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13-Dec-2011, 2:36 PM
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#1
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Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: London, ON Canada
Posts: 12
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Multiple Antennas?
With my DigiWave ANT-2110 i am receiving some channels from a tower that is close enough that direction does not matter, plus one channel [CITY 31/31.1, 25.5 miles] with the antenna pointed directly at it [78`T ].
There is another channel [CHCH, 51/51.1, 31.6 miles] that is almost directly opposite at 254`T. I am considering hanging a second antenna on the same pole, aiming it at CHCH, and using a splitter to combine the two cables.
Anyone else doing this?
BTW, i am in London, ON Canada and i have the antenna in my attic about 25' up.
TIA
Mick
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13-Dec-2011, 7:01 PM
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#2
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Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Greater Seattle Area
Posts: 4,773
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Welcome Mick,
The up side to your proposed solution is that it's cheap, just the cost of an antenna, a splitter/combiner and maybe some coax and connectors.
If you use an identical antenna, baluns and matched cables from the antennas to the combiner, you'll improve your chance of success. Still, the results may disappoint you. You may find multipath becomes a problem.
As a backup plan you may want to consider another option: http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=2882
__________________
If the well is dry and you don't see rain on the horizon, you'll need to dig the hole deeper. (If the antenna can't get the job done, an amp won't fix it.)
(Please direct account activation inquiries to 'admin')
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13-Dec-2011, 7:26 PM
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#3
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Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: London, ON Canada
Posts: 12
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Thank you for the info. I'll post back what i do and how it works out.
__________________
Mick
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14-Dec-2011, 7:57 PM
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#4
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Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: London, ON Canada
Posts: 12
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Well Mick [he said to himself], it was a good idea - it just did not work.
I managed to get an identical antenna. Connect both antennae using a simple splitter/combiner and all of the close-to-home towers that do not care about the direction of my antenna still come in good [perhaps degraded slightly]; of course these are all the "loser" channels, the ones that no one would pay for in any case.
The two good channels that i would like to get each come in well with just their one antenna conected; connect both antennae using the splitter/combiner and both channels degrade to useless. One of these towers is slightly N of E; the other slightly S of W - so really ~180` apart.
Time to explore further the options in the link posted above.
....
Did that. Looks like i would need to run an additional cable [from the attic down into a closet, thru a wall and along the baseboard, down to the basement via a cold air return, across the basement and up into the TV room] and an A/B switch. Not today anyway. Maybe another time.
Thank you for the help and info. It is appreciated. I'll post back if i come up with anything.
__________________
Mick
Last edited by mdawdy; 14-Dec-2011 at 8:23 PM.
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15-Dec-2011, 4:41 AM
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#5
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Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Greater Seattle Area
Posts: 4,773
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It would help us understand your situation better if you were to post a link to your TV Fool Report.
Guidelines when asking for help
Experimenting with small changes to the length of one or both 'antenna-to-combiner' cables might make this work for you. A few folks are able to make this arrangement work.
Yes, a two antenna system often needs to be cabled with separate down-leads to an A/B switch or separate tuners.
__________________
If the well is dry and you don't see rain on the horizon, you'll need to dig the hole deeper. (If the antenna can't get the job done, an amp won't fix it.)
(Please direct account activation inquiries to 'admin')
Last edited by GroundUrMast; 15-Dec-2011 at 4:45 AM.
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16-Dec-2011, 4:41 PM
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#6
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Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: London, ON Canada
Posts: 12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GroundUrMast
It would help us understand your situation better if you were to post a link to your TV Fool Report ...
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My apologies for not following the NewGuy guidelines. Here is the link to my TV Signal Analysis Results ...
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...4033077dfb8f79
Quote:
Originally Posted by GroundUrMast
... Experimenting with small changes to the length of one or both 'antenna-to-combiner' cables might make this work for you. A few folks are able to make this arrangement work ...
