[mythtv-users] HDTV antenna quandry

Yan Seiner yan at seiner.com
Wed Apr 25 04:40:43 UTC 2007


Mark napsal(a):
> Maybe one of you guys has run into this before...
>
> I'm planning on moving to HDHOMERUN boxes in the near future, but I have 
> a dilemma.  I have multiple stations nearby, Lansing 30 miles to the north,
> Kalamazoo 45 miles west, and Detroit 60 miles East.  I need higher gain 
> antennas pointed in multiple directions.  I could do it with a rotor, 
> but then I might miss
> a show on a channel where the antenna isn't pointed.  Best bet is 
> separate antennas.  Can antenna feeds for digital broadcasts be combined 
> with a splitter/combiner?
> Or should I run each antenna feed to a separate hdhomerun and play with 
> channel/input  priorities until it works right? Currently this is my 
> only avenue for recording HD.
> Cable and Sat don't carry what I want.
>
> Thoughts?
>
>   
I'm doing this right now....

Two nearly identical antennas, on a mast, going through a splitter.

Some things I've done based on research:

The antenna cable from each antenna to the first splitter where they 
meet up must be as nearly identical as you can make it.  Same cable, 
same length.

The vertical spacing is critical.  More is better.  With three 
anteannas, I'd plan on a 15' mast and 6' spacing....

I initially installed the antennas too close and got almost no 
reception.  Moving the antennas about 6" more apart and I got much 
better reception; eventually adding a foot of separation I get crystal 
clear reception (at least on the TV; I'm still having problems with myth 
on some of the fringe channels, but that's another problem.)

Pick fairly directional antennas; I got Winegard amplified antennas 
after some outfit went belly up on Ebay for about $20 ea.

Amplification is touch and go; make sure the signal strength is close 
from both antennas.

You don't need any fancy stuff; just ordinary high quality splitters 
will do.  I get a lot of my stuff from <http://www.summitsource.com/>.

Oh, and sacrificing a chicken won't hurt....  Be prepared to spend a 
couple of days climbing on the roof tweaking antennas....  :-)

--Yan


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