Conference 7.286::home_work

    I need some help from you electrical wizards!

  BACKGROUND:
        
    1. I have a TV antenna in my attic.
    2. I have coaxial cables running from the attic to a number of jacks
    3. I did the wiring myself while the house was under construction.
    4. The antenna is NOT grounded.
    
  THE PROBLEM
    
    Occasionally, the picture on channel 5 will suddenly go "bad" 
    -- ie lots of distortion.
    
    If I disconnect the TV end of the coaxial cable from the wall jack and
    touch the center wire to the threaded sleeve the picture clears.
    I then can re-attach the cable and all is well.
    
  THE QUESTIONS
               
    The folks at Radio Shack suggested that the problem is that the
    antenna is not grounded and is picking up some sort of a "charge"
    which affects the reception. By touching the center wire to the
    sleeve (normally the ground) I am "clearing" this charge that has
    built up in the antenna.
               
 1. Is this plausible or is it B.S.??
    
 2. If I want to ground the antenna, can I use the electrical ground
    in my house?                                         
                                                         
    Or do I have to run a separate wire from the antenna to the water
    pipes?
    
    Or do I have to run a separate wire from the antenna to a metal
    stake in the ground?
    
    Thanks for any ideas.
    VCS
     

    While there is a potential differential between ground and an antenna
    20+ feet up in the air, I doubt if that's the problem, especially
    since the antenna in in the house.  Grounding is always a good idea,
    though.
    
    The ground to water pipe isn't really kosher.  You should go with
    the stake in the ground.
    
    One thing that I don't like is splitters.  You should really invest
    in a distribution amplifier.  They don't cost much ($20.00?) and
    not only provide higher gain, but isolate you from problems such
    as you're experiencing.

    -joet
    
    P.S.  Remember, "Radio Shack = B.S."

    Be careful of distribution amplifiers too.
    
    A splitter is passive; it just divides (of course giving less signal
    at each outlet).
    
    An amplifier is active.  Poor distribution amplifiers will take
    ANY signal in the vicinity, especially the ones you don't want,
    and munge it into your TV.  Several days later you will have found
    some (possibly innocent) Ham operator, etc., and will be screaming
    at him for causing interference to you.
    
    Good (generally expensive) distribution amps are much less prone
    to this problem.  The hard part is finding good ones and paying
    for them.

    Radio Shack distribution amps are the worst.  They guarantee TV
    interference from anything.
    
    Winegard has good ones, but they "ain't" cheap.

    I am moving into a new house, with access to the attic.  This house
    in Shirley, Ma, and the only stations I can receive are UHF (no
    PBS; disgusting !).
    
    Any recommendations on ANTENNA's and installation would be appreciated.
    
    Dwight
    

    
    I recently moved to Mason, NH, and TV reception was nil. I hired
    Bill's TV and Antenna form Milford NH (prob. not much help to
    you in Shirley), and he put in the top-of-the-line Channel Master,
    separate UHF and VHF, with rotor, control, booster, and 3 drops
    for $375. I'd have done the work myself, but our roof is too high
    and steep for my tastes.
    
    Reception is now great (all the Boston stations, Providence, The
    Southern NH stations, about 18 in all. Unplug the booster, and I
    see nothing.
    
    

Try Dick Sawyer of Sawyer's Cellar in Berlin.  He put mine up (I bought
Channel Master stuff at Stark's in Worcester).  If you need the whole
shooting match he will do it.  The guy's a character but was honest
and did a good job installing it (my wife wouldn't let me up on the roof -
we have a very tall house).  Give him a call.

    RE: .5
    
    When you unplug the booster, what signals are at the antenna can't
    get through the booster.  You could probably take the booster out
    of the line and still get most of your stations, though weaker.
    It's annoying, because I need a booster on some stations but not
    on others and the booster really messes up my strong stations;
    boosts the ghosts right into competition with the main signal.
    
    Is there a good solution to this problem?

    It's annoying, because I need a booster on some stations but not
    on others and the booster really messes up my strong stations;
    boosts the ghosts right into competition with the main signal.
    Is there a good solution to this problem?

Yessirree.  It's called an a/b switch.  Get a good one and hook
it up something like this....
			  --------
antenna------booster----a|        |
          \		 |	  |------tv
           -------------b|	  |
			  --------

For other ways of hooking up your tv etc. see the Video
conference (I think on dssdev??).

R.

    Except that supposedly the booster is supposed to be mounted at
    the antenna for best results.

    RE: .6 and others
    
    I have the Channel Master antennas and mast mounted preamp.  Their
    products seem to be great; I would highly recommend them.  I went
    to Stark in Worcester ( they are also in Manchester N.H.) and took
    their advise on what to buy.  I have been very satisfied with the
    results.
    
    	/s/	Roger
    

    re: .8
    
    My unit has the amp up on the antenna.  The box labeled "booster"
    in the diagram is, in my case, actually only the power supply.  It
    sends 5 volts or somesuch up the coax.  This is the preferred (read:
    more expensive) solution, since you're only boosting the signal
    from the antenna, not the crap that comes down the line.
    
    With this in mind, I'm not sure what a mast-mounted amplifier would
    pass through if it didn't have any power.  The A-B switch solution
    may not work in all cases.
    
    -joet

    re: .11
    
    I can tell you.  NOTHING!  When the power is off on these little
    jobbers all incoming signals are blocked.  You could rig up an
    antenna relay or something to switch at the antenna, but that is
    expensive. 

    
    How about bringing the amplified signal straight to one input of an
    A/B switch, and attenuated to the other input? Then you could select
    between an amplified signal and a (normal=amplified/attenuated) signal.

    
    I seem to have started something here. I was not aware that ALL
    signals were blocked when the booster was off, and took the nil
    reception as an indication of the effectiveness of the booster (in
    a sense, I was right; it's a super signal BLOCKER when off!). I
    don't have ghosting problems, so don't need to bypass mine.
    
    Stu
    

If the booster you pick has good overload characteristics and you have
a good antenna with a narrow beam angle most problems you describe
concerning overload can be avoided.  Many ghost problems will be eliminated
with a good directional antenna.  Point the antenna at the main source
and most ghosts will be rejected due to the reception pattern of the antenna.

The quality of the amp you use will have a lot to do with how well you 
can handle stations which are close to you.  I have one of the better
channel master mast mounted amps.  Gain is 27db across the entire spectrum
but it has a very low noise figure and good overload characteristics.
I live within sight range of the channel 27 tower yet I do not experience any
problems with this station because of my setup.  It looks just like
4 out of boston or 10 out of providence.

-peter

    The antenna is not the problem, because it is a top of the line
    channel master.  The only amp I've tried was (Oh, well, might as
    well admit it..) a Radio Shack.  Someday when I have the money
    I'll try again with a better amp.  For now I get enough stations
    to vegetate on.

    to 407.7
    Needing a boost on some but not all of the channels:
    
    The A/B switch would work (in most case) - another approach
    you might consider is what is called a "variable attenuator".
    
