Quote:
Originally Posted by Tvaddict17
I have the DB8e and MCM-30-2476 antennas and the antennas direct combiner on the way.
I'm hesitant on another preamp due the fact that only 11 and 13 would come in. (both VHF) with the Winegard preamp. What are the differences between the Juice, the RCA, and the Winegard? Is it something that would benefit my situation? What makes the first two better?
|
I can tell you about the preamps, but I can't understand why a preamp isn't helping you when it should.
The Juice is a high quality preamp that is resistant to overload and has a low noise figure that improves the reception of weak signals. If there is a problem with it they will fix it, even if you have had it for a long time. If you buy it, and it doesn't help you, they will accept a return.
The RCA TVPRAMP1R is an inexpensive preamp that performs well, but has a history of quality control problems. In particular, when using it in the separate mode for a UHF and a VHF antenna, the switch doesn't always make good contact with the VHF antenna. The fix is to set the antenna switch to Combined and use a UVSJ before the preamp input.
I'm using the RCA TVPRAMP1R with my indoor antenna, and it works well for me.
When the Winegard LNA-200 first came out, it was a pretty good preamp. Then, they redesigned it to meet a lower price point, which degraded its performance. It doesn't have good internal shielding to reject interference, and doesn't tolerate overload very well.
The theory and practical experience tell me that a preamp should help you with the Seattle signals because it improves the system noise figure, making it possible to receive weaker signals that have a more negative noise margin.
It could be that the improvement is masked by the fickle behavior of signals received with the enhancement of tropospheric propagation at this time of year. You will need to wait until winter when that type of propagation is rare.