Hello all,

Im looking for suggestions on how to improve my TV reception. Im in a rural area and the stations Im trying to receive are around 75miles away. I currently have a 91xg TV antenna about 20ft above the ground. From the antenna I have a 4' long quad shield coax cable going to a ChannelMaster 7777 pre-amp. From the pre-amp I have about 50-60ft of quad shield coax cable going directly to the TV in the living room--no splitters anywhere.

So, my question is except for raising the antenna higher is there anything else I can do to improve my reception? I get all the DTV channels from about 5pm in the afternoon till about 10am in the morning perfectly with very few or no drop-outs. During the daytime though I get alot of pixelation and more drop-outs. I think if I could just improve my signal by about 10-15% I could get all the channels 24 hours a day.

Are there any better pre-amps then the CM7777 that might help me out?

My zipcode is 54104 and Im trying to receive stations from Green Bay, WI

Thanks,

Mike

At 75 miles out, you need to get that antenna up as high as possible. Have you tried tilting the antenna up? Are you using "Solid Copper" core coax cable?

Have you tried seeing what your TV FOOL analysis shows for 25-35 feet. At 20 feet; those 75 mile stations don't look quite strong enough for 24/7 reliable reception

How much of an improvement are you seeing with the 91-XG over the MANT-901?

Mike, this is a quote from Amazon.com in regards to your antenna:

"If you live more than 60 miles from the transmitters, you must get as much elevation on the antenna as possible. Even with its great gain, it cannot pick up signals blocked by the curvature of the earth."

It seems you have pretty much the best of equipment, I think your only solution is to raise your antenna.

Mike,

The biggest part of your problem is there signal just isn't enough signal at 20 feet. If there isn't enough signal; even the best antenna won't help. Sometimes a 4228 will do better in your situation; since it's larger "capture" area helps gather more of the scattered signal. But even it would still benefit with extra height.

So, my question is except for raising the antenna higher is there anything else I can do to improve my reception? ... I think if I could just improve my signal by about 10-15% I could get all the channels 24 hours a day.

Mike, there really isn't a good substitute for greater height. Having read a TVFool report for your ZIP code, it's the best way to get you that extra "push" your signals need. (Ten to 15 percent is probably just about right.) Ten or 20 additional feet may well do it, but will involve use of guy wires and heavy-duty materials. For durability, hiring an antenna/satellite installer to do the work may be in order.

Are there any better pre-amps then the CM7777 that might help me out?

For your purposes, it doesn't get any better than this. You do have the power injector plugged into an outlet and inserted into the cable before the TV, don't you? Is the 7777's internal switch set for separate antennas, rather than a single combination antenna, its factory-default setting?

TVFool shows you have another challenge coming up after the DTV transition. Until then, FOX 11.1 is actually operating on channel 51, despite the displayed channel number. It's going to move back to channel 11 at the transition, and your XG-91, excellent though it is for UHF, won't capture it well. You'll need a good VHF-high antenna like the Winegard YA-1713, for mounting a few feet below the XG-91. With its separate antenna inputs, your pre-amp is good to go in that situation, fortunately.

TO quote ELO - "Higher and higher, baby yeah ! It's a living thing...." :D

Its definitly better then the Mant901. I had problems with that antenna 24/7. I think raising the antenna higher would require a permanant antenna tower or installing a telephone poll on the property or something like that. Not something Im really sure I want to invest in.

I will have to check the settings on the pre-amp not sure if I changed that or not.

It's also wierd that I get the ABC station out of green bay 24/7 with no problems at all no matter what the conditions are. It's all the other channels that have issues during the day.

And yes I do know about the stupid fox channel going back to channel 11 Ill deal with that problem next spring -- actually the fox station on channel 51 is the channel with the worse drop-out problem sometimes disappearing for hours until it returns.

Have you ever tried fine tuning the antenna up or down a foot or two. It makes quite a difference on one channel with my 91-XG. Sometimes you can find a sweet spot without going up a lot higher. My 85 mile stations improve somewhat with a slight upward tilt of the antenna.

Yes, I also have my antenna pointed ever so slightly upward...

And yes I do know about the stupid fox channel going back to channel 11

The good news is that after the change, its TVFool noise-margin figure increases from 6.0 dB to 9.8 dB at your ZIP code -- still weak, sure, but better. Bet it won't be a nearly as much of a problem child with a YA-1713 feeding the 7777.