    This dial-controlled device decreases (or "attenuates") the
    signal.  In its left most position, no attenuation is
    provided (eg. 0 db) - you can "dial in" the amount of 
    attenuation you want.  As I recall, it attenuates from 0 db
    to 30 db - how much I attenuate depends upon the channel I'm
    watching.
    
    I have to admit - I bought this unit at Radio Shack.  It 
    only cost about $4 or so but it works quite nicely.
    
    It's simple to install - it's an in-line device with standard
    coax connections.
    

    I don't see how the A/B switch can work if your amplifier is on
    the roof and there is only one coax coming in.  What are you
    switching???  The attenuator sounds like it might be worth
    a shot, though, thanks.

    RADIO SHACK FOREVER (BUT THEN HOW LONG HAS THE WORLD GOT?)
    
    
    I LIVE IN GROTON AND WAS HAVING FITS GETTING THE RECEPTION MY
    PARENTS WERE GETTING IN SHIRLEY. SO I WENT TO RADIO SHACK FOR
    ONE OF THEIR COLOR TV RIGS. IT WENT ON TOP OF THE HOUSE STRAIGHT
    FORWARD EXCEPT FOR THE LIGHTENING AND WET ROOF (AFTER A READING
    A SET OF INSTRUCTIONS AND DRINKING A SIX-PACK, MAN CAN DO
    ANYTHING RIGHT??). 
    
    THE PICTURE GOT BETTER, BUT SOME STATIONS REALLY LOOKED LAME. SO
    IT WAS OFF TO RADIO SHACK AGAIN FOR ONE OF THOSE 2 PIECE TV AMPS.
    I GOT THE "DELUXE" MODEL WHICH HAS A BIGGER SIGNAL BOOST. THE OTHER
    STATIONS CAME IN MUCH BETTER, BUT THE STATIONS THAT USED TO BE JUST
    FINE NOW HAD GHOSTS ALL OVER THEM. SO IT WAS OFF TO RADIO SHACK
    TO SEE WHAT COULD BE DONE. I THEN BOUGHT ONE OF THOSE ATTENUATORS
    FOR ANOTHER SEVEN BUCKS. I COULD NOW "CHOKE" THE STRENGTH OF THE
    SIGNAL. THIS SORT OF WORKS, BUT I THINK IT IS MORE A PROBLEM WITH
    THE CHEAP ATTENUATOR THEN THE LOGIC BEHIND WHAT I WAS TRYING TO
    ACCOMPLISH. 
    
    PLEASE NOTE YOU WILL NEED TO RUN THE TV CABLE INTO THE ROOM, INTO
    THE BOTTOM HALF OF THE AMP, THEN TO THE ATTENUATOR, AND THEN TO
    THE TV. ADD THE FACT THAT YOU HAVE TO PLUG THE AMP IN , AND YOU
    HAVE ONE HECK OF A MESS OF WIRES UNLESS YOU BOLT ALL THIS GARBAGE
    TOGETHER. (WHEN I ADD THE VCR, THE TRANSFORMER AND SIGNAL CLEANER
    I NEEDS SINCE IT WAS BUILT FOR USE IN JAPAN, AND YOU HAVE A WIRING
    MESS THAT LOOKS LIKE THE OLD EDP MACHINERY SOME OF US USE TO WORK
    WITH BEFORE K.O. DECIDED TO BUILD SMALL COMPUTERS). 
    
    ALSO, THE AMP SHOULD NOT BE NEAR ANYTHING WITH A MOTOR. I HAVE EVEN
    HAD TO MAKE SURE IT WAS AWAY FROM A FORCED HOT AIR REGISTAR BECAUSE
    THAT WOULD CAUSE THE PICTURE TO WIGGLE (IT MAY HAVE BEEN VIBRATIONS,
    BUT I AM NOT INTO HARDWARE).
    
    A SECOND ITEM IS TO BUT THE AMP THROUGH A LINE FILTER. BECAUSE I
    HAVE ONE FOR MY VCR, I PLUG THE AMP INTO IT ALSO. THE VOLTAGE 
    DIFFERENCE (100 AC VS 120 AC) DOESN'T CAUSE ANY PROBLEMS, BUT THE
    FILTER GETS RID OF THE NEXT DOOR NEIGBORS ARC WELDER INTERFERENCE
    REAL WELL. THE FILTER I USE IS FOR A WANG CPU ( I HAVE A HARDWARE
    FRIEND WHO WORKS THERE), BUT ANY GOOD FILTER WILL DO IT.
    
    A THIRD THING TO REMEMBER ABOUT RADIO SHACK'S AMP IS THAT IT IS
    ***NOT*** WATERPROOF. EVERY TIME IT RAINS OUT, THE AMP GOES 
    BESERK UNTIL IT DRYS OUT. I TRIED TO CURE THIS BY COVERING THE
    BOX WITH A GROSSMAN'S PLASTIC NAIL BAG (YOU KNOW, THE ONES THEY
    NO LONGER USE! THEY THINK EVERYONE IS WORKING INDOORS ON THEIR
    DECK!). THE SIGNAL USSALLY DRIES OUT IN A DAY OR SO.
    
    WAS IT WORTH IT, WELL NOT REALLY. WE GOT WIRED FOR CABLE LAST MONTH,
    AND TO TELL THE TRUTH, THE ABSENCE OF ALL THE BOXES AND WIRES IS
    WORTH IT FOR ME. YOU CAN TRY THE ABOVE IF YOU WANT. YOU MAY WISH
    TO MAKE SURE YOU GET A GOOD ANNENUATOR, AND MAYBE MOUNT THE TOP
    SECTION OF THE AMP INSIDE THE ROOF NEXT TO THE ATTENNEA.
    
    JOHN
    

I here problems when you try to go cheap,
Spend a few extra bucks

Get a high quality mast mounted amp (designed for outdoors), use high quality 
75 ohm coax for the downlead and use a good narrow beam antenna and 
you will eliminate a lot of your problems.  

Good amp has good overload characteristics, high gain across the full band
and a low noise figure.  It also will have a good, stable power supply.

Good coax minimizes signal losses and keeps the noise out.

Good, high gain antenna minimizes ghosts by rejecting signal except from
where you are pointing the antenna and provides a useful signal for the
amp to work with.

As I said earlier I had terrible reception and I have to deal with one
station whose antenna I CAN SEE out by backdoor.  I spent the bucks for
a good Channel master masthead amp and a top flight antenna.  Results
are superb.  The amp definitely helps on the upper band uhf stations where
signal loss can be a problem - and I am driving three separate locations
in the house.

With this setup even ch 27 (5 miles away) gives me no problems.

-peter

Sounds like a lot of people who know their antennas, so...

I recently installed a used antenna and rotot from my fathers house in our
attic!  Why you ask?  Because although it's 20 years old, it was (at the time)
the top of the line Channel Master and it's still in perfect shape (the Gold
anodizing has worn off, but the elements all seem intact). 

Anyhow, reception is pretty good and I get most channels on the VHF dial.  My
question is will an antenna this old still perform good or would it be worth it
to spend a few bucks (how much IS a good antenna these days?  I paid around $50 
for this one in 1967!).  If the antenna is ok, would a booster help?

