Sounds like you have been busy already making tests.
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The cable was really short, so I didn't have a lot of wiggle room.
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You can extend a cable with an F-81 adapter.
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1byone digital outdoor HDTV antenna
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What model? Do you have a link?
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.....when trying to set it up, the metal connector on the cable came off in my hand.....my confidence in them has been shaken.
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I would feel the same way.
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The oak trees in back yard are on a hill...so they get higher.
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Uh-Oh, it's sounding worse.
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I intend to use the former cable companies connection to inside of the house. They were kind enough to show me where it is. That goes to a splitter in the basement. That is grounded.
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That should be adequate for a start, but the code requires the coax shield be grounded AND the mast be grounded with separate wire. You might be able to do what the dish guys do, which is called "piggyback," which isn't strictly by code. Run a 10 gauge wire from the mast to the coax grounding block.
Satellite System Grounding
Part 2 - NEC Overview
Presented by Todd Humphrey
http://www.dbsinstall.com/diy/Grounding-2.asp
Todd Humphrey doesn't speak for the NFPA that publishes the NEC code, but he has some ideas that are helpful. The local electrical inspector has the final say if you are willing to get him involved. Some inspectors are more friendly than others; a local electrician could tell you.
The splitter causes a 3.5 dB loss of signal when it is divided in two. If you use a preamp, the splitter would keep the indoor power supply from sending power up to the preamp at the antenna, unless you use a special power-passing splitter. You can avoid that problem if you split to more than one TV after the indoor power supply/power inserter.
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Do you think an amplifier would also be necessary?
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It's beginning to sound like you will need one because of the trees and the hill that weaken the signals. If the antenna was in the clear, the preamp would be overloaded by WUNI with a Noise Margin of 73.4 dB.
Interpreting Noise Margin in the TV Fool Report
http://www.aa6g.org/DTV/Reception/tvfool_nm.html