We've been getting marginal television reception for the past year. However, since we did get Channel 20 (Kiku) which is Mom's Japanese station, Brian Williams and Diane Sawyer, we were content enough. We couldn't get Fox most of the time so I wasn't able to watch House, but that was OK.
And then it occurred to Art that when Sunetrics was putting on the solar panels last year, they may have accidentally moved the antennae that we have pointing as perfectly as possible in the right direction up in the attic crawl space.
Now here's the problem.
Art can move the antennae, but he can't know how well the TV reception is around the house.
While Art was moving the antennae in the hot attic, I was in my room (sitting on my Stressless chair with my feet up) checking out which channels were coming in clearly or not at all.
Then we discovered that what might be coming in upstairs was NOT coming in downstairs in the kitchen. Sheesh!
So I asked mom to watch TV downstairs and yell up numbers 1-5 for the quality she was getting. 5 for crystal clear, 3 for breaking up, 1 for nothing/blank screen. I hope the neighbors didn't think we were nuts as Mom on the 1st floor called out "Channel 4 is 3." Then I'd relay the message from the 2nd floor landing to Art in the attic yelling, "Mom says 4 is 3!"
This went on for a couple of hours because if Brian Williams came in, Diane Sawyer was gone. And at one point we almost lost Mom's Japanese channel. Yikes! The problem here on Oahu is that the broadcasting towers are located in two different directions and we live in the middle.
Then I remembered once when we used to have rabbit ear antennae that didn't work a long time ago, I would sometimes attach a wire to the ears and then drape it up to a metal shelving unit or some other crazy thing. Sometimes it worked.
I suggested Art do this.
"It won't work," the engineer said. The length of the antennae rods determine which channel comes in. You can't just stick something metal on it and think it'll work." (I think that's what he said. I can't remember. I'm sure he'll say I misquoted him.)
After my 4th or 5th time of saying, "Try attaching a piece of foil to it. How about my metal crutch? (Remember when I broke my foot?) Can't we stick some metal pole to it? How about a hanger?"
Finally, just to quiet me down he found a piece of scrap aluminum folding door guide and stuck it to the antennae. He thought he could then pull it through to shorten or lengthen it.
And guess what? It worked! Now we get all the channels and more! And it's FREE TV. Don't we make a great team? Eventually?
And then it occurred to Art that when Sunetrics was putting on the solar panels last year, they may have accidentally moved the antennae that we have pointing as perfectly as possible in the right direction up in the attic crawl space.
Now here's the problem.
Art can move the antennae, but he can't know how well the TV reception is around the house.
While Art was moving the antennae in the hot attic, I was in my room (sitting on my Stressless chair with my feet up) checking out which channels were coming in clearly or not at all.
Then we discovered that what might be coming in upstairs was NOT coming in downstairs in the kitchen. Sheesh!
So I asked mom to watch TV downstairs and yell up numbers 1-5 for the quality she was getting. 5 for crystal clear, 3 for breaking up, 1 for nothing/blank screen. I hope the neighbors didn't think we were nuts as Mom on the 1st floor called out "Channel 4 is 3." Then I'd relay the message from the 2nd floor landing to Art in the attic yelling, "Mom says 4 is 3!"
This went on for a couple of hours because if Brian Williams came in, Diane Sawyer was gone. And at one point we almost lost Mom's Japanese channel. Yikes! The problem here on Oahu is that the broadcasting towers are located in two different directions and we live in the middle.
Then I remembered once when we used to have rabbit ear antennae that didn't work a long time ago, I would sometimes attach a wire to the ears and then drape it up to a metal shelving unit or some other crazy thing. Sometimes it worked.
I suggested Art do this.
"It won't work," the engineer said. The length of the antennae rods determine which channel comes in. You can't just stick something metal on it and think it'll work." (I think that's what he said. I can't remember. I'm sure he'll say I misquoted him.)
After my 4th or 5th time of saying, "Try attaching a piece of foil to it. How about my metal crutch? (Remember when I broke my foot?) Can't we stick some metal pole to it? How about a hanger?"
And guess what? It worked! Now we get all the channels and more! And it's FREE TV. Don't we make a great team? Eventually?
LOL I love your telling of this story!
ReplyDeleteI guess sometimes too much knowledge is crippling. We who just limp along on intuition and memories of past experience are not bound by it.
