Antenna for Santa Maria, CA

[doclarse]

I'm trying to figure out which antenna to install so I can pick up all my locals (93455 zip code) in HD. I'm currently using a cheap indoor antenna and receive CBS (in Santa Maria), but don't receive NBC (in San Luis Obispo) or ABC (in Santa Barbara). Going to antennaweb, the broadcast towers for NBC and ABC are almost 180 degrees off from each other, with CBS being about in the middle. I was thinking about an omnidirectional antenna, but with the mountains in the area, I don't know if I'd be able to get ABC. Is the Winegard SS-1000 a good antenna to use? Would it be possible that if I point it towards Santa Barbara that I might be able to pick up the San Luis NBC broadcast?

I also have the Dish Network ViP722. I was going to use a diplexer to join the satellite and OTA signals from the roof. If I need to put up 2 antennas to get the NBC and ABC feeds, can I still use a diplexer? Is merging 3 feeds onto a single cable possible?

Thanks for the input.

 

[otaota]

I'm trying to figure out which antenna to install so I can pick up all my locals (93455 zip code) in HD. I'm currently using a cheap indoor antenna and receive CBS (in Santa Maria), but don't receive NBC (in San Luis Obispo) or ABC (in Santa Barbara). Going to antennaweb, the broadcast towers for NBC and ABC are almost 180 degrees off from each other, with CBS being about in the middle. I was thinking about an omnidirectional antenna, but with the mountains in the area, I don't know if I'd be able to get ABC. Is the Winegard SS-1000 a good antenna to use? Would it be possible that if I point it towards Santa Barbara that I might be able to pick up the San Luis NBC broadcast?

I also have the Dish Network ViP722. I was going to use a diplexer to join the satellite and OTA signals from the roof. If I need to put up 2 antennas to get the NBC and ABC feeds, can I still use a diplexer? Is merging 3 feeds onto a single cable possible?

Thanks for the input.

The way to get the cleanest signal for all the channels is to use a rotator. With a good directional antenna like the Channel Master 4228, you'll probably have an easy time getting all three networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC). The only caveat is that you can't receive all of them at the same time.

The Square Shooter is not nearly as good as the 4228, so it's harder to say whether it's good enough the pull in the weaker signals.

The attached TV Fool analysis for your zip code shows the relative signal strengths of the channels reaching your area. This is only used as a rough example, and you should definitely get your own analysis with your exact location for more accurate results. Pay attention to whether or not your location has a line-of-sight or a 1- or 2-edge diffraction view of each of the transmitters.

A rotator is definitely the way to go, but if you are philosophically against the idea, it will be a bit more tricky to do and you'll probably end up doing a lot more trial-and-error testing.

BTW, the "front-to-back" gain ratio for the SS-1000 is probably too high to allow you to get both ABC and NBC simultaneously. What you really need is a bi-directional antenna with decent gain out both sides. Also, beware that some antennas labeled as bi-directional actually do a poor job of being bi-directional (e.g., they become uni-directional on some channels).

An "omni" antenna will receive signal from both sides, but they have very little antenna gain, so you might not be able to pull in enough signal to watch the weaker station(s). This is a simple setup, so you might just want to try it to see if it works, but be prepared to return any products you purchased in case it doesn't.

Yes, you can combine two antennas prior to diplexing with the satellite feed. Note that if you take two identical directional antennas and combine them (one pointed at ABC and ther other pointed at NBC), you will most likely lose 3 to 4 dB of antenna gain compared to either one of the antennas by itself. That's why the rotator setup is preferred. The diplexor will probably cause another 0.5 to 1 dB of loss. If you're starting off with very high gain antennas, then this is still going to leave you with much more gain than you'd have with an "omni" antenna.

_______________
Chuck

 

[doclarse]

Thanks for the input. I was trying to avoid the rotator only because of the added complexity and delay in picking up the stations. Right now I'm leaning towards trying the omni antenna just to see what I can get. I may end up with the rotator though.

I did notice something strange when searching for digital stations off my cheap-o indoor antenna. I was able to pick up KTAS and not NBC. They appear to be on the same broadcast antenna mount or at least near each other. And NBC broadcasts at a much higher power. Is there any logical reason why this occurs or was it just random that I was able to pick it up during the scan?

 

[otaota]

I did notice something strange when searching for digital stations off my cheap-o indoor antenna. I was able to pick up KTAS and not NBC. They appear to be on the same broadcast antenna mount or at least near each other. And NBC broadcasts at a much higher power. Is there any logical reason why this occurs or was it just random that I was able to pick it up during the scan?

It may be related to your antenna. If you are using an inexpensive rabbit ears plus loop style antenna, the loop is responsible for picking up UHF channels and the rabbit ears are responsible for picking up VHF channels.

If there are no adjustments on the antenna (usually a knob of some kind), then the loop is probably permanently tuned to provide optimum gain for the middle of the UHF band. The gain falls off as you get to UHF channels at the low (ch 14) and high (ch 69) ends.

Since KSBY is broadcasting on channel 15 and KTAS is broadcasting on channel 34, the antenna might be doing a better job picking up KTAS.

If your antenna has an adjustment knob, you might want to try it in different positions. This feature (if your antenna has it) is intended to give you a little control over the loop's frequency tuning.

You might also try different antenna locations and orientations. The "hot and cold spots" in your house usually change from one channel to the next.

FYI, the optimum gain for loop antennas is out of its edge. In other words, if you're facing the loop such that it looks like a big "O", the optimum gain points are directly out to the left and right sides (and technically up and down as well). You would typically point one edge of the loop toward the transmitter. In contrast, rabbit ears (for VHF) are the opposite. When using rabbit ears, you'll want them to be oriented perpendicular to the direction of the transmitter.

_______________
Chuck

 

[dlsnyder]

Some have had success using an antenna with a relatively wide beamwidth, like a 4-bay bowtie antenna, aimed at a point between two widely spaced transmitters. Your local Santa Maria station should be received just fine no matter which direction the antenna is pointed. In your case try aiming just to the right of KCOY and you may find you have just enough signal from KEYT and KSBY to be useable. In digital broadcasting, just enough signal is all you need.

When I used to live in Oxnard I always wondered what you folks up there in Santa Maria had to do to watch TV! We would always point our antennas toward Los Angeles (about 70 miles away) but would always have plenty of signal from KEYT channel 3 in Santa Barbara (about 45 miles in the opposite direction). Given the right conditions and a good antenna, we could also get KSBY channel 6, but most people never bothered with it.