Austin 55912
What is best antenna setup for in Austin MN 55912?
Longitude: 43.669538-N, Latitude: 92.978374-W
Challenging circumstances:
a) 4 towers within 30 miles,
two easterly 20-30 mi, -- 103 & 158 degrees
two westerly 1 & 10 mi. -- 247 & 271 degrees
b) multiple trees adjacent to both E & W sides of 2-story house,
10' or more taller than highest roof line
c) 3 TVs (all analog now) basement, 1st floor, 2nd floor
d) currently on satellite with thunderstorm-caused interruptions
due to more tall oaks nearly blocking the line of sight for rooftop dish
OK in winter, so probably leafless trees allow sufficient signal
e) this is a private residence with pretty large lot, so various mounting
schemes can be tried
f) house previously had cable installation, so there is plenty of good coax
Brian
PS, I worked a long time in computer networking so I am not unfamiliar with
engineering trade-offs. I can pretty much do any installation except climbing
to a 30' roof top.
Greetings Brian,
It's not all that challenging. First, because of the nearby PBS station (1.5 miles) the MS 2000 omni-directional antenna is out of the question. The built-in preamplifier is almost certain to overload. The other thing worth mentioning is that antenna elevation is not crucial at your location since line of site to all transmitting antennas is 3.6 feet above ground or less. What's more important is locating the antenna system where there will be the least amount of obstructions in the path to the transmitters.
Your best option for consistent quality reception is utilizing two antennas. The best choice here would be the
miniMAX TV antenna. This small sized antenna provides signal gain of antennas much larger and you'll also appreciate the quality of construction.
Install one antenna with the narrow end pointing at approximately 250 degrees. Install the other pointing at approximately 130 degrees. Some minor adjustment in direction may be required at the time of installation. The miniMAX II antenna has a receiving beam width of 44 degrees. The antenna pointing at 130 degrees may not provide absolute picture perfect reception on all analog stations in that directions, but they will come in very good. On the other hand the digital/HD reception should be perfect. The only other choice is a single antenna and a rotor and I don't think you want a rotor especially with multiple TV's connected to the system.
Couple the two antennas together using the mast mounted
CC 7870 antenna coupler. On the CC 7870 output use the mast mounted
AP 8700 antenna preamplifier. This preamplifier should provide enough signal amplification for the entire system.
The system set up would go like this. With the two antennas mounted run two short pieces of coax cable from the outputs of each antenna to the coupler inputs. From the coupler output run a short cable to the preamplifier input. From the preamplifier output run cable to the location where it will enter your home. At this location a
ground block should be installed and a
ground wire ran from the block to a suitable ground. Next run cable from the ground block indoors to the preamplifier power supply that's included with the AP 8700. The power supply requires an electrical outlet and will supply low voltage electricity via the coax cable to the preamplifier. From the power supply run cable to the
signal splitter and from there to the TV's. If your outdoor connections are not made using water tight fittings such as lock and seal compression connectors I suggest that you use a dielectric grease such as
Stuff waterproofing filler.
A ground wire should also be ran from the antenna mount/mast to a suitable ground.
I don't believe any additional amplification will be required. However, you can test this by running from the power supply directly to one TV leaving the signal splitter out of the system. If the signal degrades when the splitter is in place a distribution amplifier such as the
DA 25 can improve the reception to the quality level experience when the splitter was removed from the system.
I am very confident that this equipment properly installed (I'm here to help if you need it) will provide you with excellent reception for both analog and digital/HD signals.
If you would like detailed information on how to install the equipment, or if I can assist you in any way, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Product Status = in stock
Brook Park 55007
We currently have "dish" satellite & a VHF antenna for our local channels. I want to replace it with a VHF/UHF. ZIP code is 55007. We live on a hill & the antenna is above the second story of our home. We currently do not have an amplifier or rotor & get excellent reception. Which antenna do you recommend?
