Use a TV Antenna? Don’t Run a Channel Scan in This Situation

[@AntennaMan]

Link to the Mediasonic DTV Box 👉 amzn.to/3Lngj75 Link to AVS Forum threads to check the status of local TV stations: www.avsforum.com/forums/local-hdtv-info-and-reception.45/ 📡 Reception problems? Sign up for my antenna recommendation service below: www.antennamanpa.com/antenna-recommendations.html

[@panachevitz]

@AntennaMan do you have a video about how to design a system inside the house? For instance, where to put a booster in the line between the antenna and TV, how to merge two antennas together to cover different sides of the apartment or house that have towers on them (like a set of towers to the north and a set of towers to the east or south), things like that. Thanks!

[@elmofeneken4364]

Been awhile since someone said this: Thumbs up Antenna Man.

[@foureyedchick]

THIS HAPPENED TO ME ! I live in Chicago and I moved from a location close to Downtown to the far North side. My favorite TV show (Columbo) was broadcast on COZI TV (NBC 5.2). After I moved, the TV was pixilating (breaking up) very badly on that channel. I tried re-scanning, and I lost the channel outright! After rotating the antenna and re-scanning a DOZEN times, I got lucky and got the channel back. I learned my lesson the hard way, and I won't push my luck again!

[@HariSeldon913]

Seems like not too long ago CBS Ch2 changed their signal and I had to rescan all of the televisions. A signal amplifier can also help with the weak signals.

[@NYfan2004]

The Mediasonic DTV box you mentioned in the video can actually also be used as a DTV converter box, which converts digital signals into analog signals to watch on old CRT TVs. Analog signals aren't being broadcast anymore due to the DTV Transition of 2009, so you can't pick up channels on an old CRT without one of these converter boxes. The box has RF and AV outputs in addition to an HDMI output. I know a lot of people use CRTs for retro gaming nowadays. They can still be used to watch over the air TV ya know. Also thanks Tyler for the great content! Been watching you for a while now.

[@admirals818]

Yes! So many people are channel scan-happy. I always recommend slowing down and first checking to see if you can direct-tune an RF channel on your TV.

[@AntennaMan]

Hopefully I explained the RF channel approach to some of my non technical viewers.

[@mackjay1777]

Great advice. I've been thru this. Most often, if I move the antenna it will fix the problem. I'll try your lock-in advice next time

[@tomg4030]

This is why TV's that offer a "scan for additional channels" are useful as they do not erase the existing channels

[@AntennaMan]

It's unfortunate this very useful feature isn't present in most TVs. It was more common about ten years ago.

[@poppunkpickersebaydemos]

Yep, one of the only things I like about my Vizio.

[@PC4USE1]

Good advice as always. The Mediasonic box is worth it's weight in gold when it comes to OTA tuning.

[@AntennaMan]

The Mediasonic Box is definitely worth the money for the manual search and signal meter.

[@Markimark151]

I ran a rescan because my local PBS station has realigned their subchannels, they removed Cozi which moved from 9.3 to 44.4, which instead we got PBS Plus, which is a rerun network of older PBS shows. I just hate subchannel realignment more than bad reception from the antenna that doesn’t need rescanning.

[@ScratchGlass9]

Antenna Man, Happy Thanksgiving 🇺🇸 Many thanks from Detroit 🇺🇸

[@brianinct4631]

I believe LG still makes TVs with a "manual tuning" option. I wish more brands did the same. As someone who has a rotor and receives TV signals from three different directions, it's nice to manually go through the RF channels and save the ones you want whether or not you are getting a signal at that moment. I don't think I've ever used the "scan for channels" option for those TVs.

[@MarjaMariachi]

I made up a game plan for scanning channels. First, sit very still and surf through all the channels to see if the signal is strong. Sitting still is important -- I have channels that go away if I stand up or walk around! When all is good, start scan. Also, I have better luck at this time of year, when the trees have sneezed off their leaves.

[@NonLegitNation2]

My mom actually just almost had this potential disaster. The true crime channel she watches all the time was losing reception really badly on a cloudy rainy day. She told me that channel always is bad but never that bad. She was just about to do a channel rescan when I stopped her. I ended up giving her the antenna I use for my TV. At first i couldn't find a spot where the reception was good, until I noticed a switch on the signal amplifier. The switch was set to short-range. I flipped the switch to long-range and like magic the channel came in clear and she hasn't had any problems with that channel since. The only bad thing Is I now don't have an antenna and the antenna i gave her is no longer available on Amazon. Hopefully i can find another one like it.

