Using DirecTV hook up for a Winegard MS-2002

[mad owl]

I just “got off the grid” and saved big bucks by leaving DIRECTV.

Where I live (44º52’48.27”N and 93º16’01.42”W) Antenna Search, found out where our towers are: Yellow Zone and suggested the Winegard MS-2002. (Indoor antennas don’t work at all well). The nice thing is that DirecTV left all the hardware from their installation. They left behind a 1 ½ inch roof mount as well as a dual coaxial set up that still leads to our two TVs. I don’t know which to use: the RG-6 High Performance Digital coaxial or the other coaxial marked 750 MHz. The protected grounding wire runs alongside the second cable and seems to be set up correctly for the MS-2002.

Question: Do I just hook up the RG-6 coaxial to the MS-2002 and subsequently to the MS-2002 Power Injector antenna post, and leave the second cable unconnected to the MS-2002, but just let it carry the grounding wire?

[tigerbangs]

When I run the coordinates that you gave me through TVFool.com, it would appear that you are 57 miles from the Shoreview transmitters in Minneapolis-St. Paul. That kind of distance equates to a fringe-area for TV reception. It is possible that the coordinates are wrong, but if they are right, you are way too far away to use a Winegard MS-2002. You really need a fringe-area VHF-high-band plus UHF antenna aimed at 173 degrees from your location. If this was my installation, I would use a Winegard HD-7696p and a high-input preamplifier like a Winegard HDP-269. You can use the existing DirecTV coax cable: remember, no over-the-air TV stations broadcast any frequencies above 650mHz any longer.
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapp ... 350d9f63d7

[mad owl]

Sorry, I am was using Google Earth coordinates in Lat-Lon, when I never use anything other than U.T.M. My address is 615 East 68th St, Richfield, MN, and TVFool shows everything to be around 15 miles from me. I probably just gave you the wrong coordinates, but in that system as green, and the same goes for AntennaWeb.

I think I figured out the wiring, but I would like to know if the MS-2002 would still work, or do I need something different?

Thanks for responding and hope you can give me some advice.

[tigerbangs]

Please don't use an MS-2002: a Winegard HD-7694p would be SO much btter!

[mad owl]

That sounds pretty definative. I have no problem with that.

Should I get the amplifier with it too?

[tigerbangs]

The only time that any amplifier would help you would be if you had very long cable lengths and/or were splitting the signal to multip[le TV sets. As you are close to the transmitters, you can probably use a 2 way splitter and cable lengths of 40' or less without using a preamplifier. If you DO choose to use a preamp, you will need a high-input model like a Winegard HDP-269, which won't overload in the face of strong local signals.