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southofi-10

Last reply Feb 4, 2014 · posted in Over the Air Television By RabbitEars.Info

RCA preamp with seperate inputs

Well I guess this is original.A RCA mast mounted preamp that has seperate or combined inputs for vhf and uhf.
It says on inside instruction that this amp is made specific for digital channels.Unlike the other older models like channel master and wineguard that were made for analog.
And yes,I do understand that just as long as it picks up the right frequency it'll work.I have several antennacraft and a wineguard working as we speak.
I just wanted to put this out there..It can do away with a combiner and it's fairly cheap.Being sold by radio shack on ebay. Usual gain as most smaller amplifiers.Figured it's worth a try.
I'll be adding another UHF soon,so I went ahead and got this one.
If you want to see them,just go to ebay and put in preamp.

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mike123abc

Jan 31, 2014

If you want to combine an UHF and a VHF antenna a splitter used in reverse will work fine. If you are trying to combine 2 full range antennas and want one for VHF and one for UHF they make combiners for that that filter out the UHF on the VHF in and vice versa.

FaT Air

Feb 1, 2014

Found it. http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=13530
RCA TVPRAMP1R If it works as well as the old CM 7777 it's one heck of a deal at $21.06. About 1/4 what I paid for the 7777's.

splitter used in reverse

Only if you can 'live with' less signal strength. Each port on a typical splitter has nominally 4 to 5 db loss**. And could be more if same freq but a phase difference is introduced. Minimize this by mounting the antennas above/below one another and use equal length coaxes from/to balun and splitter. More ideally, the feed point of the antennas would be vertically inline.

If Wanting to 'stack' two identical antennas to get better performance(gain) on a channel or single band, the splitter method makes the gain an overall loss, better to use a 'phasing harness' or get the bigger antenna.

If two antennas are wanted to be used for Different bands or directions, same applies. Equal length coax.

**The 'key' is this: Take into account the losses you're also adding to the 'system'
If first you have a +12db gain antenna. Your gain is 12 db.
'Splitting in' a 2nd antenna (+12db) does not result in 24db gain. Doubling is only 3db. So the result 'could be' +15db. But if using the splitter to combine them the result is +15 - 4(or 5)= +11(or +10)
Or 12-4(5)=8(7) 8(7)+3= 11db(10) 1 to 2db loss when adding the 2nd antenna.
A 'stacked' 2nd antenna, utilizing a phasing harness, will be closer to the theoretical (12+3=) 15db gain result.
GE:
Don't think GE is, in the consumer electronics market, producing product anyway. Think they turned into a rebranding company in the early 90's. Think the only product GE produces/builds themselves anymore are jet engines.

. Raine

Feb 1, 2014

Right, Fat Air, RCA and GE consumer electronics was taken over by Thompson Electronics in the 1990's.

southofi-10

Feb 1, 2014

Phasing harness.....now thats two words ya don't here much anymore.
What would a guy make these with?
Since the antenna spacing might depend on the channel and type of antenna your using.
I remember seeing some "very" old vhf antennas in the area and the had a phasing harness with the output in the middle of two identical antennas.
Some of these old ideas would work great today.
And no--I never use splitters backwards because of the loss.I either use a combiner ( I only have 1 set off stacked antennas) or I amplify each antenna seperate,then combine.I find the later works well,but can get costly.My amps are located in my workshop where the two towers are also located.

FaT Air

Feb 4, 2014

I remember that for two 50 ohm antennas, the coax required is 75 ohm and the length of each 'leg' is an odd number of quarter waves in length. Also the velocity factor has to be included.
(Had 'phased' CB whips on the vehicle BITD.)
1.5 x 75 is 112.5. What coax is 112 ohms????
300 . 1.5 = 450 Seem to remember "ladder line" from reading some ham (amatuer) stuff.
10ft piece on 'bay
1/2 wave of ladder line between antennas. Balun connected midway.
2952 x (Velocity Factor) / Frequency (MHz) = Length in Inches

Somthing else I found, some formulas http://www.kcvhfgridbandits.com/linked/phasinglineconstruct.pdf

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osu1991

Pub Member / Supporter

Last reply A moment ago · posted in TV Shows

Marvel Television’s VisionQuest

View: https://youtu.be/oSVTAUKyrL8?si=pF-pQQAJIiKjSqx6

Oct 14 Disney+

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meStevo

Oct 14, 2026

First 2 eps out and it's unsurprisingly great to watch Paul Bettany and James Spader work.

Reactions: MikeD-C05, Foxbat, Ronnie- and 1 other person

osu1991

Oct 14, 2026

Watched the first episode and enjoyed it.

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Foxbat

Oct 14, 2026

James Spader gets the best lines so far. I'm enjoying this series.

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osu1991

Oct 14, 2026

Finished the 2nd episode tonight. I'm really liking it so far.

