# Tivo Bolts Dropped some Over-the-Air Stations, but Roamio Did Not Drop Stations



## Daddio1949 (Dec 8, 2007)

Hi,

I have a peculiar problem with my 2 Tivo Bolts, which receive TV stations over-the-air (OTA). They dropped several of the OTA stations at the beginning of August. During 2017 and until August 2018 I received OTA broadcasts from Baltimore and Washington, DC on these Bolts. At the beginning of August, though, both Bolts no longer receive the stations from Baltimore but continue to receive from Washington. What makes the problem peculiar is that I also own 2 Roamios. They have had no change and continue to receive the stations from Baltimore and Washington DC. Is there problems with the Bolts? I would appreciate any insight and solution into this problem.


I have restarted the Bolts and Roamios with no change and also rescanned for channels. I also swapped them in and out, but there was no change in the reception for either the Bolt or Roamio. The antenna is located in attic and is split among 5 TVs. One TV is not attached to a Tivo and receives all stations. I changed the splitter but to no avail. The splitter is powdered. The Roamios continued to receive the Baltimore and Washington stations, and the Bolts receive only the Washington stations.

Here is comparison of the signal strength of one of the Bolts and Roamios for a few of the channels. The Bolt’s signal is less at each station. (Sorry about the formatting)

Comparison of Antenna Signal Strength for Bolt & Roamio 
Station Information Common to Both Signal Strength 

Location Channels Station Frequency Bolt Roamio
Baltimore 2-1 WMARDT 38 32 55
Washington 4-1 WRCDT 48 57 72
Washington 5-1 WTTGDT 36 62 78
Washington 7-1 WJLADT 7 60 72
Washington 9-1 WUSADT 9 42 67
Baltimore 11-1 WBALDT 11 32 60
Baltimore 13-1 WJZDT 13 32 42


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

```
Location          Channels             Station       Frequency     Bolt        Roamio
Baltimore         2-1                 WMARDT         38            32           55
Washington        4-1                 WRCDT          48            57           72
Washington        5-1                 WTTGDT         36            62           78
Washington        7-1                 WJLADT          7            60           72
Washington        9-1                 WUSADT          9            42           67
Baltimore         11-1                WBALDT         11            32           60
Baltimore         13-1                WJZDT          13            32           42
```


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## Anotherpyr (May 6, 2015)

What was the signal strength before you lost them? My limited testing with the bolt in the MD/DC area seemed to indicate that the minimum signal strength for reception on the bolt is roughly 40 or better. Upper high 30s will come in spotty. So if I hade to guess you were probably in the low range and tree growth has knocked you out. If it comes back this fall / winter then that is what it was.


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## Daddio1949 (Dec 8, 2007)

I never recorded the signal strength before the beginning of August. Consequently, I don't know their signal strenght. I had no need to because the 2 Bolts displayed the Baltimore stations.

Also, why would the 2 Roamios display the Baltimore stations with a *higher signal strength* than the Bolts from the same location in the house. In general, the Roamios show higher signal strength for the same station from the same location within the house/

Do the Roamios have better turners?


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## longrider (Oct 26, 2017)

Daddio1949 said:


> Also, why would the 2 Roamios display the Baltimore stations with a *higher signal strength* than the Bolts from the same location in the house. In general, the Roamios show higher signal strength for the same station from the same location within the house/
> 
> Do the Roamios have better turners?


Two things. The Roamios could definitely have a better tuner and in this case I would say they certainly do but the actual number is just a calculated figure so the formula could be different.


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## Emacee (Dec 15, 2000)

I've been having the same problem in the Philadelphia area:
Bolt Poor OTA Reception
Apparently, Tivo/Rovi put a cheap tuner into Bolts and they've become less sensitive receivers over time. Some people have reported they got replacement units from Tivo (although apparently they are still using the same cheap tuner).
Like you, I tried other options. My old Premiere is still picking up all the stations it ever did. So does the TV with the antenna hooked directly to it. No doubt: Bolt is the problem.


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## justen_m (Jan 15, 2004)

My Bolt wouldn't get some OTA channels the TiVoHD it replaced did. Same cable, antenna, etc. I eventually bought a new antenna

https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Ultra-Thin-Indoor-Antenna/dp/B00X4R9VBA

I get more channels with the new antenna on my Bolt than I did with my old antenna on my TiVoHD, and vastly more than Bolt with the old antenna. The old antenna was bought for $15-20 in late 2009, the new one bought for $10 in early 2018.

[edit] For more $$$, you can get larger models, correspondinly longer range, etc.


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## Daddio1949 (Dec 8, 2007)

I agree with Emacee that the Bolt appears to be the problem. Strange, though, that both Bolts display the identical problem at the same time. I was wondering if Tivo updates could have caused the problem in both units.

I already have a large mid-range antenna that pulls in stations far and wide on the 2 Roamios or directly into the TVs. 

Hopefully, the Bolt tuners do not continue to deteriorate.


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## Anotherpyr (May 6, 2015)

Daddio1949 said:


> I never recorded the signal strength before the beginning of August. Consequently, I don't know their signal strenght. I had no need to because the 2 Bolts displayed the Baltimore stations.
> 
> Also, why would the 2 Roamios display the Baltimore stations with a *higher signal strength* than the Bolts from the same location in the house. In general, the Roamios show higher signal strength for the same station from the same location within the house/
> 
> Do the Roamios have better turners?


Looking at the signal strength numbers on the roamio indicates that the Baltimore stations are weaker and based on the number differences between the two, I'd guess they were at the bottom of what the bolt could process.

I don't know that the bolt uses a "cheaper" tuner than the previous models, but it definitely uses a different tuner.


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## Emacee (Dec 15, 2000)

In addition to the tuner issue, find out if any Baltimore stations changed their RF frequencies. Some stations have given up their frequencies for cash to open up more spectrum for mobile phones. Those stations are now piggy-backed on the HD sub-channels of another station (possibly with a different power output, broadcasting from a different tower in a different location). It almost certainly isn't true of all Baltimore stations but could account for losing some stations.


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