BTW, I bought a bunch of coax and couplers at Spags.  Their prices were 1/2 of 
that marked on the packages.

-mark

    The rotor is OK to use.  The antenna, from your description, is
    garbage.  The problem with the antenna is that if the plating material
    is flaking and you do NOT get GOOD electrical contact.  This causes
    the antenna to receive from a different pattern than it was designed.
    The directivity and gain as well as rejection characteristics are
    totally trashed.  I have worked with antennas both design and
    installation for about 10 years.  Buy a new antenna if you are putting
    it in the attic.  Save yourself a lot of head aches.

    There are lots of TV Antenna notes, suggestions, etc. in DSSDEV::VIDEO.
    Good luck.  I think there is a Keyword to help you find them.

    you can try Al Stark's on Franklin St. in Worcester. He sells mostly
    Channel Master hardware which is the best in my opinion. It ain't
    cheap but nothing worthwhile is. I've been dealing with him for
    many years; he won't try to sell you something you don't need.
    tell him I sent ya.  Or you can send me mail. I could probably answer
    any questions you may have.
    
    paul

                Another vote for Stark Electronics.
                
                /s/     Bob

So, now that we've established that I need a new antenna, what kind 
should I get?  I want something good, but remember that my reception 
with the current one ain't all that bad so I may not need top-of-the-line
either.

I know they have antennas at Spags, but that's an example of the kind of 
stuff they sell that I'm a little skeptical about.

How about approx prices?

-mark

As stated elsewhere try Stark Wholesalers on Franklin st in Worcester.
They hanlde the entire Channel Master line, have knowledgeable people
and are reasonably priced.

		      No TV reception, can you help ?

	   Recently I moved into a 1700s Cottage but was unable to receive
	any TV reception.  A new coax cable had been run from the lounge
	out onto the roof and a new TV aerial mounted on the roof by the
	previous owners.  We were told that they had not had any problems
	with this system.   In order to find out what was wrong I have
	taken the following steps -

	1.  Tried my 'test' television with a wire loop aerial.
	    Result - TV worked with very poor reception.

	2.  Connected 'test' television to the new aerial.
	    Result - No reception at all.

	3.  Connected 'test' television with a little mains powered
	    TV aerial amplifier and the new aerial.
	    Result - No reception at all.

	4.  Went up on roof and examined the circuit.  The connections
	    were as follows - 

    TV -> coax cable to roof -> a box -> coax cable up mast -> TV aerial


	The box contained a little printed circuit board with various
	components, but no power supply.  The coax cable from the TV
	side was connected to one end of this box, and the roof aerial
	to the other end.  The joins seemed OK. 

	5.  Removed the box from the system and connected the two coax
	    cables together.
	    Result - Poor TV reception, but reception nevertheless.

	Question - Is the box at fault, what does the box do ?

	Thanking you in advance,
				  John Evans,  Reading, England.
	

  Sounds as though you've got only 1/2 of a two-piece signal booster.  The
  set up should look like this: 
 
  TV ->*another box*->coax cable to roof->a box->coax cable up mast->aerial

  The box closest to the TV provides the power.  Our booster came from Radio
  Shack (there are much better ones) and if the lower box loses power for some
  reason, the symptoms are much as you describe...

  Maybe you should check with the previous owners and ask them whether they
  accidently walked off with the missing box.

  JP

    Could be a case of mismatched impedance.  Standard TV coax (RG-59)
    has an impedance of 75 ohms.  Standard TV twinlead is 300 ohms.
    Most TV antennas have 300 ohms connections.  So there should be
    some matching transformers (passive) called baluns somewhere in
    the path.
    
    Also, depending on the type of connections on the back of your TV,
    you will probably need a UHF/VHF signal splitter.  NEC requires
    that antenna installations have a lightning arrestor.  Picture
    should look something like:
    
    TV UHF-\
            Splitter-->300_to_75-->coax_cable-->75_to_300-->aerial
    TV VHF-/                            |                      |
                                        |                     (mast)
    			lightning_arrestor (attached to coax)  |
    					|                      |
    				  grounding_rod----------------+
    					|
    					V
    
    Don't know about the extra box.  Could be a amplifier, filter,
    a 1-->n splitter.
    
    -al

    
    There may be a very simple answer to this one, the question is "Where
    did you move from?" I moved from London to Basingstoke and for 2
    days tried to figure out what was going on with the TV. I thought
    it was damaged in transit, then it hit me that the frequency in
    Basingstoke is different to London. I was getting a poor signal,
    all the way from London, when the main mast for the area was 5 miles
    down the road, broadcasting on a different frequency. I don't know
    if you have tried hunting across the whole spectrum, this of course
    presumes you have move a reasonable distance. If you have, give
    it a go.
                                       
               regards,
                Chris Hall (CSC VIABLES)
    

	Thank you for your replies.  I followed up reply 1 and phoned
the manufacturers of the 'box' to see if 1/2 was missing.  They told
me that the box was an amplifier and that the power was fed to it up
the outer wire of the coax.  Without the correct power supply no signal
will be received by the television.  I then told them that I had 
connected an amplifier to the TV end of the coax.  Evidently this 
amplifier was a UHF setback amplifier which merely boosted the signal 
but was incompatible with the box on the mast (i.e. it didn't send any
power to it).  So it seems that the answer is to buy a CM7261 power
unit and connect it to the TV end of the coax.  
   If anyone in the UK has a similar problem, the components and 
manufacturer involved are -

	Lab Gear Ltd., Cambridge (66521)

	Box on mast           - Model CM7066   Signal Amplifier
	Power supply required - Model CM7261   Power Supply

	Booster not required  - Model CM7253   UHF Setback Amplifier


   I will now try and buy the missing 1/2 and see if I can indeed get
reception.
                 Thanks again,
				John Evans.

    I recently build a deck on the back of my house.  However, I've
    encountered a small problem.  When I attached the ledger board to
    the back of the house it covers part of the wire for my TV antenna.
    I didn't pinch the antenna wire, and there were no problems with TV
    reception UNTIL I put the aluminum flashing on the ledger board.
    
    My new deck is beautiful, but my TV reception stinks.  Any suggestions?
    Could the aluminum flashing next to the TV antenna cable be responsible
    for the sudden poor reception (it went bad the same day I put the
    flashing on)?
    
    Any ideas (inexpensive) would be greatly appreciated.
    
    Regards,
    Phil

    Assuming you're talking about putting aluminum right up against
    flat 300-ohm twin lead -- yes, that's the problem.  The stuff is
    designed for "free-space" operation, and you've put a ground plane
    right next to it.  So now it's probably lossy and no longer presents
    the right impedance.
    
    You need shielded cable instead, either shielded 300-ohm or coax.
    
    dq
    
    

    The aluminum isn't right on top of the cable, but it's within an
    inch or two on each side.  It's not a flat cable, but rather a round
    one that extends from the antenna on the roof, down the back of
    the house, under the ledger board, and into the basement.
    
    Is there any way to shield just a couple of feet of this cable?
    
    Phil

    Hmmm....
    
