# Multiple Roamio OTAs from same Antenna Feed?



## JBinSD (Oct 4, 2015)

I have a Roamio OTA running in my media center, an a Mini in my family room. The connection between my Mini and the Roamio keeps dropping (network issues, and losing a gateway between switches, very frustrating). Or, would it work to buy another RCA amplifier, and split the signals right at the antenna, running separate lines to the separate Roamios? (I would still need to get a second roamio)

If I purchase another Roamio OTA box, will suffer significant signal degredation if I split the signal coming off the antenna? I have fringe distances already, so losing any more signal would not be acceptable. I wanted to avoid buying anything with a subscription, and 4 tuners is plenty, but the network issues are becoming increasingly frustrating. I had 20 people over for the superbowl yesterday, and kept losing signal when both the Roamio and Mini were on the same channel. . . grrr.

Thanx for any insight/suggestions.

Joel


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

JBinSD said:


> I have a Roamio OTA running in my media center, an a Mini in my family room. The connection between my Mini and the Roamio keeps dropping (network issues, and losing a gateway between switches, very frustrating). Or, would it work to buy another RCA amplifier, and split the signals right at the antenna, running separate lines to the separate Roamios? (I would still need to get a second roamio)
> 
> If I purchase another Roamio OTA box, will suffer significant signal degredation if I split the signal coming off the antenna? I have fringe distances already, so losing any more signal would not be acceptable. I wanted to avoid buying anything with a subscription, and 4 tuners is plenty, but the network issues are becoming increasingly frustrating. I had 20 people over for the superbowl yesterday, and kept losing signal when both the Roamio and Mini were on the same channel. . . grrr.
> 
> ...


Everyone will want to know how the Mini is connected. Ethernet or MoCA? and how old (model) is your router?


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## JBinSD (Oct 4, 2015)

Mini is connected by ethernet. I have a cable modem (TW), to Trendnet Router, to Monoprice Switch 1, to Monoprice Switch 2. The system intermittenly works with Switch 2 connected to Switch 1, but if I take the single connection coming from Switch 1, and put it directly into Mini, I get most reliable signal. I checked my transfer speeds on the ethernet cable going into Switch 2, and i get between 15-19 Mbps, but for some reason the switch keeps losing the gateway mask (I don't really even know that means). . . 

Monoprice Switches are a month old, the Trendnet router is probably 4 or 5 years, but has worked well. . .
Thnx,
Joel


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## Fernwood (Sep 11, 2014)

No need for another Roamio/subscription. I would get your connection between the mini and the Roamio straightened out. But that's just me.


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## JBinSD (Oct 4, 2015)

Thanks Fern, I agree, but have had issues getting a stable connection. Tivo CSR's just tell me I don't have a strong enough signal (its around 50-70%), but I can view with little to no issues on the Roamio, its just the Mini that has issues. Also, the signal appears worse when both the mini and Roamio are tuned to the same channel, is that normal?


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

JBinSD said:


> Thanks Fern, I agree, but have had issues getting a stable connection. Tivo CSR's just tell me I don't have a strong enough signal (its around 50-70%), but I can view with little to no issues on the Roamio, its just the Mini that has issues. Also, the signal appears worse when both the mini and Roamio are tuned to the same channel, is that normal?


Perhaps that same channel is CBS or NBC? Those are usually the highest bit rate channels and will make your router work harder. Put both on ABC and see how long it works.


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## JBinSD (Oct 4, 2015)

yes, it was CBS during the Superbowl. I was bragging about "cutting the cable", but the pixelated and dropped frames didn't exactly impress everyone. I'm in North San Diego, so I changed back and forth between CBS in SD and LA, and that seemed to help.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

JBinSD said:


> yes, it was CBS during the Superbowl. I was bragging about "cutting the cable", but the pixelated and dropped frames didn't exactly impress everyone. I'm in North San Diego, so I changed back and forth between CBS in SD and LA, and that seemed to help.


My CBS HD feed during the SB was noisy too. CBS seems to have a problem. Or the higher quality feed is causing problems down the line. Only my CBS and NBC channels, if I had OTA, don't have subchannels.


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## mickinct (Sep 14, 2015)

JoeKustra said:


> My CBS HD feed during the SB was noisy too. CBS seems to have a problem. Or the higher quality feed is causing problems down the line. Only my CBS and NBC channels, if I had OTA, don't have subchannels.


MY CBS ota in CT is garbage.......... pixelated and dropped frames etc.


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## lgnad (Feb 14, 2013)

This seems like two (mostly)separate problems.

Sounds like you might have a defective switch or two there. If you connect the roamio and mini directly to your router, and if they work perfect, it should narrow down the mystery?

Also, is the ethernet cabling you are using new as well? Its slightly possible that you could have a borderline cable that was mis-manufactured or if they were ones you had lying around it may have become damaged, etc. (but id put the money on the switches)

Its possible that your router is sending some occasionally somewhat kooky signals down the line, or that the ethernet interface on your mini is dane bramaged, but the test above should help to reduce your variables and narrow things down.