Still hate weekly releases though, especially the way Disney and HBO do it waiting until 8pm to premiere it.

Reactions: MikeD-C05 and Foxbat

Foxbat

A moment ago

Apparently I'm not a big enough nerd

since I did not read every Marvel Comic Book ever published. If I had, I might be comparing the comics' version of events compared to what's transpiring in "Visionquest". So, I am enjoying the series a lot, not weighed down by previous expectations, knowing only the Avengers MCU movies and the "Wandavision" / "Agatha All Along" TV series.

I found the Mr Know-it-All channel from his discussion about "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" and he's been gleefully picking these episodes apart, referencing the Marvel comics from the 1939 on. Turns out A.I. has been around since before World War II, at least in the comics. (Robots before that, yes, yes.) This show is going back into the archives.

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TheForce

Supporting Founder Pub Member / Supporter

Last reply 21 minutes ago · posted in The Phone & Tablet Zone

Anyone planning to buy the iphone 17?

It's time for my wife to get a new iphone as her iphone 12 is getting weak battery life test says 70% compared to when new. But it is beginning to show signs of screen freezing as well.

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Foxbat

Aug 24, 2025

It may be the year to update my 13 to the 15.

Reactions: rvvaquero and navychop

Foxbat

Nov 4, 2025

BTW, iOS 26.1 is now out for iPhone, along with the OS 26.1 updates for all other supported Appley iDevices.

osu1991

Nov 9, 2025

Bought a Motorola G Power 5G android phone as a spare and to use for some work stuff. Was tired of work stuff cluttering up my iPhone 16 Pro. Didn't take long to remember why I originally went to an iPhone. 4hrs doing updates to step up from Android 14 updates to Android 15 and latest updates for 15. Ads on the Play store above the app I searched for is something I don't really remember from the last android phone I had 13-14 yrs ago. Face ID on iphone has spoiled me too.

I just wanted a cheap phone mainly for work pictures or I would have got an 17 Pro and used my 16 for work stuff, but no need to spend that kind of money. I don't even have cellular service on the Motorola, just using it on WiFi and added my google voice number to it with the app.

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Foxbat

Nov 30, 2025

Apple released their 2025 Holiday video. Friendly forest fauna find forgotten phone…

There's also a behind the scenes "Making of" video, too:

Foxbat

Feb 12, 2026

Foxbat said:
BTW, iOS 26.1 is now out for iPhone, along with the OS 26.1 updates for all other supported Appley iDevices.

BTW, iOS 26.3 is now out for iPhone, along with the OS 26.3 updates for all other supported Appley iDevices.

Foxbat

Mar 10, 2026

Foxbat said:
It may be the year to update my 13 to the 15.

Apple made me an offer I couldn't refuse. For whatever reason, they bumped up the Trade-in value of my iPhone 13, first to $180, and just recently to $195. So I took the Apple Cash from Apple card savings and the $195 trade-in and have a shiny new iPhone 17 nothing. The base 256 GB is more than enough for my needs.

Now I'm on the lookout for a leather case for it…

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Foxbat

21 minutes ago

My iPhone 17 is now running iOS 27.2 (whatever happened to 27.1.x?) and it looks like all the other Apple devices that can are releasing 27.2 (looks like it came out Monday)

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iJustine

37 minutes ago · posted in iJustine

The new PROLED MacBook Pro has a Dynamic Island 😯

Time for another AWESOME video from iJustine!

View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/CjVbq6h2VZw

Direct YouTube Link - The new PROLED MacBook Pro has a Dynamic Island

The official iJustine Website's Website
Buy her book!

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iJustine

37 minutes ago · posted in iJustine

New PROLED MacBook Pro!

Time for another AWESOME video from iJustine!

View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ux8oQzvijl4

Direct YouTube Link - New PROLED MacBook Pro!
The official iJustine Website's Website
Buy her book!

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"MysteryMan"

Pub Member / Supporter Cutting Edge

Last reply 44 minutes ago · posted in Computers and Gadgets

Windows 10/11 Download

I created this thread on the original Edgecutter Cutting Edge Forums site. It's simply a place for those to review the latest software available for those using Windows 10 and Windows 11. To date it has received 112,559 views. I have been asked by staff to continue this thread here.

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EarDemon

Oct 13, 2026

If it wasn't for what I want, I wouldn't need any of this.

Do I need a collection of handheld radios, scanners and speed enforcement countermeasures? Nope, but I want them. Very little, if any of the software used to interface with these devices is available on Linux.

WhiteBeard

Oct 13, 2026

EarDemon said:
If it wasn't for what I want, I wouldn't need any of this.

Do I need a collection of handheld radios, scanners and speed enforcement countermeasures? Nope, but I want them. Very little, if any of the software used to interface with these devices is available on Linux.

To each there own but I've found that Windows can't do much more than Linux can. Can't have everything.

