Multi- vs. Unidirectional Antenna(s)

[Tom Davis]

I live where there are five networks on two towers less than 7° apart. Tower "A" is 24 mi. away, and tower "B" is 42 mi. away.
Just how "directional" are unidirectional antennas?

1. Can I aim a unidirectional antenna between the towers and expect good results?
2. Should I use a multi-directional antenna aimed between the towers?
3. Would I get the best results from two unidirectional antennas aimed independently at the towers.

Thanks in advance.

 

[primestar31]

I live where there are five networks on two towers less than 7° apart. Tower "A" is 24 mi. away, and tower "B" is 42 mi. away.
Just how "directional" are unidirectional antennas?

1. Can I aim a unidirectional antenna between the towers and expect good results?
2. Should I use a multi-directional antenna aimed between the towers?
3. Would I get the best results from two unidirectional antennas aimed independently at the towers.

Thanks in advance.

The tightest beam - longest length Yagi-type antenna, has about a 30 degree "look angle", but a fairly long range. A shorter yagi antenna, would have about a 60 degree "look angle", but a shorter range.

7 degrees is NOTHING.

IF your furthest towers are really only about 42 miles away, this antenna should work well for you: Televes Ellipse Mix Amplified TV Antenna - LTE Ready (148883)

I have one, and it's exceptional. It's on sale right now also. That antenna will work for UHF, and high-VHF channels. IF you also need LOW Vhf channels, you'll need a different antenna. Why don't you run a report, and post the link here?: RabbitEars.Info

 

[Tom Davis]

The tightest beam - longest length Yagi-type antenna, has about a 30 degree "look angle", but a fairly long range. A shorter yagi antenna, would have about a 60 degree "look angle", but a shorter range.

7 degrees is NOTHING.

IF your furthest towers are really only about 42 miles away, this antenna should work well for you: Televes Ellipse Mix Amplified TV Antenna - LTE Ready (148883)

I have one, and it's exceptional. It's on sale right now also. That antenna will work for UHF, and high-VHF channels. IF you also need LOW Vhf channels, you'll need a different antenna. Why don't you run a report, and post the link here?: RabbitEars.Info

RabbitEars.Info

RabbitEars, where you can learn all about local, over-the-air TV channels.

rabbitears.info

I have also attached a Google Earth file with lines of sight to the towers.

 

[primestar31]

RabbitEars.Info

RabbitEars, where you can learn all about local, over-the-air TV channels.

rabbitears.info

I have also attached a Google Earth file with lines of sight to the towers.

Good, the only LOW VHF channel is WWAY-LD, which is listed as off the air. It's way down where you wouldn't get it anyway.

You have some pretty high-powered stations there. I stand by my choice above. You'd do well with the Televes Ellipse Mix link is above. That antenna is re-tuned for channels RF7 to RF36. It has a built-in uhf/vhf preamp, that includes FM and LTE filters. I can't see that you'd need anything more than that.

 

[Tom Davis]

Good, the only LOW VHF channel is WWAY-LD, which is listed as off the air. It's way down where you wouldn't get it anyway.

You have some pretty high-powered stations there. I stand by my choice above. You'd do well with the Televes Ellipse Mix link is above. That antenna is re-tuned for channels RF7 to RF36. It has a built-in uhf/vhf preamp, that includes FM and LTE filters. I can't see that you'd need anything more than that.

Thank you, Mike. I apologize for my ignorance in advance.

I see the Televes is powered. Is any component of the outdoor device powered? I would prefer not to run power outside my home.

I take it from your first reply that I can point the Televes between the towers and expect good results. Is that correct?

 

[primestar31]

Thank you, Mike. I apologize for my ignorance in advance.

I see the Televes is powered. Is any component of the outdoor device powered? I would prefer not to run power outside my home.

I take it from your first reply that I can point the Televes between the towers and expect good results. Is that correct?

The preamp in the antenna runs on 12 volts DC, 50ma. It's powered through the same coax that brings the signal to your tv set. There's a power supply/injector device that's usually mounted near your tv set. It plugs into the wall socket, and outputs the 12 volts for the antenna. There's 3 - F connectors on that. One for the coax going to the antenna, and two others to hook tv's and such up to it.

Yes, you can likely point the Televes between the towers, and expect good results. That all depends on your area, and the signal power radiating out from the towers. You might have to tweak the aim to somewhere more towards one end or the other.

 

[Tom Davis]

The preamp in the antenna runs on 12 volts DC, 50ma. It's powered through the same coax that brings the signal to your tv set. There's a power supply/injector device that's usually mounted near your tv set. It plugs into the wall socket, and outputs the 12 volts for the antenna. There's 3 - F connectors on that. One for the coax going to the antenna, and two others to hook tv's and such up to it.

Yes, you can likely point the Televes between the towers, and expect good results. That all depends on your area, and the signal power radiating out from the towers. You might have to tweak the aim to somewhere more towards one end or the other.

Well, okay then. (I imagined a separate power cable.) It's going to be mounted on a rooftop. Do you also recommend Solid Signal mounting supplies?

 

[primestar31]

Well, okay then. (I imagined a separate power cable.) It's going to be mounted on a rooftop. Do you also recommend Solid Signal mounting supplies?

They should work fine for you. Are you going to buy a tripod and mast to mount the antenna? If so, make sure you get "pitch pads" to put under the feet of the tripod, before they are screwed down into a rafter. You'll need those to make sure you don't create any leaks.

 

[Tom Davis]

They should work fine for you. Are you going to buy a tripod and mast to mount the antenna? If so, make sure you get "pitch pads" to put under the feet of the tripod, before they are screwed down into a rafter. You'll need those to make sure you don't create any leaks.

