I'm sorry, but I have to say this. I wrote a new thread twice and the website 'ate them' both just as I was getting ready to post them! I know that I should always save my text offline just for these scenarios, but I didn't think that I'd get bit 'twice'. Maybe you could adjust the 'timeout' on the forum?
Here's my tvfool report:
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...81a3e3743058c5
I presently have a winegard pr7037 with a radio shack preamp. I have all RG6 cable (about 75ft) to a splitter feeding a Dish VIP211 receiver (with OTA tuner and ext. hard drive for DVR function) and a bedroom tv.
I also have an uninstalled Ant. Direct 91XG uhf only antenna, and an uninstalled channel master rotor (wire too), and a channel master 7777 preamp that I got new in the boxes for a really good price. I wouldn't be hurt if you recommend something different than the 91XG (I can always sell it again). But it does have some of the best gain ratings (which is why I got it), so try to include it in a recommendation if possible.
My hope is to get an OTA ABC network station. WOAY is the closest ABC station, but it is way down on signal at my location. The other ABC stations on my list are even lower in signal strength. Before WOAY changed to digital, I was able to hear the audio (with ant. pointed north), but the picture was too distorted to watch, so there is at least some possibility of receiving it.
I would like to get all (or as many as possible) of the channels from WOAY and up on the report. I know that many of them are not likely, but that's my 'wish list'.
I do get some of the local channels in that list from Dish Network (Bluefield/Beckley WV DMA), but I have good reasons for getting the stations OTA too.
1). If my economic situation gets too bad...bye bye Dish! In this economy, that could happen to any of us. Satellite tv will go away before the phone or internet or electricity or food, etc.
2). Even my cheap Dish DVR allows you to simultaneously record an OTA and a satellite channel. That's very convenient for me, so the more OTA channels that I can get, the more options that I have to simultaneously watch/record shows that I might otherwise miss. Even though the same networks carry pretty much the same programming, the individual stations may have different shows or sports which I could watch.
I presently get stations WVVA, WLFB, WBRA all of the time. WCYB is also pretty dependable, but has the same programming as WVVA, only in the wrong direction (no rotator installed yet). I get WDBJ (40-50% of the time), along with WSLS, WVNS, WPXR on occasion (depending on ant. orientation).
I plan to move my antenna location from a 'push-up pole' that just barely sees over the peak of my roof. I'll mount the new antenna setup on the roof, at least 5 to 10 feet above the roof peak. I have a 5' tripod for that already.
A rooftop installation should get the ant. even with the top of the ridge to my north. I'll mount the antenna as high as I can, but I sometimes get up to 60+ mph winds so I can't go too high. I live on a ridge across a valley from a 4,000 ft. mountain, so we do get extreme weather on occasion as a result.
I'm not wealthy, so don't get too much into the blonder-tongue or other expensive antenna gear, unless you know where some can be had 'really cheap' (but legal).
I need an antenna with as much UHF gain as possible, but I don't want to lose any of the VHF channels (low or high) as a result. I need to know if a separate UHF along with a recommended VHF would work better than one of the bigger all-channel antennas.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Dave