Thread: Antenna Rec.
View Single Post
Old 7-Dec-2012, 6:48 AM   #6
Russ53
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 4
Thanks for the responses and suggestions.

Had a look at the gain data I could find on the suggested antennas and a closer look at my TV Fool plot. I noticed that besides KRCR 7 there's also a weak KRCR 34 (also at 301 deg. magn.) that I might be able to reach instead. If so, then 34 and 24 (KNVR at 308 deg. magn.) would be the only distant, hard-to-reach transmitters, and all of my targets would be UHF. So I'm thinking maybe I should go with a UHF-only antenna with maximum gain for my two weak stations.

This helpful page (under "Net gain for UHF only") - if reliable - shows dBd figures of 12+ for low-range UHF (all my targets except local Chico 43 are between 18 and 34) with the Winegard PR-8800. The Winegard site shows similar numbers.

http://www.hdtvprimer.com/antennas/comparing.html

The PR 8800 seems to be the top performer for this range; the "new" CM 4228-HD in the next chart down seems comparable. The DB-8 is close behind. The DB-4 and the 7698P both seem a bit weaker in this range.

My questions - if you still don't mind helping me sort this out:

Since the the PR 8800 (or maybe the 4228) seem to have more surface area than other UHF-only choices, will they help "capture" the signal better?

Do they provide the best chance to snag the weaker 34 & 24? Or is there more to consider besides gain figures and design?

Will the fact that these two are 7 degrees apart be a big deal for a fixed-antenna situation? (I don't quite get how to consider the beamwidth numbers.)

Again, thanks very much for any help you can provide. My small non-tech brain is about fried over this right now.
Russ53 is offline   Reply With Quote