Hello all,
Let me start off by saying that I am new to antenna technology and have only just read up on the subject over the past week. I live in LaPlace, LA and am prepairing to get rid of my digital cable subscription and go OTA channels only. I built a GH0N antenna using 12 guage copper ground wire and mounted it on a 2ft by 4ft 1/2in mfd board. The antenna is based on a design listed at
http://clients.teksavvy.com/~nickm/g..._5V9_10u0.html. I installed this in the attic (14ft high) of my single story home. The coax used is RG6 and the run is about 40ft. The actual connection path from the balun is: coax, coupler, coax, wall plate, coax, tv. I do plan to run a single line to the wall plate soon.
I was able to get anywhere from 23-30 channels. Out of the channels received, some show pixelated or have intermittent drop outs that may last 1 second to 5 or 7 seconds. I would like some advice on how to improve this if possible. I would like to note that I dont want to mount anything on the roof or install a mast. I also want to feed the received signal to 5 tvs and a HTPC. I can distribute the signal from a single location with most cable lengths being 30ft and the longest being 50ft. With this in mind, here are some specific questions along with my TV report.
Signal Analysis report
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...d2437393ae9e5f
1. I am looking for the channels in the New Orleans area. I have the anttena pointed 107 degrees ESE. I choose this because the channels range direction is from 103 degrees to 115 degrees according to the report. Is this correct or could I tune it a bit further?
2. Will a preamp improve my signal quality and/or enable more channels?
3. If a preamp is needed, what is a recommended model? I was thinking about this:
http://www.amazon.com/Winegard-LNA-2...productDetails. Will this work or would another model fit my situation better?
4. Any recommendations on a good splitter and how should I split considering it will be from a single point? 6 way splitter?
5. Should I get a powered splitter?
6. Would adding additional "elements" to the anttena improve anything?
7. I noticed that even though I am pointed towards 107 degrees, WDSU (6.1) is a hard station to sustain. How can I improve this?
Here is a list of channels I am getting as of this post:
4-1 WWL-HD
4-2 LIVEWELL
6-1 WDSU
6-2 METV
8-1 FOX8HD
8-2 BOUNCE
8-3 GRIT
26-1 WGNO-DT
26-2 ANTTV
32-1 WLAEHD
32-2 MHZ WLAE
32-3 CTV WLAE
32-4 VME WLAE
33-1 WVLA TV
33-2 WVLA TV
38-1 WNOL DT
38-2 THIS TV
49-1 ION
49-2 QUBI
49-3 IONLIFE
49-4 SHOP
49-5 QVC
49-6 HSN
54-1 WUPL
54-2 MUNDFOX
Thanks in advance.