Want to Improve My Reception

[freetvplease]

My TVFool report: http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...5b94d9e32b7627

My current setup is a HBU44 antenna with a HDP269 preamp that is 25ft from the ground. I've tested all my connections and they are solid. I have one computer connected about 35 foot from the preamp near the antenna. A tv about 50 ft. and the last tv about 60ft. I want to add atleast 1 more tv but it will be about 80ft away. One thing I plan on doing is putting the power injector in the attic and trying to use a splitter in position that will mostly make the final runs to the tvs and computer equal in length.

One thing I'm going to do once I figure out a better antenna/preamp combo is to raise the new setup to 30ft overall in height. My house is situated in an area that is hilly and lots of tree/foliage. I'm not having any big problems except for the occasional plane (especially those single prop buggers) interfering/interrupting my signal.

Having said all this, what would be the recommendation for Antenna and Preamp. Thanks so much,

John

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A good plan , put the power supply/power injector in the attic , connected before the splitter in the attic.

[freetvplease]

Thanks Tele, maybe I'm not asking the question properly. Can you recommend a better antenna than the hbu44? The darn trees around here are degrading my signals, not enough to make watching tv a pain but I know I can get more solid signals.

[dmfdmf]

Originally Posted by freetvplease

Thanks Tele, maybe I'm not asking the question properly. Can you recommend a better antenna than the hbu44? The darn trees around here are degrading my signals, not enough to make watching tv a pain but I know I can get more solid signals.

That antenna should work at your location so raising it or moving left/right might help but before you do all that work try this. First, all your stations are 2Edge (refracted) signals so you might try tilting up the antenna vertically (up toward the sky) 5-10 degrees. Sometimes you can get a few more dB for refracted signals this way but you'll need to experiment.

Second, I have a similar antenna (an ANT751, so not as large as yours) and I had to add a 24" twin-lead extension to my balun because the wind kept whipping it around and breaking the connection. I was surprised to discover that the extension allowed the wire to drop away from the antenna at 90deg and moved the balun to the J-pole and thus increased my signals about ~10%on UHF or VHF-Hi bands.

Here is my post on the balun story: http://forum.tvfool.com/showpost.php...1&postcount=48

[GroundUrMast]

The HBU-55 would offer a slight improvement in performance over the HBU-44.

The Winegard HD7698P is another option, similar to the HBU-55

A premium option would be the combination of an Antennas Direct DB8E + Antennacraft Y10713 + an RCA TVPRAMP1R.

The 'deluxe premium' option would also include a tower that clears the nearby trees. (Which would likely make the HBU-44 perform like a rock star.)

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You can try other antennas such as the , HBU55 or HD7698P.

Do not expect to see a lot of improvement.

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The DB8e would likely provide a improvement of the UHF 14 thru 51 channels.

The Y10-7-13 would likely provide a small improvement of the VHF channels 7 thru 13.

A , RCA TVPRAMP1R preamp , or , Antenna Craft 10G221 preamp.

Can be used to connect and amplify the antennas.

The FM radio interference trap of the preamplifier will be in the , in/on position.

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However the heavens will not open up and the alpha/omega will not descend on to your reception location , with the above actions alone.

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The Number 1 action to take is if the HBU44 antenna or any other antenna or antennas can be moved to a location , be it higher antenna height or a different location or a combination of both , so as to avoid the obstructions of the trees and other obstructions to the East.

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Here are Antenna Towers that , Light Weight , Aluminum , Lay Over , Towers.

Do antenna installation and adjustments , Standing on the Ground.

The idea is to install a tower that is taller then the trees and other obstructions.

http://www.palcoelectronics.com/pe300.aspx.

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Here is a 10 foot roof top tripod antenna mount.

http://www.ronard.com/Tripods%200703/4712.html.

Use the , ronard(4712-50-10)

[dmfdmf]

I forgot to add... rezero your tuner if you haven't done it in a while.

Unplug the antenna from the back of the TV and cap the input with a 75 ohm F-type terminator cap. Scan for channels, it should find zero channels. Plug the antenna back in and rescan. These steps should be repeated for each TV.

[freetvplease]

DMF you taught me a couple things with your reply, thank you. Ground, thank you for the combo suggestions. I have taken notice of those DB8e's and have been very interested in trying one.

Now I have a plan and as I implement each step I'll report back the results and probably more questions. Thank you all,

John

[freetvplease]

So here is my plan of attack to begin with.

1. Reposition the power injector in the attic and split the lines to each tv to be more equal. BTW can someone suggest a good splitter? I think the one I'm using is cheap.

2. Raise my current antenna higher and try the balun mod suggested by dmf. Next question, since the antenna will be 20ft above the roof edge will I need to add another guy wire assembly half way between the roof edge and the one near the top?

