TV reception question

['97ventureowner]

Seeing this specific forum is also named Electronics and Technology I figured I'd try my question here.
I live directly across from a food distribution warehouse for a supermarket chain. For the past few years I have been having trouble with reception on the tv that is located in my living room( which is the closest room to the warehouse.) We have 4 local channels (ABC CBS NBC PBS) and we also have Directv. There is also a tv in the kitchen at the oppostie end of the house. It first started with the CBS station, then the NBC station also began with the poor reception. Now the ABC station is starting to do it.The CBS and NBC are the weaker signals in town and the ABC is the strongest. I also have an auxillary antennae in my attic to help with the local stations. The problem starts when we are watching a show and the picture becomes real static-ky with a lot of snow and static sounds on the audio. Sometimes it's worse than other incidences. I also get white lines and a "fishbone" type pattern amongst the snow and static.
I was told that the 2 way radios used by the warehouse truck drivers are the main cause of this interference. In fact, sometimes when we are watching tv and the static problem starts, you can hear a tractor trailer pull out of the premises. The staic and noise increase as the truck is in front of the house and subsides as it gets further down the road. The tv in the kitchen does not experience any of these problems at all. I purchased a filter from Radio Shack that was supposed to eliminate this problem, but since I installed it last year, it has not. I tried to explain the problem to the guy at Radio Shack, and this is what he reccomended. He says there was not much more I could do to lessen the problem.
Does anyone know of another product or technique I could use to get rid of the problem? It is really becoming annoying and my wife is on edge because the problem seems to crop up whenever she is watching something good or the show that is on has a good part playing.I'm open to suggestions on how to alleviate this problem and return harmony to my home. Thank you in advance.

[knorwj]

what if you moved the antenna to the other side of the house where the other one is located? then run a longer coaxle. Or is it that the coaxle itself is picking up static? If thats the case maybe a shielded coaxle cable can be found?

[circeseye]

the only thing i can suggest is to raise the antenna higher (above the power lines usually works) make sure if you do this that you secure the hell out of it cause it will sway badly if you dont. my grandparents had the same issue and that helped fix it.
thats the problem with just using a antenna. any power tools that have alot of power will effect any signal near by sucks to no end. and having a factory accross the street really must suck

['97ventureowner]

Originally Posted by knorwj

what if you moved the antenna to the other side of the house where the other one is located? then run a longer coaxle. Or is it that the coaxle itself is picking up static? If thats the case maybe a shielded coaxle cable can be found?

The antennae is located on the south side of the house, the same as the dish foe the satelite service. The warehouse is located on the north side of the house, so I think moving the antennae might make the problem worse. Do you think the coaxial cable could be the problem? The reason I ask is that the cable that comes from the antennae in the attic is split into 2 separate cables. One goes to the set in the kitchen, the other to the tv in the living room,(the one with the problems.) I would tend to think if it was a problem with the cable both tv would be affected. I was thinking of switching tv's to see if it might be a problem with the tv. The tv in the living room is approx. 6 years old. The one in the kitchen is 2 years old.

Originally Posted by circeseye

the only thing i can suggest is to raise the antenna higher (above the power lines usually works) make sure if you do this that you secure the hell out of it cause it will sway badly if you dont. my grandparents had the same issue and that helped fix it.
thats the problem with just using a antenna. any power tools that have alot of power will effect any signal near by sucks to no end. and having a factory accross the street really must suck

The antennae is actually located in my attic hanging upside down. My brother-in-law installed it there back in 1989, and there really was no problems with reception until many years later. The warehouse was built in 1992, and the problem started way after that. I live on a hill high up in my area and we get some wicked wind storms here so that was the reason he installed the antennae in the attic. And yes having the warehouse across the road DOES suck. It was a nice piece of farmland previously. Something about looking out your window and seeing golden wheat swaying in the wind, or a large crop of corn growing. At least it's not the park they are building 1/4 down the road with 2 hotels, 2 to 3 restaurants, and an indoor water park among other plans. They ruined a nice stand of old growth timber for that mess.

[Oz]

Is digital TV available in your area? Often a set top box can clear up a lot of reception issues for minimal outlay.

['97ventureowner]

It is available in the general area, but where I am located it isn't because the houses are too far apart to make cable tv a feasible option. Most houses in my area ( rural/ suburban) have satelite dishes to get extra channels. In fact all are practically still on dialupal though Verizon ran fiber optic cable down my road back in June for their FiOS service. All I have to do is wait for the rest of the area and for them to update their switching station before I can get it at my house. Eventually, I am told by Verizon that along with their FiOS service for high speed internet, we'll also get tv service through the fiber optic lines, but that's still a few years away. My Directv service is digital, and the channels come in crystal clear. They started offering local channels in my area last year, but didn't want to make the extra investment in the second dish that was required for the local channels, along with the added costs.

[Digitaleuphoria]

You said you have a splitter splitting the connection two different ways.

Now, the way MOST splitters are is that they split hte connection stronger one way than the other. Just as a test, switch the way the coaxille's are on the splitter, for example, the cable thats on the right side of the splitter put on the left and visa versa ...

