Affiliate Link to the Mediasonic Homeworx DTV Box: amzn.to/2UuNi2D Affiliate Link to the 7” TV sets: amzn.to/2UvTA1M amzn.to/2W0gXRJ ebay.us/YKCW45 Affiliate Link to quick release adapter for TV: amzn.to/3ipgVKx Affiliate Link to the Winegard signal meter: amzn.to/2UUlHaU Affiliate Link to the Channel Master signal meter (currently sold out): bit.ly/2UVXMrN Affiliate Link to the Televes H30 signal meter: amzn.to/2UumXSf 📡 Do you have reception problems? Consider an antenna recommendation from me below! antennamanpa.com/antenna-recommendations.html
@@AntennaMan Hi there! In Edinburgh, South side I picked up a analog tv channel 6 which looks like a ITV. It’s quite fuzzy but you can pick up a signal. You won’t find that much information online tho.
When I was a kid, I was the signal meter. I had to go up on the roof and turn the antenna. I hear yelling, a little more to the left, no back, right there.
@@MoparStephen Speaking of remote controls. I remember a Zenith with four metal bars inside. It was an audible "tone". Whenever the dog walked through the room, tags jangling, the tv would change channels.
Very common when I was growing up. We lived in a valley. One guy lived close to the mountain trying to get Chan 6 out of Schenectity. He got way up on a 50ft tower, yelling to his wife, "how is it?" She responded, "not good, snowy." The yelling continued. Nothing he did worked. He got furious and threw the antenna to the ground out of discust! When it hit the ground his wife yelled, "Hold it right there Hon, it's coming in fine!" It was a phenomenon where the VHF signal (on the other side of the mountain) would follow the curvature of the mountain. If you positioned the antenna near the ground, near the mountain, you'd pick them up fine, vs up in the air. Worked for FM stations too, but ONLY for the low VHF channels. 1 or 2 ft above the ground was usually optimum.
@@RickPaquin yep seen that many times still true for where i live. the only statin i can get and only at times is best with the antena about 3 feet off the ground
I paid $40 to Tyler because I was having trouble getting a specific channel because of terrain issues. This bit of advice was well worth the money as it saved me money and time. Thanks Tyler!
I have two of the homeworx boxes with the record function and I added a one terabyte external hard drive to each. We record all sorts of OTA shows. The signal meters are a very useful feature. I have a couple of tvs with signal meters built in as well.
They definitely must fallow your advice. As an ex-Satellite installer and digital TV installer. Your knowledge is extremely appreciated. Those Proffesional signal meters are really nice. I’m thinking about getting it just to add to my installation equipment. It’s funny but most satellite installers use FMS radios with one on transmit and the other on receive, so we can hear the audio on the signal meter while we are adjusting the dish or antenna. We place the radio near the receiver box and TV. While we are on there roof. Making fine adjustments.
I use a usb tuner that plugs into my laptop (about $80) it has a signal meter built in. It works good, but what I really want is the Televes H30 hand-held meter. They make great tv antennas & amplifiers too
Wanted to say thanks for the video and recommendation of the Mediasonic Homeworx DTV Box. It was just what I needed to fine tune my antenna system Thanks!
I have thought of getting one of these but thought they were a tad expensive for a one time use until I saw this video. I have installed the channel master 2 port dist amp (cm 3422?) and more than doubled my channels on my clear stream 4v antenna mounted in the attic. Now to get it optimized for the direction of the weakest channel without losing the others. Thank you sir.
Hi Tyler. People should be warned not to use satellite TV meters for broadcast. I have one. It runs off 13 or 18 volts. It's digital with LED numbers. It's the cat's meow. Only on satellite. What you can use are satellite cables. Direct and Dish absolutely have the best cables I've ever touched. When someone abandons their Direct cables, pounce. It's gold.
I'm trying to make sure I buy the right Televes meter. There are a couple different H30 meters on Amazon and one is $90 and another is the $1295 one shown here. I see that one is QAM analog and digital, but only mentions NTSC analog. Does that mean it does not handle ATSC 1.0? Which one did you get?
It's more entertaining to get the channel to come in than it is to watch it. I want to try using my twenty dollar SDR dongle and airspy to see if it will work as a signal meter.
Ah snap! You showed my GE Long Range Pro Attic/Outdoor antenna in that spot. I get it, I am still having great reception with it, but not all the same for others, also, yeah that frame is plastic and who knows how many years it would last. Just being silly with ya, you are an expert who does a really cool thing with helping us out.
I do really well with it in my closet and 4 way powered amp to 4 rooms. I made the antenna cord shorter and got a way better signal. Crazy how a few feet will make all the difference
Me to. My mom use to send me outdoors back in the early 70's to turn our antenna so she could watch her soaps in NBC. Which was Either P. Kentucky ch 6 or Nashville ch 4., but when dad got home I had to go back out and turn it back to Jackson TN 7, so he could watch the local news. These days it is hard to pick up Nashville channels on antenna.
I have a USB stick which is a software defined radio receiver. With that plugged into a laptop computer, I can get a visual display of the ATSC carrier, showing its amplitude in decibels. That is useful for aiming a tv antenna.
Very useful information. I'm trying to set up an antenna at our new house that's surrounded by trees. I moved the antenna 20' and lost a couple of "must have" channels. Being able to get a good signal on those channels with out doing a whole channel scan will save a lot of time. Thanks
I also recommend those break-away connectors for if you are one who unplugs stuff during thunderstorms. I always have one installed to the roof antenna for easy disconnect.
My Sony TV had a built-in signal meter in settings, and it really helped. My QLED Samsung TV has only a search and each broadcaster can be in a different direction here on the gulfcoast. Mobile, AL to the west and ABC wear is near that transmitting from Spanish Fort, AL, but most other channels are to the east in Fort Walton FL and Destin FL.
Really interesting and helpful channel. Coming from the Uk, leaving aside satellite,we only have uhf digital multiplexes (Freeview) which makes our aerial choice more straightforward save that the quality of UHF aerials is, like you often find, variable. Our aerial grouping is currently channel 21 to 59 but like your repack that is coming under pressure. The relevance to meters is that the UK has a mid way option and for around 50gbp we can purchase a digital meter that is channel specific and displays signal strength and, most importantly signal quality across channels 21 to 59. As you will know often signal strength with digital multiplexes is not the issue and it is about signal quality and achieving a balance across the receivable multiplexes particularly in bad weather conditions. Keep up the good work!
You still have 21-59 in the UK? Here in Czechia, they got 49+ to mobile operators for 5g, so DVB-T2 TV is now only 21-48 and they speak about giving 600-700 MHz range to mobile operators too, so I think classic terrestrial TV will die in next 10 years, they speak about some new standard "5g broadcasting" or what, so it will be like mobile data, but only for TV, if my grandparents will be still living in 2030, third "digitalisation" will definitely kill them. :-) There is even massive problem with interferences in one frequency multiplexes (same frequency in almost whole country) and another problem are interferences from super strong Polish transmitters, they have 100 kW transmitters literally on border and they don't care that we need those frequencies too. :-) I think this new DVB-T2 is borned dead, you have still lower and lower frequency for TV and antennas can't catch it properly because it's mostly build for full UHF range. This problem is massive for people who have older antennas for 21-69, frequencies like 490 MHz are problem for such older antennas on longer distance.
