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Old 5-Jan-2015, 4:34 PM   #1
davidgcet
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recommendations

I'm looking to cut the cord in the coming months and want to see what you guys recommend for the best OTA setup.

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...2c153c42e937a0

Currently I have a set of rabbit ear with the UHF loop that picks up channels 6.1/6.2/15.1/23.1-4 just fine. I cannot pick up 33 since it is low power the indoor antenna just won't quite it in my den. Funny but in my bedroom I have a cheap single collapsible antenna that came with a tv many years ago(like half a set of rabbit ears) and it will pick up 33.

What I would like to do is get my antennas outside. I have a 58' tower that my wireless internet radio is on, i can go on it but prefer NOT to go out the top so i don't have to pay someone to climb it. i can easily go about 30' up since the tower has a house bracket at my ridgeline.

So what i would like to do is a 2 part setup. UHF pointing north/northeast to improve the signal on the existing stations i get and hopefully pull in 33. Then either another UHF or a UHF and a VHF pointing southeast to pick up any of those channels. I'm mainly wanting to pick up the channels in the 150-156 degree range, though i may eventually want to add an antenna to get those over around 256. I am not really interested in any of the tropo stations, though if i get them i won't mind.

These would need to combine inside my attic and split out to between 2 and 5 tvs. Not real sure if i need OTA in the kids rooms as they seem to live off Netflix now. It would be easy to do though, as right now all the Directv boxes go to a SWM splitter right by where the OTA cables would come in.

Any ideas on what to look for equipment wise? I've got plenty of experience in RF, been in commercial 2 way business for over 20 years now. i just have no knowledge of what particular items are decent and what are crap in the OTA world. I would prefer to use dedicated band antennas and not combo UHF/VHF as they should have better reception/rejection characteristics.

As far as internal cable runs will go from antennas to the distro point will be maybe 20 feet. from distro to the tvs varies from 20-50 feet. all inside cables are quad shield RG6 already in place. Would a distro amp be recommended, or just a simple splitter? I don't want to run into using an amp to improve the distant stations and then it be overloaded by the closer ones.

Also, if i end up with 3 antennas what combiner setup would be recommended? I do NOT plan on any outside preamps at this time. I don't know if it would even be worth using one or not, but would like the flexibility for later if i want one.

Sorry if i rambled a little much, just trying to give as much detail as i can.
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Old 6-Jan-2015, 2:00 AM   #2
davidgcet
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any suggestions on antennas???
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Old 6-Jan-2015, 10:05 PM   #3
timgr
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Hi -

Pretty sure you'll find that, once you get outside, you won't need heroic measures to pick up a lot of stations. The quad of stations at 85 magnetic will probably come in from the back side of a decent antenna pointed at 256. This assumes that you are hgh enough so that you aren't aiming through trees and there are no other obstructions.

I wonder how you are going to hang these antennas off your tower without coupling to it. Maybe that's not an issue.

Mostly what gets recommended here are Antennacraft or Antennas Direct. ADTech from Antennas Direct often gives advice here. The Antennacraft cut-to-band antennas (Y5713 or Y10713) are often combined with a UHF bowtie array like the Antennas Direct DB8e or DB4e. The Antennacraft HBU series is often recommended for a UHF/VHF-high combination antenna. The HD series also covers VHF-low. There are other quality antenna companies, like Channelmaster and Winegard, which I'm less familiar with.
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Old 7-Jan-2015, 12:10 AM   #4
davidgcet
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Thanks for the reply. As far as mounting the antennas to the tower I have plenty of stand off brackets that provide a 2" pipe up to 48" off the leg so no problem there. If they will hold up a 28' 80# 12db gain 800 MHz antenna then they will do fine for light weight TV antennas. I plan on putting these a few feet above my ridge line to limit torqueing the tower in winds. out the top would be ideal for longer distance, but it would cause reflections on my wireless internet and thus not worth the costs to fight that battle!

Thanks for the recommendations on antennas, I've never fooled with OTA beyond rabbit ears. I just want a general idea of any to definitely stay away from and any that may be better to look at. I was looking at the db8e or 4e. Would the 8e work to split one towards 256 and one toward the 155? That would save me putting 2 UHF antennas up if so. If that is not recommended, then is there a downside to going with the cheaper DB8? If I do go with multiple UHF antennas, what combiner do most folks use? The ones I see are generally UHF/VHF combiners, I have not run across a UHF/UHF though honestly have not looked much.

The only VHf stations I might want are WJTV at 155 and KNOE at 218 IF that one would come in. So I may just go with a UHF setup for now and then add later if I want more??
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Old 7-Jan-2015, 2:08 AM   #5
GroundUrMast
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Reception of WJTV is not out of the question. It would require a H-VHF antenna such as the Antennacraft Y10713 mounted clear of obstructions such as nearby trees.

If the predicted signal levels are accurate, KNOE is a very long shot.
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Old 7-Jan-2015, 3:27 PM   #6
davidgcet
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yeah KNOE is real iffy around here. I've seen a few people get it back in the days of analog, but they also had taller towers with a VHF antenna on a rotor out the top. I don't necessarily have to get it, we used to have it on the local cable system and I always watched their weather since they get the storms about 3 hours before we do. No big deal now with instant weather on my phone/laptop/tv, more like if I could get it for nostalgia sake it would be "cool".

So for now I guess the question becomes which UHF antenna setup would be better? a pair od DB8 or a single DB8e setup to point 2 different directions?
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Old 7-Jan-2015, 4:07 PM   #7
timgr
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Re the DB8 vs. DB8e, my understanding is the DB8 was designed before the FCC reduced the UHF TV band from 14-69 to 14-51 in 2009. Narrower band antenna (DB8e) is more sensitive. Plus it has the aiming feature.

Splaying the panels reduces the peak gain. You understand the potential multipath issues with combining two UHF antennas?

Last edited by timgr; 8-Jan-2015 at 12:24 PM.
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