Problem with HD-9032

[adamczes]

I bought an HD-9032 antenna last June, installed it on the roof and everything was working great. I received the following channels at the noted signal strengths (SS):

27 (RF 17) at SS 50
7 (RF 18) at SS 65
10 (RF 30) at SS 75
38 (RF 36) at SS 60
15 (RF 3) at SS 45

The signal strengths pretty much stayed at these spots no matter what the weather was doing or what time of day it was. At most the SS dropped by only 3 or 4. Then around Sept the signal strength on some stations started dropping. First channel 15 went below the SS picture threshold of about 30. I realize it is not a VHF antenna, but it was having no problems picking this station up, and the problem soon manifested itself on the UHF frequencies as well. Around this time channel 7's SS dropped to consistently around 50 and channel 10's SS to around 60 (still viewable but a noticeable reduction). Channels 27 and 38 appeared to remain at the same SS. Since Sept the SS for channels 7 and 10 have dropped to below 30 and 45 respectively. Channels 27 appears to have now dropped to an SS of about 45 while channel 38 still appears the same. Interestingly, when it rains, channel 7's SS improves to 32 and is barely viewable (also happens with a heavy dousing from a garden hose).

I have checked and bypassed all the connections and cables to see where the problem is and have eliminated everything but the antenna itself. A visual inspection of the antenna reveals no broken parts. I live at zip 24060. The problem is not with obstacles or anything like that because the signal was fine on all those stations for 3 months before problems started. I haven't been able to find any info on this kind of problem searching the internet so I was hoping someone here would be able to help. Thanks.

[winegard]

Good morning adamczes -

It sounds as though your antenna problem is related to the matching transformer or coax cable connection at the antenna. We suggest you try another matching transformer and replace your coax cable connector at the end of the cable going into the matching transformer with a coax connector that has a “O” ring seal in it to see if that improves your signal. Send us your name and complete mailing address and we send you a new matching transformer if you wish. If that does not solve your problem then send a copy of your receipt to warranty@winegard.com and ask them to send you a replacement antenna.