---

The amp you are using on the antenna is RCA brand? What antenna are you using? 
You might need to upgrade both of them, depending on your situation/location. There are definitely a lot higher quality amps out there, for sure.

You should try for kicks taking the amp out of the loop to see how big a difference it makes. if its noisy, you might even get a better shot at "locking on" to the digital signal without it. It would also be interesting to see what difference it makes in signal level that the tivo reports with and without it.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

lgnad said:


> This seems like two (mostly)separate problems.
> 
> Sounds like you might have a defective switch or two there. If you connect the roamio and mini directly to your router, and if they work perfect, it should narrow down the mystery?
> 
> ...


Sounds logical. However, I have another TiVo person on the same headend and we always agree on the CBS (and other) noise. We even recorded the exact times once. But I'm not going to affix blame. I have issues with audio on other HD channels. I never watch SD or clear QAM enough to form an opinion. But like I said, my CBS and NBC channels have no subchannels and are normally 18Mbps even though by the time I get them my feed has added a subchannel.

I use no switches other than the one built into my router (Netgear R8000). Since I'm using a basic Roamio, I don't count the RS Corrected errors and never see RS Uncorrected unless I cause them. My Premiere: plenty of errors.


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## lgnad (Feb 14, 2013)

oh, i meant the original poster's complaints were likely two separate issues. networking problems and signal problems. i should have been clearer


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## SomeRandomIdiot (Jan 7, 2016)

lgnad said:


> oh, i meant the original poster's complaints were likely two separate issues. networking problems and signal problems. i should have been clearer


I agree. Was thinking through same thing reading thread. Reading the third post seems to indicate issue in the monoprice switches.

To OP...Amps amplify noise as well as signal. If your signal is low at TiVo, putting an amp there probably isn't going to do much good. Amps are not the panacea they were in analog

And BTW, which Monoprice model?


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## SomeRandomIdiot (Jan 7, 2016)

mickinct said:


> MY CBS ota in CT is garbage.......... pixelated and dropped frames etc.


Considering all the sky lofts going up between 57th and 59th, I am not surprised you are having issues trying to receive a signal off Empire.

ATSC 3.0 with a better Error Correction will probably help this.

However, as the other majors are on Empire, are you saying you do NOT get this on the others?

Also, what city in CT are you? Come to think of it you might be in Hartford and not NYC DMA.


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## PCurry57 (Feb 27, 2012)

JBinSD said:


> I have a Roamio OTA running in my media center, an a Mini in my family room. The connection between my Mini and the Roamio keeps dropping (network issues, and losing a gateway between switches, very frustrating). Or, would it work to buy another RCA amplifier, and split the signals right at the antenna, running separate lines to the separate Roamios? (I would still need to get a second roamio)
> 
> If I purchase another Roamio OTA box, will suffer significant signal degredation if I split the signal coming off the antenna? I have fringe distances already, so losing any more signal would not be acceptable. I wanted to avoid buying anything with a subscription, and 4 tuners is plenty, but the network issues are becoming increasingly frustrating. I had 20 people over for the superbowl yesterday, and kept losing signal when both the Roamio and Mini were on the same channel. . . grrr.
> 
> ...


There have been post in the past in the Premiere forum regarding issues with "green" switches. Daisy chaining switches even non-green switches introduces possible fail point, a green switches escalates the likelyhood of failure. Remember your actually dealing with three not two switches. Your router has a switch built in! If you need both (discrete) switches run a dedicated line from the router to each.

There is little to no doubt your dealing with two separate issues. I cut the cord several years ago going OTA with both of my Premieres. In Dallas or ABC affiliate is actually still broadcasting I the high VHF band. Living in northern part of Dallas county I need a good UHF and a VHF HD antenna. I have them mounted on a 7' PVC pole on my 4th floor balcony. I fed these into a pre-amp at the signal combination point on the pole. Inside the apartment that line feeds to the power inserter then to a two way splitter. Outside of weather events my signal is normally clear, considering it's not been recompressed by TWC it's actually better than cable. And I receive sub-channels not carried by cable/satellite providers 36+ channels (classic tv amd movies) not in a foreign language, not shopping, not 24 hours blasphemous religious zealot televangelists. Those add up bringing the total channel count to about 90 channels in Dallas.

There is a plethora of free content out there, you just need to invest in a high quality antenna. I spent about what I previously spent on two months cable bill. That was four years ago.


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## mickinct (Sep 14, 2015)

SomeRandomIdiot said:


> Considering all the sky lofts going up between 57th and 59th, I am not surprised you are having issues trying to receive a signal off Empire.
> 
> ATSC 3.0 with a better Error Correction will probably help this.
> 
> ...


HARTFORD CBS 3 WFSB, MY NBC 30 AND FOX 61 have no issues with pix. I'm using a RCA Compact Outdoor Yagi HDTV Antenna CHECK out the AVS FORUM under local ota hdtv hartford and see what other people are saying about it.I recorded Super Bowl L via antenna. I also noticed the picture faults you mentioned. Should they drop channel 3-4 and make their Fairfield County feed cable-only? Take that bandwidth and put it back on channel 3-1.


