Help with TV antenna

Kevin · 15-Jan-2014, 8:18 PM

Hi,

I am in Southern Ontario and my signal analysis is here:

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...5b946d51810248

I have an old TV antenna in my attic that worked well for about a decade. The internal rotator as well as the remote quit working on it. I would like to replace my antenna with one (or two) digital antennas that don't need to be rotated. As you can see in the signal analysis, most of the signals I can receive are from either (approximately) the southeast or southwest. Also, most (if not all) TV signals in this area are now digital. Would it be possible to connect two antennas to a single coax cable using a splitter and avoid using an A/B switch? I have read on here that omnidirection antennas are not that great but if anyone thinks one could work in my situation, please let me know.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Best regards,
Kevin

kach22i · 15-Jan-2014, 8:44 PM

What I've read is that omni-direction antennas are actually UH only antenna and most of the new stations are in the upper VHF frequencies.

I once tried using an A/B switch, it was a real pain in the butt and something my wife never understood (nor was I able to train her to overcome her phobia of it).

I seem to recall seeing a two in splitter on-line or at radio Shack, think it was meant for one cable and one antenna connect but don't see why a two antenna connection would not work. More of a problem of one signal overpowering the other because of pre-amp mismatches perhaps?

Kevin · 16-Jan-2014, 2:55 PM

Thanks Kach, good point regarding the pre-amp. Maybe I should try to find two antennas without amps and then amplify the signal downstream of the splitter/combiner.

Best regards,
Kevin

kach22i · 16-Jan-2014, 4:32 PM

My installation instructions from Denny's TV said the preamp has got to before the splitter. It's the newer Wineguard USB preamp, but I think they are all the same installation wise.

If I can find my instructions over the weekend I'll post them for you.

GroundUrMast · 16-Jan-2014, 6:04 PM

Combining antennas that operate in entirely different frequency ranges is fairly simple and inexpensive. The common example is a UHF only antenna combined with a VHF only antenna via a UHF/VHF signal combiner such as this http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...ductId=2103923 or this http://www.amazon.com/Antennas-Direc.../dp/B008PBTPN4 These devices contain some fairly simple filters that prevent the two dissimilar antennas from interacting/interfering with one another.

Combining two antennas that operate in the same frequency ranges is possible, but requires much higher quality ($$$) filter networks or active electronics ($$$$$).

You can try using two identical antennas and a 2-way splitter in reverse... IF you're very lucky, it might work. Most folks that try this find the results to be disappointing at best. The reversed splitter does not prevent the two antennas from acting as interference sources to one another.

If you need an amplifier, it will do the most good when mounted close to the antenna, before the signal is degraded by cable or splitter losses.

kach22i · 16-Jan-2014, 7:55 PM

Nice post, I think I've learned something new.

Kevin · 16-Jan-2014, 10:17 PM

Thanks GroundUrMast. The signals interferring is what I was afraid of. I am curious about what the higher quality filters you referred to are called and what they might cost. Would they be available off the shelf or are we talking about custom built stuff?

I am now wondering if there are other options (other than a rotator or A/B switch) that I have not considered. Are there any digital VHF and UHF antennas that have anything like 180 degrees field of view (I dont know the right term for this)? If there were such a thing, and I focussed only on digital signals, I might be able to get most of the stronger signals by aiming it about south-southeast. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again,
Kevin

GroundUrMast · 17-Jan-2014, 12:25 AM

You may want to inquire with tinlee.com re. filters. One way to approach this type of situation is to obtain a filter for each channel that you want to receive. The signal from the antenna with the best quality copy of a given signal would be the source for a filter input. The output of all the filters would then need to be recombined into a single coax. Obviously, when there are many signals available, many filters may be required. Tinlee may be able to suggest other approaches.

An alternative to consider: http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=2882

Kevin · 17-Jan-2014, 6:33 PM

Thanks again,

That sounds like a great idea to try. I will check out Tinlee as well. Before I do though, do you think there is any point in me trying an omnidirectional antenna? I read somewhere that they are still somewhat directional; maybe I can find a sweetspot by pointing it about SSE.

Best regards,
Kevin

GroundUrMast · 17-Jan-2014, 7:55 PM

The line of sight signals are more likely to do OK with an omni style antenna. The weaker edge path signals are more doubtful. I'd start by verifying what channel CIII is operating on. If you need support for real CH-6, get an all-channel antenna such as the Channel Master CM3016 or larger (Consider similar product from Antennacraft and Winegard as well).

If no need for real CH-6 exists, then use an Antennacraft HBU-33 or larger (again there are similar products from other manufacturers).

If you are mounting in the attic, use a larger antenna if it can fit.

With one antenna, you can survey the reception landscape and make informed choices as how to proceed.