OTA HD from opposite directions

[ctcohen04]

In my location I can receive CBS HD ota from a tower SE of me and I can receive NBC HD from a tower to the North. (California Central Coast)

How do I get the best signal strength for both at the same time. The towers and terrain demand an antenna with moderate gain.

Today I connected separate antennas through a splitter, but, while it seems to work, reduces signal strength for each station.

Is there a better way to connect the two antennas to a single coax line without getting that loss?

Thanks

Terry

 

[Tower Guy]

In my location I can receive CBS HD ota from a tower SE of me and I can receive NBC HD from a tower to the North. (California Central Coast)

How do I get the best signal strength for both at the same time. The towers and terrain demand an antenna with moderate gain.

Today I connected separate antennas through a splitter, but, while it seems to work, reduces signal strength for each station.

Is there a better way to connect the two antennas to a single coax line without getting that loss?

Thanks

Terry

A device called a jointenna will do what you want. They are special order and channel specific. Try Warren Electronics. However, if you don't have dropouts, freezing or pixelization, a lower signal strength number won't hurt you.

 

[gdarwin]

I think RS has what is called a "signal combiner".

 

[ctcohen04]

thanks for the responses

When I got my 622 I got very bad pixelation on NBC off the back of the antenna pointed to CBS, that at low 70's signal strength. Didn't have that on the 811.

I'll look into some kind of signal "joiner". I just wonder if what RS sells is just a "reverse splitter" with a different name.

TC

 

[gdarwin]

Another note... My Winegard HD9095 has an extra connector for hooking up another antenna.

 

[jscud]

thanks for the responses

When I got my 622 I got very bad pixelation on NBC off the back of the antenna pointed to CBS, that at low 70's signal strength. Didn't have that on the 811.

I'll look into some kind of signal "joiner". I just wonder if what RS sells is just a "reverse splitter" with a different name.

TC

What RS has is a "reverse splitter", but you don't want that. The antenna joiner, Channel Master makes them, is designed to combine the signal from a single channel with the signal from a broadband antenna. You will get very little loss using this but it can not be used for adjacent channels (except 4 & 5, 6 & 7, or 13 & 14). It will block all other adjacent combinations. You order a joiner for a specific channel. More than one joiner can be hooked in series, but as before, not adjacent channels.

John

 

[NOHDjunkie]

This is what you want

Channel Master CM 0538 2-Way 75 Ohm Antenna Joiner/Splitter

Buy it here. $7.36

http://www.starkelectronic.com/cmjoiner.htm

The one jscud is talking about, you dont want.

 

[JWC]

You might want to look at my post to a similar question on combining signals. If you have a minimal adequate signal comming from the splitter where the two antennas are connected, then a pre-amp of 6-10db might help. You have a classic problem and there are no good answers, but in my opinion, you will definitely have to keep the two antennas because of the gain requirements. You could also replace the two antennas with higher gain antennas and IF your stations are UHF (which most of them are), then you can get a good UHF only antenna from RS and see significant improvements. If you are using the antennas to catch the analog signals also on VHF, then you might not be able to get those if you switch to a UHF only antenna. The advantage of a UHF only antenna is that they are much smaller and have significant greater gains than the combination VHF/UHF antennas, which tend to be designed for VHF.

You cannot however amplify a weak signal that has an insufficient S/N. By this I mean, pre-amps (in general) are NOT the answer to most problems, but in your case it might be the solution at the lowest cost. Try to borrow one and try before you buy.

 

[jscud]

This is what you want

Channel Master CM 0538 2-Way 75 Ohm Antenna Joiner/Splitter

Buy it here. $7.36

http://www.starkelectronic.com/cmjoiner.htm

The one jscud is talking about, you dont want.

Your joiner solution may or may not work in certain situations. The single channel joiner traps out all channels except the one for which it is designed. It is then cleanly integrated into the broadband signal which comes from the antenna pointed in another direction. Your joiner allows all frequencies from both directions to be mixed together. That may be fine in some cases but if, for example, a station from the N is a harmonic of a station from the S, the stronger of the two will cancel the other out reducing signal strength or causing interference. This is especially a problem with UHF frequencies.