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  1. Member
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    Hello group,

    I live 60 miles from broadcast towers, rural location little interference, all stations in the same direction. The terrain is relatively flat between, my location is on a hill and the antenna is roof mounted approx 20 feet from ground. I do not know my antennae but am attaching picture... It is a VHF/UHF combo, there is a rotator attached but not used and what I think might be a preamp but there is no power going to it - just two wires in from antenna and co-ax out. The cable runs down into a distribution amplifier (inside the basement) which says 20db and has 3 outputs to various rooms. I can get all the channels I want on a clear night, weaker channels (high UHF) often go out or sketchy during the day; strong VHF channels 90% uptime. I want to get that extra boost so all these channels can come under clear relaible reception in normal weather. I would appreciate recommendations / ideas on where an upgrade can help / where to start? New antennae, preamp, booster, etc. Thanks.
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  2. Mod Neophyte Super Moderator redwudz's Avatar
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    It's a bit harder to find larger or long range antennas since the stations switched over to digital broadcasting. But Channelmaster is still one of the larger antenna companies.

    http://www.channelmaster.com/Outdoor_Antennas_s/20.htm

    And digital uses UHF type antennas, so some older antennas may be combination VHF/UHF and not as efficient as a dedicated UHF/Digital antenna.
    I have a Yagi style antenna in my attic with a 42" boom and an antenna mounted amplifier, but we only have one site for TV transmitters, about 50 miles away on a mountain, so I get a good signal.

    I would definitely use a rotator if the transmitters aren't all at same location/direction.
    And a antenna mounted amplifier would likely help for weak stations.

    Most times the power for the amplifier is ran over the coax line from a power supply near the distribution box.
    At the antenna there may be a transformer to match the coax to the antenna.

    The UHF digital signals are mostly line of site, so when they fade in and out during the day you may be getting them on a bounce. That makes it hard to get a steady signal.
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  3. Member
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    I have two channels 8 & 10 VHF, otherwise UHF. If I go for a dedicated UHF antenna like a DB8e do I need a simple splitter if I where to salvage the VHF part of my old antenna or say keep the old combined antenna intact and just add a new UHF into the system? Or is there a dedicated device to wire antennas together?
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  4. Member
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    Originally Posted by jbartosh View Post
    I have two channels 8 & 10 VHF, otherwise UHF. If I go for a dedicated UHF antenna like a DB8e do I need a simple splitter if I where to salvage the VHF part of my old antenna or say keep the old combined antenna intact and just add a new UHF into the system? Or is there a dedicated device to wire antennas together?
    You need a VHF/UHF splitter/combiner or diplexer to combine the output from two antennas where one antenna is for VHF and the other is for UHF. See http://www.hdtvprimer.com/antennas/merging.html

    Examples:
    http://www.amazon.com/Antennas-Direct-EU385CF-Combiner-Connection/dp/B008PBTPN4
    http://www.solidsignal.com/pview2.asp?p=UVSJ&d=Pico-Macom-UVSJ-UHF-VHF-Band-Separator%...vhf%20combiner
    Last edited by usually_quiet; 3rd Aug 2015 at 11:14.
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  5. Member
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    Are VHF/UHF combo antennas like I have as good as separate and dedicated UHF & VHF antennas combined? Any members here have experience turning a VHF/UHF antenna into a dedicated VHF? Just a matter of getting rid of the front facing UHF elements and re-wiring I would imagine. Can anyway recommend a good long range outdoor dedicated VHF?
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  6. Member
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    Originally Posted by jbartosh View Post
    Are VHF/UHF combo antennas like I have as good as separate and dedicated UHF & VHF antennas combined? Any members here have experience turning a VHF/UHF antenna into a dedicated VHF? Just a matter of getting rid of the front facing UHF elements and re-wiring I would imagine. Can anyway recommend a good long range outdoor dedicated VHF?
    The diplexers I provided as examples exclude the UHF frequencies in the signal from an antenna is connected on the VHF side.
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