Antenna Recommendation
Hello,
Tv fool report below. Could you please recommend the best outdoor antenna for this?. Also can you please indicate which are the channels that I can receive with out any signal loss based on this tv fool report? http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...90383e9432ad0b. I am planning to keep the antenna in the roof/similar place. I live in single family house. I am looking for channels like Fox, CBS, ABC, NBC, PBS etc. Any help is appreciated. |
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http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=16259 Thank you for the new signal report. Here is a report from rabbitears.info which should have a more accurate list of channels: https://www.rabbitears.info/searchma...study_id=23429 Most of the signals you want are coming from the west and a few from the south. You will need to make some tests for reception, maybe with a Winegard HD7694P antenna. |
Thanks for the reply. Yeah. I moved!. Some questions.
1. I do see another big antenna ( Winegard HD8200U ) along with HD7694P in Amazon. Does it help if I go for the bigger one? 2. Do I need to use any pre-amp? 3. What about this antenna RCA ANT751R?. This seems to have good rating. 4. What is the minimum signal strength required for a good reception? |
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The Winegard HD8200U has more gain than the HD7694P, but it's much more expensive. I'm guessing that if rabbit73 recommended the HD7649P for your location, he probably thought it would be sufficient for your needs. But I'm sure he could elaborate. Here is a link for the HD8200U with specs that might be helpful. Open up the first tab in the upper left corner, "TV Antennas & Supplies," then scroll down to the bottom to "Outdoor Antennas." While you're on the site, you could check out the other two antennas mentioned as well. https://www.solidsignal.com/ As far as a preamp is concerned, you'll have to get up on your roof (Safety First!), and see if you can pull in the stations you want with adequate signal strengths. You do have some 1 & 2 Edge issues according to your signal reports, and it's possible you will need a preamp and amp. But you'll have to test out the antenna you use. Here is a TV Fool thread link that goes into detail about the RCA ANT751R. It should answer most all your questions. I have used it and it's elder brother, the HD7000R at my location some 35 miles south of Mt. Wilson, here in SOCAL LA/OC with excellent results. I'm in a strong to moderate signal location, BTW. http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=16264 I'm not sure about your minimum signal strength question, but if you go with rabbit73s antenna recommendation, it might not be too relevant. He could give you a more definitive answer or if other Techs chime in, I'm sure they could answer that for you as well. Anyway, all the best to you! And please check back in with an updated report when you've finished getting your antenna set up. I would be interested in how it goes for you. Thanks! |
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The HD8200U also covers VHF-Low (real channels 2-6) which has longer elements that make it much wider. You do have some VHF-Low channels on your report but they are weaker and I thought you probably would not want them. If you do want them, you will need the HD8200U. The VHF-Low channels have a red band: https://forum.tvfool.com/attachment....3&d=1572360288 There will be some channel changes because of Repack by the FCC. If you look at your rabbitears.info report you will see changes in the Repack Info column. That column doesn't show in the image above: https://www.rabbitears.info/searchma...study_id=23429 Repack Plan: https://www.rabbitears.info/repackch...=&lss=&status= Phase 8: 1/18/2020 to 3/13/2020 Phase 9: 3/14/2020 to 5/1/2020 I'm concerned about the aim of your antenna. I hope that aiming the antenna west will give you the channels you need, without needing to also aim the antenna south. Quote:
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The signal must be strong enough to have an SNR (Signal to Noise Ratio) of at least 16 dB. That is, the signal must be at least 16 dB stronger than the noise on that channel. When you do a channel scan, the tuner will not pick up a signal that isn't strong enough. Of the channels that the tuner does pick up, some will be stronger than others. The strength of OTA signals will vary, so the weakest channels that the tuner picks up will be marginal; better on some days than other days. If your TV has a signal strength indicator, you will soon find out how strong a signal must be for reliable reception. In terms of a TVFool report, the signal must have a NM (Noise Margin) of at least 0 dB. The NM calculation assumes a dipole antenna is being used, so you can add your antenna gain to the NM for a channel that is listed. https://forum.tvfool.com/attachment....2&d=1572358895 If the antenna is outside, the coax shield should be grounded with a grounding block that is connected to the house electrical system ground with 10 gauge copper wire for electrical safety and to reject interference. For further compliance with the electrical code (NEC), the mast should also be grounded in a similar manner to drain any buildup of static charge which will tend to discourage a strike, but the system will not survive a direct strike. http://i.imgur.com/RT41tXx.gif If you want me to look at a satellite view of your location, you can give me the coordinates of your antenna by PM like you did last time. |
Thanks for replies OTAFAN, rabbit73!.
