My TV won't pick up local channels

[cinque8]

Hello,

 I just purchased a 19” Insignia TV from Best Buy and I connected a One For All City indoor antenna to it via a coaxial cable. I scanned for channels, and it picked up 29 channels, but none of my 7 local channels, like the local ABC station, or the local CBS station, or the local NBC station. How can I get my TV to pick up my local stations?

Thank you

[MosherIV]

Hi welcome to the eev blog forum.

I am unfamiliar with how broadcast tv works in USA, especially what state you are in.
In general failure to pick up station is down to tuner sensitivity and the signal strength picked up by the ariel.

Try in different rooms around your home.

In general, try to use  an external roof mounted ariel.
A signal booster may help.

[oPossum]

You may need an larger outdoor antenna to get some stations.

This website will show you how far away the broadcast towers are and what type of antenna is needed.

https://www.antennaweb.org/

[Martian Tech]

Go here:
http://www.receptionmaps.com/Advanced-TV-Maps.html
and see what channels you can expect to receive, and their predicted signal strength.

[Brumby]

There are several factors that affect how well you receive any sort of RF signal...

 * TV station transmission power.  Nothing you can do about this - but an amplifier might help if the quality is OK, but the level is low.
 * What is between the transmitter and receiving antenna.  This includes terrain and buildings.  Signals don't travel too well through hills and high rise structures. Brick and concrete walls are great attenuators - as are appliances like fridges.
 * Type and location of the antenna.  Indoor ones are a compromise for convenience.  They can never perform as well as a decent outdoor one mounted as high as possible.
 * Orientation of antenna. A directional antenna pointing the wrong way isn't going to function too well.  This can be a problem if your various transmitters are in different directions from your location.  Sometimes the answer is to have more than one antenna and couple them.
 * Is your antenna suitable for the frequencies you need to capture?  (A UHF antenna is going to be limited in its usefulness for VHF signals.)
 * Reflections.  This is an area of great frustration for locations with marginal signal strength as a reflected signal off a building (say) can interfere with the direct signal because they are out of phase.  Relocation of the antenna to shield it from reflections - or use the reflected signal and shield from the direct one - could provide relief.  Typically, a more directional antenna can be less susceptible to this sort of problem.
 * Some indoor antenna have multiple elements with a switch that connects them in different configurations.  Sometimes you will fond a setting that works for all channels of interest - and sometimes you will have to change the switch when you change channels.
 * Holding your tongue at the right angle.
 * Luck.
 * All of the above.

[Teledog]

Might suggest a directional antenna.
Aim toward the strongest station transmitters. (https://www.tvfool.com/)
Made one of these https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1086721  initially..to get addicted to OTA.. but there are a lot "bow tie" antenna plans.- cheap coat-hanger wire
Bought an RCA ANT751R & it works well (with an amplifier) for 2 TVs ..even with a splitter.
A few directional antenna aiming apps for the phone..they do work well.
Get ~ 21/22 OTA stations here in Vancouver, BC.. a lot of religious & market stations though.
G'Luck!

PS: You HAVE to do an air scan ( on your TV setup) for channels every time you change your external antenna,
even then, the stations seem to change every few months or so, so scan regularly.

[CatalinaWOW]

As to why no local stations but lots of others you may have the same situation as I do in my area.  The local stations are all at one location on a local mountain top.  They have been there for decades and have all of the rights and support infrastructure.  The other stations apparently couldn't work out a cooperative agreement on the towers of the existing stations and ended up on a different mountain about 90 degrees away. 

With a single antenna you have your choice of one or another group of channels. 

[0culus]

As to why no local stations but lots of others you may have the same situation as I do in my area.  The local stations are all at one location on a local mountain top.  They have been there for decades and have all of the rights and support infrastructure.  The other stations apparently couldn't work out a cooperative agreement on the towers of the existing stations and ended up on a different mountain about 90 degrees away. 

With a single antenna you have your choice of one or another group of channels.

Two antennas and a diplexer?

[CatalinaWOW]

As to why no local stations but lots of others you may have the same situation as I do in my area.  The local stations are all at one location on a local mountain top.  They have been there for decades and have all of the rights and support infrastructure.  The other stations apparently couldn't work out a cooperative agreement on the towers of the existing stations and ended up on a different mountain about 90 degrees away. 

With a single antenna you have your choice of one or another group of channels.

Two antennas and a diplexer?

Of course.  As pointed out previously.  My comment was more directed at a possible reason for directional separation of local channels vs others. 

[CatalinaWOW]

He also could be a victim of what some in my hilly area encounter.  No line of sight (or near line of sight) to the location where the local channels are.  No amount of antenna gain can help these people. It can be surprisingly local.  I once lived at a place in Southern California that had no public TV reception.  But people just a few blocks away did(between 500 and 1000 meters away).  I initially thought I would put up an antenna mast, but after doing the math on the topo map abandoned the idea.  Would have required a several hundred foot mask in an area that was designated an aerobatics practice zone by the FAA.

[vk6zgo]

As to why no local stations but lots of others you may have the same situation as I do in my area.  The local stations are all at one location on a local mountain top.  They have been there for decades and have all of the rights and support infrastructure.  The other stations apparently couldn't work out a cooperative agreement on the towers of the existing stations and ended up on a different mountain about 90 degrees away. 

With a single antenna you have your choice of one or another group of channels.

Two antennas and a diplexer?

A rotator?

[SG-1]

 Had a similar problem with my first flatscreen.  I could not receive channels 4,7,13,21 even though they were closer than the stations I did receive.  Swapped a 15ft double boom for a set of quad bowties & still the same.  With nothing else to loose I broke down & read the manual.  My problem was an internal setting in the TVs menu.