Radio Shack amp & Winegard: Update w/ HDTV
A while back, someone from MN or MI said a Radio Shack antenna amp added to the amplified barwing w/ a wingman would radically improve reception. Can you tell me which amp from RS, and how it must...
Forum Discussion
We are sitting home for a few days waiting for our MH to get some scheduled routine service.
I have had some time to check out the new internet site I found for transmitters located for our state of Minnesota (site covers all states and Canadian provinces).
It solved one problem I have seen when scanning with up to 20 dBs of amplification.
Normally I will scan for channels after getting to a new park (middle of the day). I will always find quite a few and be happy with it until later in the evening after the sun drops below the horizon.
Then I will run another scan while the current program my wife and I may be watching starts playing commercials. It will bug the wife but the scan only takes about 3 minutes to complete. The scan almost always locates more channels than the day scan.
The next morning while the wife is still sleeping, I will check the "channels found" list under one of the TV menus. Sometimes I would find what would look like duplicate listings (i.e. 5.1, 5.1, 5.2, 5.2). Both would show up before sun would rise, than one of each channel might not of up for watching.
With the new internet listing I now understand that my location for camping has allowed me to get some of the larger metro area's channels stronger signals from around 100+ miles away along with getting a lower powered transmitter's channels being rebroadcast from one of the larger towns located across the state (20 to 50 miles away). They usually have one of their own local TV stations broadcasting at least one network.
It explains how I can easily get 2 or 3 channels showing ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, etc. If I cut back on the amount of decibel amplification I am using some weaker signals will drop off. It is possible for me to miss some close by channels by searching with too much amplification.
With the new lists of transmitters I have a better idea of what is located where, and the range of each station being transmitted. It seems that an ideal amplification would around 12 to 16 decibels to locate all the networks broadcasting in most states "over the air".
My current system is 10 dBs (Winegard alone) and 12 dBs to 20 dBs, adjustable, with the Radio Shack in-line RF amplifier turned on. This works fine if you understand that sometimes running the same scan at 12 to 15 dBs might pick up a closer channel than 20 dBs may have over-amplified and wiped out the signal.
It would be nice if Winegard would increase the amount of amplification they use in the antenna systems. 10dBs used to be the norm for the analog days but more is required today for digital transmitters using much less power than the past.
More amplification works fine with the newer coaxial cables, RG6u, which have quad-shielding.
I have had some time to check out the new internet site I found for transmitters located for our state of Minnesota (site covers all states and Canadian provinces).
It solved one problem I have seen when scanning with up to 20 dBs of amplification.
Normally I will scan for channels after getting to a new park (middle of the day). I will always find quite a few and be happy with it until later in the evening after the sun drops below the horizon.
Then I will run another scan while the current program my wife and I may be watching starts playing commercials. It will bug the wife but the scan only takes about 3 minutes to complete. The scan almost always locates more channels than the day scan.
The next morning while the wife is still sleeping, I will check the "channels found" list under one of the TV menus. Sometimes I would find what would look like duplicate listings (i.e. 5.1, 5.1, 5.2, 5.2). Both would show up before sun would rise, than one of each channel might not of up for watching.
With the new internet listing I now understand that my location for camping has allowed me to get some of the larger metro area's channels stronger signals from around 100+ miles away along with getting a lower powered transmitter's channels being rebroadcast from one of the larger towns located across the state (20 to 50 miles away). They usually have one of their own local TV stations broadcasting at least one network.
It explains how I can easily get 2 or 3 channels showing ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, etc. If I cut back on the amount of decibel amplification I am using some weaker signals will drop off. It is possible for me to miss some close by channels by searching with too much amplification.
With the new lists of transmitters I have a better idea of what is located where, and the range of each station being transmitted. It seems that an ideal amplification would around 12 to 16 decibels to locate all the networks broadcasting in most states "over the air".
My current system is 10 dBs (Winegard alone) and 12 dBs to 20 dBs, adjustable, with the Radio Shack in-line RF amplifier turned on. This works fine if you understand that sometimes running the same scan at 12 to 15 dBs might pick up a closer channel than 20 dBs may have over-amplified and wiped out the signal.
It would be nice if Winegard would increase the amount of amplification they use in the antenna systems. 10dBs used to be the norm for the analog days but more is required today for digital transmitters using much less power than the past.
More amplification works fine with the newer coaxial cables, RG6u, which have quad-shielding.
