No worries. Just trying to get a full picture of what you have since I can't lay eyes on it.

Another question...are both of your antennas mounted on the same mast? Or are they located some distance apart?

Yes.
Sort of.
The UHF is mounted on a piece of conduit attached to and old wooden pole that, previously, had a dusk to dawn light.
The center of the antenna is approx. 12-13' above ground.

The VHF is on a separate mast attached to the same wooden pole and Approx. 18' above ground

Would a picture help?

Just for your information, the UHF should always be above the VHF. I could go into it but it has to do with signals and signal strength and how the signal comes in etc... But as a general rule put the UHF above the VHF.

Unless for some reason there is a tree branch right in front of the upper part of the antenna as UHF as more sensitive to trees and leaves Etc....

Thanks for that info, Bob.
Antenna Direct mentioned that a while back, too.

I'd hate to change them around because I have the DB 8E zoned in and not sure how long it would take to get it back.

Since it seems that I'm getting good signal now, is it important?
Would that have anything to do with my current situation?

I wouldn't say that... but i would say this instead...Normal convention is for the UHF to be above the VHF, but it's not a rule carved in stone as there are always exceptions. I tell folks to do whichever works best. Once that is found, leave it alone. ;)

Thanks, ADTech.

As I said above, it seems the signal is good but getting mixed up.

Hopefully, the UVSJ will sort those things out.

I think we are good now. I will modify the diagram of your system tomorrow when I get a chance.

Appreciate all the effort

Yes that's true that is why you should stack 91xg side by side.

Thanks, nascarken.

Is "91xg" an antenna?

I suggest you try too put the db8 on a 35degree agl it will in prove your receive the same way you put a satilight dish on an agl

antennas Direct 91xg
 

is one of the best ANTENNA for uhf RECEIVE range that I
Got out of it was 90miles away higt h of the antenna was 100ft hi with a channel master 7777AMP and look around for the best price.
And know I use an 8200u for its hi&low band vh F and at the beginning of the 8200u are 91x g

I really appreciate that everyone is sticking with me on this.

Is there somewhere I can make a donation to offset the expenses of running the site or something?

I see that aligning my DB 8E again wouldn't be too hard but I would have to revamp my set up.
It may come down to that but I'll avoid it until all other options are tried.

As I mentioned above, each antenna is on a separate mast attached to a wooden pole.
The DB is on the south side of that pole and the CM is on the north side.
If I ever need to adjust the DB, I just need to loosen the clamps and it will pivot around an axis; the utility pole.
Because of the design of the CM, it needs to be higher than the pole the mast is attached to.

I'm getting a lot of stations right now with the separate antennas in the present configuration.
If the UVSJ does the job, I think I'm set.
Hopefully.

Regarding the 91XG, I hope I don't need to buy any more antennas.
I would gladly buy anything I could from Antennas Direct.

If they had a VHF antenna that worked for me, I would have gotten it from them.
The Clear Stream 5 didn't work for me.

I trust them.
They earned it the very first time I contacted them and they didn't try to sell me an antenna.

With all the internet charlatans out there, it was nice to find someone who was trustworthy.

Nascarken, I may try that down the road a little

No. Do NOT do this, it is very unlikely to help and would more likely cause a reduction of reception due to the signal now coming in below the vertical reception pattern.

The antenna should not be aimed at the sky. If there's any tilting to be done on a panel antenna, it would have to be done by adjusting the angle of the mast itself.

As a general starting point, unless you are staring point blank into a cliff or bluff, just put it on a vertical mast so it's aimed in a plane parallel to the earth. There may be times when an upward tilt might be useful, but they are best dealt with on an individual basis after actual consideration of the pros and cons.

ADTech, I'm a believer in not monkeying with something that seems to be working.

I'm getting pretty much everything that's available to me.
Right now, I disconnect one antenna or the other

The 91XG is an excellent antenna and is what I use. However, looking at the specs the DB8E actually has a little more gain and a narrower beamwidth. It should be doing just as good or a bit better job than the 91XG would do for him.

