Field strength meters
Posted: Fri Dec 03, 2004 2:58 pm
Sometimes readers ask where they can get a portable signal strength meter, thinking this will allow them to make objective studies of the signal. A signal strength meter is not as useful as you might think. The standard meter works well for analog stations. But for DTV, a strong meter reading is no guarantee that you have found a good reception spot if certain types of multi-path are present.
An additional complication is that there are two generations of DTV demodulators. The newer generation identifies the contributions of the weaker paths in a multi-path situation and subtracts them out. A portable signal meter based on one generation will not find the correct antenna aiming/positioning when the TV
An additional complication is that there are two generations of DTV demodulators. The newer generation identifies the contributions of the weaker paths in a multi-path situation and subtracts them out. A portable signal meter based on one generation will not find the correct antenna aiming/positioning when the TV