I’m at my wit’s end. My Tablo picks up all OTA channels just fine except for one. KXAS (NBC) 5.1 in Dallas. If I take the Tablo out of the chain, NBC displays perfectly. We have a Roku TV which indicates the signal strength of the channel is good if not even better than most. Whenever the Roku is plugged in, though, I receive Error: Weak Signal every single time I pull up NBC. It’s not sometimes. It’s all times. I don’t get it. Most all of the tv networks are located about the same distance away and in the same direction.
We’ve got an approximately 40 year old roof antenna in our attic. I had a signal amplifier hooked up to it and then distributing across the house, but I’ve since removed the signal amplifier to see if it makes a difference. It didn’t. All the same channels seem to display fine (including NBC) without the Tablo in the mix. Once the Tablo is added back, NBC still doesn’t work.
I’ve tried looking through the Tablo community, antennaweb, tvfool, and the FCC dtv maps, but haven’t come across anything that’s explained what might be different about KXAS’s signal. (If I have, I haven’t understood it.) Part of me wants to get a different antenna to see if that makes a difference, but if our Roku TV is picking up KXAS just fine otherwise, then why wouldn’t the Tablo see it as well? Any ideas?
Do you record much (or any) of the programming on your channel 5? If not, you can get a splitter, poke one directly into the TV’s antenna Input, scan then hide all channels except for 5.1 Switching from any input (or Tablo) to your TV’s antenna input, to view channel 5. By hiding all other channels after the scan, you don’t have to go fishing around for it, just click and go.
Of course, if you’re hoping to record programming from that particular channel, this is but a partial solution. If nothing else though, you can at least tune in for local news, weather and sports, until you get a full resolution.
We get all of them, include KXAS (in far N. Frisco, almost to Prosper).
Let me add that TV tuners are some of the best non-shared tech around. I used a distribution amplifier instead of an amp at the antenna. If your antenna is in the attic, you might want to consider that. My distribution point is also indoors, and that can make a huge difference because attic heat can really reduce the lifetime of things.
Overall, I’d say we DO record a good amount from NBC. This Is Us, Sunday Night Football, the English Premier League. My wife frequently uses the app to watch This Is Us, but that doesn’t help me much with the sporting events!
Sterl, your described “chain” already entails a splitter or other reasons for signal attenuation - that which is built into the ROKU TV. Avoiding the ROKU TV’s internal splitter & passthru may help: Try a different/external splitter, max quality, gold connections, RG6 cables. If that doesn’t help it is time to consider that a quality antenna preamp also may mitigate the symptom.
One reason xmitters on same tower with same power level may perform very differently at the same receiver is because the various channel xmitters may be at different heights on the same tower, whoever gets there first or negotiates better or pays more gets the premium/top xmitter antenna positions.
bald,
We used to have a splitter outside that was distributing coax around the house. I can’t remember if it’s still there or not. We only use the one TV, so I’ll go outside and remove that splitter from the chain; if indeed it is still there. I believe I removed it a few years ago, but can’t remember anymore. If the coax is then running directly from the antenna to the tablo and the problem channel is still not working, then you’re suggesting a higher end amplifier? The one we currently have installed is an older version of this
Definitely remove any unused splitters. Connecting the resulting cables with a straighthru-connect-balun actually contributes tiny bit of db loss too but should be OK and is vastly preferable to any splitter. Avoid any remaining/needed splits use a high-quality/wide-Ghz-range splitter with the exact/minimal of splits needed. That amp looks horrible - never seen a clean antenna amp from that company despite its decades of other fine products. Antenna preamp is vastly preferable to an amp near the tuner, but start with zero amps, zero preamps. Place tablo as close to antenna as possible, shortest possible RG6 coax cables. My suggestion re the ROKU TV is that you ar currently using its internal splitter due to your described ‘chain’ or ‘inline’ connection. I am suggesting that you DO want to leverage an external splitter there, in place of the ROKU internal-splitter and passthru. … Also all those connections outside the house will degrade/rust/impede after a decade or two - best-practices for installation were different decades ago when the cable was used only for cable TV and not for cable-modems. Your cable/ISP will fix/redo EVERYTHING outside your house for you for ZERO CHARGE TO YOU, using the latest/perfect-connection materials & best-practices - they are going through every town in USA doing it one house at a time - but you can request that they do it for your home immediately/sooner, especially if you see anything resembling coax connectors outside your house are all rusty and loose and WET. They may want to install a new/tiny box enclosing the “demarc”. Definitely consider to allow/acede for them to do this if they ask, it will extend lifetime of the connection and ensure highest possible data rates and best signals. If you don’t have a cable/ISP, you can sign up for a month of lowest tier service and they will swap the cables outside your house with the latest/greatest for free. Then theoretically you can cancel the cable-TV/internet service the next month and use all that new coax to connect your antenna. If you pay $175 plus $25 per hour you can have them rewire (and re-drill) your entire house internal coax similarly for limited-basic TV service, then cancel it after any minimum # of months.
I’m having the exact same issue with the same channel (I live in Lewisville). It used to work fine, but hasn’t for the last couple months. All other channels work fine. If I rescan, I get a 4 green dots on the signal strength. There has to be something else going on.
NBC is working! I removed a splitter outside this morning but nothing changed. Upon the comment to rescan the channels, I did so again. This time I made sure to click ‘Add to Guide’ afterward. Now all of a sudden the channel is working. All I can figure is that I rescanned the channels since May but never completed the process by “adding” them to the guide.
Thank you guys for your help! I’m gonna set up some things to record, keep checking the results, and come back here if it’s only a temporary fix.
I have the exact same problem with 2 channels. If I bypass the Tablo everything works fine. I have rescanned multiple times to no avail. Support was no help either. They told me the same old usual stuff like trees, buildings, etc but the TV itself works just fine.
This ABSOLUTELY FIXED my problem With the SAME DALLAS CHANNEL/FREQUENCY!!
Weeks or months ago (horrid memory) ch 5.1 here in Dallas/Ft. Worth quit recording on the Table DVR. By the way, love being able to record four shows at once!
Anyway, as Sterlicious said above, I had already done several rescans, all showing all green signal strength. I’d even trimmed the tree branches near the antenna and checked the cable connector, (even though I knew that wasn’t the issue, checked them off!) I had even clicked add to guide, though I’m not sure I waited afterwards before backing out and trying to watch.
So this time,
Rescanned channels
Clicked ‘add to guide’ and waited till it showed done.
Waited till the guide data was 100% downloaded.
We paid for the lifetime guide data so if you don’t/didn’t pay for that and don’t get the guide, the last may not apply, just pay attention after the add to guide finishes!
I didn’t realize that 5.1 NBC here in Dallas had done a frequency change, so the single channel crapping makes sense.
Here is a clip from NBC 5’s website:
"“Is this happening to other stations?
Yes. Before 2019 is over, we expect about 14 Dallas-Fort Worth television stations to change frequencies, which will require you to go through the same process to view them. NBC 5 and COZI-TV are leading the market in changing frequencies.”
As for why it was so hard with the Tablo, I think lots of us did the rescan, but the rescan wasn’t linked to the guide, so we kept trying to watch the old channel. Me rushing off the page, thinking the guide update was done instantly when I clicked the button, prolly cut it off part way, doh!
Thanks all for the great troubleshooting!!
Oh, btw, my setup; Tablo device 2.2.22 (4 receiver I think), 2tb WD USB hard drive, short cable to RT-AC88U Asus 2.4/5ghz router wifi to Roku.