TV Fool  

Go Back   TV Fool > Over The Air Services > Help With Reception

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 28-Mar-2011, 1:27 PM   #1
jp2code
Ctrl+Alt+Delete
 
jp2code's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Longview, TX [USA]
Posts: 52
New Antenna Time, but Which One???

A tree limb fell and snapped my 91XG antenna in half. I still get all of my channels (somehow), but this gives me a great excuse to go antenna shopping again.

Our existing antenna suffers greatly from reflection due to all the trees that are in East Texas (known by the Indians as "The Great Thicket" - Satellite link showing all the fecking trees >> HERE <<).

I have no rotor, and we like it that way. Our antenna signal is boosted by the Channel Master 7777 pre amp, gets hit with a 4-way splitter, then services other rooms in the house. A rotor would create havoc on recorder settings on different boxes, so kindly do not suggest we get a rotor.

I pick up all of my locals, even the isolated VHF station that the 91XG is not supposed to be able to pick up (local news station & THIS network off of this VHF station, so we really want to retain it), but the signal is likely strong enough where we live that I could pick it up with a bare wire stuck in the air.

The 91XG is great at pulling in RC 28 (ABC 3.2 is 24-hour weather) and RC 24 (PBS) at 73°/50-miles, which are favorites and need to be retained. Local stations (within the green zone) suffer greatly from reflections from tree leaves, signal saturation by the preamp, or both. NBC (RC 22 at 227° & 45mi) is our preferred news station.

So, I'm considering something different to replace it with. Here are the 4 that I've narrowed my selection down to:
The text next to each antenna is from the Solid Signals website and is why these antennas sound like good choices for me; however, I realize these descriptions are probably hyped up advertisement text and could have no indication of what each antenna really does.

The C4 and the DB4 look like great antennas to try, but I've never had one of these DB style antennas. The C4 appears to be newer technology than the DB4, but I don't know if I'd be able to pick up VHF or if they would do anything to alleviate my reflection problems.

The C490 looks like a much better version of the short range "Ghost Killer" by Winegard. Is this correct? It sounds like these two antennas do what I need - cut down on reflection. Do they cut down a noticeable amount, or will I still be stuck watching horrible HD TV?

After much thinking about this, the C490 looks like it would be the best antenna for the job. Still, I wanted to open this up to opinions and criticism here before making my purchase.

Does anyone have experience with any of the antennas listed above?

What are some of the pros and cons for any of these antennas?

Would one antenna be any better or any worse at doing what I need? Is there another antenna I should consider? If so, WHY should I consider it? (Don't just say, "How 'bout this antenna?")

These antennas all look fine to me. I'm just trying to use process of elimination to get the best multiple choice answer for my situation.

TV Fool data is >> HERE << or you can simply reference the plot below:

__________________
~Joe
Avoid Sears Home Improvement!
jp2code is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 28-Mar-2011, 3:43 PM   #2
GroundUrMast
Moderator
 
GroundUrMast's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Greater Seattle Area
Posts: 4,773
The C490 and 7210P provide coverage of channels 2 through 69. There is no apparent need for the long elements that receive channels 2 through 6 (the low VHF band, 54 to 88 MHz). In fact the 'all-channel' antennas will also receive more FM band signal which will be a possible source of interference, though I have not run an FM fool report for your area. I would not recommend either of the above antennas in your situation, because they don't match the channel line-up you are presented with.

The 4-bay panel antennas, such as the DB-4, CS-4, CM-4221, HD4400, U4000 all have similar gain and beam widths. My understanding of the CS-4 is that it is optimized for channels 14 - 51 rather than the older, pre-2009 UHF band of channels 14 - 69. All of the 4-bay antennas will have about 6 dB less forward gain than the XG91. All of the 4-bay antennas will have a wider beam width (45° to 75°, varies with channel) making multipath interference more likely than with the more narrow beam width (about 25° per Solid Signal) of the XG91.

'On paper', all of the antennas you have listed are steps down in performance. When aimed at KLTS, the XG91 should have received enough signal to easily drive a 2 or even 4-way split with no amplifier. Over amplification could be a significant factor for you.

The odd channels out would be 7 and 22. Channel 7 because it is not a UHF frequency and it is off in another direction. Channel 22 because it too is off in another direction. Would you be willing to consider using a channel insertion filter at the risk of loosing channel 21, KPXJ? I'm thinking of the Jointenna or an equivalent product from TinLee.com. I'm also thinking of a UVSJ and a cut for band H-VHF aimed at KLTV.

Or, are you willing to consider using A/B switching?
__________________
If the well is dry and you don't see rain on the horizon, you'll need to dig the hole deeper. (If the antenna can't get the job done, an amp won't fix it.)

(Please direct account activation inquiries to 'admin')

Last edited by GroundUrMast; 28-Mar-2011 at 3:54 PM.
GroundUrMast is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 28-Mar-2011, 7:40 PM   #3
jp2code
Ctrl+Alt+Delete
 
jp2code's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Longview, TX [USA]
Posts: 52
Yeah, I could loose Ch 21. That is the CW, and we view the closer station on Ch 51 anyway. In fact, Ch 21 was removed (by me) from our channel lineup.

Jointenna. I'd never heard of it. What a neat idea!

...and I've already got a UVSJ sitting on my desk at home. I never used it when Ch 7 pulled in so clearly.

Now I've got to figure out how to do all of this while pulling that 7777 out of the loop. Maybe I'll just get a new 91XG for the stations all on the hill and use the broken antenna with the jointenna on Ch 22.

But, that's the fun part, rigth?
__________________
~Joe
Avoid Sears Home Improvement!
jp2code is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Go Back   TV Fool > Over The Air Services > Help With Reception


Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off




All times are GMT. The time now is 2:23 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Copyright © TV Fool, LLC