weak antenna signal

[dockmasterdave]

OK, I posted the other day looking for info on an aftermarket antenna booster. My Wineguard from 2009 DOES NOT have the internal boost, at least , there is no switch and no 12v plug and no 12v wiring anywhere near it.
I took apart my connections today, put dielectric grease on them and made sure all were tight.
I discovered that from my antenna to the ceiling plate is RG59.

Would it help to switch it to RG6, and does it really just pull all the way through the ceiling to install the new?
I have visions of it disconnecting somewhere mid ceiling and requiring ripping the ceiling down to re connect.
It is in an Amerilite 21MBLE
Thanks again

[Tom_M1]

To clarify this a bit, the government recently auctioned off the 600 Mhz TV band leaving only channels 14 thru 34 in the UHF band. Nothing changed with the VHF band. Back in the old days of analog you could not have adjacent channels in the same market. For instance, you could not have channels 2 and 3. But wait, you say there are channels 4 and 5 or 6 and 7 in your city. Turns out there is a frequency gap between these channels. This basically cuts the number of channels available in half. Now with the advent of digital, adjacent channels are allowed, so the impact of the frequency auctions are not as drastic as appears. Most of these channel reassignments are within the UHF band, so most of the TV broadcasts will remain UHF. Before the repack about 25% of TV stations were broadcasting on the VHF band. I don't know what the percentage will be after the final repack.

[Gdetrailer]

bucky wrote:
Digital TV is mostly on UHF frequencies. I use a $35 antenna and an app on my phone for directions to point it and usually get 20 or more channels unless we are really in the sticks. There is an external TV jack on our RV so no need to crack a window.
I spent an hour taking my roof antenna apart to install the Winegard UHF addition before discovering the coax was broken inside the square tube that raises and lowers. Chose the easy way.

Not so much now days, MANY TV stations HAVE or WILL be moving back to VHF LOW AND HIGH.

FCC is requiring many TV stations to move to free up the now auctioned off frequencies of the UHF band. This move may require stations to go back to VHF making your UHF only antenna pretty much null and void in some or a lot of areas.

Per https://www.tvanswers.org/

"Frequently Asked Questions

What is happening?
By law, nearly 1,000 TV stations must move to new frequencies to make room for wireless services.

Why is this happening?
Congress authorized the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) – the agency that governs the public airwaves – to auction off broadcast TV frequencies (or airwaves) to make more channels available for wireless services. The auction has concluded and now nearly 1,000 TV stations are required by the FCC to move frequencies to make room for wireless companies that purchased the broadcast airwaves.

Do I need to buy a new antenna?
Probably not, but in a few cases, your local station may have moved from broadcasting in ultra-high frequency (UHF) to broadcasting in very high frequency (VHF). In these few instances, you may need to either adjust your antenna manually or purchase a new antenna in order to receive the signal. Our partners at AntennaWeb.org may be able to provide you with more precise information regarding signal strength and what type of antenna may work for you.

"

Because some TV markets may be saturated in what little is left of the TV UHF band after all the moves, FCC has reopened the VHF LOW band for TV use (former 2-6 analog frequencies).

This means you REALLY want to keep any existing VHF/UHF antennas and you will need to periodically rescan your TVs to get your channels that have moved back. This is being done in stages which are planned to last through spring of 2020.

Found another forum which has some pretty good details on all of the stations and the impact of this changes are..

HERE

[bucky]

Digital TV is mostly on UHF frequencies. I use a $35 antenna and an app on my phone for directions to point it and usually get 20 or more channels unless we are really in the sticks. There is an external TV jack on our RV so no need to crack a window.
I spent an hour taking my roof antenna apart to install the Winegard UHF addition before discovering the coax was broken inside the square tube that raises and lowers. Chose the easy way.

[Tom_M1]

2010 I replaced my un-amplified antenna with an un-amplified Winegard Sensar III. The amplifier is in the wall plate. If you suspect that your wall plate is defective you can purchase an amplified wall plate. Here's one on Amazon:

Winegard 18-9847 RA-7296 Wall Plate Signal Amplifier-White

[RLS7201]

wa8yxm wrote:
2009 it most likely DOES have an amp.. Where the switch is I do not know.

There are 3 popular types of switches
1: the famous wall plate (and the Sensar Pro upgrade.. I'll count them as one)

2: Box of many buttons (Matrix switch) two switches (Power and ANT) need to be pushed

3: A plain switch. nothing else, may be on a full size wall plate or a small cube, most anywhere.. This is used with a POWER INSERTER another cube) somewhere on the power line.

NOTE blown fuses will prevent 12 volt from reaching antenna.

Just so you know, many trailers are built with no amp. in the antenna. I hate to say "low budget" but..........

[Lynnmor]

Winegard still makes antennas without an amplifier. All an amplifier can do is overcome signal loss downstream from the antenna. For a single TV that is close to the antenna, an amplifier will only help a small amount. For multiple TVs using splitters and long cable runs is where an amplifier will show the most gain.

[wa8yxm]

2009 it most likely DOES have an amp.. Where the switch is I do not know.

There are 3 popular types of switches
1: the famous wall plate (and the Sensar Pro upgrade.. I'll count them as one)

2: Box of many buttons (Matrix switch) two switches (Power and ANT) need to be pushed

3: A plain switch. nothing else, may be on a full size wall plate or a small cube, most anywhere.. This is used with a POWER INSERTER another cube) somewhere on the power line.

NOTE blown fuses will prevent 12 volt from reaching antenna.

[RLS7201]

You could step up to the good stuff.
Sensar IV amplified antenna. About $52.00
Sensar Pro secondary amp, signal finder. About $60.00.

[BarneyS]

Move to Technology forum from DIY.

[edbehnke]

I hate it that they still use RG59 cabling. But that isn't the issue.

You need to call winegard to find out what antenna you have. I suspect you do have an amplified antenna...but? Winegard does have great support.

https://winegard.com/products/hdtv-digital-antennas/outdoor-antennas

[CA_Traveler]

The switch could be anywhere if it exists and they are normally hard wired so no plug. Replace the antenna with one that has a amplifier, add the switch etc. No need to replace RG59 unless it's defective. And no splitters between the wall plate and antenna.

Unlikely you can pull a new coax with the old. If you need new coax just reroute it like on the roof, closet, walls etc as needed.

[ScottG]

For that short of distance, no.
I have seen the ends put togther totally wrong. They cut all the shielding off and just used the center conductor.
I would check for continuity from end to end and between coductors.