tigerbangs prescription for deep fringe reception

Tower Guy

It looks like a neighbor has a Channel Master 4228. It's one good option for you.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sour...2.59,,1,-12.81

The 91 XG antenna is another good option.

You have one strong FM station, KHTB. The UHF only antenna will help eliminate it.

To split to multiple TVs a preamp with 16-27 db of gain and an FM trap or a UHF only preamp such as the AP-4700 are appropriate. I also like the Winegard AP2870, but others will work too.

farmkid

I live in a valley served by fairly low-power translators. The translators are in two clusters in opposite directions. Most of the channels are broadcast from both clusters, but each cluster of towers is missing a couple of channels. From my location, the two clusters are located about 9 miles and 32 miles away in almost exactly opposite directions. What I would like to do is find an antenna that I can point at the more distant cluster and also pick up the signals from the closer cluster from the rear of the antenna. So, what I need is an antenna with decent gain, but that does not reject too much of the signal from the rear.

Based on the information at another site I can't yet post a link to because I don't have enough posts, I'm thinking of getting the Winegard PR-4400 or PR-8800. However, I've heard from other sources that these bowtie-style antennas reject more signal from the rear (contrary to the radiation plots for those antennas at the linked site). Does anyone here have any ideas of an antenna that might work better for me?

let's try this for the URL I tried to link to above: www dot hdtvprimer dot com slash ANTENNAS slash comparing.html

Tower Guy

The solution will depend on the channel mix and signal strengths.

If you go to www.tvfool.com and enter your address, then you can post the results back here using the same trick that you used for the hdtvprimer link.

Next, if you know what programming is on which translator, it would be very handy to know that too.

jim_woodhen

Thanks for posting the link for me. Anyone have any more ideas?

Right now the only thing I am confident about is the CM7777.

I am planning on an eave mount. Is it ok to use 10' of thin wall electrical conduit from the Home Despot?

I know the distances are not far. I am most concerned about the tree cover. Will a longer range antenna help get a signal through or around the trees? The 4221 claims 45 miles. The 4228 says up to 60 miles. Will the 4228 perform any better in tree cover? Nobody has mentioned the 3020 which says deep fringe and up to 100 mile range.

Keep in mind I am not too picky. I would be happy with 1 station. It is a seasonal fishing camp with a 10" black and white TV that is probably 40 years old.

Thanks,

Jim

DNJMama

Hello Everyone--

Now that we are truly past the cut-over, can I ask for confirmation that the deep-fringe prescription as follows is still the best all round choice? Here is the prescription, as I understand it:

1 Channel Master 4228 UHF antenna
1 Wade-Delhi VIP-306 VHF antenna
1 Channel Master Titan 7777 preamp
1 Channel Master 9521a rotator
30'+ antenna height from the ground

As a newbie, this site won't let me put in the exact URL, but here is my situation from TVFool just preface the following line with the Http: "slash Slash" tvfool "dot" com to get there--remove any extra spaces, the editor kept throwing one in just before the end):
/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3dd5a06dbd00a84 c

And here is my physical description of my area:
I am near the top of a hill (yea!) with 2 large trees (50') one to the south and one to the west. The hill continues to rise by maybe 10 feet to the east of my house, and there are some trees topping it.

What I hope for:
I am in SW Connecticut, hoping to be able to pull in the NY stations (WCBS-DT WNBC-DT and ideally, the PBS station WNET-DT). These are in the red/pink, with the NBC in the grey, if I read this correctly. I'd also like to get 2 much closer stations that are in still 2 more different directions: WEDW-DT and WTNH-DT.

MY QUESTIONS:
(1) Will the prescription work for HD reception for me? Should I add anything to it?

and, next question (drum roll please)...
(2) HOW might it work? in other words, am I looking at getting constant drop outs except under absolutely perfect conditons that only occur x days per year? I realize there are no guarentees, but I'm looking for opinions--you guys are far more knowledgeable than I.

Thank You for taking the time to look at this!