[@AntennaMan]

The flat antennas with built in amplifiers typically don't work well. Try the Channel Master FLATenna: amzn.to/40PtA1h

[@jeffaulik3980]

Sometimes I will wake up at 3 AM or so and check OTA reception for the heck of it. If oddball stations are coming in, I'll run a scan to capture these stations so they will be in memory later if I ever want to do some TV DX'ing.

[@AntennaMan]

Hopefully your TV has an "add-on" channel scan. This feature used to be more common in TVs about ten years ago but no longer is.

[@jeffaulik3980]

@@AntennaMan If the set has that feature, I don't know about it. We got a new Channel Master antenna to improve reception from Madison--we are in Rockford--but the old CM antenna would get Chicago frequently--the new one does not--front to back ratio must be different.

[@j95lee]

@@AntennaMan My TV has a "manual scan" option that let me add channels. Sometimes I have to rescan anyways, but it's better than nothing.

[@christopherboone9802]

​@@AntennaMan My LG has a manual tune where I can add or delete at will....plus I think the LG is scanning at night even when turned off ..I see added channels in the morning after a night with tropo active and I'm sleeping ..

[@donbest5024]

LG has great tv turners but tvs don't last,never had one more than 3 or 4 years.

[@MrCromocrunch]

My tv lost all of my channels randomly recently. I thought my antenna broke. Ran a scan and it fixed everything!

[@akshonclip]

ALL TV manufacturers should add the ability to manually add channels. This is extremely important for people between markets that use a rotator. Some sets wont allow this

[@CCJ1998]

I found doing a channel scan at night gives me the most channels. Since a few channels I get only come in at night.

[@AdamEbelgccengineering]

I remember during the analog TV days that you did not have to run a scan, you just go channel by channel and the TV station has been received.

[@CCJ1998]

Yeah being a kid back in those days I remember standing by the pole turning it while mom would yell at me out the window to stop turning when the channel came in. Just had to watch Dukes of Hazzard and Dallas on Friday Nights. CBS was always snowy in my market.

[@rowanvolvo5454]

Any tv maker can fix this with dumb manual tuning and a signal strength meter. Ballpark guess they could do it for less than $20/set. Must not be any demand, otherwise why not? (D/A converter boxes were invented LONG before they were sold anywhere)

[@donbest5024]

You can still do that with a lg tv but you have to manually set up in menu to rf channels ch up and down,this is good if you have rotor on antenna or turn volume up and go outside to turn antenna,like the old days.

[@generatorjohn4537]

Thanks for this advice Antenna Man!

[@kensmith5694]

Another reason to not scan needlessly is that the Homeworx software deletes the recording schedule when you do that. At some point I need to set up my recording schedule again. It is a nice thing to do when stuff you want to watch is on at times you don't want to be in front of the TV. Where I am one TV station plays some good old movies in the small hours of the morning.

[@rodgerhatfield3068]

Love your videos and thanks for all your hard work. I’ve been a Cable cutter for years now!!

[@frankm496]

Thank you, Tyler, for the great advice as always. I really appreciate you and your channel. I had very bad luck with the Mediasonic. I had two of them die on me in about 6 months. They were both ver2 units. Great tuner, but very bad quality. Very dated menus too, Never buy again. They are dirt cheap though. I have been very pleased with the ADTH tuner. Works well and nice interface/menus. They are always trying the make improvements with periodical software updates too. Nice build quality and has NETGEN. I know it's more money around $90, but I think it is worth it. I haven't any other but the original Tablo that I hated. Not sure about the 4th gen. Anyway, thanks again and keep up the great work

[@onehitsword6800]

Yep I made that mistake but never had issues getting it back especially when scanning at night time.

[@RonaldHeld]

I long for the days of the old analog signals. 😁

[@KeithCooper-Albuquerque]

Thanks! Your channel and expertise are invaluable!

[@KaydeGustafson]

Thx for that info. Also that thumbnail looked a bit scary in my opinion. I honestly might get that converter box some day although I do have a smart Vizio tv

[@HariSeldon913]

Worst part about doing a new channel scan is you get back all of the channels you removed manually. I don't bother anymore, but I used to remove things like home shopping channels and some of the foreign language ones.

