Combining two antennas

[GaaMoo]

Hi,

I'm having some trouble with the signal from my antenna(UHF only, yagi style) and I'm pretty sure I need an amplifier. I already have an indoor antenna with a built in amplifier, though. Is there some way I could use its amplifier instead of buying one? I don't need a perfect solution, just a cheap, simple one.

Thanks.

 

[Don_M]

Amplifiers don't magically solve DTV reception issues except under very narrow circumstances, long cable downleads (> 150 ft.) and service to several TVs being the most common. For another thing, amps used in set-top antennas tend to be very noisy. DTV tuners hate noise, and it would take a fair amount of technical knowledge to salvage the set-top amp for use with an external antenna and make sure the amp doesn't present a shock hazard. IOW, the hassle involved isn't very likely to be worthwhile.

You may need a better antenna, or perhaps the issue is caused by something simple. Maybe a cable or balun has gone bad and needs to be replaced, and that would be an inexpensive fix. A good analysis starts with a look-see at what your local signals are like. So head on over to TVFool, complete a post-transition report for your address, save the report to your computer, and then attach it to a follow-up message containing the make and model number of the UHF antenna. If you don't know that information, a sharp picture of the antenna in good light will help. Also, is this setup for just one TV, or several? Let us know.

There's probably a cost-effective solution here. Unfortunately, though, it's going to cost a little bit more than a few spare parts!

 

[spacebug42]

A much better solution

I would recommend that you do like what I did. A year ago, I set up a central multimedia access panel where all of the TV, Internet, phone, and whole house audio connections were made and fed to all areas of my house - the bedrooms, living room, garage, kitchen and the patio. I installed a Leviton 5 x 8 Multi-Switch which takes in four satellite feeds and one OTA feed and sends the mixed outputs to 8 TV connections. The 5 x 8 switch does have a built-in amplifier so there's no need for an external amplifier. In fact, I tried to connect the OTA amplifier output to the switch and many OTA stations got wiped out (not realizing then that the multi-switch has its own amplifier). I took the external amplifier off (routing the OTA antenna directly to the switch) and all of the HDTV stations came back at full strength. You must use a diplexer at the end of each TV output or you will not get much of anything (at best - two or three OTA channels). The diplexer separates the combined satellite-OTA signals into one output for satellite receivers (FTA or subscription-based) and one for the TV set. If you need to feed more than one device at each connection such as an FM tuner or a VCR, you will need to connect a splitter at the TV output of the diplexer. I used this in my living room to connect an HDTV STB tuner and the FM tuner with no detectable loss. If you need fewer than 8 outputs, you can use a 3 in-4 out switch. I don't know if the 3 x 4 switch has an amplifier or not and if it needs a power supply.