Another antenna or quit

[branchbouncer]

Well here's the scoop,don't need antennaweb.org. I am 90 to 110 miles from Washington DC and about the same from Richmond Va,zip is 22840.I have tried a CH 4228 with a CH 7777 and also tried a DB8 with the same CH amp I have had good results with all stations except CBS which I can get but with a low signal(the meter that I am using is the one the is in the Samsung Hl-R5667W) with all the stations except CBS I am getting 8 bars out of 10(guess that means 80%) where as CBS is about 3 bars but will lose signal intermittedly. Even though DC and Richmond are quite far away my house is located up on a mountain at about 1700-2000'.I am thinking of trying a Winegard HD9095P or the PR9032 and pairing it with one of thier amps, any thoughs on this type of configuration

 

[Rick0725]

The last resort antenna in my mind would be an antennas direct 91-xg. Have a feeling that the 91xg would perform better than the Winegard HD9095P or the PR9032 . I ordered a 91xg to play with yesterday and will install one friday.

you can read this if interested.

http://www.geocities.com/Figbert/antennasdirect91xg.html?200624

going to compare performance using a cm4228, 91xg, and my hd8200p.

You also need to be careful on the selection of the preamp too much gain may influence your success because there is a station close by.

uhf WHSV-DT 49.1 ABC HARRISONBURG VA 29° 15.7 49

 

[branchbouncer]

The Harrisonburg station is behind me-behind as in the valley behind a mtn.I didn't have a problem with that station with the other antennas.I have heard of the antenna you mention and you are right that may be the best solution, what are you thoughts on the CH 7777 amp, too much? Could help CBS with the 91 but cause problems with the strong signal stations?

 

[Rick0725]

CH 7777 amp, too much. Could help CBS with the 91 but cause problems with the strong signal stations?

generally, if the antenna is aimed in the direction of the stong station you would tend to see the overload. The best way to determine is by using instrumentation.

otherwise
-visual on analog uhf looking for co channel or adjacent channel interference, herring bone, etc.

-on digital as you aim towards the tower signal strength on your hd tuner meter would go down. as you aim away the signal may go up.

check what you have with the cm7777. if you feel you have no issues, you can use what you have. If not it would be best to compromise and use an amp better suited for your conditions.

 

[ralfyguy]

The last resort antenna in my mind would be an antennas direct 91-xg. Have a feeling that the 91xg would perform better than the Winegard HD9095P or the PR9032 . I ordered a 91xg to play with yesterday and will install one friday.

you can read this if interested.

http://www.geocities.com/Figbert/antennasdirect91xg.html?200624

going to compare performance using a cm4228, 91xg, and my hd8200p.

You also need to be careful on the selection of the preamp too much gain may influence your success because there is a station close by.

uhf WHSV-DT 49.1 ABC HARRISONBURG VA 29° 15.7 49

Rick, can't wait to see if the 91XG sux or not, compared to the HD8200P. Please let us know what you find out.

 

[teamerickson]

I recently changed from a multidirectional to a 42xg. I tried about four others (DB4, CM4221 and 2 from radio shack) and I'm really happy with it. Much more stable.

 

[grydlok]

quit

 

[branchbouncer]

The last resort antenna in my mind would be an antennas direct 91-xg. Have a feeling that the 91xg would perform better than the Winegard HD9095P or the PR9032 . I ordered a 91xg to play with yesterday and will install one friday.


Gonna get the 91xg early next week amd try it .See what results I get over a few days.

 

[Rick0725]

my 91xg is being delivered today. very anxious to see how it performs.

I am going to also take the time to compare reception performance with my hd8200p, cm4228, and the 91xg on uhf.

the comparison will be nothing fancy...just comparing pictures on analog, multipath performance, simple signal strength on the locals and compare a few distant out of market channels.

when all is said and done, going to use the hd8200p for vhf and the 91xg for uhf. going to install the system with the preamp at ground level near the grounding block so I can experiment with various preamps or combinations moving forward.

Going to run separate lines inside for each antenna, amplify the 91xg with an hdp- 269 preamp for uhf (since all other amps cause overload at the home), not amplify vhf because of some interference issues with fm and a few high signal vhf channels, and combine the 2 antennas indoors with a cm0549 vhf/uhf combiner/splitter, and hook this to the distribution system split 6 ways, 4 short run, 2 long run.l

already spent some time with cm 4228 earlier in the year. took it down because it did a crappy job with multipath. I have heavy trees to the back and the sides.

