Quote:
Originally Posted by Brutismax
Posted a reply earlier, didn't show up.Yesterday I put up a used aluminum antenna mounted off my chimney. Aimed south with no amp just 108ft of coax to tv and got 28 channels. Today I aimed it west and came up with 40 channels, some are clear some a little pixelated or grainy. When I split the line for the other tv's I might need a signal booster, would an indoor one be ok?
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Great, you've proven that the strong local signals, to the south, are easy to get. And the signals to the west are within reach. From here, it's hard to tell if the pixelation is caused by the free antenna (we would need to know more about it, a make & model # or a photo). You have more to choose from by aiming west, but the indications are that you need an antenna with some gain and directivity which is a strong vote against an omnidirectional design.
You have also answered the question "Do you plan to connect more than one tuner?" So it sounds like you are after a full line-up of programing, but not in need of a tower, large antenna and rotator array.
If I understand your goal correctly, I'm inclined to recommend that you try a preamp such as the Antennas Direct CPA-19 or Winegard HDP-269. Both will tolerate the strong local signals while providing the gain needed to overcome the 6 or 7 dB loss of your long coax. You'll still have enough gain left to overcome the loss of a 2, 3 or 4-way splitter. The job of the preamp is to preserve the signal quality available at the antenna. Signal quality lost in coax and splitter loss can't be recovered by any amplifier.
Reliable reception starts with the right antenna, so if you still have problems with reliable reception, you'll want to consider using an antenna such as the Winegard HD7696P. Aimed at due west, you should see all the major networks (ABC, CBS, CW, FOX, ION, MyN, NBC, PBS, UNI...) The gain and directivity of the HD7696P may make reception of the signal to the south unreliable.