3. If those two don't gain me what I'm looking for then I'll try the angle idea dmf suggested before purchasing combo setup Ground suggested.

Along the way I'll be zeroing the scans and rescanning.

Anyway this is my plan atm. Thank you all,
John

Originally Posted by teleview

+=>
----
You can try other antennas such as the , HBU55 or HD7698P.

Do not expect to see a lot of improvement.

-----------

The DB8e would likely provide a improvement of the UHF 14 thru 51 channels.

The Y10-7-13 would likely provide a small improvement of the VHF channels 7 thru 13.

A , RCA TVPRAMP1R preamp , or , Antenna Craft 10G221 preamp.

Can be used to connect and amplify the antennas.

The FM radio interference trap of the preamplifier will be in the , in/on position.

---

However the heavens will not open up and the alpha/omega will not descend on to your reception location , with the above actions alone.

------------------------

The Number 1 action to take is if the HBU44 antenna or any other antenna or antennas can be moved to a location , be it higher antenna height or a different location or a combination of both , so as to avoid the obstructions of the trees and other obstructions to the East.

----------

Here are Antenna Towers that , Light Weight , Aluminum , Lay Over , Towers.

Do antenna installation and adjustments , Standing on the Ground.

The idea is to install a tower that is taller then the trees and other obstructions.

http://www.palcoelectronics.com/pe300.aspx.

----------

Here is a 10 foot roof top tripod antenna mount.

http://www.ronard.com/Tripods%200703/4712.html.

Use the , ronard(4712-50-10)

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Home Depot has 10 foot 6 inch lengths , 1 and 3/8 inch's diameter , TOP RAIL , chain link fence , PIPE , that makes good antenna mast pipe , the price is low at about 10 dollars.

[GroundUrMast]

BTW can someone suggest a good splitter? I think the one I'm using is cheap.

The Ideal brand is stocked at Home Depot and Lowes I've had good success using the units with 1GHz of bandwidth.

http://www.idealindustries.com/produ..._splitters.jsp

[freetvplease]

Hello Tele, I was in Home Depot and actually saw those poles. Also thanks for the other info you've provided.

Ground, I also saw that splitter but was confused by the one 4db and two 8db outputs. Why is it configured that way?

John

[GroundUrMast]

If you are referring to the 3-way splitter (#85-133), it is equivalent to two 2-way splitters connected so that one output of the first splitter feeds the input of the second. As a result, the one free port of the first splitter will be 4 dB down in level and the two output ports of the second will be down another 4 dB for a total loss of 8 dB.

As I recall, the 3-way splitter offed by Antennas Direct is a balance design and has equal loss on all three output ports.

I some applications, the low loss on one port may be a slight advantage when feeding a longer run of coax... Though in most cases, it's not going to make any noticeable difference.

[freetvplease]

Hey Ground, I actually understood your explanation and after pondering my setup atm, the Ideal threeway splitter is probably the correct choice using the 4db connection to go to the HTPC which has a dual tv tuner and a single tv tuner requiring another two way split. Then running the other two tv's. Thanks,

John

[freetvplease]

Hey Ground, did you take any pics of the balun mod?

[GroundUrMast]

I'm not sure what you mean... The Ideal model 85-133 is a factory assembled and sealed unit. No mod involved.

I suppose you could use two 2-way splitters, but I wouldn't consider that a mod. I would also discourage that option, due to cost and the added chance for trouble in a connector.

[freetvplease]

I'm sorry ground I meant dmfdmf and post #4.

[dmfdmf]

Originally Posted by freetvplease

I'm sorry ground I meant dmfdmf and post #4.

Here is the best I could do, no assembly pics but here is my beautiful ANT751 against the majestic sky collecting HD TV radio waves;
http://imgur.com/nzLCRxi

I used Radio Shack twinlead about 24" and just soldered spade connectors on the end where it attaches to the antenna and soldered it to the balun on the other end. You can see the balun just peaking out from behind the J-pole. I also shrink wrapped every thing to make it secure and CAT5 hurricane rated as it gets really windy on my roof.

From what I understand from reading various websites is that the wire dropping directly way from the boom is the best configuration to maximize reception. It definitely made a difference on my TV even though I did it because of the wind. Good luck, I hope that helps and please report back your results.

[freetvplease]

Thanks dmf. That confirmed what you described and what my mental picture of it was. I like to tweek and experiment.

[freetvplease]

Today I pulled down my main antenna setup. Bought 4 10' top rail chain link fence posts and when I went to put the Guy Wire Ring on the new pole, the ring would not fit. The diameter of the new pole is too large. Does anyone make a Guy Wire setup that will fit these poles?