HDA 200 no apparent change with potentiometer

[ssheriff]

I Just added a splitter with an HDA200 in front of it to my 40' RG6 antenna lead because I added a second TV. The original TV (2010 Samsung LCD) is 20' from the splitter and gets 8 stations. The new Samsung Plasma is 50' from the splitter and only gets 6 of the stations. I monitored the signal strength on the older TV while I turned the potentiometer 10-15 turns in one direction and then back the other way. I expected to see something change but there was no change in signal strength with various positions on the gain dial. I only used the TV's built in signal strength feature.

I'd like to get all the same stations on both TVs and was hoping the HDA200 would help with that and perhaps increase the weaker signals. I am hoping you can provide some guidance or trouble shooting advice.

thanks,

Steve

[winegard]

Good morning ssheriff,

The signal level meters in some TV set actually read the TV signals DATA streams percentage of 1’s and 0’s and actual RF voltage strength so you will not see much of a change in your meter when adding the HDA-200 because the amplifier does not change the DATA stream information when amplifying the signal. To adjust the gain control on the HDA-200 you turn the potentiometer counter clockwise up to 10 turns for maximum signal reduction.



There could be an issue with the 50’ cable such as a bad connector or the cable itself. Use an FS-8100 cable coupler and bypass the splitter and HDA-200, couple the 50’ cable going to the new Samsung TV set to your downlead and see if the Samsung TV receives the same 8 channels the old TV set does. Try the old TV set at the end of the 50’ line to see if it still receives the same 8 channels it did before. If both TV sets receive the same 8 channels add the splitter to see what happens because we could have a splitter with a defective output on one side. Now add the HDA-200 to see if that helps.



If you still have issues with the HDA-200 send a copy of your receipt to the Winegard Warranty Department either by email to warranty@winegard.com or by fax at 319-754-0715 and the Warranty Department will issue you an RMA number to use to return the amplifier under so they can check the amplifier out.

[ssheriff]

Thanks. The splitter tests okay. Using Samsung's signal strength SNR, If I disconnect the antenna I get 16.2 dB on a good channel. With the antenna connected I get 30.5 dB. With my HDA-20 in line I still get about 30.5 dB on the same channel no matter what I do with the gain adjustment. I can turn the potentiometer about 6 turns before it ratchets (makes a click on each revolution). The TVs are hard to carry around, I'll test against a generic amplifier.