Struggling with weak signal reception? This thread is dedicated to sharing tried-and-true tips, tricks, and solutions for boosting signal strength, whether it’s for TV antennas, cell signals, or Wi-Fi.
Here are some questions to get the conversation going:
What are the best indoor and outdoor antenna options for better reception?
How do signal boosters or repeaters work, and are they worth it?
What’s the best way to position antennas or routers for maximum signal?
The best outdoor antenna I’ve used is this one from ChannelMaster, with UHF and VHF extensions:
I have my antenna mounted about 15 ft high. Aimed toward the broadcast towers which are about 10-60 miles away. I pick up a total of ~80 OTA channels. I do use a ChannelMaster pre-amp and a 5G filter.
The output from the antenna goes into a 2-way splitter with coax cables running to my TabloTV Gen 4 and HDHR Flex 4K.
I used the ChannelMaster app to position my antenna.
The tried and true brands do work well. There are different models from each company based on distance from the transmission towers. A great brand that has been around for a long time in Europe is Televes. The build quality is among the best and filtering and amplification is standard on most models. I personally use the Televes Ellipse mix and get everything possible in my location. It’s mounted about 30 feet up.
About the time the local stations started broadcasting ATSC 3.0 signals, my legacy Tab would not record some station because of low strength signal. I have a Channel Master outside antenna. After a lot of trouble shooting, I purchased a Channel Master Distribution Amp. It provides signals to the TV, Tablo and a Magnavox DVD/DVR. This seemed to fix the problem. Previous contacts with Tablo support on a different problem, was totally useless. Problem due to a being now owned by E. W. Scripts not the original developer.
Amplification indeed is an answer for post reception degradation (e.g. splits or exceptionally long runs). However, it cannot fix reception. With that said, many times what people perceive is a “reception” issue, is a post reception loss issue. Distribution amplifiers, IMHO, are the most common choice for getting OTA to multiple points while overcoming the loss due to splits.
I have an 8-way distribution amp myself, with terminators on the unused ports. And it is the more common case.
Some devices may come with an amplifier because of lack of understanding (trying to help the user). Let me explain.
A home user has an antenna single run to the antenna jack on their TV (TV tuner). Then they purchase a passive splitter (that is: loss generator) so they can insert a device, like a Tablo, for DVR purposes. And presto, “bad reception”, when actually they created signal loss with the passive splitter. Now, if you have strong signal, it won’t matter, but most live outside the tiny radius of their towers, so true reception becomes more of an issue and signal strength preservation is very important. And thus amplifiers to compensate for loss “I inserted”. So, a device might come with amplification because, well, the signal needs to be boosted. The device might introduce splits on its interior, and so, it may need to compensate. But, it’s not all knowledgeable, so just as a passive splitter works or might even help in the case of exceptionally strong signal, the producer of the end device can’t know if they choose to insert extra amplification if it’s a pro or con, so it’s best if it’s an option that can be turned on/off.
All well and good cjcox but had no problems until 3.0 reared its ugly head. I had a 3 way splitter and everything was OK until 3.0. In trouble shooting phase I connected the Tablo directly to the antenna but that did not provide a fix. Even with the powered splitter some problems exist. I have a 2 tuner and now for some channels only one tuner shows OK signal whereas prior to 3.0 both showed OK signals. Cause --Effect?
It is true that a broadcaster can adjust their power output. That’s an absolute reception reduction for most. And then there’s moving frequencies which can result in interference as well as reception issues at the endpoint.
So, yes the NextgenTV mess, can cause problems for ATSC 1.0 users today. And has already.
+1 on Televes products. I have tried many different antennas in my location, and the Televes Ellipse Mix beats them all hands down. The best feature of this antenna is the dipole elements are directly connected to the integrated amplifier. This provides signal boost right at the antenna.
+2 Televes.
I am using 2 of their indoor products and they are working fine, better than anything else I ever tried. Also the quality of materials and assembly is quite good IMO.
These antennas have an optional “smart” powered amplification system, but I have never tried it since I am close to my local BX towers. I don’t use the tablo amp either. I tried the tablo amp, then found reception is better without in my location.
I guess I can +3 Televes, too. I also have the Ellipse Mix Repack. Pricey, but you get what you pay for. One nice feature is that the built-in amp has pass-thru mode if it loses power. So if you think a signal is too strong, just pull the power supply and see if that fixes anything.
