Winegard pre-amp question.

[myredracer]

Have a SensarPro and the specs say it has a max gain of 20db. When a SensarPro is installed, what happens to the amp in the antenna head? Is it disabled and the amplication is via the SensarPro? I'm guessing only the Sensarpro is doing the amplification. It's been a few years since I installed the SensarPro...

Reason I'm wondering is that I am going to try a different antenna altogether and am wondering if the SensarPro would work for it. Normally you'd mount a pre-amp on the antenna mast near the antenna so that there is amplification before there are losses in a coax run. The RCA one below that could be used has a gain of 17 db, a bit less than the SensarPro and it needs power run to it off a 120 volt power supply.

[RJsfishin]

If you think your going to get any kind of distant signal w/o a preamp, you either dreaming, or you better have an antenna w/ at least a 6-8....preferably 10 ft boom w/ lots of elements on it.
An inline amp makes up only for signal losses from long coax runs, and splitters to other tvs etc.
A preamp amplifies the signal at the antenna before "noise" sets in. W/o it, you better have a very large antenna sporting a big gain.

[wa8yxm]

Nothing changes at the antenna head. That pre-amp continues to work exactly as before. The ensar PRO adds ADDITIONAL gain.

Note: For trechnical reasons the best plaxe for the amp is as close to the anenna as possible.. However using 2 stages of amplification the FIRST stage needs to be in the antenna. the 2nd stage can be Downline a bit. And that is how the Sensar Pro works its the 2nd anp. Works grear .

[Bill_Satellite]

The RG179(?) used with the Sensar Pro is so short there would be no measurable loss compared to the same length of RG6.

[myredracer]

SoundGuy wrote:
Since Winegard seems to think +/- 10 db is sufficient I'd question whether using a preamp with significantly more gain set would achieve the results you're looking for.

Good point. Further research tells me that along with a good antenna, no amplification should be needed if max. 50' of RG-6 is used. Amplification makes up for losses in coax & fittings between antenna and TV and won't make an already weak/bad OTA signal good enough to watch and not pixelate. I really didn't want to have to deal with installing a pre-amp anyway plus more $$

So why do RVs need an amp then? Because of low quality coax and fittings along with inadequate antenna design? The coax leads at the back of a SensarPro are pretty skinny and I wonder what the loss is like in them.

[SoundGuy]

myredracer wrote:
Reason I'm wondering is that I am going to try a different antenna altogether and am wondering if the SensarPro would work for it.

The SensarPro sends +/- 12 vdc to whatever head it's connected to, just as does the standard non-amplified Winegard wall plate. FWIW, a few years ago I bought a Radio Shack preamp to use in the house with a spare antenna head I have so we could use the television from the trailer in the master bedroom over the winter. I tried connecting it every which way, using the original Winegard wall plate, not using the wall plate, but found the RS preamp made no improvement at all in reception so I ended up just using the wall plate. The SensarPro by this time was installed in the trailer and I couldn't be bothered pulling it out so I never did have the opportunity to include it in the mix to see if it would do any better in that application. Also FWIW, many seem to think the more amplification the better but such is not the case and is the reason the SensarPro is designed to not just amplify the signal but also attenuate stronger ones. Since Winegard seems to think +/- 10 db is sufficient I'd question whether using a preamp with significantly more gain set would achieve the results you're looking for.

[myredracer]

SoundGuy wrote:

myredracer wrote:
Have a SensarPro and the specs say it has a max gain of 20db.

The SensarPro's maximum gain is 10 db since the default setting on a range of 0 to 20 is halfway at 10, meaning no gain, no attenuation. The SP's gain merely adds to (or subtracts from) whatever the head preamp is doing.

Thanks. I don't remember keeping 12 volts connected for the antenna amp but must have. Looks like I'll need the RCA amp.

[SoundGuy]

myredracer wrote:
Have a SensarPro and the specs say it has a max gain of 20db.

The SensarPro's maximum gain is 10 db since the default setting on a range of 0 to 20 is halfway at 10, meaning no gain, no attenuation. The SP's gain merely adds to (or subtracts from) whatever the head preamp is doing.