Antenna / Setup Reccomendations for Central WI

billrr02 · 13-Jun-2014, 2:52 PM

Hello!

My sister bought a permanent campsite / trailer in central WI and it came with an OTA antenna on a mast, but we can't get it to work quite right (no channels when we do the channel scan).

Here is my report:

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...e1c642133d1944

According to the previous owner, this antenna setup "should work just fine". I have my doubts, as I feel the antenna is not quite high enough. I used a 20 foot height for my report, but that's just a guess; It could be a bit lower than that. My end-goal is to get up to 4 TV locations working off of this one antenna - but for now I'd like to see it work on one!

The antenna mast does have a working rotor on it.

The antenna itself looks like this: http://goo.gl/7WUdIS (note, this isn't the actual picture of the antenna, just an example. I don't know the make/model of the antenna she has).

Here are my questions:

1) If I were to find that this antenna is bad, what make / model would you folks recommend I look at purchasing?

2) If the antenna height is not sufficient, do they make easy-to-assemble masts / towers, and what height do you recommend?

3) Should I be looking at using a pre-amplifier in this setup? I don't believe there is one on the mast. I've looked at both the Winegard LNA-200 (http://goo.gl/5zrory) and the CM-7778 (http://goo.gl/i8Fzwz).

Otherwise I have a PCT 4-port splitter/amplifier that I have lying around. (http://goo.gl/l4r8E4) Could I use that, or would it do more harm than good? Maybe I need the pre-amp AND this splitter?

Here is what I've armed myself with when I go up there this weekend to try and troubleshoot this:

1) A new matching transformer - http://goo.gl/HJdqMt (I noticed there was one up there when I was looking at it last time I was there)

2) Some new coaxial cable and cable ends (I've had this stuff lying around for a while, might as well use it!)

Thanks in advance!

ADTech · 13-Jun-2014, 3:12 PM

Take a small wire brush or some sandpaper along with you as well as the coax and balun. You may need to clean up connections that are corroded.

If you can get the PCT amp quite close (minimize cable length between the amp and the antenna), then you may not need a pre-amp.

I'd point the antenna at Green Bay for your testing. If the antenna is then aiming point-blank into a forest, then I'd give it very low odds of success.

billrr02 · 13-Jun-2014, 4:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ADTech

Take a small wire brush or some sandpaper along with you as well as the coax and balun. You may need to clean up connections that are corroded.

If you can get the PCT amp quite close (minimize cable length between the amp and the antenna), then you may not need a pre-amp.

I'd point the antenna at Green Bay for your testing. If the antenna is then aiming point-blank into a forest, then I'd give it very low odds of success.

Thanks AD - I'll be sure to bring those along.

Green Bay is my goal, as that is the most concentrated area for network stations (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, PBS, etc).