34613 Antenna Selection Help

[hockeyrcks9901]

Just to update everyone, I'm going to give this a shot:
Stellar Labs 30-2370: https://www.newark.com/stellar-labs/30-2370/long-range-uhf-hdtv-91-element/dp/72Y2542
Stellar Labs 30-2476: https://www.newark.com/stellar-labs/30-2476/deep-fringe-directional-antenna/dp/71Y5462
RCA TVPRAMP1Z: Amazon product ASIN B003P92D9Y
Going to try using a 10' pole in the existing satellite tripod first. If that doesn't work I'll get a longer mast setup.

I'll update with what happens when it all gets installed.

First update:
Removed the old satellite dish from the mount. Went to Home Depot and got a 10 foot 2" EMT pipe and some stainless bolts and nuts. The EMT was a tight fit in the satellite tripod. I drilled 2 holes and put in the stainless bolts just finger tight for now until my antennas get here.

It is not at the peak of my roof and I might have to relocate if it doesn't work but it was already there and the homeruns for coax are just inside the attic where it is so it's a much easier install.

My interior walls are 10feet and I have a stand up attic so going to the peak could get me another 10-15 feet pretty easy. I estimate it's about 25 feet now. Any recommendations for a tripod that can hold a 2" pipe? Seen a couple on Amazon that have good reviews but trust the folks here more.

I also used my multimeter and found the homerun coax I needed to use to get to where the Tablo is going to be located. Got all that hooked up.

Just waiting for the antennas and my coax to arrive. The homeruns are RG6 so I just need to fish it through the eave and up the pole.

I'll take some pictures once the antennas are up and tested.

 

[hockeyrcks9901]

Solid Signal claims VHF reception up to 25 miles. Your VHF stations are much further than that.

Good Luck!

Just so we're clear, the guy you're responding to is not me, the OP.

 

[TheKrell]

Solid Signal claims VHF reception up to 25 miles. Your VHF stations are much further than that.

Good Luck!

Thanks, but you are confusing two different people. My VHF stations are about 10 miles away. Which is why it works for me.

 

[FTA4PA]

First update:
Removed the old satellite dish from the mount. Went to Home Depot and got a 10 foot 2" EMT pipe and some stainless bolts and nuts. The EMT was a tight fit in the satellite tripod. I drilled 2 holes and put in the stainless bolts just finger tight for now until my antennas get here.

It is not at the peak of my roof and I might have to relocate if it doesn't work but it was already there and the homeruns for coax are just inside the attic where it is so it's a much easier install.

My interior walls are 10feet and I have a stand up attic so going to the peak could get me another 10-15 feet pretty easy. I estimate it's about 25 feet now.

I also used my multimeter and found the homerun coax I needed to use to get to where the Tablo is going to be located. Got all that hooked up.

Just waiting for the antennas and my coax to arrive. The homeruns are RG6 so I just need to fish it through the eave and up the pole.

I'll take some pictures once the antennas are up and tested.

Sounds good so far. Post up a few pics of your progress if possible. That 2" EMT is strong stuff but I see you are in Florida so any length like 10' or more should probably have a brace or guy wires at the top or you may loose it during strong winds.

 

[hockeyrcks9901]

Sounds good so far. Post up a few pics of your progress if possible. That 2" EMT is strong stuff but I see you are in Florida so any length like 10' or more should probably have a brace or guy wires at the top or you may loose it during strong winds.

Here you go. That EMT fit so tightly in the mount the paint scraped off the inside of the mount.

It's only a 10' piece, any higher I would definitely guy it.

You can see the much higher available peak of the roof and I drew an arrow in the direction of the towers. Like I said, if it doesn't work here, I'll get a new tripod up top.

 

[FTA4PA]

Here you go. That EMT fit so tightly in the mount the paint scraped off the inside of the mount.

It's only a 10' piece, any higher I would definitely guy it.

You can see the much higher available peak of the roof and I drew an arrow in the direction of the towers. Like I said, if it doesn't work here, I'll get a new tripod up top.View attachment 146110

Looks good. I'm super cautious when it comes to stuff like this so if it were me I would guy wire it even at that height. Doesn't seem like much but once you get an antenna (or two) up there and you get some strong storms the wind load can be really bad. I wouldn't want it coming lose and shish-kabob-ing the neighbors.

 

[waylew]

Here you go. That EMT fit so tightly in the mount the paint scraped off the inside of the mount.

It's only a 10' piece, any higher I would definitely guy it.

You can see the much higher available peak of the roof and I drew an arrow in the direction of the towers. Like I said, if it doesn't work here, I'll get a new tripod up top.View attachment 146110

I wouldn't trust that J mount with 5' of mast,let alone ten.

 

[Mister B]

I agree with the need for a sturdier mount. I have dealt with wind for many years here in New Mexico and West Texas.

 

[hockeyrcks9901]

I wouldn't trust that J mount with 5' of mast,let alone ten.

I'll see how bad it feels once the antennas are up. It's not just a simple j mount, it's a tripod type.

I tend to err on the side of caution as well so if it doesn't feel 100% it'll be replaced quick.

With the just the pipe it feels extremely sturdy so far.

 

[hockeyrcks9901]

Coax cable pulled through the attic yesterday and terminated into the homerun to the TV/Tablo. Also run from the antenna through the grounding block.

