I have Directv Stream and they are in dispute right now and not broadcasting ABC. I am so sick of this happening so I bought a Mohu Leaf Stitch Amplified – Flat Indoor TV Antenna the last time this happened. By the time I received the antenna they had resolved the dispute so I didn’t bother hooking up the antenna. Now that it’s happened again, I started to look for other options because I didn’t want to attach an antenna to each tv and found the Tablo device. I set it up today and the Tablo scan detected 72 channels but did not detect any network channels!!! (ABC, CBS, FOX, Univision, CW, etc.) According to rabbitears.info all of the network channels have “good” field strength for my zipcode. I disabled antenna amplification but that has made no difference. I can’t believe this! The only advice I found for this issue was to disable amplification and I did. Has anyone experienced this issue and able to resolve it?
Maybe the antenna isn’t in a window pointed directly at the broadcast towers. But I’m not sure a flat window antenna works well with channels listed as “good” strength.
I don’t have time to be troubleshooting this and I’m not going to spend money on an outdoor antenna so I’m just going to return the Tablo.
You are definitely doing the right thing, especially if you’re not gonna get a good outdoor antenna.
It’s a losing battle without one.
Something doesn’t make sense. 72 channels should have picked the major networks up. I don’t know how it was determined that the majors weren’t received. Was it just looking for the logos?
Troubleshooting step is to connect the antenna directly to the TV first and see if the majors appear.
I wasn’t able to connect the antenna with the amplifier to the TV in my bedroom which is close to a window on the second floor. I was able to connect the antenna with the amplifier to the TV in my office but it isn’t near a window so when I ran a scan it found 0 channels. I don’t know why the amplifier connector won’t screw into the bedroom TV because it’s the same TV as the one in the office!!! I don’t want to remove the TV from the wall. I figure if it’s this complicated it’s because the indoor antenna is a pos and I didn’t want to spend the money to install an outdoor antenna because I am planning to sell my house. However I really want the local network channels because I want to cancel Directv Stream so I asked the Antenna Man for a recommendation for an outdoor antenna.
I don’t have the latest model Tablo. Are those 72 channels during the scan the FAST (aka internet) channels?
Everything seems to say you don’t have the right antenna for your location.
Asking Tyler (The Antenna Man) for an antenna recommendation is a good idea. I had a different Mohu indoor antenna and I wasn’t impressed.
In my location, he recommended a Channel Master Flatenna. However, I’m only about 15-20 miles from the transmission towers.
I assume you only received the FAST (Internet ad-supported channels) channels if none of the network channels appeared on a scan.
Unless you’re handier than I am, you’ll also want a recommendation on a good antenna installer since orientation of your antenna will be key for reception.
Bob C
Someone suggested that only the FAST channels appeared. It turns out there are 75 FAST channels! (source: https://support.tablotv.com/hc/en-us/articles/21999956472340-4th-Generation-Tablo-Free-Ad-Supported-Streaming-TV-Channels-FAST-List)
So knowing this I do wonder if the amplifier, the power supply to power it or the antenna cable is defective. The antenna appears to have decent specs and Antenna Man has reviewed Mohu Leaf antennas in the past with good results. A location isn’t in the post but I am assuming that you are within 30 miles of the TV transmitters.
I have a Mohu Leaf antenna on my wall on the second floor in the general direction of the towers which are 27 miles away. I don’t have any problems getting all the local stations. I do know however that none of the stations broadcast in the VHF range (Charleston, SC). I know the antenna says it works for channels in the high-VHF range but I don’t think it does very well. I put one up at my Mom’s house (Cleveland, OH) and the two stations she can’t get are the VHF stations. She is about 29 miles from the broadcast towers.
I’m looking to get an attic antenna for her that picks up VHF frequencies better. Maybe an attic antenna would work better for you since you stated you are going to be selling your house. Just a thought.
Unless you are REALLY close to the broadcast towers, those flat panel antenna just won’t cut it. Personally, I found installing a good quality antenna on my roof was well worth the expense and effort.
Some of us have no choice but to use an indoor antenna due to restrictions by HOA’s. The Winegard Amplified Flatwave works really well 30 miles outside of Chicago. Even more of a challenge is that I’m in a valley. Antenna Man gave it a good review.
HOAs certainly do complicate things. I understand.
There is a government regulation that says HOAs can’t keep you from installing an antenna. Look up OTARD.
I know but it’s a bit more complicated with a multistory dwelling
My daughter lives a little west of me so she is about the same distance from the broadcast towers as me. About 45 miles to the north and 50 miles to the south towers. She has a ClearStream 4 (not the MAX) (standing on the floor up against the wall in her ranch house) hidden behind her TV stand not accurately aimed towards the south towers. It’s amazing how many channels she gets.
I would agree if you have stations broadcasting in the VHF range. My flat panel antenna works great. I even split the signal between my Gen 4 Tablo and Legacy Quad Tablo and don’t use amplification. I don’t think 27 miles is really close. I’m glad my area doesn’t have VHF broadcasting stations.
Maybe I’m the exception.
That is really interesting. I had not heard of that before.
If you look about seven paragraphs down, it says…
The rule applies to individuals who place antennas that meet size limitations on property that they own or rent and that is within their exclusive use or control, including condominium owners and cooperative owners, and tenants who have an area where they have exclusive use, such as a balcony or patio, in which to install the antenna.
I have talked to so many people that said their HOA would not allow an antenna. I used to live in a townhouse style condo and was told I couldn’t put a satellite dish on my own roof. I wish I had know about this then.
Hi @lortiz63, from the information in this thread, it sounds like your Tablo was only finding the FAST channels, rather than any over-the-air ones from your antenna. You can confirm if this is the case by disconnecting the antenna from the Tablo and running another channel scan to see if you receive the same results.
If this is the case, the problem seems to be something around the antenna, as suggested by @bernies_groove. Picking up 0 channels means it’s highly likely there’s something amiss in that area. Even a weak antenna would usually pick up 1 or more channels if your location is within a reasonable distance to a tower, as your rabbitears results suggest.
It could mean a defect with either the antenna or Tablo, but first I would first suggest to try using the antenna with a TV directly and doing a scan, ensuring the antenna is on a window if possible. Don’t use your amp this time, as it’s possible if you’re close enough that you’re overdriving the signal. It’s also possible there’s just a defect in the amp. Also ensure that the antenna is not impeded by an obstruction, indoor or out.
If your TV is able to find channels (with or without your amp), try the antenna again with the Tablo and check to ensure a secure connection with the coax from the antenna to the Tablo. If you receive no OTA channels on Tablo and DO from a direct to tv connection, there could be a Tablo defect, which would be covered until the warranty. But we’d encourage you to check all of the above first.
Be aware that if an amplifier is built into an antenna, many are NOT fail-safe and have no pass-through mode if they have no power. In other words, if the amp is bad or unpowered, you get nothing. I know Mohu is a decent brand for indoor antennas. From the description on their web site, it does look it’s amp can be turned on or off.
You had mentioned you could not screw it into one TV for testing. Was it just due to lack of space because it iss wall mounted? The RF connector should be the same on all. Maybe you were trying to screw it into something else by mistake?
Can you give a general area of where you are located? Have you tried using the rabbitears.info site to find what is available at your location? It can come up with a link of your stations with the location not being exact so you can post that link for others to take a look.