Best Amplifier ?
- Thread starter Mikey11
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A better antenna. An amplifier has to have something to amplify, if there is no signal it can't improve it.
Amplifiers are really only useful to compensate for splitting the signal. If you have reception on a single TV tied to the antenna directly with no splits then an amplifier will help you send that signal to multiple TVs.
The best amplifier is one that is not overloaded. Without knowing the signal strength of your strong stations it's impractical to select an optimum amplifier.
The best amp for strong signals is the HDP-269, but it has only 12 db of gain which is low for some situations.
The reputation of the Channel Master 7777 is very high, but Channel Master just changed the design and the new configuration has not yet been vetted.
The Winegard AP-8700 and/or AP-2870 are excellent medium gain amplifiers, and overload less than the 7777; but more than the HDP-269.
If you have a mixture of VHF and UHF stations the overload situation becomes more complicated where the AP-2870 can equal the HDP-269 on overload and have more gain.
There are a few web sites that offer GASFET amplifiers, but they make a difference in only a few extremely marginal situations.
Bottom line, provide an exact TVfool report along with the station that is causing trouble, and the amplifier selection becomes clearer.
I have to politely disagree about amplifiers.We are in deep fringe territory here and it makes no difference how good an antenna you have unless you have a preamp to go along with it.
As noted by others get a tvfool report to determine if you are suburb,fringe etc that will help determine what you need.
As noted by others get a tvfool report to determine if you are suburb,fringe etc that will help determine what you need.
If you are an hour north of Toronto, the problem might be if you have to look past any of the Barrie towers to see Buffalo. If you do, they may overload a high gain amplifier if filters are not used on the input to reduce the high powered signals. Your TVFool report should help somewhat in predicting this. I am east of Toronto and use a CM-7777. The amplifier works great for me. I like the separate VHF and UHF inputs as I have separate antennas. TVFool can also help to determine if going higher will help out. Height can play a big factor, even if there are no obstruction in the immediate area. As with Teehar's experiance, I had no reception without the pre-amp.