Is there a better way, or is that state of the art?

 

[primestar31]

Is there a better way, or is that state of the art?

That way is fine, as long as you don't mind putting lag screws through your roof decking. Just make sure to use those pitch pads, or slather some roofing tar down, or both. Also make sure that the lag screws make it into a rafter, as the decking itself likely isn't strong enough.

 

[primestar31]

Tom Davis

Hey Tom, I was just thinking: Do you have a satellite dish mounted on your roof right now? If so, that Televes Ellipse antenna is small and light enough, that IF you remove the dish from the foot, you can just mount the antenna in place of it. Right on the same satellite dish foot! If so, you'll save some time and money over using a tripod, etc.

So, if you have one of those in a good place on the roof, just use that for an antenna mount.

 

[raoul5788]

I live where there are five networks on two towers less than 7° apart. Tower "A" is 24 mi. away, and tower "B" is 42 mi. away.
Just how "directional" are unidirectional antennas?

1. Can I aim a unidirectional antenna between the towers and expect good results?
2. Should I use a multi-directional antenna aimed between the towers?
3. Would I get the best results from two unidirectional antennas aimed independently at the towers.

Thanks in advance.

to Satelliteguys Tom!

 

[clucas]

I have a similar situation. My 60 mile tower is north and my 22 mile is NNE maybe a 15 or 18 degree span. I pointed my antenna to the 60 mile tower and receive the closer one with no issues. I had luck with an 8 bay bowtie. The one I use is like two separate antennas tied together. You could configure each one to a little different direction if that would work better but I need the gain on the 60 mile tower since four stations use the same mountain to broadcast their signal. Here the antenna I use.

Xtreme Signal 8-Bay Bowtie Outdoor HDTV Antenna 65 Mile VHF/UHF (HDB8X)

Xtreme Signal 8-Bay Bowtie Outdoor HDTV Antenna 65 Mile VHF/UHF (HDB8X)Key Features:Receives signal from stations up to 65 miles away in a single direction17.5dB of gain for ultra-high reception in a compact TV antennaDirectional design offers reception within a 60° beamwidthBuilt for high-VHF...

www.solidsignal.com

 

[MartyDe]

My experience just shows how RF does what it wants. After many attempts to get stations from different directions I gave up and pointed my antenna at the local ABC station I wanted. Did a scan. For some reason I recieve all my local channels. Antenna pointed at 234 deg. More locals close in at 292 deg. About 40 mi away 3 more at 14 deg. Go figure. All that messing around and this is how it worked out. Located in central CT antenna about 5 feet above gutter on a ranch. Antenna is
Amazon product ASIN B0024R4B5CView: https://www.amazon.com/Antenna-Satellite-Broadcast-Epicenter-Reception/dp/B0024R4B5C/ref=sr_1_21?crid=20GKL9SBKDRHW&keywords=Rca+antenna&qid=1645625507&sprefix=rca+antenna%2Caps%2C195&sr=8-21

For the money I'd try the cheap RCA and see what happens.

 

[Jim5506]

The link below to the HDTV Primer compares various TV antennas performance. By clicking on individual antennas you can see a computer simulation of each antennas beam width and signal capturing power. This data is about 10 years old but the principles still apply. A larger more directional (stronger) antenna has a narrower beamwidth and a short one like the RCA above has a wider beam width and is weaker for distant signals. In selecting an antenna for your use you must balance these two factors.

Comparing some commercially available antennas

 

[Foxbat]

IF your furthest towers are really only about 42 miles away, this antenna should work well for you: Televes Ellipse Mix Amplified TV Antenna - LTE Ready (148883)

I have one, and it's exceptional. It's on sale right now also. That antenna will work for UHF, and high-VHF channels.

Tyler the AntennaMan just uploaded his review of the Televes Ellipse antenna:

Televes Ellipse Mix Repack Ready VHF/UHF Outdoor Antenna Review

Time for another AWESOME video from Tyler the Antenna Man! View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnbbzIJSgIs Direct YouTube Link - Televes Ellipse Mix Repack Ready VHF/UHF Outdoor Antenna Review AntennaMan's Website AntennaMan on Facebook

www.satelliteguys.us

If I didn’t already have a Televes 1085 antenna installed, I’d be seriously looking at the Ellipse!

 

[NYDutch]

Tyler the AntennaMan just uploaded his review of the Televes Ellipse antenna:

Televes Ellipse Mix Repack Ready VHF/UHF Outdoor Antenna Review

Time for another AWESOME video from Tyler the Antenna Man! View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnbbzIJSgIs Direct YouTube Link - Televes Ellipse Mix Repack Ready VHF/UHF Outdoor Antenna Review AntennaMan's Website AntennaMan on Facebook

www.satelliteguys.us

If I didn’t already have a Televes 1085 antenna installed, I’d be seriously looking at the Ellipse!

The Televes Ellipse Mix featured in the video is only designed for high-VHF and UHF (RF 7-36) channel reception, so the performance may be less than satisfactory if you have any of the 400+ low-VHF (RF 2-6) channels in use in your area.

 

[primestar31]

The Televes Ellipse Mix featured in the video is only designed for high-VHF and UHF (RF 7-36) channel reception, so the performance may be less than satisfactory if you have any of the 400+ low-VHF (RF 2-6) channels in use in your area.

He doesn't, if you'll read the whole thread.

 

[NYDutch]

He doesn't, if you'll read the whole thread.

Are you assuming no one else is reading this thread that might be interested in the Televes antenna?

 

[primestar31]

Are you assuming no one else is reading this thread that might be interested in the Televes antenna?

My post #2 pointed out that it was only UHF and High Vhf. I also specifically mentioned it will NOT do Low VHF