Going to remove the Wade QFM-9 fm antenna currently below the hd8200P. The wade FM is on its last leg anyways and will see what the hd8200p does for FM.

we will see. im excited. waited a long time to attemp this.

 

[branchbouncer]

my 91xg is being delivered today. very anxious to see how it performs.

Keep us DIY'ers informed as to the results you get, will be interesting to see how the 91 does compared to the CH 4228

 

[teamerickson]

Here's a link to some good reference material on some antennas and there performance. Looks like the 91xg out performs the cm4228 on the high end channels and lags a bit on the low end.

 

[Rick0725]

Well I received the 91xg this afternoon.

box wasn't very big...peeked inside.

first impression before putting it together..."you got to be kidding me!"

Used to winegard quality...we'll see. 10 am. tomorrow morning.

 

[teamerickson]

Well I received the 91xg this afternoon.

box wasn't very big...peeked inside.

first impression before putting it together..."you got to be kidding me!"

Used to winegard quality...we'll see. 10 am. tomorrow morning.

Lots of parts I bet. Remember that famous 90 day return policy.

 

[dougruss]

Makes for some sore fingers !!

Lots of fun snapping the small directors in place !

http://www.solidsignal.com/manuals/91XG_Instructions.pdf

 

[ralfyguy]

Well I received the 91xg this afternoon.

box wasn't very big...peeked inside.

first impression before putting it together..."you got to be kidding me!"

Used to winegard quality...we'll see. 10 am. tomorrow morning.

Kinda thought the same thing, when I got mine, yet the reception it provides stunned me.

 

[Tower Guy]

I have had good results with all stations except CBS

Which CBS are you having trouble with, Richmond or DC? What is the channel of that station?

 

[Rick0725]

Lots of parts I bet. Remember that famous 90 day return policy.

Here are the components prior to assembly.

Notice the active element.

it is facinating how the signal is drawn down the antenna to this point producing the gain.

 

[teamerickson]

Here are the components prior to assembly.

Notice the active element.

it is facinating how the signal is drawn down the antenna to this point producing the gain.

Looks very similar to my 42xg. Probably the same element.

 

[branchbouncer]

Which CBS are you having trouble with, Richmond or DC? What is the channel of that station?

Having trouble with the DC station, whats strange is that I can at least pull the CBS DC station(although not stable)and I have had no luck getting the Richmond station,but aiming towards Richmond does yield ABC,NBC,FOX and a bunch of other UHF stations-ie: religious and such

Sorry the channel is 9-1,I have pulled the C'ville Va station,29-1,but they only broadcast SD

 

[Rick0725]

Mission accomplished.

in regards to signal.
compared a station 54 miles away on digital ch 29.

hd8200p 54 signal
cm 4228 68
91xg 83

on a low power ch 14 analog which gives me problems.
the hd8200p and cm4228 were noisy with some snow. the 91xg gave a very clear picture. so the hdtv primer gain figures may not mean a heck of alot. The cm4228 was supposed to be better on ch 14 and I did not see that.

with the stations close up. The signals on all stations showed very close signal strength within a pt. or 2 but that could have been typical as the stations scan on the tuner.

in regards to beam width.
the cm4228 was widest of the bunch, then the hd8200p, then the 91xg was the narrowest. my stations are 34 degrees apart and was able to find a sweet spot somewhere in between with the cm4228 and hd8200p. the 91xg was much more directional and had to rotate the antenna some.

the cm 4228 receives some signal from the back. I have a ch 56 behind me. the pictures with the 8200p and the 91xg were a big blob of ghost. the cm 4228 presented a better picture.

the 91xg from what I could see so far does a wonderful job on the distant stations and tamed multipath nicely like the hd8200p does.

the cm 4228 showed me signal going up and down today and the hd8200p and 91xg were solid. I have thick trees back and both sides.

The 91xg gave a better signal strength. stations that were zero on the cm 4228 and hd8200p showed teens and low 20's from digital staions 75-80 miles away.I am going to experiment further.

The only problem with experimenting like I did is the conditions can change during the time I observed. I started at 9:30am and finished around noon. Atmospherics can diminish as the time goes on during the observations and the tuner scan readings can change.

now using the hd8200p for vhf and the 91xg for uhf. separate lines and separate winegard hdp-269 preamps for both.

I like the 91xg because it is light weight and would present less windload than the cm 4228, and would put less stress on the rotor if using multiple antennas.

I am going to experiment further.