Okay, I have a 4228 antenna and a 7777 preamp. I just moved and have not used this at my new house yet - I am less than 10 miles away from the station. Can I just hook the 4228 straight into the CM 0747 amplifier, then to my HTMC? Do I need to use the 7777? I am just thinking about putting the 4228 in my basement (close to a window) just for the superbowl party (I have uverse, but I only get 1 HD feed). Any thoughts?

Also, if I do use the 7777, the 4228 goes to the uhf input, then output power goes to the manilla amp (0747) - then to the PC? Do I have that right?

Thanks

Ross

At less than 10 miles, try it w/o the pre-amp or its power supply (PIM).

You may want to run a plot on TVFool.com to see exactly how close the local stations are. If you can provide your ZIP code, we can run a general area plot for you.

You won't need a pre-amp at that distance, unless you plan to feed ten TV's.

Ok...so i had hooked it up with both the 7777 and the 0747 and it was in my basement - got 100% signal (inside...in a basement!) so I moved the antenna outside and then straight into my HTPC and only get like 60 - so I hooked it all up through the 7777 etc and was steady at 95-100 (its going through a splitter or two now that its outside. I came inside and it was at 0, so I unplugged the 7777 and replugged it in...BOOM there goes the breaker, and the plug on the 7777 took a pretty big hit too - actually busted a hole at the end of one of the prongs! So no im wondering wtf happened, if the preamp is safe to use and what not...

Thanks

Ross

There cannot be any splitters between the pre-amp and the power supply. That is what it sounds like caused this. The splitters must be after the wall plug in unit!

The cm7777 is too strong (to much gain) of a preamp for 10 miles from the towers with the cm4228.

-Remove BOTH the preamp module and power supply
-Run coax from the antenna to splitters to your tuners

If you need amplification the Winegard HDP 269 is the suggested model for your conditions.

But would signal overload cause the pre-amp to blow like that? How long was the cable run from the antenna to the inside power supply? If it's too short that might have caused it...

But would signal overload cause the pre-amp to blow like that? How long was the cable run from the antenna to the inside power supply? If it's too short that might have caused it...

It would seem that something was placed in between the pre-amp and the PIM; something which caused a short to ground.

If the breaker tripped and if the PIM's plug is discolored, chances are the PIM is toast and possibly the pre-amp itself.

As suggested by Rick, the HDP-269 would be preferred if you have cabling and enough splits to need amplification. Just be very careful with how you run the cabling with any pre-amps. Unplug the PIM anytime you are making changes to the cabling, etc.