New antenna

[YOG]

Hi, I bought a new antenna channel master 4228hd 8 bay antenna, installed it on the roof at 30ft. I can get a number of digital channels but would like some advise. 1. how can I get good signal from Toronto and Buffalo, do I need two antennas? 2. a lot of the channels are 50 miles away, do I need a booster or something to increase these signals.

I am new at this so please keep it simple, I appreciate any input.


Thank you
Tv signal analysis
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...9fbe73b1c44f64
I did not know if the attached file worked.

[kb2fzq]

Many of the stations that are LOS (line of sight) on your TVFool report are still broadcasting in analog not digital....the digital converter box will not receive these channels unless there is a pass-thru option for analog on the box.
To look to see if you can get the analog stations, plug the antenna coax directly into the TV and see what you get...

[YOG]

I have the coax plug in directly in my new LCD with built in tuner and i receive all of the analog channels. I am interested in getting more digital channels or stronger signal for the ones I get.

I have my antenna pointing at 110 degrees and can get all the channels with NM(dB) above 0. Although the channels with NM(dB) between 0 to +10.0 are in and out. How can I get stronger signal for these channel?

I also would like to get some local digital channels that are closer in distance but are lower in NM(dB) (Virt) 44.1, 25.1, 64.1, 57.1, 41.1, 61.1.

For best results should I have two antennas 1 pointing at 120 degrees, and 2nd pointing at 46 degrees with a booster or something that will increase these signals.

tvfool analysis

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...9fbe73b1c44f64

Thank you,

YOG

[mtownsend]

The Toronto and Buffalo stations are spread apart by approximately 80 degrees. The main beam pattern for the 4228HD is roughly 60 degrees wide in UHF. If you have the antenna pointed at Buffalo, then it's no surprise that some of the Toronto stations (with NM around 0 to -10) are not getting picked up because they are outside the main lobe of the antenna pattern.

If you add an antenna rotator, you could point the antenna at each station for optimum signal each time you want to watch it.

You can also use two fixed antennas, two coax lines, and an A-B switch to capture both markets.

A third option is to use two antenna and combine them onto a single feed. This avoids the need to touch anything when switching between stations from the two metros. However, the down side to this approach is that the performance (gain) of the antenna decreases when you do this and you may end up with less sensitivity than you had before. Whenever multiple antennas are wired together like this, they effectively act like one large antenna whose radiation pattern is no longer optimized for a single direction.



Since the weakest stations you are interested in have pretty low noise margins, then a single antenna with a rotator would probably give you the best reception on every station. You just need to adjust the rotator position from time to time depending on which stations you want to watch.



If you want to go with the 2 combined antenna approach (so that you never need to adjust the antenna), then you will probably have less reliability on the weakest stations.



A pre-amp might not work in this situation due to the very strong local analog stations. The analog signals are strong enough to cause overload on most amps if you have the antenna pointed in their direction. An overloaded amp creates distortion in the signal and can end up making your situation worse rather than better.

When all of the transmitters have been switched to digital, the overall signal power in the air will be much lower than it is today (digital TV is much more efficient than analog TV in terms of RF power), so a pre-amp will probably be much more effective after the analog stations are gone.

[YOG]

Thanks for your response, you answered all my questions.
Before finding this website I had no ideal, and or knew anything about antenna's. But now with your help and the information on this site I will finally throw out my satellite dish and costly monthly bill.

One more question, At the store were I bought my antenna they told me that the channel master 4228hd was the best one for me. Is it or is their one that can reach further.

Thanks YOG

[mtownsend]

Originally Posted by YOG

At the store were I bought my antenna they told me that the channel master 4228hd was the best one for me. Is it or is their one that can reach further.

There's no straight answer to what the "best" antenna is because it always depends on the specifics of the situation.

The 4228HD is a very good UHF antenna. It definitely ranks among the best UHF antennas out there. However, even among UHF antennas, there are some differences. The UHF band covers channels 14 through 69, and different antenna designs will perform better on different channels (favoring low, middle, or high channels).

Also, some people also use the 4228HD to pick up VHF channels even though it is NOT really a VHF antenna. Anyone that wants good VHF reception (especially on weaker signals) really needs to use a true VHF-capable antenna. I'm not a big fan of using the 4228HD to pick up VHF stations (even though it might work for strong signals) because there are plenty of good UHF/VHF combo antennas that can do better.



In a year's time, all of Canada's analog broadcasts will go away and be replaced by digital broadcasts. I'm not entirely sure how many of the new transmitters will remain in VHF.

The "best" antenna that covers all channels (2-69) is probably the Winegard HD8200U.

The "best" high-VHF/UHF antenna (channels 7-69) is probably the Winegard HF7698P.

For even greater sensitivity, you might do even better with separate dedicated UHF and VHF antennas.

For even greater sensitivity that that, it will probably require connecting multiple antennas into an array.

Of course, each situation is different, so other factors might make one antenna choice more preferable than another.

[YOG]

I will look into the winegard HD antennas you recommended. Now I have lots of work ahead thanks again for your help.

YOG