As I mentioned before on these forums I have a heck of a time picking up the STL Fox 2 digital feed. I live approximately 70 miles south of STL. My Fox channel fades in and out, most days with a bad to normal signal strength(40-50), but now with very cold weather in my area(temp in the 20's) bingo my Fox digital reception signal is now very good in the 80's.

I wish I could keep it this way all the time.

Any more thoughts on this issue.

I suspect the snow cover is the cause of your good fortune. The reduced conductivity in frozen foliage is also a possibility. But the temperature inversions (warm air aloft) that bend signals downward can happen any time of year.

Ken,

No snow cover here, just cold temperatures. And very rarely do I ever get this type of signal in warm weather, only in the very cold winter weather(below 30 degrees).

I just wish I could figure out someway to keep this good OTA signal all year.

Thanks for the response.

You sound like you need an amp on yout OTA feed......have you given that a try..also a rotor will help as well.

Jeff,
I do have an preamp on my OTA. Without it since I am 70 miles from STL I would not receive any digital stations at all. Most of my stations normally come in good(70-80 signal strength). My only problem is with the Fox feed from STL. It has been this way for awhile. Only good during the winter months(very cold weather). In past posts some people have recommended larger OTA or a rotor. I recently tried another preamp but it did not improve my signal.

Thanks for your feedback.

What antenna are you using?

Richard,

A guy from Radio Shack hooked the preamp and the OTA antenna up for me in Sept. 2001. I am unsure what model number of the OTA or the preamp. The antenna is a very large channel master antenna(2001 model or before) and the preamp is a winegard.

One thing that I have noticed just recently in investigating and reading about other OTA antenna my channel master does not have the Rods(units)(UHF corner reflectors) see link:
http://www.channelmaster.com>/
Look under products: Crossfire antenna diagram to see the UHF corner reflectors that I am referring to.
that extend up and down in the front of the antenna like most of the other Channel master OTA I have seen. I think these front Rods may have something to do with UHF reception. I have been wondering if that may be my problem with getting the Fox channel.

But on the other hand I still get the other digital channels from STL very good(70-80 signal) only the Fox channel comes in very weak. It is frustrating. I would really like to get this reception problem fixed before FOX goes to HDTV next year.
Richard any thoughts about this OTA and not having UHF corner reflectors?

Thanks...................

Missing corner reflectors is not good. BTW, that is the back end of the antenna, not the front. Sure you have it pointed the right way?

Is it possible for you to tell me how long the antenna is? That is called beam and will tell me or Ken quite a bit.

For tough applications I recommend the Winegard UHF only PR9032, preamp and rotor mounted 12 feet above your roof line. If VHF is critical get a seperate VHF antenna and use a signal combiner.

Richard F. Fisher
Mastertech Repair Corporation, Lawrenceville, GA
770-513-3987 E-Mail - help@mastertechtv.com
Have you been calibrated? ISF and HAA Trained
Factory Authorized
Mitsubishi, Hitachi, Toshiba, Harman Kardon, Infinity, JBL, NAD

Mike: KTVI-DT is licensed for 556kW, which is full power for such a station. Either they are not at their licensed power or your antenna is insufficient. The missing corner planes suggest your VHF/UHF combo was assembled wrong, but doesn’t explain why you get the other stations well. My guess is that your antenna is in a cold spot for channel 43, which the following link explains. If you read through these pages you might get some ideas about what’s wrong: http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ISSUES/erecting_antenna.html .

Richard and Ken,
My antenna looks similiar to the CM 3678 antenna but does not have the the 2 UHF corner reflectors on it which one runs up from the antenna and one runs down. The CM 3678 description says the length of the antenna is 151 inches. I think this is about the size of the antenna I have but it does not have the UHF channel reflectors. The tip(point of the antenna(the UHF directors) is pointed directly North toward STL at about 3 to 5 degrees on the compass as this is where the major stations are located in STL.

Is it possible to buy these UHF reflectors separate and attach them to my antenna or would you guys recommend me getting a new antenna? I currently do not have a rotor and my preamp is a winegard(26DB gain???). Like I said all the other major STL station come in great except for Fox. Ken you said that Fox is at 556KW but I am pretty sure the others or at 1000KW, I have asked FOX several times when they are going to increase power but have not gotten a response from their engineer via e-mail.

Thanks again for trying to help me with my OTA problem.

I don’t know of any reflector add-on kits. You could steal the planes from another antenna. Otherwise it is probably best that you get a new antenna. At your distance you should think big.

For UHF stations in flat regions, the FCC usually limits power to 500kW, but stations often argue for and sometimes get a higher limit. It would be helpful if KTVI would tell you if they are really at 566kW, or is that a target they are still working towards. I doubt they will ever go over 566kW before 2007.

If KTVI is over 500kW and you replace the antenna and you still get every station but 43, then you must be in a cold spot for 43, which means you need to move the antenna to a different spot.

>>Otherwise it is probably best that you get a new antenna. At your distance you should think big.

I agree. Go with the big Winegard and do a rotor for insurance.

Richard and Ken,
Thanks for all your info and recommendations.
I had a question about the UHF antenna only(Winegard UHF only PR9032). What are the advantages to having only a UHF antenna only compared to a UHF/VHF combo?

I have 4 TV's and only 2 are HDTVs, so I opted for the UHF/VHF combo. Do you feel going with a UHF only would solve my problem? Could you explain the UHF only advantage to me.

Thanks.........................

The advantage of a UHF-only antenna is that there are several available that are much better than the UHF part of any VHF/UHF combo. The disadvantage of not having VHF is that beginning in 2007 nearly all OTA viewers will need VHF capability. Note that if you put a UHF antenna on the same mast as a VHF antenna there should be about 3 vertical feet of empty space between them.

Ok Richard and Ken.........
Since in 3 years you will need a VHF antenna for all digital stations. What would be my best choice of a VHF/UHF antenna at this time to maybe solve my problem with reception of Fox? If I have understood right I should get a rotor, get a larger and higher mast, a CM preamp, etc. and probably go for a winegard UHF antenna only.

Are there any VHF/UHF antennas out there good for long range reception (70 miles)?

Thanks for any more advice.

Like Ken said:
The advantage of a UHF-only antenna is that there are several available that are much better than the UHF part of any VHF/UHF combo.

Forget the combo!

For VHF just do a seperate antenna and use a U/V signal combiner/splitter. That is your best choice in your demanding application.

Good Luck!