Good component suggestions for good reception.

electriczipper · 07-02-2009, 01:40 PM

Hi, I'm new to this forum, but have been doing searches here for preferred parts to get the best reception, and it seems that that info is highly variable, and a little scattered or incomplete. I'm located at 46.251781 by -122.815926 elevation aprox. 965' and have a 9yr old RS antenna(it was the biggest and baddest UHF, VHF, FM antenna RS had at the time. Since the switch to digital I've lost everything but 2 analogs(very fuzzy) that were just suppling info on how to do the switch.
Went and bought 2 converter boxes and now get KCPQ, KCTS, KBTC. These are the digital ones and each give me 3 channels. I still don't get what I had before and they are pretty much located at about the same distance, and compass setting. I was wondering what would be darn good choices for Preamps, and non amplifying low noise splitters? I'm guessing that maybe the splitter should be one that allows the power from the pre-amp power source to pass through.

Tower Guy · 07-02-2009, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by electriczipper

I'm located at 46.251781 by -122.815926

Here's your tvfool report for all to see:
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...aa0595874d2b93

The stations at 331 degrees are all UHF.
Fox on channel 13 is at zero
The strongest stations at 176 degrees are on channels 8 & 10.

I'd get three antennas, a UHF only plus two high band VHF antennas.
I'd aim a Winegard HD8800 at 331, and either the Winegard Y1713 or Antennacraft Y10-7-13 at zero and 176 degrees.

I'd get a Channel 13 Jointenna on closeout from Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Jointenna-Mode...6561382&sr=8-3

It would be connected to combine the two VHF antennas.

Next I'd get a Channel Master 7777 preamp to add the VHF and UHF signals.

electriczipper · 07-02-2009, 02:37 PM

Thank you for the quick reply. The strongest stations at 176 degrees are on the other side of my hill, and I get nothing from that direction (did get 1 analog b4 transition). The stations at 331 degrees are all repeats of what I get from pointing north. I'm hoping that by pre-amping the signal and using a very low noise splitter for the 2 tvs that I'll regain what I had b4 and then some, as the quantity of stations north of me are many, and all are pretty near each other.

electriczipper · 07-02-2009, 03:04 PM

Thanks again Tower Guy! I checked out your suggestions on antennas and they are affordable, but at this time I'd like to see what this antenna is capable of doing with the best preamp that is compatible with this antenna, and a great non-amped splitter. I'm trying to upgrade as cheap as possible. My next step after this would possibly be an amplified distribution splitter(I think?).

NonMcTubber · 07-02-2009, 03:56 PM

To electriczipper,

First, not to disagree with Tower guy, I agree with your keep it as cheap as possible. And while your TVfool co-ordinates are helpful, and the exact address, that part is taken care of, good chance you have some like a radio 190 XR or similar, but beyond that, everything else is a mystery.

And under the theory that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, are you connected by ribbon cable or coax, either one of which can go bad in 9 years. If its coax, what type of coax? How is your antenna presently aimed? How high is it mounted? What kind of shape is your antenna in? Sadly, its a forum consensus that radio shack antennas are not very durable, even though it could have fooled me, because my radio shack 160XR that came with the house when I bought it is still in excellent shape after 17 years.

Sometimes the best starting point is to disassemble and then resealable all antenna connections to eliminate corrosion as a culprit,
and keep it simple beyond that. No matter what, you are going to need a strong preamp, without an antenna rotator, you need to play with antenna aim, and to keep it simple, worry about one TV before you play with a splitter to keep things systematic.

And the last thing to say about radio shack antennas is that have the virtue of not having big off aim losses of signals, but it comes with the costs of having no big on fixed aim gains. And when you need the latter and not the former, some other antenna(s) may be your best hope in your marginal reception area. And if there is no hope to the South, it does simplify matters. Those northern stations come in a 54 degree arc, maybe doable with one combo VHF/UHF antenna even though a plus minus 15 degree, or 30 degrees would be more ideal.

electriczipper · 07-02-2009, 08:48 PM

Hi NonMcTubber, The antenna is connected by coaxial(RG-6). It starts out with the connects for the ribbon but has the dohicky(bet you all like that one

) that converts it over to the coaxial connection. It is 14' off the ground, the ground slopes away fairly quickly to the north, couple that with 950' + of elevation, and it seems to have good potential. It is now pointing at the direction of the north star. I am going to repoint it to 12 degree's, and it seems to be in excellent shape still. The connections were all sealed very well and the analog reception hadn't degraded in the 9yrs. I'll redo everything anyway though to make sure it wasn't fouled from the beginning.

