Antenna for the 93534 zip code

[maverick44]

All-

So, I made a poor attempt with an omni-directional antenna. I've instead purchased the following to try:

Winegard 8200U - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001DF ... ss_product
Winegard AP 8275 Pre-Amp - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001DF ... ss_product
Channel Master 9521A Rotator - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001DF ... ss_product

I'd like to get some feedback on what people think for this zip code - 93534.

I'm in a violet area. It's about 35 miles away from the towers for Los Angeles and is considered the Antelope Valley for a reason. There are lots of mountains between myself and the towers.

The coordinates are:

Latitude: 34°41'24.64"N
Longitude: 118° 8'11.82"W

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Maverick

[tigerbangs]

Since you have no necessary low-band VHF stations from LA, you can substitute a Winegard HD-7698P rater than the HD8200. the HD-7698 is the same antenna with no low-band elements, so it's a bit smaller than the HD-8200u. Your situation is pretty dire, since you have multiple tall mountains blocking your view of the Mt. Wilson transmitters.

As an alternative, I would use a 2-antenna system consisting of a Winegard YA-1713 VHF high-band yagi and an AntennasDirect XG-91 UHF antenna. The Winegard YA-1713 will give you your VHF stations without a problem, but many of your UHF stations from LA are extremely weak, and you'll neeed an antenna with every last bit of gain to see them. Additionally, the XG-91, when mounted on top of the mast, can be angled up 20-25 degrees to do a better job with the refracted UHF signals coming from the top of the mountains. I would use the Channel Master Titan 7777 preamp, used in it's separate input mode, which will allow you to connect both antennas, amplify both signals, and combine the signals into one coaxial download. This combination is preferred in mountainous areas where UHF signals are very hard to see.

[maverick44]

Hi Tigerbangs-

Thank you for the information. I had a couple questions coming out from this:

1. How tall should the mast height be on my roof? The top of my roof is about 20 - 25 feet above the ground. (I'm thinking more 25)

2. Reading through your suggestion, I see that I would get the channels 7 - 13 with the VHF antenna and it made me wonder about the other channels. I went back to the geolocator site and it shows that the UHF channels are the following:

Callsign Network Channel Band Reception Quality
KABC-TV ABC 7 VHF Excellent
KCBS-TV CBS 43 UHF Excellent
KCET PBS 28 UHF Excellent
KCOP-TV MyN 13 VHF Excellent
KNBC NBC 36 UHF Excellent
KTLA CW 31 UHF Excellent
KTTV FOX 11 VHF Excellent
General comments:
The channels checked above are not listed in the local TV guides or on my TV as shown. The 8 checked are listed as 2, 4, 5, 7, 11, 13 & 28. I also get KCAL, ch 9; and a bunch of other stations not listed, very good. Rarely, some channels will break up a little, especially KCBS-TV, but only since the "Station" fire in October 2009.

I have a ±30 yr. old Sears "Best" antenna with a booster on the mast and a very old "Channel Master" booster in the house on the antenna lead as it enters the room. The antenna is 28' AGL, on the roof. It has 10 horizontal elements (?) and is ±10' long, pointed 157° mag. az.

I would like to know if technology has advanced enough to make getting a new one wise.

Adios

3. You can see from someone's comments in there that the channels where they are referenced as out of the 7 - 13 range are channels that do come in in that range (some as low as 2). I looked a little more into it and it seems to do something between channel vs virtual channel, so I'm thinking that I would get them and it's just an understanding issue, correct?

Thank you very much for your help.

I have the boxes delivered here from the last delivery and I haven't opened them yet and am about to re-order the items you suggested but had these questions. The way you suggested it makes it actually cheaper from what I could gather.

Also, would you have a good website I could use for purchasing mast materials? I was considering using the following:

http://www.dennysantennaservice.com/1137195.html

Maverick

[maverick44]

It also looked like I wouldn't need a rotor of any sort with your suggestion so there would be additional savings there.

Maverick

[tigerbangs]

You shouldn't need a rotator where you are, as Mt Wilson has all of your local transmitters. if your antenna is 30 years old, you will definitely benefit from the installation of new antenna equipment. Please understand VIRTUAl channels and REAL channels: KCBS, KNBC and KTLA, previously on VHF channels 2,4, and 5, have moved to UHF channels since the digital transition. They may IDENTIFY themselves as their previous channel numbers, and your digital TV tuner will display those channels as 2.1, 4.1, and 5.1, however, those are not the REAL channels on which they broadcast.

The mast should be as tall as is practical for your location. 10" above the highest point of the roof is usually fairly easy to manage: higher will usually require a helper or professional installation.

Denny's Antenna Service is one good choice, but they don't carry everything. Have a look at Solidsignal.com, WarrenElectronics.com and Starkelectronic.com

[maverick44]

Thanks again.

Considering I am in a windy area. What tripod and type of mast pipe would you suggest that I purchase along with this?

I was almost going to buy the following:

1. http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?mc ... plies&sku=
2. http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?mc ... plies&sku=

Are there better tripods or sized pipes to consider because of the idea of high winds?

Winds here can get as high as 30 - 40 mph, I think. Not regularly but it does happen.

Maverick

[tigerbangs]

Have a look at this antenna installation guide: it should answer your questions.

http://manuals.solidsignal.com/AntInstallGuide.pdf

[maverick44]

All-

I wanted to come back and close this thread. We hooked it up as described here and end up getting 51 channels. 49 of them Digital and 2 just standard air.

It sometimes has distortion due to wind so that's something I'll keep my eye on but this is great.

Mixing this with Netflix & internet TV should finally minimize the cost here.

Thanks for the help, tigerbangs.

Maverick

[maverick44]

So, I was wondering about this final thing. I had wanted to make sure this would work and I'm satisfied with that for now.

However, I am considering I would transmit the signal to one other room in the house.

Considering the current setup: Antennas to Channel Master Titan 7777 (Pre-Amp on mast and Power Supply/signal singal to one TV in house), how could I best split the signal on the outside to send it to a room at the back of the house?

Would it be to find a way to power the CM7777 outside and then use a conventional splitter to each TV? Or is there a better alternative I should consider?

Thanks again for the help.

Maverick

[tigerbangs]

rather than mount the preamp power supply outdoors, which is potentially dangerous, due to the presence of an ungrounded 110 volt device exposed to the elements, you can split to a 2nd TV very simply by using a power-passive 2-way splitter in the antenna line between the preamplifier and the indoor power supply. Splitters are sealed devices, and can be safely use outdoors without ill-effects. Here is an example of a power -passive splitter:


http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?mc ... z-(PV23222)&c=Signal%20Splitters&sku=