Am I wasting my time and money or is there a solution?
I am located east of Pittsburgh and installed a GE Pro Outdoor antenna about 18’ high in early spring. Prior to the permanent mount I verified that I was able to pick up the major stations including ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox & PBS. The location is at the base of a hill covered with trees in line with the 265 deg heading pointing toward the closest towers that gave me the best signals with a fixed position of the antenna. After the leaves came into full bloom I lost WQED (PBS) broadcasting on VHF 13. This station will repack to VHF 4 soon and to complicate matters is not in the TV Fool Database anymore. The UHF stations will fade in and out with rainy and windy conditions. I can reposition the current antenna back to the south and achieve stronger signals from repeat towers but lose one or two of the majors in the process. Without a reliable signal with a fixed position antenna, OTA dvr’s don't work well.
I have come to the conclusion that buying an antenna with the highest gain may be the only chance for my location. I am considering the Channel Master CM-5020 mounted at the top of the chimney about 26’ off of ground with a 265 deg heading. This antenna will at least receive WQED (PBS) after they repack to VHF 4. I can only guess at the gain for the current antenna (very low) with no specs to be found other that the 70+ mile range listed on the box, a poor choice in retrospect for my location.
After looking at contour plots in line with the towers I would stop and just keep Satillite, however the TV Fool radar plot and the fact that I had a decent signal prior to the leaves says otherwise.
Thanks for any advice you can offer. I guess I am starting to understand more about how the TV cable industry grew out of this area.
Irv
TV Fool report
RabbitEars info – Pittsburgh Market for WQED 13 PBS tower (located about 17.5 mile away)
I am located east of Pittsburgh and installed a GE Pro Outdoor antenna about 18’ high in early spring. Prior to the permanent mount I verified that I was able to pick up the major stations including ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox & PBS. The location is at the base of a hill covered with trees in line with the 265 deg heading pointing toward the closest towers that gave me the best signals with a fixed position of the antenna. After the leaves came into full bloom I lost WQED (PBS) broadcasting on VHF 13. This station will repack to VHF 4 soon and to complicate matters is not in the TV Fool Database anymore. The UHF stations will fade in and out with rainy and windy conditions. I can reposition the current antenna back to the south and achieve stronger signals from repeat towers but lose one or two of the majors in the process. Without a reliable signal with a fixed position antenna, OTA dvr’s don't work well.
I have come to the conclusion that buying an antenna with the highest gain may be the only chance for my location. I am considering the Channel Master CM-5020 mounted at the top of the chimney about 26’ off of ground with a 265 deg heading. This antenna will at least receive WQED (PBS) after they repack to VHF 4. I can only guess at the gain for the current antenna (very low) with no specs to be found other that the 70+ mile range listed on the box, a poor choice in retrospect for my location.
After looking at contour plots in line with the towers I would stop and just keep Satillite, however the TV Fool radar plot and the fact that I had a decent signal prior to the leaves says otherwise.
Thanks for any advice you can offer. I guess I am starting to understand more about how the TV cable industry grew out of this area.
Irv
TV Fool report
RabbitEars info – Pittsburgh Market for WQED 13 PBS tower (located about 17.5 mile away)