Both TVs get the same reception, and I did notice that as long as it was pointed in the general direction it had pretty much the same reception in a fairly wide arc of movement. I'm only concerned with receiving the stations from 0 to 25 degrees at this time, and that is why I'll try the 12 degree point. It should be enough stations to keep ones' wife entertained for now

.

I would like to try replacing the grounding block if there is a better one than the RS one, the line splitter, again RS, add a preamp, and see what happens. If RS coaxial cable leaves alot to be desired I'll replace that also. Actually that nearly covers all the connections anyway

.
Thank you,
ez

Patrick_D · 07-02-2009, 10:09 PM

Both your coax and mast should be grounded. You can use the search function from up in the header for more info.

Here's the jist . . .

http://www.dennysantennaservice.com/1171010.html

electriczipper · 07-02-2009, 10:28 PM

Anyone have any suggestions as to brands and model #s of splitters, grounding blocks, & RG-6 cable that is of top or near top performance quality?

Thank you,

jim5506 · 07-03-2009, 12:39 AM

You're going to have a really tough time getting ch 9 and 11 from the north, because those stations are almost 100 miles from you and the signal is very weak (9=-10.9NM and 11=-14.4 NM) and the only VHF high antenna with that much pulling power is no longer made (Funke PSP-1922 with gain of about 15dB).

If the NM (noise margin) is so low that adding it to the antenna gain still leaves you in negative territory, you can almost forget anything but sporatic reception.

UHF on the other hand, there is the Winegard HD-9032 with gain ranging from 14.9 @ ch 14 to 16.3 @ ch32 that might get those stations in the + territory, but barely.

If I were you I'd try stations in other directions like 331 and 176 just for grins. Put a Winegard AP8275 preamp or a CM 7777 pre-amp on your old antenna just to see if it still has any life in it (questionable) and try the stations to the south, they are evidently twice as close as the ones to the north.

electriczipper · 07-03-2009, 08:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick_D

Both your coax and mast should be grounded. You can use the search function from up in the header for more info.

Here's the jist . . .

http://www.dennysantennaservice.com/1171010.html

Thanks Patrick_D, They both are. There are a few trees on this hill that show the scars of why it is important to ground things.

electriczipper · 07-03-2009, 08:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jim5506

You're going to have a really tough time getting ch 9 and 11 from the north, because those stations are almost 100 miles from you and the signal is very weak (9=-10.9NM and 11=-14.4 NM) and the only VHF high antenna with that much pulling power is no longer made (Funke PSP-1922 with gain of about 15dB).

If the NM (noise margin) is so low that adding it to the antenna gain still leaves you in negative territory, you can almost forget anything but sporatic reception.

UHF on the other hand, there is the Winegard HD-9032 with gain ranging from 14.9 @ ch 14 to 16.3 @ ch32 that might get those stations in the + territory, but barely.

If I were you I'd try stations in other directions like 331 and 176 just for grins. Put a Winegard AP8275 preamp or a CM 7777 pre-amp on your old antenna just to see if it still has any life in it (questionable) and try the stations to the south, they are evidently twice as close as the ones to the north.

Hi jim5506, I don't receive 11 yet, but do get 9 with a signal strength of 40 without preamp. The stations at 331 degrees come in great(very high signal strength)if I point the antenna that way, but the channels are few. I'll definitely do some trial and error things for grins, but this first. I definitely wanna try 176 degrees again just to see if it can be done. I'm far enough on the north side of this hill that it may prove to be too much to do.

electriczipper · 07-03-2009, 08:57 AM

Howdy boys, ClementHall, CoelhoPaulo, ClaymoreTod, ClavellJames. Good to meet you

. Yes I've been searching, and am still at it.
Thanks =),
ez

electriczipper · 07-05-2009, 02:46 PM

Jim5506 I'm really liking the looks of the winegard HD-9032 you mentioned. Thanks! Just for grins though I'll put the preamp and another 10' to the mast first.
ez

PS Be patient all I'm still learning as the content of my posts show

.

