Upgrading antenna

[rockymtnhigh]

I have an OTA antenna (it has the brand WINEGARD on it, but I could not find a model number) that was installed with my Dish about five years ago. I switched to a Dish 1000 and a vip622 for HD six weeks ago. Some of the OTA locals I pick up come in very well with a signal strength of about 91; two others come in between 65 and 71; when it is at 65, I get no picture. When it is at 71 it is ok. These channels have always had poor reception.

I am wondering if there is any benefit to getting a new OTA antenna? I see antenna's advertised as being for HDTV, but is there actually a difference?

Also, my antenna is not amplified. Would that matter?

And finally, the two channels that come in well are from a tower due east, with no visibility issues. The two that are weak, are due west, with a big old cottonwood tree obstructing some view. The Dish itself, points towards the south, out of the way of the trees.

Would there be benefit to putting in a second OTA antenna, and feeding both into the one coax feed?

Lots of questions, I know., But I thought I would ask!!

 

[dodge]

ota antenna

Can you post a picture of the antenna and dish install so we can get an idea what you have, also what is your zip code so we know what locals you should receive...

 

[rockymtnhigh]

I have to get up on the roof to take a photo, and that will have to wait until tomorrow, but I went to Winegard's site, and the antenna basically looks like the Sensar: http://www.winegard.com/offair/sensar.htm#gs although it was installed in 2001, so it is probably an earlier model.

I saw that their HD antenna's are fairly complex contraptions - which would cause me some concern, not about how they look, but their ability to withstand strong winds.

The locals are:

* yellow - uhf KRMJ-DT 20.1 PBS GRAND JUNCTION CO 87° 12.7 17
* yellow - uhf KFQX-DT 2.2 FOX GRAND JUNCTION CO 253° 13.9 15
* green - vhf KKCO-DT 11.1 NBC GRAND JUNCTION CO 253° 13.9 12
* green - vhf KREX-DT 2.1 CBS GRAND JUNCTION CO 262° 4.2 2
* red - vhf KJCT-DT 8.1 ABC GRAND JUNCTION CO 88° 12.9 7
* blue - uhf KGJT-DT 43 UPN GRAND JUNCTION CO Currently Not Available 76° 14.0 43

From AntennaWeb (81504)


KJCT8 ABC (comes in excellent)
KKCO 11 NBC (comes in excellent)
KREX5 CBS (the worst of the worst, 65 / 71)
KFQX FOX (about the same as KREX above)
The PBS feed does not come in at all; but I am not sure if they are actually transmitting digitally yet.

It is the last two that have problems.

 

[bsr2002]

I see antenna's advertised as being for HDTV, but is there actually a difference?

Antenna is an antenna. No such thing as HDTV Antenna. Companies are putting that lable to sell into the "HDTV" HYPE to better sell thier product.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Antenna is an antenna. No such thing as HDTV Antenna. Companies are putting that lable to sell into the "HDTV" HYPE to better sell thier product.

That is what I thought.

But I guess there are still differences between antennas, in terms of their ability to pick up signals? Are some better at getting signals through obstructions like trees than others?

 

[dodge]

Antenna Recomenadations

The Sensar is a little bit more than an amplified coat hanger. I would reccomend a medium to large directional antenna such as the winegard hd 7082 or hd7084 with an anmp. You will find that your results will be much better.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

The Sensar is a little bit more than an amplified coat hanger. I would reccomend a medium to large directional antenna such as the winegard hd 7082 or hd7084 with an anmp. You will find that your results will be much better.

Thanks Dodge! This is the type of advice I was looking for; I suspected as such.

I trust that an amplified antenna needs AC POWER - does this mean I need to get power to the roof of the garage (where the antenna is located), or can I power it somewhere within the garage?

Sure appreciate your advice.

 

[Rick0725]

Winegard hd7082p or hd7084p antenna with winegard hdp 269 amp and cm 9521A rotor.... great suggestion dodge.