@@Pidalin Hi In UK all TV channels are 21 to 49 now. No VHF allocation after 1985 when 405 line transmitters closed. Like you band is squeezed to enable 5G at top end of UHF. Not much interference accept when atmospheric lift then some digital multiplexes clash with the result of no picture. Older aerials that are channel specific do sometimes struggle with reallocation hence wide band aerials are now the norm. Yes I don’t know how the older generation cope with the changes as new TVs can be difficult to fathom their operating systems. The move in Uk is to ip broadband delivery and away from UHF and sat. Regards Neil
@@neilmasters9914 You have advantage in beying Island, when you live in small country surrounded by bigger countries, you have problems with interferences from their TV in some places. Yes, explain it to older people is really hard, we have digital TV since 2008 and they still don't understand what multiplex is and they always say that picture is great when they are moving with antenna, they just completely don't get it. :-)
I use a Hauppauge WinTV USB tuner attached to a cheap 2 in 1 laptop. Hauppauge has a signal meter program that works pretty well, but you have to have the channel appear on a scan before you can get the strength meter to work for it.
There should be some place that rents the professional signal meters. If I'm doing a little concrete work I don't have to buy a thousand dollar wet saw. Seems like the same would be true for a signal meter.
There are places that rent out spectrum analyzers, network analyzers, etc. maybe a bit more than the average Joe needs to set an antenna though. Example “Advanced Test Equipment” offers rentals.
You don’t need one and you should not try to use one. Buy the Zinwell ZAT-970A I described above. It is superior to a spectrum analyzer for placing and orientating TV antennas. It’s about 15 years old but there is still some new and used inventory that you can find on eBay or other large store websites that specialize in TV antennas. About 15 years ago a professional satellite and terrestrial TV antenna installation company did a survey with their spectrum analyzer on the roof at a friend’s house for TV reception with the Antennas Direct 91XG UHF antenna we bought for stations from a distant city. They gave up and said there was nothing possible. We went up with the test tuner and found the optimum spot for reception. They came back and installed the antenna and learned a lesson.
@@bjs2022 Yes, good point. Network Analyzers tend to be over the top for this kind of basic need. Personally, I could use one for this purpose as I’ve spent most of my career in the Broadcast industry and familiar with their operation. But you’re correct, something simpler like the unit you suggest will provide enough help for antenna alignment.
The best antenna is the one you build and tune to your available signals. I put together a Grey Hoverman designed for UHF 470-680mhz. With NAROD elements designed for hi VHF 176-216mhz that couple indirectly to the main elements. Finally I have a separate 7 foot folded dipole on top tuned for the low VHF 54-88mhz. All roughly at 20 feet height. There are two major hubs for signal transmissions, one is 47 miles away, the other is 60. They're at a nearly perfect 90 degree angle from me. If I point at one I lose the other. Pointing midway between drops channels from both. So I may have to build a second set of antennas.
I use the signal meter in my CM7003 Converter Box all the time.All stations outside the 40 mile radius mark you want to be sure your right on Maximum signal. No Brainer. With ATSC 1.0 you only got 2 to 3 degrees on both sides of peak. If off, your TV set may shown a No Signal, pixelate, or flash a picture off and on.
Perfect timing! I just put up an outdoor antenna and I can't get anything on it. Now I know why so have a Winegard signal meter on the way. Thank you for the information as I have been looking for something like that.
I would love it if all tv manufacturers would put the signal strength and signal quality meters on the channel banner when you press info or when you change the channel. LG has something similar on their sets
I use a laptop for all my work. I use a WinTV-HVR-950q and since I use Linux I use the Kaffene media player (like VLC but with many DTV features built in) it has a signal meter that goes between 33%-85% and if you have skills you can also use an RTL-SDR to look for interference.
but sometimes it shows like 80% signal on that frequency, but still, it can't find any channels, so real signal meter is still more reliable tool than USB tuner
My Samsung TV doesn't have a signal meter, but it does have a strong tuner. I use my old Digitalstream DTV box(RCA DTV too) from back in the day when the GOV gave out the $20 CC. I connect the DS DTV to the Samsung to use as a signal meter and point my tablet at the TV. I then use Zoom or Skype and view the screen of the Samsung on my phone. I look at the signal on my phone and adjust antenna. This is helpful since the antenna is not close by. Just a poor man way of utilizing what I have available. Folks can be creative. Advice... don't focus on one channel. Try to find a sweet spot of all the channels you wish to view PS. surprisingly the old Digitalstream and RCA DTV boxes still work very well. They have digital channel guides with descriptions and a signal meter. No HDMI but coax for 16/9 viewing. Maybe pickup cheap used on ebay? I'm about 20+ miles from NYC/NJ towers and pick up around 70 channels(some repeat channels) using the CM Omni+ 50 at roof line Thank you for all the info you provide every week. Long time subscriber. Keep up the great work
@@richardcranium5839 Cool. I just found the old coupon card. It had a value of $40. I can't remember if I bought two $20 boxes with this card or I received another card? For some reason I was thinking two $20 cards. Maybe when I registered they put it on one card? Can't find another card. Do you remember how many cards you received?
For ATSC1 not only is signal level important but also bit error rate, MER and such that refer to quality. You can have a strong signal but low quality due to reflections. With almost all indoor antennas you can see the signal quality change as you move around the room, open the fridge and such. The meter in newer tv's seems to do ok in most cases. For large systems test gear is important as a signal will degrade thru each amp, tap even connector.. Regardless of testing, the solution is always a bigger and higher antenna.
I've got an RCA 751R installed in my 1 story attic. I'm about 22 miles north from the DFW Cedar Hill tower array. After some channels moved around in the last year, with the bandwidth repack, I finally went up in the attic this last winter and fined tune the antenna. I didn't have a meter or a helper, so it was 4 or 5 trips up and down to finally get the sweet spot I could live with. There are some large trees just out side my property line, so on very windy or stormy days, a few of the channels are iffy. I do use an amplifier at the point where the antenna plugs into the TV. I live in a HOA controlled area, so I am l limited on going whole hog.
I tried to go to your website for help but got the answer man and they wanted to charge me. I really needed help to find out which antenna I needed. Every time I go to a site it’s not a website. I’m tired of buying things that I have to return
Yes, I charge for an antenna recommendation. If you prefer not to pay you ate free to use my RUclips channel as a resource but be warned you pay spend more on the wrong antenna than you would the $40 for my service and a lifetime of direct support.
It might be a good idea if smart TVs were able to send their signal strength reading to a smartphone via wifi or Bluetooth. The smartphone app could display as much information as the smart TV can provide and include a broadcast tower direction finder or other handy tools. You would have a handheld remote signal meter that does not need to be inserted into the cable. Plus, you would see the signal quality the tv is actually receiving so you can verify cable, amplifier, and splitter function. One frustrating thing about aiming and adjusting indoor antennas is getting a good signal when you are next to it but go bad as soon as you walk away from it! Your body probably acts as a reflector or otherwise affects RF characteristics.
I've been able to accomplish something similar using HDHomeRun Quattro. I use their app on my winbloze laptop and tune all four tuners simultaneously to the four channels I desire to receive. This layout on my laptop lets me choose an antenna location and direction while viewing the signal strength, signal quality, and symbol quality for each channel at the same time. Each TV in my home accesses OTA signals from the Quattro via Channels DVR app.
