Tigerbangs, you helped us last spring with getting proper antennas selected for Puget Sound/Tacoma area tv reception. (however, one antenna arrived damaged, then next one missing pieces and the pre-amp was missing pieces so this has been quite a project) We think we have all the pieces in place finally, but need your clarification concerning the following line taken out of your instructions (entire paragraph is copied into the end of this message)---"mount the power injector for the preamplifier in a location inside your house that is convenient to both your primary TV set and your mother-in-law's TV set."
Does this mean that we need to put an electrical outlet in the attic (which is where our antenna lines will be running in to) to plug the pre-amp into? That is what you are referring to when you say we may require additional wiring, correct? By looking at all the parts and pieces, this is the only way we can figure to hook this up-the 2 antennas into the jointenna into the pre-amp into the splitter, which will be connected in the attic.
Also, if we end up not being able to do this ourselves, do you know of anyone out here who still installs antennas? We found one company thru service magic, but it was expensive and they weren't willing to comply with the plan you gave us. Thanks much for your help//
Your entire paragraph from post last spring:
I have solved this issue a number of times for other Washington residents, and I believe that I have the answer for you, as well. You need a two-antenna arrangement: a broadband VHF-UHF antenna aimed at the bulk of the Seattle transmitters, which are located 340 degrees from your location, as measured by your compass. I would recommend using a Winegard HD-7696P antenna mounted on the highest point of the roof of your house. You will need a separate VHF antenna to pick up KCPQ . I recommend using a Winegard YA-6713 or an AntennasCraft Y-5-7-13 mounted 4' above the larger broadband antenna , and aimed at at 305 degrees by your compass. Combine the two antennas using a Channel Master JoinTenna tuned specifically for channel 13, which is available cheaply from Amazon.com. Feed the output of the JoinTenna into a Winegard HDP-269 preamplifier, and
mount the power injector for the preamplifier in a location inside your house that is convenient to both your primary TV set and your mother-in-law's TV set. Mount a high-quality 2-way splitter inline after preamplifier's power injector, then run cable from the splitter to each TV set. Be sure that you rescan the digital convertors after the installation to be sure that they find the new channels. All of your local network channels should be restored, and you should receive signal equal to or better than the satellite or cable TV signals in your area.
If you use the Winegard preamplifier that I mentioned: the HDP-269, the extra cabling will not be a problem, as the preamp will compensate for the extra line losses. For best results, though, the splitter shpild be in the line AFTER the preamplifier power supply, as most splitters won't pass the DC power from the power injector. That may require a little additional wiring to make it all work.