Quote:
Originally Posted by bruneti
After talking with a salesman at my local Radio Shack, he recommended the larger antennas from your suggested list. He said the smaller ones often come back (get returned) in our area due to poor reception. If I were to pick the largest antenna that fits in my space in the garage attic and the reception was still not ideal, what would be a suggested amplifier that could be used in conjunction with this type of antenna?
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The four desired channels you mentioned are all in the green zone on your tvfool list. Their signal strengths are pretty strong and they are all coming from the same direction (about 115 degree compass heading).
Having more antenna will help you get a few more channels further down the list and will also give you more margin for error on the stations at the top of your list. Just make sure you have enough room left over so that you can rotate and adjust the position of the antenna a bit. It sometimes takes a bit of experimentation to find the optimum position for an attic antenna.
Amplification only helps for losses that occur
after the amp. This means things like coax loss, splitters, and tuners. Amps do not change the behavior of the antenna itself. Note that amps can sometimes make things worse. Amps with high Noise Figure specs or amps that are overloaded (due to too much signal power at the input) can actually make things worse than an unamplified system.
If you have no splits and a modest coax distance (~30 ft) between your antenna and TV, then amplification is probably not necessary. If the coax length is going to be long or if you plan on splitting the signal to multiple rooms, then amplification can help.
When choosing an amp, be sure to get one with a low Noise Figure specification (usually 3.0 dB or less). Amps known to have decent Noise Figure specs include the Antennacraft 10G201, Winegard HDP-269, and Channel Master 7778. The Winegard AP8700 is also a good amp.