Your best video yet. But, I respectfully disagree about the F-59 quick-disconnect fittings because, in time they will strip the threads of the fitting ton he device you're using them on.
I've been using a small TV that I plug a coax cable and powered pre-amp into. Then, I move my deer-stand like pole around to different areas in the yard. Once I get the channels I want, I reconnect the pre-amp and cable to the big TV then do a rescan. One of the drawbacks is--if the ground is wet or its rainy, you cannot do this for obvious reasons(using a power amp on the outside will require electrical extension cords that do not mix with any watery conditions and TVs with holes do not mix with any kind of rain). Another is--the signal meter method is a whole lot faster and more efficient(channel scans take a lot of time considering multiple scans and it also makes you forget the old analog days where you did not have to do any scan*). *Without a signal meter, I long for the old analog days, esp. living in a rural, wood infested area. With this, I'd forget about those days, still get a crystal clear picture, and receive far more channels per station...
You mentioned trees... I had reasonable reception from my roof antenna in the Harrisburg Pa area. Needed to take six big trees down. Reception is now poor. Didn't expect that.
signals do some strange , unpredictable things. years ago i had a strong signal on channel 12. neighbors barn burnt down and i lost the signal. i was getting a bounce off the metal roof. new barn went up but the signal never came back
I have huge 100 ft pine trees in my neighborhood. To receive a station 70 mi away, there is only 1 good spot in my yard where I get a signal. The antenna is sitting on the floor of the second story deck, leaning against the house and tilted upward just slightly. No doubt I'm getting a reflected signal from a distant tree, but it's a solid signal that is never disrupted. I'm at the extreme outer limit of this stations's signal area. So if you have trees, your reception is most likely not a direct signal. Trees are not necessarily a negative in getting a good signal. The trick is using them for your advantage. Your antenna may wind up in a weird place in your yard, but you'll have wonderful reception! These rules apply mostly to UHF signals with trees. Take a day off and use an antenna or meter and try all areas of your yard and various heights. ALSO, try tilting it upward slightly as well because the signal may bounce wonderfully from the top of a distant tree. You'll find that sweet spot.
My Samsung digital tv's have always come with a signal strength meter in the screen menus system but it's not easy to find. On remote, go to Menu/Support/Self Diagnosis/Signal Information. You'll see a signal bar graph and a digital signal to noise ratio in db.
This comment is pure gold. After searching through the various submenus on my Samsung TV, I had decided it didn't have any built in signal meter. Then I saw this comment and was able to find it buried in a submenu where I would have never thought to look. Thanks!
You are GREAT! Had problems with antenna I put up and bought a telves forgot but the top line long range was like 250 bucks. But you was RIGHT it was worth the money picking up lot more stuff!!
This rocks. Life is too short for those tiny store shelf antennas. I've noticed that a lot of people take those back to the store after trying them. All the packages are ripped and re-taped on the shelves.
I'm Canadian and looking into some of these products (partly to see if I can pull in the slightly weak US signals near me as well as the local Canadian stations). Seems I'd need to pay a ton to get some of these devices across the border. As a result, the Winegard signal meter seems to be the most reasonably priced of all these for me, though there's some similar-not-identical 7 inch TVs around too.
Some of my best college vacation memories were on the roofs of buildings, yes .. I worked summers and holidays installing towers, antenna arrays and installations back in a time when the word digital really didn't exist .. analog, we occasionally wrestled with weak snowy signals. Stacking multi element yagi arrays often helped, other times .. an open wire line to the top of the hill to get that one single desired channel.
Good idea imma check one of these options out. I need to rework my outdoor antenna I think. I think these low power repeaters and stations are such BS For many of us.
I think you should do a follow-up video to what you refer to as "small antennas" in this video and how they compare to better quality "flat" antennas like the upper Mahu line or others that fall into your "small antenna" catagory. Maybe I'm all wet here and you meant small for an outdoor antenna. Either way, finding out which antennas that take up a ton of space that are no better than smaller ones would be an interesting and helpful video. That way if my intention is to have it mounted indoors in the same room as the tv, I could buy an indoor antenna that better blends into it's surroundings as oppose to what I see as a big ugly indoor/outdoor antenna, if ultimately the difference in signal would be minimal. Or maybe reviewing some of the better quality omni-directional indoor antennas and just stating the range you think they would actually cover would be helpful. Cus, as some may be worthless, there may be some that'd work great for a person within X range of a tower that may be getting ready to overkill it with a giant directional antenna in the attic. It seems like the better quality antennas take research to find and then are overpriced for what you are getting (espcecially with the unknown aspects of atsc 3 incoming) and the cheap one's are worthless. From what I've gathered you generally recommend the larger directional, but I think helping to eliminate the rubble amongst the indoor antennas for people that rent would be a popular video. Also, do you have a video on how to use a vhf/uhf/ antenna to also get a better FM signal to a stereo receiver and what is needed to filter or seperate frequencies? Probably a less popular video, but next on my list to look into. Anyway, thanks for the info.
I'm new at this but both TVs i have do have signal meters. My Samsung seems more precise-- it shows DB numbers which range from 20-35. 20 seems to be the threshold. Anything below that gets messy. My Insignia TV has a meter but it uses larger numbers-- "25 to 100" on stations I'm getting. Oddly the 25 strength stations actually do come in ok.
The signal meter I use is adequate. It even cooks us dinner and does my laundry. If a channel isn’t coming in clearly, it lets me know. Even if I’m traveling and can’t fix it right away.
I have an outside antenna with a built in booster I bought at Walmart. It does a fairly decent job, however I've noticed that the signal is hit and miss (especially on windy days) but for some reason as soon as a commercial comes on it's got a steady strong signal. Why is that? Commercials are rarely ever interrupted by a bad signal strength but as soon as the movie's back on I'm cussin' because loss of signal.
The antenna with built in amplifier is junk. You are probably just barely getting the signals to the point they drop out when there is wind. You will need a better antenna setup. Consider an antenna recommendation from me at the link below. This can prevent you from spending hundreds of dollars and time wasted on setting up the wrong antenna for your area. antennamanpa.com/antenna-recommendations.html
I have been using a Diglair Pro ATSC meter for years now. Sort of a love/hate relationship with that thing. The firmware has always been quirky, but the ability to power preamps is a Godsend for me. Not sure what to use when it finally dies on me...
Don’t know if you will see this comment, actually question, or not! When watching many of your antenna reviews, such as the RCA Compact Outdoor Yagi, you use some type of computer or tv as your tuned power meter. Are you just using the mediasonic with a small tv, or are you using something else? Thanks!
Hello Tyler, offer much useful information for anyone who has a TV, everyone needs this info. What do you think about FTA. I need to put my FTA equipment back in service. Thanks for all the help.
good video. I saw an old analog (tuned circuits) TV field strength meter in a electronics shop a few years it was for VHF and had a selector switch on the front for the channels. They wanted too much money for it so I did not buy it.
Hey DB, thanks for sending this super thanks! I wasn't aware it was a feature I could enable until today. You are official the first person to send one!
I have a Samsung OTA tuner box that I had to buy because my first HDTV had no on board tuner. It has a nice signal meter. You should be able to buy these on ebay
My Sony TV has a signal strength meter, but it's a PITA to use. Sony please put the signal meter on the info/display button menu. The way Sony has it set up is that you have to press the help button, then go into signal and diagnostics and it'll go back into showing the broadcast with the signal strength and other diagnostic information but you can't change the channel. in order to change the channel you have to back out of the signal diagnostics screen, the help screen and back into the OTA change the channel and go back into the help screen, signal and diagnostics each time. What was they thinking making it this way.