I have 2 gen 4 Tablos, which I had connected to the same single interior antenna for some months. Worked OK kind of, until last summer I had to move the antenna. It was then no longer possible to place the single antenna such that both Tablos would receive signals of equal strength from all of my saved stations. I had the same 15 stations saved on both Tablos, having read here somewhere that if you have 2 pucks, you should save the same stations on each.
In any event I got the idea to connect each Tablo to its own antenna, and the problem of not receiving the same signals, at same strength on both pucks, went away. Since Labor Day I have had only 2 recordings split into two parts, I am assuming due to the signal cutting out. Previously, with the splicing of both pucks into one antenna, plus in the original antenna location, recording cutouts and failures were commonplace for me. Guess I learned to do something better plus there was good fortune involved too, as my new antenna(s) location is better than the first but still far from ideal.
The two antennas (Televes) in a new location, plus upgrade of my wifi mesh with two more competent new points, compared to the original single point, have left me a generally happy Tablo user. So I am a believer that many problems experienced with Tablo are due to inadequate TV signal reception, and/or a wifi network not up to the task. As I said there is also good luck involved, as I have somehow bypassed, with my Ultra 4802X, and ancient TV, all of the Roku problems discussed so often here. Keeping my fingers crossed.
Reduce obstructions - move antenna outside and raise it as high as you can;
Aim the antenna using an online guide and compass, or use a signal meter for greater accuracy, point the antenna slightly upward 5º to 10º;
Use an antenna amplifier if you have a long run or want to split the single antenna to several rooms/TVs; this shouldn’t be necessary if you have a strong signal because you live close to the local broadcast antennas;
I see that many like the Televes or ChannelMaster directional antennas, but I prefer a 2- or 4-bay bowtie antenna; these appear the be getting cheaper in quality, so maybe this is no longer a good option; the bowtie antenna is supposedly omnidirectional;
Antennaman on YouTube has a lot of info. He lives near me and has been to my house. I’m a ham and convinced him long ago atsc 3.0 was real and going to happen (broadcasters are behind it).
Nobody mentioned Winegard antennas… High quality old school yagi stuff all US made. Channel Master is still good but they make pretty much nothing themselves anymore. Televes excellent and technologically superior. Clear stream are good, too.
Use good quad shield coax. Quality is all over the place. Coax can make or break you. Same in ham radio.
Preamp should be either in or right next to your antenna. Otherwise it amplifies interference. Limit coax connections. Every connection introduces loss… Split introduces much more loss. Make sure connections are tight. Sounds dumb, but RF can leak. Cable leakage of rf is a real thing… Signal coming from bad cable can interfere and you can lose signal from a poor connection. Cable guys often check rg6 f connectors first on a trouble call. Get a new 5g filter. 5g has changed. Used to start about 700mhz, but now cell is using 600mhz band. You can buy band pass filters for TV frequencies on eBay. I have two. Mine keep (mostly) ham off my TV antenna. Low pass filter blocks freq above a point, high pass filter blocks frq below a point and band pass filter blocks all but your desired range… For shopping purposes. Some are better than others so your mileage may vary. When you put up your antenna outside, seal coax connections if exposed. You can use 3M “33” electric tape. Water will kill the dielectric inside coax eventually. Tape helps a lot. Televes makes preamps (and combiners) with AGC. This is so obvious a solution I have no idea why others do not. It’s not new tech nor expensive. It adjusts output as required,usually by band and sometimes by channel so you set and forget. No trip to roof to adjust. Duh.
What impacts signal? Lots of things. Terrain, trees, metal objects, passing vehicles, and as I just learned (I think) heavy smoke.
Regarding power in Atsc 3…FCC allows/requires absurdly low signals on new tech until they know it does not cause interference. HD Radio is an example. Digital stuff tends to go further than analog. They greatly reduced power levels (especially on VHF) when we went to astc 1. Similar now. I suspect some of this low power is broadcasters option and this will shake out over time.
That’s it for now. OTA forever!
Had good reception on my tab dual legacy for a couple of years. When local stations started 3.0 broadcasting, tab showed poor signal strength for some channels so it would not record those channels. Finally, after lots of troubleshooting, I got a Channel Master antenna distribution amplifier. This improved reception but still for some channels one of the tuners still shows poor signal strength.