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EarDemon

Oct 14, 2026

WhiteBeard said:
To each there own but I've found that Windows can't do much more than Linux can. Can't have everything.

For niche use cases, yes I agree. Kali for ethical hacking and security testing, and running a Cacti server for network monitoring are the two things I have experience in. Plus thousands and thousands of other things, but for every day use I just can't see it. The owner of the GMRS repeater that I pay to access is changing the Tx DPL tones tomorrow, while Chirp is available on Linux, the software to program my MXT500 is not.

I run Fedora and Ubuntu in VMWare, honestly I don't care much for the UI of either of them and I don't feel like spending days/weeks to customize the UI to make it look Windows-like when I could just use Windows. The cartoonish dock at the bottom of the screen reminds me of Apple products.

harshness

Oct 15, 2026

EarDemon said:
I don't care much for the UI of either of them and I don't feel like spending days/weeks to customize the UI to make it look Windows-like when I could just use Windows.

What is so fantabulous about the Windows UI? By many accounts, it has been going downhill since Windows 7.

There are Linux desktops that offer Windows or Mac UIs, yet you don't hear much chatter about them outside of questions about when the creators might get sued.

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EarDemon

Oct 15, 2026

harshness said:
What is so fantabulous about the Windows UI?

Because it's what I prefer. I know I've said this a few times, I use Open Shell to give me the cascading start menu a la WIN 95 and NT4.0. The only reason I went from Windows Vista to 7 back in the day was because of Classic Shell. I cannot stand anything other than the OG start menu from 30+ years ago. I'm using ExplorerPatcher to give me Windows 10 UI elements of the taskbar and right click context menus.

If you could take a look at how I set up Windows 95, you'd find many similarities to how I use 11.

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EarDemon

Oct 15, 2026

I could probably use that as a starting point, but I don't like the full size icons. If you have to click on each folder that's also a no-go for me, it has to be cascading.

I used to have Peppermint Linux in a VM, that was about as close as I could get to recreating a Windows NT4.0 style of menu structure, but I could never get it to scale properly in VMWare on a 4K display and eventually gave up.

Whatever the boot up time it's fine with me. The longest part of my bootup is the HP SureStart BIOS integrity check. Once that is done, it's only a few more seconds. I haven't done this reg tweak yet since the reformat, but I switched the bootup animation to the Windows 10 style spinning circle of dots, and it's two and a half rotations. I can live with that.

harshness

Oct 16, 2026

EarDemon said:
Because it's what I prefer.

I hope you don't believe that makes it wonderful (especially when you're using workarounds for Microsoft's malfeasance).

I use LibreOffice as opposed to Microsoft office (even in Windows) because it's UI is like the Office of old, so I'm putting my money where my mouth is (in a manner of speaking). The ribbon was one of the worst ideas to come out Redmond.

HipKat

Oct 16, 2026

EarDemon said:
I could probably use that as a starting point, but I don't like the full size icons. If you have to click on each folder that's also a no-go for me, it has to be cascading.

I used to have Peppermint Linux in a VM, that was about as close as I could get to recreating a Windows NT4.0 style of menu structure, but I could never get it to scale properly in VMWare on a 4K display and eventually gave up.

Whatever the boot up time it's fine with me. The longest part of my bootup is the HP SureStart BIOS integrity check. Once that is done, it's only a few more seconds. I haven't done this reg tweak yet since the reformat, but I switched the bootup animation to the Windows 10 style spinning circle of dots, and it's two and a half rotations. I can live with that.

I used to pin the C: drive to the Win Taskbar and it would open in cascading style

"MysteryMan"

44 minutes ago

2026-10 Preview Update Builds: 26300.9818 and 26200.9818 (KB5127936) has been released. Moderate time needed for those choosing to perform a manual download/install/restart. Quality improvements only. No new operating system features.

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TWiT Tech Podcast Network

47 minutes ago · posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network

Windows Weekly 1007

Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MT4ptWNv2E

Direct YouTube Link - Windows Weekly 1007
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed

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Scott Greczkowski

Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU! Cutting Edge

Last reply Today at 1:58 PM · posted in The Chit Chat Club

Song Name Game Part 3!

Sometimes a thread gets so many posts in it that is can cause issues for the server so that why today we introduce The Song Name Game Part 3!

So let the game continue!

The last song was added by Bobby who posted...

One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters

CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!

Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game

Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.

Example:

Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow

Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio

Another example:

Ride the Lightning -- Metallica

Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne

Get it?

An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....

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harshness

Today at 9:54 AM

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Van

Last reply Today at 1:53 PM · posted in What's Cooking?

Whats for breakfast?

Who says dinner or lunch has to be the only good meals of the day?

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dfergie

Oct 17, 2026

Dos cackleberrys over easy on top of 2 corned beef hash patties fried in skillet... Chocolate milk.

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Booredatwork.com

Today at 1:52 PM · posted in BooredAtWork.COM