Thread: ABC Switch?
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Old 21-Jun-2015, 6:00 PM   #1
Billiam
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 381
ABC Switch?

Do they make such an animal?

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...8230b8572323f5

Just did a test at my home in the Cincinnati area and discovered that I will need at least two and likely three different UHF antennas to receive stations from Dayton. Will also need a rotor due to the fact that the signals which all emanate from 17 degrees, are blocked by trees and leaves and moving the test antenna even a few inches yielded surprises like losing one channel while gaining another. Also found that while I can receive Ch. 50 and 41 at the same height level, I need a antenna a couple of feet lower and pointed towards 20 degrees to receive Ch. 51 which is still a part of the same antenna farm at 17 degrees from my house.

Near as I can tell the MXU 59 gave me the best results in terms of overall gain. But a single 8 bay Super G 1483 positioned at 15 degrees and at about 20 feet in height (top of the antenna was probably a bit higher since it is a 5 foot high antenna while the lowest part was probably at 16 to 17 feet off the ground) was able to give me a lock on Ch. 41 and some pixelating on Ch. 50 and Ch. 51.

I was able to get a solid picture on Ch. 26 when I put the antenna a few feet to the east on a different mast. That was pointed at 15 to 20 degrees and probably at about 15 feet off the ground. Not sure about Ch. 30 the Fox affiliate yet but I can worry about that at a later time. Will be back there in early July to run more tests.

Thus, moving the antennas even a few inches left or right or down or even up will result in lost channels. This is the trickiest location I've ever had for picking up HDTV signals. Analog was far easier. Wish I did not have to try so many antennas to find the best ones to work at this location. But thankfully it is still far cheaper than paying for CATV.

Have to decide if using vertically stacked 8 bay antennas for Ch.41, 50 and 51 is best or possibly vertically stacked MXU 59's. Thinking the 8 bay is best due to the height differential in signal reception. Can use a rotor to solve the left to right positioning issue with Ch. 50.

I will definitely even add RG 11 which will help a bit as well since the cable is a 50 foot run. Even a half db to a db more in gain will result in locks in a couple of channels and help me to avoid dropouts unless weather is bad.

Any other ideas as far as tweaking for more signal strength is welcome.

Last edited by Billiam; 21-Jun-2015 at 6:28 PM.
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