Directional Antenna Advice

[degld12]

I've decided to mount a directional antenna with a rotator on top of my 38' high house to receive signals up to 60 miles away. I would appreciate the advice of any experts in the field. Should I use a combination UHF/VHF antenna such as the 8200 Winegard? or a combination of seperate UHF and VHF antennas? Antenna durability is also a concern as we occasionally get sleet storm in my part of OHIO. Also I would like to service 3-4 TV sets from one antenna. Is there any advice for an amplifier?
Thanks,
Dave

[tigerbangs]

It would really help to know where you are: most cities don't have low-band VHF channels any longer, but a few do: knowing that information will make a big difference in what antenna would be best for your situation.

[degld12]

My zip code is 43512

[tigerbangs]

You have signals available to you from Ft. Wayne, Toledo, and Lima. Unless you have a need for Christian broadcasting, there is no signal in your area below channel 7, so you don't need a Winegard HD-8200u. If this was MY installation, I would go with separate antennas: a Winegard YA-1713 for VHF and a an AntennasDirect XG-91 for UHF. Mount the two antennas on the same mast and rotator, with the UHF antenna mounted at least 3.5' above the VHF antenna. Use a Pico-Macom UVSJ antenna joiner to combine the signals of the two antennas, and then run the signal into a Winegard HDP-269 premplifier. Use a rotator like a Channel Master 9521a so you can turn the antenna between the different cities, and add a 4-way splitter after the preamp power supply to power the various TV sets in your house.

[degld12]

Thanks much. I was looking at the antennas direct clear stream HI antenna for VHF. Do you believe that the Winegard YA-1713 is superior to this?

[tigerbangs]

The Winegard YA-1713 is quite a bit more powerful than the Clearstream, and less expensive, too.

[degld12]

I was just wondering because the Winegard YA-1713 has a listed range of 25 miles which is not very far. The clearstream HI (high gain) has a listed range of 60 miles I believe.

[tigerbangs]

the C5 has about 6.5 DB gain: the YA-1713 has about 10dB gain: the YA-1713 is literally TWICE as powerful as the C%. Mileage ratings are a matter of the purest fiction.

[Jwoody1974]

The clearstream 5 has no problem with the claimed 65 mile range it also picks up UHF within about 40 miles in most areas. Although the C-5 is more expensive it comes with a lifetime warranty and the UHF-VHF combiner needed to connect the 2 antennas onto one input line.

[tigerbangs]

The C5 s STILL overpriced and underperforming when compared to a 10 element VHF yagi...