[rabbit73]

I want to get all Detroit Stations ( all on uhf except Ch2 now moved to 7 on VHF) and the Toledo PBS stations 30.1,30.2,30.3. Detroit is 35 miles away and Toledo is 42 miles away as the crow flies......I have heard mixed reports about using the db8e multi directionally. It works wonders for some and not for others.

I can't afford to experiment as the installer will charge at least $150 and up for his time.

You have two goals that are mutually exclusive. You want reliable signals from two directions which will require some experimentation, but you don't want the installer to spend his time doing experimentation. Maybe you can do some preliminary experimentation before he comes, to keep the installation cost down.

I don't think there is anyone here that will guarantee that his advice will work for you.

The most we can do for you is to give you advice that has a good chance of success based on the information you have given us.

What you have heard about the AD dB8e is correct. When the two panels are aimed in different directions, sometimes it works, and sometimes not. This is because when the same signals from the two antennas arrive at the combining point they can interfere with each other if they arrive out of phase.

The other issue is the loss due to the various combiners involved including combining each VHF reflector assembly with each half of db8e array.

The combiner for the two parts of the dB8e is a low loss device. When a spliter is used as a splitter, the loss is 3.5 dB; 3 dB because the signal was divided in half, and 0.5 dB from the internal loss of the device itself. When a splitter is used as a combiner, there is only the 0.5 dB internal loss.

You will only need one Antennas Direct VHF Retrofit Kit because it is only needed for CH 7 on one panel. If you mounted a kit on both panels, they would interfere with each other. It might be possible to eliminate the kit if CH 7 is strong enough on the dB8e inspite of the fact that its balun has higher loss on VHF than UHF. The UHF/VHF combiner (AKA a diplexer) in the kit has a low loss.
https://www.antennasdirect.com/store...rofit-Kit.html

I also plan to use a winegard LNA 200 preamp.Here there is some question whether I should use the 10G221 Antennacraft preamp instead because of reports that the Winegard unit is not well shielded

The use of a preamp for your situation also has some questions. Pete's review has some questions about the LNA 200. You might not need a preamp for Detroit, but you probably will for Toledo.

There is the question about preamp overload. I see a very strong analog signal WFHD-LP at the top of your tvfool report, but Wiki and rabbitears.info say that it is off the air. There is, however, a very strong FM signal WQKL with a signal Pwr of -10.4 dBm which will mess with CH 7, so you will need an FM trap.

Also I do not want to use a rotor in this part of the country as they both jam and rust especially in the cold. That is why I want to work with antennas in two different directions

Correct.

An A/B switch, is going to have less insertion loss, but may be a problem for scanning channels, or for multiple viewers, or recording.

Some TVs, like my Sony, can add a channel for the second direction after scanning for the first direction.

If your TV can't add a channel after scan, you can have a separate antenna for each direction and one coax will go to the antenna input of the TV and the second antenna will go to a tuner or converter box with its output going to the A/V input of the TV. You would then use the input switch of the TV to switch from one antenna to the other.

The antenna coax should be grounded with a grounding block that is connected to the house electrical system ground with 10 gauge copper wire for electrical safety. 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, but the system will not survive a direct strike.