Nice. I had a rotor on mine so I could fine tune with it, but it burned out, and I am not paying hundreds of dollars for a rotor (who says there is no inflation?)when the old one was under $25 and lasted for more than 10 yrs. Now going nuts with trying to retune it: it is fine in the early AM and evenings, but goes off with pixilation etc during the day...I assume from humidity as there is no wind at those times that might throw it off. And I am less than 30 miles from the broadcasting antennas. May just forget all the danged locals anyway as I can find network feeds on my smart tv, so who needs em?
We use those DTV converter boxes all the time, because you can hook up old laptop hard drives to it through usb and boom you have a 500gb DVR for a couple bucks.
Yes, even with buying a USB drive those things are a great deal. You get to use your old TV that is too heavy to lift, while recording, playing back and playing other media material. Playing music through one is a good way to have some background music with no ads.
@@kensmith5694 Only downside is that we have never had a single DTV converter last more than 2-2.5 years. We've gone through 6 so far since everything went digital, and we just had to replace the one we bought in February 2019.
Great Video! Which of the different brand small TV's would you recommend most? Do any of them show the actual percentage of signal strength or just normal and good signal?
The only small TVs that have a "signal meter" are attached in the description. They do not show a percentage but still are very helpful as you can see in the video.
The big question is how reliable are the signal meters ,I have at home several TV and set top boxes and all them has an different signal meter strength And signal quality and sensibility to the signal vary wildy from brands of TV and set STB, also to consider the flat antennas has an higher attenuation and the length of the cable don't really help
I think some meters built into TVs measure strength while others measure quality. The variance in yours could be due to loss from the length of cable run and noise from splitters.
Some caveats to know about. According to a company spokesperson, the Televes model H30 does NOT support ATSC over-the-air signals. It only supports Cable TV Quam, (and NTSC). The H30 that they sent to Tyler, according to the company, which clearly shows UHF ATSC on his screen, probably had custom software installed, which they tell me can be done. The Televes that support ATSC, OTA are the H30 plus, item #593980, and the Televes Evolution, item #593581. Both of these haven’t been released yet as of the time of this post. The current model that does support ATSC is the H30 Flex, however it is European only. They also have another model on the way which does ATSC, QUAM, DOCSIS, WI-FI, etc., etc, with a cost of an additional $1000 more than the base price of the other units. Also, be aware that the Winegard is compatible only with the Winegard Sensar antennas. You can modify it to work with conventional antennas, but it won’t do that “out-of-the-box”. Another viable option to consider is the SignalScout. It appears to be a re-branded Channel Master, or at least uses the same firmware, as the diagnostic screens are identical to the ones shown on Tyler’s Channel Master unit. Tyler is not just an antenna man, he is “THE” antenna man! No doubt! There is no question about his informative knowledge. I have a lot of respect of his knowledge. These are just updates to be aware of. EDIT: An objective observer might question Televes motives in giving Tyler a unit to review, and adding functionality to it that the unit actually doesn't have. They are however a great company with outstanding products.
This is interesting. I'm not sure if it's any different now, being two years after you intially wrote this, but I also don't see an upside for the company,. I think I did notice that they sell their products direct to consumer even on Amazon, so maybe their return policy has a restocking fee or deters consumers from wanting to hassle with it. Otherwise, this would only end up being a bunch of returns and hassle on their part.
Televes is distinguished to me by their apparent passion for ota. They seem serious compared to the "flow-bee" infomercial/merchandiser brands that dominate the US market.
These days with digital TV, many manufacturers already do. Obviously, back in the good old days of analog TV, your signal meter for whatever station you were tuned to was the quality of the picture on your screen; if it was full of static or the colors were faded, you knew you had a weak signal and were thus within your station's distant or fringe reception area, and if the station came through with marginal static and strong colors within a stable picture, you were well within your station's local viewing area.
@@spunker88 I'm hearing quite a bit of praise for LG with how they implement a signal strength meter on their TV tuner for local over-the-air DTV stations, but I think my favorite signal meters have to be those found on RCA DTA-800 DTV converter boxes designed for use on older TVs as they actually give you the signal strength of the station you are tuned to as a percentage. I have a TCL Roku TV that displays a signal meter not in any way unlike those found on older cell phones with a five-bar signal representation. With that said, especially for those who are more technically minded, I think one of the most accurate ways of implementing a signal meter is to display the signal strength of the station by its dBm (decibels above 1 mW) value. However, that would very much cross over into stats for nerds territory.
Question? My Local NBC station has made Nextgen tv available from their city location. But does that mean my local tower is broadcasting the nextgen tv signal? Thanks for any help
Affiliate Link to the Mediasonic Homeworx DTV Box:
amzn.to/2UuNi2D
Affiliate Link to the 7” TV sets:
amzn.to/2UvTA1M
amzn.to/2W0gXRJ
ebay.us/YKCW45
Affiliate Link to quick release adapter for TV:
amzn.to/3ipgVKx
Affiliate Link to the Winegard signal meter:
amzn.to/2UUlHaU
Affiliate Link to the Channel Master signal meter (currently sold out):
bit.ly/2UVXMrN
Affiliate Link to the Televes H30 signal meter:
amzn.to/2UumXSf
📡 Do you have reception problems? Consider an antenna recommendation from me below! antennamanpa.com/antenna-recommendations.html
Achooo
Is the DTV box that you recommended compatible with the new USA broadcast standard (i.e. 3.0)?
@@Jim_N no
@@AntennaMan Thank you for your quick reply. It is appreciated greatly...👍🏻👍🏻
@@AntennaMan Hi there! In Edinburgh, South side I picked up a analog tv channel 6 which looks like a ITV. It’s quite fuzzy but you can pick up a signal. You won’t find that much information online tho.
When I was a kid, I was the signal meter. I had to go up on the roof and turn the antenna. I hear yelling, a little more to the left, no back, right there.
I was the remote control - "DON'T TURN THE DIAL SO FAST" :)
@@MoparStephen Speaking of remote controls. I remember a Zenith with four metal bars inside. It was an audible "tone". Whenever the dog walked through the room, tags jangling, the tv would change channels.
@@markfuller Or jingling your key ring in the living room.
Very common when I was growing up. We lived in a valley. One guy lived close to the mountain trying to get Chan 6 out of Schenectity. He got way up on a 50ft tower, yelling to his wife, "how is it?" She responded, "not good, snowy." The yelling continued. Nothing he did worked. He got furious and threw the antenna to the ground out of discust! When it hit the ground his wife yelled, "Hold it right there Hon, it's coming in fine!" It was a phenomenon where the VHF signal (on the other side of the mountain) would follow the curvature of the mountain. If you positioned the antenna near the ground, near the mountain, you'd pick them up fine, vs up in the air. Worked for FM stations too, but ONLY for the low VHF channels. 1 or 2 ft above the ground was usually optimum.
@@RickPaquin yep seen that many times still true for where i live. the only statin i can get and only at times is best with the antena about 3 feet off the ground
I paid $40 to Tyler because I was having trouble getting a specific channel because of terrain issues. This bit of advice was well worth the money as it saved me money and time. Thanks Tyler!