I managed to get Antenna Direct ClearStream 4V just for testing. I placed the antenna in some random location ( around 10 feet above the ground ). It was able to pull NBC ( 11.1 and 11.3 ) and KICU ( 36.1 ) with out any issues. Fox and CBS doesn't work most of the time and I see heavy signal loss ( blocking artifacts ) most of the time. I will try with HD7694P. I don' t think I need any VHF channels. I am interested mainly in Fox, CBS, ABC, PBS and NBC. I had sent the co-ordinates you to rabbit73. Thanks! The signal power in the tvfool report starts with -35.9db ( in the picture above). Some how it doesn't match with signal power that you have mentioned! |
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https://forum.tvfool.com/attachment....8&d=1572401613 Quote:
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https://i.imgur.com/aBX4bzt.jpg Interpreting Noise Margin in the TV Fool Report http://www.aa6g.org/DTV/Reception/tvfool_nm.html https://i.imgur.com/USrn73K.jpg |
Hello Rabbit73,
Thanks for the details as usual!. It was very helpful. Also thanks for PM with the satellite images. One question. How is ClearStream 4V compared to HD7694P for my use case? |
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My other concern is that both antennas are directional for UHF, which makes correct aim critical, but you have channels in two different directions. You might be able to get what you want in one direction; if not, then you might need two antennas. |
Thanks!. I plan to buy HD7694P and use it along with ClearStream 4V. Some more questions.
1. What is the best way to combine signals from these two antennas? 2. Which is better suited for my use case?. ClearStream 2V or 4V? |
Question #1 is a whole new can of worms. You can try using a splitter in reverse first, but you will likely need two separate downleads and an A/B switch a the TV.
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If you don't have all the channels when the two antennas are combined that you had when the antennas were separate, that method of combining doesn't work for your location. Sometimes it is necessary to have separate antennas and use an A/B switch to select which antenna you want to use, as suggested by jrgagne99. If your TV isn't able to add a channel after scan, it will be necessary to rescan every time you switch antennas. To avoid a rescan, you can connect the main antenna to the TV antenna input and connect the second antenna to a separate tuner like the Channel Master 7004 converter box. Then, connect the output of the tuner to an HDMI input of the TV. To switch to the other antenna, just switch the TV input. If you have more than one TV, it gets complicated. You would need a custom combiner for the channels involved as mentioned above by Tim, which would combine the signals from both antennas in one coax. I know you want a definite answer, but I am not able to give that to you. It is my hope that you will be able to get everything you want with one antenna aimed west, but you will probably need a channel from the south. The solution to your reception problem will depend upon how many TVs you have and the results of your antenna aiming tests. I can't do that for you. 2. The ClearStream 2V has a little less gain than the 4V on UHF. It has a wider beamwidth than the 4V, but probably not quite enough beamwidth for the 100 degree difference between the two directions if aimed in between; you can try it if you like. Both antennas have the same dipole for VHF. |
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KGO (RF 7) from Sutro tower using aux antenna until 5/1/2020.
https://www.avsforum.com/forum/45-lo...l#post58770688 At my location KGO went away when station switched to aux antenna. Hope you have better luck. |
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