Question about Wyngard TV antenna reception

Dave Siegel · July 30, 2012, 06:25:52 AM

We are here in Raleigh camping at the NC Fairgrounds, not really too far away from TV towers. We have a Wyngard TV crank up antenna with the HD attachment on the front. As we are watching a program the tv will black screen and a message comes up saying "No Signal" then it may "tile" a little and then the signal comes back. Sometimes this happens several times in a row sometimes only once. Can anyone explain why this is happening?

Also is it best to point the antenna (the nose of the antenna) toward where you think the TV towers are, or should you turn the antenna 180 degrees away from the TV towers?

Thanks for any suggestions in advance.

Dave

Oonrahnjay · July 30, 2012, 06:33:10 AM

Quote from: Dave Siegel on July 30, 2012, 06:25:52 AM
We are here in Raleigh camping at the NC Fairgrounds, not really too far away from TV towers. We have a Wyngard TV crank up antenna with the HD attachment on the front. As we are watching a program the tv will black screen and a message comes up saying "No Signal" then it may "tile" a little and then the signal comes back. Sometimes this happens several times in a row sometimes only once. Can anyone explain why this is happening?

Also is it best to point the antenna (the nose of the antenna) toward where you think the TV towers are, or should you turn the antenna 180 degrees away from the TV towers?

Thanks for any suggestions in advance.

Dave

My experience of this at home since the transition to "digital TV" (after the Gummint has made such a mess of TV reception, they want us to trust them with Health Care?

?) is that this is a function of interference from some outside source. "The Management" has an apartment near the Pentagon outside Washington DC and every time a helicopter flies by, our "broadcast" TV reception goes out just as you describe. Our "digital" antenna doesn't have a directional feature as you describe.

belfert · July 30, 2012, 08:53:29 AM

In the old analog TV days being too close to the antenna would cause ghosting. I don't know if digital has problems with being too close also. The ghosting prompted my parents to get basic cable about 20 years ago. It costs around $16 a month these days, but only includes the broadcast networks and a few other channels.

white-eagle · July 30, 2012, 09:06:44 AM

We always move ours all around, just to see where it does come in best. With this "wonderful" digital signal, it reflects and might not work from the direction you think it should. i've had stations come in well at 30 mi away while stations 20 mi away are blocked by a metal sign or building.

if yours is blanking occasionally, you must be by a highway and lose signal when a metal truck with metal inside goes by

. who knows?

rgwilliams · July 31, 2012, 09:00:01 AM

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rgwilliams · July 31, 2012, 09:02:57 AM

Sorry about this duplicate. Go to tvfool.com for all the info on OTA - over the air TV reception. I've found it to be very useful.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

Dreamscape · July 31, 2012, 07:57:21 PM

Look around the park to see where the other antenna's are pointing. That is what we do. Otherwise it's a crap shoot and a guessing game for the local stuff.

buswarrior · July 31, 2012, 10:00:19 PM

Digital seems to be just as finicky as analog used to be, only more so, since you get all or nothing, instead of a change in fuzziness.

Experimentation seems the order of the day, just like the machinations of using the bunny ears and everything else we've used over the years to try and get the hockey game, Coronation Street, or whatever else it is that is critical to see.

At least with analog, you could give up at some point...

happy coaching!
buswarrior

Dave Siegel · August 01, 2012, 03:29:48 AM

Quote from: rgwilliams on July 31, 2012, 09:02:57 AM
Sorry about this duplicate. Go to tvfool.com for all the info on OTA - over the air TV reception. I've found it to be very useful.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

WOW, what a resource. I would never have thought such a site existed. Thank you very much for that information, it has mad a huge difference in our reception.

And to the person that suggested I look at the other folks antennas and aim it that way, there are about 20 campers here now in the middle of the week and every single antenna is pointed in a different direction, it's actually commical how the roof tops look.

But thanks again RG for some really helful info.

Dave

lvmci · August 01, 2012, 07:10:24 AM

Dave, as you may have already discovered, its all about signal strength with digital television. With the new tv tuners, wether a box to tune your old ntsc tv to digital or a digital/ high def built in tuner, there should be a signal strength meter built into the menu someplace, that you can use to aim the antenna from your rotation device, be it electronical, mechanical, or human. The signals are robust enough if there is good strength, if not it will break loose, first to digital noise, then the tv should go black or blue, as opposed to analog, where it would fade in and out. By the way, medium and small tv markets still have some standard definition tv channels your old tv can pick up. Lvmci...

garhawk · August 01, 2012, 08:46:32 AM

Hi Dave,

We have had a Wineguard batwing, crank-up, manual turn in our GMC motorhome for many years and, for the most part, it worked well.

Just recently, we bought an electrical powered Wineguard batwing for the Eagle. It works as advertised. We have found that the most important step in receiving a larger number of stations at each stop and, with better reception, is accessing the tv menu and performing a channel search.

Don't know if this is true across the board but, it sure works good for us.

blue_goose · August 01, 2012, 10:37:30 AM

No one has ask, do you have the antenna amp. turned on?

Dave Siegel · August 01, 2012, 11:18:49 AM

Thanks Blue Goose, that was a great question. No the antenna amplifier is not turned on, because I procrastinated before moving up here about installing it and now the parts are in the POD with our furniture and stuff that will be delivered on the 10th.

We are getting quite a few good channels (and of course I have performed the "channel search" function on my TV.) and for the most part the signal is pretty good. Just every once in a while the picture goes away for a few seconds and a message comes up saying "No Signal". I started out wondering why that was happening.

Actually I am thrilled to death with how the entire system works. I tried for years to deal with a remote satellite dish of Direct TV and if Jack Conrad or some other techno wasn't there we never got tv because I never and I say NEVER could get that antenna to work. So for the short time we are away from cable we are more than getting by, I guess I just have to get used to the quirks of digital "air" TV.

Dave

blue_goose · August 01, 2012, 04:08:21 PM

Dave, the antenna that you have is almost useless without the amp. turned on. If you get anything it has to be a very strong signal. When you can install the amp. and you will be very happy with the winegard antenna.
Jack

Dave Siegel · August 02, 2012, 04:02:51 AM

Thanks for the encouragement Blue Goose. Installing the amp is one of my first projects when we get settled in.

Dave