Birmingham, AL - DTV Channel Assigments

[SolidSignal_Mike]

[jrstoney]

I'm trying to get a good HD signal for the ABC station in the Birmingham area. That would be ABC 33/40 (WCTF-DT 33.1 out of Tuscaloosa (chan 5) or WJSU-DT 40.1 out of Anniston (chan 9)). I have an Antennas Direct V10, but the signal is not strong enough to be usable. All the other HD stations in Birmingham are picked up with a Wingard Square Shooter. The signals are combined and sent through a preamp to my DirecTV receiver. Any recomendations would be appreciated.

[SolidSignal_Mike]

I can definately help you out with this, I just need to know a couple of things first. What zipcode are you in? Are you using the SS-2000 or SS-1000? Which pre-amp are you using? Are the signals being combined with a splitter and then going to an amp? How many TV's are hooked up and what is the distance between the antenna and the furthest TV.


-Mike

[jrstoney]

My zip is 35215. I'm in a small valley with a lot of tall trees. I'm not sure which SS-? I'm using. I've had it for 3-4 years and it's on top of a 30" pole (can't look at it). I'm using a channel Master pre-amp. The number on the power supply is 0747. The other piece is on the pole combining the cables. The distance from the antenna and the one TV (actually the OTA input on the DirecTV reciever) is about 75 feet.

[SolidSignal_Mike]

Okay, so it sounds like your joining both of those antennas with a pre-amp. Probably the CM7777. The pre-amp should more than make up for the 75 ft of cable. One thing you may want to check is that the switch inside the pre-amp is set to "separate" not "common". If your only using the V21 for HD ABC station out of Tuscaloosa, then I recommend buying a better antenna.

The antennaweb.org data shows your HD signals mostly at blue and violet at only 12 miles away. That is a pretty good indicator that the valley your in is a big part of this problem. I recommend the Winegard YA1026 Low Band VHF Antenna. The elements are cut just for channels 2-6 and your Tuscaloosa ABC HD is on a frequency of 5.

-Mike

[jrstoney]

That sounds good. Thanks for the info!!