Off air channels in Cudahy

[knadolski]

I have tried several antennas in the hopes of being able to receive off air HDTV programming.  I live in a condo and have placed a Channel Master 4228 and pre-amp in my attic.  I am only able to pull in channels 4 and 12.  I have tried other indoor antennas with roughly the same success although the channels vary depending on the antenna used.  I know placement in a attic will greatly reduce the signal but I am wondering if the fact that I am located in Cudahy, near the airport, is also an issue.  Any hints would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Kathie

[Tom Snyder]

Do you have a way of measuring signal strength?  

You may have enough signal strength that the pre-amp is actually screwing up your recation. I had that problem up here in Germantown. I got rid of the preamp and just got a Radio Shack indoor double bow-tie, and I get great reception on everything but 6D.

[knadolski]

Thank you for the reply.  I have the Samsung D* TV HDTV tuner that has a signal strength meter.  I will try removing the pre-amp and see if that helps.

[tomj2812]

Did it work??

[knadolski]

Removing the pre-amp helped quite a bit.  Once I removed it I was able to get 4, 10, 12, and 55 (perhaps one or two additional channels that I don't watch).   I still wasn't able to get 58 or 6 but that didn't surprise me much given what I had read in these forums.  Later, when I had another HD satellite receiver installed, I tried running the antenna through the multi-switch.  Then I lost all OTA channels with the exception of 4.  I ended up just sending the signal through the cable run to the TV in the living room that is used the most.  It seems that any kind of amplification causes problems with my antenna setup.

As FOX 6 WITI is FOX Owned and Operated (O&O), I am hoping I will be able get it through D*.  I believe there is an agreement in place where D* will be carrying FOX in HD (once it's up and running) for those who have local channels in the O&O coverage areas.  

I don't hold out much hope of getting CBS 58's OTA signal and a waiver may be the answer there.

PS - I replaced the Samsung receiver with the HR10-250 HD DirecTIVO and am really enjoying it!

Good luck,
Kathie

[knadolski]

Just a slight clarification to my reply above.  I'm hoping to get FOX's national feed when carried in HD by D* and not WITI itself.

[tomj2812]

I am going to look for a silver sensor tomorrow. Anyone know where one can be bought in Milwaukee??

[GBK]

Silver Sensor was available at best buy. about $30 or just go on buy.com or amazon.com and get it a little cheaper.