Big D Advice Please

[chasl]

Location 32 50 23N, 095 31 13W
Shooting for Dallas Tx Stations using 65 Ft, Tower. Your recomendation for antenna, Rotator and amp.
Thank you much
Chasl

[tigerbangs]

WOW, you are 86 miles by air from the Dallas-Ft. Worth transmitters in Cedar Hill, and picking up those stations, even with a deep-fringe antenna system and a 65' tower is going to be a stretch: I am not sure that I would promise 100% reliable reception from all of the DFW stations no matter what equipment we use because of atmospheric conditions and the sheer distance from the transmitters. You don't have much room for error when doing this installation, and it is going to be fairly costly.

You need the best separate VHF and UHF antennas available, a rotator heavy-duty enough to remain reliable over time, and a high-quality, high-gain preamplifier. You need to replace whatever coaxial cable that you currently have with high-quality RG-6u satellite grade wire, and you need to install it properly to make it all work.

Although they have been discontinued, try to run down a Wade-Delhi VIP-307SR VHF antenna, which was the best VHF antenna made: they were discontinued only in the last few months, and some are still in circulation, but you are going to have to search for one: it WILL be worth your time, as it out-performs anything currently available by a considerable margin. These antennas were made in Canada, and are very rugged, so you can expect your investment to last for quite a while.

I usually recommend the AntennasDirect XG-91 for UHF reception, however, I believe that, in your case, that you need even more than the XG-91 for the distances that you need to cover. In this case, i would recommend using the AntennaCraft Super G 1483, which is a large-16 bay style UHF antenna. This antenna is available only from Summitsource.com. The antenna needs to be mounted at least 4' above the VHF antenna, above the antenna rotator, on the same mast.

http://www.summitsource.com/antennacraf ... rers_id=11

You need a preamplifier with high gain and low noise: preferably with separate VHF and UHF inputs to facilitate installation, and I recommend the Channel Master Titan 7777. it is one of the most popular high-gain preamps available, and it is a good, reliable performer.

http://www.channelmaster.com/product-ov ... 4&catID=39

A regular rotator won't last long when used with a heavy-duty installation such as this. Hy-Gain, a manufacturer of top-quality rotators made for Ham Radio use, also makes a heavy-duty rotator for TV use, called the AR-40: it is the rotator that you should use! It's at least 3 times as powerful as regular TV rotators, and will serve you well for many years.

http://www.rotorservice.com/AR40%20specs.htm

You will also need miscellaneous other parts, which you can find about from this installation guide:

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

Good Luck, and come back with whatever questions that you may have.