antenna disconnect switch

[corvairbob]

i have 2 antenna towers and sometimes i need both to get good reception and sometimes i have to take one out of service. what i need to find is a device i can connect the antenna to and the output will then go to my combiner. what i need is it to be electric so i can unplug it and have it remove that antenna and when i need that antenna again plug it back in. i have remote wifi switches that i can just use my phone to turn on the power to that antenna switch so i do not have to go out in the garage to do this. so does anyone know if there is a device that does this?

so does anyone happen to know if there is a switch that can do this? thanks

[GroundUrMast]

I'm not aware of an 'off the shelf' retail solution... Hopefully someone else does. I think you'll need to have some DIY skills with hardware and software. Doing a quick search online, I came up with this;

https://www.jfwindustries.com/produc...oaxial-switch/

I would expect an Arduino with Ethernet or Raspberry Pi could be used to interface via a web devise. I would investigate the Arduino first because it will directly support TTL (0 to 5V) signal levels whereas the RPi uses 3.3V and would need a level converter in-between it and the RF switch.

[rabbit73]

would this relay work for you?

https://www.rfparts.com/cx550f.html

[rickbb]

Whole bunch of wifi switches here, don't know if one will suite you but they are cheap enough to try.

https://www.amazon.com/wireless-rela...s+relay+switch

[Tower Guy]

Do either of your antennas have preamps? If so you could remove the power from the power supply to the unused antenna(s).

I assume that you are trying to combine antennas aimed in different directions and a simple combiner does not work. Can you provide a rabbitears.info report for your location that shows which antennas need combining?

[corvairbob]

Originally Posted by rickbb

Whole bunch of wifi switches here, don't know if one will suite you but they are cheap enough to try.

https://www.amazon.com/wireless-rela...s+relay+switch

thanks but i do not need the rf switch for remote switching. i have them i need some kind of rgu 56 device that will let me remotely take that antenna out of the system.

[corvairbob]

thanks for the help but it really is not worth 100$ to do this. also i do not have the pre amps and if i did i know i could just plu that antenna into one of my remote switches and then that would take most if not all the signal out. i will keep looking i may find something

[rabbit73]

Originally Posted by corvairbob

i have 2 antenna towers and sometimes i need both to get good reception and sometimes i have to take one out of service.

I don't completely understand your problem. There are a lot of details missing.

Why do you need to take one out? What advantage does that give you?

What is the problem if you don't take it out?

What are the two antennas, and where are they aimed?

What kind of combiner are you using?

What channels are involved?

What does your signal report look like?

[corvairbob]

Originally Posted by rabbit73

I don't completely understand your problem. There are a lot of details missing.

Why do you need to take one out? What advantage does that give you? depends on how the atmosphere is

What is the problem if you don't take it out? lose signal on 1 or 2 tv stations

What are the two antennas, and where are they aimed? i have 3 antennas. 1 yagi for uhf and 2 8 bay flat style units pointing north east fome me

What kind of combiner are you using? i can't say for sure but i will do in and out for signal and i got it from a vender on this site

What channels are involved? 29-1,2,3 and sometimes 8-1,2,3 for my area 49442

What does your signal report look like?

in the tv that show signal strength i get 40 for most channels and 60 for a few so it is dependent on the power the stations have.

rabbit when i was setting up my system we went all over this.

for some reason i lose signal when i have 2 antenna point to the same direction. the tv station calls it atmospheric disturbance. i calle bunk but if i take one off line sometime i get better signal. and then sometimes i have to put it back online

i also have a post amp/splitter for 4 tv's and for the most part they do good. now and then i lose 8 or 29 . i didn't watch 8 much but i watch 29-2 a lot as it has cozy and i like that programming. thanks

[rabbit73]

Originally Posted by corvairbob

in the tv that show signal strength i get 40 for most channels and 60 for a few so it is dependent on the power the stations have.

rabbit when i was setting up my system we went all over this.

OK, you're going to make me hunt for it. I looked at your previous thread for the missing details since you didn't want to give them here. Is this report correct for your location?
https://www.rabbitears.info/searchma...study_id=42951

for some reason i lose signal when i have 2 antenna point to the same direction. the tv station calls it atmospheric disturbance. i calle bunk but if i take one off line sometime i get better signal. and then sometimes i have to put it back online

I call it a problem with your method of combining. Using a splitter in reverse as a combiner is easy, but it usually doesn't work very well. The same signals from each antenna interfere with each other when they get to the combiner.

If you don't have all the signals when combined that you had when the antennas were separate, that method of combining doesn't work for you.

i also have a post amp/splitter for 4 tv's and for the most part they do good. now and then i lose 8 or 29 . i didn't watch 8 much but i watch 29-2 a lot as it has cozy and i like that programming. thanks

If COZI-TV is important to you, you will need a separate antenna for WOMS-CD. It's very low power; only running at 0.7 kW ERP, which is about as much as a toaster uses.
https://www.rabbitears.info/market.p...=67895#station

https://www.rabbitears.info/tvq.php?...ms&facid=67895

And then you will have to figure out a way to switch to the COZI antenna.

