http://www.onlinetvproduct.com/as-seen-on-tv-affiliate-store/
How do I get a decent digital TV signal?
I tried a powered antenna and the signal was WORSE! And I’ve heard the same concern from others. I’m in the heart of downtown Columbus, Ohio on the 5th floor with my antenna high up in my 15ft ceiling attached to a high end digital TV. I can see the station’s transmitter from my patio. And the NBC affiliate is less than a block away. But yet I can’t get through a show without the station going to black, pixalating, or skipping audio. Nobody at any of the stations have an answer because they don’t know anything. The electronic retail stores make stuff up as they go. And I’m convinced that nobody knows what’s going on. If anybody has any REAL answers, please let me know. Because if this is the broadcaster’s answer to free TV, all they are gonna do is make more money for the cable companies when people realize how much this signal sucks.
I understand your frustration. Not knowing the details of your situation is a bit limiting, however here are a few suggestions.
1. Stay away from the “powered antennas”. These have built in preamplifiers. Without going into a lot of detail, the amplifier can actually limit the bandwidth (number of channels) you are getting.
2. You are on the 5th floor with the antenna in the ceiling. Many multistory buildings are steel and concrete. This type of construction does a pretty good job of killing radio signals. I’m in a building that is steel and concrete and I can’t get a good signal on all channels inside the building either. Put the antenna outside or at least near a window.
3. Looking up all the Columbus digital stations on http://www.antennaweb.org , I see that WSYX (ABC) is on channel 13 (VHF), WCMH (NBC) is on 14 (really low UHF), all the way up to WOSU (PBS) on channel 38 (about the middle of the UHF band). Many of the “powered” antennas that are sold as “HD” or “digital” antennas are UHF only. One of the big myths is “all digital stations are UHF”. Not true! Also, many poorly designed antennas do well at the center of the band (channel 38) and poorly at the edges of the band (channels 14 and 52). You need a good quality VHF/UHF antenna. I’ve actually outperformed some antennas with a paper clip! (No joke).
Use the link to antenna web above as a resource to aim it properly and I think you will be OK.
I hope this helps.
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