Roof antenna selection help UHF and VHF-HI San Diego
I am in San Diego near the coast (lets say approx. Latitude = 32.802, Longitude = -117.257). I am connecting to a receiver (Onkyo TX-NR686) and tuner (Homeworx HW130STB). I am going to get the rotator Yaesu G-450A . I am interested in receiving VHF-HI and UHF signals via a roof mounted antenna. I was planning to buy one UHF/VHF-HI or two separate UHF and VHF-HI roof antennas.
I have downselected my antenna choice to:
This is what I was planning to buy since I would get them both from one source, Newark. But I think the UHF antennas from Stellar labs don’t look durable as the Winegard HD-1080 or HD9694P. I was considering to possibly replace my UHF selection (Stellar Labs 30-2420) with the:
Can you please help me confirm the better option near this price range for VHF-Hi and UHF? |
Looking at your RabbitEars report for the coordinates you gave shows two VHF-Hi stations almost due north of you and about 2-1/2 miles away.
And a bunch of UHF stations about 20 miles away situated east-southeast of you. Take a look at the report: https://www.rabbitears.info/searchma...tudy_id=104300 You can run your own report for your exact location at: https://www.rabbitears.info/searchmap.php Sounds like the situation calls for two separate antennas, VHF-Hi pointed north and UHF pointed east-southeast and then combined with a UVSJ combiner. I can't comment on the build quality of the Stellar Labs antennas since I have never owned one, however for the few extra bucks I would certainly go with the 30-2426 because it will have more gain than the 30-2420. Also, can you comment on the reason for the Yaesu rotator. With the signal report you have, I don't see any need for an expensive rotator. Barring any terrain or tree issues, you should get good reception of all the green and yellow stations shown on the signal report. If you are going after Univision 17 on real channel 24, I suspect you might get good reception even though your antenna would be aimed SSE. |
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That said with the additional channels I mentioned, what system should I go for? |
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Hey Pistachio,
Tim gives good advice here so I wanted to ask you if you're on a strict budget, shipping cost and initial Hardware investment will mean nothing later when you are enjoying your system. My advice to you, is get what you can get and somewhat over build the system so that you have a margin. I am going to recommend to 30 - 2476 fo VHF. It's probably the best currently available VHF High antenna sold in the US and it's only a few dollars more then the 2475. And as far as durability. I've had mine in the air since 2016 in the harsh Illinois winters. It is Well designed and durable. It doesn't have those plastic rod retainers it's all made of metal and the reflector rods go over the boom.. it is wind Worthy also. You're UHF choices. Why so tiny? You might as well get the articulating eight Bay. Then you could do some slight aiming changes. Believe me, the pricing is very good on what you're looking at and a few dollars more shouldn't break your budget I hope. Unless you are within 5 or 10 miles of the transmitting antenna you can't really go wrong by going larger on antenna size. Did might give you the margin you need during adverse weather conditions or maybe even pick up some stations from LA? Also, I've got to look into that Rotator choice that you found I'm looking for one myself and that model is a very highly recommended rotator. Did you actually see if they had stock on that? |
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A less expensive alternative to the rotator would be to install a second UHF antenna for the stations you want to receive from Mexico and have a coax A/B switch to switch between your two UHF antennas. Wow, that really is a super price on the Yaesu rotator. In fact, almost sounds too good to be true. Have you ever purchased from the writland.com website before? |
Yaesu G-450 price too good to be true?
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https://www.writland.com/index.php?r...scription=true The cable is almost as much: https://www.writland.com/abr-industr...scription=true It seems kind of sketchy because I can't get a shipping date. I guess you ordered to find out? |
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Can you recommend an "articulating eight Bay" antenna? Also, what other supplies do I need? I don't have a mast or clamps, yet. Will anything come with the antennas? I plan to mount to my chimney. |
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I was still thinking of going with a rotator to fine tune the channels (plus I actually already bought the one I mentioned before I saw this post, lets see it actually shows up). For day-to-day use maybe the multiple fixed antenna solution is better since I don't have to wait for the antenna to move around? Thoughts? |
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And what articulating bracket would I want? I still need to identify what mechanical hardware parts I need and if I can source them here in San Diego rather than pay huge shipping costs for a mast. |
Mounting your new antenna.
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Antennas Direct has the DB8e, there are others that are similar. Basically they are two four bay antennas ganged / combined. https://www.solidsignal.com/m/product.aspx?p=HDB8X It looks like Newark has some decent pricing on those particular antennas. So yes, chimney would be a great place to mount your antenna as long as you are well above the discharge. As you know hot gases may affect the longevity. Do be aware the new antenna can put some stress on the chimney if it's in bad shape. Especially if it's a longitudinal form antenna such as a yagi or log periodic. If you get the 30-2476 At some point in time it may put the body of the antenna right over the discharge of the chimney. However, I do believe an 8 bay will be less in the chimney smoke / gases unless the wind is right. Those particular 8 bays don't always do well on VHF so so be aware that. If you decide to combined a VHF and a UHF you will need a UVSJ or a VHF / UHF combiner amp or a diplexer such as the ones sold by Antennas Direct or others. Also too, for UHF considered a 4-bay antenna as it has a wider beam width. It may have a little less gain could possibly pick up more markets. That would be a good trade-off. I believe that Newark site has a lot of chimney mounting accessories. https://www.newark.com/easy-up/ez29-...42?st=Antennas Oh, and do keep us informed about the G450 rotator. If it pans out for you I will order two myself. My fear is that it is some sort of Chinese clone. When it arrives you should probably call the company and see if that's a valid serial number... |
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However the 1 3/8" 18 gauge is available that is considered tubing. Although 18 ga. is very good in short sections I find it to be a little wobbly for longer sections, especially if you use the whole the 21ft that it comes in. If you can find it , the SS 20 is the best way to go for top rail. And you can readily sleeve it with one inch water pipe to make a very thick and strong (heavy) mast. I did it, because I used the full 21' section. In this case, I doubt that he's going to need 21 feet, but just food for thought in case he goes all the way to the ground to mount the base and make an eave mount like Tower Guy is suggesting. |
You can also get rigid electrical conduit at the local big box store. I've used the 1 1/2 in 10 foot lengths with no issues. Although 20 feet of it would be quite heavy.
IMC conduit would be lighter but is harder to find and still stiffer than the common EMT conduit. |
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1" EMT is 1.163" outside diameter (close to standard 1-1/4" TV mast) 1-1/4" EMT is 1.510" outside diameter 1-1/2" EMT is 1.74" outside diameter Always be sure what size mast your TV antenna can accomodate. Some will not fit on 1-1/2" EMT. Also to note, I have a friend who made a 26 ft. telescoping mast from three sections of EMT in the sizes shown above. Each section overlaps by 24" and the sections are locked in place with 1/4" bolts. |
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