[Corytrade]

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id=f1f03cbc9875fc

Hello everyone,

I am on my way to cutting the cord. I bought a 91XG antenna, but have yet to get a preamp (hopefully you guys can help me here). I assembled the antenna and hooked it directly up to my TV and tested in right in my living room. My goal is to pick up the channels at the 174 degree angle on the TV Fool chart. At that point, I was only getting two of those channels (KOVR and another one that didn't have a label). I figured when I put it on my roof I would be able to get the rest of the channels. However, once I hooked it up on my roof (approx. 25ft above ground) I was not picking up any channels (well, 1 fuzzy analog but that's it). Now I assume this is because the great amount of dB loss. I am running a 100ft RG6 (I overestimated, probably only need 50-75) from the antenna to the side of the house. There I am unplugging my DirecTV dish and plugging in the antenna to the 3 way splitter, from the splitter to the TVs is probably another 75ft of coax at least (in the wall so I don't know). I am hoping a preamp will solve this problem.

So here are my questions: It seems like the CM7777 is recommended a lot, would this work in my situation? I did a few pointing adjustments to make sure that I wasn't just missing the signal, so I believe this is not part of the issue. However, I am not sure if I should tilt the antenna slightly upward, or have it parallel with the ground. Our neighborhood is all two story homes and I have the antenna on a 2 foot mast, but it is not at the apex of the roof, more on the side, however I believe there is not really anything directly blocking it.

Thanks for all your help, any recommendations or advice is greatly appreciated.

-Cory

 

[Corytrade]

Also to add, even though the TV Fool has the 174 degree channels in green, they are so far away (60 miles), it is why I choose to use the 91XG. Antenna web listed them as needed a roof mounted antenna.

 

[ProjectSHO89]

It seems like the CM7777 is recommended a lot, would this work in my situation?

No. You should have no need for a preamplifier. The 7777 USED TO get recommended a lot, but that was before CM redesigned the amp back in 2012. The new version, except for the case and the number, is nothing like the old one. Its higher gain gets folks into trouble where they got away with it with the old model. Most people who have panned the new model simply don't understand it. It's actually a decent amp, but must be used with caution due to its differences.

In any event, it sounds more like you made a mistake in your cabling or in the setup of the TV.

Did you remove any satellite multiswitches and replace them with a standard splitter?

Does your TV set have a digital tuner?

Did you tell the TV set you are using an antenna (default is CABLE), before running your scan?

 

[richart]

Is there a way you can run your coax directly from the antenna to a TV set as an initial test?

 

[bull shark]

I am in YC and get all of the Sacramento channels as well as some Chico and Reno channels using a roof mounted Winegard HD8200U Platinum HD VHF/UHF Antenna on a 10' mast (at approx 26') and a 7777 (pre-2012) with a 50' run of quad shielded RG6. Signal strengths are 95 to 100%. The Winegard is parallel to the ground.

I had poor results when I used the 91XG. I bought the 91XG before the transition and was dismayed to find that ABC and PBS would still be VHF. So I went with the deep fringe HD8200U which is UHF/VHF. With a 14' boom it is a monster of an antenna. Even still, some channels are lost without the 7777. I'm using an external tuner (Hauppauge 1192 WinTV HVR-1950) which I found to be more sensitive than my DISH box or TV tuners.

 

[Calaveras]

About a year ago we had someone in Yuba City show up on the Sacramento OTA thread wanting to cut the cord. After some cajoling I got him to put up a Winegard HD7698P. He added a preamp and said he got 61 channels with it. His results post is here:

http://www.avsforum.com/forum/45-lo...97256-sacramento-ca-ota-330.html#post24495485

He started with an indoor antenna and received nothing. Then he tried the 7698 on the ground and received some channels. The big improvement was getting it up in the air.

His only problem is that KVIE and KIXE are both on channel 9 so sometimes conditions cause KIXE to get strong and that causes KVIE interference and it drops out. It's hard to do much about that when you're in an overlap area.

If you're not receiving stations with the 91XG at 25' then there's something wrong. It's not the length of coax. 100' is no big deal. You need to solve that problem.

The 91XG is the wrong antenna for you since it is not a VHF antenna. You need an HD7698P. I would not buy the HD8200U unless you're determined to get every station possible. It includes low VHF and there isn't much on low VHF. KFTY on RF 2 is probably the main station and it's a duplicate of KKPM on 28, your 3rd strongest station.

If you want to add a preamp I'd suggest the Clearstream Juice preamp, moderate gain with good overload characteristics.

You can get more people to see your post by going to the Sacramento OTA thread.

 

[jhughy2010]

As Chuck stated, you will definitely have better luck with an antenna like my HD7698 because of the VHF leads. In hindsite I wish I would have bought the HD8200 instead because of my issues with 6 and 10... they are pretty susceptible to inversions.

I put an 8200 in my friends attic who lives near YCHS and he gets great reception (w/out preamp).

It does sound like you have something weird going on with your cabling though. I'm much further north and much lower (14ft) and can point my antenna north and still get KCRA.

 

[Calaveras]

In hindsite I wish I would have bought the HD8200 instead because of my issues with 6 and 10... they are pretty susceptible to inversions.

The HD8200 doesn't offer anything for KVIE and KXTV that the 7698 doesn't. Those big elements are only for low VHF; KFTY, KCSO, K04QR.

 

[Digital Rules]

I put an 8200 in my friends attic who lives near YCHS and he gets great reception (w/out preamp).

Ouch an 8200 in an attic. Must be a huge attic.

 

[jhughy2010]

Ouch an 8200 in an attic. Must be a huge attic.

Oh no... it was an incredibly tight fit. Thankfully it was cool out when we did it.

 

[Corytrade]

Thanks for all the feedback guys. Going to be working with it today, and probably returning the 91XG. Jhughy, can you tell me about the mount that you made? I really like it.