[@hcmv007]

I made that mistake. It took me a week to get things back to normal.

[@chefhomeslice2663]

Thanks for the info. I’ve got all the channels I want and watch. I will definitely not throw the dice and try to get a few more channels that I probably won’t actually watch.

[@katherineaustin2477]

Thanks for this information

[@LarcR]

My main TV lets me choose either of 2 ways to run a channel scan. One adds new channels if there are any without deleting any existing ones. The other does a clean scan.

[@ChrisSmith-rm6xl]

Informative and interesting, as usual.

[@Nicholas_Chris]

In my experience I can receive weak OTA UHF TV stations and Satellite KU Band TV stations on STBs than TVs. TVs don't have good tunners like STBs, TVs in general can receive Strong and Medium signal TV channels and in some cases Medium to Weak TV signals, but Weak TV signal even with a good antenna you have reception problems. STBs have no problem with weak TV signals as long as you use an antenna with more elements and a preamp. Or a larger satellite dish with a good LNB for KU Band a 120 - 150 cm will have stable reception on weak transponders.

[@donbest5024]

Blind scan on fta satellite equipment works same way,channels come and go.

[@Dennis-uc2gm]

Yeah this pretty much means you need more antenna or a reorientation. Being around when analog was king if it was a little weak you could still watch a station with some snow, how I miss those days.

[@jackdemus7890]

Has Homeworx improved the sensitivity on their tuner for this box? I have a much older model by the same company and unfortunately the tuner is quite weak, compared to my Digital Stream box.

[@craigosterberg5045]

Thanks

[@tpl608]

My man Tyler, please do your side to side head bob and Bla Bla Bla on every video as your signature. It was glorious

[@commietube_censorship_sucks]

Get a life. Seriously.

[@diyi75]

Made this mistake a few months back... never again👍🏽

[@donbest5024]

If you have sony or lg tvs just manually put in all rf channel numbers from 7 to 36 in your tv problem solved.most areas low vhf 2-6 don't need to manually put in maybe wpvi 6 philadelphia.

[@trainman-w7u]

I rescan my channels at night to see if any added but no luck yet hopefully I'll get more next year with my antop signal gain booster adjustment is doing a fine job my channels as you mentioned comes and go probably because of weather I got mine on my entertainment system and does fine I'm getting 54 channels now with aluminum foil on the long hangers

[@gene2200]

My old rabbit ears and circle combo setup works great around St Louis

[@daledial7980]

Yep, I learned that one the hard way.

[@nohandle227]

I always used to run my scan after watching one of your videos, but I did one a few days ago after getting a new Channel Master 5g filter. Surprisingly, I went from 84 to 86 channels, and some of the weaker channels no longer pixelate. But now I have a question, I saw Philips has a filter that claims it filters 4G and 5G. I wonder if I should have held off getting the one I did? For what it is worth though, I am happy with the Channel Master.

[@nicksavage4763]

Don’t let the Boxes Overheat. They use Cheaper Capacitors in Them that end up leaking and May stop working. Ended up Running small Fan on the boxes to Prevent Failure. They need adequate airflow

[@margaretalbrecht4650]

I'm lucky if I can run a channel scan every 5 years. Because it takes rare atmospheric conditions for me receive all my current channels simultaneously. Typically, I don't get about one-third of my scanned channels. (And, yes, they're all local channels within 40 miles.)

[@kittykattlady1058]

Great to know this as I'm guilty of doing this. Does that box work with a Tablo?

[@RichardMack-y5h]

Does the time of day or the position of the sun affect reception?

[@AntennaMan]

Atmospheric conditions are typically better at night but the biggest impact on reception is your antenna

[@clarkleakins879]

I have a vintage 1975 double beam 250 mile Radio Shack antenna and a 20 foot roof top mast. Will this function with a converter box?

[@jeffreykoerber6595]

I don’t know why TVs and tuners don’t have an option to run a scan without removing channels and to run a manual scan; even the Tablo doesn’t offer this. My old Dish 722K receiver at least has the manual option so I can add the Philly stations (including the “trash signal of WPVI”) when I occasionally get them from my house about 17 mi NE of Baltimore; sometimes I just manually scan all channels 2-36 just to see if there are updates or if I get anything unexpected. My uncle lives between DC & Baltimore and has an antenna with a rotor. It’s difficult to get a scan that includes all of the channels he can pick up. I might give him an old iView tuner box that I have for the TV that doesn’t have a manual scan feature.

