Terk TV44 Antenna Has Spotty Reception in Sacramento

I have a Terk TV-44 attached to my satellite dish. I just moved
recently from LA to the Sacramento area where I had the same setup.
In LA, all my television stations came in crystal clear without having
to make even the slightest adjustment. I am now in the Sacramento
area (zip code 95628), and my reception is spotty at best. Sometimes
the signal is there...sometimes it's not. Sometimes I move the
antenna around the dish and the reception changes slightly but it
still isn't very strong. It also seems to change with the clouds
(more clouds mean a degraded signal).

From what I have read, the direction of the Terk shouldn't matter
since it is omni-directional. Is that true? Would it be better if I
moved it or even moved the dish? My wife says the dish is in a fine
spot (all transponders read between 80 and 95) so she doesn't want me
fooling with that. Only other thing I could think of is use a
mounting pole to raise the Terk even higher. Or would that even help?

Is there a way to amplify the signal to make it stronger? Is there a
better clip-on antenna I can buy? I have also tried a cheap indoor
antenna from Radio Shack and it is even worse. Any advice would be
appreciated. Thanks.

On Mon, 07 May 2007 14:53:17 -0700, alanavakian wrote:

Is there a way to amplify the signal to make it stronger? Is there a
better clip-on antenna I can buy? I have also tried a cheap indoor
antenna from Radio Shack and it is even worse. Any advice would be
appreciated. Thanks.

Get a real outdoor antenna. One designed to pick up UHF stations. A CM
4221 or CM 4228 pointed at 190 degrees should work great.

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wrote:
I have a Terk TV-44 attached to my satellite dish. I just moved
recently from LA to the Sacramento area where I had the same setup.
In LA, all my television stations came in crystal clear without having
to make even the slightest adjustment. I am now in the Sacramento
area (zip code 95628), and my reception is spotty at best. Sometimes
the signal is there...sometimes it's not. Sometimes I move the
antenna around the dish and the reception changes slightly but it
still isn't very strong. It also seems to change with the clouds
(more clouds mean a degraded signal).

From what I have read, the direction of the Terk shouldn't matter
since it is omni-directional. Is that true? Would it be better if I
moved it or even moved the dish? My wife says the dish is in a fine
spot (all transponders read between 80 and 95) so she doesn't want me
fooling with that. Only other thing I could think of is use a
mounting pole to raise the Terk even higher. Or would that even help?

Is there a way to amplify the signal to make it stronger? Is there a
better clip-on antenna I can buy? I have also tried a cheap indoor
antenna from Radio Shack and it is even worse. Any advice would be
appreciated. Thanks.

The center of your zip code is around 30 miles from the Sacramento
broadcast towers. That is too far for a Terk TV-44 to be of much good.
That Terk is not a very good antenna to begin with as it is designed for
a form factor, not for performance (ok, it is a crappy antenna). It
probably worked in LA because your location had a better view of the LA
broadcast towers which are up there at over 6000' on Mt. Wilson. In
Sacramento, you should start by dumping the TV-44 in favor of a better
antenna.

The edited list of digital stations from plugging your zip code into
antennaweb.org:

* yellow - uhf KXTV-DT 10.1 ABC SACRAMENTO CA 189° 31.4 61
* yellow - uhf KTXL-DT 40.1 FOX SACRAMENTO CA 191° 29.6 55
* yellow - uhf KVIE-DT 6.1 PBS SACRAMENTO CA 191° 29.6 53
* yellow - uhf KSPX-DT 29.1 ION SACRAMENTO CA 192° 30.0 48
* yellow - uhf KQCA-DT 58.1 MNT STOCKTON CA 188° 29.3 46
* yellow - uhf KOVR-DT 13.1 CBS STOCKTON CA 189° 31.4 25
* yellow - uhf KCRA-DT 3.1 NBC SACRAMENTO CA 190° 31.0 35
* yellow - uhf KUVS-DT 19.1 UNI MODESTO CA 127° 47.1 18
* red - uhf KMAX-DT 31.1 CW SACRAMENTO CA 190° 29.6 21

The last three numbers on each row a azimuth, distance in miles,
and the actual broadcast channel for the digital signal. All of your
digital stations are currently broadcasting on UHF. Checking the FCC
data, two of the stations are slated to switch their digital signal to
their current VHF analog channel after the analog shutdown in 2009:
KXTV-DT ABC 10 and KVIE-DT PBS 6. However, the low VHF 2 to 6 stations
are not completely settled, especially the VHF 6 stations, so KVIE-DT
PBS may end up on another UHF channel.

