[mythtv-users] OTA signal strength Q

Brian Wood beww at beww.org
Fri Apr 20 15:43:41 UTC 2007


Yan Seiner wrote:
> Craig Treleaven wrote:
>> At 9:36 PM -0700 4/19/07, Yan Seiner wrote:
>>   
>>> ... The BT878 can only pull in about 5-7 channels.
>>>
>>> ... 2 directional antennas -> 2x1 splitter -> 6dB 1x2 amp -> one leg to
>>> Myth, other leg to TV each leg is then split again at the box for digital and analog tuners
>>>     
>> Pournelle's Law: Cables do matter. When something doesn't work, always check the cables and their connectors first.
>>   
> Yeah, that's what it points to, but I have to spend about an hour 
> crawling through my attic to rerun the cable, so I figured I'd ask here 
> first....
> 
> It's also weird that it would happen at changeover; it is possible that 
> the cable was just flaky enough that handling it broke it...
> 
> Anyone know of a way to get a signal strength meter cheap?

Cheap and signal strength meter do not go together, and if they did you
would not want it.

If you know somebody who works for the local Cable Co. you could try and
get him or her to come by and measure levels for you.

A local TV or Satellite Company might lend or rent you one.

You could probably rent one from an outfit like US Instruments or
Leasametric but I suspect the cost would be prohibitive.

Hardly any point in buying an expensive piece of gear for a one-time use.

Also - This might sound strange, but I have seen little 5" B+W AC/DC TV
sets on sale as low as $20. While they will not give you a quantitative
measurement they can give you a "go/nogo" type of indication and are a
lot cheaper than a signal level meter.



More information about the mythtv-users mailing list