    If you currently have coax, then the aluminum won't make any
    difference.
    
    You may have a foam-filled (supposedly lower-loss) 300-ohm 
    unshielded.  Assuming that's the case, and since it's lousy
    weather for experimenting, you could replace the length of
    wore that runs near the aluminum with coax, using a cheap balun
    (300-ohm balanced to 75-ohm unbalanced) at each end.  If this
    works, then when spring comes you would probably want to replace
    the entire run with coax (and a good weatherproof balun at the
    antenna if it doesn't have a coax feed).
    
    You can't add a shield to unshielded cable.
    
    dq

The former owner of my home had the foresight to install a small coax network
to a few rooms of my house. Since I did not care to pay for cable TV, I have
hooked it up to my roof (TV) antenna. Since my sterio is in the same room as my 
TV I would like to use this antenna for my sterio as well.

Question 1: Will I be able to improve my FM reception using a TV antenna?

Question 2: If I just split the signal, will this degrade my TV reception?
Only if I turn on the sterio?

Question 3: I get some (signal) noise on my TV particularly on the lower VHF
channels. My neighbor has the same problem and is convinced that it is caused
by the distributers on cars passing by (I live on a semi-busy road). Does anyone
know of a filter which can be purchased to solve this problem? 

slowly becomming more electrical-savvy, but still audio-ignorant,

Steve

re.0
>Question 1: Will I be able to improve my FM reception using a TV antenna?

    Possibly.  Some TV antennas also cover the FM band, which is right
    above Channel 6.  Some, however, may not.  And since TV antennas
    are directional, they won't help much unless they're pointing at
    the FM stations.  But some may be so loud it doesn't matter.  The
    outdoor directional antenna is most useful on FM when there's multipath
    distortion (a strong, distorted signal caused by the signal's being
    bounced around.)

>Question 2: If I just split the signal, will this degrade my TV reception?
>Only if I turn on the sterio?

    Whether the stereo is on or off doesn't matter.  It's possible to
    use a frequency-selective splitter that won't degrade TV by much,
    but in general, splitters do degrade the signal -- it has to be
    shared, so you get slightly more than 3 dB of loss for a 2-way
    splitter. 
    
>Question 3: I get some (signal) noise on my TV particularly on the lower VHF
>channels. My neighbor has the same problem and is convinced that it is caused
>by the distributers on cars passing by (I live on a semi-busy road). Does anyone
>know of a filter which can be purchased to solve this problem? 

    If it is in fact car noise, then you can't do anything about it.
    TV video is AM; AM is inherently susceptible to impulse noise. 
    TV sound, on the ohter hand, is FM and thus relatively immune. 
    Most cars nowadays are pretty quiet, though; if it is caused by
    a car, it'll correspond to the (audible) loudness of the passing
    vehicle.  As it drives away, the noise should fade.  If that's not
    happening, you probably have another problem.  Motors, computers
    and many other devices can generate RF noise.
           fred

    
    I don't think you have to split the signal to get the FM signal.
    Don't you just use a regular converter at the end of the coax run?
    You know, the type of do-hickey that is usually at the back of the
    TV that converts the 75-ohm to 300-ohm.  I think they also have
    2 screws for the FM signal.  Maybe I'm imaging all this.  Anybody
    else remember what their do-hickey has for connections???
    

re: .2

I already have one of those 75-300 ohm doohickies for my TV. I suppose could
just stick the sterio antenna wires onder the same screws with the TV antenna
wires. What I really meant by splitting the signal is not buying a signal
"switch" to only connect one device at a time.  

re: .1 

I suppose I should have been more clear about athe nature of the "noise".
The "noise" is visual, in the form of little horizontal dashes scattered
around the screen. 

Thanks,

Steve

    
    Steve,
    
    I don't think you have "switch" or "split" anything to get the FM
    signal to the stereo.  I'll have to check the converter tonight
    but I thought the 75 ohm feed came in one end, and the VHF and UHF
    came out the other end (75/300 ohm).  The FM has 2 little screws on
    top of the converter.  I'll check it out tonight.
    
    Phil

    
      Regarding car noise interference.   Back when CB's were the
    rage there was a lot of TV interference from CB's (AM trancievers)
    to older, non-filtered TV sets.  (There was no heavy CB use prior
    to the 70's so why would TV manufacturers put in the inexpensive
    filter to eliminate the problem)
    
      Anyway, two devices were created (created may be a bit strong)
    that eliminated the AM interference, they also developed filters
    for cars to eliminate distributor noise into the CB, but I'm
    sure you won't chase down every car to attach one.
    
      A low pass filter was put on the CB to reduce interference to
    TV's, while a high pass filter was put on the TV to reduce
    interference from CB's.  Since they both transmit AM a high
    pass filter (probably available from Radio Shack or U-DO-IT)
    might help.
    
                              Mark

    The do-hickey with the outputs for VHF, UHF, and FM *is* a splitter.
    This is somtimes confused with a coupler, which allows you to run more
    than one TV from the same antenna. 
    
    If you can run a line from the FM outputs on the current splitter to the
    stereo, you won't have to place a coupler in the line to send the
    signal to two places. If you use a coupler, you should probably
    place a splitter at the stereo and the TV. 
    
    

    
    RE: .6
    
    Excuse me but I think you are adding more confusion here.  I've
    never seen the device used to split 1 input into 2/3/4 outputs referred
    to as a "coupler".  I think most people refer to these, and they
    are marked "splitters" on the package.  Are you thinking of A/B
    switches??  I'll have to pay more attention next time I'm browsing
    the AV dept.
    
    I checked the device at the back of the TV and it does have the
    2 screws for attaching an FM antenna *without* splitting the line.
    Maybe this "splitting" is done internally, but the point is that
    you don't need a signal splitter just to get the FM signal for the
    stereo.

    

    
    While this doesn't exactly answer your questions it may help
    none-the-less.  Some time ago, I had read an article about making
    an antenna specifically tuned to a particular frequency.  So if
    you liked a particular station but it came in poorly, you could
    tune the antenna to improve the reception.
    
    Most stereos come with a "T" fm antenna that is tuned for the middle
    of the fm frequency spectrum.  The way it is tuned is by determining
    the length of the horizontal portion of the "T".  The length is
    determined by dividing the frequency number into 486.  This will
    give you a length that is optimum for your particular frequency.
    For instance 95.3 fm would produce a length of 5.099+ feet.  You
    need to add about half an inch to each end to allow the ends to
    be tied together to complete the loop (see diagram).  The following
    diagram shows what the new antenna should look like when completed.
    
    
    
         
        |<---------------------5.0----------------------->|
    
    	|_________________________________________________|
    	|						  |
    	|						  |
    	|----------------------   ------------------------|
    			      |   |
    			      |   |
    			      |   |
    			      |   |<-- to the 300 ohm antenna receptacles
                              |   |                                         

    The better the quality TV antenna, the worse it will work on FM.
    Better antennas have more gizmos on them in order to more sharply
    focus on the TV frequencies.  You may find a big dead spot in the
    FM band (which sits between channels 7 and 8).   
    
