Winegard SS-3000 and Trees

[eastonre]

I recently bought a Winegard SS-3000 indoor antenna.
I live outside of a big city.
7 of the 8 channels I receive are from the big city.
I checked on Antenna Web and TV Fool, and all 7 are between 11 and 12 miles away.
All of these 7 channels are in a straight line almost on top of each other pointing to my house.
The eighth channel is 30 miles away and about 30 degress different.
I receive all of the 8 the channels perfectly at times.
However, sometimes I get pixalation so bad it is not worth watching.
I found a spot in my attic above the garage that the signal is not being blocked by roofing material, it is just wood siding that point at the channels.
I have a Tivo with a signal strengh meter and seem to have found the best location and direction of the antenna.
Also, unfortunately I have a green belt across the street with TREES that the signal has to go through.
It seems that when there is no wind all is great.
When the wind blows I get pixalation in proportion to the wind strength.
I have set the TiVo signal smoothing to ON.
I have set my TV to quick picture response.
I have checked the pre-amp that came with the antenna by watching the signal strength and picture quality fall when I unplug it.
Would a different pre-amp work better with the Winegard SS-3000?
I can not put up an antenna outside because of home owner association rules.
So, I guess my question is what else can I try before surrendering to the Dish or Cable companies?

[winegard-offairhelp]

The channels that are 10 to 11miles away, you might not be getting due to overpowering your digital tuner. Try adding a splitter before going into the back of your tv.

[TomV]

1) The HOA cannot stop you from putting an OTA antenna on your roof. The FCC has rules that prevent that kind of HOA restriction. The HOA may ask you to place the antenna out of view if that is possible, but if it impedes the performance of the antenna system then they cannot force you to do that.

2) The moisture in trees attenuates the UHF signals. I get the same type of pixelation on my weaker stations with rain and wind, the rain adding to the water in the leaves by putting more on their surface. I get better reception once the leaves have fallen.

3) With said trees as possible interferers, you may need a better antenna than just a straight distance calculation may suggest. The trees are effectively putting distance between you and the TV transmitters. An outdoor antenna would be a good option. You can try a good antenna in your garage, but may need to put it outdoors if that does not work. A long cable run from the garage to your house would require sufficient amplification to overcome cable losses.

[eastonre]

The channels that are 10 to 11miles away, you might not be getting due to overpowering your digital tuner. Try adding a splitter before going into the back of your tv.

I tried two different splitters at the TiVo with no real difference.
I even tried using them both in series at the TiVo no real difference.
One splitter is a normal antenna splitter and the other one is 5000 something super non-interference type.

I receive 8 stations.
I receive 6 of the 8 stations perfectly all the time and one of the 6 is 30 miles away.
7 of the 8 stations are all 11 to 12 miles away.
3 of the 8 are basicaly at the same location 12 miles away.
1 of the 3 that are at basicaly same location is much stronger than the other 2.
On the TiVo Signal Scale, the strong channel goes from 98 down to 68.
The other two problem channels next to the strong channel go from 80 down to 50.
The two problem channel pixilate/freeze when the signal drop around 10 points in less than a second.
If the signal drops slowly down to 50 points I get no pixilation/freeze of the picture.
So, my problem is when the signal for either of these two channels drops too quickly.
The only time that I have a problem with these channels is when the wind blows.
We have TREES in a green belt where the signal needs to go thru.
When it rains heavy with no wind I have no problem.
So, Wind and a strong channel on top of two weaker channels would seem to be my problem?
Would a higher quality pre-amp at my Winegard SS-3000 help.
Would a different antenna help?
Home owners association says no visible antennas, so still stuck with limited space in the atic.

[TomV]

http://www.fcc.gov/guides/over-air-rece ... vices-rule

This FCC site points out that the HOA does not have all the power it might claim when it comes to antennas.

What does your TVFool profile look like? What is your zip code so we can look at it?

Tom

[eastonre]

http://www.fcc.gov/guides/over-air-reception-devices-rule

This FCC site points out that the HOA does not have all the power it might claim when it comes to antennas.

What does your TVFool profile look like? What is your zip code so we can look at it?

Tom

My Zip Code is 98021-7308

[TomV]

Your TVFool profile shows that you are close to the transmitters but you have mountains/hills that block your signals, making it appear that you are further away. The SS-3000 also has a narrow lobe that forces you to be very accurate in your aiming. However, your stations are wider apart than the lobe width so you are missing out on stations you should receive.

You need an outdoor antenna for reliable service to compensate for the hills and the trees. You may be better off with the MS2000 series since it is omni-directional and has a preamp. It has a sleek profile for a nice appearance.

I would try it indoors first if you want, but check it outdoors at some elevation and notice the improvement.

[eastonre]

Ok, I purchased an MS-2000. So, now I have both the SS-3000 and MS-2000 connected through a splitter.
Interesting results. I lost completly the only station that was 30 miles away. However, all the other stations are acceptable. We have not had any real WIND yet to blow the tree leaves around. So, will update later.

[TomV]

You should remove the splitter and SS-3000. The present combination is degrading your reception.

Witht the SS-3000 and splitter removed you should see more of the channels that TVFool suggests.

Though the MS-2000 is omnidirectional, it is not perfect. I would try rotating it in 90 degree increments and doing a rescan and checking the signal strengths of the stations for each of the 4 positions to determine the optimal postion.

[eastonre]

So, after trying hundreds of antenna positions and combinations, the best seems to be using both the SS-3000 and the MS-2000 and a splitter.
I even tried putting the antennas outside in the driveway. No difference at all.
We will see what happens over the nest few months as the tree leaves fall off and the wind and rain start.
Just a thought, as we are behind some hills, should I try to point the antennas slightly up, and if so at what angle?