Antenna Choice

[rcharles]

My rural site is in zip code 55717 about 26 miles from the TV towers. The antenna is on top of a single story stucture with a line of tall trees nearby in the direction of the TV towers. The signal will run to a digital to analog converter and then to 1 or maybe 2 televisions.

The small existing antenna is at least 20 years old with a boom length of 34 inches and about 10 receiving elements. It worked adequately for analog signals but digital is a problem. Channels 6.1, 8.1, and 21.1 have good signal strength (70-90) but 3.1 and 10.1 have no picture (strength 2-30). Installing new high quality cable only helped alittle.

I was considering a Winegard HD7080 antenna. I would prefer to use the smallest antenna possible since the mast and supports aren't heavy duty. What would you recommend? I am open to other brands.

Thanks for the advice.

[tigerbangs]

The Winegard is not a bad choice at all, but I suggest that you use this opportunity to renew everything on the roof: antenna, mounting, masting, and especially new coaxial cable. Using a Winegard HD7082P is an even better choice, but use good supports and masting to insure that it stays on the roof. Because you have hills between the transmitters and your location, I would suggest a preamplifier like a Winegard HDP-269 to help with your weaker signals.

[antennaman]

If you want an antenna small and light but with good results try the LAVA 2605, has an amplifier and rotator with remote.

[tigerbangs]

I don't know anyone else who has used a Lava, and I would be very suspect of anything that I didn't know anything about, and didn't come with a money-back guarantee: the Winegard and other American-made products are really a much better bet: they have an American -backed warranty and substantial product support: the eBay products are buying a pig in a poke.

[antennaman]

tigerbangs, I am new here and don't want to sound disrespectful, but like I said before I have a LAVA 2605 and live 65 if not a few more miles from Jacksonville and Orlando in Florida, and I get more channels that I care to watch, it is going thru a Dish network receiver, and when I first did the channel scan I got over 30 channels from both Orlando and Jacksonville , all HD, during the day I get from 60 t0 80 percent signal, and at night they all go up some of them up to 100%.
That and the price it is why I recomend it, also the headquarters in California are very nice, I had a problem with the remote and they sent a replacement with no problem.