Why Is My TV And Radio Antenna Not Picking Up Channels

Does your antenna experience frequent connection disruptions? Do you want to find a solution to this?

Sometimes, maybe not so often, we experience the loss of broadcasting signals on our TVs, Radios, and Stereo systems among other devices. We thereafter tend to give all kinds of reasons behind that; some of which might not be true. This article gives you the right answer on why your TV or radio antenna might be having trouble picking up channels as our reviews & tested Why is my Antenna not picking up channels?

After suddenly losing a channel or more, you are advised to re-scan the channels to see whether it will resurface. If that does not turn out successful, re-scan the channels after unplugging the antenna and later on re-scan once more with the antenna plugged in. Scanning the channels in that order helps to clear the TV’s memory to acquire the new channel. Other options are to check out for your TV’s firmware upgrade that helps in recognizing virtual channels.

TV antenna not picking up channels

Let us look into the possible causes of signal losses from your TV antenna.

First off, the signal loss may be due to the station’s frequency change during its FFC Re-Pack. When this happens, the frequency changes and it shows on a different channel. You might be required to adjust it to the new re-packed position.
Another factor is when the broadcasting/transmitting tower changed its location. This may happen during the re-pack whereby the station may be temporarily moved to a new location as its towers undergo an upgrade. This might be solved by adjusting your digital antenna to point towards the direction of the new station’s location.
However, the loss of signals may be due to a reduction in the TV Transmitter’s power. This might also happen when the station is experiencing a re-pack in a situation where the channel might have been relocated to a weaker-powered auxiliary transmitter tower. Whenever you get this problem, you may E-mail or call the station to confirm that.
On other rare occasions, the TV station might have ceased operating for good. This automatically makes the TV station completely disappear from your profile or Channel list. Even if there is little you can do about this condition, you can at least Google the station’s call letter to find out what happened to it.
Apart from those secondary causes of signal loss, the problem might be originating from you; or rather your antenna. One of these causes might be the shifting of your antenna from its original place. From several tests, it has been found that a small shift in the antenna’s location or angle may affect signal attraction in a great way. If that is the case, you might try moving it around to see if it resumes working perfectly. Don’t forget to mount it firmly to evade such problems in the future.
However, a signal loss may also be due to a failing antenna amplifier. Since the antenna is mostly a dead-simple device, it gets prone to failure. You will want to check your antenna amplifier if such a problem arises. If it is spoilt, you can detach it and use the antenna directly. Bypass the amplifier. It works!
Another cause of signal loss may be due to loose cables. When the coax is not tightly connected to the antenna or TV, you may experience disruptions in your watching or Radio experience or total loss of both. You will need to check your coax connection and tighten it if they are not tight enough. Since finding the exact lose cable might not be easy, it is advisable to disconnect all cables and re-connect all of them. You will have solved the problem.
Another possible cause of havoc might be electrical interference in your house. You may have other devices that take in too much power or emit radioactive signals like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth devices. You should first turn off the devices or even unplug them from the shared power source. If your problem gets solved, you can put the devices one by one to find the one causing the electrical disturbance. If the situation does not get back to normal, it might be a device from your neighbor’s house. There might be little to do about that, but you can acquire tips on how to improve your TV reception.
Most commonly, your problem might be poor weather. Sometimes it gets too stormy, rainy, or foggy. These weather conditions adversely affect signal attraction. To be honest, you can least prevent such a condition and you only have the option of waiting for the weather to get better.
Another less likely cause of signal loss might be arising from your TV’s tuner. If your tuner is degrading, you may purchase another one or a DVR. Nonetheless, before you go for the purchase, be sure that the problem is worth it.
If you live in big and constantly growing cities, you could get a new physical obstacle like a building in between your house and the broadcasting tower. The new obstacle could be the one blocking the signals and to solve this; you need to re-position your antenna.
Also, another cause is the corrosion of antenna parts due to exposure to harsh elements. This can warrant a repair or even replacement of the antenna.

Radio antenna not picking up channels

On your Car radio, a loss of radio signal is quite a disturbing phenomenon. Here are a few tips on how to restore sufficient radio connection on your car stereo.

Make sure that your car’s antenna mast is extended. The antenna might be manually retracted by either someone or a bird that might have decided to perch on it. As we all know, radio antennas function perfectly by picking radio waves. If the antenna mast is tucked in, the reception of these waves might be stepped-down or even completely barred. You therefore should try checking on your mast.
Another reason for poor radio reception might be a faulty antenna connection. If your antenna’s cable sits poorly in the head unit, or a component of the connection is worn out, corroded or loose, you will find it hard to get your favorite TV stations. In this situation, carefully re-adjust your antenna on the head unit or even tighten any loose ends on your antenna.
Your antenna might have been broken in one way or the other to a point where it cannot resume normal operations after repair. In this case, you may opt to replace it. A new antenna will just work perfectly for you.
On rare occasions, poor radio reception in your car will require additional effort from a signal booster. However, these additional boosters might not be effective when the underlying cause of the trouble is an obstruction like buildings or hills.
If you have checked that the cause for signal loss is not among the above-mentioned problems, then the problem might be lying in your head unit. Sometimes, head units develop complications with time and will call for replacement.

On your Wi-Fi antenna, inadequate signal reception may be down to three things;
your device, the internet, or even the network. Resolving these issues is quite easy. You need to; check whether the router is working, figuring out its IP address, and turning it on and off again to check if it works. Moreover, if the problem persists, you can change its wireless channel, update its firmware, and check your cables or even DHCP settings. If all those efforts, bear no fruits, you can opt to factory reset your router.

In light of the above, like every other electrical equipment we have, our antennas are prone to both mechanical and technical hitches. However, that does not mean the end of TV and Radio. You can take it back by either repairing the antenna or sadly, replacing it.

However, you can try the troubleshoot option that automatically detects your problem and quickly decodes a solution for you. If the problem persists, you can also get personalized help from the antenna model’s website by directly contacting their customer care via the contact lines provided.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

a. How do TV station-frequency moves affect VHF and UHF signals?

For perfect signal attraction, your antenna needs to match the station’s signal frequency. Most indoor antennas can’t receive VHF signals; leading to low or no reception of VHF stations. Often, when TV stations move to new frequencies, they tend to retain their UHF or VHF nature. By doing this, the antennas find it easy to attract the channels in their new frequency positions.

Rarely, some channels move from UHF bands to VHF bands after relocating. In this situation, you will need to obtain bigger or stronger outdoor or Attic TV antennas to be able to receive the channels. However, when the switch happens, you can choose to remain immune to those problems by acquiring antennas from antenna models like Antennas Direct, Antop, Channel Master, and RCA among others. They offer superior and unparalleled UHF and VHF signal attraction.

b. How do you overcome topography challenges?

Since airwaves travel along lines of sight, it will get harder to cover problems involving buildings or mountains that block the way of signal reception. In this case, the only way to overcome topographical challenges might be by re-adjusting your antenna to face the source of the broadcasting signals. If that doesn’t work, you can raise your antenna a little further to have a sight of the towers. That must work.

Why is my TV and Radio Antenna not picking up Channels