    Of course some of those antennas include FM capability (meaning
    they have the elements for those frequencies) so read the fine print.
    

    Re: .7 and others...
 
    There are several types/categories of TV splitters, combiners, couplers,
    matching transformers... but most of the confusion seems to be between
    splitter/couplers and signal band splitters. 
    
    The passive coxial splitter/couplers are usually blocks with multiple
    coaxial terminals, one designated as input and several (2/3/4) output
    terminals. Most can be used either way. Either to split a signal into
    multiple signals or to combine/merge signals into one cable. These
    devices create multiple IDENTICAL copies of the signal.
    
    The signal band splitters take a single signal feed (either 300 or
    coax) and splits it into the different bands VHF/UHF and sometimes FM
    and feeds the seperate bands to seperate output terminals. These
    devices SPLIT the signal into different bands. These can also be used
    to combine different signals to one cable such as seperate VHF and UHF
    antennas sharing a comon feed cable to the TV. 

    There are also many other variations and combinations of these devices
    and others available. This topic and other TV/Video relate topics
    are discussed in the DSSDEV::VIDEO conference.

    Charly

    I just purchased a house that has a Channel Master Rotator antenna.
    I hooked the cabel through my VCR and the VCR to my TV.  The reception
    is outstanding on the VHF stations but the UHF are bearly visible.
    The box in the house has little numbers on the dial which includes
    UHF so I believe UHF once worked correctly.  What do I need to do
    correct my poor reception?  
    
    Thanks,
    
    KC

    
    At first it sounds like your UHF input is not connected.  You
    need to split the line from your antenna to both the VHF and UHF
    inputs on your VCR.  You can buy such a splitter at Radio Shack
    or equivalent.          
    
    Questions: When your having reception problems are you using the
    tunner in the VCR or the tunner in the TV?  How did you have it
    hooked up before you moved?  Did you have Cable?  

    If you did move from a location with Cable, in order to use your
    VCR with UHF stations you will have to change the tunning for
    these stations on your VCR.  You should consult your VCR owners 
    manual.  
    
    
    Good luck.
    
    /Jeff

    Since we're making the assumption that the antenna on the rotor is a
    combo unit, are you sure? The UHF elements will be MUCH shorter than
    the VHF elements, so this should be visible from the ground. As -1
    said, you'll need a splitter to separate the VHF and UHF signals if
    your TV input requires it (or the VCR). Also, the location of a
    station's studios may not be the location of the transmitter, so
    perhaps the antenna is not aimed properly. The rotor may also be out of
    sync (compass direction on the control box does not match the actual
    position of the antenna itself). Often, you just rotate the antenna
    rotor to its two extremes to resync it.
    
    Eric

    
    At first it sounds like your UHF input is not connected.  You
    need to split the line from your antenna to both the VHF and UHF
    inputs on your VCR.  You can buy such a splitter at Radio Shack
    or equivalent.          
    
    !Questions: When your having reception problems are you using the
    !tunner in the VCR or the tunner in the TV?  How did you have it
    !hooked up before you moved?  Did you have Cable?  
     
    I'm using the tunner in the VCR.  I have one cable that I attached
    to the 75 ohms connector on the VCR and the cable from the VCR to
    the 75 ohms on the TV.  I was assuming that the one cable in the
    75 ohms connector would handle both VHF and UHF.  Before moving
    to this home and the antenna I used rabbit ears and the circular type.
    Never had cable (my town still doesn't have it!).  The VCR has been
    tuned and in use for 4 years by the old method.  As I mentioned
    in my original reply (.25) the dial has the UHF numbers already
    on it (must be a combo unit) so I assume the previous owner could 
    see the UHF with little difficulty.
    
    Do I need to buy a splitter and split that cable to both the VHF
    and UHF inputs.  I never noticed a seperate UHF Input other than
    the connectors for the rabbit and circular antennas.  My TV manual
    just shows the cable coming into the 75 ohms input.  Never mentioned
    splitting the line.  Where do I go from here?
                                
    Re (-1).  I believe I did see a shorter element.  I'll check out
    the splitter at Radio Shack unless someone else comes up with another
    idea before I leave work today.
    
    Thank you all for the input!
    
    KC
    
    
    Good luck.
    
    /Jeff

    Is the VCR cable ready? If it is, there is often a switch that allows
    the channels from 14 up to be either cable or UHF channels. If its set
    to cable, then the numbers will represent the cable channels, which are
    not the same as UHF, though the numbering is the same.
    
    Eric

    
    
      I had the same exact problem with a new antenna, turned out
    the UHF portion had failed (bad elements/connections) so I
    returned for a new antenna.  If your antenna has sustained
    damage from trees, old age, etc.... you may need to replace
    it if the splitter doesn't work?  Also, perhaps the town you
    live in is too far from the station tower and may need to
    amplify on UHF as its range is much shorter than VHF.
    
       Just some more thoughts...
    
                                 Mark

    Thank you all!  The splitter did the trick.
    
    KC

I have a TV antenna on the roof with a single coaxial cable running down
from the antenna into the house.  Inside, I have the coaxial cable
connected to the VHF connection on the TV.

I'm trying to figure out if the antenna is capable of receiving UHF, and if
it is, how I can connect it up to the TV.  My best guess is that the
antenna is at least 15 years old (I don't think it's older than 25 years).

I appreciate any suggestions or comments...

    Hook it up to the UHF connection and see if you can get UHF.  If it
    has UHF capabilities then some of the elements will be real short,
    only about 1/5 the length of the VHF elements.  If it doesn't have
    any short elements or something like a small bow tie, then it's a
    VHF antenna and will be pretty worthless for UHF reception,
    particularly in fringe areas.  If it works on UHF then you'll need a
    splitter so you can feed it to both your VHF and UHF inputs.  Radio
    Shack would have these.   - Vick

    
      Depending on how old your TV set is, the new TV's have a
    built in switch or splitter allowing reception of both VHF
    and UHF with just a 75-ohm connection to the VHF input only.
    
      We just put in a new TV connecting the VHF/UHF lines from
    the antenna into a single downlead (with a splitter at the
    antenna) and plugged it into the VHF input. Works fine.
    
      But of course as the previous mentioned the antenna must
    be capable of receiving both, also if you want to run your
    FM stereo off the downlead you would still need a splitter.
    
                                 Mark

         After reading these notes, I've decided to have my husband replace
    our outside television antenna with a new Channel Master one.  What are
    your recommendations for the brand of RG-59 cable to use to attach it
    to our high quality Toshiba Video Monitor? The television dealer sug-
    gested the best quality Channel Master cable at $1.25 a foot.  I want
    something which will last through our New England winters and maintain
    the signal strength from the antenna.  Please advise.  Thanks for your 
    assistance.
    
    Mary
    

re                    <<< Note 407.36 by TOPDOC::MACDOUGALL >>>
>    to our high quality Toshiba Video Monitor? The television dealer sug-
>    gested the best quality Channel Master cable at $1.25 a foot.  I want
    
      Spags sells it for (i believe) $0.25 a foot.  Works great in my house.    

