-
Get involved.
We want your input!
Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.
After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.
After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/
Thanks in advance and have fun!
RadioDiscussions Administrators
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
Outdoor Antenna Question
- Thread starter RadioOCD
- Start date
Hey thanks for your response. The main one is an RCA 65 mile range outdoor antenna I purchased from Lowes. The second one (which isn't hooked up; only the first one) is a 40 mile range RCA from Lowes. I am wanting to receive both Columbia, SC and Augusta, GA tv signals. Right now, my antenna is pointed towards Beech Island, SC where the transmitters are for the Augusta stations. I live almost 60 miles from the transmitters there. (In Pelion, S.C.) I can receive all the Augusta stations except for WFXG Fox 54, which I've heard is hard for most people within the 30 mile contour to receive. I live probaly 50 miles from the transmitters in Columbia. Anyway, was wondering if this is a good or bad idea; and if 2 outdoor antennas facing opposite directions would cause the signals to "cancel" each other out.
First of all RS does sell a combiner that allows you to combine the coax outputs of the two antennas into one coax downlead. So you can put the second antenna up (usually separated by 3 vertical feet) and use the combiner.
However, I believe you said that you had bought a '40 mile' antenna for stations that are 50 miles away. So given ratings inflation the new antenna may or may not work. Worth a try before going further.
Having lived 40 miles from two cities in opposite directions, what I did was to mount a single antenna as high up as possible (20' mast on the roof, guyed) and use a rotor.
Since you have two antennas, I would stack them in the same direction and use a rotor (you can test the result before putting up a rotor by the 'Armstrong' method).
However, I believe you said that you had bought a '40 mile' antenna for stations that are 50 miles away. So given ratings inflation the new antenna may or may not work. Worth a try before going further.
Having lived 40 miles from two cities in opposite directions, what I did was to mount a single antenna as high up as possible (20' mast on the roof, guyed) and use a rotor.
Since you have two antennas, I would stack them in the same direction and use a rotor (you can test the result before putting up a rotor by the 'Armstrong' method).
C
cd637299
Guest
The whole thing about advertising "xx-mile-range" antennas is totally misleading. Will the same antenna that catches a 100 kW FM station 65 miles away catch a translator located in the same place as the 100 kW station? Of course not.
Same with full power TV stations vs. LPTV's.
Whatever reviews come out on antennas should be perused....then any decision should be made.
That being said, many years ago I had a dual antenna, UHF on top, and VHF right below it. I believe it was suggested to me to keep the cables from each one separate, so I did. I'd think that with a combiner, the gain would certainly drop down. True, there'd be less haggle I'd suppose, but I think it's best to keep the downlead cables separate.
I now use a combination outdoor V/U for my TV and another antenna about 15-20 feet away for FM. I will say that the old TV antenna I had sure was heavy! At least I think I can manage now!
cd
Same with full power TV stations vs. LPTV's.
Whatever reviews come out on antennas should be perused....then any decision should be made.
That being said, many years ago I had a dual antenna, UHF on top, and VHF right below it. I believe it was suggested to me to keep the cables from each one separate, so I did. I'd think that with a combiner, the gain would certainly drop down. True, there'd be less haggle I'd suppose, but I think it's best to keep the downlead cables separate.
I now use a combination outdoor V/U for my TV and another antenna about 15-20 feet away for FM. I will say that the old TV antenna I had sure was heavy! At least I think I can manage now!
cd
I stumbled on this thread and since you are talking about antenna issues I hope you don't mind a question.
Where I live I don't have much wiggle room for an outdoor antenna. I could probably do an outside wall mount, may be able to do something on the roof if it is "pretty" enough for my landlord.
There is one station I want which is low VHF with very low power. When I check the signal strength it goes from zero to about 40-50% when I adjust the antenna to different spots. I've picked up a picture a couple of times for a second or two, so I think with a little boost I could lock it in.
Could you give me any suggestions on how I could get this on an indoor antenna? If you don't think that is possible, the most "incognito' outdoor antenna I could use.
I should add I'm on the second floor of three story building. The floor above me is more of an attic type than a conventional floor where I live. There is a rather poor, elderly gentleman that live up there. He does not use computers or electronics up there except for regular tv and radio, so I don't think I would get any problem in that sense. The tower for the station is located about 12 miles northeast of me. It is a tall tower also.
Where I live I don't have much wiggle room for an outdoor antenna. I could probably do an outside wall mount, may be able to do something on the roof if it is "pretty" enough for my landlord.
There is one station I want which is low VHF with very low power. When I check the signal strength it goes from zero to about 40-50% when I adjust the antenna to different spots. I've picked up a picture a couple of times for a second or two, so I think with a little boost I could lock it in.
Could you give me any suggestions on how I could get this on an indoor antenna? If you don't think that is possible, the most "incognito' outdoor antenna I could use.
I should add I'm on the second floor of three story building. The floor above me is more of an attic type than a conventional floor where I live. There is a rather poor, elderly gentleman that live up there. He does not use computers or electronics up there except for regular tv and radio, so I don't think I would get any problem in that sense. The tower for the station is located about 12 miles northeast of me. It is a tall tower also.
RadioOCD - the best solution would be to have separate feedlines from the two antennas and use a coax switch inside the house to select the Augusta or Columbia antenna. With the bearing to the stations approximately 180 degrees from each other, you could try to connect both antennas with a "t" connnector and feed a single coax to your TV. This is the kind of stuff that is mostly done by trial and error. The length of the coax cables from each antenna comes into play but with the large variation in frequencies for all of the TV channels, it is difficult to guess how this will work over the internet.
Another issue is the problems folks have with getting consistent reception of HD TV signals. Even with a great antenna system, sometimes stations will pixelate and the picture will break up under certain conditions. Daytime seems to be worse and windy days also seem to make it worse.
Report back with your results. -Bill
Another issue is the problems folks have with getting consistent reception of HD TV signals. Even with a great antenna system, sometimes stations will pixelate and the picture will break up under certain conditions. Daytime seems to be worse and windy days also seem to make it worse.
Report back with your results. -Bill
I'm gonna vote with K6JHU on this one. Select your best antenna, mount it as high as possible and install a rotator. Mount the rotator near the top of the mast to minimize wind loading effect on the internal bearings. Secure the mast below the rotator with sufficient guy wires. The ideas of using a combiner or multiple coax with an A/B switch will work, but any combiner I ever saw has some signal loss.
- Status
- This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.