The RCA Preamp/Combiner should be delivered today and then everything will be ready to go for when the antennas arrive which should be tomorrow.

We had a bad storm roll through last night and the pole is still standing...of course, there's really no wind load on it right now. My plan is to take my leaf blower up and see how much I can make it sway once installed. Not quite as stong as a good Florida storm but should give a reasonable idea of how much movement there might be. Too much and I'll get a 5 foot tripod and move it to the top of the roof line.

 

[hockeyrcks9901]

Another update:
The antennas got delivered today. I got the UHF installed but it seems that RCA has changed the preamp. It no longer has a combiner built in. I checked my local Lowes and the same deal, amplifier but no combiner.

Also discovered that the external hard drive I had for the Tablo is missing it's power supply. So ordered another antenna combiner and a new power supply from Amazon. Should be here Friday.

But I did test out the UHF antenna and it seems to be working great. Even picking up the VHF channels but at a lower signal strength. It still works but I'll definitely still install the second antenna to be safe.

Pole mount seems strong enough, I might try lowering the antennas on the pole and see if signal strength is still good. If I can lower it some I will to try and minimize load on the mount.

 

[solarvic]

Your tablo supplys the power to the hard drive unless you have a different hard drive than recomended. I have 2 tablo players. the quad that i installed an internal hard drive. The other one is a dual with the external hard drive. I see no difference in the performance of either hard drive.

 

[FTA4PA]

Another update:
The antennas got delivered today. I got the UHF installed but it seems that RCA has changed the preamp. It no longer has a combiner built in. I checked my local Lowes and the same deal, amplifier but no combiner.

Also discovered that the external hard drive I had for the Tablo is missing it's power supply. So ordered another antenna combiner and a new power supply from Amazon. Should be here Friday.

But I did test out the UHF antenna and it seems to be working great. Even picking up the VHF channels but at a lower signal strength. It still works but I'll definitely still install the second antenna to be safe.

Pole mount seems strong enough, I might try lowering the antennas on the pole and see if signal strength is still good. If I can lower it some I will to try and minimize load on the mount.

So your RCA amp does not look like this?

 

[hockeyrcks9901]

Your tablo supplys the power to the hard drive unless you have a different hard drive than recomended. I have 2 tablo players. the quad that i installed an internal hard drive. The other one is a dual with the external hard drive. I see no difference in the performance of either hard drive.

The external hard drive I have has a separate power supply.

It's a 5TB Seagate that I bought a few years ago when I bought the Tablo. I have the original 4 tuner Tablo

 

[hockeyrcks9901]

So your RCA amp does not look like this?

View attachment 146195

Nope. Only has 2 coax connections, one for combined input and one output.

I have a second one coming from Amazon cause I thought they sent the wrong one by mistake. But the one's at Lowes were all single input/single output.

 

[FTA4PA]

Nope. Only has 2 coax connections, one for combined input and one output.

I have a second one coming from Amazon cause I thought they sent the wrong one by mistake. But the one's at Lowes were all single input/single output.

Well that is disappointing. Hopefully it was just a mistake and you will get the good one this time. I was going to get another myself to have on hand since it is 'lightning season' and I don't want to be caught without one. RCA website still has the one with separate inputs pictured so maybe confirm it with them and buy direct.

https://www.rcaaudiovideo.com/connectivity/?sku=TVPRAMP1Z

Glad to hear that your antennas came and you are getting good results with UHF. Keep us posted.

 

[hockeyrcks9901]

Well that is disappointing. Hopefully it was just a mistake and you will get the good one this time. I was going to get another myself to have on hand since it is 'lightning season' and I don't want to be caught without one. RCA website still has the one with separate inputs pictured so maybe confirm it with them and buy direct.

https://www.rcaaudiovideo.com/connectivity/?sku=TVPRAMP1Z

Glad to hear that your antennas came and you are getting good results with UHF. Keep us posted.

I've already got a separate combiner coming too. So if the replacement from Amazon doesn't do it, I'll use the amp and combiner separate.

 

[hockeyrcks9901]

I've already got a separate combiner coming too. So if the replacement from Amazon doesn't do it, I'll use the amp and combiner separate.

The replacement from Amazon is the same way - single input, single output

Oh well, the combiner will be here tomorrow so I'll get the UHF Antenna mounted today, coax run down the pole to where the combiner will mount and have it all ready to go.

New hard drive power supply will be here tomorrow too.

 

[FTA4PA]

The replacement from Amazon is the same way - single input, single output

Oh well, the combiner will be here tomorrow so I'll get the UHF Antenna mounted today, coax run down the pole to where the combiner will mount and have it all ready to go.

New hard drive power supply will be here tomorrow too.

Sorry they changed it. Thank you for pointing it out to us though. I will check elsewhere to get a spare. Good luck getting everything set up!

 

[TRG]

Looks like you are on your way to having something that works for you. Are you planning on using guy wires on the poll. I'm not a big fan of using EMT in this application. Especially with two antennas. The wall material is kind of thin. I usually buy chain-link fence top rail for my antenna masts. We get some pretty high winds here and I've never had an issues using the top rail material.

I feel fortunate that the TV towers in my neighborhood are only 10 miles away. Antenna height isn't a problem either. The transmitter site is located on top of a 10,500' mountain. I could attach my coax to a fountain pen and get good reception.