Digital TV Antenna Signal Boosters. Opinions?

[Chakravartin]

deckeda wrote:
That noise spec sounds, well, almost too good to be true actually for an indoor amp. Which models are you considering?

That's 'cause it's an outdoor amp, although I intend to use it indoors.

I'm considering the Winegard AP-8700.

I think that the Channel Masters that have been mentioned so far are probably overkill. I know there's a line somewhere that over-amplification kicks in and I suspect that it's around 20dB here.

...

I was trying to keep it simple, but I guess that I should have mentioned that I live in a leased apartment and the antenna is indoors. I have the antenna on an outside-wall near a window and I've got co-ax running from there to my entertainment center.

I've tried various indoor amplified antennas. The most successful has been the Philips SDV2740 rabbit-ears style which claims to have "up to" 18dB amplification and "low noise."

If I kick the amplification all the way up on the Philips then I can improve reception by about 3% according to my receiver, and it does somewhat improve the odds of my receiving a picture on those "difficult" channels during a storm, but the thing is very fragile and both masts have broken and been repaired repeatedly. Moreover, the channels that I lose are UHF which rabbit ears aren't optimal for.

I'm presently using a flat-ish 2-foot square bowtie-style indoor/outdoor antenna (but it is indoors), which gets roughly the same reception as the Philips. It was a no-name open-box special with no documentation. It has a "power box" that seems to do nothing more than ground it, providing no amplification.

[deckeda]

In that case you may be on the right track moving to an amp intended for outdoor use. Didn't realize that's what you had in mind. One of my links above is for Winegard's 269 amp, with only about 12db of boost. Might be the way to go if the 8700 is too much. On the other hand, if you buy the 8700 and find you need less boost you could use an attenuator but that's another $12 +.

And yeah, insert the amp in the line close to the antenna; that way you amplify more signal and not as much noise.

Your best performance, despite the appearance, is likely going to come from swapping out the antenna for a larger one. Consider dedicating that wall to a CM 4228 if you can still find one or perhaps a CM 4228HD or other large bow tie and tell visitors it's "custom artwork" on the wall ... or maybe an XG-91 on a stand aimed right out the window, IF the window has a clear shot to the towers. Don't laugh-lots of people leave mounted telescopes aimed out a window all the time, why not an Yagi antenna instead?

[Bill in NC]

Yep, my setup was a powered indoor antenna, but I couldn't get anything farther out than 30 miles (home is down in a valley)

So I went with an outdoor antenna & high-gain UHF amp (all UHF here), BUT mounted inside (on the side of my entertainment center, pointing out the window)

Now I get all locals plus pick up two out-of-market channels (transmitters 60 miles away!)

Saved me the hassle of going up 35 feet in the air to chimney-mount an antenna.

[Chakravartin]

deckeda wrote:
One of my links above is for Winegard's 269 amp, with only about 12db of boost. Might be the way to go if the 8700 is too much.

That box is rated at the same average noise as the 17dB AP-8700, which means that the signal/noise ratio is higher for the HDP-269.

I know that the ratio is supposed to be "low," but how low? What ratio should I aim for?

deckeda wrote: On the other hand, if you buy the 8700 and find you need less boost you could use an attenuator but that's another $12 +.

I've never seen one of those before. Nice to know they exist.

deckeda wrote: Your best performance, despite the appearance, is likely going to come from swapping out the antenna for a larger one.

I can't go much larger than this without moving the antenna outside and I have no way of running the co-ax inside without making unlawful modifications.

If there were such a thing as a compact indoor Yagi antenna that didn't totally suck, I'd jump on it. I could probably hide one up to 2 feet long and a foot wide behind some stuff on the top of my entertainment center.

[GGD]

Chakravartin wrote:
I have no way of running the co-ax inside without making unlawful modifications.

Flat coax designed for window sills might be a no-modification solution if you have a window in a convenient place.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002KR74A

[Chakravartin]

GGD wrote:
[quote=Chakravartin]
I have no way of running the co-ax inside without making unlawful modifications.

Flat coax designed for window sills might be a no-modification solution if you have a window in a convenient place.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002KR74A


Thanks. That's awesome, but it wouldn't work here... Something to keep in mind for the next apartment tho...

...

As I dwell on the problem, I'm growing more concerned about over-amplification. I think I'm going to see how the Winegard 269 works out. If it doesn't seem up to the job, I can always return it and get the 8700.

[deckeda]

Chakravartin wrote:
[quote=deckeda]
One of my links above is for Winegard's 269 amp, with only about 12db of boost. Might be the way to go if the 8700 is too much.

That box is rated at the same average noise as the 17dB AP-8700, which means that the signal/noise ratio is higher for the HDP-269.

I know that the ratio is supposed to be "low," but how low? What ratio should I aim for? ...
I think you mean the 8700 must have the better S/N ratio if the noise is the same for both amps? And that's fine if you need or can take the extra boost. But if 17db would present an overload of even one channel then the 269 would be a better choice and the 8700's better S/N ratio wouldn't matter.

You can sorta ballpark all of this by going to tvfool.com and entering your exact address and estimate the antenna's elevation from ground. The resulting chart will show such things as distance and direction of towers, transmitting power and most importantly, the delivered noise margin figure for each. You can forget all about the better-known antennaweb.org

There's a good FAQ about analyzing the signal data on the site as well.

All of that info can be used to suggest how much antenna gain is needed, and just as importantly, how much gain would result in a station swamping the tuner and wiping out reception for many others.

After you get your chart save the image to your hard disk and upload it when you post at highdefforum.com in the Local Reception forum so that the members can know what the heck you're up against and make real recommendations. Even if you think you're only one small step away from licking this they may have suggestions none of us here have considered.