The words "weak signal" flashes on screen at different places and do not receive a picture.

If on satellite you may need to make sure it is still pointing directly at the satellite. also could be loose connection or defective coax signal wire feeding the tv from the antennae, satellite, or cable box. If satellite it can happen with heavy rain or clouds blocking some of the signal.

When a GPS device is switch on on a different place it was switched off, I could take some minutes before it finds enough satellites And when you are in a building, or close to high buildings it could take forever, because the receiver only can receive the very weak satellite signals, if it is outside and has a clear "view" of the satellites.

If you have an antenna, you are trying to receive off-the-air broadcasting. Remember that a couple of years ago the US switched to digital broadcasting and analog stations went off the air. Your TV does not have a digital tuner, so you need an digital-to-analog adapter if you want to receive anything.

The US government had a program before the switch to help pay for the adapters, but that's long past now. Radio Shack sells them as do other retailers, and you can find them online as well.

The adapter picks up the digital broadcasts and converts them to a channel 3 or 4 TV signal that the analog tuner in your TV can receive. Some models of converter also feature video and audio jacks so you can connect it as an AV source like a DVD player. Once you've hooked the antenna to the converter and the converter to the TV, you'll be able to watch your local channels again. Maybe, that is.

The trouble with digital broadcasting is that signal strength makes a huge difference in reception. With analog, a weak signal would still give you a fuzzy but watchable picture. A weak digital signal may not even be detected, or you might get a picture that breaks up (pixelation) or freezes on the screen. You don't say what kind of antenna you have, but unless you're in or very close to a large city or near the station's transmitter, simple rabbit-ears may not be enough. Many people found after getting an adapter that they needed a better antenna, even something on the roof. In some areas (valleys, remote areas, places surrounded by many tall buildings, for instance) people found they could never get any channels. If you do in fact have a digital converter already (you didn't mention one), this could be the reason you can't get anything.

Hope this helps you figure out what's wrong. Thanks for using Fixya!

The symptoms you describe are indicative of a weak signal. If all your connections and cables are in good order, then you may need to either adjust your aerial or place a booster into the system.
If you have had no problems up until recently, it would suggest to me that something has changed to cause this. The normal problems are corroded connections at the aerial, or the aerial has rotated due to wind etc.
If you choose to put a booster into the aerial system, put it as near to the aerial as possible.
If you already have a booster in place, is it working?
Regards
Zahc

Can you please explain what you mean by an unstable signal? Without details, the problem can be anything from a weak signal being presented to the tuner to a defective tuner to poor signal processing later on. Also, check the picture and sound using different inputs to the set. If hte problem is the same regardless of hte input signal, that tells us that the problem is in the video signal processing circuitry. Also, place a menu on the screen. Is the instability present with the menu display?

Thanks,
Dan

This is a problem with weak signal strength, You will need to find a better place to put your television so it can receive enough signal to operate correctly. If this does not solve the problem, you will need to check the satellite box for problems with receiving the signal from the satellite. You may need help from the satellite company to check the signal strength output and input levels to make sure its working properly. I hope this information helps you solve you problem with the loss of satellite signal in your television. Thank you for using FixYa and have a nice day!

Your problem is definitely the input signal source to your tv. It is extremely rare where a new tv has a tuner signal sensitivity problem. The best thing to do is to replace your current set of rabbit ears with a different set of powered rabbit ears that have a higher gain rating with a variable gain control. Please note that the gain control setting is critical when setting up your tuner for auto-programming. If the gain control is set too low or too high it will result in your symptom.

If you still can't get it to work you could try buying a line amplifier which you would install to the rabbit ears before the tv. If you still can't get it to work you'll have no choice but to purchase an outside antennae as a result of your being in a weak signal area as signal quality changes by such things as the switch over to digital upcoming and environmental changes.

Weak signal is a weak signal, so not sure what if anything you can do. Buy a satellite subscription???

Press Display / Info button on "TV original remote", such display will disappear.

Your friend was probably right, the receiver is telling you it is in digital mode. Try switching to analog input, make sure mute is off