I just put this antenna up yesterday it is huge, I got it new in the box for 50 bucks. I don't have a pre amp or dist. amp? on it. I am pulling in the same 7 channels I did with the cheap little one I had. Granted 4 of the channels are at 100 now but the others still stay around 75 to 80. I was hoping to pull in some more channels with this beast. I live in Loves Park, IL, Rockford is my locals and was hoping to pull in madison, Wi. I have seen people on forums saying they are doing this with no issues, am I doing something wrong or was my aspirations way out of line. This is mast mounted on a single story house, I thought for sure my hometown locals would at least all be 100 and possibly pull in the madison ones as well. Do I need anything other than the antenna? I don't really want to bother with a rotor if I don't have to. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
OTA with Winegard CA-8100
- Thread starter amcrebelfan
- Start date
- Latest activity Latest activity:
- Replies 12
- Views 4K
Going to TV Fool - Home your next group of TV stations maybe Madison but it is at a heading that is about 90degrees from Rockford. That means a rotor if you really want them.
TVfool shows Rockford as a compass heading of 252 degrees
The next group of channels about 56 miles away has a heading of 334 degrees 82 degrees different.
TVfool shows Rockford as a compass heading of 252 degrees
The next group of channels about 56 miles away has a heading of 334 degrees 82 degrees different.
Thanks for the quick reply, do you think if I pointed the antenna toward madison I would still get my Rockford locals? I have been looking at rotors to, any good ones that are relatively inexpensive? Thanks again for your reply.
It may, or may not work without a rotor. You'll just have to try it. My personal experience is mixed; but you may have better luck.(Adverse weather is the killer for me)
Either the Channel Master 9521A, or the Eagle Aspen ROTR1000 are good choices for light duty rotors. They both have remote controls.
Either the Channel Master 9521A, or the Eagle Aspen ROTR1000 are good choices for light duty rotors. They both have remote controls.
TV antennas are designed to receive the strongest signal from the front and reject signals from the side and back. At almost 90 degrees difference you reduce the chances considerably. Your strong signals give you a chance of it working but as has already been said try it to find out.
I did try it and pointed toward madison I am getting all of the madison and the rockford digital channels. Funny thing is madison is coming in much better than the rockford ones did. Now all are around 84 percent for signal. My next question would be is there an amplifier I could add to boost that number up. Thanks for all your help it is much appreciated.
Are you experiencing dropouts, or do you need to split the signal for additional TV's? Unless you are splitting the signal to more than 1 set; an amplifier may not be necessary.
If you do decide to go with a pre-amp or amplifier; go with a lower gain model(12-19 db). You are too close to the Rockford stations for a high gain pre-amp such as the Channel Master 7777. You may also need to address the strong local FM signals if you plan on amplifying. One station in particular(WGSL) is on 91.1; which may require special attention because it's frequency is so close to TV channel 6. A "full band" FM trap will be much more effective for taming WGSL.
How close are you to their transmitter? 42.32222, -89.01139 (WGSL-FM) - Google Maps
If you do decide to go with a pre-amp or amplifier; go with a lower gain model(12-19 db). You are too close to the Rockford stations for a high gain pre-amp such as the Channel Master 7777. You may also need to address the strong local FM signals if you plan on amplifying. One station in particular(WGSL) is on 91.1; which may require special attention because it's frequency is so close to TV channel 6. A "full band" FM trap will be much more effective for taming WGSL.
How close are you to their transmitter? 42.32222, -89.01139 (WGSL-FM) - Google Maps
wow
50 bucks for a ca 8100 can you get any more, that is a great antenna
if you point the antenna north you should get madison and point it west for Rockford Locals
Menards has a magnavox antenna rotor for 39.99 , and there is a menards on 173 across the street from the rockford speedway in Machesney park.
50 bucks for a ca 8100 can you get any more, that is a great antenna
if you point the antenna north you should get madison and point it west for Rockford Locals
Menards has a magnavox antenna rotor for 39.99 , and there is a menards on 173 across the street from the rockford speedway in Machesney park.
13 wrex and Wifr 23 are both dropping, I had the same problem when pointing directly at the Rockford locals, esp with 13. I got the antenna from my boss, he bought it and then decided not to go with an antenna at all. Thanks for the info on the rotor I will have to check it out. I thought for sure I would not have any issues with Rockford locals with this beast, when feb 2009 will the stations boost their signal?
Sounds like you might be having multipath issues. Your signal levels should be more than sufficient as close as you are to the transmitters. I would try raising or lowering the antenna 6 to 12 inches first. If that doesn't help; the rotor may be your best bet.
If you have an earlier generation digital tuner; it may be more sensitive to multipath than some of the newer tuners.
If you have an earlier generation digital tuner; it may be more sensitive to multipath than some of the newer tuners.
Ok I will try that, with the antenna hooked directly up to the tv it doesn't seem to drop, but when I use the OTA on my dish 722 is where the issues are.
