Any better setup for what I have?

[RhinoRunnin]

Hi, Being new to OTA after cutting cable, I 'm realizing you are at the mercy of many variables when it comes to getting a good reception unless your lucky enough to live fairly close to the signals; there are no magic bullet, so equipment wise am I at the best I can get for best reception?

Being at http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...46aeffe49731a4

with an AD 91XG & RCA TVPREAMP1R, 50' RG6 cable on 20' pole, I'm getting OK reception at times & terrible at other times depending on time of day & weather.

Since I have a UHF only antenna now & there are 2 Hi VHF stations I like to get (ABC & NBC), should I get a VHF only antenna (like a Winegard YA-1713 VHF high-band) to combine w/ the 91XG or get Denny's HD Stacker (only because it's reasonably sized & not a super long 14 footer like Winegard HD 7698P)

And get a better preamp with more gain? I don't know if any other preamp would be better than the RCA TVPREAMP1R on weak signals.

Thank you for your input!

[stvcmty]

Based on the TV fool plot you posted, to get KNTV (NBC) Real 12, you would need a very long high gain antenna. For a channel 12 Yagi, to get a NM of 10 (insurance against bad weather and such), you would need 20db of gain, which would require a 100’ long antenna. Just to get out of the hole, and get a NM of 0, you would need a 50’ long yagi.

[RhinoRunnin]

Thank you, so I'm probably out of luck with VHF Hi Band channels.
I should just stay with the AD 91XG & make no changes? Higher gain preamp for weak UHFs?

[GroundUrMast]

I would try the Y10713 as an addition to the 91XG. Set the TVPRAMP1R to 'Separate' mode and connect the Y10713 to the VHF port. KGO appears to be likely, KNTV may or may not work.

Experiment with other mounting locations and elevations.

[RhinoRunnin]

OK this is my last question : I was wondering if I were to use Winegard's best : HD 7698P, would you expect any improvement from a 91XG & YA1713 combo?

As for the preamp, nothing else could improve on the RCA TVPREAMP1R performance? I was wondering if it's gain was too low (22db UFH) & was looking at AntennaCraft 10G212 30db High Gain Amplifier?

I know this this asking a lot because nothing is certain until tried & proven, but I'm trying to get away from the buy & try & see method.

Thank you GrndUrMast & other experts, your opinions are greatly appreciated by us novice!

[ADTech]

I was wondering if I were to use Winegard's best : HD 7698P, would you expect any improvement from a 91XG & YA1713 combo?

No. The two antenna combo is better.

I was wondering if it's gain was too low (22db UFH)

Absolutely not. A higher gain amplifier does NOT equal better reception. Higher gain is only an asset when there is more extensive cabling and splitting going on.

[RhinoRunnin]

Ok, I have my answers. Thank you AD Tech. Antenna Direct 91XG w/ Winegard YA-1713 will be THE ANTENNA for me

[GroundUrMast]

Agreeing with ADTech;

Antennas are for receiving signals from the air. Amplifiers are for pushing signal through loss in cable and splitters.

Amplifiers do not and can not 'pull' signal from the cable, antenna or air.

[RhinoRunnin]

Your right, the amplifier advice is a much needed information for the newbies.

OK, I have one last question pertaining to mounting :

YA-1713 should be on top of the 91XG ? And how far apart should they be?

Thanks again!

When buying a house, pick the one on top of the hill.

[GroundUrMast]

The UHF antenna (91XG) is usually best on top. The H-VHF antenna (Y10713) should be at least 3' below, more if possible.

[stvcmty]

Originally Posted by RhinoRunnin

Thank you, so I'm probably out of luck with VHF Hi Band channels.
I should just stay with the AD 91XG & make no changes? Higher gain preamp for weak UHFs?

I was just saying based on the TV fool plot you gave, NBC is not a station to plan on getting. On the other hand, KGO-TV RF 7 ABC should be possible to get with a Y10-7-13.

The RCA Preamp TVPREAMP1R is nice, I have one. It has surprisingly low noise for its price. I think it is as quiet or quieter than a HDP-269 and comparable to a 10G201 (of which I have both.)

I read about people asking about preamps and it seems what they do is not quite understood. A preamp takes whatever signal the antenna feeds it, adds some noise to it, and amplifies it. The amplified signal then can overcome losses in cables, splitters, ground blocks, poor termination of cables, filters, and possibly a noisy tuner in the TV. A super high gain preamp does nothing but add noise if there are no losses between the antenna and the TV. If a signal is going to be split, for a two way split, that is a 3 to 4 dB loss, so if a preamp adds less than 3 dB of noise, then the loss from the noise in the preamp versus the loss in a splitter without a preamp are roughly equal. If more than 2 splits are needed, a good low noise preamp will probably help.

The only reason to need a preamp with more than 22 dB of gain is if you expect than 22 dB of loss. That would be (at UHF) an 8 way split (12 dB of loss), and 250 feet of cable (10 dB of loss). The gain the TVPREAMP1R offers is sufficient for most “normal” installations. The other thing to watch with preamps is if they will overload.

You have a couple of close transmitters, but nothing screaming lout, but still, the RCA TVPREAMP1R seems to gracefully handle a high input signal.

Right now, looking at what has been discontinued in the line of preamps, the TVPREAMP1R is probably the best preamp out there for most installs.