dgs

dgs

Just got home today and hooked up the DB4. I didn't have time to climb into the attic, so I connected it directly to the TV in the kitchen. It was just at ground level, but the signal difference was amazing. I got all the difficult to pull in UHF channels. However, it didn't have enough VHF gain to pull in the one channel I really want that is still in that band.

So I took the feed from the VU-90 and combined it with the DB4 via the UVSJ. Everything is coming in great. I experimented with a couple of ground level locations and I have the best signals I've ever had. I still need the amp to get a good signal from the combiner all the way to the kitchen.

Tomorrow I'll move the DB4 to the attic where it will be at a higher elevation, but subject to interference from the foil backing. I'll let you know how that works out.

dgs

I got into the attic today and mounted the DB4. I combined the VU-90 with the DB4 via 6' coax cables to the UVSJ. It took a little experimenting to get the correct placement in the attic. The signal was much better a few feet down from the top of the attic than it was closer to the peak. Moving it off to the side, further away from the VU-90 but lower in the attic was worse. The best spot was slightly to the left and in front of the VU-90. It is almost equidistant from the foil-backed roof panels (on 3 sides) at that spot.

Signals are great on both VHF and UHF. My worst station (43.1 broadcasting on 40) is in the 50-60 range. Anything over 50 seems to give a stable signal. Most of the stations are in the 80-90 range and I even get hits of 98! I turned down the amp a bit to keep from overpowering the tuners. Even the VHF channels are better than they were before the split. So far, this is the best reception we've ever had on all the TVs on the network--finally realizing the promise of digital TV.

My conclusion from this experience is that a good UHF antenna is critical for all the digital channels we now have in the UHF band. Fortunately, I didn't have to put mine outside to get adequate reception. I also think it makes sense to invest in a UVSJ to use the VHF capabilities you may have in an old yagi antenna. At $3.99 from Solid Signal, it was a bargain.

Thanks to all of you for your help and suggestions. I particularly want to thank Don_M for his description of how to combine the antennas properly with a UVSJ. That was a critical piece of technical advice I needed to have a successful outcome.

Don_M

I agree completely -- why toss out an antenna if it's in good shape and still functions well on one band? Separate antennas combined on a UVSJ frequently outperform single, all-channel antennas. Viewers like us are a distinct minority, though. For most people, two antennas is one too many.

Thanks for the kind words and for the update! It's always heartening to hear about a success story.

dgs

Tim -- You nailed it here early in the thread, except that I would qualify it to say the problem is in UHF, not VHF. Did you ever think about combining the VHF from your old Radio Shack yagi (now laying in the insulation) with the new UHF antenna you have, or does your UHF antenna reach the VHF channels you need?

Clearly my new 4-bay DB4 gets better UHF reception than the two small UHF elements on the VU-90. I also wonder if the horizontal placement of those elements in a yagi is a problem (particularly in a foil lined attic) compared with the vertical placement of the bowties in 2 and 4-bay designs.

Tim58hsv

The RS yagi I have is a uhf only model and was the biggest uhf yagi they sold back in the day. As for the bowtie antennas I'm using they will pick up the two vhf channels out of Cincinnati (Dayton has no vhf channels now) but it's tough to get them both in at the same time even though they're in the exact same direction.

You may be on to something there.

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