I agree with the other reply. One option is to get a Channel Master
4221 4 Bay bowtie and mount it on the roof or side of the house aimed
south. The CM 4221 stands a good chance at picking up the ABC 10 station
in 2009, but it won't get a low VHF 6 station. Since you are getting
reception with the TV-44, if you want to stick with a satellite dish
type mount, you could try the new Channel Master 4220 2 Bay bowtie.
Mount that a few feet above the satellite dish on a mast. See
http://www.warrenelectronics.com/antennas/4220.htm.

www.solidsignal.com is also a reputable on-line seller of antenna gear.

Alan F

I suggest you read www.hdtvprimer.com. It's technical. They have a
whole section on antennae. Their only comment for Terk is under the
heading "Manufacturers to avoid"

Thank you everyone for your reply. I think I am convinced I need to
go with another antenna. I like the Channel Master Model 4220 since
it will work with my existing satellite mast and it's not too big.
Now, my next concern is whether the reception range is good enough
given the "up to 30 mile" qualification.

Alan F - "The last three numbers on each row a azimuth, distance in
miles, and the actual broadcast channel for the digital signal." Does
the actual broadcast number (the last number) correlate with the
Reception Range posted on http://www.warrenelectronics.com/antennas/4220.htm?
In other words, when ABC says digital channel 61, that means that it
falls under the Channels 14 thru 69 (up to 30 miles) category rather
than Channels 7 thru 13 (for its channel 10 designation), right? I
just want to make sure that this new antenna has enough range to get
everything that I need. Thanks.

wrote:
Thank you everyone for your reply. I think I am convinced I need to
go with another antenna. I like the Channel Master Model 4220 since
it will work with my existing satellite mast and it's not too big.
Now, my next concern is whether the reception range is good enough
given the "up to 30 mile" qualification.

Alan F - "The last three numbers on each row a azimuth, distance in
miles, and the actual broadcast channel for the digital signal." Does
the actual broadcast number (the last number) correlate with the
Reception Range posted on http://www.warrenelectronics.com/antennas/4220.htm?
In other words, when ABC says digital channel 61, that means that it
falls under the Channels 14 thru 69 (up to 30 miles) category rather
than Channels 7 thru 13 (for its channel 10 designation), right? I
just want to make sure that this new antenna has enough range to get
everything that I need. Thanks.

The 30 mile number is just a guide. Reception is extremely dependent
on the terrain, density of surrounding woods, antenna height, and so on.
The 2 Bay bowtie should provide a definite boost in gain over the Terk
TV-44. Yes, the ABC station is currently digitally broadcasting on UHF
61 so that is where the antenna gain number applies.

There is no way to guarantee that the CM 4220 2 Bay will get all your
stations. A professional installer could bring out a spectrum analyzer
and measuring equipment to find out what would work at your house, but
that would cost a lot more than just getting the antenna and giving it a
try.

The CM 4220 has some performance for upper VHF, but may or may not get
the ABC 10 station in 2009. If you get a decent picture with it for the
analog ABC station on channel 10, you should be ok for the 2009
switchover. If not, you could add a dipole antenna or a compact upper
VHF such as the Winegard YA-6713 antenna listed on this page:
http://www.winegard.com/offair/vhf.htm. Another option is to the CM 4221
4 Bay and put that on a mast above your satellite dish if you think the
mount is sturdy enough.

I have a CM 4221 4 Bay bowtie in my attic and I get good reception on
stations up to 45 miles away from where I live in Northern Virginia. I
lose range and several stations by having the antenna in the attic, but
I have a 3 story townhouse and the roof is WAY up there. I would have to
spend money on a professional installer, so I tried putting the antenna
in the attic and it got all the major network stations in Washington DC
(~ 16 miles) and Baltimore (43 miles away) along with a few other
stations.

If you need info on antennas and OTA reception, try the antenna basics
and the comparing some commercial antennas link at this website:
http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ISSUES/erecting_antenna.html.

Good luck!
Alan F

In other words, when ABC says digital channel 61, that means that it
falls under the Channels 14 thru 69 (up to 30 miles) category rather
than Channels 7 thru 13 (for its channel 10 designation), right?

Yes, that is correct. In your area, channel 10.1 is using the
frequency assigned to UHF channel 61. In fact all digital channels in
your area are UHF.

Be advised that channels 52-69 are being reassigned in 2009, so the
use of channel "61" is temporary. You might want to call the station
and ask them what channel they will be using in two years.

I live in the Boston suburbs. All our digital channels are UHF as
well. Since I don't care about analog, I only have a UHF (channel
13-69) antanna.