OK, I think we now have a good idea of just how your antenna system is laid out. Here is the latest iteration.

When you get your UVSJ you can install it in place of the combiner/splitter you have but just leave your distribution amp in place and see what the results are.

Then leave the UVSJ in place and replace the distribution amp with your 4 port splitter and see what the results are.

Be sure and check your results on all 4 TV sets because there is some variation of tuners built into the TVs.

We are all waiting to hear your results.

None as anxious as me.
LOL.

Thanks for your help

I have the DB 8E at the recommendation of Antennas Direct, nascarken.
I suppose they looked at my location and what stations I wanted to get.

It receives a wide range.
I get signals from Pittsburgh and a Johnstown station, which is, I think, 50 degrees off from the Pittsburgh stations.

It seems the reception issue is solved, for now.
If the UVSJ solves the conflict between the signals.

I appreciate all your input throughout this thread.

If I ever wanted to get another antenna, I would look at the 91xg.
But, at 69, I hope what I have outlasts me.

That is a UVSJ (UHF/VHF Separator-Joiner), which is also called a diplexer or UHF/VHF combiner. You can use it after the power inserter for the UHF PA18 or after the two power inserters for two PA18s.

https://i.imgur.com/9AIJgp3.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/6ArtK0x.jpg

Thanks for that, Rabbit 73.
As soon as I get some help this evening to drop the mast to retrieve mine, I'll try it out.

Won't have to wait for my UVSJs to get here.

If anyone has a need for one, I have 5 UVSJs coming.

I'll give them away

Don't give them all away, keep a few as spares.

Good luck.

At least one.

They had a $10 minimum order and they were only $2.49

So is the the inserter/combiner that Blackstone indicates he had in his antenna system???
-----
Edit: Never mind, I reread a few times and I understand now. He had the Antennas Direct version of a UVSJ on hand all along, just not installed in his system. Great! Hopefully he can install that and get things working properly.

When I installed the CM, originally I planned to combine it with the DB but my cables were too short so it's just hanging on the mast.

Unless there is a good reason not to do it, I'm thinking of putting the second PA 18 preamp up to replace the Winegard while I have it on the ground.

No reason not to do so. Just double check after you install the PA18 and make sure you are still getting all your VHF stations. If so, then install your Antennas Direct UVSJ combiner.

Sounds good.
Thanks

Preliminary results.

It appears we have success.

I am cautiously optimistic, anyhow.

Dropped my mast so I could retrieve my combiner, installed the other Pa 18 preamp on the VHF.
Put the combiner on the TV side of the power inserters.

Left the distribution amp connected.

Scanned 42 stations.
Several aren't watchable and shouldn't even show up due to distance and direction.
Have all my VHF and UHF stations that are available.

Once again, I really appreciate all the generous, patient help so many of you gave.
Thank you.

I'll follow up in a day or two to verify it stuck

Great! Once you get your 4 port splitter, you might want to try it in place of the distribution amp just to see what the results are and report back.

I have it and will give it a try today.
I was so excited that everything worked that I stopped.

It may be my imagination, but several stations that came in when one or the other antennas was disconnected seem weak.
It shouldn't be related to installing the PA 18 preamp on the vhf because these are uhf stations.

It could be atmospheric, too

What do you mean by "seem weak"? Was the video pixelated? Or were you looking at some type of signal strength or signal quality test on a TV set?

Couple stations took a while to load or show.
When I went to the channel menu those stations were "weak"

The signal strength is either "good", "normal" or "weak"

Right now, everything is watchable

Insertion loss of 0.5 to 0.8 dB is negligible.

Attention Nascarken !!!!!!
 

BobsGarage,

If there are group members whose posts you don't want to see, you can click on their Username, click on User Lists, click on Add to Ignore List.

From then on you will see that they posted something, but you won't see what they posted. It cleans up the threads nicely.

Thank you, Bob, Tim, and jrgagne99.

Blackstone, now that you've had a few days to observe, how are things working out for you?