I got triple 4/0 Al wire (carries 200A) for just $1.47 a foot.
$1.25 a foot for even the best coax cable has a lot of markup.

	Larry

    Is there any difference RG-59 coax and RG-6 if used for the lead-in
    from the antenna?  I saw some RG-6 and it seemed like sturdier cable.
    Would it be compatible with the 75-ohm connector on my television
    monitor?  Thanks for your replies.

Re: .39

Both are 75 ohm with F connectors.  RG-6 is physically larger and has better
shielding and lower attenuation.  Long runs of cable should be RG-6, IMHO.

    I've read through all these replies and they all deal with video.
    I have a new stereo receiver and I want to install an antenna for the
    best AM/FM reception.  Do the previous notes about the type of cable
    to use apply to this application also?  What type of antenna should
    be used for radio reception?  Is length of cable a problem?  
    
    Thanks,
    
    George
    
   

The best antenna is one that is cut for the frequency you want to receive.
If you have a TV antenna already, then a reasonably good alternative is
to take your FM feed off that with a splitter that will split the FM from
the TV signal.  Some antenna makers supress FM reception at the antenna,
and you have to break a tab or pull off a dingus (excuse my technical terms
here) to get FM to make it down the feedline.

For AM you have a couple of choices -- put up an antenna specifically cut
for AM (large) at a great height, or put up any sized piece of wire any
place that's conveinient.  The latter is known as a "random wire" antenna
and has made by attaching a feedline to a roof gutter, to a fence wire, to
a heating pipe -- you name it.

Feedlines can be similar to TV feedlines.  The thing to pay attention to
is the impedance of the different feeds.  TV coax is 75 ohms.  The flat
TV cable is 300 ohms.  There are others.  Ideally, you want to use a
feedline that is matched to what the receiver wants.  There are devices
that will convert from one impedance to another.

That's the short course -- it leaves out a lot of information.  If you 
want some technical details or specific tips, try the PARITY::SWL conference.
Although it's name implies it's for short wave listeners, it is actually
friendly  to most radio listening questions.

					>>>==>PStJTT

    Though RG-6 and RG-59 both use F connectors, the connectors are not
    identical because of the diameter of the center conductor on the coax.
    The connector for the RG-6 has a larger center opening, so make sure
    you get the right connector. Also, if you plan to do a lot of
    connections, invest in a coax stripper. They are not expensive and make
    the job much easier.
    
    Eric (who put on 29 F connectors onto coax at present house!)

       Thanks for the advice.  I went to the local cable company and
    purchased their quad-screened RG-6 cable for 20 cents a foot.  They
    were supposed to attach the F-connectors but didn't.  They said it is
    quite easy.  According to the woman in the cable office, you strip away
    the outer covering and shielding to leave just the foam-insulation and
    the central wire.  Then you fit on the F-connector and crimp it with
    the round part of a pair of pliers.  Is this correct?   Does any of the
    screening material go inside the F-connector?  Should I purchase the
    gold-plated connectors from Radio Shack or are the cable company ones
    satisfactory?  Also, should I obtain a special crimping tool?  I'm
    depending on your expertise.  I once read there is some waterproof
    material you put on the coax connection outside to the antenna. What is
    it?  Thanks again.
         Mary

    They told you the right stuff.  It is better to use crimping pliers
    made for the job - Radio Shack has them.  The connectors they gave
    you are probably ok.  Note that RG6 is a bit bigger than the RG59
    most people use.  RS sells connectors for RG6, because they also sell
    the wire, but you have to look closely.
    
    I believe RS also sells a waterproof material ( a putty, I think) that
    can be used for protecting connections from the elements.  I don't
    think it's necessary in most cases.
    
    				Steve

>                                     Does any of the
>    screening material go inside the F-connector?  

I'm not sure how your F-connector is configured, but most coaxial connectors
have some provision for having the shield contact the retaining nut.  Probably
it's a  sleeve that slides down the outside of the inner insulator but inside
the black jacket.  

>                                                Should I purchase the
>    gold-plated connectors from Radio Shack or are the cable company ones
>    satisfactory?  

The cable company ones are satisfactory.  

>     Also, should I obtain a special crimping tool?  

It's a value judgement based on cost and number of connections.  I'll bet if
you cut your cable to size and put the connectors in place, the guys at the
cable company would crimp them for you at no charge.


>                         I once read there is some waterproof
>    material you put on the coax connection outside to the antenna. What is
>    it?  

It's called "Co-ax Seal" (brand name.)  I'm sure I've seen the same goop sold
for 1/10th the price as weatherstripping, but I've never chased it down.  Radio
Shack probably sells it, or you can get it at an electronic supply house.

					>>>==>PStJTT

    RE: .44, while you're at RS, they also have a coax stripper, which has
    2 blades in a spring loaded mechanism which is adjustable for different
    coax sizes. All you do is put it around the coax and spin it a few
    times, and the coax is properly stripped.
    
    Eric

    re:connectors -a few
    
    coax connectors come in many different types. threaded, crimp on,
    compression fit, and solder types. Be sure to read the diections. Also
    F connectors come in 2 different diameters (for the dielectric [the
    plastic between the braid and center conductor]). Be sure to purchase
    the type for the cable you have.
    
    re: radio antenna
    
    whenever you tie a cable from an external conductive source (ie:
    antenna) *remember* to add lightning suppression. See your local 
    electronics parts store salesperson for details. Fialure to do so
    could cause your equiptment to be hit w/ several quadzilli,million
    volts. Not to mention what could happen to you and your house.
    
    In general: when bringing cables into a house, dont forget to strain
    relieve them if necessary, and also add a drip loop. A drip loop is 
    a bend in the cable extending several inches below the entry point,
    to allow water to run *off* the cable onto the ground, not into your
    walls. Also a little caulking around the entrance hole never hurts.
    
    rgds/-bd-

I would like to install a TV/FM antenna in my attic, and I have several
questions.

Is there a standard way to install an antenna in an attic (in the sense that
attaching it to the chimney is the "standard" way to install an outdoor
antenna)?

If I buy an antenna that is intended to pick up VHF, UHF, and FM, do all the
signals come off the antenna on one wire (coax, I assume?), or three
separate cables?

I have a two story house, with the TV, VCR, and stereo all on the first floor.
I would like to run the wire(s) from the antenna down to the basement, where
it (they) would enter a box of some sort. I picture this box having enough
taps so that I could then run wires from it, under the floor, to the TV
(VHF and UHF), VCR (VHF and UHF), and stereo (FM). Can such a box be easily
found at Radio Shack, U-Do-It, or some such place? What is it called, and what
does it cost?

And probably most important of all, what are the gotchas? What are the do's
and dont's that I haven't even thought of?

Thanks in advance,
Barry

  Barry,

  I've got my antenna in my attic and it works ok but no better.  I guess
  the one "gotcha" is that your reception isn't going to be as good it 
  would be mounted on the roof.  However, I'm in a fringe reception area
  and you may not see any problem.

  I don't think there's a standard way to mount the thing.  All you need
  is a pole of some sort (e.g., a piece of broomstick fastened to a 1'x1'
  plywood square.  You might even want to put a rotator on it.

