Antenna Problem. Please Help

[DavidS827]

I have a Terk Outdoor HD Antenna and it seems to have just died. I tested my receiver with an indoor antenna and it receives a signal, so I'm pretty sure it's not that. Is there a way to test the antenna, or do I just need to go buy a new one?

...I have had this antenna for about 18 months.

 

[Adam]

David, which Terk outdoor antenna are you using? That might help us diagnose the issue. Are you using a pre-amp/amp system over the coax line?

Some thoughts:
1. The antenna may have been moved (perhaps by wind) and lost enough of the digital signal strength to not give you a picture.
2. A cable may have gotten loose or been chewed through by a friendly neighborhood varmit.

 

[Leprkon]

It sounds like you broke one of the wires leading to the antenna. try putting a meter on the two leads. If the antenna's good, then you should see little or no resistance. If there is nothing passing through the meter, then try replacing the connector that plugs into the TV. You probably just had one of the wires in there turn loose.

On the other hand, you neighbor may have cut the wire on the outside with his weed eater.

 

[DavidS827]

Here's a link to the antenna -
http://www.audiovox.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10001&storeId=10001&productId=14126&langId=-1

We did get a pretty strong storm the day that it went out and I know my power went out for a little while. When I went up on the roof to check it, it did look like it had moved, but when I tried to reposition it, I couldn't get any signal whatsoever. I did check all of the connections between the antenna and the box and didn't see anywhere where the line was cut or loose.

It is possible that when the power came back on that there was a surge that could have blown it out? My receiver was off when the power went out.

Where can I get one of those testers you mentioned?

 

[Rickster71]

hi David,
Doesn't that have a power supply?
Maybe it's that, or it's pwr supply connection?

 

[Adam]

David, that's a passive antenna, so there aren't any internal amps to blow. While it has a nice outer casing, I believe that antenna is probably something like this (although smaller) on the inside:

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-LESVto9kRwe/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=15920&I=6594221

That's to give you an idea of what is involved. It's some metal with a 300-ohm-to-75-ohm adapter so that you can plug in your cable to it. I don't know how a power surge would blow it out, except that it might have damaged the adapter.

The tester that Leprkon mentioned is anything that will let you check continuity. A multitester like this would work:

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103176&cp=&sr=1&origkw=tester&kw=tester&parentPage=search

You can also buy continuity testers, but I'm not very familiar with those.

The best thing to do first is to check the continuity of the cable coming into the house. I say that because that's easier and you'll be checking both the antenna and the cable all at once. If that fails the test, then check the antenna. If that fails, then you know it is the antenna that's bad. You may be able to fix it yourself.

 

[DavidS827]

hi David,
Doesn't that have a power supply?
Maybe it's that, or it's pwr supply connection?

No, there's no power supply that I know of.

 

[DavidS827]

So I finally got a chance to get up on the roof and test everything out. It looked as though the antenna wasn't working b/c a I hooked up a powered indoor antenna while I was up there and was able to get a signal. So I figured I would just go buy a new HD antenna. Then we get another storm and all of a suddenn I can get one local HD channel with a "good" signal and one that registers in the "bad" signal range. The other two local HD channels still don't work. Well, I went back up there yesterday and I just can't seem to find a direction that gives me a signal on all of the local HD channels. At this point should I just go buy another antenna? Does it makes sense that I can only pick up a signal for a couple of channels?

 

[Adam]

Does it makes sense that I can only pick up a signal for a couple of channels?

David, how does it work for analog stations? If it works great for those, then it might just be the direction that you are pointing it. I think that analog stations are less picky when it comes to the direction of the antenna than are digital stations. For digital broadcasts in my area, I've found the direction of the antenna to be rather important, so it might just be that you'll need to get it pointed correctly. Check out this link to look at where to point the antenna.

P.S. Took you long enough to get up there!

 

[DavidS827]

It doesn't really pick up analog signals at all....even before it started having problems.


....Hey, what do you want from me?! I have 4 and 5 year old kids that drain me!

 

[Adam]

Heh, heh. I was just joking. I got an outdoor antenna last October...still haven't put it up outside. However, I do have it mounted inside and the reception is great, so I'm not that motivated.