Help with multi-antenna setup

[mcarland]

Here is my report:
report

And available equipment:
CM4228 UHF (UHF)
CM3016 Med Directional VHF/UHF (VHF)
Radio Shack Omnidirectional Outdoor FM (FM)
CM7777 Preamp (AMP) Older 2005 version, separate VHF/UHF inputs, FM notch switch, single/dual input selector switch.

I am only trying to get station in green in the report, pretty much due North, so this should be easy, right? I have the antennas and AMP in the attic, 30ft coax run, splice, backwards splitter for power injection, and then a combination of two splices, two 2-way splitters, and 20ft coax. The back of the house faces North, so I have aimed the antennas straight that way.

Before yesterday, I had the FM and UHF antennas in the attic (2 story house) on the AMP since 2005. Most stations were good, except PBS ch34 would block and freeze. ch11 had occasional problems, but not horrible. I was also not getting ch45, but that might have been a rescan issue.

I checked AntennaWeb, and it recommended a Medium directional antenna, so I picked up the CM3016. Since my attic is only 2.5' high, that was about the largest I could get. I took down the FM, and hung the VHF centered in the space from the rafters. I could then get almost every yellow and red station, but still problems with ch34.

Here is the weird (to me) part. I unplugged the UHF and terminated that input. I lost many yellow/red that I don't care about, and ch34 came in great, but I lost ch9 and ch11. I would have thought ch34 would be better with UHF and ch9/ch11 better with VHF.

I did pull power from the injector, and lost many more stations, so I believe the amp is working. I forgot to try UHF by itself, without FM.

Any suggestions on what else to try?

Thanks for your time.

-Michael

[GroundUrMast]

Have you ever tried the CM3016 alone? That's with no amplifier or any of it's power supply parts, no splitter, just one TV using one section of coax. It should be able to do the job with no need for the CM4228. If the test does not go well, consider the attic a problematic location, indicating the need to test reception with the CM3016 outside, clear of obstructions. But if that tests well, add the splitter back along with the second TV.

The number of splices is a bit of a concern. Ideally, use no splices. If the test of antenna > coax > TV goes well but adding splices back into the system fails, you know you'll need to repair the splice connection or better, replace the cobbled combination of pieces with one new section of coax.

The CM7777 is a fringe / weak signal amplifier. If you need any amplifier I would suggest a distribution amplifier such as the CM3410 which can handle much stronger signals levels. But again, try simplifying the system, to one antenna, some coax and a TV...

As always , Attics Are Not a reception friendly environment and never will be a reception friendly environment.

A Tangle of a installation.

This antenna that antenna and some other antenna , this splitter that splitter and some other splitter , and the preamplifier is connected to Tangle somehow.

-->It is Time to Simplify !! <--

Install the CM3016 Above the Roof in such a manner that the roof and the house is not blocking reception to the north.

Do not use the preamplifier.

Do not use any of the power supplies , power injectors or ect.

Disconnect and remove the preamplifier , power supply and power injector.

Disconnect and remove every part and piece that is not required to make Simple antenna system.

Do Not chain splitters , one splitter connected to another splitter connected to another splitter connected to another splitter , each time a split takes place the signal strength is reduced , so at the end of the chain of splitters there will be little to no signal.

The following is the correct way to connect splitters.

For 1 Tv connected use No splitter.

For 2 Tv's connected use a simple common 2 way splitter.

For 3 Tv's connected use a simple common 3 way splitter.
__________________

Aim the CM3016 North , Here is how to aim antennas , http://www.kyes.com/antenna/pointing/pointing.html.

Here are some above the Roof antenna mounts , http://www.ronard.com/909911.html , http://www.ronard.com/34424560.html , http://www.ronard.com/ychim.html , http://www.ronard.com.

Buy the ronard antenna mounts at sollidsignal by typing the word ronard in the solidsignal search box. http://www.solidsignal.com.

As always , trees and tree leaves do a real fine job of reducing or blocking reception and so do , buildings , hills , mountains , and other obstructions.

It is best to install a antenna at a location that has the least amount to no amount of obstructions of any type or kind in the directions of reception.

The Tv/s Must Channel Scan for the Broadcast Tv Channels , sometime named the 'Air Channels' or 'Antenna Channels' in the Tv setup menu because the Tv transmissions travel through the air from the transmitting antenna to the receiving antenna.

DO NOT channel scan for cable tv channels.

[mcarland]

Excellent questions. I should have thought of hooking straight up to the antenna. It did cross my mind, but I forgot I had a small Vizio I could bring up instead of running a long line to my wall mounted TV. I used the short leads that currently connect the antenna to the preamp.

One of the splices is to go through a panel, and the other is a wall faceplate. I could probably work around the faceplate one, but there's no way I'm getting another run down from that attic. On that note, it was a real bear getting that antenna installed up there, only 2.5' to work in, blown insulation, the stuff of my nightmares. I think I could work something out with the wiring if I had a solution to what I found below with just the antennas.

The test results closely mirror my anecdotal report. I think I had been getting a few lower channels through the FM antenna before I removed it. I'll put the grid in a code block so it stays in correct columns. The Vizio would report signal strength as a series of up to 8 dots, I listed the number of reported dots for each of the antennas:

RF	Chan	UHF	VHF
11	11.1	X	4
9	9.1	6	X
40	41.1	2	X
45	5.2	7	7
35	5.1	7	7
34	2.1	2	4
23	2.3	6	5.5
32	4.1	6	7
29	29.1	7	7
22	23.1	7	7
43	43.1	2	3
Channels AntennaWeb says I should get but don't care about
16	16.1	6	3
25	25.1	1	X
Other channels I found
	62.1	3	2
	33.1	3	
	48.1	1	
	50.1	1	1(blocky)

If the VHF could pick up RF9, I think I would be in good shape. It seems odd to me that the UHF can pick it up so well, and RF34 as well.

[GroundUrMast]

Based on your test, you need to move the CM3018 outside. It looks like your attic is not an acceptable reception site.

If the attic is too difficult to deal with and you prefer to abandon the attic antennas in place, buy a Winegard HD7694P and mount it outdoors where it has a clear shot at about 345°.

If you go with the HD7694P, try it with no preamp, especially not the CM7777 which will overload. If you don't get enough signal power to split reliably, an Antennas Direct CPA-19 preamplifier would be my choice.

[mcarland]

Thanks to both of you for your advice.

I probably won't work on this until next weekend, longer if I need more equipment. I have an old farm house with a flat roof in the center, and 45deg slope on four sides, so a roof mount is going to be tough.

I'll post if I get something working.

Thanks again.

[GroundUrMast]

It sounds as if you are in the market for a non-penetrating mount. http://www.3starinc.com/non-pen_mounts.html

But first, test reception outside in the clear.