  I think it is easiest adapt from the 300ohm off the antenna to a single 
  coax (75ohm) cable.  If you run more than one TV, you just split the
  signal.  For FM, you take one of those splits and attach an FM splitter.

  There are lots of switching boxes and I'm sure Radio Shack sells one.
  
  You can look into the VIDEO notes file on PAGODA:: and find out more than
  you ever wanted to know about these subjects...

  JP

The guy who installed mine in the attic said the only difference from one on
the roof was that it would take a much bigger wind to blow it down.

Barry,

If you have space to rotate the antenna, a roter will help you
get stations that you get off the back end of the antenna. If
not, look at a map of your area and where most of the stations
that you'd be viewing are located an point the head of the
antenna in that direction.

If you can get an antenna amplifier at the head, it's better than
in the basement. Do use low-noise coax. A drain ventpipe might be
a good way to snake the wires to the basement. The upstairs
bedrooms might be a good point to get antenna feed. I find if my
kid wants to watch Sesime Street, I can watch the news in the bed
room.

cal

    re: .3
    
    Barry, I second the recommendation for an amplifier at the head
    (antenna end of the coax).  I used to live on the "wrong" side of
    a hill from the TV stations and the amp helped clear up the signal
    quite a bit.  One caveat is that I used to have a splitter in the
    coax line from the antenna before the amp was added, but the 
    instructions on the amp are clear that you can't use the splitter
    if you're using the amp, so I bypassed the splitter. 
    
    These amps are available at Radio Shack, and are small enough to 
    mount right on the antenna.  There's a second box which goes down by
    your TV and provides power up to the amp through the same coax as the
    signal from the antenna.

>                                   A drain ventpipe might be
> a good way to snake the wires to the basement. 

You mean alongside the vent pipe, right?  

    When I moved into my house a year and a half ago I installed a
    VHF/UHF/FM Antenna from Radio Shack.  I connected a matching
    transformer at the antenna so I could wire with 75 ohm coax.  I ran the
    coax throughout my house including the livingroom where I have a tv,
    vcr and Stereo.  I recently subscribed to cable and had them attach it
    outside to a grounding connector.  This way all I had to do was unscrew
    the lead from the antenna and replace it with the cable and there would
    be no additional wiring required.  This way if cable was out or I
    wanted to switch back to the antenna it would be easy.  The only
    problem is that my cable company does not carry the FM signal.  I was
    getting great FM reception with the antenna.
    
    My question is:  Can I connect both the Cable and the antenna together
    with a combiner to carry all signals throughout the house in order to
    get both cable and FM over the same coax.  I would really prefer not to 
    have to run another length of coax from the antenna  to my stereo.

>     My question is:  Can I connect both the Cable and the antenna together
>     with a combiner to carry all signals throughout the house in order to
>     get both cable and FM over the same coax.

	you mean using a standard splitter in reverse?  I doubt it will work
	because your vhf cable channels are not *all* the same signal (station)
	as the broadcast channel assignments.

	Maybe you need to use a notch filter off the antenna before combining
	so that only FM signals will pass.

	I'm not an EE so the advice is free :-)  You also want to try
	the cable_tv conference and maybe the audio conference.

    
      Answer: No. It probably wouldn't *break* anything to do that, but as
    Jeff said, the channel assignments are different and even if they were
    all the same, I highly doubt the two signals would arrive at the same
    time which would make it seem like so much noise with the tv tuner
    trying to pick out the strongest signal. Not to mention that even if
    they were in perfect sync (time wise) they would also have to be at the
    exact same amplitude to avoid degrading the signals in weird ways.
    
      What you may be able to do is to add just the FM portion of the
    signal to your existing cable, but you would need some device made for
    that purpose. 
    
    				Kenny

    They make antenna switches--switches which allow you to choose between
    several different antenna sources.  For example, we have a little slide
    switch which allows us to choose between the regular antenna and an old
    video game.
    
    Radio Shack?
    
    Chet

    
    Yup, Radio Shack is a place with lots of those sorts of switches.
    
    				Kenny

>    They make antenna switches--switches which allow you to choose between
>    several different antenna sources.  For example, we have a little slide
>    switch which allows us to choose between the regular antenna and an old
>    video game.
    
That's all find and dandy but it appears that such a switch would have to 
be mounted outside the house since this is where the system splits.

Short of running another cable through the wall, you're limited to one or 
the other but not both.  Splicing your antenna into the cable feed will put 
ghosts on your neighbor's television sets.  The cable company will bill you 
for the repairs when the discover what you've done to prompt their phone to 
ring off the hook.

Run your rooftop antenna's feed through the wall and add a splitter and an 
A - B switch.  

Split to the stereo to get your FM and to the A - B switch 

	Splitter	IN = ANTENNA  
	Splitter	OUT 1 = A - B 
			OUT 2 = FM 

so that all you have to do is flip the switch 

	Switch	IN 1 = CABLE 
		IN 2 = ANTENNA
	Switch	OUT = TV

when the cable goes out and have your stereo hooked up permanently to your 
rooftop antenna.  

BTW, don't leave that coax F-connector out in the elements.  It'll corrode 
pretty quickly if it's not screwed onto something.

    Since all you want from outside is FM, and FM is (I'm pretty sure)
    in a comparatively little notch in the overall band (between two of
    the broadcast VHF channels, forget which two), you might be safe
    with *just* an FM antenna.   Since different elements of your antenna
    receive different frequencies, you could even modify your exisiting
    antenna to only pick the FM band, or you could put a filter on it
    to exclude everything bug FM.
    
    Only catch is that some Cable vendors put FM on their signal too.
    
    I've seen filters to *reject* FM (applied to some TV antennas), but
    not the reverse.

Indeed you can use a two way splitter to do this ... BUT ...

Your neighbours with antennas will love you as they can suddenly get programs
on missing channels on 2-13, and wonder where the patterning came from on
the channels that they used to get clearly.

The FCC will love you for broadcasting cable signals over the air.

The cable company will love you when they get in trouble with the FCC
for excess signal leakage.

Your neighbours with cable will love you for the patterns you suddenly
introduced on their clean signals.

Bottom line ... don't do it!

Whatever the other technical reasons that might make it not work as
expected.  The above are reasons enough!!!

Stuart

    Thanks for the replies.  I also called the cable company and they said
    that the reason they removed FM from the cable is because some of the
    new channels use the same part of the bandwidth.  In order to make it
    work I would need some pretty fancy filtering equipment.
    
    Bottom line:  Run a separate piece of coax from the antenna to my
    stereo or get one of those 300 ohm type wire atennas that you string
    behind.  Oh well.  It seemed like a good idea.
    

    Hmmm....
    	A factoid from the past: when I was an Arlington MA cable user,
    they had the FM on the cable, but they overlaid some of the local
    stations with simulcast stereo signals.   In this day of of Stereo
    broadcast, that's probably unnecessary, but at the time (>3 years ago)
    I had to add an A/B switch to my stereo receiver and a flat dipole 
    antenna, so I could get the stations the cable company had removed.
    
    	Dave.

