Quote:
Originally Posted by piney
I have got a couple of stations indicated in the "gray" areas/zones. I have a business and have several televisions going so I need reliable, far range etc. Should I get amplifiers etc.?
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You have separate groups of channels coming from different directions (Chattanooga, Nashville, Knoxville), but your best bet is to just focus on one of them. Chattanooga seems to be your best bet, giving you the most channels within reasonable reception range. I don't think you'll be able to get all the different directions at the same time, so you're better off just focusing on the one city.
A good antenna for long distance VHF and UHF reception is the Winegard HD8200U. For Chattanooga-only stations, you can also go with the narrower HD7698P antenna (does not cover low VHF channels 2-6) to get away with less wind/snow/ice load from the antenna.
If, for some reason, you need to pick up WTVF (ch 5 from Nashville), then you'll need the wider, full-VHF capable HD8200U.
Yes, you probably do need a mast-mounted pre-amp. Make sure you get one with a low noise figure (NF) specification (usually 3.0 dB or less). Some good ones to consider are the Winegard AP-8700, Channel Master 7777, and Antennacraft 10G202. A pre-amp should be installed close to the antenna to minimize the loss of signal caused by lengthy cables.
Depending on the length of your cable runs and the number of ways the signal is split to multiple TVs, you may need an additional "distribution amp" further downstream in your setup. However, amps should be planned carefully, since over-amplification can cause signal distortion and make things worse if not done right.