They have a 7” TV with your name as a brand, now that’s what I called awesome.
I just got one!
I can already tell by the thumbnail of the video that there's a rant coming. (That face says it all) Great work as always!
I live in a major city and have no need for this info but I do enjoy it.
Antenna Man set me. Told me what equipment to get. I now have 58 channels. Also got a Tablo box, so worth it.
I have two of the homeworx boxes with the record function and I added a one terabyte external hard drive to each. We record all sorts of OTA shows. The signal meters are a very useful feature. I have a couple of tvs with signal meters built in as well.
They definitely must fallow your advice. As an ex-Satellite installer and digital TV installer. Your knowledge is extremely appreciated. Those Proffesional signal meters are really nice. I’m thinking about getting it just to add to my installation equipment. It’s funny but most satellite installers use FMS radios with one on transmit and the other on receive, so we can hear the audio on the signal meter while we are adjusting the dish or antenna. We place the radio near the receiver box and TV. While we are on there roof. Making fine adjustments.
I use a usb tuner that plugs into my laptop (about $80) it has a signal meter built in. It works good, but what I really want is the Televes H30 hand-held meter. They make great tv antennas & amplifiers too
Yes Indeed. I have a televes 2 antenna input mast amplifier. It is awesome
Wanted to say thanks for the video and recommendation of the Mediasonic Homeworx DTV Box. It was just what I needed to fine tune my antenna system Thanks!
Thanks for the video Tyler. You always do a great job and save us a lot of trouble.
I have thought of getting one of these but thought they were a tad expensive for a one time use until I saw this video. I have installed the channel master 2 port dist amp (cm 3422?) and more than doubled my channels on my clear stream 4v antenna mounted in the attic. Now to get it optimized for the direction of the weakest channel without losing the others. Thank you sir.
Hi Tyler. People should be warned not to use satellite TV meters for broadcast. I have one. It runs off 13 or 18 volts. It's digital with LED numbers. It's the cat's meow. Only on satellite. What you can use are satellite cables. Direct and Dish absolutely have the best cables I've ever touched. When someone abandons their Direct cables, pounce. It's gold.
I have a H30D3 and love it! Being able to sync it to my phone has been a real game changer.
I'm trying to make sure I buy the right Televes meter. There are a couple different H30 meters on Amazon and one is $90 and another is the $1295 one shown here. I see that one is QAM analog and digital, but only mentions NTSC analog. Does that mean it does not handle ATSC 1.0? Which one did you get?
It's more entertaining to get the channel to come in than it is to watch it. I want to try using my twenty dollar SDR dongle and airspy to see if it will work as a signal meter.
Ah snap! You showed my GE Long Range Pro Attic/Outdoor antenna in that spot. I get it, I am still having great reception with it, but not all the same for others, also, yeah that frame is plastic and who knows how many years it would last.
Just being silly with ya, you are an expert who does a really cool thing with helping us out.
I do really well with it in my closet and 4 way powered amp to 4 rooms. I made the antenna cord shorter and got a way better signal. Crazy how a few feet will make all the difference
Me to. My mom use to send me outdoors back in the early 70's to turn our antenna so she could watch her soaps in NBC. Which was Either P. Kentucky ch 6 or Nashville ch 4., but when dad got home I had to go back out and turn it back to Jackson TN 7, so he could watch the local news. These days it is hard to pick up Nashville channels on antenna.
Antenna man gives good advice and is very very helpful highly recommended
I have a USB stick which is a software defined radio receiver. With that plugged into a laptop computer, I can get a visual display of the ATSC carrier, showing its amplitude in decibels. That is useful for aiming a tv antenna.
Very useful information. I'm trying to set up an antenna at our new house that's surrounded by trees. I moved the antenna 20' and lost a couple of "must have" channels. Being able to get a good signal on those channels with out doing a whole channel scan will save a lot of time. Thanks
I did buy a Mediasonic, Homeworx HW130STB. I found it extremely helpful. Thank you.
I also recommend those break-away connectors for if you are one who unplugs stuff during thunderstorms. I always have one installed to the roof antenna for easy disconnect.
My Sony TV had a built-in signal meter in settings, and it really helped. My QLED Samsung TV has only a search and each broadcaster can be in a different direction here on the gulfcoast. Mobile, AL to the west and ABC wear is near that transmitting from Spanish Fort, AL, but most other channels are to the east in Fort Walton FL and Destin FL.
This was the BEST video so far..I am now buying a signal meter.....spending more money to use once or twice!!!!
Really interesting and helpful channel. Coming from the Uk, leaving aside satellite,we only have uhf digital multiplexes (Freeview) which makes our aerial choice more straightforward save that the quality of UHF aerials is, like you often find, variable. Our aerial grouping is currently channel 21 to 59 but like your repack that is coming under pressure. The relevance to meters is that the UK has a mid way option and for around 50gbp we can purchase a digital meter that is channel specific and displays signal strength and, most importantly signal quality across channels 21 to 59. As you will know often signal strength with digital multiplexes is not the issue and it is about signal quality and achieving a balance across the receivable multiplexes particularly in bad weather conditions. Keep up the good work!
You still have 21-59 in the UK? Here in Czechia, they got 49+ to mobile operators for 5g, so DVB-T2 TV is now only 21-48 and they speak about giving 600-700 MHz range to mobile operators too, so I think classic terrestrial TV will die in next 10 years, they speak about some new standard "5g broadcasting" or what, so it will be like mobile data, but only for TV, if my grandparents will be still living in 2030, third "digitalisation" will definitely kill them. :-) There is even massive problem with interferences in one frequency multiplexes (same frequency in almost whole country) and another problem are interferences from super strong Polish transmitters, they have 100 kW transmitters literally on border and they don't care that we need those frequencies too. :-) I think this new DVB-T2 is borned dead, you have still lower and lower frequency for TV and antennas can't catch it properly because it's mostly build for full UHF range. This problem is massive for people who have older antennas for 21-69, frequencies like 490 MHz are problem for such older antennas on longer distance.
@@Pidalin
Hi
In UK all TV channels are 21 to 49 now. No VHF allocation after 1985 when 405 line transmitters closed. Like you band is squeezed to enable 5G at top end of UHF.
Not much interference accept when atmospheric lift then some digital multiplexes clash with the result of no picture.
Older aerials that are channel specific do sometimes struggle with reallocation hence wide band aerials are now the norm.
Yes I don’t know how the older generation cope with the changes as new TVs can be difficult to fathom their operating systems.
The move in Uk is to ip broadband delivery and away from UHF and sat.
Regards Neil
@@neilmasters9914 You have advantage in beying Island, when you live in small country surrounded by bigger countries, you have problems with interferences from their TV in some places.
Yes, explain it to older people is really hard, we have digital TV since 2008 and they still don't understand what multiplex is and they always say that picture is great when they are moving with antenna, they just completely don't get it. :-)
I use a Hauppauge WinTV USB tuner attached to a cheap 2 in 1 laptop. Hauppauge has a signal meter program that works pretty well, but you have to have the channel appear on a scan before you can get the strength meter to work for it.
There should be some place that rents the professional signal meters. If I'm doing a little concrete work I don't have to buy a thousand dollar wet saw. Seems like the same would be true for a signal meter.
There are places that rent out spectrum analyzers, network analyzers, etc. maybe a bit more than the average Joe needs to set an antenna though. Example “Advanced Test Equipment” offers rentals.
