King Jack Antenna

[clockdrfla]

I have a King Jack antenna and it has been working fine until today.  I can not get any channels when scanning.  The scan pauses in different areas on the TV scan bar like it is going to load channels but then continues on.  Signal meter lights up.  Wall mount power injector is lit up with green light on.  HDMI cable is connected.  Red light on the roof antenna is on.  Any ideas?  Could the TV just decided to poop out? 

 

[8Muddypaws]

Check that you didn?t inadvertently change your signal type to cable on the TV.

 

[clockdrfla]

Check that you didn?t inadvertently change your signal type to cable on the TV.

No, it?s on Air.

 

[John From Detroit]

When that happened to me I had a busted coax connector.
It is POSSIBLE that something more serious has happened.. but on a scale of 1-10 I'd say the Cable is 9 and "Something more serious" 1 (10 is the most likely)

In my case new cable ends (Connectors) fixed it.

 

[Larry N.]

The scan pauses in different areas on the TV scan bar like it is going to load channels but then continues on.

Are you in an area that you know has good, strong signals? I ask because the above description sounds like it found a channel but it wound up being too weak so it advanced to the next try, and the Jack doesn't pull things in quite as well as the batwing.

 

[Gizmo100]

Just because the thing lights up does not mean it's working. We had a similar issue with the S/B TV. When I removed the booster we got most of our channels back. A bad signal booster can and will block signals from coming in if it's defective. In our case a power surge knocked out the power supply and the booster.

 

[clockdrfla]

Are you in an area that you know has good, strong signals? I ask because the above description sounds like it found a channel but it wound up being too weak so it advanced to the next try, and the Jack doesn't pull things in quite as well as the batwing.

I am in the mountains just south of Raton, NM. Not in a good area but when I first arrived here received about 12 channels on the original scan.  Could the atmospheric conditions be the issue?  Is any certain time of day better for scanning?

 

[Gizmo100]

I am in the mountains just south of Raton, NM. Not in a good area but when I first arrived here received about 12 channels on the original scan.  Could the atmospheric conditions be the issue?  Is any certain time of day better for scanning?

Atmospheric conditions can play a part but to loose all your channels would indicate another problem. I would check all your cable connections and cable for problems. If possible bypass the booster on the antenna. (Although I don't think that's possible)

You could try to fake a antenna with the cable from the TV to anything metal outside. It would not be a great antenna but it might help confirm if the problem is the antenna.

FYI... I doubt it's the TV

 

[chuckbear]

We have done channel scans and got 60 channels. The next day, none would work. The antenna functioned fine. Lots of things can affect what channels you can receive. Before you go removing everything and replacing things, be sure the problem is just channels not available. Pull the coax at the antenna and measure voltage from the connector to the center pin with the amplifier on. If you get 12 volts, chance are good everything is working OK. Wait until you get to a place where good channels are available before you consider starting to replace things. Chuck

 

[clockdrfla]

We have done channel scans and got 60 channels. The next day, none would work. The antenna functioned fine. Lots of things can affect what channels you can receive. Before you go removing everything and replacing things, be sure the problem is just channels not available. Pull the coax at the antenna and measure voltage from the connector to the center pin with the amplifier on. If you get 12 volts, chance are good everything is working OK. Wait until you get to a place where good channels are available before you consider starting to replace things. Chuck

I?m thinking it?s just a weak signal.  Here for two more days then headed for Denver area. Like to watch the evening news and stay current with what?s happening in the world.  Can do that on our IPad.  Thanks to all for suggestions.  Will post back in a few days.

 

[clockdrfla]

Update:  Arrived different campground and performed a scan.  Picked up 14 stations.  So everything good.  The only thing I can think of that might have caused it was originally the campground was pretty much full on Saturday when I arrived and did a scan.  It was pretty much deserted on Sunday when signal was lost.  Would having a lot of RV?s close by have anything to do with making for a better signal?

 

[Gizmo100]

Thanks for the followup

I wouldn't think the other RV's would have an effect. But I would yield to others that know more about digital TV.

 

[Larry N.]

Would having a lot of RV?s close by have anything to do with making for a better signal?

Nothing predictable, but it's possible that the specific layout of all those RVs might have bounced signals around enough that there was some concentration of them "beamed" to your location. But that's just speculation in an attempt to explain observed behavior. I'd think it's unlikely, and it's possible that atmospheric conditions (and I HAVE seen this in radio) let stronger signals get through to that area when you got reception, but became marginal or too weak for a digital TV later. Note that there can be signals present that, in the days of analog TV would have given you a snowy picture, but are too weak for a digital TV, which needs stronger signals to show a picture.

That would also explain why you got the long pauses, enough signal to register on the TV, but not enough to get a digital picture with a pause for the time it took for the TV's computer to "decide" it wouldn't do.

 

[John From Detroit]

Some RV's generate a lot of RF noise but not usually in the UHF part of the band.. That said. they can.. Some LED lights can knock out TV especially weak signal.  And of course I can do major damage if I cue up 50 watts on 443 Mhz.  (WHich I do not often do. I usually run 0.10 watt. or 0.030 watts)

But I've seen reception on the same staion. NO CHANGES go from Siglan 80+ on the signal meter (Goes to 100) to less than 50 in less than an hour.