Central California help...

[toy71camaro]

First, I'd like to say thank you for having this community here to provide some help to us that are trying to learn. You guys are awesome.

I am from Central California (Turlock) area. I've lurked the forums for a few weeks now trying to find my answers, find similar situations as mine, etc. But just haven't got a confident feeling about what I really need. Thus I joined the forum to get some help.

My current situation is I've been off cable for about 2 years, utilizing Roku players and media servers. The SO wants the local news, and I could actually go for some local live Pro sports coverage. Thus, the reason I'm researching OTA antenna's.

We have 2 TVs in the house. I would like to get the local major networks: NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox in HD. Anything else is gravy on the biscuits (if they're even worth watching). We've got a Vizio and Sceptre LCD tv's. Both have the auto scan feature for OTA.

Below are my TVFool Reports . I tried using antenna web, but it didnt give me much help (after that I read here how poor they are. lol).

20 foot (most likely the height i'd be using): http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...d2439aff980232
25 foot: http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...d2436cee0d697c
30 foot: http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...d243d2ee5f31bc

I'm looking to mount an outdoor antenna with a Chimney mount (thats been recommended here everywhere).

Antenna web said I needed an Omni Directional. But it seems to me thats not required as all the major channels are in the 309 degree magn range.

My single story house is facing West. No 2 store houses around. Chimney is basically in the exact middle of the house/roof. No big trees anywhere around to the north (north east a little there is one). I'd like to keep it low on the Chimney just for wind/safety. From what I've read, my general area (central valley) is very "OTA" friendly since we're on such a flat set of land to get the signal from Sac. So I'm not sure if I need some bigger antenna, or just a simpler one.


If I'm not clear on anything, please do let me know so I can fix it.

Again, Thank you for taking the time to read through my questions.

Albert

[toy71camaro]

I see a lot of recommendations for the Winegard HD 7698P, on other posts with distances a little farther than mine, and more 2Edge scenarios...

Is this my best bet? Or would there be a better choice? Such as the HBU44, which is also very recommended on here.

They both have a range of 60 miles-ish.. but some of my main channels are just beyond that...

[timgr]

I would not be too keen on the Winegard, simply because it is a dated design. There is no need to cover actual channels 52-69, since the FCC has removed those from the broadcast TV spectrum.

I would also take a look at specifically which channels I wanted to receive, and group them by their angle on the horizon, signal strength and whether they are VHF low, VHF high or UHF. The objective is to group as many desirable channels as close together as you can, within the same bandwidth. Looks to me like most of the channels around 309 are UHF - if that's what you want, buy a DB4e or DB8e, point it at 309 and see what you get.

Hang on and one of the industry pros will respond. I think maybe your post suffers a bit from information overload - you provide a lot of detail and ask a lot of questions that may best wait until after you determine which antenna might work for you.

[toy71camaro]

Thanks for the reply.

I had a feeling I may of added too much detail. LOL.

Mainly, I want the big 4. Which are on Real Channels 25, 35, 40, 10. Which are all in the 309/310 degree (magn) mark. Which means I "shouldnt" need an omnidirectional for them (as atennaweb suggested).

Hopefully one of the Pro's can give me some direction.

Edited my original post to cut down on some of the content/questions.

[timgr]

Originally Posted by toy71camaro

Thanks for the reply.

I had a feeling I may of added too much detail. LOL.

Mainly, I want the big 4. Which are on Real Channels 25, 35, 40, 10. Which are all in the 309/310 degree (magn) mark. Which means I "shouldnt" need an omnidirectional for them (as atennaweb suggested).

Hopefully one of the Pro's can give me some direction.

Edited my original post to cut down on some of the content/questions.

Real channel 10 is VHF, so the DB4e or DB8e won't work for you, unless you add another VHF antenna to the same mast and combine the signals. Something like an Antennacraft Y5713 would work. Or you could buy a DB8e and point one of the panels toward Fresno to get KFSN 30, the ABC affiliate there. Or you could maybe add a VHF dipole to the DB4e and get channel 10 when pointed at 309 - they have a kit - look at the AD web site. The DB4e is compact and might meet your rooftop aesthetic.

[StephanieS]

Hi Tony71Camaro,

You are right the heading of magnetic 310 gives you the best bang for the buck with Sacramento.

If I was just after Sac and nothing else, I'd be content with an Antennacraft HBU33. I'd point the the above heading.

With two TVs, you are going to have some loss from splitting the signal. How long do you see your coax run being from antenna to TV? It might be a good idea to add a RCA TVPRAMP1R preamp at your mast if your cable run is on the longer side then just split the signal two ways with a non amplified splitter.

If on the shorter side, a channel master 2 port 3412 distribution amp might be a good idea.

Cheers.

[toy71camaro]

Thanks for the Responses. Seems like the HBU33 would be the better bet, as it gets the VHF channel too, and it costs considerably less.

I do have two TV's, and would need a splitter at the middle of the house, just below the antenna (in attic), I'm guessing near 50' run to each one would suffice. But, I may go with the RCA TVPRAMP1R preamp for the extra $20 and to make sure it all is pushed through good.

Does all this sound OK thus far?

[StephanieS]

Hi Tony,

Yes, the RCA TVPRAMP1R would be fine if splitting two ways inside your attic with a non-amplified splitter.

The RCA preamp has a good tolerance to off axis stronger signals. What this means in laymans terms is that you can have a stronger signal like K23KL-D and the preamp will still do it's job. A presence of a 56 (nm)db signal in some cases with other preamps will degrade your reception due to the overloading, because those preamps aren't designed for presence of moderate/good signals.

If you find your installation has poor reception that is unexplainable, a test would be to remove the preamp and rescan channels. The likelyhood of the TVPRAMP1R going into overload is doubtful, however if it does, being able to isolate it and remove it is a step you need to be prepared for.

Make sure to run the HBU33 jumper coax to the "combined" input on the TVPRAMP1R. There is also a switch on the unit under one of the little rubber gaskets. Make sure it is in combined as well. With this configuration you are making sure the TVPRAMP1R is passing both High-VHF and UHF from the HBU33.

I run a TVPRAMP1R with a Antenna's Direct 91XG. I have 60-something (nm)db signal strengths off it's left rear quarter. The TVPRAMP1R does fine. I was actually amazed it took those stronger signals (even attenuated) off the side without overloading. I tried to add a TVPRAMP1R to my secondary antenna, a ANT751. Due to it's more northerly orientation (80 degrees magnetic vs. 140 for the 91XG) and wider beamwith I ran smack dab into overload and lost channels.


Cheers.

Originally Posted by toy71camaro

Thanks for the Responses. Seems like the HBU33 would be the better bet, as it gets the VHF channel too, and it costs considerably less.

I do have two TV's, and would need a splitter at the middle of the house, just below the antenna (in attic), I'm guessing near 50' run to each one would suffice. But, I may go with the RCA TVPRAMP1R preamp for the extra $20 and to make sure it all is pushed through good.

Does all this sound OK thus far?