My husband and I have had a very similar experience with a "coffee can" antenna...and like you, we make a great team.....in the end :)
ReplyDeleteGosh you're smart, Kay, genius idea! You just improved quality of life! You and Art are a good team for sure.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it good to be proved right sometimes! We have good reception here and receive far too many television channels, but we only watch a very small proportion of them.
ReplyDeleteYay for you! And sometimes an expert knows too much to find the obvious solution! Congratulations on fixing your problem and making it even better. :-)
ReplyDeleteWe just finished the project of mapping the house's electrical circuit box...figuring out which lights and outlets were on which circuit. We found that our cell phones were really useful, especially when Hubby was in the basement by the box and I was up on the second floor!
ReplyDeleteWe pay Oceanic Time Warner Cable $143 per month. This covers High Definition cable TV and the Internet. Works for us!
ReplyDeletegood for you. I remember putting a sheet of aluminum foil on our rabbit ears and it worked too. You should have a new title...assistant electronic engineer! lol...
ReplyDeleteYou are so entertaining! I loved when you referred to Art as the 'engineer'. Did you say the words...I told you so?
ReplyDeleteA great team. Good for both of you. You for not giving up and Art for going with your suggestion!
ReplyDeleteAm feeling better!
Kathy G: We have only one cellphone so it wouldn't have worked for us.
ReplyDeleteGigi: $143.00? That's about $133.00 more than Art is willing to pay. :-)
Mare: Actually, Art did get his Bachelors in electrical engineering. He says the difference is that he's not an electrician. His masters was in Public Health. Hmmmm... Did I say those actual words? Probably. I don't think I could have resisted.
Peggy: Yaeeee! I'm so glad you're feeling better!!!! What a relief!
ReplyDeleteHow funny, I love it! It really hacks me when my husband won't listen to my ideas and then someone else tells him the samething and it works......men....lol
ReplyDeleteNow you have to figure out how to get House! Don't you love that show?
This is such a great super story the way you told it. I laughed so hard all the way. One thing I thought might have helped with the communication (though that was the funniest part) is a set of walkie talkies. They still sell this stuff at Costco (or was it Sams), although no longer at Office Depot and retail stores. We keep it in the car and use it when shopping. That way, my husband who doesn't like to shop with me because I use coupons can sit in the car in the shade and move up when I'm done to pick me up at the store entrance. Also when I'm in the store to ask him to come in and try on something, or ask his opinion, how many or should I buy it? Also these walkies have a weather channel built in and a bunch of other features which is great for outdoor camping/hiking. We even use it in the house to prevent....ummm neighborly disturbances.
ReplyDeleteL.
Nanny: I haven't seen House in so long I don't know what's been going on. The show started to make House so annoying that we stopped watching for a time. I may give it a try again. I did use to love it.
ReplyDeleteL: We do have two sets of walkie talkies somewhere... somewhere...
I'll have to go look for them. They're so big and cumbersome that I'd find it hard to use them in a store. I wonder if they make them smaller now. Hmmm... I think I'll check Amazon.
Amazing and cute. But does Art know WHY the aluminum piece is working?
ReplyDeleteHouse was getting more obnoxious than my most arrogant real doc at work, so I lost interest.
Have fun cruising the channels.
DrumMajor
This is why I subscribe to Verizon's FIOS system. I hated those days of fiddling with the antennae.
ReplyDeleteYou guys are tech-no wizards. Dianne
This was a fun read. I could just picture your mother on the first floor yelling "four is three," etc., up to you so you could then yell that message up to Art. I'm glad the whole ordeal had such a good ending and you now have excellent t.v. reception.
ReplyDeleteYou are all a great team! You need each other.
ReplyDeleteI love it when common practice, like putting aluminum or a piece of metal on antennae works, and when it trumps engineering know how.
Ha ha, I just love it. Poor Art. Crow is just not a tasty dish to eat.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy.
Nothing can go wrong at Kawatachi residence .... you are a wonderful team :)
ReplyDeleteWell, I have to confess that we pay over $200 a month for cable TV, internet and land line phone. But I applaud your finding a way to get good free TV!
ReplyDeleteGreat story Kay, sometimes it pays to listen to the wife doesn't it? LOL. Seem to remember running into similar situations in the not so distant past ;)
ReplyDelete