Does Bad Weather Disrupt OTA HDTV signal?

pounda · 01-24-2005, 02:20 PM

During the weekend storm (Boston area) my HDTV OTA reception was spotty, signals were weak or non-existent. The antenna is in the attic, so the 50MPH winds were not a factor on my end.

This is a new setup for me, will heavy snow/high winds hurt my reception?

hdtv4me2 · 01-24-2005, 02:55 PM

Yes, heavy snow will attenuate the UHF signal just as rain does. The problem with antennas in attics is now you are still trying to look through snow, the snow that is on your roof, even though it's not snowing anymore.

RxMan · 01-24-2005, 03:41 PM

I live 30 miles south of Boston I was worried about seeing the Pats play. I really had no disruption in either D* or OTA. One channel (5)
pixelated a little but the rest kept a pretty strong signal and I have my antenna outside only about 12 feet off the ground. Maybe having the snow on the roof did disrupt you signal.

pounda · 01-25-2005, 09:50 AM

thanks for the reply

there was and is little or no snow on the roof, it was too windy for snow to accumulate up there. All is well now.

Why is there no noticeable disruption to the analog signal during the same bad weather?

hdtv4me2 · 01-25-2005, 11:24 AM

UHF signals are more sensative to rain/snow than VHF is, rain and snow are a bigger percentage of it's smaller wavelength. Plus the VHF transmitted power can be as much as 5 times the amount that the UHF/digital power is. That's one reason why VHF was chosen over UHF as the primary TV band many years ago.

01-24-2005, 02:20 PM	#1
pounda A couch and an HDTV to go please. Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 14	Does Bad Weather Disrupt OTA HDTV signal? During the weekend storm (Boston area) my HDTV OTA reception was spotty, signals were weak or non-existent. The antenna is in the attic, so the 50MPH winds were not a factor on my end. This is a new setup for me, will heavy snow/high winds hurt my reception?

01-24-2005, 02:55 PM	#2
hdtv4me2 Go Bruins! Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Maryland Posts: 1,284	Yes, heavy snow will attenuate the UHF signal just as rain does. The problem with antennas in attics is now you are still trying to look through snow, the snow that is on your roof, even though it's not snowing anymore.

01-24-2005, 03:41 PM	#3
RxMan High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 38	I live 30 miles south of Boston I was worried about seeing the Pats play. I really had no disruption in either D* or OTA. One channel (5) pixelated a little but the rest kept a pretty strong signal and I have my antenna outside only about 12 feet off the ground. Maybe having the snow on the roof did disrupt you signal.

01-25-2005, 09:50 AM	#4
pounda A couch and an HDTV to go please. Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 14	thanks for the reply there was and is little or no snow on the roof, it was too windy for snow to accumulate up there. All is well now. Why is there no noticeable disruption to the analog signal during the same bad weather?

01-25-2005, 11:24 AM	#5
hdtv4me2 Go Bruins! Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Maryland Posts: 1,284	UHF signals are more sensative to rain/snow than VHF is, rain and snow are a bigger percentage of it's smaller wavelength. Plus the VHF transmitted power can be as much as 5 times the amount that the UHF/digital power is. That's one reason why VHF was chosen over UHF as the primary TV band many years ago.