Antenna for TV Reception

[JHZR2]

Hi,

Ive read lots on antennaweb and elsewhere. I have an idea of what I want, but looking for a sounding board.

The PO of our home installed coax cable throughout the house for cable TV (It is installed around the exterior of the house, I guess that is how the TV company does it. I see that as a network to send signals.

I get poor reception in bad weather in our LR. Upstairs in the BR we get more channels, and in the attic (walk-up) we get really good reception. I figure Ill feed the antenna out of the attic via the coax that is fed up there.

Ill use the network of splitters to get a wire to the LR and BR. This may require going all the way down into the basement.

I guess my questions are these:

-with one antenna, can I feed/operate multiple TVs on different channels at a time, if I am running splitters (and possibly amplifiers)?

-How many amplifiers will I need to use if I go down to the basement from the attic, then back up to the bedroom?

-I dont really want to keep the amplifiers on as we dont watch a lot of TV. Is there a smart way to do a remote turn-on that you would recommend?

Thanks!

 

[Nick R]

Build a 50 foot tower in your backyard. Put an antenna on the top. Cheer.

Then tear it down and get basic cable and high speed interwebz.

Edit: Sorry just a joke. Unfortunately I know nothing about that, so I can't contribute more than some non-very-funny humor and a suggestion.

 

[JHZR2]

I have the lowest-speed DSL... Plenty fast for most all of my needs. We rarely stream TV, and when we do, we just wait a bit to get some "buffer" then let it stream. Works well enough, cant justify extra $ per month.

No way on cable. I refuse to pay money to watch commercials.

 

[XCELERATIONRULES]

I bought hd antenna at sears outlet..pretty much like rabbit ears but it picks up digital signals.

$10

Try changing the direction your current antenna faces...see if you can get better reception..if not you may want to try the cheap hd antenna

 

[oilstudent24]

where is the splitter that feeds all tvs inside or outside the house and how far away are the stations? Are they in multiple directions? Lots of questions I know. Can you describe the antenna you currently use large outdoor directional or a multi directional plate type antenna. You may be able to get a low noise 2 piece amp one end that goes right at the antenna and the control box that plugs into the wall and coax before it would go to your splitter that serves all tvs. The channel master cm 7777 is the lowest noise amp with around 20 db gain but you dont want to overpower the strong signals.

 

[J. A. Rizzo]

The keys to good reception are these:

1) Pull as much signal from the sky as you can
2) Keep that signal as strong as you can across the cable
3) Reject as much additional interference as you can
4) Deliver the maximum signal equally to your receivers

With these in mind, it's important to use as few splitters as you can, and don't use any that will have open ports. It reduces the signal strength to the rest. Use the best coax you can afford, something like RG-6 quad shield. Also use the best connectors you can get and get the kind that requires a tool to push the connector into the cable core. Much signal is lost on munged-up cable ends installed with pliers and a utility knife. Use the shortest cable runs you possibly can. If you absolutely have to use an amplifier, install it as close to the antenna as you can. It's hard to amplify an attenuated signal close to the TV. Amplify it where it's as strong as possible. If you have to use a splitter that has an unused port on it, put a screw-on terminator on that unused port. Or just get the right size splitter. Make sure your antenna is hooked directly to a known good ground rod using bare wire. Preferably, have another bare ground wire from the first amplifier or splitter going to another ground rod. If you have to use a splitter, use just one and put it right after the amplifier, or get an amplifier that has enough outputs that you don't need any splitters.

Well there's a minor brain dump for you from a ham radio guy.

John

 

[greenaccord02]

I got a ~$40 UHF only antenna (the really skinny, long kind) from Radio Shack and mounted it in the attic. I'm lucky enough that all 20 something stations are within 2deg of each other, so once I set it I don't have to tune further. We have composite shingles and it's a one story house. We're about 35 miles from the broadcast towers as the crow flies and I get get good reception. I'm thinking about picking up an amp for when the weather is bad, but I almost never watch TV except in the case of the superbowl or a national emergency. I feed the signal to the TV using the type of coax that is used for satellite receivers. I don't know a whole lot about the stuff, but I can tell you it's well shielded. PO had a satellite dish and that's where I got it from. My signal isn't split, but from what I understand a situation with as many splits and runs as you're talking about would need some kind of boost they say you lose 3db per split. People act like http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-Booster-484095-001-00-Bi-Directional-Amplifier/dp/B000066E6Y is a good deal and if I go ahead and buy an amp, that's the one I'd use since I'm just using 1 TV. For your purposes, this might be better:
http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-Signal-Booster-4-Port-Amplifier/dp/B000WPGRKK/ref=pd_bxgy_e_text_c

 

[Win]

1. Yes, but you may want to stack a couple of antennas to get as much signal from the air as you can.

2. Insufficient facts, maybe none. Cable loss is the practical equivalent of putting noise in the system, so any preamplifier should be installed as close to the antenna as possible and have only enough gain to overcome the cable loss following it.

Coax cable exposed to the elements will degrade over time. How quickly depends on a lot of different things.

3. Even a high dynamic range preamplifier with a large standing current in its active device(s) will not have current drain significant enough to bother with turning it on and off.

 

[dwendt44]

Use quality splitters. The cheap ones at Wal-mart or other discount stores, lumber stores, hardware store, are not very good.
Even Radio Shack has marginal ones.
A high end electronics store should have real good ones.

The biggest baddest antenna and a high tower are the best things for strong signal. the amp mentioned above will do the trick.

 

[bradepb]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
I have the lowest-speed DSL... Plenty fast for most all of my needs. We rarely stream TV, and when we do, we just wait a bit to get some "buffer" then let it stream. Works well enough, cant justify extra $ per month.

No way on cable. I refuse to pay money to watch commercials.


I use to feel the same way, paying to watch comercials,go the extra few bucks a month for a DVR= problem solved! I watch what I want when I want and skip the comercials. It completley changes the TV experience!

 

[eljefino]

Stacking antennae if you don't know what you're doing (eg measuring carefully) makes matters worse, as the ghosting causes interference.

The big gag of amplifiers is they amplify noise as well. The S/N ratio is what's important to your HDTV tuner.

And not all tuners are created equal. The new ones, almost across the board, are better.

 

[Win]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
.

The big gag of amplifiers is they amplify noise as well. The S/N ratio is what's important to your HDTV tuner.



That's why you put any preamplifier as close to the antenna as possible.

The only purpose of a preamplifier is to establish the noise floor of the receiving system.

 

[LS2JSTS]

Exactly.

There is a huge distinction between a pre-amp and a distribution amplifier and their intended uses.

 

[brianl703]

Originally Posted By: Win
Coax cable exposed to the elements will degrade over time. How quickly depends on a lot of different things.


The drop coax that cable companies use is very high quality stuff that doesn't degrade quickly at all. I've seen 20-year-old TFC or Commscope coax that's exposed to the elements on the side of a house and looks fine.

 

[brianl703]

Originally Posted By: dwendt44
Use quality splitters. The cheap ones at Wal-mart or other discount stores, lumber stores, hardware store, are not very good.


Both Home Depot and Lowes sell Ideal 1GHz splitters. These work very well and are as good as the ones the cable company uses.