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I have 12' cables between each antenna and the combiner. They could be shorter, about 6'. I could also move the two antennae closer together. I have each on a separate mast altho my original intention was to put them on the same one. Somehow i thought that keeping them separate would be better, but i have no real tech knowledge about this.
Should i put them on the same mast, or move them closer together, and should i make the cables as short as possible and still equal length? One is pointing almost directly East, the other almost directly West.
Compass i use [from my sailing days] ...
West, 263` compass ...
East, 87` compass ...
It took me a while to determine that i originally had the antenna pointing backwards. It is "obviously" a huge arrow, but it does not work that way. The tail is the pointer.
The antenna that i have may not be very good. They are DigiWav ANT-2110. DIGIWAV claims they are good for 70 miles. LAVA HD230 is an identical one, claims just 45 miles and a user rating of only 3.0 out of 5.0
Also the LAVA HD2805 claims 150 miles and a user rating of 4.9 out of 5.0 for about the same price.
Perhaps DIGIWAV is not being honest about their distance claim, and i may have better results with the LAVA2805.
DIGIWAV ANT2110 web page ...
http://www.digiwavetechnologies.com/...ge&PAGE_id=401
LAVA2805 web page ...
http://antennadeals.com/HD2805.html
LAVA HD230 web page ...
http://antennadeals.com/HD230.html
Quote:
Originally Posted by GroundUrMast
... Yes, a two antenna system often needs to be cabled with separate down-leads to an A/B switch or separate tuners.
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Eventually it may cone down to this, but i am willing to experiment more if it might be fruitful.
Thanx again for the info and the assistance.
__________________
Mick
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16-Dec-2011, 4:56 PM
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#7
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Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: London, ON Canada
Posts: 12
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In my previous long post [EDIT: which may be next, needing moderator approval] i forgot to mention that in the last couple of days i have completely lost the signal from channel 31, the one with the tower at 87`C, 25 miles to the east. Zero signal strength.
Also, even while i was getting 31 very clearly for perhaps a week, i was not able to pull in channel 6 at 73`C or channel 13 at 55`C. These are close enough [~44 miles] that i thought i might get them.
Perhaps these latter two are limitations of the DIGIWAV ANT2110 that i am using. But i do not understand the loss of 31.
__________________
Mick
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16-Dec-2011, 6:01 PM
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#8
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Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Greater Seattle Area
Posts: 4,773
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I don't have specific info re. CH-31, though reports of stations recently switched from digital to analog failing have been somewhat common. Searching through or inquiring at digitalhome.ca may provide an answer from folks in the area.
If you want to continue to experiment with cable lengths, try changing the length of only one at a time, and then, only an inch or so at a time.
If it's practical, you can also make slight adjustments to the separation distance between the two antennas.
Yes, this can be tedious and it may result in improvement of some signals at the expense of others.
I can not recommend the LAVA 2805. It has a reputation for mechanical failure (plastic parts) and an amplifier that can not handle the strong signals shown on your TVFR.
__________________
If the well is dry and you don't see rain on the horizon, you'll need to dig the hole deeper. (If the antenna can't get the job done, an amp won't fix it.)
(Please direct account activation inquiries to 'admin')
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17-Dec-2011, 2:49 AM
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#9
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Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: London, ON Canada
Posts: 12
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I have found locally and on-line that Ch-31 is down.
Thanx for the link to digitalhome.ca Another good source of info, plus there is a paper there on how to get started running two antennae like i wish to do ...
Is there a way to combine two antennas to receive signals from two different locations?
http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/show...t=41102&page=2
__________________
Mick
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17-Dec-2011, 12:23 PM
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#10
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: King George, VA
Posts: 659
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Mick,
Since you are now a DH member, you can see the chart of recommended antennas here. Don't buy anything that's not listed. Also, there is a thread on reception results from your area here. Focus on the last few pages, as I think there's someone who has just about the same situation as you. If nothing else, post your TVFool report there and someone will give you the best recommendation. Good luck!
