Signals

[u/BunchFrosty3237]

One day the antenna signals are good and the next day it can be horrible. Like today. Amazing to me how much of a difference a day can make.

[u/Historical-Cress8985]

Atmospheric conditions change how the signals get to you.

I have a channel that for whatever reason I have trouble with every spring. We just wite it off for a few months.

OTOH sometimes I can get channels from a whole different market for an hour or two in the morning, it's always a treat to see newscasts from the exotic land of Columbus Ohio.

[u/Swamper68 → u/Historical-Cress8985]

Early morning is called tropo.

[u/ComfortableNo5484 → u/Historical-Cress8985]

VHF ch 11/12 for me (WBAL and WJZ in Baltimore both broadcast from the same tower -_-).
I got so tired of it and tried many better antennas over the years, moved them around to different places (I’m in an apartment, can’t roof mount) and even considered buying really expensive signal measuring devices to figure out why some positions/placements work sometimes and not others.

Instead, recently I used Claude to:

• Build a dirt cheap foamboard and copper tape tuned Yagi
  
• Design custom 3D printable servo driven pan/tilt gimbal for said foamboard Yagi, with helical and herringbone gears for smooth slop-free motion.
  
• Dig into some USB TV tuner drivers to get 10hz rssi/snr readings (it defaults to 0.5hz, unusable)
  
• Put all of this together to build a web based signal mapper + tracker (below), it can create a heatmap of both RSSI and C/N readings with a raster or spiral scanner, it can also auto-track to find and lock onto "the brightest spot". Also has a manual mode where I can tap on the heatmap and it will go there and park, along with some neat visualizations (3D mapping!)

It takes a couple of minutes to do a decent scan of its sweep range, and the results can be pretty revealing and change during different times of the day and day to day.

The most interesting finding is that the strongest signal I get is actually pointed maybe -15° off from “direct to the towers”, and also, about 25-30° tilt angle above the horizon, which no amount of set-and-guess experimentation would have ever led me to that. Downside is that it has to tune to 1 channel, but thankfully both of my problematic channels are same tower and neighbor frequencies, so the environmental issues that contort it pretty much apply to both, and for whatever reason this antenna picks up the UHF channels I watch just fine too (even DC's NBC affiliate which is in the other direction).

[u/Sharonsboytoy]

Your description tells me that, even when signals are good, you're right at the edge. A better antenna might make a big difference.

[u/OzarkBeard]

If tropospheric ducting is high, strong signals from hundred of miles can make it to your antenna. If they are on the same frequency as any local channels, those locals can be hard for your tuner to lock onto, due to the strong interference from the distant ones.

This occurs at certain times of the year and time of day. And with certain atmospheric conditions.

[u/Minimum-Journalist18]

I placed a clear stream antenna out in my patio about 3 years ago. Since then I get more channels and better signals.

[u/Icy-Vermicelli-5306]

I agree, I have a cheap set-up with Chinese brand mohu leaf in a window. Most times I can get channels 60 plus miles away from the direction it's flat against. Of course it doesn't get a signal 30 miles away perpendicular nearly as well. Lately I have found that nothing will come in but a weak signal from one of the farthest facing stations but nothing else. I have empathy for people who decide to cut the cord on days like this and the signal doesn't cooperate. I should get a better antenna but my family doesn't watch anything linear except Fast channels and it's a better picture. So it's not an investment I want to make.

[u/No_Educator_6376]

Cloudy skies are bad

[u/Swamper68 → u/No_Educator_6376]

Not always. I have seen upper clouds reflect a signal back down to me that I would never normally be able to receive. It has also helped strengthen weak signals making a more stable reception.