Antenna Advice Winnograd HD7696P

[bikedoc]

I am looking for some advice on Antennas. I borrowed a Winograd HD7696P from a friend and tested it at my location. I got very strong signals on all of the channels from the Sutro Tower that is 12.5 miles away, but the signal was much lower on channel 11. CH 11 is 17.5 miles away and the tower is not as high. There is a large hill between me and the towers. The signal improves with raising the height off the ground from 20 to 30 feet. However, the HD7696 is big and my wife is concerned about the appearance and would like something smaller and lower. Any suggestions on getting better reception on ch 11 or would a different antenna help. The HD7696 has a 10 db gain on ch 11 not sure if gets any better going smaller.

Thanks

[GroundUrMast]

By clicking on the call sign listed in your TVFR (http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d3f5bc9b85dcb78) you can see an image of the path from the tower to your location.

The following is the graphic for the KNTV profile. http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d3f5bc9b85dcb78%26t%3dALLTV%26n%3d5

It shows that there is quite a bit of terrain blocking your line of sight view of the towers. I would think that the Winegard HD7696P or even the HD7698P would be one of the best available antennas for your situation. Your other choice would be to use two antennas, a UHF only and a high-VHF only such as the Winegard YA-1713 or Antennacraft Y-10713. (These are 100 to 120" in length) Two antennas sound like a step in the wrong direction if aesthetics are more important than reliable reception.

...not sure if gets any better going smaller.
No, the situation gets worse. Smaller antennas will have less ability to gather signal power from the air. You need a high performance antenna.

I'll preemptively answer a potential question - Can a small antenna with an amplifier give reliable reception?

If the signal is too weak, masked by background noise or interference then no, an amplifier won't help. Amplifiers can make the weak signal stronger but they also amplifier the existing noise and add more noise and distortion. Antennas receive signal, amplifiers don't.