Channel Master 3020 deep fringe antenna

[jafo]

Digital channels in my local area:

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...1da95c2dd4c578

Will the above Channel Master antenna get ABC(7.1), NBC(4.1), CBS(11.1), & Fox(16.1) affiliates out of Little Rock, AR? I have an older antenna mounted right now that is only able to pull in NBC(4.1) & the PBS stations(9.1-9.4).

Or can anyone recommend an antenna that definitely will get those channels, plus any of the others in Arkansas? Thanks!

[jafo]

Btw, here is a link to the antenna I am looking at:

http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp...u=020572030205

[mtownsend]

Originally Posted by jafo

I have an older antenna mounted right now that is only able to pull in NBC(4.1) & the PBS stations(9.1-9.4).

Hello and welcome!

Have you checked the aim of your current antenna? I'm just wondering if it's currently aimed at KETG (south-east) and not optimally aimed at the Little Rock transmitters (north-east). If your current antenna has decent gain and is on the roof, I would expect it to get more of the Little Rock stations than what you're seeing.

Will the above Channel Master antenna get ABC(7.1), NBC(4.1), CBS(11.1), & Fox(16.1) affiliates out of Little Rock, AR?

The channels lower on the list (KATV, ABC) might be marginal, but if your coax is not that long and you only feed one TV, then my initial estimate is that it should work.

If you have a long coax run or split the signal to multiple rooms, then you may need to add a pre-amp to compensate for the signal drops. Some good pre-amps to consider are the Antennacraft 10G202, Winegard 8275, or Channel Master 7777.

The CM 3020 is a full band VHF and UHF antenna. You can get a narrower antenna that only supports channels 7-69 (since you have nothing in the 2-6 range) like the Antennacraft HBU-55 or Winegard HD7698P. The narrower antennas will put less wind loading stress on the mast, in case that matters in your area.

You can probably eek out a little bit more performance (better reliability, fewer video glitches) by going with separate UHF and VHF antennas, but that means having a little more hardware on the roof. If that sounds like something you're willing to consider, then please let us know.

[jafo]

I could be pointing at Ketg. Quality on the PBS channels is 40-50%, on Kark(NBC channel 4) it is 15-20%. But I have rotated the old antenna around with no luck picking up a signal from any station.

I want to get 4, 7, 11, 16, and possibly 38. So if one of those other antennas would be better and more capable of picking up those, let me know. Any other channels I can get are just a bonus....lol. That just seemed like a pretty good deal. I need something evidently with a high gain(dB) to offset KATV's negative NM(dB), right?

[jafo]

Which antenna gives me the highest gain- the channel master 3020 or the Antennacraft HBU-55?

[mtownsend]

Originally Posted by jafo

I need something evidently with a high gain(dB) to offset KATV's negative NM(dB), right?

That's right. And you'll also need a pre-amp. A very high gain antenna can pull a negative NM signal up into positive territory, but not by much. You don't want to lose that signal to things like cable loss, splitters, and the Noise Figure of your receiver, so a pre-amp is the way to go. A pre-amp will let you preserve as much signal quality as possible (right after the antenna) by boosting the signal before all of those "downstream" losses.

Originally Posted by jafo

Which antenna gives me the highest gain- the channel master 3020 or the Antennacraft HBU-55?

They are pretty close for the most part. I would expect the 3020 to do just a tiny bit better on UHF channels and the HBU-55 to do a little better on the high-VHF channels. The 3020 also supports low-VHF channels, but you don't have any in your area to worry about.

[jafo]

Thanks for all the info. Once I get it all purchased and set up, I will let you know how it is working.

[pyro-1955]

I just installed a new Winegard 8200 with the big Winegard preamp booster, it works GREAT! I was a little skeptical as I always used to go with Channel Master, Decided to try Winegard as they are actually american made. WOW what a difference, old antenna would only get 2 channels in my area, new antenna and Preamp, Now I get approximately 15 channels. If you are looking, definately consider Winegard.