One channel - 576 - breaking up....

[eljefe2]

We have a few TVs scattered around the house.   The coax run to one room is ooooold and RG-58.   I know.  I know.  I should replace it.  Maybe I will but doing so will be a PITA and for the most part it's still working.

The only issue we have with the TV connected through that old piece of coax is with channel 576...the YES channel.  All other channels, including all of the ones on a much higher frequency, are solid as a rock.  576 is unreliable, and only on that TV.

Does anyone have any ideas what I can do to get channel 576's signal a little stronger so it can take the loss on my old coax run?

tia

[GaryDoug]

What do you get for a signal-to-noise-ratio on that channel? You need 33 or higher to be usable, preferrably above 35. That channel is probably the weakest link in the lineup.

[eljefe2]

How would I get the s/n for a specific channel?

[GaryDoug · Accepted solution]

This is how I do it. I hope someone else has an easier way.

1. Set the Verizon box to channel 576.

2. At the Verizon box front panel, do the following: press Power off, then Select, and Select again (all in quick succession)

3. You should now see a screen labeled "Diagnostics" with 18 lines of text (front panel shows "d 01"). There may be a few seconds delay for this to appear if you use the HDMI connection.

4. Press the channel down (or up) button until the ">" is positioned at line "d06"

5. Press Select.

You will see a screen labeled "Channel Status" (page 1). Press Channel down to go to page 2. You should now see page 2 with the frequency for channel 576. Remember this frequency.

6. Press Select

7. Press Channel up to place the ">" at line "d04".

8. Press Select.

You should now see a screen labeled "In-band Status"

See which tuner section has the channel 576 frequency. Directly under that frequency is the SNR for channel 576.

The screen updates with new numbers every 5 seconds, so you can make cable changes, etc... while watching the tuner stats.

When you are done, press Power

You can do this with the remote instead, if the box is difficult to reach.

Enjoy

[eljefe2]

Hey GaryDoug....

Thanks for the lead in the right direction.  The steps I had to take to get a channel's s/n were a little different that what you outlined but you were close enough for government work.  🙂  I was able to navigate through and find what I was looking for.

The bottom line is I mistakenly assumed that higher channels were on a higher frequency.  Wrong.   Channel 576, YES, is on 639 MHz here, and channels in the 800 range are in the 300 MHz range.   I can easily understand now why my old and tired RG-58 is more lossy and the the much higher frequency where YES is transmitted.

I saw s/n ranging from 26-30 dB  on channel 576 and 34+ on the lower frequency channels.  No surprise there.

With that in mind, I think I've answered my own question.  A new run of RG-6 is the fix that's called for.

Thanks for the help.

--eljefe

[GaryDoug]

The instructions I gave are for the Motorola 6416/7216 DVR's. I'm not sure about other models. Yes, the frequencies are all over the place and not the least predictable by the channel number.

Wow, I didn't read your first post for comprehension I guess. I thought you typed RG59. RG58 has no chance at 639 mhz much less at 850 or so like some channels, and the VOD is even higher frequencies. I havent seen any 58 since the 80's. With RG-6 you should see SNR's of about 36-38. BTW, Home Depot has reasonable prices for RG-6. Or you can buy it online elsewhere for even less.

Have fun

[eljefe2]

Actually, I meant to type RG-59 (75 ohm) vs RG-58 (52 ohm).  Too bad the site won't let me edit that post. But the RG-59 in question is a lot older than 1980.  It goes back to the early or mid 70's.

I'll have to get off my butt one of these days and use the old RG-59 to pull some new RG-6 through the attic.  All so my wife can watch the Yankees.

Thanks again.