@@martynh5410 thanks for the advice. It's probably a bit much for the local rent-all place. 🤣🤣
You don’t need one and you should not try to use one. Buy the Zinwell ZAT-970A I described above. It is superior to a spectrum analyzer for placing and orientating TV antennas. It’s about 15 years old but there is still some new and used inventory that you can find on eBay or other large store websites that specialize in TV antennas. About 15 years ago a professional satellite and terrestrial TV antenna installation company did a survey with their spectrum analyzer on the roof at a friend’s house for TV reception with the Antennas Direct 91XG UHF antenna we bought for stations from a distant city. They gave up and said there was nothing possible. We went up with the test tuner and found the optimum spot for reception. They came back and installed the antenna and learned a lesson.
@@bjs2022 Yes, good point. Network Analyzers tend to be over the top for this kind of basic need. Personally, I could use one for this purpose as I’ve spent most of my career in the Broadcast industry and familiar with their operation. But you’re correct, something simpler like the unit you suggest will provide enough help for antenna alignment.
@@martynh5410 stop flexing dude you’re like 80 and saggy..
The best antenna is the one you build and tune to your available signals.
I put together a Grey Hoverman designed for UHF 470-680mhz. With NAROD elements designed for hi VHF 176-216mhz that couple indirectly to the main elements.
Finally I have a separate 7 foot folded dipole on top tuned for the low VHF 54-88mhz. All roughly at 20 feet height.
There are two major hubs for signal transmissions, one is 47 miles away, the other is 60. They're at a nearly perfect 90 degree angle from me.
If I point at one I lose the other. Pointing midway between drops channels from both. So I may have to build a second set of antennas.
Good for you.I am not much of a do it yourshelfer,however.
I use the signal meter in my CM7003 Converter Box all the time.All stations outside the 40 mile radius mark you want to be sure your right on Maximum signal. No Brainer.
With ATSC 1.0 you only got 2 to 3 degrees on both sides of peak.
If off, your TV set may shown a No Signal, pixelate, or flash a picture off and on.
Perfect timing! I just put up an outdoor antenna and I can't get anything on it. Now I know why so have a Winegard signal meter on the way. Thank you for the information as I have been looking for something like that.
OMG, if I could afford a $1,299 signal analyzer, I probably would be able to afford cable😬😬😬, but unfortunately, I can’t afford either, lol!!!
I know right
yeahsss yessssssss
I would love it if all tv manufacturers would put the signal strength and signal quality meters on the channel banner when you press info or when you change the channel.
LG has something similar on their sets
Yep... the TV always knows that data... it just doesn't display it in the banner area. like it should!!
I use a laptop for all my work. I use a WinTV-HVR-950q and since I use Linux I use the Kaffene media player (like VLC but with many DTV features built in) it has a signal meter that goes between 33%-85% and if you have skills you can also use an RTL-SDR to look for interference.
but sometimes it shows like 80% signal on that frequency, but still, it can't find any channels, so real signal meter is still more reliable tool than USB tuner
Pretty neat. I have been pretty lucky with the built-in meters in my TV or converter box, but these would really simplify the job.
Thanks I got the media sonic and was able to pull in the elusive kvvu fox 5 Las Vegas. Worth 30$ thanks Tyler
My Samsung TV doesn't have a signal meter, but it does have a strong tuner. I use my old Digitalstream DTV box(RCA DTV too) from back in the day when the GOV gave out the $20 CC. I connect the DS DTV to the Samsung to use as a signal meter and point my tablet at the TV. I then use Zoom or Skype and view the screen of the Samsung on my phone. I look at the signal on my phone and adjust antenna. This is helpful since the antenna is not close by. Just a poor man way of utilizing what I have available. Folks can be creative.
Advice... don't focus on one channel. Try to find a sweet spot of all the channels you wish to view
PS. surprisingly the old Digitalstream and RCA DTV boxes still work very well. They have digital channel guides with descriptions and a signal meter. No HDMI but coax for 16/9 viewing. Maybe pickup cheap used on ebay?
I'm about 20+ miles from NYC/NJ towers and pick up around 70 channels(some repeat channels) using the CM Omni+ 50 at roof line
Thank you for all the info you provide every week. Long time subscriber. Keep up the great work
i sent and got the government "coupons" still have 2 magnavox converters. very nice tuners in them with a decent preamp built in
@@richardcranium5839 Cool. I just found the old coupon card. It had a value of $40. I can't remember if I bought two $20 boxes with this card or I received another card? For some reason I was thinking two $20 cards. Maybe when I registered they put it on one card? Can't find another card. Do you remember how many cards you received?
Thanks for the info! I think I still have a couple of those old boxes stored somewhere.
Video Request:
Start doing GMRS reviews of handhelds, base station, licensing tutorial, etc.
Thanks for the awesome reviews.
For ATSC1 not only is signal level important but also bit error rate, MER and such that refer to quality. You can have a strong signal but low quality due to reflections. With almost all indoor antennas you can see the signal quality change as you move around the room, open the fridge and such. The meter in newer tv's seems to do ok in most cases. For large systems test gear is important as a signal will degrade thru each amp, tap even connector.. Regardless of testing, the solution is always a bigger and higher antenna.
I've got an RCA 751R installed in my 1 story attic. I'm about 22 miles north from the DFW Cedar Hill tower array. After some channels moved around in the last year, with the bandwidth repack, I finally went up in the attic this last winter and fined tune the antenna.
I didn't have a meter or a helper, so it was 4 or 5 trips up and down to finally get the sweet spot I could live with. There are some large trees just out side my property line, so on very windy or stormy days, a few of the channels are iffy. I do use an amplifier at the point where the antenna plugs into the TV. I live in a HOA controlled area, so I am l limited on going whole hog.
I tried to go to your website for help but got the answer man and they wanted to charge me. I really needed help to find out which antenna I needed. Every time I go to a site it’s not a website. I’m tired of buying things that I have to return
Yes, I charge for an antenna recommendation. If you prefer not to pay you ate free to use my RUclips channel as a resource but be warned you pay spend more on the wrong antenna than you would the $40 for my service and a lifetime of direct support.
It might be a good idea if smart TVs were able to send their signal strength reading to a smartphone via wifi or Bluetooth. The smartphone app could display as much information as the smart TV can provide and include a broadcast tower direction finder or other handy tools.
You would have a handheld remote signal meter that does not need to be inserted into the cable.
Plus, you would see the signal quality the tv is actually receiving so you can verify cable, amplifier, and splitter function.
One frustrating thing about aiming and adjusting indoor antennas is getting a good signal when you are next to it but go bad as soon as you walk away from it! Your body probably acts as a reflector or otherwise affects RF characteristics.
I've been able to accomplish something similar using HDHomeRun Quattro. I use their app on my winbloze laptop and tune all four tuners simultaneously to the four channels I desire to receive. This layout on my laptop lets me choose an antenna location and direction while viewing the signal strength, signal quality, and symbol quality for each channel at the same time. Each TV in my home accesses OTA signals from the Quattro via Channels DVR app.
Yep...there should "be an app" for that !!
LOL..awesome comedy relief with your off hand anecdotes. Subscribed!
I didn't know about the quick connectors thks.
Is there a best time of day to measure signal? Great vid TY
Your best video yet. But, I respectfully disagree about the F-59 quick-disconnect fittings because, in time they will strip the threads of the fitting ton he device you're using them on.
