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Author Topic: Multipath Interference  (Read 1780 times)

thane108

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Multipath Interference
« on: May 03, 2014, 08:49:46 am »

I noticed under a different topic some discussion of multipath interference and I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for antennas or tuners.  

I use the HDHR3 HDHomerun dual tuner.  And I also use my TV tuner directly.  (I split the cable from my antenna and make one run to the TV and one run to the HDHomerun tuners.  The cable run is about 75 feet.  I think I have RG6 cable.)

I'm less than two miles from the translators but I have to go through some very large trees.  I've tried moving the antenna around on the roof but I just don't have a good angle around the trees.  I'm using an RCA antenna that is supposed to be more "directional" to reduce signal bounce.  That helped some.

In the Spring I lose signal quality on the HDHomerun to the point that I lose the ABC station and intermittently the public broacasting station.

The TV does OK - some pixelation now and then but it seems able to sort out the multipath issues.

1)  Does anyone have suggestions for an antenna that does a better job with signal quality - multipath issues?
2)  Does anyone have experience with other tuners that do a better job of sorting out multipath interference
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mlefebvre

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Re: Multipath Interference
« Reply #1 on: May 07, 2014, 07:12:59 pm »

Hello Thane108.

It does not sound to me like you are experiencing multipath. Multipath is interference cause by a secondary signal that is arriving to your antenna after being reflected from something like a building. It used to be a common problem with analog TV but not so much with digital TV.

Sounds more like you are experiencing lack of signal due to the trees. When the leaves grow, the signal is diminished.

What RCA antenna are you using? Some RCA antennas are quite good, but others are not so good.

Is 75 feet all of the coax that is being used? It is not so much if it is all that is used, but quite a bit if it is 2 x 75 feet. Try to set it up in a way that uses the least coax overall. Also consider that HDHomerun tuners don`t have the reputation of having the most sensitive ATSC tuner out there, so shorter coax lengths to them would surely benefit. Also RG6 Quad Shield with quality Snap And Seal connectors are a plus.

Finally, if all fails, you may want to consider using 2 antennas with separate coax runs. This will eliminate the splitter which introduces a 3-4 dB loss. 3 dB is half of the signal lost right from the start.

Michel
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thane108

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Re: Multipath Interference
« Reply #2 on: May 08, 2014, 01:03:32 am »

Thanks for your help!

I went ahead and purchased the lastest HDHomerun dual and it did make a significant difference.  The signal strength and quality for all channels are now "out of the red."

I think you are right - my most recent problem was not multipath but signal strength through the trees.  Last year I was getting bounce off a nearby butte but the more directional antenna seems to have solved that.

Everything looks good for the past 24 hours.  I have my fingers crossed the simply updating the HDHomerun tuner was the solution.

Again - thanks!
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