multipath/multidirectional conundrum

[willpower2]

Folks, Same as most others-which antenna(s) is/are best for my rather dismal situation (zip 93420) which is as follows: tv fool link -- http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapp ... 28a67582fc --Ch. 15, NM +41, distance 16.5 miles and ch. 34, NM +23 same distance both at 329 degrees mag. both single multipath. At 112 degrees mag. --ch. 19, NM +5, distance 26 mi.-- and at 127 deg. mag. -ch. 27, NM +6 distance a mere 54 miles, both double multipath. I plan to roof mount with a Titan 7777 pre-amp feeding one Panasonic hdtv through 50 ft. of RG-6. I would prefer 2 antennas with the right sort of combiner instead of a rotator. (Unless one miracle antenna could do this job). I can get maybe 10 ft. of horizontal separation and a bit of vertical. There is some slight treetop interference at 329 deg. (stronger signal) but clear at 112/127. With these differences in signal strength, direction, and multipath issues, I am at a loss. Any advice would be wonderful. BTW, I e-mailed for advice to Solid Signal with details of my situation, and the tech recommended a multi-directional with built in pre-amp, Winegard MS 2000. I have serious doubts.

[tigerbangs]

You were right to doubt the advice: it was really bad advice! NBC is pretty strong where you are, but CBS and ABC are going to be tough. A 2-antenna system would be more convenient, but may have some other unintended consequences, as it will may your multipath issues worse, and combining antennas can be a dicey business. There are no antenna combiners available cheaply or easily that will combine signals as close in frequency as your stations are without having some attenuation of the signal.

The Channel Master Titan 7777 is probably a bad choice for you, as it is likely to overload on KSBY, and you don't need all the gain that it provides. A better choice in your situation would be the Winegard HDP-269, which won't overload in your situation, and will better resist the various FM station overload that you are likely to encounter.

If this was my installation, I would use an AntennasDirect XG-91 mounted on a rotator with as much altitude as you can muster. The XG-91 has very high gain and is VERY directional, which will help to minimize your multipath issues.

[willpower2]

Tiger-First, thanks for looking into my situation. I very much appreciate your time and advice. --How about this? A 91 XG with a pre-amp (7777 (?) or HDP 269 (?) or A.D. CPA 19 (?) pointed ~120 degrees to pick up both 112 and 127 and a second antenna (your advice here) with (maybe) no pre-amp pointed at 329 with separate RG6 downleads to an antenna switch. Would this work, and if so, what kind of separation would you recommend?

[tigerbangs]

You could use 2 91XGs if you like, separated by at least 4 ' on the same mast. If you go that way, be sure that your preamplifier power supply in mounted in the line between the preamplifier and the switch, otherwise you will interrupt the flow of DC power to the preamp. There are several remote-controlled A/B switches on the market which should facilitate your installation.

http://www.amazon.com/Remote-Control-Sa ... B0042QCLQ4

[willpower2]

Tiger--I've ordered one 91XG (solid signal) and an A.D. CPA-19 pre-amp. I'll let you know what happens. What kind of horizontal separation would you recommend for two of these? (Horizontal separation easier for me than vertical.)

[tigerbangs]

You want at least 4' of horizontal or vertical separation for your situation. Good Luck.

[willpower2]

Tiger, some feedback on your advice for my situation. http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...3e47f5e849994a
I ordered (Solid Signal) and received one XG-91 and one CPA-19 pre-amp. Installed antenna (no pre-amp yet) and pointed to 329 deg. mag. - the direction of my stronger signals. Nothing. (Screen looks like bad snowstorm). Pointed to 120 deg. (splitting the difference between 112 and 127)-the direction of my weaker signals. Still nothing.

Install CPA-19 and point back to 329. Voila! Ch. 15, 16, and 34 with sub channels all quite strong. Point antenna at 120 and Voila! again. Ch. 19, 21, 27 and sub channels all quite strong (65-80%). The unexpected but very good thing is that I'm also getting the signals from 329 at 60-70% with the XG-91 pointed at 120. I don't understand why, but I'll take it. So it seems I won't be needing a second antenna/pre-amp and A/B switch after all. Thanks for the kind advice. Thought you'd like the feedback.

[tigerbangs]

Good to hear! Now you might want to consider a rotator.