Antenna help 56560

[avder]

Hi there, I live in Moorhead, MN and need some help figuring out an optimal antenna setup. I live in south moorhead, west of Concordia College. According to TVFool, the towers for 4.1, 6.1, 11.1 and 13.1 are all to the north-west of me, but the tower for 15.1 is to the south-east. Additionally, I want to receive the low power analog station KVNJ, which TV-fool lists as operating on channel 2, but it actually operates on channel 33. I believe the location it has for the transmitter is more or less accurate, almost exactly due west of me.

Currently I am using an indoor rabbit-ears + loop antenna. Since the only VHF station I want to get is channel 13, I've got my rabbit ears set up at the right length for that station and when I have the antenna positioned right for it, it comes in great. Additionally if I position the UHF loop correctly, I can get all of the UHF channels except for KVNJ with adequate to good signal strength. With adjustments I can move the antenna around to get any one station with good to excellent strength. One problem however is that no matter where I place the antenna, there is significant multipathing for 15.1, as evidenced by the fact that even with a near perfect signal strength, it freezes and drops out very frequently. I have not been able to find a location anywhere in my living room that brings the multipathing down to a level where I can sit and watch a program without it dropping occasionally. Further, I have never been able to receive KVNJ in any capacity beyond a snowy ghost and washed out sound, so I am pretty confident that an indoor antenna is inadequate to get that channel.

As I live in a duplex, I have been discussing with my landlord the possibility of installing an outdoor antenna sometime this spring. The antenna would need to provide signal to both units at the same time and a rotor would most likely not be an option. The antenna signal would need to be distributed to six locations: the bedroom and living room in both units, as well as two rooms in the common area in the basement. If the landlord likes the setup I come up with, the overall cost of it will be paid back to me as a reduction in my rent for a few months until that savings matches the cost of the antenna and wiring.

The antenna itself would likely end up about 20 to 25 feet above the ground. This area also has a large number of trees. Ideally I would like a UHF antenna that can see to the front and back such that I could position it to pick up the tower farm to the north west as well as the fox station to the southeast. I could get a simple channel 13 VHF Yagi for 13.1 as that is the only VHF station left in this area. KVNJ might end up being unrecieveable even with an outdor antenna because of the angular distance from the tower farm to its tower.

So, any of this possible?

[tigerbangs]

This is easy enough to deal with: we need to mount an external antenna system on the house consisting of 2 antennas: We'll use a Winegard HD-7696P aimed at 310 degrees for everything EXCEPT KVRR, which operates on digital channel 19. We'll use a small UHF yagi, like an AntennasDirect SR-15, aimed at 105 degrees for KVRR. That antenna will need to be mounted at least 4' above the other antenna on the same mast, and we'll combine the 2 antennas using a Channel Master JoinTenna tuned specifically for channel 19. Run the single cable to the attic or basement, where you will install a small distribution amplifier-splitter like a Channel Master CM3412, and use that to split the signal to the two apartments> You'll see all of you local TV stations perfectly once you do.

http://www.winegard.com
http://www.channelmaster.com
http://www.antennasdirect.com
http://manuals.solidsignal.com/AntInstallGuide.pdf

[avder]

If the jointenna is tuned exactly to channel 19, will it interfere at all with channel 21? Channel 21 is what WDAY 6.1 uses according to TVFool. Also, will the Winegard be able to see KVNJ adequately to pick it up on channel 33?

[tigerbangs]

There is a way to avaoid having issues with channel 19 and 21, and that is to wire the broadband antenna FIRST, then add the jointenna and the single-channel antenna, which will avoid any suck-out of channel 21

[avder]

There is a way to avaoid having issues with channel 19 and 21, and that is to wire the broadband antenna FIRST, then add the jointenna and the single-channel antenna, which will avoid any suck-out of channel 21

What do you mean wire it first?

[tigerbangs]

What you do in this situation is to reverse the installation: run the broadband antenna into the single-channel input, then run the single channel antenna into the broadband input: this will filter the signal in the way that will work for you without sucking out any of the primary signal.

[avder]

What you do in this situation is to reverse the installation: run the broadband antenna into the single-channel input, then run the single channel antenna into the broadband input: this will filter the signal in the way that will work for you without sucking out any of the primary signal.

How so? That sounds like it would do almost the opposite and eliminate channel 19s signal.

[tigerbangs]

No, we are adding the channel 19 signal AFTER the filtering of the JoinTenna: I have done this many times, and it works beautifully!

[avder]

No, we are adding the channel 19 signal AFTER the filtering of the JoinTenna: I have done this many times, and it works beautifully!

So I get a channel 19 jointenna, plug the antenna thats to pick up everything BUT channel 19 into the single channel slot, and then plug the channel 19 antenna into the everything else slot, and then I'll get channel 19 off the single channel antenna, and everything else including 21 off the everythign antenna? Or am I missing something here?

[tigerbangs]

you have it exactly tight: I have done it for years...