Opinions on Winegard HD7698P and HD8200U TV antennas

[Dennis S]

My Zenith DTV901 won't pick up a signal here, but it works at my brother's, which is about the same distance. He has a newer and taller antenna than my 30 year-old one, which is about 30' tall. The main station I want to get is 44 miles away over rolling hills.

The guy at the PBS station said that a new and taller antenna might work. He said the guys at his station mostly use Winegards, so these are the 2 that look like they even have a chance to work. Any suggestions?

[Filliam H. Muffman]

The HD7698P is a single purpose antenna. Only VHF (HDTV). The other one will cost more without necessarily helping HD reception.

[Dennis S]

The literature I read said the HD7698P was VHF/UHF. I think it is the High VHF - starting at 7. My guy said that I won't need 2-6 in my state. (Channel 4 is actually 32, he said.)

HD is low on my priorities, although it would be nice to have if I get a new TV, which I might if the antenna works OK.

[M>B>]

A good resource for antennas is here...

http://antennaweb.org/aw/Welcome.aspx

[deckeda]

Yes Dennis, the literature is correct; high-VHF on up through UHF. Nice antennas built well, you may recall me recommending the 796x series in your earlier thread. At your distance the 7696 might also work, if you have nearby obstructions the 7698 will be better. There's also the 7697 ... I forget what the rule of thumb is, something like trees or buildings X feet high within Y feet of the antenna constitutes a problem. Rolling hills in your nearby vicinity are an issue, rolling hills farther less so.

The 8200 and similar include low VHF frequencies as well, which as you say you won't need after Feb.

A typical 4-way splitter will cut your signal down 7db per TV; that's just over 4 times the signal loss from the antenna. A 2-way splitter loses 3-4db, that's only half the signal reaching the TVs.

So you may also need a premap (these are amplifiers, I don't know why the industry keeps insisting on referring to them as "preamps" when there's no additional amp afterwards ...)

A premap will take what the antenna provides and boost it enough to overcome line loss and splitter lost. (It doesn't "boost" the antenna's signal-gathering ability. That would constitute a miracle. Or marketing hype.)

If you don't have a nearby station that threatens to overload the signal, go with a Channel Master; they have the lowest noise. Pick one that does VHF and UHF. If you do have a nearby station that'll overload the signal, go with a Winegard HDP269. Winegard premaps have a little bit higher noise figure compared to CH, but still better than anything else. What makes the HDP269 special is that it has a high-input threshold --- it won't get overloaded by a strong signal unless you're "next door" to the tower. But if you don't need it go with CH.

**********************************************

I'm in process here too. I bought a high-VHF/UHF antenna, a CH 2016, but it's just too weak for my situation (about 40 miles from towers) I paired it with one of their preamps but immediately discovered that some local independent station was swamping the signal --- the signal overwhelms the preamp, rendering it blind to all the others. I can get signals here and there without the premap. With it I get nothing but the local station. ...

So I'll be getting a stronger antenna, probably the 7696 because it's at least 3db (twice as strong) as the 2016 on UHF and a bunch more better on VHF. And the HDP269.

[RAMd®d]

because it's at least 3db (twice as strong)


That's twice as sensitive. Signals are rated in strength, antennas in sensitivity.

[Dennis S]

Thanks for the info. I'll try to digest it.

[olgriz]

I'm also looking for a good antenna but have a longer range issue than most of you. I used a Googe Map Distance Calculator and I'm 105 miles from the transmitter towers in Little Rock, AR. Those stations are my only options for major network feeds. I did call the stations and all of their tower are located on Shinall mountain at 1056 ft. There won't be any terrian issues to worry about but at that distance, I do wonder about earth curvature. I won't be able to go over 30 ft. up. I'm wondering if the Winegard HD 7698P will do the job if I preamp it. By the way, "deckeda", a preamp is called a preamp because it amplifys the signal prior to ( or previous to ) sending it down the coax to your TV.
Do any of you think it will receive that far away under ideal conditions or is it just wishful thinking ? I'm not without TV. I'm subscribed to Dish Network and have all the satellite feeds a guy could ask for but I wanted an antenna to get local news and more importantly any "weather" forecasts for area.

[deckeda]

105 miles is going to be really tough, curvature or not. Not sure VHF or UHF signals can travel that far even under ideal conditions. I'd probably not attempt it unless willing to consider the cost and effort strictly an experiment. Then again if I were rural I'd be tempted to pony up for a big dish, if they haven't completely eviscerated the programming there ...

if I preamp it
I'd caution against thinking like that. They can't take the place of a more sensitive antenna. If they could, we'd all be using tiny, inexpensive antennas inside the house. No one seems to mind buying an additional black box to fix a problem, but installing a larger antenna up on the roof is like real work.

If an antenna isn't sensitive enough (thanks for the correx, RAMd®d) all by itself to deliver a good signal to a TV connected directly to it, amplifying the signal will produce no benefit, no fix. If the signal's weak, all you get is more noise essentially.

The only real benefit to using a mast-mounted amp (and they are the best kind of signal amp) is to take the good signal from an antenna and raise it further so that by the time the lines inside the house and inevitable splitter eat up some signal you've still got some left.

[OWC Jamie]

105 miles is quite a distance.

I have two identical antennas on two nearby houses.
The one about fifty feet higher does not have a preamp, does not get New Hampshire from Buzzards Bay [about 80 miles] , but because it clears the trees and is up higher works better in worse weather --
than the one 50 feet lower down the hill, does not clear the trees which are a lot closer, has a preamp and does get a New Hampshire station. In good weather.
As soon as it is windy, it's gone.
Premium triple shield RG59 cable, I've temporarily strung RG6 in good weather and not seen a difference.
(the house on the hill was wired for satellite TV)
Transmitter power and receiver sensitivity play just as much a role in reception.
The receiver in my Sony VCR has at least twice the reception capability of either the Sony TV or the Phillips LCD HDTV I have now.

Different model preamps also have different gains.


I don't watch enough TV or movies to justify the expense for cable or sat.
It is nice having something to get the weather when conditions warrant and the news sometimes.