Antenna suggestion for 97070

[jdwxly]

I live in Wilsonville, Oregon 97070. It's a small town about 15 miles south of Portland on I-5. According to Google Earth I am located at 45:17:46.64 N and 122:47:32.41 W at an elevation of 172 feet.

I am currently using a Channel Master 4220MHD antenna to run two aftermarket converter boxes via a passive splitter. It works pretty well, but I have noticed that two local stations will sometimes drop out, particularly during windy or rainy weather. The antenna is mounted on a satellite dish mount on the North side of the house, about half way up a 2-story wall and aimed toward the TV antenna farm on Portland's West Hills.

Should I look into a different antenna, a preamp and/or a higher mounting point for the antenna to eliminate the channel drop-outs I am seeing? The worst offender is my NBC affiliate, so I'd like to fix the problem if possible. Thanks for your help.

[tigerbangs]

NBC and FOX are are on VHF in Portland, and the 4220 really won't see those channels reliably. Compounding the issue is that your antenna is mounted below the roofline, which is going to make for some multipath issues, especially on VHF. The easiest solution would be to add a small VHF-high-band yagi, like an AntennaCraft Y-5-7-13 or a Winegard YA-6713, separated by 4' or more from your UHF antenna, and combined using a Pico-Macom UVSJ antenna joiner.

[jdwxly]

Thanks for the input on the VHF yagi. Since I will be on the roof and adding a mast anyway, would it make more sense to switch to a better UHF/VHF antenna and remove the 4220 altogether? What would you recommend in that case?

[tigerbangs]

Well, the choice is yours: you already own the 4220, and it will be adequate for you for UHF, especially if you mount it on the roof. You can't buy an decent VHF-UHF antenna for what an AntennaCraft Y-5-7-13 plus a Pico-Macom UVSJ will cost you, Being the cheap New England Swamp Yankee that I am , I will always choose cheap...LOL! but, if you prefer simplicity, you can buy a Winegard HD-7694P, which is one antenna that will cover UHF and UHF for you very well.