Need help. No DC50 (TheCW) and ABC (WJLA) signal

Hi,

I have been climbing up and down the roof for the past 3 weekends to figure out how to get channel 50 (DC50 TheCW) and 7 (WJLA ABC). I live in Silver Spring, MD (20902 zip code). I mounted a Terk Slim outdoor antenna (the square shape) about 3 years ago and I got all the channels. Currently, I am not getting TheCW and ABC signal. My tuner meter does not show any signal strength. I purchased a cheap antenna (from ebay) and it gave me the same results. I tried unmounting the Terk and held it in my hand. I called down to my friend and asked if I was getting any signal increase changes on both channels and nothing was showing up. Basically, I manually rotated the Terk antenna 360 degrees to find something. Although it was a few years ago when I got all the channels, I am confused why two channels went out.

Any help is greatly appreciated. I am asking for help to avoid continuous roof climbing.

Thanks,
CR

To Comicrage,

I went ahead and pulled a generic address TVFool report for 20902
and somewhat confess my self baffled.

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d8ecd1f80e1bd90

Because both real channels 7 and 50 are close and strong.

So the first question to ask is have you rescanned your TV? If both 7 or 50 have moved their frequencies, only a rescan will pick them up again.

Then the other question, could anything be blocking what should be a line of sight signal.? A building, a tall tree, or a water tower could be doing that.

Then I could ask, are you running any type of amp, which could send too strong of a signal to your TV tuner which could overwhelm it.

And the other thing to note is, after trying two different small antenna's with no joy, maybe its time to suspect your coax cable
which could be failing or shorted.

Just some of the things that occur off the top of my head, maybe others on this forum can suggest other answers.

When you buy junk, you get junk.

I would say it is time to buy a good combo antenna such as the Winegard 7694P antenna.

The reason you cannot receive the signals you were looking for is because one of the signals were on UHF and were moved back to VHF and you are trying to receive a VHF signal with a UHF antenna.

DC 50 - is on channel 50 UHF

Like trying to run a gasoline motor with diesel fuel. Not the right thing to do. You might get it to spit and sputter, but it will not be as efficient as the right fuel.

One other reason could be that the transmitter antenna was mounted lower to the ground and now in it's permanent position - (higher up on the tower) does not shine in your location.

Sometimes UHF skips over the closest locations and transmits just fine 30 miles away. Uhf usually works best at a height of about 150 feet above average terrain - just high enough to get above the tree's and buildings.

VHF antenna's were mounted anywhere the whole way up to 1500 feet above average terrain and with the decrease in power - which is a adjustment because of the height gain, is less than what it was when it was a analog signal.

I would suggest that you buy the right antenna and a rotor and some new wire. If the antenna and rotor does not do the trick, call the television station for a explanation.

It does sound like you need to do a "complete" re-scan. Both channel 7 & 50 changed to new frequencies on June 12th. If that doesn't work, you may need to switch to a small un-amplified antenna like the "EZ-HD", HBU-22, or the Winegard 7694 that was already suggested above.

I performed a rescan a few times and finally got a signal on the two missing stations. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

I performed a rescan a few times and finally got a signal on the two missing stations. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.
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Excellent point and congratulations at solving the problem. But why it took not one but two scans to produce results does point to a weakness in some digital televisions.

I guess it does explain why the FCC recommends a special rescanning procedure that involves scanning with the antenna disconnected, then unplugging all AC power, then reconnecting everything, and scanning again.

Thanks for sharing your results with the forum, who knows how many others you will end up helping.

The downside is that you may have to take up jogging to get your exercise because roof climbing is no longer needed. :eyecrazy