	    You could try connecting a set of rabbit ears to you FM tuner.
	It would help if you just happen to have a set hanging around.

					Tim

This doesn't really fit here but here goes...

We just bought a new television and now we have three remote controls.  One
is for the TV and about the only thing we can use it for is the volume.  One
is for the cable box and this is how we turn the TV on/off and change channels.
The third remote is for the VCR (I'm not concerned about this one).

Anyhow, I'm pretty sure that we should be able to do without the cable
remote and just use the TV remote but I don't know how to manage that.

Do I need to call the cable company or change the connections around
or what?

Unfortunately, the town I live in REQUIRES a cable box even if you only
have basic cable.

Karen

Well, you'll probably get a better answer in TURRIS::VIDEO but
I'll give it a try.
If you just bought a new TV it's probably cable ready and you don't
need the cable box.  I could be wrong but hey plug the cable into the
back of the tv and give it a try.  Wadda ya got to lose.  I have the
same setup.  Cable comes in the house and goes to the VCR and then to
the TV.  Neither one needs the cable box to get the cable channels.
If they really weren't kidding and you do need the cable box, can't
you just use the volume control on the cable remote to control the
volume?  Some of the remotes that you get from the cable company don't 
have a volume control.  My first one didn't so I called them up and
asked them and they gave me one that did.
John

If it's a case of wanting to reduce the number of remotes, there's nothing
the cable company can do to help you.  What you can do is buy a "universal
remote" which will control the TV, cable box and VCR.  This month's "Video"
magazine has a review of quite a few of these in all price ranges.  You can
even get one from the VCR-Plus people that will allow you to use the
VCR-Plus codes to control your VCR's recording of shows.

Re: .13

Some cable companies require a cable box for all channels (they scramble
all channels) but your suggestion is worth a try.

			Steve

>>Some cable companies require a cable box for all channels (they scramble
>>all channels) but your suggestion is worth a try.

	This is the case in Milford MA.  When I used to live in NH, my
	cable ready TV worked without a box but now it does not.

	Due to a recent mix-up, my cable was accidentally disconnected and
	they said to me that they "turned the box off" but didn't really
	disconnect the cable.  It was "turned back on" in minutes.

	Karen

    Hi Karen.  You only need a box in Milford if your tv is not cable ready
    or if you subscribe to premium channels like HBO.  We have been using
    Milford's cable without a box for years up until last week when we
    decided to add HBO.  So now I have one cable box just for HBO which
    runs thru a video distribution box which feeds the rest of the house.
    
    Regarding remotes, as already mentioned a universal remote can be
    programmed to run the cable box, tv, and vcr.
    
    Regards, Mark

Gee, Karyn, it's sounding like your tv wasn't such a bargain after all, if it's
causing you all this trouble.  My husband just researched and bought us a 27"
Hitachi stereo tv at some bargain price.  It came with a remote that is
universal.  Well, it runs the VCR.  We don't have cable.

I hope you enjoy it!s

Elaine

    If you're careful while selecting your VCR you can get them with
    a remote volume control feature.   My TV doesn't have a remote at all.
    It has knobs!
    
    	Dave.

    You can also get VCRs that will control your cable box.
    
    				Steve

    You probably could use a splitter. Put it right after the coax comes
    out of the wall, and send 1 line to the VCR and one to an A-B-C 
    switcher box. The output from the switcher box goes to the tv.
    The output from the VCR goes to the switcher box. 
    
    With this you can watch one show while taping another. :^)
    
    (Then you need 2 VCR's and your kids can watch a tape while you
    tape or watch another... many :^)'s   )
    
    Ben
    

What about GROUNDING an antenna mast?
I don't see anything in this or the other "antenna" topics about grounding.
I have a mast on my roof, not for an antenna, but for some weather instruments.
The installation instructions indicate, in BIG BOLD TYPE, that a roof-top
mast MUST BE GROUNDED.
What's the right way to ground such a mast?
Is it different for weather instruments than it would be for an antenna?
(There are no RF signal considerations for a weather mast.)
What kind of isolation is there in the ground path (MOVs or whatever 
for brealover) or is it a hard ground?
Do I need the 10" square galvanize steel plate to sink into the ground?
What size wire do I need?  Insulated or not?

- tom]

    The traditional (but not very good) ground for such things is 8ga
    aluminum wire and a 4-foot 1/4" ground rod. Over the years, I've become
    convinced that this sort of ground does very little good except perhaps
    as a static drain. It does not meet any code that I know of.
    
    OTOH, maybe all you need is a static drain..
    
    If you want to actually have any protection at all from lightning, you
    probably want to run 6ga or larger copper, to an 8-foot 1/2" (or 5/8")
    copper-plated ground rod (commonly found in electrical supply stores).
    
    I'm not so sure you can actually "protect" against lightning with such
    a simple system, though.. 
    
    ...tom

>    I'm not so sure you can actually "protect" against lightning with such
>    a simple system, though.. 

Almost ;-)

You cannot protect yourself "from" lightning;  You can try to protect yourself
"against" lightning.

The idea being that if you get hit by lightning this stuff is history no matter
what.  If you ground it though, the idea is that you won't get hit by lightning
because of some charge difference built up on the antenna mast.

They play the same game in aircraft structures to attempt to reduce the
likelyhood of getting hit.

>                       <<< Note 407.51 by DSSDEV::RICE >>>
>
>>    I'm not so sure you can actually "protect" against lightning with such
>>    a simple system, though.. 
>You cannot protect yourself "from" lightning;  You can try to protect yourself
>"against" lightning.
>
>The idea being that if you get hit by lightning this stuff is history no matter
>what.  If you ground it though, the idea is that you won't get hit by lightning
>because of some charge difference built up on the antenna mast.

My understanding of lightning and lightning protection is that 

 1) lightning will strike somewhere in an area where a large charge 
    differential builds up between sky and ground
 2) WHERE lightning strikes is determined by preliminary charge breakdown
    between high points on the ground and the whole of the local sky
 3) the preliminary charge breakdown creates "leaders" of visible
    ionization
 4) the lightning stroke chooses one of these leaders to connect its path
    to ground - a strike

So lightning protection is a trade off between letting local ground charge
bleed off and doing it in a way that DOESN'T create leaders.

Maybe we need to carry this part of the discussion to a lightning topic.
I need to find a lightning book.

But DO I need to ground my weather instrument mast?

- tom]

I don't think there is a "YES" or "NO" answer Tom.  Its shark repellent.  The
jury is still out on it and the school of thought changes fairly often.

-Tim

    I'd ground it, probably with #8 copper and an 8' ground rod (and a good
    ground-rod clamp). 
    
    No sharp bends in the ground wire.
    
    make a loose 2-turn loop in the cables near where they enter the house
    (if you can lay this loop onthe ground, so much the better). This is to
    try to get the discharge current to 'jump off' the cables; but you need
    to have a place for it to jump to or it'll jump to the house wiring..
    (or, better, make up an entry panel out of sheet aluminum connected to
    the a ground rod that is bonded to the main ground rod, and ground the 
    cable shields to that.  
    
    ...tom