TV Antenna Upgrade


  #1  
Old 09-08-18, 06:57 PM
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TV Antenna Upgrade

I've been running a massive Winegard HD8200U antenna with a Winegard LNA-200 Boost XT amp with fair to good results. Started with the antenna in the attic with the boom pointed at the Atlanta area stations to the northeast through the end wall of my vinyl sided house.

Moved it to the roof top and reception improved as expected. Still a few dropouts occasionally with the LNA-200 on a few channels.

Plenty of trees around me, Atlanta skyscrapers, etc. TV Fool predicted "0" stations to serve me based on my address and using 40 for antenna height.Swapped in a Channel Master CM-7777 amp for "weak signal areas." Its a 30db unit whereas the Winegard is a 20db.

Got everything hooked up, checked connections , did a new channel scan and I am only receiving one station with the new setup. Its coming in perfect also. But none of the other channels at all.

I flipped the FM trap switch inside the unit to allow FM signals as I've also got my stereo hooked up to the antenna. Never really had good results getting my favorite station from 70 mi away with the LNA-200(part of the reason I decided to try a more powerful booster.)

Thoughts?
 

Last edited by gastorms1; 09-08-18 at 07:51 PM.
  #2  
Old 09-08-18, 07:38 PM
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The "fool" predicated 0 and you are getting 1.......ummmm...ok.

The size of the antenna has little to do with HDTV reception. It's what's in the line of sight. I'm less than 20 air miles from NYC with a massive beam up and receive a few stations very weakly due to a mountain between us. I can get almost the same reception from an indoor antenna. If your antenna is not getting the signal..... a booster will rarely help and slightly larger doesn't necessarily mean better reception. Sometimes a larger booster adds more noise and detracts from the reception.

I do receive many PBS stations from throughout NJ. I do receive several foreign language stations as well as a home shopping channel perfectly.

Try the antenna with no amp. Also try a direct connection to just one TV.
 
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Old 09-08-18, 08:43 PM
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I was getting all the local stations with the Winegard amp. But had some dropouts on a few I hoped to improve with the more powerful amp.

The mfr warned that "overdriving" the signal might result in NO stations received.

My situation is similar to some of the folks who gave good reviews for the device on Amazon.

Maybe I should try flipping the FM trap back to default? Right now with it flipped to allow FM signals, my station which is Classic Rock is playing unknown rap,lol.

Yes, the fool predicted "0" and I was getting 10 stations and a total of over 50 with all their subs.

EDIT: Actually the "Fool" now shows stations for my address, it must have been a different search tool that showed the "0." I did try the antenna without any amp and it did not receive any stations that way.
 

Last edited by gastorms1; 09-08-18 at 09:05 PM.
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Old 09-09-18, 08:41 AM
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Here's a website that will create topographic profile for you. Select two points on the map and it will draw the profile between them. Lets you confirm whether you can expect line of sight to an antenna, presuming you know where it is, the elevation where it is, and how tall it is.
 
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Old 09-09-18, 01:35 PM
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That's pretty cool Fred. I'm at about 850 ft and the transmitters are about 900 ft with 1050 "peaks" in between.I know the power supply must be working cause I lost my one channel when I unplugged it. I switched the FM trap back to default setting(no FM signals allowed) and it made zero difference in reception.

I had left the Winegard on mast in case I needed to reconnect so that's what I've done and I have all my channels back except one that frequently does not come in so guess that's all I can get here.

Thanks for the replies.
 
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Old 10-13-18, 12:18 PM
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Read somewhere that if I add another line to my splitter, I might be able to attenuate the amplified signal enough to allow reception. I added a 10 ft RG6 coax "going nowhere" to the splitter and the one station I was receiving is now struggling but I have picked up another of my prior stations and it looks perfect so far, is it worth trying a 25 ft long section in place of the 10?
 
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Old 10-14-18, 12:19 AM
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do you have this split and going to more than one tv?
 
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Old 10-23-18, 05:24 PM
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I actually had the 20dB amp setup going to 2 TV's and my stereo(FM). I've settled on the 20dB amp going to just the 2 TV's as the FM did not come in cleanly. I'm hoping to get a internet capable receiver for Christmas anyway. I upgraded the section between the splitter from RG-59 to RG6. So this gives me all RG6 wiring in the setup.
 
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Old 11-04-18, 11:01 AM
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Maybe a rotator?

When I lived near Hartwell, GA (no cable available) I used a big log-periodic antenna on a mast attached to the chimney with a rotator for TV. It gave pretty good reception; the rotator helps in aiming. IIRC I did have an amplifier, but I don't remember exact particulars. I did run coax cable which I think carried the power for the amplifier. I also had a Yagi for FM reception, also on a mast with a rotator. The house began to look like a spy-nest!
With a HeathKit GR-227 TV reception was pretty good. When the CRT gave out we went to a Sony 32 inch, that set wasn't as good as the old one. And so it goes....
When I lived in the Richmond VA area I used that FM Yagi with the rotator on a mast and had excellent reception up to about 100 miles. As noted earlier mountains between you and the signal present problems!
 
 

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