Winegard LNA200 Preamp

[Skywave]

Hello all, this is my first post on the OTA forum I've been playing with OTA for about 3 years. Has anyone tried a Winegard LNA200 pre-amp? Looks pretty good on paper: http://www.winegard.com/offair/amplifiers.php They are spec'ing a 1db noise figure on uhf and over 2,000,000 uV total power handling with separate uhf and vhf amp and filtering paths. I'm in a weak tv, multiple strong fm station environment, with the added headache of nearby 4G LTE and public safety radio in the surrendered ch 52-69 band, so this might be just the ticket. I currently run a Winegard 8780, http://www.winegard.com/kbase/upload/chart29.pdf but may be able to spare the 10db on UHF (28 vs 18 for the LNA-200, given the lower noise figure, especially if I get rid of a run of 20+ year old RG-59. These things are about $55.00 shipped free on Amazon, so I think I'll order one and try it out.

 

[primestar31]

I used to install OTA Winegard antennas and equipment, and while I could recommend the old metal box amp's, I can't recommend a plastic case amp that's installed out at the antenna. Especially in a case such as yours with your signal environment. Too much chance for bad signal leakage and ingress ruining the rated noise floor. Digital signals suffer greatly from multipath signals also, so you have to be careful on amp'ing the signal to high.

I would suggest searching avsform.com for reviews and info on this specific amp...

 

[Skywave]

I used to install OTA Winegard antennas and equipment, and while I could recommend the old metal box amp's, I can't recommend a plastic case amp that's installed out at the antenna. Especially in a case such as yours with your signal environment. Too much chance for bad signal leakage and ingress ruining the rated noise floor. Digital signals suffer greatly from multipath signals also, so you have to be careful on amp'ing the signal to high.

I would suggest searching avsform.com for reviews and info on this specific amp...

Yep, I just got done reading them. Not so great, really. And your point on the plastic cases is a good one. That leaves the Channel Master pre-amps. The reading I've done on the new ones is mixed at least relative to the old models.

I used to run a Winegard 8275 which was waaay to much vhf gain. I switched to an 8780 which helped with the fm overload while still keeping a lot of uhf gain to compensate for high attenuation from shooting through 6 acres of woods. Now with all the stuff that has moved into the 700 Mhz band I have a CATV type 700 Mhz band stop filter screwed into the 8780's input which has controlled that problem. I think what I really need are bigger, separate vhf and uhf antennas, with maybe no preamp on vhf and maybe 18-20 db on uhf.

 

[boba]

I don't like the way the LNA 200 amps the signals 20 dB gain on VHF low that is barely used any more and 18 dB on UHF which is the predominant digital signals. Invest the $50 in a better antenna rather than an amplifier. And be patient let the new product prove it self in the marketplace rather than be an early adopter.

 

[primestar31]

Do you even need a VHF antenna and amp? What's your Tvfool report look like?

This is good for VHF only: http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.as...13)&sku=716079000994#tabberProductInformation

Use this to combine it with a UHF antenna, if you don't have an amp with separate inputs: http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.as...hf-band-separator/combiner-for-antenna-(uvsj)

Here's a good UHF only antenna: http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.as...VHFUHF-(HDB8X)&c=TV Antennas&sku=700112818417 <<< Don't fall for the "you can aim each panel in a different direction" B.S., because that's what it is, B.S. It'll put any antenna into an out of phase situation, and you will LOSE signal! If you get this one, mount each panel flat, and aimed for the same direction.

...and if you'd rather have a single antenna do both, this is the one for you: http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.as...-8-bay-hdtv-high-vhf/uhf-tv-antenna-(4228-hd)

As for an amp, I'm not sure there's any I can recommend at this point. There's so much variance, and so much CRAP in the market it's ridiculous. It's really "black magic" to get OTA working right at any particular spot that has issues, and you would be best off to experiment with several and see how it goes.

However, TWO antennas with UHF mounted ABOVE the VHF antenna will be superior. Make sure you use a good grade of RG-6 cable, PerfectVision makes some good quad-shield.

 

[Skywave]

Thanks for the suggestions, Primestar31. Yes, I need VHF high as Atlanta NBC and PBS are rf 10 and 8 respectively. As for TV fool, my worst station show a 16.8 db NM, so not too bad, except for having to shoot through the trees. I actually shoot diagonally through one side of the woods and it opens onto falling terrain, which helps. One nice thing is that most Atlanta TV is in about a 4 degree spread for me at about 57 miles. 2 edge. The only thing I care about that is off that axis is only 15 degrees off and is actually my strongest (35.6 db NM). I have been able to ignore that station and just lock the antenna on the main group.

A couple of questions.

Given the seasonally dynamic multipath that is generated in the trees, would a rotator be useful for tweaking, even with the very narrow azumith range? The rotator would also permit aiming at the Greenville, SC stations which run between 3 and 5 db NM BUT are not through the woods.

Is it your opinion that bowtie arrays are generally superior to long yagis for fringe uhf? I've seen it argued both ways but had never resolved the issue in my own mind.

 

[primestar31]

A rotator is useful if you are using tight-beam yagi's AND you have stations in many different directions.

Bowtie arrays typically can come fairly close to the mileage performance of a yagi, but have the advantage of not having quite so tight of a beamwidth. So, they come in handy if your stations are all in a small spread. That way you aim it for best on all stations, and don't need a rotor. Rotors aren't user friendly if you ever decide to get an OTA dvr. Even if you get one that can be programmed to move by itself, that makes things even more problematical. They actually have one that uses a DisEQc controller like for a c-band dish that's programmable.

Multipath can be a hard one to beat, and you can't say anything for sure until you try things at your own site. Sometimes a higher antenna isn't always best, maybe mounting it lower, moving it to a different location, etc.