I get a ok signal depending on the weather. Would it be wise to add a amp to the antenna? If so, what would be a good one to get?
Thanks
Thanks
Amp for homemade antenna?
- Thread starter nightowl66
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It might be cheaper to buy a better antenna.
Where are you located and how far are you from the broadcast towers you want to receive?
Running a report from here: RabbitEars.Info would help us know better how to answer.
Where are you located and how far are you from the broadcast towers you want to receive?
Running a report from here: RabbitEars.Info would help us know better how to answer.
RabbitEars.Info
RabbitEars, where you can learn all about local, over-the-air TV channels.
www.rabbitears.info
The Toledo CBS and ABC stations are on VHF high (channels 11 and 13) so your antenna may be weak on VHF high band which requires elements in the vicinity of 14 inches (ch. 12) tip to tip, whereas UHF channels harmonize with elements about 4 to 6 inches.
Depending on the construction of your home made antenna, that might be why those 2 VHF channels are weak.
Depending on the construction of your home made antenna, that might be why those 2 VHF channels are weak.
I am partial to antennas that look like antennas, so I lean toward the Winegard Platinum series like the HD7694P that is about $130 but is pretty directional and might not pick up the Lima stations since they are to the left of the Toledo stations and slightly behind you.
There are other antennas out there that might work made by Channel Master, Winegard and several others that are more "modern" in look, just avoid the cheap Chinese junk antennas that are small and have a built in amplifier to compensate for their poor construction and insufficient element sizing.
You cannot compensate for short elements with an amplifier, the physics of antenna reception is generally set.
You have a few VHF low stations but they are in the red area (very weak) and they would require an antenna with elements up to 8 ft tip to tip. BTY my calculations in the previous post were low by a factor of 2, channel 12 is about 28 inches, UHF is 8 to 12.
There are other antennas out there that might work made by Channel Master, Winegard and several others that are more "modern" in look, just avoid the cheap Chinese junk antennas that are small and have a built in amplifier to compensate for their poor construction and insufficient element sizing.
You cannot compensate for short elements with an amplifier, the physics of antenna reception is generally set.
You have a few VHF low stations but they are in the red area (very weak) and they would require an antenna with elements up to 8 ft tip to tip. BTY my calculations in the previous post were low by a factor of 2, channel 12 is about 28 inches, UHF is 8 to 12.
Great idea. I love my Winegard HD7694P. Luckily for me all my all my signals come from the same direction.
pointing two, even identical, antennas in different directions looses half the signal from each antenna, better to either do a rotator with one antenna or a switch with two.
Some tuners allow you to rescan and not lose current channels, others wipe memory and start fresh with each scan.
Some tuners allow you to rescan and not lose current channels, others wipe memory and start fresh with each scan.
Channel Master sell a combiner for identical antennas pointed in different directions that won't cause signal loss.
51 reviews
$19.00
JOINtenna
The Channel Master JOINtenna combines coaxial inputs from two individual outdoor TV antennas allowing for the distribution of two antennas on a single coaxial cable.51 reviews
$19.00
Well, any addition of a combiner or divider will cause a 3 dB loss, period. And 3 dB is half your signal. Although you may not see it in the picture, that's what will happen.
Channel Master specs less than 2 dB insertion loss for the JOINtenna so it probably isn't half the signal being attenuated. But it is important to understand the affect of using such devices.
Channel Master may claim 2 db loss, but I don’t know of any affordable technology that would achieve such a loss for a passive combiner.
Note that simply adding two antennas together adds the multipath from one antenna to the other…..and that works both ways, degrading reception from both antennas. Many may be in a favorable location where the multipath is low and the signals are not weak, so the combiner works anyway.
Note that simply adding two antennas together adds the multipath from one antenna to the other…..and that works both ways, degrading reception from both antennas. Many may be in a favorable location where the multipath is low and the signals are not weak, so the combiner works anyway.
IIRC it is not that it creates multi-path, its that the other antenna re-radiates 1/2 of the signal back out like a passive repeater. Perhaps Channel master has created some circuitry that blocks radiation out to the antenna inputs and therefore directing more usable signal to the output port after all they are charging a whole lot more for this little device than a simple splitter/combiner. Reviews are mixed on whether it works or not.
I use 2 Televes DatBoss Mix LR antennas with a T-force 560482 preamp pointed at 2 separate markets.One Columbus Ohio is 45 miles away and the other Parkersburg/ Charleston is 50-65 miles..The T-force gives me a signal of 82 instead of 76 and combines both antennas which a already have preamps.I wouldn't buy anything except for Televes products but that's just what's worked best for me..