[@AntennaMan]

That used to be a feature in TVs about ten years ago but apparently is no longer the case

[@moss8448]

hey what was that link that shows available tv stations?

[@75aces97]

I've probably made this mistake once, but if I do have to scan I try to limit it to optimal conditions. Ideally, on a clear night, with antenna in prime position.

[@AntennaMan]

No doubt it's fine to run a channel scan periodically especially at night. Just make sure all of your existing channels are picked up before doing so.

[@krisdoody5231]

Does that antenna need to be near a window to work properly? I’d like to move my tv with that exact antenna away from the windows

[@scottymoondogjakubin4766]

Were i live ! A hole in the ground surrounded by 100ft tall pines i didnt have a problem untill everything went digital ! I was told to run a scan - turn tv off ! Turn back on and rescan again ?

[@electroimpyo]

What are the best aerial amplifier for my TV analogue

[@KD0CAC]

On the end of the same idea . There are so many channels I would never watch [ sometimes more than I do like ] is there a method of permanently eliminating the unwanted channels ? I know I can delete one at a time , but as a group ? Thanks again

[@TechHorse888]

I been told, HDHR's run its own Channel Scan every so often, not sure the exact time. I have had it populate new channels ,or very weak ones by it slef.

[@ElevatorWasher5000]

The only TV in my house with a manual scan is my Samsung TV with a V-Chip and my LG TV that is in a room with bad reception in the first place…

[@dmo848]

What's considered medium sized. I thought the small yagi was medium 🤷 guess i was really wrong

[@tomvolpone2601]

Hello, Can you attach two antennas in parallel aimed in different directions for better reception? I believe you can do that if your coax feeds are identical in length. I have a Channel Master RF amp with a large Channel Master antenna on the roof. Interestingly, I can get reception from stations 50 miles away, but local channels that are 10 miles away are not so good (different directions). So, if I added a smaller antenna on the mast facing ~ 90° from the large, it would work?

[@AntennaMan]

Combining two antennas in the way you described messes up reception both from insertion loss in the combiner and multipath interference between the two antennas. See video below: kzbin.info/www/bejne/b2KUaXutbdyNfqM

[@VideosandMemories-qi4mq]

Just wanted to know if you have any idea how to find an antenna installer. I have had no luck. Currently, my antenna is in a window in the back of my house and pulls in channels the websites say I won't get.

[@wdmm94]

Has anyone ran into a tv that doesn't have a manual rf tuner? It seems to me I saw a tv or converter box that this was the case. Or it was very hard to figure out how to do it right.

[@mc1412007]

My hdhome run quatro 4k seems to add channels on its own of it doesnt find it during channel scan. Had 95 channels found came back 2 days later and when i check it had gone upnto 117

[@XMguy]

I have had this happen with WTVF RF 5 from Nashville. It comes in only during the summer. So if I fully rescan I lose it. I only do additive or single channel scan.

[@AntennaMan]

I wish all TVs had an add-on channel scan. It used to be more common in TVs about ten years ago but most don't have the feature anymore.

[@DG-sn2js]

My old 2016 Samsung 55” TV does not have manual search!

[@AntennaMan]

That seems to be the case with most TVs. Sometimes, punching in the RF channel on the remote will add the channel but not always. Thankfully, the Mediasonic DTV box is an option.

[@kerryedavis]

Every DTV and converter I've ever encountered, had an "add channels" option as well as a full new scan.

[@AntennaMan]

Yes, most converter boxes have this feature but not TVs

[@kerryedavis]

@@AntennaMan Really? I've had several TVs and they all had it. Not always as a separate option, but when asked when starting a channel scan.

[@zracer1099]

Curious if it’s possible to have 2 antennas and be able to switch from one to another easy? Both antennas would be installed on top of a roof.

[@richardcranium5839]

a/b switch if you can find one. thing is if you have a preamp you'll need to put the dc inserter on the antenna side. the switch may cause some signal loss too

[@Jean0987654321]

Yeah...I had an old TV that was able to tune it to channel using the RF number and then it automatically added it. Now I have a Roku TV and you have to constantly do rescans if you need to add a channel in.

[@AntennaMan]

The "add-on channel scan" feature used to be more common in TVs about ten years ago. Now, most don't have it. At least the Mediasonic DTV box is an option.

[@cheezit58]

100000000000% CORECT!!!!!!