[corvairbob]

thanks. i have one of them pointed at that tower now. and the yagi is point more to that channel and to g.r. .

that splitter is a both wat unit. it does either in or out on all the ports. i got it form a tvfool vender way back when i was setting my system up the firs time about 2 years ago. he is in the lansing area and use to live over my way. he sells the double antenna system that is a stacked unit. i may wind up getting that system next summer and mounting it a bit higher and then put a rotator on it. i hate to rotate the antenna because multiple tvs run form them and if i move to one station then i lose the signal for other tv's.

i would like to find a omni directional antenna. i have one i got from the guy that had the tv station in muskegon a few years ago but he died and i do not have it anymore, i installed it at my girls house. she gets the stations better than i do. but i can't take her stuff down now. what i should have done was taken it apart to see how he made it and then just copied it.

maybe someone here has one or know someone that builds them. thanks

[rabbit73]

Originally Posted by corvairbob

thanks. i have one of them pointed at that tower now. and the yagi is point more to that channel and to g.r.

OK

that splitter is a both wat unit. it does either in or out on all the ports. i got it form a tvfool vender way back when i was setting my system up the firs time about 2 years ago. he is in the lansing area and use to live over my way.

Denny's in Ithaca, MI?

A splitter in reverse as a combiner will give you problems.

he sells the double antenna system that is a stacked unit. i may wind up getting that system next summer and mounting it a bit higher and then put a rotator on it. i hate to rotate the antenna because multiple tvs run form them and if i move to one station then i lose the signal for other tv's.

That sounds like the Stacker.

You're right, a rotator will cause problems.

I suggest you have your main antenna connected to all TVs at the antenna input. Then, connect the COZI antenna to a converter box tuner and connect its output to the aux input of just one TV so that you can watch COZI on that TV.

No rotator or rescanning needed.

You do have a lot of channels in different directions, but I'm not convinced an Omni antenna will be a good solution for you. They receive poorly in all directions because the omni antenna element doesn't have much gain and the internal preamp will make the signals stronger, but it will not improve the signal quality.

[corvairbob]

thanks much something to think hard about. one more think i may try next year is to just connect separate antennas one to eand tv.

part of my problem is i have a power transformer out in the front like 75' away and one time years ago the neighbor had an antenna guy trying to hook up an antenna and he told me that transformer gave him fits. hw was from an antenna company in the area.

but it is a challenge. a few weeks ago i got a home built antenna from a guy down the road. he put it under his eve on the east side of his house, then he scanned for channels and he got like 10 more that i do. i'm 40' in the air. and he point it south east. if i point southeast i look at the power pole directly.

anyway his signal strength was way more then mile so i got it and connected it up, i got about the same signal as i do now. and i got the same channels as i get with my setup. so that 30$ did not good. but next summer i will try it on the girls house and see if she get better signals.

and then i will retry that omni again at my place and see if it works any better. thanks

[rabbit73]

Originally Posted by corvairbob

part of my problem is i have a power transformer out in the front like 75' away and one time years ago the neighbor had an antenna guy trying to hook up an antenna and he told me that transformer gave him fits. hw was from an antenna company in the area.

Yup, powerline noise can cause interference to TV signals, especially on VHF like WZZM ABC on 13 and WGVU on 11.

[rickbb]

Originally Posted by corvairbob

thanks but i do not need the rf switch for remote switching. i have them i need some kind of rgu 56 device that will let me remotely take that antenna out of the system.

For only 10 bucks or so and a little splicing and soldering you could make a RG56 cable switch out of one of those fairly easy.

[corvairbob]

Originally Posted by rabbit73

Yup, powerline noise can cause interference to TV signals, especially on VHF like WZZM ABC on 13 and WGVU on 11.

yep that is the pole i have in my side yard looking out to the grand rapids area. you got it good. thanks

[GroundUrMast]

Originally Posted by Tower Guy

Do either of your antennas have preamps? If so you could remove the power from the power supply to the unused antenna(s).

I assume that you are trying to combine antennas aimed in different directions and a simple combiner does not work. Can you provide a rabbitears.info report for your location that shows which antennas need combining?

Thanks for jogging my memory TG...

In the past I've thought about using line amps as RF switches. Simply power up the amp to pass signal, power down to block it.

Likely the most practical option for a consumer grade off-the-shelf solution. Cost and availability of parts would be better than an industrial or commercial product.

[Tim]

Originally Posted by corvairbob

yep that is the pole i have in my side yard looking out to the grand rapids area. you got it good. thanks

If power line noise is causing interference to TV reception, call the power company. They have to meet certain FCC regulations and will come out and investigate. It often saves them money in the long run because it points to problems that need be to repaired such as loose hardware, corrosion, defective insulators, etc. Most power line noise is caused by arcing and arcing in a power system indicates something that they want to repair. They have some standard gear and some special equipment that will help them to quickly diagnose any issues.

[corvairbob]

no they will not do anything been there done that. they cause just enough to make reception bed. i have all 4 tv stations in my area email and i talk to them on a regular basis. i aske them all about that and they say nothing can be done. so i got that from the horses mouth. and these guys are the transmission engineers. plus i complained to the fcc and nothing was ever done. the fcc never returned me emails. go figure. thanks