tigerbangs prescription for deep fringe reception

tigerbangs

Given how weak the stations are, you could probably use a better antenna than the YA-1713. Check with Midwest DXr (Greg Barker) who has some very good Funke PDP-1922 high-band VHF yagi's that have more gain and more directionality that tne YA-1713 has. He has a few left, and I understand that6 he's selling them very reasonably.

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Links18

Wow, very informative thread. Could someone offer some more precise information on how this set-up should be mounted? I am looking at the Hy-Gain rotor, because it looks like I will need the Delhi 307 Deepest Fringe. Supposedly, you are only allowed to have 2 feet of mast above the rotor. Is it going to be possible to mount both of these antennas (Delhi and the 4228) after the rotor? How does that work? Thanks!

Tower Guy

The optimum is to place the rotator inside of a tower section such that the mast extends through the top of the tower. That will eliminate the 2' limitation.

My 4228 is 6' above the top of my tower. The rotor is a Ham-m.

smdp1

I couldn't mount mine inside the tower, but I still have a 91xg 7 ft above a vip307 that is 15" above the rotor and haven't had any trouble.....the Hy gain rotors are stronger than they say

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tophat

tb. I read on one of your replys to get rg6 1694a for less line loss. i got the cable i was wondering if it took a special f connector or just a regular f connector. i got the 91xg and ya 1713 antennas and cm 7777 preamp. and cm rotor 9521a. one of the member said for my loacation.(43938) . I have three section of tower and was wondering how big of a hole in the ground i would have to dig to support 30 ft. of tower. i would like to get this project on its way. thanks in advance tophat.

16floz470ml

Hello,

I just wanted to post my info. I got the xg-91 and the titan 7777. My zip is 75503 and I am over 50 miles from the transmitters. I am very happy with the setup. I get all my channels no problem. It also picks up vhf channels. It will usually pick up an hd pbs channel that is in another direction entirely. The part of it that I am most happy about is I only had to put it in the attic. Thanks for all of the help.

Tonight I tried to watch the mlb allstar game and for some reason it was not broadcast in hd. I know Fox broadcast it in hd. Who should I complain to? The local affiliate?

Rickfla

Have the same setup as you with the addition of a VHF all band antenna; am watching channel 35 ANALOG in orlando 83 miles NE of here right now crystal clear; their digital signal also present; can't beat that 91-XG.

tophat

Hello tigerbangs did you see my post no. 635 I was trying to get into the new antennas setup .Do you know anything about setting of a three section of towers. thanks for the reply. tophat

Midwest Dxer

Actually,one would need much more info on the tower to give the correct info and advice on it's installation.If it's common TV tower,it should be bracketed to the stucture within 20ft from the top,or maybe less,depending on how much antenna/mast is sticking out the top.If it's bracketed you don't need much of a base.If you're planning on freestanding it,dig a 2ft sq hole 4.5 ft deep and put 6-12 inches of crushed stone in the bottom before pouring the concrete so the legs can drain in the winter,preventing the legs from splitting from the ice freezing.

tophat

Midwest Dxer Thanks for your infomation on the towers. I want to install then freestanding. I had the ieda to dig the hole about 3 ft. and make it 20x20 in. by the way the towers sections are a little old but never been used.I had them in my garage and they are for tv I think that they may be a old style of american tower. My brother is makeing me a hinge base out of 1/4 in. plate 16x16. I like your idea of the 24x24in. by 4.5 ft. deep and crushed stone. Thanks again Midwest Dxer. tophat

cherylholmes

Hi, I'm new to the forum and new to having to deal with all this technical tv stuff, so please bear with me. I know I'm about to ask some stupid questions and I apologize for it now...but I haven't a clue what to do...or what equipment I should buy etc.

I have the new dtv converter box, have installed it just fine, but I am needing now to buy a good UHF antenna to pick up the ditigital signals. I have no idea what to look for but I want to receive the best possible signal which I hope will offer many more channels now that we're going to digital. The stations here in San Antonio have already gone digital of HD. I live about 50-55 miles from the transmitters so I'm thinking I need a deep fringe antenna? A friend told me 4 bays (I don't know what that means or what the difference is between 2, 4, 8 etc) but I'm thinking I need an 8 bay? Is there a more powerful one perhaps than 8 bay?

Would someone please make recommendations for brands of equipment, models etc that I need to buy in porder to get the best possible signal strength. Was also told I might want to buy 2 antennas and a "combiner" so I can pull in the Austin Texas channels as well. Any thoughts on that?

I live 8 miles NE of the city of San Antonio limits off IH35 North...60 miles from Austin. The San Antonio transmitters are 50-55 miles from me. The ground in this region of Texas is pretty much flat, only somewhat hilly but nothing that should interfere with reception. We do have trees though...we have no cable here in the country and I have no satellite TV.

Thank you so much for your help. Sincerely, Cheryl

Tower Guy

Your friend was referring to a Channel master 4221. That is a UHF only antenna. Your PBS station is on VHF, but sometimes the 4221 does OK when the signal is strong, the terrain is favorable, and there are no buildings/trees in the way. The 4221 will recieve the UHF stations from San Antonio, but is probably too small for Austin.

Your strongest CW affiliate, KCWX, will be on VHF channel 5 in 2009, but KNVA on channel 49 may be receivable instead.

I'd install two antennas, a High band VHF/UHF antenna such as The Winegard HD7695P or Antennacraft HBU-22. That antenna would be aimed at San Antonio. Next I'd get a 91XG or 4228 for Austin. That antenna may need a preamp. If you wanted FOX in Austin, a VHF only antenna can be added to the mix.

I would not try to combine the San Antonio and Austin antennas. I'd run two lines and use an A/B switch.

I assumed that you are in Solms, TX. To get more clarity about your the signal strength at you location, try www.tvfool.com

smdp1

or you could just follow the deep fringe prescription and use the rotor to turn it and get best possible reception without the insertion loss and possible leakage interference from an ab switch

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two1361

i live outside of Philadelphia, PA (Zip Code 19041) and i have a basic Radio Shack indoor HDTV antenna. According to antennaweb.org, all the stations (NBC, CBS, FOX, PBS, CW) are less then 5 miles away. But an example is that i seem to have trouble getting a signal from the PBS DTV channel. and also the other seems to come and go without any real reason that i can tell. I do have a external amplifier that i have tried hooking the antenna to, but it seems to help sometimes but not other times.

tigerbangs

You are experiencing multipath distortion, which is reflected TV signal arriving at your antenna slightly later than the dirct signal. In digital reception, it can cause the signal to appear and disappear even if you are in a VERY strong signal area.. The only real answer is to install a small outdoor antenna and aim it at your local transmitters, all of which are in one direction about 5 miles from you. Since WPVI-DT is oing back to channel 6 VHF in February, I would suggest a small all-channel outdoor antenna mounted on your roof. In your situation, the Radio Shack VU-75 is a good and inexpensive choice, and it's easily available.

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Real men don't use indoor antennas; neither do real women!