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17-Dec-2011, 2:54 PM
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#11
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Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: London, ON Canada
Posts: 12
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Thanx Dave. I'm on my way. Will post back here with results.
__________________
Mick
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17-Dec-2011, 11:19 PM
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#13
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Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: London, ON Canada
Posts: 12
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Thanx. I should have mentioned that the entrance to my attic is 12" X 22"; 25" diagonal. I will not be roof mounting so i have this restriction.
__________________
Mick
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19-Dec-2011, 3:34 PM
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#14
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Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: London, ON Canada
Posts: 12
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I am still working on the multiple antennas idea. I have ordered the Winegard CC-7870 Antenna Coupler from SaveAndReplay.ca
And on their WebSite i found this article which is essentially the same as on this site but with a little more info ...
http://overtheair.saveandreplay.com/...ng_Ganging.asp
We shall see how this all goes in the next week or so. If it appears that it will work out i intend to upgrade my antennas to one of these, as they will fit up into the attic ...
Antennas Direct ClearStream 2
WineGard Square Shooter
RCA ANT-751
Any comments appreciated.
__________________
Mick
Last edited by mdawdy; 19-Dec-2011 at 3:38 PM.
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19-Dec-2011, 9:01 PM
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#15
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Antennas Direct Tech Supp
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 2,942
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Quote:
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Winegard CC-7870 Antenna Coupler
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Be advised that the CC-7870 is simply a splitter made with ferrite cores. A good glass-strip splitter will do far better as a combiner.
Last edited by ADTech; 19-Dec-2011 at 9:05 PM.
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19-Dec-2011, 10:18 PM
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#16
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Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: London, ON Canada
Posts: 12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ADTech
Be advised that the CC-7870 is simply a splitter made with ferrite cores. A good glass-strip splitter will do far better as a combiner.
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I Googled glass-strip splitter but did not come up with much. I am not familiar with that terminology or with the term diplixer. Is this an example? ...
http://www.antennasdirect.com/store/splitters.html
This is quite an inexpensive part compared to the item i purchased. Does the description balanced low loss splitters / diplixers feature tin-plated zinc weatherproof housings, a DC pass port, and glass PCB micro strip design imply that it is a glass-strip splitter like you are referring to, and a combiner as well as a splitter?
If not perhaps you could get me an example?
Thanx.
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Mick
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20-Dec-2011, 12:50 AM
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#17
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: USA Gulf South
Posts: 231
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mdawdy
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Yes, those are glass-strip splitters. The are low-loss splitters with small internal glass printed circuit boards.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mdawdy
If not perhaps you could get me an example?
Thanx.
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The term "diplixer" was used in error. The actual term is diplexer. A diplexer is a combiner that multiplexes signals in two different frequency bands into a single pipe such as a coaxial cable. A VHF-UHF combiner is a type of diplexer. Diplexers are also used to combine satellite TV signals from the dish antenna with terrestrial broadcast signals from a terrestrial TV antenna for insertion into the satellite provider's STB.
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21-Dec-2011, 2:54 AM
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#18
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Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: London, ON Canada
Posts: 12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Electron
Install a Winegard HD7000R antenna ... You can try the HD7000R antenna in the attic , however the HD7000R will need to be mounted above the roof. Here are some antenna mounts ...
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Thanks for this info. I have not given up on an attic installation quite yet, but i suspect that in the end i will go outside.
__________________
Mick
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21-Dec-2011, 2:57 AM
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#19
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Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: London, ON Canada
Posts: 12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MisterMe
... The term "diplixer" was used in error. The actual term is diplexer. ...
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They actually spelled it displixer. I corrected the one error but did not see the other.
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Mick
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21-Dec-2011, 11:10 AM
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#20
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Antennas Direct Tech Supp
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 2,942
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mdawdy
They actually spelled it displixer. I corrected the one error but did not see the other.
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I gave that to our web lackey yesterday to correct... : 
Last edited by ADTech; 21-Dec-2011 at 11:15 AM.
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