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Originally Posted by dcp12345678
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Can you tell me a little about these signal combiners? Are there any you recommend? I really want to keep things simple with the TV, without having to deal with rotators, A/B switches, etc. In other words, I would probably just live without WGPX if it meant having to use an A/B switch or rotator.
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Tinlee.com is a source of CATV and MATV grade filters. The
AC7-Series Antenna Signal Combiner (spec'd for real channel 14) is the item I had in mind earlier. It is a three port filter. One port for a single channel input another port for a broadband antenna source and the third port for the combined output. You would need to contact them for pricing and availability. It offers to combine signals from two sources so that rotating or switching is not required by the viewer.
I don't read that as a limit... It simply means that the FCC will allow a local jurisdiction to require a permit for structures higher than 12'. A tripod and 10' mast on top of a 2nd storry roof would be the envy of many OTA enthusiasts... I suggest you look at the estimated signal of WGPX using the roof peak plus 10' AGL value. If you could afford a tower, plug in the height of that. If you see an increase in NM of a few dB or more, the cost to go higher would likely pay off in reception reliability.
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If I decide to just give up on WGPX but do want to go with a higher powered antenna to get some of the farther away stations, like in Charlotte for example, would going with the XG-91 as a single antenna solution be the way to go, or would it be better to go with a 4 bay solution like the Wineguard or Clearstream4?
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The U4000 and other 4-bay panels will have moderate gain with moderate to wide forward beam width. That's good for seeing widely dispersed strong signals.
The XG-91 is very directional which is how it offers gain in the forward direction... This means it would
need to be on a rotator so you could aim it with some precision (presuming it was to receive widely scattered stations). Going after weak signals calls for large high gain antennas like the XG-91 and HD9095P. As I look at the stations to the SW of your location, I see many are affected by co-channel or adjacent-channel interference. That does not automatically make them impossible to receive but would be more reason to look the situation carefully, expecting to need an antenna with high gain and narrow forward beam width.
I don't see a 4-bay antenna as a good choice to go after weak signals affected by interference. As I have already said re. JC's original suggestion, "...try the suggested 4-bay panel antenna, there is good reason to expect success" (with the locals). Now that the TVF database has been edited, "success" will not likely include the weak signal from WGPX using a lone 4-bay... but we can still hope.
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...do these antenna(e) need to be grounded? What's the best way to do that? Could I ground it somewhere in the attic...
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Take a look at this
thread. The embedded link to ecmweb.com includes quality illustrations. I recommend that you ground the mast(s) and coax shield(s). I also recommend that you keep ground leads outside the building, even if it's going to require some additional cost in material and labor. Purposely inviting fault current into the building through a ground lead makes no sense to me.