The amp is powered inside near the tv.

you do not have to mount high...enclosed is a pic of a hd7082p with a hdp269 mounted on a tripod... I cut off about 1.5' on a 5' mast to make it lower profile. I did not use a rotor here because all the towers were on the same hill....yours are in different directions and you will require one.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Winegard hd7082p or hd7084p antenna with winegard hdp 269 amp and cm 9521A rotor.... great suggestion dodge.

The amp is powered inside near the tv.

you do not have to mount high...enclosed is a pic of a hd7082p with a hdp269 mounted on a tripod... I cut off about 1.5' on a 5' mast to make it lower profile. I did not use a rotor here because all the towers were on the same hill....yours are in different directions and you will require one.

Thanks. Is it ok that the ANT and SAT share the same coax into the house and are only split again just before going into the receiver? Does the amp impact the Sat ?

Sorry if these are really basic questions, but I am trying to learn - and without asking I'll never find out!

 

[Rick0725]

prefer and suggest separate coax runs/systems for antenna and satellite.

dislike the use of diplexers...but you will most likely do what ya want anyway.

You may not need an amp...unless you have a long coax run and you split the signal to other tvs.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

prefer separate coax for antenna and satellite.

That is what I suspected. I need to look at the cables coming into the house, but I THINK that the antenna and sat coax do not merge into one until the house; in that case, I guess I could put the amp in the garage, rather than at the tv.

 

[Rick0725]

but I THINK that the antenna and sat coax do not merge into one until the house

?????????

if you want the best reception and the least signal loss....what method do you think is best?

 

[rockymtnhigh]

I could except for how the cable goes through walls. I can do it, but it isn't as easy as it sounds given the house layout.

But if I could add the amp before the two merge, would that have the same effect?

 

[bhelms]

I agree with Rick re: using separate cables for sat and OTA. If you have to combine then your choice of preamp is limited to one that can use the same power as the sat LNBs (they exist), and the diplexer has to provide that power to both the sat and OTA sides. The LNB signal (~2150MHz) will not pass through the preamp...

I also agree that you should try without the preamp unless you have a long cable run (>50 ft?) Your channels are all 14 miles or less (wish I had that same situation!) so you shouldn't need the preamp at all to boost the received signal strength...

EDIT - Sorry - I missed some posts in between. I guess I'm not clear here - are you talking about an antenna preamp (that is mounted on the mast near the antenna and has a separate PS usually near the set) or a distribution amp (one piece)? Either way, I still think you won't need either unless you have long cable runs. I don't think I can really help much more here so I'll go on standby...

 

[rockymtnhigh]

I agree with Rick re: using separate cables for sat and OTA. If you have to combine then your choice of preamp is limited to one that can use the same power as the sat LNBs (they exist), and the diplexer has to provide that power to both the sat and OTA sides. The LNB signal (~2150MHz) will not pass through the preamp...

I also agree that you should try without the preamp unless you have a long cable run (>50 ft?) Your channels are all 14 miles or less (wish I had that same situation!) so you shouldn't need the preamp at all to boost the received signal strength...

EDIT - Sorry - I missed some posts in between. I guess I'm not clear here - are you talking about an antenna preamp (that is mounted on the mast near the antenna and has a separate PS usually near the set) or a distribution amp (one piece)? Either way, I still think you won't need either unless you have long cable runs. I don't think I can really help much more here so I'll go on standby...

I continued to be amazed by the resources of this community. Thanks for your response. My cable run is probably 40 foot; I would need to measure to be sure. But I will definitely try 1) Without an amp, but a better antenna; AND 2) if I need an amp, will run a second line of coax for the antenna.

Yet another project for summer!

 

[bhelms]

de nada!

No need to measure your cable, I just threw that 50' number in. There is no rule-of-thumb but if your signal is weak and you have long cable runs, then a preamp might work. If you have strong signals to one TV but others in your house are weak due to excessive cable runs or too many splits, then a distribution amp might be the answer. No amp can strengthen signals that aren't there (probably what I'm experiencing!) and too much signal strength can make matters even worse in terms of overloading your tuner input, etc. So definitely try with a better antenna but without an amp first then report back, and do use 2 separate cables...!