Re: Two Antennas for HDTV OTA?

Thanks for all the help! I'm in 98198. Oh, and I originally said ~60
degrees apart, but it should be ~120 degrees. (high school geometry was a
long time ago...)

I'm hoping the problem is my old antenna, with one of the longest conductors
drooping. I have a new one in the garage (a little bit larger than the one
I have now, boom length like 5" longer), but I haven't put it up yet. Snow
around Seattle, probably not a safe time to be on the roof! I'm hoping the
new antenna and a new coax cable will capture more HDTV OTA.

Our current coax cable isn't shielded very well (I think that's how you'd
say it). The copper core is good, then the white plastic cover is okay,
then the foil like material is intact, but the next layer has like 4 wires,
then the black rubbery outer cover. The cable I got from my Dad has more of
a braided layer (instead of the 4-5 wires on our current cable). Is that
shielding or more conductivity? I feel like it would be better
conductivity. The tip is a screw on, instead of a crimp, and when I wiggle
the connector, sometimes I can get NBC in HD, sometimes not. This is my
weekend project, to put up the new antenna and pull the new coax (about
40-50 feet).

NBC, ABC, CBS and a PBS station all broadcast from Seattle. But Fox, WB,
and another PBS station broadcast from Tacoma. I'm hoping to get them all,
since analog broadcasts are supposedly going away in a few years.

Richard


"Alan F" <afiggatt1@xxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:OGXbh.25$kz1.5@xxxxxxxxxxx
Richard Minami wrote:

Hi! Does anyone know if I can run two roof top antennas concurrently? I
live between two metropolitan areas that are about 60 degrees apart. Can
I point one antenna to the north, and then use a splitter to add another
antenna pointing south west? Then I'd run the one cable into my HD
receiver. I've heard that analog signals may ghost because the two
antennas are receiving the signal at different angles. But would a
digital broadcast do the same thing? Thanks!

Combining 2 antennas is usually a tricky project getting 2 directional
antennas aligned just right or a complicated & expensive project involving
jointenna filters.

Depending on the distance to the two sets of broadcast towers, you may be
able to use a single antenna which is a heck of a lot easier and cheaper.
Or just live with the hassle of a rotator. Or 2 antenna lines running down
to the receiver with a remote controlled A/B switch (real pain with
digital receivers and channel scans).

For example, I live in Northern Virginia and have a Channel Master 4221 4
Bay Bowtie UHF antenna in my attic. The CM 4221 is a very good mid-range
UHF antenna with a broad pickup towards the front and to the backside as
well. With the CM 4221 aimed at Baltimore, I can get the Baltimore
stations at around 43 miles at an azimuth of 63 degrees and the closer
Washington stations at around 16 miles clumped around 113 degrees in
azimuth. That is a 50+ degree spread between the 2 cities. I also have
added a Channel Master 7777 pre-amp to make up for the cable run and local
building obstructions of the top of houses up a slight hill between my
antenna and Baltimore. I also get 5 other stations scattered around in
azimuth.

If you would post your zip code, we can look at your specific situation
and see if maybe a single antenna will do the job. The keep it simple when
possible approach applies to putting up antennas as well.

Alan F



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