Last month I put an antenna strap mount on my chimney and put a 6 foot piece of 1 inch galvanized pipe in it. Then I went shopping for an all channel TV antenna. I had a UHF antenna, but I figured that I should install a decent VHF/UHF antenna.
I went to Radio Shack and the cheapest outdoors antenna they had was 85 dollars, and I figured since they’re always overpriced (the strap mount cost $30!), I could find one cheaper somewhere else. So I went to Fry’s Electronics. Their shelf said Channelmaster 3016 for $40 or $60, I forget which, but the shelf was empty; they were sold out. I asked the clerk where I could get one, and they said another store in Fountain Valley. A week later, I went to that store and they were sold out. Oh, well. Forget it for now. Maybe later I’ll go online and order.
So I had a friend of mine over, and we went on the roof and installed the UHF antenna*. I drilled a hole through the wall and ran the RG-6 coax through, and connected it to an extension and to the TV. I turned the TV on and the UHF channels worked great. Then I flipped to the VHF channels, and they all worked okay, too. An added bonus, I guess.
Sometimes when the signal is weak, the digital channels will just give a “NO SIGNAL” display on the screen. It’s not like the old days when you could watch the analog TV channel with a little bit of snow in the picture; the digital TV receiver just doesn’t work. And that’s what puzzles me! I have not had any interference or NO SIGNAL at all on the VHF channels. I had a few on one of the UHF channels, but it cleared up in a few days, which leads me to believe that the problem may have been at the TV station.
But here I am, watching the TV for the last few weeks, apparently defying the laws of physics by watching VHF channels come in clear on an old UHF TV antenna. Strange, huh?
* If you’re going to work on the roof, get someone to be around to pick up the pieces in case you imitate Humpty Dumpty. Safety First!