OTA antenna and amount of Gain

[MizzouFan]

Forgive me if this has been asked before but I read through some threads and didn't see this question...

How reliable are the gain ratings given by manufacturers?
and
With everything else being equal, does higher gain mean improved signal reception?

My situation is this: I live in an apartment (so no roof/attic mounts) and am trying to receive OTA HD w/ a Samsung STB. I currently have a RS indoor amplified antenna (15-1880) which has worked better than any other indoor antenna I have tried (amplified Philips, Terk 55, another RS model) however I still cannot pick up one of the remaining UHF signals which I would like for Hi-Def Chiefs football. So, would I be better off going with an antenna like a DB2 (antennasdirect.com) over the current RS model? The DB2 has a max gain of 11.4 dB while my current RS has a min. UHF gain of 13 dB; which, based on specs, sounds like a downgrade. So, if the DB2 isn't any better than the RS model, it sounds like my only other options are to a) mount a small antenna outside on my patio or b) put an antenna is my storage closet (adjacent to the patio) . Any ideas on what would work best? I know this is long so thanks for reading...

[mjones73]

Just curious, how close to the tower for the last channel are you and do you know if they are operating at full strength?

[MizzouFan]

Just curious, how close to the tower for the last channel are you and do you know if they are operating at full strength?

According to antennaweb.org (search 66210 area code), I'm about 12.1 miles (in yellow) away from last tower. It's really odd because from posting on AVSforum in the KC thread, it seems they are operating at a decent strength (I can't find the exact amount of output); could too much multipath cause the issue? I'm pretty new to HD/antenna/RF stuff so please bear with me.

[kevinw]

According to antennaweb.org (search 66210 area code), I'm about 12.1 miles (in yellow) away from last tower. It's really odd because from posting on AVSforum in the KC thread, it seems they are operating at a decent strength (I can't find the exact amount of output); could too much multipath cause the issue? I'm pretty new to HD/antenna/RF stuff so please bear with me.
What exactly are your symptoms? Is the cahnnel not locking? Is it breaking up? Is it not appearing in the guide?

[MizzouFan]

What exactly are your symptoms? Is the cahnnel not locking? Is it breaking up? Is it not appearing in the guide?


The channel just won't lock. If I turn to that channel directly (channel 5.1), all I receive is a 'No Signal.'

[Ratman]

Are you sure they they are using PSIP to map to 5.1?
Also... they may map to 5.2 or 5.3. (just a thought)

Have you tried to enter the "real" channel number?

[MizzouFan]

Are you sure they they are using PSIP to map to 5.1?
Also... they may map to 5.2 or 5.3. (just a thought)

Have you tried to enter the "real" channel number?

I'm pretty sure they are mapped to 5.1 . I'm not actually sure what you mean by 'real' channel number; do you mean what antennaweb calls the frequency assignment? If so, I have tried that as well. Also, on my STB, I just enter the main channel number without the .1, .2, attached to the end. Thanks for the help guys.

[Ratman]

Yes... the "real" channel is (usually) the UHF channel that is broadcasting the digital channel.

I don't know... all I can suggest is that your going to have to experiment. Being close (less than 20 miles), you should be able to get 'somthing'.

Can you get a long length of coax and try positioning (temporarily) the antenna outdoors or get the antenna higher (like 2nd floor or attic)?

Also, what is the 'real' channel? VHF? Is so, then make sure that the 'rabbit ears' are fully extended.

[MizzouFan]

Cool, thanks for the help everyone. I guess this kind of leads me back to my original questions, though.

How reliable are the gain ratings given by manufacturers? and
With everything else being equal, does higher gain mean improved signal reception?

I'm trying to decide/figure out what my next antenna should be...

[Ratman]

Specifications are guidelines... not absolutes.

Other than gain, you need to consider, capture ratio, rejection, front to back ratio, etc....

But... the DB2 outdoors, would probably be better than the 'indoor' antenna with a higher gain spec.