I have a 4 tuner Tablo and have noticed much pixelation and missing audio on recordings that have been done when multiple recordings have occurred in overlapping time slots. I’m wondering if this is an antenna problem or a disk drive performance problem, or even a Tablo problem.
I don’t seem to have these problems when just one recording has happened for a particular time slot nor have I noticed these problems watching live TV.
I have a Mohu Leaf 30 antenna and the USB hard disk is Western Digital Elements 1TB.
Thanks.
Anita:
Pixelations indicate a weak signal. Bordeline signal strength can drop off the radar intermittently depending on several factors resulting in pixelations or intermittent loss of picture. I’m thinking the multiple recording factor could just be coincidental unless there is a definite ongoing pattern.
I think it must be an antenna problem. The only station it happens to is PBS. I wonder if an amplified antenna would help this station?
The Mohu 30 is rated for 30 miles. Is the PBS station beyond that distance? If PBS is within the Mohu 30 range, were you to look straight in the direction of that PBS station location from your home, are there trees or tall buildings in the way? BTW heat and humidity will attenuate a signal (especially if the transmitter is on the margin of the receiver’s antenna range) so that in summer a signal may be up to 20% less than its autumn counterpart. This July and August have been hot and humid drought type months in most of the US.
If you were to need an amplifier, I would not recommend the Mohu Jolt (too many bad reviews). BTW quite a few people have migrated from the Mohu 30 to the Mohu 50 antenna because of distance requirements. A good inexpensive preamp ($20 or so) is the RCA TVPRAMP1R which has overload protection against close\strong signals while amplifying weaker ones.
Tvfool.com says my house is 33.7 miles from the local PBS station, basically the same for all the local broadcast stations I want (e.g. CBS,NBC, ABC). It looks like I am stretching the Mohu Leaf 30 beyond its specs, but only having a problem with PBS.
Is the RCA TVPRAMP1R amplifier something I would add to the Mohu Leaf 30 configuration? Where does it go? Or do I need to replace the entire antenna with an amplified antenna like the Mohu 50?
Does the cable that comes with the Mohu 50 attach to the antenna or to the end of the RG 6 cable I have that goes to the Tablo? My antenna is on a wall facing a window that is not that close to the TV.
Thanks
It’s not only the distance which is a factor but the power that a station radiates its transmission. Two stations may be the same distance but if one station’s power radiation is higher, its signal will be stronger.
The RCA preamp would be added to the Mohu 30. Mohu 30 goes to preamp; coax from preamp to TV. The alternative is the Mohu 50 with its own preamp (no RCA preamp needed).
The Mohu 50 amp (which is the Jolt) attaches to the Mohu 50 antenna (these are two separate pieces). Then the amp is attached to your TV with the coax that is part of the amp. However you can join the coax from your TV to the Mohu 50 coax with a barrel connector ($1.00) from any hardware store.
However the Mohu 50 amp is powered by USB which typically is a TV’s USB port.
The Mohu 50 looks a lot like the Mohu 30 so I’m not sure if it isn’t a Mohu 30 simply powered by the Jolt??? The Mohu 50 doesn’t look bigger than the Mohu 30. IF that is the case, I would just add the RCA preamp to the Mohu 30.
Got to scoot to watch the Olympic ceremonies…be back later.
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Since I use Roku for the Tablo, the Coax from the Mohu 30 is connected to the Tablo; the antenna is not connected to my TV. So the power inserter portion of the amplifier would be connected to the coax end going into the Tablo, and either plugged into the TV’s USB or a power outlet?
I appreciate your advice and recommendation. Enjoy the Olympics.
I think I’ll order the RCA from Amazon.
Just confirmed it - the Mohu 50 is simply the Mohu 30 plus the Jolt amplifier. The RCA is a better amp than the Jolt so Your Mohu 30 + RCA preamp should be slightly better than the Mohu 50.
The RCA comes in two modules - the amplifier box and the power injector. Connect the amp to the Mohu antenna with a short (1, 2 or 3 foot RG6 coax). Keep the amp as close as possible to the antenna so as to avoid noise on a long line. 6 foot coax is OK here but nothing longer.
Join the amp to the power injector with your RG6 cable. Connect the power injector to the Tablo (the power injector has a coax cable coming out from it). The power injector also has a standard electrical connection coming from it (not USB).
BTW I was researching the Mohu 30/50 thing while watching Brazil’s most famous citizen Gisele Bundchen walk across the stadium. As my wife said, “When did the model catwalk become an Olympic sport?” That’s all she did - just walk…
Sounds like I also need to get a short RG6 cable since it is sounding like there won’t be one in the box.
There isn’t one in the box.
I found an old short coax cable in my box of old cables. I don’t think it’s RG6 though but I will try it. Or I think the Tablo came with a coax cable that I didn’t use, just a little longer than I need. Just need to find it. The amplifier is coming tomorrow, just in time to record Inspector Lewis on PBS!
We used to like Lewis when he was Morse’s assistant. We have watched all of Inspector Lewis since then. RG6 is better than RG59 (old style coax) since it has less wire loss of signal than RG59.