Antenna Selection Help

[polyatomic]

Need help selecting and pointing antennas. I have a 2-story house where I'll be able to get it mounted 30ft off the ground. I have 1 TV that would be connected via ~40 of coax cable. Order of preference of cities would be Indy, Terre Haute, Louisville, Evansville but i doubt i could get them all without a rotator?

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...9900d4f185961a

Thanks in advance.

[Billiam]

WTIU is going to be a problem. Given the strength of that signal at your location you won't be able to use a pre amp for your UHF channels. However, you could buy something like the Antennacraft HBU 55 and hook that up to a VHF only pre amp and with a rotor you'd likely receive 9, 10, 11 and 13 on VHF. At best you'd only receive the UHF signals in Green and perhaps the top couple in Red on your report without a UHF pre amp.

There is a problem causer for your reception location and that is , WTIU-DT channel 14 PBS , the signal strength is , Over The Top Strong , it is high lighted red , Pwr(dbm) -9.7 and 81.2 NM (dB).

Using a preamplifier for reception of the - Many other weak signal strength Tv stations/channels - is contra indicated because the over the top strong signal strength will over load a preamplifier and be the cause of bad or no reception of several channels.

The simplest way , but not the only way , to deal with the issue is to install a long range antenna , A Winegard HD7698P antenna with - NO Preamplifier - aimed away from WTIU.

The group of weak signal strength Tv stations/channels at about 22 degree magnetic compass , is a convienet way to do this because the antenna needs to be aimed at that group to get stronger reception of those weak signal strength Tv stations/channels.

This situation also means that the very directional HD7698P antenna will most likely not receive the any of the Terre Haute or Louisville Tv stations/channels.

A second antenna will be required to be installed , more about that later.

If you do not have a Strong and Sturdy antenna mount.

Install a Strong and Sturdy antenna mount above the roof , here are some Strong and Sturdy antenna mounts.

http://www.ronard.com/909911.html , http://www.ronard.com/34424560.html , http://www.ronard.com/ychim.html , http://www.ronard.com.html.

Buy the ronard antenna mounts at solidsignal by typing the word ronard in the solidsignal search box.

Here are some places to buy antennas and etc. , http://www.solidsignal.com , http://www.winegarddirect.com , http://www.amazon.com.

[Billiam]

He can use a pre amp for the VHF signals. That will not affect UHF reception.

The groups of Tv stations/channels to the north east will be received in the Green , Yellow and Red reception zones all the way down the channel list to and including WFYI UHF 21 PBS.

The Tv Must Channel Scan for the Broadcast Tv Channels sometimes named the 'Air Channels' or 'Antenna Channels' in the Tv setup menu because the Tv transmissions travel through the air from the transmitting antenna to the receiving antenna.

DO NOT channel scan for the cable tv channels.

WHIS , VHF channel 9 is , 2.9 NM (dB).

WTHR , VHF channel 13 is , 1.9 NM (dB).


The HD7698P antenna gives a VHF channels signal strength gain of 11 dB.

So that makes.

WHIS , 13.9 NM (dB)

WTHR , 12.9 NM (dB)

That should be enough signal strength with the small amount loss in the coax on the way to the Tv to provide reliable reception with out a VHF preamp and if not then a VHF preamp can be added later.

The main issue is that WTIU strong signal strength.

Yes I know of other ways to deal with it.

Lets see what the other advisors have to say.

[GroundUrMast]

I agree, WTIU is so strong that it may be receive with no antenna connected to the TV.

A technically viable approach would be to insert a band-stop filter between the antenna and the input of the preamp. www.tinlee.com offers custom filters, you would need to contact them for pricing. The tinlee CR7D-(Fo) UHF HT would be a potential fit in this situation but I would share your TV Fool report with them. They may have additional ideas for you to consider. You would want the filter to provide relatively consistent attenuation of the CH-14 bandwidth (+/- 1 or 2 dB) if you want to be able to tune the signal after it passes through the filter. You would want to be sure that the filter attenuates at least 30 dB, 50 dB would be ideal IMO. The filter needs to overcome the power in the air plus the gain of the antenna.

I call the filter 'technically viable' because you would need to decide if the cost is acceptable.

With the CH-14 signal reduced in level, you can then use quality consumer grade antenna system parts such those already mentioned. I would install an Antennas Direct CPA-19 preamp to the output of the filter. Avoid long coax runs between the antenna > filter > preamp.

[GroundUrMast]

If the budget can't allow for a custom filter, the next best approach is to select an antenna with high gain and directivity. Using no amplifier, keep the coax no longer than needed.

The antennas mentioned already are in that category.

A UHF broadcast television channel 14 , signal strength reduction filter. http://www.tinlee.com.

Because of the Strong Tv station/channel.

I recommend use RG-6 Quadshield coax.

And ground the RG-6 Quadshied coax with a ground block.

Example of ground block , GB-8100 at http://www.solidsignal .com.

I also recommend grounding the antenna mount , use #8 or #10 solid copper ground wire.

Connect to electric service ground. Different types clamps for grounding are available at Home Depot and Lowe's and etc. are available.

For reception of the Strong local Tv stations/channels.

WTIU. PBS

WTTV. The CW and This Tv

WCLJ. Trinity Broadcasting Network

WIPX. ION

A indoor antenna such as the Terk HDTVi , NON Amplified antenna , aimed at about 50 degree magnetic compass. Will receive them.

Here is how to aim indoor antennas , http://www.kyes.com/antenna/pointing/pointing.html.

Reliable reception of the Evansville Tv stations/channels will most likely not happen.

For reception of Terra Haute or Louisville Tv stations/channels.

Aim a Separate (Second) HD7698P antenna with NO Preamplifier aimed at Terra Haute about 284 degree magnetic compass or Louisville at about 149 degree magnetic compass.

The 2 separate antennas Will Not be connected togather on to one coax.

The 2 separate HD7698P antennas are 2 Separate antenna systems and coax systems that will go to the Tv location and the separate coaxes will be connected to a Remote control A/B antenna switch , http://www.radioshack.com , #15-1968 , or , http://www.mcmelectronics.com , # 32-4425 .