 

[Corytrade]

Okay update, I took the advice and tested the antenna on the roof straight to a TV using the 100' coax. Boom, I got 35 digital channels! However, the only channel I am not getting is KXTV (ABC). I am not sure why, is the signal too weak? Returning the 91XG just for one channel would be a real pain, is this something a small preamp could fix, or should I continue to heed the warnings of staying away from preamps?

 

[Calaveras]

Okay update, I took the advice and tested the antenna on the roof straight to a TV using the 100' coax. Boom, I got 35 digital channels! However, the only channel I am not getting is KXTV (ABC). I am not sure why, is the signal too weak? Returning the 91XG just for one channel would be a real pain, is this something a small preamp could fix, or should I continue to heed the warnings of staying away from preamps?

The 91XG is a UHF only antenna and KXTV is a VHF station. It is not weak. This is why I said you need an HD7698P. You have the wrong antenna for the job. If you don't want to get the 7698P then you need to add a separate VHF antenna. Try the Antennacraft Y-10-7-13 and a VHF/UHF combiner.

Are you getting KVIE? It's on VHF too.

 

[jhughy2010]

Thanks for all the feedback guys. Going to be working with it today, and probably returning the 91XG. Jhughy, can you tell me about the mount that you made? I really like it.

I don't have any gable mounts on my house. If I did I would have used a gable mount like this one: http://www.amazon.com/Winegard-SW-0012-Gable-Mount-Antenna/dp/B001DFTGUQ

I ended up having to use a satellite under eve J mount like this: http://www.amazon.com/Satellite-Under-Eave-Mount-2in/dp/B00B10U79M

I am in the very long process of investing in a tower: http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.as...ft-antenna-tower-assembly-(hdbx32bs)&more=yes

Or better yet: http://www.palcoelectronics.com/pe300.aspx

Maybe Chuck can give advice here!?

My preference would be not to have to guy the tower that is why I am only looking at self supporting towers.

Okay update, I took the advice and tested the antenna on the roof straight to a TV using the 100' coax. Boom, I got 35 digital channels! However, the only channel I am not getting is KXTV (ABC). I am not sure why, is the signal too weak? Returning the 91XG just for one channel would be a real pain, is this something a small preamp could fix, or should I continue to heed the warnings of staying away from preamps?

Definitely return the 91xg. You'll get much better luck with the antenna I have. I don't know why some are saying you don't need a pre-amp. You certainly do we are in a deep fringe area and you have 100' of cable.

 

[jhughy2010]

Here is my antenna set up... Like I said, it want to install a tower. I'm only at 14 or 15 feet right now. I get pretty decent reception but there is the occasion when the signal cuts out (especially KVIE/KXTV). My assumption is that at 30 feet I would have little to no problem.

 

[Calaveras]

I am in the very long process of investing in a tower: http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.as...ft-antenna-tower-assembly-(hdbx32bs)&more=yes

Or better yet: http://www.palcoelectronics.com/pe300.aspx

Maybe Chuck can give advice here!?

Definitely return the 91xg. You'll get much better luck with the antenna I have. I don't know why some are saying you don't need a pre-amp. You certainly do we are in a deep fringe area and you have 100' of cable.

Those towers are okay for a TV antenna.

You may get some improvement at 30' over 15' but the dropouts are caused by inversions and those can cause signal swings far larger than anything you'll gain by going to 30'. The best you could hope for is shorter drop out times.

With 100' of RG6 on channel 51 and a typical TV, adding a 3 dB noise figure preamp will get you about 8 dB. On high VHF it'll be more like 5 dB, less if there's even a hint of noise. On low VHF you won't get anything because of noise issues.

 

[Corytrade]

The 91XG is a UHF only antenna and KXTV is a VHF station. It is not weak. This is why I said you need an HD7698P. You have the wrong antenna for the job. If you don't want to get the 7698P then you need to add a separate VHF antenna. Try the Antennacraft Y-10-7-13 and a VHF/UHF combiner.

Are you getting KVIE? It's on VHF too.

Okay, I guess I will bite the bullet and look into getting the HD7698P. It's the part where I have to admit to my wife I got the wrong antenna that makes returning the 91XG the most annoying, lol. Getting the main 4 networks is a must for cable cutting though.

 

[Corytrade]

I don't have any gable mounts on my house. If I did I would have used a gable mount like this one: http://www.amazon.com/Winegard-SW-0012-Gable-Mount-Antenna/dp/B001DFTGUQ

I ended up having to use a satellite under eve J mount like this: http://www.amazon.com/Satellite-Under-Eave-Mount-2in/dp/B00B10U79M

I am in the very long process of investing in a tower: http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.as...ft-antenna-tower-assembly-(hdbx32bs)&more=yes

Or better yet: http://www.palcoelectronics.com/pe300.aspx

Maybe Chuck can give advice here!?

My preference would be not to have to guy the tower that is why I am only looking at self supporting towers.



Definitely return the 91xg. You'll get much better luck with the antenna I have. I don't know why some are saying you don't need a pre-amp. You certainly do we are in a deep fringe area and you have 100' of cable.

Thanks for the link for the J-mount. I really like it. I just sent in a return request to the seller on Amazon, here's to hoping they accept it.

 

[jhughy2010]

^^I'd thought about this as well. I wonder if the tower would really even be worth the investment and trouble. Given the fact that I actually get KVIE (that is all I really care about) "most" of the time I am hesitant to make that commitment.

I know that inversions cause the signal to drop, however, the past few days the signal has been pretty hit and miss and it didn't seem like the weather had changed besides being slightly warmer.

 

[Corytrade]

Oh and what preamp do you have jhughly?

I am going to try without it first, but if needed I will upgrade.