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Originally Posted by MetHerb
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In a situation where you have two different antenna's like a VHF antenna and a UHF antenna, would it be practical to have two pre-amps, one for VHF and one for UHF and have them before the joiner? Or am I doing it correctly in joining the antenna's and then sending them through the preamp and to the tuner?
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Thanks again!
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I would only consider separate preamps to be "practical" if they produced results. If you are already close to reliable reception of a weak signal with one preamp at the output of the UVSJ combiner and are trying to squeeze the last bit of performance from the system (having exhausted all other options of improving net noise margin), then consider the use of separate preamps on each antenna.
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I'm also curious what you meant by good technique during assembly. Anything I should know? I'm not a pro...just someone trying to maximize my signal strength and minimize my signal loss.
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Older crimp type connectors are prone to both 'under-crimping' & 'over-crimping'. If not crimped tightly enough, you get a poor shield connection or even a loose fit the separates from the cable. If over-crimped, you get an impedance change in the cable at that point which can cause loss and signal reflection in the cable. Even with commercial grade crimp tools, variations in connector dimensions would make for trouble. (In my past career in the telecom industry, we used some very expensive Belden crimp tools. We had to be careful to spec the Belden F connector to be sure we got reliable results. I've never been satisfied with the consumer grade crimping options.
The newer compression type connectors are very consistent if you use the correct stripping dimensions and make sure there are no scraps of wire or foil left to short the center conductor to the shield. The connector should not need a great amount of force to slide onto the prepared cable end. If you have to use lots of force, you may be snagging the shield or core insulation. You can look down the barrel of the connector to align the axis of the connector ant the cable as you push the two together.