Best of the Blog 2017, Volume 4

The Solid Signal Blog is your resource for thousands of articles and reviews, with new content coming every day. 2018 marks our twelfth year since our humble beginnings, and today over 200,000 people read the blog every month. Every month, the staff gets together and gathers articles that really seem like they have long-term appeal. Here’s the list for April, 2017:

  1. Set your DIRECTV DVR to the correct time zone if you’re in an RV
  2. NICE AND EASY: Why are some antennas covered in white plastic?
  3. Can you use a Genie DVR on a boat (or yacht, or ship?)
  4. Error 721 on your RV’s satellite receiver? We can fix it!
  5. How long can a satellite last? Try 50 years
  6. Can you use a coat hanger as an antenna?
  7. How does satellite TV work on planes?
  8. People say they get TV stations from 120 miles away. Are the lying?
  9. Do compact antennas perform as well as larger ones?
  10. FCC concludes historic spectrum auction, 1,000 stations affected
  11. What is GLONASS?
  12. NICE AND EASY: What is TVRO?
  13. NICE AND EASY: What is VSAT?
  14. Do you need an antenna rotator?
  15. NICE AND EASY: What’s so good about DIRECTV SWM?
  16. Use QuickTune to pick from your 9 favorite channels
  17. Why can’t you just take a teeny-tiny antenna, and amplify it like crazy and…
  18. What is a ground plane?
  19. Will you need a whole new cell booster for 5G?
  20. Use a TV antenna for cellular? it could work…
  21. “Most of my antenna isn’t even connected to the cable.” How can that actually work?
  22. Why do some antennas look like satellite dishes?
  23. NICE AND EASY: Can you take your antenna with you when you travel?
  24. NICE AND EASY: Why do DIRECTV Receivers always say “Performing Receiver Self Check” when they boot?
  25. Can you paint an antenna?
  26. What is an anechoic chamber?
  27. Is there a wrong way to hook up a band stop filter?
  28. Is laminated aluminum better for antennas?
  29. Cables: How short is too short?

 

About the Author

Stuart Sweet
Stuart Sweet is the editor-in-chief of The Solid Signal Blog and a "master plumber" at Signal Group, LLC. He is the author of over 10,000 articles and longform tutorials including many posted here. Reach him by clicking on "Contact the Editor" at the bottom of this page.