what are the choices?

inspector · 23-Sep-2011, 12:42 AM

Now that the HD is up and running I have been very impressed with the picture that we receive. I have played with a little antenna within the house and have had a fare few channels come in but we keep loosing the sound. We live in the country side and have tall trees around the house. My best location for an out side antenna is located about 200ft. away from the house on my pole light tower. This distance is should be the total length needed to be up the tower to the center of the house.This will give about the maximum distance I can get from all the out buildings, trees, barn, etc. The system here said that I may only need a height of 10 ft. for HD but in past we have had our antenna at 25ft to the top of the house for best reception. I was looking for suggestion as to if I need a booster and to what size to travel the extra distance. As by my signal analysis it would appear that I can receive signals from all directions. Can any one suggest any non rotary antennas that would be suitable in this case that they have heard are working well? The wife was hoping for as may channels as possible but I think over boosting will only cause more havoc. Thank you for your time and knowledge. My signal analysis was http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...60b5bde23bf00d

GroundUrMast · 23-Sep-2011, 1:01 AM

Mounting an antenna on a light pole should be done with great care. If there is power present, take appropriate precautions to avoid any possibility of the power and antenna systems contacting one another.

A 200' run of RG-6 coax would have about 12 dB loss. An Antennas direct CPA-19 preamp would be a good choice for overcoming that loss.

An omni-directional antenna would not have enough gain to reliably receive the weaker signals. I would suggest using two antennas:
A 4-bay panel antenna such as the Antennas Direct DB-4 facing 318°
A Winegard VHF HD5030 pointed at about 45°

Combine the two antennas with a UVSJ signal combiner, which would connect to the input of the preamp.

inspector · 23-Sep-2011, 1:18 AM

I apologize for going to the wrong tread. I was not sure where to post. I have an old communication tower and a 110 yard light. I appreciate your caution and thank you for your wisdom.

GroundUrMast · 23-Sep-2011, 1:27 AM

No worries.

I often say that "one amplifier can be too many, two amplifiers are too many".

Your situation with 200 feet of cable may be the rare exception to that rule of thumb. If you are going to feed several sets, a distribution amplifier may be needed. The number of sets and the length of cable in the house would determine if a second amplifier is needed.

Tower Guy · 23-Sep-2011, 2:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by inspector

My signal analysis was http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...60b5bde23bf00d

Something added periods in the middle of the TVFool URL:
Try this instead:
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...60b5bde23bf00d

Is CIII still on channel 6 analog?
Do you want the Eria, PA stations?

inspector · 23-Sep-2011, 4:33 PM

As of right now we do not pick up CIII 6, so I so not know If it has been switched over as of this time.
I did not see the ERIA PA stations listed nor under stand what they may be.