Missing channels after rescan

Initially I thought this was a problem with repacking, but now I think it’s something else. Until 2 weeks ago, my local CBS was 38-1. Then that channel disappeared from my lineup. I contacted the station, who said it was off air for transmitter maintenance. Now it is supposed to be back on, but my rescan doesn’t list it. I checked with a neighbor, and he has 38-1 back (direct antenna - no Tablo). I checked with another person nearby and he lost 38-1 but now it’s back.

I’m puzzled, because we’re only 6 miles from the transmitter. I have an outside antenna, which has not moved - all the other stations from that transmitter are coming in OK.

Is there a way to manually enter a channel number on Tablo to test it? Is there some cache or reset I might use to make sure my Tablo recognizes the signal?

@abqdan

I assume you did what your neighbor did, and connected your antenna directly to your TV instead of connecting it to your Tablo to see if the Channel was there ?

Chas

There isn’t any way to manually input a channel number or frequency on the Tablo, but it’s worth checking to see if your antenna can see it at all. Try connecting your antenna directly to your TV - does the television pick up the channel?

Sorry not to get back to this before. OK - so if I connect my antenna direct to the TV, the new (repacked) subchannel 38.10 shows up. I’m just six miles from the transmitter - it’s a strong signal. Switching back to the Tablo, and rescanning, it fails to detect that broadcast. I have been working with Tablo Support over the past week - they’ve had my Tablo in support mode to check it out - but they can’t find the problem. Today, Tablo support suggested this: "Looking at the results of the channel scan it seems like the broadcaster has likely changed something with their broadcast settings during the frequency change that is causing it to not be received correctly by the Tablo. " I can’t imagine even getting to an engineer at CBS and I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t be helpful if I suggest they don’t know how to set up a transmitter! So basically, I’m stuck. Other Tablo owners close by have told me they have the same issue; one OTA Tivo user said they can get 38.10 on the Tivo (though that wasn’t someone I know, it was through a local neighborhood group on Facebook…) Anyway, at this point I seem to be SOL - Tablo support doesn’t have any further options for them or me to try. It’s kind of annoying, because CBS is one of the main reasons I wanted a Tablo - so I wouldn’t have to pay for CBS All Access :slight_smile:

Since you’re so close to the transmitter, you are more likely to have too strong a signal than too weak, and if they’ve changed frequency or performed maintenance the signal might have become even stronger. Attenuating the signal to the Table is a fairly easy and inexpensive test. You could add a 1-to-2 or 1-to-3 splitter that you have around the house into the cable path to the Table to add a few dB of attenuation. After inserting the splitter in the path, rescan. You could try two splitters in series to drop it further, though you’ll also be dropping the level of other channels. If this gets the channel working again without adversely affect other channels, you could purchase an attenuator as a cleaner solution.

I did try that. I split the signal and fed one to the antenna input on the TV and one to the Tablo. Same result. The TV tunes the station, the Tablo doesn’t. I could try adding another just to see what would happen, but other stations - like NBC and ABC - come from the same towers and have relatively the same power, and the Tablo DOES tune them in, so I’m not sure it will help. Good suggestion though - thanks!