NE OHIO FRINGE AREA

[kohmagno]

Hi Everyone,

This is my first post. I have questions about OTA in fringe areas

I live in Stark County, just south of Canton. I have a big Radio Shack antenna with RS amps. The antenna is 50 feet AGL. The cable is split to three TVs. I also have a rotor.

Right now, I'm picking up Cleveland and Youngstown (except for wytv-33, are they ever going to boost there signal?) Pittsburgh gives a few channels, but not all of the time. And then, from time to time, Columbus comes in well.

Wheeling- Steubenville has a split personality. Steubenville channel 9 is great except for the occasional pixelation and audio breakup; Channel 7 from Wheeling is horrible, and I have never seen any digital from them.

All of the aforementioned stations are 70 miles or less from my house, except for Columbus.

I am not a big RS fan, and while I believe the antenna is great, I am not sold on their amplifier. Isn't there an amplifier that just blows away the competition and actually will make a difference?

I don't understand all of the "noise" and "gain" lingo when it comes to the signal. I have a separate amp just before each TV. Is this overkill?

I've read good things about a Motorola amp as well as Wineguard, and another one, but the name escapes me at the moment.

I know all about the trees and the buildings and every thing else that can get in the way of the signal. I want to hear what others are using in my area to get the best signal.

Thanks, Kohmagno

 

[dodge]

the radio shack antenna's are decent, they do tend to fall apart in the wind and elements. I do not like the radio shack mast mounted amp. Check your antenna connections fron the screws to the balun and coax. Also make rg6 quad shield coax makes a difference. I do like the winegard mast mounted amp, I am running an AP8275 and it works well for me.

 

[kohmagno]

Thanks, Dodge...

I will look into the Wineguard. Are you in the NE ohio area?

 

[Stargazer]

Noise is interference. If there are other frequencies that are running close to the frequency that you need then it will interfere with the one that you need to receive. When you use an amplifier you amplify the noise along with the signal that you are trying to get. This is why you are better off getting an antenna with larger gain instead of "boosting" (amplifying) the signal.