[ADTech]

It works well enough, most of the time, but suffers in wind and inclement weather.

That symptom suggests that trees are your problem, not the antenna. If you do not or cannot address this issue replacing the antenna may turn out to be a disappointing adventure... or not. It is impossible to guess accurately when trees are in the signal path.

I'm leaning toward one of the kitztech preamps.

Don't. The single stage ones overload too easily and the adjustable gain one, as I commented elsewhere last year after running one through my lab, appeared to have no reason for even existing.

I would do better with a preamp strong enough that I don't need to use a distribution amp, right?

Not necessarily. Sometimes, it's better to use separate amps, sometimes it's better to use a single amp, sometimes it doesn't matter. Your reports suggests that it likely won't matter.

How much preamplification do I need here?

Most consumers use the wrong factors in selecting an amp, they simply get the one with the highest gain number they can find assuming the bigger is better so the highest gain amp has to be the best one. This selection logic is usually wrong about 90% of the time. The easiest method of selecting the gain of a preamp is to account for the total insertion loss in the distribution system and just round up to the next closest available amp. Since most consumer installs have less than a 100' of coax (~5.5 dB/100') and a 4 (or less) port splitter (~8 dB), that usually means that a 15-20 dB amp is almost always the most appropriate choice, again, for probably 90% of folks. Higher gain amps should be reserved for those situations where there a larger distribution systems and weaker signals or some combination thereof. Higher gain amps tend to be more susceptible to overloading so they must be used with caution in locations where there are strong local signals, including those outside the TV broadcast band.

Save yourself some hassle and mount the preamp down lower on the tower where you can reach it from a ladder or even the ground. You'll sacrifice just a bit of your system noise figure, but you'll make it simple to service or experiment.

We've been out of stock on the Juice for several weeks, but we have a replenishment shipment due to hit the warehouse any day now. It should be available shortly.