ticktockman

Don_M

Maybe you need a new pre-amp, and maybe you don't. It's a good idea to make sure the rest of the antenna system is working well beforehand. A new pre-amp can't help you if it's not getting decent signals in the first place. That means:

1. Looking for physical damage to the antenna, or excess foliage and/or tree debris lying on it. Lower the antenna, brush off any debris, and gently bend any crooked elements back into shape by hand. Pay close attention to the phasing lines, those cross-crossing metal wires running above the boom. These carry signals to the downlead, and they can't do the job if they're touching each other or the boom anywhere (or there's a big, damp oak leaf, pine needles, etc. lying across them). Finally, is the antenna badly darkened from corrosion, or are several elements broken off completely? It may be time to consider replacing the antenna.

2. Inspecting the downlead for cracks in the insulation, or corrosion on or inside the connectors, particularly outdoors. This presumes you're using coaxial cable right now. If you note any signs of aging or rust, or there's flat twin lead anywhere in the system, consider replacing all of it now with RG-6 coaxial cable. Thankfully, coax is cheap. Good thing, seeing as how it can be a pain to pull new wiring! If you replace the cabling, replace the $5 coax matching transformer that connects the coax to the antenna as well. They wear out over time, too.

3. Replacing the pre-amp if the fixes above don't make much of a difference in your reception. RS amps tend to be very noisy, and noise is the enemy of good DTV reception. Lots of posters cite the CM 7777 because it has notably brawny gain figures, but the real reason it works so well is that it's probably the quietest consumer-grade pre-amp available. Or not: Thanks to the transition, it's been back-ordered by most places for an average of two weeks. If you want a pre-amp right away, a good alternative is the Winegard HDP-269, which is now carried by local RS stores. If only a CM 7777 will do, go ahead and get it. It's suitable for your signal environment.

Piggie

The one exception to using flat twin wire is if the input to your Radio Shack amp uses screw type 300 ohm input terminals and your antenna also uses screw type 300 ohm terminals.

Then it is best replace that short piece of flat lead from the antenna to the amp with the same, flat twin lead, if you intend to keep the old amp.

---------

That said. More than one person has seen marketed improvement with a more modern low noise amp like Don suggested.

The new amps all have 75 ohm coax in from the antenna (mostly). So if your replace the amp then use a balun at the antenna to convert it's screw terminals to coax and run coax into the amp.

----------

One last important note. If you replace the antenna, be sure to buy one that covers channels 2-51 (many still list 2-69) because your CBS WTVF is on channel 5. Many of the new TV antennas don't go below channel 7 and won't work for you. You need a high gain all band antenna.

If you reach a point of considering replacing the antenna let us know, as we have researched many of the best and the best place to buy them.

__________________
The more I understand, the less I know.

ticktockman

The antenna is a older RCA bar shaped antenna and doesn't have any debris on it. The cables looked OK. I could not see any corrosion and through binoculars (can't get to the roof now) I could not see any crossed wires. Will try to get closer look later. Thanks for the help.

ticktockman

Thanks, we will probably try a new amp first

Tim58hsv

I don't think that's the way you want to go at this. While we don't know what type of antenna you now have it's a safe bet that it's at least a vhf low band model since you pick up CBS ch. 5.1 already.

Save the money on the new preamp and instead spend it on either a db-8 antenna or the lower cost db-4 antenna and combine it with your current tv antenna.

The db antennas will pick up the UHF stations in your area and might also pick up the VHF high band channel too, providing of course that you don't have a bad connection in the system.

Any chance you could post picture of your antenna? That would help a lot.

__________________
I Want My RETRO TV

ticktockman

The antenna is the RCA ANT706 that is discontinuedRCA ANT706 Indoor/Outdoor Stick Antenna (ANT706) | ANT706 [RCA]
Is there an antenna option that will pick up both VHF and UHF signals in my area. I'm not sure that we could get the required height to combine two antennas. Another part of our problem is that our house is surrounded by trees. Thanks again for everyone's help.

suzzie

The CM7777 fixed my reception 75% or better. highly reconmend the pre amp.
suzzie

Tim58hsv

Now we're rockin'.

First thing I would suggest would be to remove the RS amp. Your antenna has a built in 10db amp already and it's almost never a good idea to use two amps. Try that and see it it improves the reception.

A few other suggestions...

The db antennas I mentioned above are great for uhf and good at upper high band vhf but I doubt they'd do much for the pbs channel since it's on ch. 8 (I missed that fact while reviewing your tvfool info yesterday).

I think your best bet would be to do what Piggie said...
If you don't want to go that route (those antennas are rather expensive) then at the very least you'll want to get your current antenna up higher. 10 feet or so could make a huge difference.

That's not good but with the strong signals in your area they may not present much of a problem but it's anyones guess.

One more thing, did you install the RCA706 yourself or was it already there when you moved in? I ask because if it was already there was there a power supply inside the house to feed the antennas amp?

__________________
I Want My RETRO TV

Piggie

Ok, you have two problems. One is you have 2 amps inline and unless one very very very carefully, did I say very carefully engineered? ALWAYS causes problems. For 99.999% of home users two amps are a guarantee to loose channels.

And as Tim points out, the RCA antenna itself should have an indoor portion that powers the RCA antenna remotely.

------------

Now my opinion you need to totally redo your antenna system.

Here is your situation site survey now knowing your antenna and system to a degree.

1) You have a Low Band VHF WTVF CBS on Channel 5
2) You have a High Band VHF WSMV NBC on Channel 10
3) The rest of your possible channels are on UHF.

That means you need an antenna that does all three TV bands, Low and High VHF and UHF.

Your signals at 20 ft are neither weak nor strong. They are in the very doable range of moderate signals. You are definitely are a fringe user.

This means right away you need a much larger antenna than you have. The one you have is meant for urban and you are two levels past that range. So it's very inadequate to receive reliable DTV.

For excellent results you need at least a Winegard HD 7082P and if you can support a slightly longer boom and another $10 buy a Winegard HD 7084P

--------

You would not need a rotor as all your channels within a 26 degree spread. You may find you need to adjust within that arc for the best overall reception, but I seriously doubt even with a high gain directional antenna a rotor would help.

--------

You need an amp. Your signal levels are low enough that an amp would not over load even with a 10 db high gain antenna. More so as Don_M states a good quality amp (not more expensive just the correct amp) will lower the noise in your system, adding often as much reception ability as an antenna twice the size. So a good low noise amps except in urban areas always helps.

Even with a high gain antenna you could run a CM7777 if you want. But you probably don't need to spend more than just buying a Winegard AP8700. I suggest that upgrade from the Winegard HDP 269 because the Winegard AP8700 has an FM trap built in and you live near a lot of strong FM stations.

--------------

Using those antennas and amps you won't need any baluns as the antennas and amps are all 75 ohms and match directly to coax. Also replace any coax over 10 years old while up on the roof.

__________________
The more I understand, the less I know.