Can I mix two OTA antennas

[uspino]

I just got a new Winegard installed and the signal is better in some of the channels but much worse than the level I got from other station using my old (really old) roof antenna.
Is there a way I can mix both signals? Can I use a regular splitter?
Thanks.

 

[Ilya]

Welcome to the Forum!

No, you should not mix two antennas with a regular splitter. You might be able to use an A/B switch, or a special type of splitter that passes only select frequencies, but even that can get tricky if you have a diplexer installed. Remember, that your Winegard is most likely powered, but your roof antenna is probably not.

 

[stevesmall]

You can use two antennas im doing it right now but what you need to use is a signal pass thru not a splitter, there is a difference, the important thing is that you combine the 2 signals before they go thru the multiswitch if you have one

 

[uspino]

I really appreciate your replies, thank you.
I'm aware the Winegard needs power. I've used a tester to make sure the OTA/out from the external diplexer is carrying the same power as the SAT/out. I've also used a DC block for the OTA/in in the receiver. I've also tested the signal strenght from the OTA with and without power (with another DC block at the outside out). The funny thing is, I get absolutely no signal boost by using the powered connection, that is, powering the internal amplifier of the Winegard. The signal remains exactly the same with or without power in the cable.
Is this normal?
Should I be using a stand-alone power supply for the Winegard instead of the voltage supplied by the receiver?

Thanks again.

 

[thescrub]

Something else to remember is to try to keep the cable length from the two antennas to where they join together equal. It will help reduce multipath.

 

[CraziFuzzy]

Multipath is not a concern if you use a proper combiner. I had the advantage in my area of the one channel being in the opposite direction also being the lowest frequency digital OTA in m area. So I had a specially made Combiner ordered that recieves CH 25 and up on one antenna (A nice ChannelMaster flyswatter UHF) and CH 18 and down on the Stealth pointed towards the other channel. The results are phenominal. Before getting the special combiner, multipath was causing all my signals to be in the 80-85 range. after just swithcing the splitter for a custom diplexer, every channel is 95+ (this is without any movement of the antennas). By having the StealthAntenna for the lower frequencies, I am able to recieve VHF and FM over that antenna as well. I pipe the FM into my home theater stereo, and have never had as good of reception.

Considering, even without multipath, the splitter provides anywhere from 2.5-3 dB loss when combining. The highest loss in recieved ranges on the diplexer is 1dB. Pretty impressive. I purchased the diplexer from tinlee.com.