CM4228HD vs HD7698P - Bow-tie vs Yaggi?
I live in an area with almost exclusive 2Edge signals. I'm not happy with my present system so I am likely replacing my 91XG with a Wineguard HD7698P which is a deep fringe yaggi. I'll pick up additional Seattle channels 9 and 11 on Hi-vhf and use the 91XG to pick up the local channel 7 repeater since channel 7 out of Seattle never really worked well for me.
I recall reading an experienced poster here on the forum who recently claimed that these deep fringe antennas need more surface area to overcome signal dropout problems. Is that true? I have lots of dropout problems! If so perhaps I should consider the change to an 8 bay bow-tie such as the Channel Master CM4228HD that 'teleview' recommended to me or a DB8. Ken |
You will find that the 91XG will outperform the 7698 on UHF (it has no expectation of VHF performance, use a separate VHF antenna for that). The 91XG has higher gain, greater F/B ratio, and a narrower beamwidth bay almost half.
You do realize the 7698 is 14' long, don't you? Quote:
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Hey, ADTech, I can always count on a healthy dose of reality coming from you! Thanks for weighing in.
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Since I removed the PCT preamp the random stuttering on 100 percent signals has stopped. And channel 7 (39) has completely dropped out. It is difficult to assess the relative performance of various antennas. Some have claimed/measured performance figures; some don't. I was very surprised to find the DB8 has a claimed gain of around 17 dBi. Having some background in antenna theory it is hard to believe that 8 wideband dipoles mounted on a simple reflector could have that much performance. They used to call those "bedspring antennas." I know they have a very wide beamwidth so I was wondering about the claims for more signal stability due to the larger reflector capture area. I had thought about getting a combined vhf-hi/uhf to pick up Seattle 9 and 11 since they transmit from the same area on Queen Anne Hill and it was clear that I needed a second antenna anyway. If the CM4228HD or DB8 is not the appropriate antenna for my situation then I suppose I could forget 9 and 11 and get a 42XG to pick up the channel 7 (26) repeater which is nearly 180 degrees from from the Seattle heading. I appreciate your experience in these matters. Ken |
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I cannot support three antennas. Seattle and the Silverdale repeater are opposite one another in my location so I will have to forgo the hi-vhf channels. The 91XG is a very impressive performer and I will keep it. Thank you for helping me make this decision. |
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Adding a high-V antenna to the 91XG would be your best bet for the VHF stations. I find it's helpful to think in real estate terms for a rough analogy. A 2000 sq ft ranch has the same square footage as a two-story house with 1000 sq ft on each floor. One big floor vs two smaller floors vertically stacked, about the same square footage. |
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Ken Oh, perhaps you meant high-vhf. How could I support three antennas? |
Hi- VHF (Ch 7-13) does not cover Lo-VHF (Ch. 2-6)
The 91XG is tiny compared to the 14' Winegard. Very impressive for its size. |
You will find additional discussion in another topic Difficult location 15 miles west of Seattle The 91XG is over 7 and a half feet long!
My priority for picking up additional stations is first channel 7, then 9 and then 11. Channels 9 and 11 are holding their original channel assignments in the high-vhf band. Since they have transmitter/towers in the same area on Queen Anne Hill in Seattle it seemed like it would be easy to add them with a bigger antenna covering both high-vhf and uhf. However, I have still been plagued with occasional stuttering on most other stations. It was difficult to pin down the culprit since our commercial TVs are known to have questionable signal handling quality because manufacturers know that 95 percent (or more) people now use cable TV. I have been using a PCT TV preamp and yesterday I removed it from the system. I lost channel 7 but - the stuttering stopped! So, I fine tuned the position of the 91XG and found I could occasionally pick channel 7 but it was not watchable. Thinking some more, I remembered I had tweaked the PCT MA-B1015-1A-VG preamp for maximum gain. Could this be the problem? So, I replaced the PCT and reduce the gain to its minimum. Channel 7 was stuttering but more watchable. With the PCT back in the system almost all the other channels now had the occasional stuttering again which means this preamp is likely suffering from some sort of intermodulation distortion. My conclusion is that either I got a bad PCT or channel 13 is just too close and will saturate the front end of any preamp I use. I do have an article that tells how to make a tuned stub filter and I am thinking of making one just for channel 13 :mad: For now I will be content to forgo 7, 9 and 11. I still have 4, 5, 13, 16, 20 and 22. Not so bad. Peace! Ken :cool: |
For an inexpensive ch 13 attenuator, get one of these: http://www.channelmasterstore.com/JO..._p/cm-0583.htm Put a terminator on the ch 13 input and run the signal trough the Jointenna.
You also have a very strong UHF 14 coming in off the back of the antenna. If you can find one, a Channel Plus NF-469 will cool it off a lot. The gain control on that amp is irrelevant. It's only for the active return path which is not used in an OTA application. It's actually a drop or distribution amp intended for cable TV applications, it's not a preamp. |
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I am considering the TVPRAMP1R and 42XG to pick up the channel 7 (26) repeater. Quote:
Ken |
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