Ant upgrade advice

[Chris05]

Hi,
I originally posted a year ago and want to try upgrading antenna.

Currently antenna is pointed at 100 deg and I can get Fox 21.1 fine at nite,
but since warmer weather Cbs 3.1, Nbc 6.1 are not to found.
I also get 13.1 and 31.1 consistently.

I am strongly considering the AntennaCraft Hbu44, but have seen many comparions of it to Winegard Hd7694P. They are both in same price range.

Preamp considerations:
Will new ant need one?
If so, can I use my old CM Spartan 3?
Or what new preamp is recommended for either of above antennas?


Here is tv signal analysis:
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...0b86cd0ab2dfdc

equipment:
tower: 20 ft main, with a 20 ft crankup section and 10ft mast on top.
antenna, I believe to be Antennacraft CCS1233 vhf/uhf model.
cable: less than 100 ft from ant to amp.
amp:CM spartan 3, with 2 way split downstream of amp.
Tv: Panasonic lcd with digital tuner and CM Ota DVR.

[GroundUrMast]

Several characters were lost when you copied the link to your TV Fool Report...

[Chris05]

I updated the analysis link.

[Chris05]

Analysis report link was updated.

[GroundUrMast]

I would opt for even larger... If you're favoring the Antennacraft products, the HBU-55 is not over kill by any means. The equivalent competing product from Winegard would be the HD7698P.

My choice would be to go all the way, an Antennas Direct 91XG and an Antennacraft Y10713 into a UVSJ then into the preamp (which should be no more than a few feet, as the coax runs, from the antenna(s)). Stack the two antennas UHF on top & the H-VHF at least 3' below.

It sounds as if the existing preamp is still functional... No harm giving it another chance. But you could squeeze a dB or better noise performance out of a switch to an Antennas Direct PA-18. I would even consider installing a dedicated preamp on each antenna, then combining down stream of the power insertion blocks. Each dB of net system noise figure is precious... Which is why the preamp(s) need to be close to the antenna(s)... every dB of loss between the antenna and amplifier is a dB of NF you'll never get back. If you have 100' of coax between the antenna and amplifier, that could translate to a loss of 5 to 6 dB of net NF.

[Chris05]

The hbu44 is up, still using old preamp. It's aimed to 88deg to pickup ch 13 abc, but all the channels from Duluth at 111 deg are coming in fine.

I've noticed Tv signals are stronger at night than during the day.