OTA woes again

[TomK]

Thank you!

[Kenney]

Same here. 9, 10’s and 11’s, and 14. Nothing else since earthquake.

[TomK]

Shame - I was looking forward to Svengoolie's showing of "Earth vs. the Flying Saucers" tonight on MeTV (4.2). I don't think I've seen it before.

[Todd H]

In addition to checking your coax cable connections, also check your signal splitter, if you are using one. I was having many of the same intermittent problems described here, and did the normal routine of removing, inspecting, and tightening of any/all coax connections. When that didn't work, I saw a tip on an OTA blog saying "it could be your splitter." I had an spare, brand-new splitter in my box of antenna 'stuff," put it into place and the improvement was immediate. Signal splitters are rather cheaply made, with low-cost components inside and often poor solder joints. Also, use a splitter for ONLY the number of TV sets you are connecting, otherwise you are sacrificing precious signal strength. So, if you have 3 TV's in the house, use only a 3-way splitter. Finally, use only ONE splitter in your system - never introduce another splitter "downstream" after your main splitter. I cannot explain (technically) why these rules must be followed, but there are lots of OTA discussion sites where expert antenna installers lay out these well-known do's and don'ts. Note: I currently have an Antennas Direct DB-8e antenna - about $150 at Home Depot and worth every penny.

Todd

[TomK]

Thanks, Todd. I only have the one TV at home so don't use a splitter, but thinking of using this TV to move upstairs and upgrading to a new one for downstairs, so this information s useful.

Still no change to the current situation. The 11s were so weak this afternoon I ended up watching a show about growing potatoes in Idaho on 14-1. I guess I learned something new (potatoes grow well there due to the volcanic soil and the hot days and cold nights) but not my usual Sunday afternoon routine...

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

using this TV to move upstairs and upgrading to a new one for downstairs

If you have a really good outdoor antenna a splitter is probably a good way to go. Otherwise... I have two sets. One is used for most of the channels we usually talk about on Punaweb. The second set has its own antenna and is located in the one room where I can pick up NBC. But not just anywhere in that room, the antenna has to be in a particular location. The earthquake probably shook it enough to interfere with reception -- but we'll see when I have some time to check it between now and August. I only mention this because with some experimentation it is possible to get NBC in HPP, if for no other reason than to watch The Green Bay Packers whenever they play a game on Sunday Night Football. (and for me there is no other reason)

Portion of Hawaii’s drinking water that comes from underground wells : 9/10
Gallons of raw sewage that leak into the ground from Hawaii cesspools each day : 53,000,000 - Harper's Index

[macuu222]

I plugged a roku device into the back of my TV... It allows me to watch tv episodes on both ABC and CBS "free" so I don't have to depend on OTA.

[loffelkopffl]

is there a monthly charge for the roku device?

[macuu222]

No..its just a connecting device to all the free TV shows available...although there are also some pay ones. All you need is a wifi router. You can by Roku at Target and probably Walmart. Cost about $35.00 Plugs into your TV's HDMI port.

[ericlp]

Interesting, with all those earthquakes, that it seems to be loosening the coax cables.

I actually have cable, but don't watch TV. But, I have TCL tv that has a built in ROKU device. I just wanted to chime in to say, if you share a folder on your hard drive and install the sharing channel on the ROKU itself, you can watch all your saved movies and video. Works pretty good, will even play MKV container ones. Figured it would be a waste to try it out, but, it seems to play everything I throw at it so far. I normally just build a small home theater PC for movie watching.