Two antennas into one...can I do this?

**pamajestic** · 02-12-2010 12:46 PM

It would likely work better if you use a Pico Macom UVSJ UHF VHF Band Separator/Combiner. It is designed to merge one VHF antenna with one UHF antenna into one cable. Put the rabbit ears on the VHF side and your other antenna on the UHF side.

Pico Macom UVSJ UHF VHF Band Separator/Combiner for Antenna (UVSJ) - Pico Macom - UVSJ

**sam_gordon** · 02-12-2010 12:49 PM

I would not expect a splitter to work. I'm GUESSING you're overdriving the input on the TV. What signal strength are you getting for HAS? The problem with a splitter is it will simply combine the signal from your "main" antenna and the "rabbit ears". It won't replace ch. 11 from the main antenna with ch. 11 from the rabbit ears. If you want to do that, you need a Jointenna...
Channel Master JoinTennas

. It will subtract a specified channel from the main antenna and add it from a 2nd antenna.

I used to use one when my Fox affiliate was 90+ degrees off angle from the rest of the networks. It was great! And for $20???

**STL** · 02-12-2010 12:50 PM

Originally Posted by KAB

I have two antennas together with no problems.

Are your two combined antennas both UHF and pointed in the same direction?

**STL** · 02-12-2010 12:53 PM

sam_gordon,
I don't think he need the device like you have since his one problem channel is VHF and all the others are UHF (right Ghpr13?). He can use the much cheaper $2 combiner that I and others have suggested.

**STL** · 02-12-2010 01:07 PM

Originally Posted by STL

I used one back when stations still broadcast analog (and digital) to successfully combine a 4-bay bowtie (UHF) and a yagi (VHF -- because the UHF elements were removed).

Talking about this reminds me that I still have that VHF yagi connected in the attic. So just as I was thinking I would disconnect it, then I realized that VHF antenna is actually still in use grabbing FM signals for me! I use another special splitter to branch off the FM signals (and send them to my A/V Rec'r). Oh well, I'm not sure what I -- or anyone else -- would do with a big VHF yagi antenna these days.

**sam_gordon** · 02-12-2010 01:29 PM

Originally Posted by STL

sam_gordon,
I don't think he need the device like you have since his one problem channel is VHF and all the others are UHF (right Ghpr13?). He can use the much cheaper $2 combiner that I and others have suggested.

Well, assuming he doesn't need to pick up the ION affiliate on Ch. 8. But you're right. A $2 experiment is better than a $20 one.

**KAB** · 02-12-2010 01:35 PM

Originally Posted by Ghpr13

STL,

KAB,
Could you tell me how you have them hooked up together? Is it like I wanted to do by using a splitter but in reverse?
Thanks,
Ghpr13

Yep, splitter in reverse. To answer another question, one is a UHF, the other UHF/VHF. In service about three years.

**Ghpr13** · 02-12-2010 01:38 PM

Originally Posted by harshness

You need to be careful about putting up multiple antennas covering the same frequency. That's probably somewhat the problem you have now.

I'm suspicious that your antenna is a little too much for the application and you're experiencing multipath (signal coming from different directions that are out of phase with each other). Adding more antennas that aren't phased will likely make the problem much worse for all stations.

As WHAS broadcasts on VHF 11, going to a UHF antenna may not be in your best interests.

I am using the power unit that came with the antenna, I was wondering if by using the power unit I was really causing more problems. I've read about that in an AVS forum.

Originally Posted by Geronimo

I see youa re getting good advice here but you might want to try asking this in the OTA forum.

Thanks, I thought about that. It does seem I'm getting a good amount of replies here. Would I be breaking any forum rules if I posted in the OTA forum too?

Originally Posted by pamajestic

It would likely work better if you use a Pico Macom UVSJ UHF VHF Band Separator/Combiner. It is designed to merge one VHF antenna with one UHF antenna into one cable. Put the rabbit ears on the VHF side and your other antenna on the UHF side.

Pico Macom UVSJ UHF VHF Band Separator/Combiner for Antenna (UVSJ) - Pico Macom - UVSJ

Thanks! That seems do-able.

Originally Posted by STL

Are your two combined antennas both UHF and pointed in the same direction?

No. One is just a old VHF rabbit ears off of a portable TV.

Originally Posted by STL

sam_gordon,
I don't think he need the device like you have since his one problem channel is VHF and all the others are UHF (right Ghpr13?). He can use the much cheaper $2 combiner that I and others have suggested.

Yes, you are right. WHAS is back to using VHF to broadcast it's digital signal. The "Multi-Purpose" antenna I got from MonoPrice is up in the attic. When I had it down in the TV room I couldn't get any of the PBS stations. Up in the attic I get everything but WHAS. The rabbit ears are just laying against a wall kind of held up by my right speaker in the TV room. It's got one of those RF converters that you screw the antenna leads to and then you're able to plug it the RF cable input. Right now I pull the coax antenna from the attic out, and plug in the rabbit ears if I want to record something off of WHAS. 2 problems I have with the rabbit ears is 1) The WIFE, & 2) they keep falling down over every so often (plus the rabbit ears do kind of look like crap).

I want to thank everyone who replied. I really appreciate your time and knowledge, and please feel free to share some more. Right now I'm thinking I could try that $2 combiner and just try and see if that works for me. Wouldn't be very similar to the old days when analog signals were being broadcast in VHF & UHF depending on the station? Then we all had a UHF & a VHF antenna.

Ghpr13