On September 4, 2013 at 02:04, Ernie Gilman said...
And you're the recipient of my 20,000th post! I've always loved antennas and antenna systems. Thanks for this opportunity.
If I understand what you're saying, the problem goes away not because there's a problem with the preamp, but because when you unplug the preamp it does not let any signal through which is the same as disconnecting the OTA, which you've already found solves the problem.
The problem occurs when HD and analog stations are on the same frequencies. In the US and Canada, 2 - 13 are the same on all TVs, and channels above that are on different frequencies and may or may not overlap depending on whether they are OTA or cable channels. Look up a table of OTA frequencies and cable channel frequencies to see which ones overlap.
When you're tuned in cable 13 and connect the OTA, if there's a digital channel on 13 it will ruin the cable signal. The only way to get both of these signals into the TV is to use a switch, going from one to the other. That gets dicey if your TV requires you to learn the channels it will allow you to tune in before you can go to them, because you can't learn both sets of channels at the same time.
Go to tvfool or
www.antennaweb.org to find out which channel frequencies are used for broadcast stations in your area. Many OTA stations are not on the channel frequencies that match their channel numbers as a result of the way we transitioned from analog channels to digital channels.
Best of luck!
Thanks Ernie. I guess Nueatit eluded to the same thing (frequencies). The TV for its part does NOT force you to re-learn the channels; you toggle between cable "on/off" and the cable channels once scanned are stored when you select "on" and all the OTA channels are locked in after scanning when selecting "off". But I see the problem with both ota and cable signals being sent into the TV simultaneously regardless of what side the TV wants to select...
I dug up a fairly new Noma outdoor AC outlet switch with nifty key fob from my place which I've never used. Problem is unless the plug being inserted into the noma swtich is grounded (3 prong), the device will not relay power. Shame, b/c we could have just plugged the antenna pre-amp into that and used the key fob to turn the preamp on remotely when wanting to watch ota and leaving it off so the cable channels display clean. Am thinking of looking at a pre-amp replacement with a grounded AC cord (if it exists) but for the cost the person I'm doing this for might as well look into a digital tuner box which isn't something they wanted to invest in (these are old folks I'm talking about).
So another option you suggested was looking into a coax "switch"? Will see what that's all about. Cheers.