07-02-2009, 01:40 PM	#1
electriczipper High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 34	Good component suggestions for good reception. Hi, I'm new to this forum, but have been doing searches here for preferred parts to get the best reception, and it seems that that info is highly variable, and a little scattered or incomplete. I'm located at 46.251781 by -122.815926 elevation aprox. 965' and have a 9yr old RS antenna(it was the biggest and baddest UHF, VHF, FM antenna RS had at the time. Since the switch to digital I've lost everything but 2 analogs(very fuzzy) that were just suppling info on how to do the switch. Went and bought 2 converter boxes and now get KCPQ, KCTS, KBTC. These are the digital ones and each give me 3 channels. I still don't get what I had before and they are pretty much located at about the same distance, and compass setting. I was wondering what would be darn good choices for Preamps, and non amplifying low noise splitters? I'm guessing that maybe the splitter should be one that allows the power from the pre-amp power source to pass through. __________________ Jane & Joe Public, neither pachyderm nor jack-ss, but Manipulated into choosing one of two evils if their vote is to count at all.

07-02-2009, 02:37 PM	#3
electriczipper High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 34	Thank you for the quick reply. The strongest stations at 176 degrees are on the other side of my hill, and I get nothing from that direction (did get 1 analog b4 transition). The stations at 331 degrees are all repeats of what I get from pointing north. I'm hoping that by pre-amping the signal and using a very low noise splitter for the 2 tvs that I'll regain what I had b4 and then some, as the quantity of stations north of me are many, and all are pretty near each other. __________________ Jane & Joe Public, neither pachyderm nor jack-ss, but Manipulated into choosing one of two evils if their vote is to count at all.

07-02-2009, 03:04 PM	#4
electriczipper High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 34	Thanks again Tower Guy! I checked out your suggestions on antennas and they are affordable, but at this time I'd like to see what this antenna is capable of doing with the best preamp that is compatible with this antenna, and a great non-amped splitter. I'm trying to upgrade as cheap as possible. My next step after this would possibly be an amplified distribution splitter(I think?). __________________ Jane & Joe Public, neither pachyderm nor jack-ss, but Manipulated into choosing one of two evils if their vote is to count at all.

07-02-2009, 03:56 PM	#5
NonMcTubber High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 808	To electriczipper, First, not to disagree with Tower guy, I agree with your keep it as cheap as possible. And while your TVfool co-ordinates are helpful, and the exact address, that part is taken care of, good chance you have some like a radio 190 XR or similar, but beyond that, everything else is a mystery. And under the theory that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, are you connected by ribbon cable or coax, either one of which can go bad in 9 years. If its coax, what type of coax? How is your antenna presently aimed? How high is it mounted? What kind of shape is your antenna in? Sadly, its a forum consensus that radio shack antennas are not very durable, even though it could have fooled me, because my radio shack 160XR that came with the house when I bought it is still in excellent shape after 17 years. Sometimes the best starting point is to disassemble and then resealable all antenna connections to eliminate corrosion as a culprit, and keep it simple beyond that. No matter what, you are going to need a strong preamp, without an antenna rotator, you need to play with antenna aim, and to keep it simple, worry about one TV before you play with a splitter to keep things systematic. And the last thing to say about radio shack antennas is that have the virtue of not having big off aim losses of signals, but it comes with the costs of having no big on fixed aim gains. And when you need the latter and not the former, some other antenna(s) may be your best hope in your marginal reception area. And if there is no hope to the South, it does simplify matters. Those northern stations come in a 54 degree arc, maybe doable with one combo VHF/UHF antenna even though a plus minus 15 degree, or 30 degrees would be more ideal. __________________ High definition is not the definition of my life. But knowledge is power and HD does have some potential to increase content variety and choices.

