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N2RJ
08-30-2007, 02:22 PM
I'm a bit puzzled by my choices.

I want to get a UHF antenna to put on my tower so I can have a backup in case the cable TV goes out.

I'm 50 miles from NYC so as a result I'm deep fringe.

I'm looking at UHF because digital TV is on UHF.

TV signals are receivable here, you just need a gain antenna.

I've been looking at corner reflectors but also at multibay bow ties.

Which one gives better gain and is more directional on UHF? Many of the bow tie manufacturers list higher gain than corner reflectors.
08-30-2007, 02:32 PM
I'm a bit puzzled by my choices.

I want to get a UHF antenna to put on my tower so I can have a backup in case the cable TV goes out.

I'm 50 miles from NYC so as a result I'm deep fringe.

I'm looking at UHF because digital TV is on UHF.

TV signals are receivable here, you just need a gain antenna.

I've been looking at corner reflectors but also at multibay bow ties.

Which one gives better gain and is more directional on UHF? Many of the bow tie manufacturers list higher gain than corner reflectors.

I don't know anything about the bow tie being any better than a corner reflector antenna. I have had the best luck with the corner reflector rather than a bow tie. In conventional sets and reasonable HAAT, I have had good luck with stations about 100 miles away with the corner reflector.
kc4umo
09-02-2007, 09:03 PM
I had one from radio shack up 35 feet. I installed a mast mounted preamp. On some nights I pulled in stations out of Washington. Virginia was no problem. That particular antenna was around 80 bucks. Dont know if they still carry it but it worked great.
09-03-2007, 02:59 PM
Indeed. Those preamps on the antenna are real super.

You can't go wrong.
W4KLB
09-03-2007, 09:09 PM
:shock: be carefull wear you put it with respect to you'r 440 tx antena 8)

7 3
N2RJ
09-03-2007, 09:10 PM
So between the Channel Master 4228 (8 bay bowtie with reflector screen) and the Winegard 9095P (yagi-uda with corner ref), which would you choose?

Relative to the 440 antenna it's going to be in a different location.
M0GLO
09-03-2007, 09:16 PM
Ki4tkk, that is one cool avatar! I was rolling on the floor when I realized what it said.
W4KLB
09-03-2007, 09:22 PM
:o winegard is more directinal cm is more forgiving but is more often noisy, i'd go with the winegard and spend the time aligning it. :-?

7 3


ps the avatar is our tax dollars at work arn't you glad you don't get all the govenment you pay for.
N2RJ
09-03-2007, 09:38 PM
Is that a real sign?
kf0rt
09-04-2007, 06:23 AM
Indeed. Those preamps on the antenna are real super.

You can't go wrong.

I've got a Channel Vision amp on the cable TV here. It was the only way I could split the cable 4 ways and have enough signal to drive everything. It's powered off the coax from one of the indoor feeds and is mounted under the deck outside. That thing has been doing a great job for about 10 years now.

The reliability of cable doesn't warrant a backup antenna, here at least. I'm thinking of calling Comcast and converting our main TV to digital. I bet the amp won't work with that, so they'll probably have to rewire things.
N2RJ
08-18-2008, 11:42 AM
I bought a Philips VHF/UHF antenna from lowes. What a piece of crap! Put it up on the tower, got NYC and phila digital but on the digi channels I'd lose lock VERY often. Returned it yesterday because it is such a POS. It's also overpriced and flimsy!

I have an Antennacraft (Radioshack) 30dB adjustable gain preamp that I used as well. I have a feeling that WMBC channel 63 in Newton (10-15 miles away) is overloading us as I get a ghost on nearly EVERY analog channel. So I have to put a notch on channel 63. I'm not a fan of Korean programming anyway. The preamp is good though.

So I ended up ordering a CM4228 from SolidSignal.com yesterday. Will be putting it up on the tower, probably at 86 feet or so. 65 feet clears the trees.

According to TVFool.com the channels I want to get from our location propagate mostly via 2edge diffraction. Occasionally I may get tropo enhancement or ducting which can get me as far South as Maryland.
N2RJ
08-22-2008, 10:16 PM
My CM4228 arrived today.

Holy moly this thing is big. Haven't opened the box yet though.
N2RJ
08-24-2008, 09:44 PM
CM4228 is UP at 70 feet high.

Aimed it this morning, pulling in almost all of my favorite NYC HD stations!!!

Only two I'm missing are WNYW-DT (oh, the irony!) and WNET-DT.

I may ditch the antennacraft (radioshack) preamp and get a channel master 7777 as it has a lower noise figure at 2dB for UHF.

But I am pretty happy with my installation thus far. Only thing left is to neaten up the cables and run extra coax through the walls.

But right now I'm feeding THREE devices - TiVo, Samsung 56" HDTV, Apex DT250 converter box - and it's working just superb.

Viva digital TV!
HUGH
08-28-2008, 02:38 AM
Glad your antenna is working well. Here mostly Yagi-Uda antennas are used rather than a stack. Mine has a corner reflector, X dipole and 14 directors, has proven very wide band with a good gain. Interestingly, all the directors are the same length, spacings very variable, presumably as a flat-pack kit you can't mix up the directors and the manufacturer saves money.
Apart from smaller stacks, the other popular series for areas where reflections abound is the Yagi-Uda with all X elements and a flat reflector.
N2RJ
09-03-2008, 12:13 PM
I realigned everything and put the grounding blocks. Still no WNYW. In fall when the leaves fall off it may be a different story, however.

The CM7777 actually made things worse, so I put back the antennacraft 10G212.
N9FE
09-03-2008, 01:11 PM
Ryan: I have the 8 bay channelmaster bowtie and 28 db booster. It works fairly well. Everything is 40 to 50 miles away also. I cannot have a rotor here in my apartment. If i could, I would have went with a yagi type deep fringe with a rotortater..
HUGH
09-04-2008, 02:30 AM
Typical UK UHF antennas and some other bits to amuse or interest perhaps. My main station is about 50 miles away and I can run digital or analogue up to 3 TV receivers.

http://www.beststuff.co.uk/aerials.htm

http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/t/tv_aerials.asp
http://www.tx.mb21.co.uk/gallery/blaenplwyf.php
http://www.tx.mb21.co.uk/gallery/turners-hill.php
http://www.tx.mb21.co.uk/gallery/thewre ... kin-03.php (http://www.tx.mb21.co.uk/gallery/thewrekin/the-wrekin-03.php)
N2RJ
09-07-2008, 03:05 PM
Cool.

The König antennas seem similar to Antennas Direct XG91.

http://antennasdirect.com/91XG_HDTV_Antenna.html