Roof antenna recommendations - Athens, GA
 

Greetings from balmy (soon to be wicked cold) GA !!

Requesting recommendations for a roof antenna and amp for a fringe area.

RADAR Report: http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...2c15591ce33bac

Antenna would be aimed 265 degrees (true), ATL transmitters.

Thank-y'all in advance for guidance.

Your best shot at the Atlanta stations would be a large combination such as the Antennas Direct 91XG or DB8E paired with an Antennacraft Y10713. As an alternate, the Winegard HD7698P or Antennacraft HBU-55 offer the UHF and H-VHF capabilities of the first option in a single antenna.

Regardless, the antenna(s) will need to be mounted outside, clear of obstructions such as trees and structures (including your house).

I am located northwest of Atlanta and have a similar signal report to yours. I am using the Y10713 and the 91XG with very good success. If I were to do it again I would go with the DB8e instead because of the ability to aim each of the 4 bay panels independently. In your case one panel could point to channel 31 at 280 and the other panel at 263 for the balance of the Atlanta stations.

WSB operates multiple transmitters (at least 3, maybe 5), you only need to catch one of them in order to get their programming. Their main one is co-located with most of the rest of Atlanta's major stations and operates on UHF 39. The rest fill in areas that are poorly covered by the main signal.

The WSB translator on real channel 31 is line of sight and has a strong signal. The translator on channel 46 is weaker but still line of sight. The main transmitter in Atlanta on 39 is a two edge signal. WSB is the go-to station in Atlanta for breaking news and weather coverage...nice to have several possible directions in which to pick it up.

The channel 31 signal will come in regardless with just about anything aimed at Atlanta. It's only 18° off the aim to downtown, is LOS, and will be a good 20-30 dB stronger than the signals from downtown (less an clutter loss adjustments). Nothing special needs to be done for it. You could aim a 91XG AWAY from it and it will still come in.

Thank-you all for your recommendations - all are very helpful. Tim is right about WSB being the go to station regarding severe weather events - they get on it and stay on it. The good news is that WSB provides one of the better signals to my area. Any recommendations on antenna amplifiers would also be appreciated. Looking forward to cutting the cable soon.

Keep an eye out for a new amplifier from Antennas Direct, I've been hearing that it will hit the market soon. In the meantime, I've been impressed with the performance and durability of the RCA TVPRAMP1R.

You may not need a preamp if you use a good antenna. I don't use one in my location but I do use a Channel Master distribution amp to split the signal to four different TVs.

Thanks again for the feedback. Appreciate the guidance on antennas, pre-amps (may not be needed), and a distribution (splitter) amp (will be needed). Good to go once the frigid weather and high winds move out. Good grief, single digit wind chill in Georgia - it just ain't right !!

If you need to split the signal, you are usually better off with passive splitters - that is "passive" because it does not use a power supply to amplify the signal. An amplifier is an "active" device. A passive splitter will reduce the signal amplitude, but does not add significant noise to the signal. Basically the splitter just divides the signal in half, or in three or four parts, and what comes out is half or a third or a fourth as strong.

If the splitter makes the signal too weak, it would be better to add a medium-gain preamp at the mast (right up next to the antenna), and amplify the signal before it is weakened by running through a long cable. Then use a passive splitter to divide this stronger signal.

Thanks Tim. Again, very helpful.