help which antenna setup

[jealey]

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...8e03e157f2940c

I can reach NY, Philadelphia, and Wilkes Barre with my 1980's large directional antenna depending on which direction I point. I can get ABC in all locations, CBS in NY, and Wilkes Barre, and NBC in Wilkes Barre only. I cannot get Fox anywhere with this antenna. How good is Denny's antenna? Is there any better for me? We cut the cord last year and are trying to spend some of the saving on a better antenna.

[rabbit73]

Welcome to the forum, jealey:

Can you tell us more about your 1980's large directional antenna, or maybe show us a photo? It might not have enough gain for Fox. Do you have a rotator?

[jealey]

I have a rotator. and I could believe that with the Fox in NY but the one in WB is on the same tower as everything else and they come in fine.




SAM_0675.JPG

[rabbit73]

Thanks for the photo. It looks like it should have enough gain for VHF and UHF in spite of the fact that one element is missing. You might have a bad connection at the antenna, a bad balun or bad coax.

I could believe that with the Fox in NY but the one in WB is on the same tower as everything else and they come in fine.

Yeah, you would think so, but I've seen it happen. I remember a case where both antennas were on the same tower, but one channel was giving a problem. It turned out that there was a large cargo loading crane in the signal path. One antenna was mounted higher than the other.



I remember that recently one Fox station in your area was having a transmitter problem. Maybe you can call the station engineer.

The signal barely makes it to your area:



If you look at the terrain profile, you will see why the signal has a hard time; attached to previous post.

I see a lot of trees in your area. See previous post for attachment. They can block signals. Do you have a clear path to Fox?

If this antenna checks out OK but you still have problems, you can replace it with a Winegard HD7698P.

[jealey]

What about installing a tower. are there height restrictions? Do they have built in rotors? So thats a no on Denny's antenna?

[rabbit73]

If you have HOA (Homeowner's Association) in your area, the FCC says your antenna can be as high as 12 ft above the peak of your roof. If you don't have a HOA, the local government might have height restrictions. With small towers, you add a rotator at the top. With larger towers, the rotator can be mounted within the top section. If you are thinking about a tower, does that mean the trees are in the way now?
http://www.hdtvprimer.com/antennas/siting.html
scroll down to Trees and UHF

I don't have personal experience with Denny's Stacker. It looks like a VHF/UHF Combo antenna that has been cut in the middle, and one section put above the other to reduce the length.

So thats a no on Denny's antenna?

It wouldn't be my first choice, but you are welcome to try it if you like it. It's your antenna and your money.

It sounds like you don't want to try to bring your present antenna back to life and would rather put the money into a new antenna.

[rabbit73]

You left out a few details.

Are you using a preamp?

How long is the coax from the antenna to the TV?

Does your TV have a signal strength indicator?

How many TVs are you feeding?

[jealey]

I have a 15 w preamp, 50 foot of coax and 1 tivo romio which distributes to tivo mini's which is done thru ethernet cables. tivo signal strength of 50 on WB stations

[rabbit73]

I have a 15 w preamp

I understand most of your answers, but not about the preamp. Is there a preamp at the antenna or a distribution amp inside? What brand and model?

Any trees in the signal path?

Does your Tivo Roamio Diagnostics Screen look like this?



If yes, what it tells you about signal strength, SNR, and uncorrected errors will help you.

tivo signal strength of 50 on WB stations

Which Wilkes Barre stations? I don't think 50 is good enough; it wasn't for mullignaman on his thread:

question regarding overamplification
http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=15025

This was his setup before improvements:



that gave these readings:

Originally Posted by mulliganman

I went into the DVR diagnostics menu on the Roamio to get some info for all channels. Here is what it shown (as setup in the diagram I posted):

Channel 3-1 signal strength 55%, 22 dB SNR, RS Corrected 0, RS Uncorrected 66

Channel 3-2 signal strength 55%, 22dB SNR, RS Corrected 0, RS Uncorrected 60

Channel 3-3 signal strength 57%, 23 dB SNR, RS Corrected 0, RS Uncorrected 81

Channel 10-1 signal strength 67%, 27dB SNR, RS Corrected 0, RS Uncorrected 30

Channel 21-1 signal strength 52%, 21 dB SNR, RS Corrected 0, RS Uncorrected 132

Channel 21-2 signal strength 52%, 21 dB SNR, RS Corrected 0, RS Uncorrected 30

Channel 21-3 signal strength 52%, 21 dB SNR, RS Corrected 0, RS Uncorrected 60

Channel 27-1 signal strength 60%, 24 dB SNR, RS Corrected 0, RS Uncorrected 6

Channel 33-1 signal strength 60%, 24 dB SNR, RS Corrected 0, RS Uncorrected 0

Channel 33-2 signal strength 60%, 24 dB SNR, RS Corrected 0, RS Uncorrected 120

Channel 33-3 signal strength 60%, 24 dB SNR, RS Corrected 0, RS Uncorrected 45

Channel 49-1 signal strength 45%, 18 dB SNR, RS Corrected 0, RS Uncorrected 6

Channel 49-2 signal strength 45%, 18 dB SNR, RS Corrected 0, RS Uncorrected 0

after he made improvements, it looked better:

Originally Posted by mulliganman

I believe the coax from the 91XG to the attic amp to be less than 25 feet, so I made the following change as you suggested: 91XG > downlead > LNA 100 > AC7 ch 49 input. The C2V went into the other input of the AC7. I did a rescan, then as soon as I had a chance a little while later I went back into the DVR diagnostics menu on the Roamio. Here are the results:

Channel 3-1 67% signal strength, 27 dB SNR, RS Corrected 0, RS Uncorrected 0

Channel 3-2 65% signal strength, 27 dB SNR, RS Corrected 0, RS Uncorrected 0

Channel 3-3 67% signal strength, 27 dB SNR, RS Corrected 0, RS Uncorrected 0

Channel 10-1 72% signal strength, 29 dB SNR, RS Corrected 0, RS Uncorrected 0

Channel 21-1 72% signal strength, 29 dB SNR, RS Corrected 0, RS Uncorrected 0

Channel 21-2 72% signal strength, 29 dB SNR, RS Corrected 0, RS Uncorrected 0

Channel 21-3 72% signal strength, 29 dB SNR, RS Corrected 0, RS Uncorrected 0

Channel 27-1 72% signal strength, 29 dB SNR, RS Corrected 0, RS Uncorrected 0

Channel 33-1 67% signal strength, 27 dB SNR, RS Corrected 0, RS Uncorrected 0

Channel 33-2 67% signal strength, 27 dB SNR, RS Corrected 0, RS Uncorrected 0

Channel 33-3 67% signal strength, 27 dB SNR, RS Corrected 0, RS Uncorrected 0

Channel 49-1 62% signal strength, 25 dB SNR, RS Corrected 0, RS Uncorrected 0

Channel 49-2 62% signal strength, 25 dB SNR, RS Corrected 0, RS Uncorrected

I was surprised to see improvements in signal strength and the RS Uncorrected numbers across the board.

[jealey]

I'm gonna take a better look at my current antenna, but I can't do it until next week. I'll be back after that. Thanks for the help.