OTA antenna selection

[davenm]

I am trying to improve reception of OTA channels in zip code 87506 and even after reading posts here and elsewhere, I still do not have a clear idea which antenna or antenna combo would be best. What I have now is an antenna that most closely resembles a CM3016 and even after pointing it to 210 degrees (the direction with the VHF Hi and UHF channels I am most interested in), the signal strength on my tuner is around 30 (out of 100) for the VHF channels. UHF reception is hit or miss. It is clear that the old antenna does not have the range needed, and this observation is reinforced by pointing it to 360 degrees and not getting any of those stations. I do not know if the content on any of the stations at 360 degrees is of interest, as I have not been able to check them.

There appear to be two approaches that might work - a longer range VHF Hi/UHF antenna, with or without a pre-amp, or separate VHF Hi and UHF antennas with a combiner. What I have been looking at include the AntennaCraft HD-1850, the CM 3679 and the Winegard HD8200U as single antennas or the combination of a VHF Hi antenna with an Antennas Direct 91-XG UHF antenna.

Since the two transmitter locations are at 360 and 210 degrees, a rotator or stacked antennas would be needed. A possible problem with trying a single antenna first is that their UHF range (at 60+ miles) might not be sufficient to check the stations at 360 degrees.

I would like to avoid using a rotator if possible, so stacked antennas would be the alternative. But if it takes the combo of a dedicated VHF Hi and UHF antenna, I would need two of each and a convoluted scheme of combiners and carefully matched coax lengths. The mast would have to be extended and guyed if I had to resort to that. A rotator would win in that case.

So, my main question is, based on my location and the above considerations, what recommendations do any readers here have?

Thank you.

 

[Jim5506]

The zipcode location only gives a general idea of where you are, go to www.TVFool.com and run an exact address report and paste the URL, that is shown in bold near the top of the page, into your reply.


The stations to the north are most likely repeaters of the Albuquerque and Santa Fe stations, and may or may not pass HD even if they are digital, so I will concentrate on getting reception from Sandia Peak in my recommendations.

If you have multiple TV's, a rotator could be a problem if one wants to watch something while the other is watching another station from another direction.

Your area is highly variable in reception depending on your exact location.

Just a cursory glance shows you have 4 VHF possibilities, 7, 8, 10 and 13, then the UHF.

I would recommend two seperate antennas one for VHF and one for UHF as combo antennas are always a compromise.

Get the antenna(s) as high up as possible, elevation is your friend in fringe reception cases.

An AntennaCraft Y-10-7-13 or a Winegard YA-7-13 VHF high-band yagi.
An AntennasDirect 91XG or a Winegard HD-8800 UHF antenna.
A dual input preamplifier, such as a Channel Master Titan 7777, or an AntennaCraft 10G221, or a Winegard AP-2880.

THe HD-8800 is a bit better than the 91XG on low UHF.

These recommendations are based solely on stations to be received, if your TV Fool report is much better than the generic zipcode report, things could change, like the need for a pre-amplifier.

 

[jgantert]

Good advice. Keep in mind the current CM 7777 pre-amp doesn't have dual inputs anymore.

 

[RPB]

I'm in zip code 78611 (hill country) central TX out in the country


I use HD8200U UHF/VHF, with AP-8275 (single input) preamp and CM-9521A rotor antenna height = 15 feet above a 15 foot rooftop peak (30')

and backup antenna

Antennacraft HD1850 UHF/VHF (this replaced a CM-4228 UHF only) with AP-8275 (single input) preamp and CM-9521A rotor at 10' above 15 foot roof peak (25')

on an A/B switch

Mounted in 5' Tripods using 1-1/2" EMT conduit for support mast, and 1-1/4 EMT in the rotor to antenna and used TB-105 Support Bearing for Tv Antenna Rotor (the TB-105 bearing has a ridge that needs smoothing/filing with a file for the 1-1/4 to fit)

3' or 6' RG-6QS from antenna to amp on mast (ease of rotation/weight)
50' RG-11 coax from amp on mast ...to indoor part of amp
3' or 6' RG-6QS to TV

I get channels from
in order of ease of reception
Austin (54.3 mi away SouthEast) always 24/7 always 24/7
Temple/Killeen (50-75 mi away NorthEast)
Waco (101.4 mi away East/NorthEast) always on 24/7 ( I watch these the most)
Bryan/College Station (133.7 mi away East/SouthEast) always on 24/7 ( I watch these the most)
-
San Antonio (100.0 mi away South) 24/7 on most channels, only one lower powered one there is intermittent- weather depending

-
Dx-ing
-
Victoria (175.2 mi away SouthEast) most mornings 4 to 8 channels
Houston (210.2 mi away) on some mornings when Victoria is receivable I get UHF
Corpus Christi, San Angelo, Dallas and others ... sometimes
Mexico stations, too often. (they over-ride the "real number/real frequency channels)

Weather and seasons and sun location (including time of day) affect the distance a bit

My channel "list" is 107 channels, I usually can get 20-40 at any one time

 

[davenm]

The forum filter is not letting me post the url of the TVFool report, but the
coordinates at N 35.8977, W 105.9788 (close enough for antenna purposes,
but not my exact location for safety reasons).

 

[jzwhat]

I live in Louisville, KY. I have installed a "Winegard MS2002 Metrostar VHF/UHF Amplified Omnidirectional TV Antenna" on my roof and used the mount already installed on my roof from Directv. I simply took off the dish and installed this amplified multidirectional antenna.

The signal quality is very intermittent and the severity is dependent on the weather. All my important network towers are between 330-335 degrees and 17 to 18 miles away. Can anyone give some insight as to what the issue may be? If any additional information is needed, please let me know.
Thanks in advance.

 

[boba]

I live in Louisville, KY. I have installed a "Winegard MS2002 Metrostar VHF/UHF Amplified Omnidirectional TV Antenna" on my roof and used the mount already installed on my roof from Directv. I simply took off the dish and installed this amplified multidirectional antenna.

The signal quality is very intermittent and the severity is dependent on the weather. All my important network towers are between 330-335 degrees and 17 to 18 miles away. Can anyone give some insight as to what the issue may be? If any additional information is needed, please let me know.
Thanks in advance.

Omnidirectional picks up signals from 360 degrees so at 18 miles you are probably picking up reflected signals (ghosts) try a directional antenna

 

[jzwhat]

Omnidirectional picks up signals from 360 degrees so at 18 miles you are probably picking up reflected signals (ghosts) try a directional antenna

Boba,

Thank you for the timely response. 2 more questions. Are any of the directional antenna's made to be mounted on this L shaped mount that was left behind by Directv? I was really hoping to simply take advantage of it. Please recommend if so. The cheaper the better. Second, do you think it will be necessary to have a remoted rotator since all the towers I'm interested in are within 5 degree's of each other?

Thanks again for your help!

 

[boba]

Boba,

Thank you for the timely response. 2 more questions. Are any of the directional antenna's made to be mounted on this L shaped mount that was left behind by Directv? I was really hoping to simply take advantage of it. Please recommend if so. The cheaper the better. Second, do you think it will be necessary to have a remoted rotator since all the towers I'm interested in are within 5 degree's of each other?

Thanks again for your help!

Try a Winegard HD 1080 antenna the mount you are using is called a "J" mount. Not the best due to its short heigth but quite frequently used because it is convient, 5 Degree spacing on broadcast towers shouldn't cause any problems.