I've been using a small TV that I plug a coax cable and powered pre-amp into. Then, I move my deer-stand like pole around to different areas in the yard. Once I get the channels I want, I reconnect the pre-amp and cable to the big TV then do a rescan.
One of the drawbacks is--if the ground is wet or its rainy, you cannot do this for obvious reasons(using a power amp on the outside will require electrical extension cords that do not mix with any watery conditions and TVs with holes do not mix with any kind of rain). Another is--the signal meter method is a whole lot faster and more efficient(channel scans take a lot of time considering multiple scans and it also makes you forget the old analog days where you did not have to do any scan*).
*Without a signal meter, I long for the old analog days, esp. living in a rural, wood infested area. With this, I'd forget about those days, still get a crystal clear picture, and receive far more channels per station...
Thanks, I always use your links.
Favorite youtuber. I love antennas and coax
How can I get the high end signal meter for a decent price ??? Fourteen hundred dollars is a but hard to swallow. Thanks Tyler.
You mentioned trees... I had reasonable reception from my roof antenna in the Harrisburg Pa area. Needed to take six big trees down. Reception is now poor. Didn't expect that.
signals do some strange , unpredictable things. years ago i had a strong signal on channel 12. neighbors barn burnt down and i lost the signal. i was getting a bounce off the metal roof. new barn went up but the signal never came back
I have huge 100 ft pine trees in my neighborhood. To receive a station 70 mi away, there is only 1 good spot in my yard where I get a signal. The antenna is sitting on the floor of the second story deck, leaning against the house and tilted upward just slightly. No doubt I'm getting a reflected signal from a distant tree, but it's a solid signal that is never disrupted. I'm at the extreme outer limit of this stations's signal area. So if you have trees, your reception is most likely not a direct signal. Trees are not necessarily a negative in getting a good signal. The trick is using them for your advantage. Your antenna may wind up in a weird place in your yard, but you'll have wonderful reception! These rules apply mostly to UHF signals with trees. Take a day off and use an antenna or meter and try all areas of your yard and various heights. ALSO, try tilting it upward slightly as well because the signal may bounce wonderfully from the top of a distant tree. You'll find that sweet spot.
My Samsung digital tv's have always come with a signal strength meter in the screen menus system but it's not easy to find. On remote, go to Menu/Support/Self Diagnosis/Signal Information. You'll see a signal bar graph and a digital signal to noise ratio in db.
I've owned my 60 inch Samsung TV for 8 years and had no idea this was there. thank you so much lol.
Had no idea that was there. Sweet
This comment is pure gold. After searching through the various submenus on my Samsung TV, I had decided it didn't have any built in signal meter. Then I saw this comment and was able to find it buried in a submenu where I would have never thought to look. Thanks!
You are GREAT! Had problems with antenna I put up and bought a telves forgot but the top line long range was like 250 bucks. But you was RIGHT it was worth the money picking up lot more stuff!!
This rocks. Life is too short for those tiny store shelf antennas. I've noticed that a lot of people take those back to the store after trying them. All the packages are ripped and re-taped on the shelves.
I'm Canadian and looking into some of these products (partly to see if I can pull in the slightly weak US signals near me as well as the local Canadian stations). Seems I'd need to pay a ton to get some of these devices across the border. As a result, the Winegard signal meter seems to be the most reasonably priced of all these for me, though there's some similar-not-identical 7 inch TVs around too.
Great advice, Tyler! I might get one of the pro grade meters.
Some of my best college vacation memories were on the roofs of buildings, yes .. I worked summers and holidays installing towers, antenna arrays and installations back in a time when the word digital really didn't exist .. analog, we occasionally wrestled with weak snowy signals. Stacking multi element yagi arrays often helped, other times .. an open wire line to the top of the hill to get that one single desired channel.
Good idea imma check one of these options out. I need to rework my outdoor antenna I think.
I think these low power repeaters and stations are such BS For many of us.
I think you should do a follow-up video to what you refer to as "small antennas" in this video and how they compare to better quality "flat" antennas like the upper Mahu line or others that fall into your "small antenna" catagory. Maybe I'm all wet here and you meant small for an outdoor antenna. Either way, finding out which antennas that take up a ton of space that are no better than smaller ones would be an interesting and helpful video. That way if my intention is to have it mounted indoors in the same room as the tv, I could buy an indoor antenna that better blends into it's surroundings as oppose to what I see as a big ugly indoor/outdoor antenna, if ultimately the difference in signal would be minimal. Or maybe reviewing some of the better quality omni-directional indoor antennas and just stating the range you think they would actually cover would be helpful. Cus, as some may be worthless, there may be some that'd work great for a person within X range of a tower that may be getting ready to overkill it with a giant directional antenna in the attic. It seems like the better quality antennas take research to find and then are overpriced for what you are getting (espcecially with the unknown aspects of atsc 3 incoming) and the cheap one's are worthless. From what I've gathered you generally recommend the larger directional, but I think helping to eliminate the rubble amongst the indoor antennas for people that rent would be a popular video. Also, do you have a video on how to use a vhf/uhf/ antenna to also get a better FM signal to a stereo receiver and what is needed to filter or seperate frequencies? Probably a less popular video, but next on my list to look into. Anyway, thanks for the info.
I'd go over the air TV. It's smart! I'm not talking about Prepper stuff. appreciate your niche.
Good guy. Very helpful.
Thanks for the video update
Like you post Tyler . Learned a lot . Keep
Them
Coming .
I'm new at this but both TVs i have do have signal meters. My Samsung seems more precise-- it shows DB numbers which range from 20-35. 20 seems to be the threshold. Anything below that gets messy. My Insignia TV has a meter but it uses larger numbers-- "25 to 100" on stations I'm getting. Oddly the 25 strength stations actually do come in ok.
The signal meter I use is adequate. It even cooks us dinner and does my laundry. If a channel isn’t coming in clearly, it lets me know. Even if I’m traveling and can’t fix it right away.
Remote alerts... Nice !! 😄
I have an outside antenna with a built in booster I bought at Walmart. It does a fairly decent job, however I've noticed that the signal is hit and miss (especially on windy days) but for some reason as soon as a commercial comes on it's got a steady strong signal. Why is that? Commercials are rarely ever interrupted by a bad signal strength but as soon as the movie's back on I'm cussin' because loss of signal.
The antenna with built in amplifier is junk. You are probably just barely getting the signals to the point they drop out when there is wind. You will need a better antenna setup. Consider an antenna recommendation from me at the link below. This can prevent you from spending hundreds of dollars and time wasted on setting up the wrong antenna for your area. antennamanpa.com/antenna-recommendations.html
This is one of the best videos!!
I have been using a Diglair Pro ATSC meter for years now. Sort of a love/hate relationship with that thing. The firmware has always been quirky, but the ability to power preamps is a Godsend for me. Not sure what to use when it finally dies on me...
Tyler, Question, when the Antenna is mounted to the post should it be Horizontal/level to the ground ?
Yes, that's how it's designed to be placed.
I got the dtv converter box. Different name same software
Will it detect HD 4K Digital signals?
[ducks and slinks away]
Booo! Get off the stage! LOL.
HOWdy A-M, ...
THANKS
COOP
the WiSeNhEiMeR from Richmond, INDIANA
...