Hib_X

Many thanks to Tiger and the rest of the folks on this thread. I have had the prescription installed for over a month and the results are great. Located 30 miles north of Madison, WI, with warm, humid weather I can pull in Milwaukee(83 mi), Green Bay(96 mi), Rockford(85 mi). With good tropo, I have pulled in Lansing, MI and Cedar Rapids and Des Moines, IA. I have seen a drop off with these 80+ mile out cities now that the weather is turning cooler with dryer air. My antenna is mounted at the top of the old tower, which is rather tall, probably 40-50 feet up, I never measured it.
I'm surprised that the 91xg picks up so well off the side. While pointed at 109 towards Milwaukee, I'll often pick up Green Bay(50 degrees)with equal signal.
Generally, Milwaukee stations come in signal wise, best to worse, RF 46,40, 36, 24, 28, 33, 34, 18. GB is RF 39, 23, 41, 42. I have the Insignia converter box as my mainstay converter, but have done as well with the Magnovox and Digital Stream boxes as well.
Milwaukee still has 2 low power analog, 41(WMLW) & 63(CBS). When conditions are good, I receive these 2 station as well as I used to get Madison stations on analog.

Thanks again

Keith

jim_woodhen

I took a hard look at the 7698. Am I understanding correctly that it is 14 FEET long? Yikes. That might be a little much for me to handle.


I found the self sticking tape, but I am not sure about the rust inhibitor. Do you have a brand name?


If I am using the 7777 with only a UHF antenna attached don't I need a terminator on the VHF input?

Do the combo antennas have 2 outs (UHF and VHF)?


Thanks,

Jim

farmkid

I've spent a lot of time at tvfool over the last couple of weeks as I've tried to figure this out. Here are the results: i242 dot photobucket dot com/albums/ff133/farmkidspm/tvfooloutput.jpg (sorry I can't post the image). As you can see, there are actually transmitter clusters in three directions, but I only need the ones to the north and south. Those are the ones located in the yellow region of the list at 9.1 miles and 31.6 miles. Each cluster has carries most of the channels, but each is missing at least two. As you can see, they are all UHF channels, with those to the north (31.6 miles) being in the 20s and 30s, and those to the south (9.1 miles) being in the 40s and low 50s. The channels that are not duplicated are 25 and 29 from the north and 47 and 49 and maybe 18 (18 may be the same as 19 from the north, but available info is conflicting) from the south.

So, as you can see, what I really need is a bidirectional antenna. However, I have yet to find one. The closest I've is the omnidirectional antennas such as Winegard's Metrostar, but those are rather pricey and don't have as good range as others. Otherwise, the HD-4400 and HD-8800 seem to have the best reception from the rear as far as I can tell from the radiation plots at tvprimer.

Would I perhaps be better off to build a bowtie antenna like the 4400 or 8800, but without the reflectors? I've seen plans for them, but I don't know enough to know whether or not I could pick up my stations at all without a reflector.

rbinck

Here you go:

__________________
www.highdefinitionblog.com
www.BlogOfHawaii.com

Tower Guy

Yes, a homemade bow-tie without reflectors should would work fine. 4 bays are enough. The Channel Master 4221 is often used by those who remove the reflector screen themselves.

If you speak Spanish you'll still need a VHF antenna for 8 and 12. Buy a Y5-7-13 and a UVSJ to add the antennas together.

farmkid

Thank you for your help. And no, I don't speak Spanish, so I'm not too concerned about picking up 8 and 12.

geoffleach

FWIW (be that ever so little) here's what works for me, 50 miles and rough terrain from the transmitters http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...7f144679d26583

AntennasDirect 91XG
Winegard YA-1713 high band VHF
Pico-Macom UVSJ UHF-VHF Band Separator-Combiner
Research Communication (UK) type 9254

The only thing that's unusual about this is the Research Communication masthead amplifier, chosen because it was lowest noise.

jim_woodhen

Thanks, this is helpful. I have much stronger signals than you are dealing with so I guess the 91XG would work fine for me. The only question I have is are you out in the open? I am surrounded by trees on all sides and overhead. I think tree cover is my biggest concern and have not figured out if one antenna is better than another for pulling UHF through trees. I doubt TVFool takes tree cover into consideration when estimating signal strength.

geoffleach

I'm behind a 200' hill and a screen of hardwoods. Not in the deep woods, but not in the open either. The antennas are about 25' off the ground (pole-on-gable). The 91XG is below the YA-1713 in a "sweet spot", determined by measuring signal strength. I was amazed by the difference a few inches made.

Strick

Well FYI I just went with the CM 2020 with new quad shield cable. Pointed it at 160 and bam got all kind of channels. Even pulling in some from the side when the weather is right. Picture and signal are excellent. Best darn picture we have ever had up there out in the sticks....