Why isnt my digital tv box and booster not picking up channels?

Question

Why isn't my digital antenna box picking up channels? We even put a booster on it, and still no reception. Help

Answer 1

Could you please outline your exact setup... as in absolutely everything you have hooked up between your TV and your antenna in addition to what connections you are using and whatever other info you can give me? Just so I'm clear, your using a digital converter box and thus have a TV made before 2004?



As a reference, you can input your zip code at the following website.....



http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx



....and get a listing of all the stations you should be picking up in your area. It will even inquire about buildings, airports, and such that might be in the area, to better calculate your results. As the above poster has suggested, such things can obstruct your television signal to a good degree.

Answer 2

Did you rescan/retune for channels? This is needed everytime you adjust your aerial. Outdoor aerials usually work better than indoor aerials and for them to work a) make sure it is pointed in the same direction as your neighbours and b) keep it away from other structures such as buildings, trees and other electrical equipment, including the digital box and TV itself.



It is also important to know that after the switchover, more stations actually operate on the UHF rather than the VHF band. So if you your favourite channels are known to be on channels 2-6, they may actually be operating on a UHF channel. There are technical reasons for why they chose to stay there after the switchover (rest assured you can continue to tune-in to those stations using the channel number you are used to knowing them to be on). This all means that the kind of indoor aerial you have makes a big difference if you use an indoor aerial. If you only have the "rabbit ears" type of aerial, expect to receive only VHF channels (again, some stations are not actually operating on the VHF band anymore). A UHF aerial should also be in place (it is the one which looks like a loop or ring). Hence, look for a combined VHF-UHF aerial.



Go to antennaweb.org and/or tvfool.com to see what channels can be picked-up in your area and what aerial will be best to use in your case.

Answer 3

You're too far away for a tabletop antenna OR you have too many buildings and trees blocking your signal.