antenna disconnect switch
i have 2 antenna towers and sometimes i need both to get good reception and sometimes i have to take one out of service. what i need to find is a device i can connect the antenna to and the output will then go to my combiner. what i need is it to be electric so i can unplug it and have it remove that antenna and when i need that antenna again plug it back in. i have remote wifi switches that i can just use my phone to turn on the power to that antenna switch so i do not have to go out in the garage to do this. so does anyone know if there is a device that does this?
so does anyone happen to know if there is a switch that can do this? thanks |
I'm not aware of an 'off the shelf' retail solution... Hopefully someone else does. I think you'll need to have some DIY skills with hardware and software. Doing a quick search online, I came up with this;
https://www.jfwindustries.com/produc...oaxial-switch/ I would expect an Arduino with Ethernet or Raspberry Pi could be used to interface via a web devise. I would investigate the Arduino first because it will directly support TTL (0 to 5V) signal levels whereas the RPi uses 3.3V and would need a level converter in-between it and the RF switch. |
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Whole bunch of wifi switches here, don't know if one will suite you but they are cheap enough to try.
https://www.amazon.com/wireless-rela...s+relay+switch |
Do either of your antennas have preamps? If so you could remove the power from the power supply to the unused antenna(s).
I assume that you are trying to combine antennas aimed in different directions and a simple combiner does not work. Can you provide a rabbitears.info report for your location that shows which antennas need combining? |
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thanks for the help but it really is not worth 100$ to do this. also i do not have the pre amps and if i did i know i could just plu that antenna into one of my remote switches and then that would take most if not all the signal out. i will keep looking i may find something
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Why do you need to take one out? What advantage does that give you? What is the problem if you don't take it out? What are the two antennas, and where are they aimed? What kind of combiner are you using? What channels are involved? What does your signal report look like? |
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rabbit when i was setting up my system we went all over this. for some reason i lose signal when i have 2 antenna point to the same direction. the tv station calls it atmospheric disturbance. i calle bunk but if i take one off line sometime i get better signal. and then sometimes i have to put it back online i also have a post amp/splitter for 4 tv's and for the most part they do good. now and then i lose 8 or 29 . i didn't watch 8 much but i watch 29-2 a lot as it has cozy and i like that programming. thanks |
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https://www.rabbitears.info/searchma...study_id=42951 https://forum.tvfool.com/attachment....4&d=1578614982 Quote:
If you don't have all the signals when combined that you had when the antennas were separate, that method of combining doesn't work for you. Quote:
https://www.rabbitears.info/market.p...=67895#station https://www.rabbitears.info/tvq.php?...ms&facid=67895 And then you will have to figure out a way to switch to the COZI antenna. |
thanks. i have one of them pointed at that tower now. and the yagi is point more to that channel and to g.r. .
that splitter is a both wat unit. it does either in or out on all the ports. i got it form a tvfool vender way back when i was setting my system up the firs time about 2 years ago. he is in the lansing area and use to live over my way. he sells the double antenna system that is a stacked unit. i may wind up getting that system next summer and mounting it a bit higher and then put a rotator on it. i hate to rotate the antenna because multiple tvs run form them and if i move to one station then i lose the signal for other tv's. i would like to find a omni directional antenna. i have one i got from the guy that had the tv station in muskegon a few years ago but he died and i do not have it anymore, i installed it at my girls house. she gets the stations better than i do. but i can't take her stuff down now. what i should have done was taken it apart to see how he made it and then just copied it. maybe someone here has one or know someone that builds them. thanks |
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A splitter in reverse as a combiner will give you problems. Quote:
You're right, a rotator will cause problems. I suggest you have your main antenna connected to all TVs at the antenna input. Then, connect the COZI antenna to a converter box tuner and connect its output to the aux input of just one TV so that you can watch COZI on that TV. No rotator or rescanning needed. You do have a lot of channels in different directions, but I'm not convinced an Omni antenna will be a good solution for you. They receive poorly in all directions because the omni antenna element doesn't have much gain and the internal preamp will make the signals stronger, but it will not improve the signal quality. |
thanks much something to think hard about. one more think i may try next year is to just connect separate antennas one to eand tv.
part of my problem is i have a power transformer out in the front like 75' away and one time years ago the neighbor had an antenna guy trying to hook up an antenna and he told me that transformer gave him fits. hw was from an antenna company in the area. but it is a challenge. a few weeks ago i got a home built antenna from a guy down the road. he put it under his eve on the east side of his house, then he scanned for channels and he got like 10 more that i do. i'm 40' in the air. and he point it south east. if i point southeast i look at the power pole directly. anyway his signal strength was way more then mile so i got it and connected it up, i got about the same signal as i do now. and i got the same channels as i get with my setup. so that 30$ did not good. but next summer i will try it on the girls house and see if she get better signals. and then i will retry that omni again at my place and see if it works any better. thanks |
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https://forum.tvfool.com/attachment....6&d=1578660290 |
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In the past I've thought about using line amps as RF switches. Simply power up the amp to pass signal, power down to block it. Likely the most practical option for a consumer grade off-the-shelf solution. Cost and availability of parts would be better than an industrial or commercial product. |
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no they will not do anything been there done that. they cause just enough to make reception bed. i have all 4 tv stations in my area email and i talk to them on a regular basis. i aske them all about that and they say nothing can be done. so i got that from the horses mouth. and these guys are the transmission engineers. plus i complained to the fcc and nothing was ever done. the fcc never returned me emails. go figure. thanks
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