Don’t know if you will see this comment, actually question, or not! When watching many of your antenna reviews, such as the RCA Compact Outdoor Yagi, you use some type of computer or tv as your tuned power meter. Are you just using the mediasonic with a small tv, or are you using something else? Thanks!
Hello Tyler, offer much useful information for anyone who has a TV, everyone needs this info.
What do you think about FTA. I need to put my FTA equipment back in service.
Thanks for all the help.
good video. I saw an old analog (tuned circuits) TV field strength meter in a electronics shop a few years it was for VHF and had a selector switch on the front for the channels. They wanted too much money for it so I did not buy it.
Hey ur Channel and Content is the bomb bay bay
Thanks!
Hey DB, thanks for sending this super thanks! I wasn't aware it was a feature I could enable until today. You are official the first person to send one!
@@AntennaMan Guess it was good timing then, as I have been watching you for a few months and wanted to give back! Thanks for what you do!!!
I think a rotor is the best way to adjust an antenna. Please review rotors.
I already have a video on rotators.....
I have a Samsung OTA tuner box that I had to buy because my first HDTV had no on board tuner. It has a nice signal meter. You should be able to buy these on ebay
I am totally blind so are there such a thing as a talking signal meter?
one of these would be great for finding out if i even have signal strength in my apartment
My Sony TV has a signal strength meter, but it's a PITA to use.
Sony please put the signal meter on the info/display button menu.
The way Sony has it set up is that you have to press the help button, then go into signal and diagnostics and it'll go back into showing the broadcast with the signal strength and other diagnostic information but you can't change the channel. in order to change the channel you have to back out of the signal diagnostics screen, the help screen and back into the OTA change the channel and go back into the help screen, signal and diagnostics each time.
What was they thinking making it this way.
Nice. I had a rotor on mine so I could fine tune with it, but it burned out, and I am not paying hundreds of dollars for a rotor (who says there is no inflation?)when the old one was under $25 and lasted for more than 10 yrs. Now going nuts with trying to retune it: it is fine in the early AM and evenings, but goes off with pixilation etc during the day...I assume from humidity as there is no wind at those times that might throw it off. And I am less than 30 miles from the broadcasting antennas. May just forget all the danged locals anyway as I can find network feeds on my smart tv, so who needs em?
Are 2 people needed to use a signal meter on an outdoor antenna? One to rotate the antenna and another to monitor channels captured?
We use those DTV converter boxes all the time, because you can hook up old laptop hard drives to it through usb and boom you have a 500gb DVR for a couple bucks.
Yes, even with buying a USB drive those things are a great deal. You get to use your old TV that is too heavy to lift, while recording, playing back and playing other media material. Playing music through one is a good way to have some background music with no ads.
@@kensmith5694 Only downside is that we have never had a single DTV converter last more than 2-2.5 years. We've gone through 6 so far since everything went digital, and we just had to replace the one we bought in February 2019.
Great Video! Which of the different brand small TV's would you recommend most? Do any of them show the actual percentage of signal strength or just normal and good signal?
The only small TVs that have a "signal meter" are attached in the description. They do not show a percentage but still are very helpful as you can see in the video.
thank you for the good info.
The big question is how reliable are the signal meters ,I have at home several TV and set top boxes and all them has an different signal meter strength And signal quality and sensibility to the signal vary wildy from brands of TV and set STB, also to consider the flat antennas has an higher attenuation and the length of the cable don't really help
I think some meters built into TVs measure strength while others measure quality. The variance in yours could be due to loss from the length of cable run and noise from splitters.
I use RCA signalfinder
How come there are no TV OTA signal strength meter apps? There are apps for all kinds of other signals.
Some caveats to know about.
According to a company spokesperson, the Televes model H30 does NOT support ATSC over-the-air signals. It only supports Cable TV Quam, (and NTSC). The H30 that they sent to Tyler, according to the company, which clearly shows UHF ATSC on his screen, probably had custom software installed, which they tell me can be done. The Televes that support ATSC, OTA are the H30 plus, item #593980, and the Televes Evolution, item #593581. Both of these haven’t been released yet as of the time of this post. The current model that does support ATSC is the H30 Flex, however it is European only. They also have another model on the way which does ATSC, QUAM, DOCSIS, WI-FI, etc., etc, with a cost of an additional $1000 more than the base price of the other units.
Also, be aware that the Winegard is compatible only with the Winegard Sensar antennas. You can modify it to work with conventional antennas, but it won’t do that “out-of-the-box”.
Another viable option to consider is the SignalScout. It appears to be a re-branded Channel Master, or at least uses the same firmware, as the diagnostic screens are identical to the ones shown on Tyler’s Channel Master unit.
Tyler is not just an antenna man, he is “THE” antenna man! No doubt! There is no question about his informative knowledge. I have a lot of respect of his knowledge. These are just updates to be aware of.
EDIT: An objective observer might question Televes motives in giving Tyler a unit to review, and adding functionality to it that the unit actually doesn't have. They are however a great company with outstanding products.
This is interesting. I'm not sure if it's any different now, being two years after you intially wrote this, but I also don't see an upside for the company,. I think I did notice that they sell their products direct to consumer even on Amazon, so maybe their return policy has a restocking fee or deters consumers from wanting to hassle with it. Otherwise, this would only end up being a bunch of returns and hassle on their part.
Are there any NEW signal meters released since this video was uploaded?
Televes is distinguished to me by their apparent passion for ota. They seem serious compared to the "flow-bee" infomercial/merchandiser brands that dominate the US market.
I have their long range Hi-VHF/UHF antenna with their pre amp and amplifer and works great to reach the transmitting towers that are 56 miles away.
The Mediasonic Homeworx DTV Box appears to have a very similar user interface as my older iView box. Remote looks the same too
It's virtually the same box just branded under a different company.
I wish tv tuners would come with a signal meters.
These days with digital TV, many manufacturers already do. Obviously, back in the good old days of analog TV, your signal meter for whatever station you were tuned to was the quality of the picture on your screen; if it was full of static or the colors were faded, you knew you had a weak signal and were thus within your station's distant or fringe reception area, and if the station came through with marginal static and strong colors within a stable picture, you were well within your station's local viewing area.
Some do. Higher end TV companies add them.
LG includes a good signal meter on their TVs, it measures both signal strength and signal quality from 1 to 100%. They also allow manual tuning
L G tvs do have the best signal meter,sometimes when I'm in the manual turner mode,I can find channels I didn't have before,terrestrial skips.
@@spunker88 I'm hearing quite a bit of praise for LG with how they implement a signal strength meter on their TV tuner for local over-the-air DTV stations, but I think my favorite signal meters have to be those found on RCA DTA-800 DTV converter boxes designed for use on older TVs as they actually give you the signal strength of the station you are tuned to as a percentage. I have a TCL Roku TV that displays a signal meter not in any way unlike those found on older cell phones with a five-bar signal representation. With that said, especially for those who are more technically minded, I think one of the most accurate ways of implementing a signal meter is to display the signal strength of the station by its dBm (decibels above 1 mW) value. However, that would very much cross over into stats for nerds territory.
Question? My Local NBC station has made Nextgen tv available from their city location. But does that mean my local tower is broadcasting the nextgen tv signal? Thanks for any help
Thank you ❤️ that.
Thanks again guy 🤙
Very helpful!
Just wanted to tell you that I still get an anolog tv channel in my trailer that is at pine lake in alberta Canada