If that fixes the tv in your living room, then that's your problem, a crappy splitter (the tv in the kitchen might be the static riddeled one now too) I'm not sure If a signal booster would fix both tv's or not, I know it would if you used a cable service but, an antenna service, not sure, probably. Anyway, try what I told you to do and let me know how that works

OH, also try running the cable to the tv with the problem directly (with no splitter). The thing the splitter does, is exactly what its name implys, splits the signal. So if you are getting 10db of signal strength the splitter will split (just an example) 6db to one tv and 4db to another. Or something along those lines.

['97ventureowner]

Originally Posted by Digitaleuphoria

You said you have a splitter splitting the connection two different ways.

Now, the way MOST splitters are is that they split hte connection stronger one way than the other. Just as a test, switch the way the coaxille's are on the splitter, for example, the cable thats on the right side of the splitter put on the left and visa versa ...

If that fixes the tv in your living room, then that's your problem, a crappy splitter (the tv in the kitchen might be the static riddeled one now too) I'm not sure If a signal booster would fix both tv's or not, I know it would if you used a cable service but, an antenna service, not sure, probably. Anyway, try what I told you to do and let me know how that works

OH, also try running the cable to the tv with the problem directly (with no splitter). The thing the splitter does, is exactly what its name implys, splits the signal. So if you are getting 10db of signal strength the splitter will split (just an example) 6db to one tv and 4db to another. Or something along those lines.

Thanks for that suggestion. I'll try it today and wait a few days and let you know if it worked. That's a lot easier than one thing I thought of, moving the tv from the kitchen to the living room and vice versa. The one in the kitchen is a 32" and quite HEAVY.

[eversio11]

That's odd that DirecTV would require a second dish for your local channels. The only reason you'd need to upgrade your dish would be if they were HD channels, or you needed more receivers in the house. Try giving DTV a call again and see what the scoop is. We get local Chicago channels with the same dish we've been using for 7 years.

['97ventureowner]

Originally Posted by eversio11

That's odd that DirecTV would require a second dish for your local channels. The only reason you'd need to upgrade your dish would be if they were HD channels, or you needed more receivers in the house. Try giving DTV a call again and see what the scoop is. We get local Chicago channels with the same dish we've been using for 7 years.

When local channels on Directv finally became available in our area last Fall, info from them and the local newspaper said you needed to give the customer service number a call to schedule an installer to come out and put up a second dish to get the locals. Maybe it's newer technology or something specific to our area. I know Directv and the local affiliates had been talking for a long time to set up a deal to carry the local channels. Another thing I thought of is that some of the "local" Chicago channels are carried on Directv for all over the country (like WGN) and I think they are on a separate satelite, than our locals.
Anyways, with FiOS becoming available to me at anytime now, (crossing fingers) I hope to sign up for Verizon's all in one deal that lumps the FiOS service, phone service, and Directv service all for one price. In order for me to do that I'll have to cancel my current Directv subscription and put it under my wife's name because the special for the satelite service is only available to NEW subscribers . When this occurs, I'll have them put up the second dish if it's needed.
Update: It has been over 24 hours since I followed Digitaleuphoria's advice and switched the cables on the splitter, and so far so good. My wife was able to watch her "Big Brother All Stars" tonight without incident.

[Digitaleuphoria]

Originally Posted by '97ventureowner

When local channels on Directv finally became available in our area last Fall, info from them and the local newspaper said you needed to give the customer service number a call to schedule an installer to come out and put up a second dish to get the locals. Maybe it's newer technology or something specific to our area. I know Directv and the local affiliates had been talking for a long time to set up a deal to carry the local channels. Another thing I thought of is that some of the "local" Chicago channels are carried on Directv for all over the country (like WGN) and I think they are on a separate satelite, than our locals.
Anyways, with FiOS becoming available to me at anytime now, (crossing fingers) I hope to sign up for Verizon's all in one deal that lumps the FiOS service, phone service, and Directv service all for one price. In order for me to do that I'll have to cancel my current Directv subscription and put it under my wife's name because the special for the satelite service is only available to NEW subscribers . When this occurs, I'll have them put up the second dish if it's needed.
Update: It has been over 24 hours since I followed Digitaleuphoria's advice and switched the cables on the splitter, and so far so good. My wife was able to watch her "Big Brother All Stars" tonight without incident.

Glad to hear my advice helped you out a bit.

[ericn1300]

Originally Posted by eversio11

That's odd that DirecTV would require a second dish for your local channels. The only reason you'd need to upgrade your dish would be if they were HD channels, or you needed more receivers in the house. Try giving DTV a call again and see what the scoop is. We get local Chicago channels with the same dish we've been using for 7 years.

When they first started adding local channels they managed to get the major markets on the same sattelite as the existing subscription service. As they added the hundreds, maybe thousands of local stations across under the "must carry" rules they had to add capacity by using another sattelite. If you live in a secondary market and want local channels, odds are you will need two dishes.

Originally Posted by '97ventureowner

I hope to sign up for Verizon's all in one deal that lumps the FiOS service, phone service, and Directv service all for one price. In order for me to do that I'll have to cancel my current Directv subscription and put it under my wife's name because the special for the satelite service is only available to NEW subscribers . When this occurs, I'll have them put up the second dish if it's needed.

That's exactly what i had to do to upgrade to HDTV. DirectTV wanted to charge me big time to upgrade my dish and recievers so i just canceled the service and had my wife order new service under her name. Got all the equipment and installation for free and 3 months of free premium services thrown in.