Thanks,
Bob
Greetings Bob,
Your location does not require a rotor, most of your stations are from Minneapolis/St. Paul at 187 degrees at a distance of just over 60 miles. I recommend the
Winegard HD 7080P VHF/UHF digital ready TV antenna. Because of the characteristics of UHF signal I highly recommend the
AP 8700 antenna preamplifier. UHF signal can have up to 3 times as much signal loss as VHF as it travels the distance from your antenna to your TV. A preamplifier can compensate for this loss resulting in much better picture quality The combination of these two items properly installed will provide excellent results at your location.
If I can assist you further please don't hesitate to contact me.
Best Regards,
Denny
TV Antenna Source.
Duluth 55810
Denny,
Enjoyed the article on your car. If more people did what your doing maybe the outrages price of new cars would come down. I need a new antenna, but I am not sure which one I need. I live at 55810 zip code. All stations are the same direction, within 4 degrees of each other, and only 9 to 9.5 miles away. I am surrounded by tall trees, but I have a 2 story house I can mount on top of. I also have high voltage transmission lines about 1000 ft away, and another set about a 1/2 mile away but between me and the broadcast towers. What do you think?
Thanks for your assistance,
Greg
Greetings Greg,
The car is still going and running fine. As long as it runs good I will keep driving it.
I would recommend the
Winegard HD 7082 antenna without an preamplifier. Even with the trees the 7082 will deliver a quality signal without an amp. I think an amplifier may only enhance any electrical interference from the power lines. Channel 3 is the most likely to show electrical sparkling lines on the screen. The 7082 is very directive so any electrical radiation from a cracked insulator etc. would have to be directly in front of you and not off to the sides.
If I can assist you further Greg, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Best Regards,
Denny
Rochester 55939
Hi,
I live on a farm South of Rochester, MN on the Iowa line. We have direct TV service which is great but, local reception is good and bad, I just bought a Samsung 27 Slim fit for our parlor on the East side of our home. Got a rabbit ear and the reception is worse than it was from the set it replaced. I have another 27" up stairs with ears (South room) ears... good
reception and two more sets. one 27" in front room (good reception) and a little 13" upstairs (the best reception with rabbit ears.NE room). We have a 1,000' tower West of us 22 miles. Channel 10 and PBS 24 Iowa are off that tower. Channel 6 Austin 50 miles West, Channels 8 and 19 LaCrosse, Wi 60 mi East, Channel 3 Mason City 85 miles SW. So, I get all of these channels with varying degrees of reception. The little 13" is the best on second floor. All come in pretty good. 10 & 24 are the best but my new Slim Fit is not good with the ears I bought yesterday. What do you think and can I hook up all sets to one antenna? We are up high in this area.
Jeff,
SE, MN
Jeff,
The sure bet is an
HD 7082P TV antenna along with a
AP 8700 antenna preamplifier and a
antenna rotor. This combination would absolutely provide great TV reception on all of your local channels you mentioned and then some. However I believe a good chance exist that the
MS 2000 omnidirectional TV antennawould also provide good results. The advantages to the MS 2000 are numerous. Its relatively inexpensive, its easy to install, it looks good and does not require rotation to receive stations in different directions. I believe if you installed the MS 2000 above your highest roof line you would get very good results. Either antenna may be hooked up to all of your TV's using a
signal splitter and running coax cable to each location.
If I can assist you further please don't hesitate to contact me.
Denny
Zimmerman 55398
Denny,
We live 45 miles NW of Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN. Our zipcode is 55398. We live in the woods on a hill. Right now we have a 25 year old antenna in our attic. Some stations are fair but others are snowy and others don't come in at all (broadcast stations). We were wondering what kind of antenna we could mount on top of our roof to get us good reception. We have one HD-ready TV and one that isn't. Thank you for your help.
- David
Greetings David,
Your TV transmitters are all in the same direction at 140 degrees Southwest at approximately 35 miles. Minneapolis/St. Paul broadcast market has a channel 2, 4 and 5. Because of the characteristics of these channel frequencies a compact antenna would not be a good choice. I recommend the
Winegard HD 7080P VHF/UHF/Digital TV antenna along with an
AP 8700 antenna preamplifier. This combination will provide excellent results both for your digital TV antenna reception and analog. Your location does not require an antenna rotor since all stations are in the same direction.
If I can assist you further please don't hesitate to contact me.
Best Regards,
Denny
TV Antenna Source
