, but the ones we had then (ABC, CBS, NBC, and 2 local UHF channels) were received good enough. Now, with Channel Master's best set-up for my area I still have my problems, although better than I had with an indoor amplified antenna, or a 5 star rated(on a dozen review websites) Chinese outdoor antenna which I amplified with a Winegard 20 db gain,1 db noise figure amplifier. The information I got on the Channel Master website was much the same as I was able to get from the TV Fool site.
I was able to converse with a representative in almost real time about my problems and possible solutions. He did not pressure me to buy anything from Chanel Master, and informed me from the very beginning that my problems could be caused from many things, including cell phone tower interference(there are 144 of them due north of my location, between me and where all of my stations are broadcast from), whether I live on a hill or in a valley(I live on a hill). and whether I have any existing structures that could interfere with reception( I do not). There is also the possibility that my homes electrical wiring could influence my reception (I SURE HOPE NOT !). I chose, on my own, to buy Channel Masters best solution to my problems. It cost me about $160.00, and has a no questions asked money back guarantee. It's also made in the U.S. I have presented the information here, not hoping for a solution, but just in curiosity about the many replies I may receive here about my post. I think that most will refer me to TV Fool, but I have already studied the info there until my eyes crossed, with no obvious solutions presented, nor did any info presented point me in a direction that led me TO a solution.
In my area we only have recourse to one "cable" provider, Suddenlink. We had them for about 2 years. During that time we had good quality, reliable reception........about 50% of the time. The other 50% of the time, we had NO SIGNAL. They had lousy tech service and even worse customer service. It was a nightmare cancelling our contract. This started my "adventure" into antenna tv. All I now no for sure is this. In the "old days" we got good reception with reliable service most of the time with the old analog signals. My dad would once in a while turn the antenna to get a little better reception. You didn't even have to use co-ax cable. Electronics components back them were generally archaic compared to modern components, yet we watched tv a lot, with few problems. If my dad would have had to jumped through the hoops that I have, in order to watch tv, we would have never watched tv.
The whole thing appears to be a simple coin toss now. If you get good reception, consider yourself blessed. If you are in my position, you either give up or you keep on trying as I will. I don't know what I will try next, but I won't repeat what I have already tried that didn't work. That includes further research of the TV Fool website, the Channel Master website, or even the FCC website( it's a bad joke, and they won't answer my emails),. I'll just keep on experimenting I guess.
If anybody replies to my lengthy post, I thank you for doing so. I'll read all replies, but I won't post further comments. Thanks to all jor the info posted here, and good luck to all who have problems with tv reception (you'll need it).
Larry B.