[@james42519]

Still no channels where i am. Pulaski ky. Antenna is nice if you live big city but useless anywhere else really.

[@AntennaMan]

I'm sorry to hear that. I appreciate you watching my videos anyway.

[@DaleChiTown]

Are you in Pulaski County? If so, does Somerset have any stations or towers?

[@james42519]

@DaleChiTown yeah. Somerset is small 12k pop and 14 miles. There are cloesest station news might be Hazzard ky or lexington. Wymt news. Just phone towers it seems.

[@rgruenhaus]

No individual channel search on my Samsung QLED smart TV

[@Beethoven5th]

Signal meter is buried in settings for Samsung Smart TVs

[@rgruenhaus]

@Beethoven5th my 49" had it, but not my 65" QLED. I'll ask the tech line.

[@glynnetolar4423]

What horses rear end came up with the channel scan? Analog TV just worked. It's not the fault of it being digital. It's, as usual, the fault of the ATSC 1 group. Unfortunately they will never be held account for this stupid 'feature'.

[@oceana101]

i scan late night less interference in the air try it around 111pm one night

[@laundrupatton208]

Your correct! I was watching NBC TNF. It was getting a good signal for weeks then It was getting a digital glitch every so often like a constant rhythm. Before I did a rescan I checked the antenna signal strength. It was 4 out of 10 bars ( That would be good but the glitch was dropping it down to zero hence the digital glitch. Lucky for me I just had to smooch the antenna a little by 4 inches and the signal went to 9 out of 10 bars. So when it did the glitch it never dropped a signal. I'm using a Magnavox amplified remote rotating antenna I bought from Ollie's wholesale for $24.99. People slammed this antenna real hard saying it was a waste of money it was crappy. However if you don't follow instructions or have the simple know how to assemble something you're only to blame. Making sure the thin metal connections are correct and the dipoles are aligned is very important. BTW the instructions were a little vague. But I know how to read between the lines. Also my antenna was above 30 ft. with obstacles of power lines, trees and about 30 miles from the local station transmitters ( metro Detroit area.) I make no apologies for this long comment 😂 Thanks for your review!

[@AntennaMan]

I know which antenna you're talking about. It doesn't work well but if it works for your situation that's all that matters.

[@KennethRembertNYC]

I still don't got WLNY-TV/Channel 55 (CW) yet, man!

[@johnn.4407]

Now you tell me.

[@КГБКолДжорджКостанца]

Greetings my comrade

[@AntennaMan]

Howdy! What country are you located in?

[@КГБКолДжорджКостанца]

@AntennaMan Kaliningrad, Russia

[@jefferyb304]

Doing a channel scan when a channel drops out during an E Skip event can be downright amusing. I logged stations well over 100 miles away perfectly watchable for several hours a few years ago. I live in West Virginia and have seen stations as far away as Michigan before.

[@rowanvolvo5454]

Not just the channel you're looking for can get dropped.

[@Thomas-yr9ln]

I have Roku

[@kurtissmith3513]

lol guilty of doing this.

[@AntennaMan]

All good! Sometimes you gotta make mistakes to learn!

[@InVinoVeritas.]

Help!! I've tried a bunch of in-home antennas & they've all been crap!! Can someone recommend a good reasonably priced indoor HD antenna? Thank you in advance! 👍

[@AntennaMan]

You can find a list of recommended antennas below: www.amazon.com/shop/antennaman/list/2LH365VAPDKLC?ref_=aip_sf_list_spv_ofs_mixed_m

[@wyldebill4178]

Is it worth a try to increase my mast height a few feet?

[@richardcranium5839]

just like old ladies undies- depends

[@damontroch4765]

Why do you want channels that don't come in anyway? I mean if it doesn't tune during a channel scan then chances are the signal is unwatchable anyway.

[@LeliaAutumnmn]

Your videos are always so informative and informative! Thank you for this! 🍒🧡

[@commietube_censorship_sucks]

Bot.

[@rowanvolvo5454]

Yah. If you're planning to get the mediasonic converter, do like me and order it before you tell anybody else that you're doing it now to avoid paying for stupid tariffs.

[@winterburden]

Before I run a channel scan I always verify that I'm using an HD antenna.

[@jeffreykoerber6595]

You need to upgrade to a 4K antenna 😂

[@warsaw28]

It’s only the cheap tvs that delete them. 😜

[@dennisclapp7527]

Thanks