07-02-2009, 08:48 PM	#6
electriczipper High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 34	Hi NonMcTubber, The antenna is connected by coaxial(RG-6). It starts out with the connects for the ribbon but has the dohicky(bet you all like that one ) that converts it over to the coaxial connection. It is 14' off the ground, the ground slopes away fairly quickly to the north, couple that with 950' + of elevation, and it seems to have good potential. It is now pointing at the direction of the north star. I am going to repoint it to 12 degree's, and it seems to be in excellent shape still. The connections were all sealed very well and the analog reception hadn't degraded in the 9yrs. I'll redo everything anyway though to make sure it wasn't fouled from the beginning. Both TVs get the same reception, and I did notice that as long as it was pointed in the general direction it had pretty much the same reception in a fairly wide arc of movement. I'm only concerned with receiving the stations from 0 to 25 degrees at this time, and that is why I'll try the 12 degree point. It should be enough stations to keep ones' wife entertained for now . I would like to try replacing the grounding block if there is a better one than the RS one, the line splitter, again RS, add a preamp, and see what happens. If RS coaxial cable leaves alot to be desired I'll replace that also. Actually that nearly covers all the connections anyway . Thank you, ez __________________ Jane & Joe Public, neither pachyderm nor jack-ss, but Manipulated into choosing one of two evils if their vote is to count at all.

07-02-2009, 10:09 PM	#7
Patrick_D High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 67	Grouding Both your coax and mast should be grounded. You can use the search function from up in the header for more info. Here's the jist . . . http://www.dennysantennaservice.com/1171010.html

07-02-2009, 10:28 PM	#8
electriczipper High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 34	Anyone have any suggestions as to brands and model #s of splitters, grounding blocks, & RG-6 cable that is of top or near top performance quality? Thank you, __________________ Jane & Joe Public, neither pachyderm nor jack-ss, but Manipulated into choosing one of two evils if their vote is to count at all.

07-03-2009, 12:39 AM	#9
jim5506 Yellow Submarine Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Lubbock, Texas Posts: 2,416	You're going to have a really tough time getting ch 9 and 11 from the north, because those stations are almost 100 miles from you and the signal is very weak (9=-10.9NM and 11=-14.4 NM) and the only VHF high antenna with that much pulling power is no longer made (Funke PSP-1922 with gain of about 15dB). If the NM (noise margin) is so low that adding it to the antenna gain still leaves you in negative territory, you can almost forget anything but sporatic reception. UHF on the other hand, there is the Winegard HD-9032 with gain ranging from 14.9 @ ch 14 to 16.3 @ ch32 that might get those stations in the + territory, but barely. If I were you I'd try stations in other directions like 331 and 176 just for grins. Put a Winegard AP8275 preamp or a CM 7777 pre-amp on your old antenna just to see if it still has any life in it (questionable) and try the stations to the south, they are evidently twice as close as the ones to the north. __________________ Programming: Dish HD Absolute with 0.01 Cinemax Displays: Sony VPH-D50Q - 7 ft on the wall; Hitachi 57R59 Receivers: DishNetwork ViP722k; DishNetwork ViP211K; DishNetwork ViP211; DishNetwork 301; 2 - TiVo Series 2's; Accurian 6000; Samsung SIR-T351; Panasonic ShowStopper 2000; ATI HDTV Wonder Dish 1000 on 110,119,129; Dish 500 on 61.5; DPP44 Sony 80GB PS3; Toshiba HD-DVD

07-03-2009, 08:57 AM	#12
electriczipper High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 34	Howdy boys, ClementHall, CoelhoPaulo, ClaymoreTod, ClavellJames. Good to meet you . Yes I've been searching, and am still at it. Thanks =), ez __________________ Jane & Joe Public, neither pachyderm nor jack-ss, but Manipulated into choosing one of two evils if their vote is to count at all.

07-05-2009, 02:46 PM	#13
electriczipper High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 34	Jim5506 I'm really liking the looks of the winegard HD-9032 you mentioned. Thanks! Just for grins though I'll put the preamp and another 10' to the mast first. ez PS Be patient all I'm still learning as the content of my posts show . __________________ Jane & Joe Public, neither pachyderm nor jack-ss, but Manipulated into choosing one of two evils if their vote is to count at all. Last edited by electriczipper; 07-05-2009 at 02:49 PM. Reason: incomplete

Similar Threads to Good component suggestions for good reception.
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
A Discussion On HDTV OTA Reception	rbinck	Local HDTV Info and Reception	166	10-05-2009 06:16 AM
Can I convert my s-video output to component (Y,Cr,Cb)	tommya	Cables & Connections	1	12-24-2006 09:18 AM
Component Y Adapter	MS3FGX	Cables & Connections	0	12-18-2006 02:01 PM
Dvi Vs Component	Sole_Survivor	Cables & Connections	5	02-16-2005 02:51 PM
Component Cables for New System	GaryMF	Cables & Connections	2	11-19-2004 09:14 AM