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-   -   Help Needed - I'm clueless (http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=14948)

BacktoBasics 30-Sep-2014 2:19 PM

Help Needed - I'm clueless
 
Any and all help is very much appreciated. I have no idea how to decipher this report. I want to dump cable/directv and want to be sure that I can have reception with the right equipment.

Here is my report:

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...d243cce801df62

I have a smart hdtv; it's smarter than I am.;)

I need help figuring all of this out and appreciate this forum!

Thanks so much!

Ruthann

StephanieS 30-Sep-2014 6:33 PM

Greetings Ruthann,

You've come to the right place to decipher your report!

You'll notice yellow and red shaded signals. These are moderate signals and weak to very weak signals. This means you aren't a candidate for an old fashioned rabbit ears on top of your TV. To have successful reception of the major commercial networks you will have to mount your antenna on your roof.

This also means two separate antennas. In broadcast television there are 3 bands: low-VHF (real channels 2-6), high-VHF (real channels 7-13) and UHF (real channels 14 and up). You have high-VHF and UHF signals present.

The Erie stations are going to be your best bet at magnetic heading 61/63.

If were installing at your location I would utilize a chimney mount or tripod mount on your roof.

The antennas would be:
Antenna 1 (UHF): Antennas Direct DB8e. Aim both panelts to magnetic 62. This antenna will handle ABC, CBS, FOX and PBS.
Antenna 2 (VHF): Antennacraft Y10713. Aim at magnetic 63. This will be responsible for NBC.

How many TVs would you like to be connected to your antenna feed? This question is important because it at this point how you answer the question will determine what additional components are suggested for your situation.

Cheers.

BacktoBasics 30-Sep-2014 10:13 PM

Thank you so much for your quick reply!

I will want to connect 3 tvs connected to the antenna feed, but the third one I won't want connected until the summer... It's a patio set and not hdtv. Just something I watch while working in the yard.

I sincerely appreciate your help and guidance.

Ruthann

StephanieS 1-Oct-2014 2:52 PM

Ok. On your antenna mast, I would combine both the above antennas with a Antennas Direct EU385CF combiner. This takes two antennas and combines both their signals into one coax.

You see by the image below each antenna has a short piece of coax that will go from the antenna to this box. Then from the box one lead goes down into your home.

http://pimages.solidsignal.com/ANTDR...BNR_1_zoom.jpg

When you split a TV signal to more than two TVs you begin to have to be mindful of signal losses. Every time you split a TV signal you are weakening the signal. People really start to notice it if, for example, you want 4 TVs fed off the antenna but aren't keeping track of signal loss. Some TVs might see a signal while others don't. This is because they aren't adding some amplification to offset this.

This puts you in a situation to where I'd suggest a channel master 3414 4 port distribution amp. This product offsets some of the losses associated with splitting your signal 3/4 ways. This would be installed in your home at the point where you split your single coax to the 3 different TVs.

CBS WSEE from Erie is on the very weak side. If your results jive with this report it should be reliable. Are you going to be dealing with any obstructions like trees, buildings or anything else in the antennas path?

SS

ADTech 1-Oct-2014 3:43 PM

That image is very old and is of a version discontinued 5 or 6 years ago. I haven't seen one like that since very early on. Our current SKU is EU385CF-1S which, for some inexplicable reason is incorrectly shown on Solid Signal's web site as "Discontinued Not Available". We have several hundred in inventory.

See this document for an example of how it's used: http://www.antennasdirect.com/cmss_f...d%20UHF%20.pdf

tomfoolery 1-Oct-2014 4:04 PM

What's interesting is that RabbitEars.info lists WSEE and WBEP (CBS and CW) as being piggybacked onto WICU's (NBC) signal on real 12.3 and 12.2 respectively, at low definition. It also shows them on their own frequency at real 16.1 and 16.2, independent of NBC, and at high-def for WSEE. Even the station's web site shows them tied. Neither are particularly strong, but between them, on h-vhf and uhf, perhaps WSEE can be brought in reliably.

Oh, and I would have made the same suggestion regarding antenna choice, FWIW. They're big, but not overkill, IMO.


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