antenna strength using cable joiner or splitter

[virginian]

We are in 22572 a rural part of VA about 60 miles from the closest Richmond, VA station. We have two converter boxes and recently purchased a Radio Shack VU190 RX digital antenna which is mounted outside about 25ft above ground level. We tested the antenna (unmounted) in our front yard with a direct cable to the TV and recieved excellent signal strength. When we mounted the antenna on top of the house and ran it through our RF59 coax cable into our house we recieved 0% strength. When we ran a cable from the roof top mount to the tv converter, we upped the signal to 58% when we added a 50-900MHz amplifier (in the house between the cable and the converter box). We currently run about 100-150ft of cable in the house and have one joiner and one or two splitters. We believe the splitter/joiners are a problem when trying to get signal strength to the cable outlets.

1) We were told there are HD splitters -- would this help?
2) Do we need to upgrade to a heavier coax cable?
3) Do you recommend a different amplifier or one at the antenna?
4) Also, one the two diff. converter boxes we purchased did not receive any signal strength in any of our testing - should we return it?

Thanks for your input.

[tigerbangs]

You need to do a couple of things, first of all, replace the old RG-59 coaxial cable with RG-6u cable, which has better shielding and lower loss, especially on UHF channels. Secondly, get rid of that distribution amplifier and buy a Channel Master Titan 7777 preamplifier, and mount it as close to the antenna on the mast as you can. The power supply for the preamp should be mounted INDOORS and place your splitter AFTER the preamplifier power supply. Your splitter should be a 1 gHz or better low-loss-type splitter: cheap splitters can ruin digital signals.

And next time, ask us BEFORE you buy an antenna: that Radio Shack VU-190 is not the choice of antenna professionals as it's construction is too lightweight and it's gain is considerably lower than comparably-sized antennas...

Take the converter box that didn't see any signal back to where you bought it...Find a Zenith DTT-901, or a Channel Master 7000 converter....

[virginian]

Your advice is appreciated. What antenna would you recommend?

[tigerbangs]

I would have suggested a Winegard HD-7697P or a separate UHF antenna like an AntennasDirect XG-91 plus a Winegard YA-1713 hugh-band VHF yagi combined with the dual inputs of the Channel Master Titan 7777 preamplifier...