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## shoman1994 (Jan 17, 2016)

Definitely 2 different issues but poor signals will also transfer to the Mini since the Roamio streams the poor signal to the Mini. We need detailed info on you setup for the OTA portion and we need detailed information on how the mini is connected. It's tough to use the Roamio of adjusting the signal since the Roamio like to adjust the tuner around 72% if possible. Using the tuner on the TV is best for aiming your antenna.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

shoman1994 said:


> Definitely 2 different issues but poor signals will also transfer to the Mini since the Roamio streams the poor signal to the Mini. We need detailed info on you setup for the OTA portion and we need detailed information on how the mini is connected. It's tough to use the Roamio of adjusting the signal since the Roamio like to adjust the tuner around 72% if possible. Using the tuner on the TV is best for aiming your antenna.


That's true if you use the TiVo box Diagnostics. If you use the Channels, Signal Strength you get a much more real time display. My TV does have a signal strength and AGC% levels, but I need to make my Roamio happy. The TV, not so much.


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## shoman1994 (Jan 17, 2016)

JoeKustra said:


> That's true if you use the TiVo box Diagnostics. If you use the Channels, Signal Strength you get a much more real time display. My TV does have a signal strength and AGC% levels, but I need to make my Roamio happy. The TV, not so much.


That's what I'm talking about. If my signal is over 72% on the Roamio it will adjust itself down to 72%. My Panasonic TVs don't do that. I haven't tried my Vizio.

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

shoman1994 said:


> That's what I'm talking about. If my signal is over 72% on the Roamio it will adjust itself down to 72%. My Panasonic TVs don't do that. I haven't tried my Vizio.
> 
> Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk


For an OTA Roamio it will always show 72% after AGC is finished. That's a good thing unless you call TiVo's CS since they feel that the 90% seen by cable is the right number. With one coax feeding my Roamio, Premier and TV I get very different readings. But since they all work, I don't care.


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## shoman1994 (Jan 17, 2016)

JoeKustra said:


> For an OTA Roamio it will always show 72% after AGC is finished. That's a good thing unless you call TiVo's CS since they feel that the 90% seen by cable is the right number. With one coax feeding my Roamio, Premier and TV I get very different readings. But since they all work, I don't care.


Right, so its hard to pinpoint the signal with it. I used my Panasonic to aim my antenna because it doesn't do that.


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

JBinSD said:


> I have a Roamio OTA running in my media center, an a Mini in my family room. The connection between my Mini and the Roamio keeps dropping (network issues, and losing a gateway between switches, very frustrating). Or, would it work to buy another RCA amplifier, and split the signals right at the antenna, running separate lines to the separate Roamios? (I would still need to get a second roamio)
> 
> If I purchase another Roamio OTA box, will suffer significant signal degredation if I split the signal coming off the antenna? I have fringe distances already, so losing any more signal would not be acceptable. I wanted to avoid buying anything with a subscription, and 4 tuners is plenty, but the network issues are becoming increasingly frustrating. I had 20 people over for the superbowl yesterday, and kept losing signal when both the Roamio and Mini were on the same channel. . . grrr.
> 
> ...


When you say RCA amplifier, do you mean this










or something like this










Either way, you should be able to put a simple splitter like this










on the output.

The only "catch" might be if you're talking about the first one, which has a separate power inserter that feeds power to the amp via the coaxial cable it uses for output.

You can find splitters that pass DC so you can split near the amp but you'll probably need a DC block like this 











on the other leg of the splitter, or you could get a splitter that passes power through one port but not the other, something like this


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## SomeRandomIdiot (Jan 7, 2016)

mickinct said:


> HARTFORD CBS 3 WFSB, MY NBC 30 AND FOX 61 have no issues with pix. I'm using a RCA Compact Outdoor Yagi HDTV Antenna CHECK out the AVS FORUM under local ota hdtv hartford and see what other people are saying about it.I recorded Super Bowl L via antenna. I also noticed the picture faults you mentioned. Should they drop channel 3-4 and make their Fairfield County feed cable-only? Take that bandwidth and put it back on channel 3-1.


The Virtual Channel you list means nothing.

Fox is on RF 31, CBS on RF 33 and NBC on RF 35. So they are all very close frequency wise

As well as location and signal coverage wise

http://www.bing.com/maps/?mapurl=ht...req=0.0&contour=41&city=HARTFORD&state=CT.kml

http://www.bing.com/maps/?mapurl=ht...=0.0&contour=41&city=NEW_BRITAIN&state=CT.kml

http://www.bing.com/maps/?mapurl=ht...req=0.0&contour=41&city=HARTFORD&state=CT.kml

Given this, my first instinct is it has to be line of sight issue and sure enough

WFSB is only 288 Meters HAAT, where WVIT is 434 Meters and WTIC is 506.

Bottom line, your antenna needs more height.


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## JBinSD (Oct 4, 2015)

unitron said:


> When you say RCA amplifier, do you mean this
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

JBinSD said:


> unitron said:
> 
> 
> > When you say RCA amplifier, do you mean this
> ...


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