Quote:
Originally Posted by slowhike
I'm hoping to get a few more suggestions.
I'm getting weaker signals than before, at least on some stations.
My TV does not have a signal meter, so I have to do some guesstimation in the following report.
I'm quite sure I was seeing some increase in pixialtation & drop-outs as the large oak trees (two at each end of the house) began to leaf out.
And I believe I saw a further increase in pixialtations drop-outs after adding the 4-way splitter I described in my last post here.
The signals are certainly not as reliable as they were a couple months ago.
As I read other threads about pre-amps & such, I see that a pre-amp does not improve the signal, it just pushes it further down the line.
So I'm wondering if I would benefit from a stronger antenna.
Sure do wish I had a signal meter.
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I put the oak trees at the top pf the list of possible causes for the deteriorating signal quality.
Because you have plans to connect more sets, addition of a preamp is not unreasonable. A high input design such as the Antennas Direct CPA-19 would have all the gain needed to overcome cable and splitter losses. If you are only dealing with a signal level problem, the preamp will help. The preamp will not resolve multipath or similar transmission impairments. (IMO, the only other preamp worth consideration in this application is the Winegard HDP-269 which has similar gain and high input capability but slightly less impressive noise specifications.)
For now, I'm reluctant to tell you to go get a bigger antenna. Instead, how tall are the oak trees? And, can you consider a mast or tower tall enough to get above the tree tops?