Distant OTA channels

[fred7038]

I have a DTT900 and a Antennacraft MXU59 and about 40' rg6 quad shield cable I'm in central PA sometimes get channels from WV and the Ohio valley (Tropo).I get a signal from stations in Pittsburgh but its not enough to watch them but the signal is pretty constant the picture will come in sometimes but never lasts long.Their listed on TV Fool as Tropo.I get 9 channels that are closer So Im not sure if a preamp would make a difference.Any Ideas?I have had this and a another Antennacraft antenna mounted in lots of different locations pointed in the direction of the transmitters angled up to get over the trees.Thanks in advance Could not post TV Fool link here is my zip 16866

 

[No Static At All]

At 100 miles, reliable reception is unlikely unless on top of a pretty tall mountain in your area. Even with a generic 500 foot TV Fool report from your zip code, the Pittsburgh stations would never be reliable enough for regular viewing.

 

[fred7038]

I'm about 5 miles southeast from the highest point east of the Mississippi (lots of antennas up there) PB is SW my place is on top of a steep and high hill that is in line with that point . This property was my grand parents at one time when I was a kid ABC out of Pittsburgh VHF came in allot woody woodpecker just about every Sunday morning.Their PBS stations always show a constant steady signal just below watchable threshold."reliable reception is unlikely "I know but it would be nice if the channels were there some of the times more often than not would be nice.

 

[boba]

I've got nothing to lose so I say get the best Channel Master or Winegard preamp put the antenna up as high as you can and pray. What you want isn't impossible but the odds are totally against you.

 

[Jim5506]

Go to TVFool.com and use the maps facility in satellite map mode.

Find your house on the map and create a radar plot for your house and post it here (you can cut and paste the URL into a message after you have done 5 postings).

Anything below zero on the NM dB scale is highly improbable.

The nice thing about the maps facility is that you can freely play with different antenna heights and see what happens to the numbers.

 

[fred7038]

Go to TVFool.com and use the maps facility in satellite map mode.

Find your house on the map and create a radar plot for your house and post it here (you can cut and paste the URL into a message after you have done 5 postings).

Anything below zero on the NM dB scale is highly improbable.

The nice thing about the maps facility is that you can freely play with different antenna heights and see what happens to the numbers.

I took your advice and did what you said and the channels I want are below 0 db.But I also talked to a local installer and he told me that a location about 3 miles from here (further away from transmitters and lower) on one side of the valley they come in quite well.

 

[Jim5506]

How high an antenna setting did you use to check for signal?

 

[fred7038]

How high an antenna setting did you use to check for signal?

Up to 500'

 

[Bob2011]

Your antenna shows a gain of 10.7 dB and the best one out there for a reasonable cost the Antennas Direct 91XG has a peak gain of 16.7. Now looking at the fact that you have a signal that is on the border of locking in I would almost lean towards an upgrade. If I was on the peak of one of the ridges in your area I know I would want the best antenna just for the high likelihood of 100+ mile reception.

 

[fred7038]

Your antenna shows a gain of 10.7 dB and the best one out there for a reasonable cost the Antennas Direct 91XG has a peak gain of 16.7. Now looking at the fact that you have a signal that is on the border of locking in I would almost lean towards an upgrade. If I was on the peak of one of the ridges in your area I know I would want the best antenna just for the high likelihood of 100+ mile reception.

Would you recommend this antenna over the Winegard HD-9032?

 

[Bob2011]

Would you recommend this antenna over the Winegard HD-9032?

They are pretty close in performance but the 91XG beats the 9032 by 2 db for all but the upper channels.

Comparing some commercially available antennas


Your antenna is already in this size class so you really need to think about it before jumping at an "upgrade".

I would go over the prices at solidsignal.com and ebay to get some numbers and compare to the cost of a quality preamp. If your cable was much longer than 50 feet it would be an automatic yes for a preamp.

If you want to get real crazy you could stack two antennas for another 2 to 3 db of gain.

 

[Dah-Henny]

I have the 91XG, and am getting a few channels well over 100 miles away, two in particular that hardly ever lose signal. The best antenna out there for deep fringe, IMO.

 

[raoul5788]

I'm about 5 miles southeast from the highest point east of the Mississippi

The highest point east of the Mississippi is in NC. The zip you gave is just outside of State College PA. That's a lot further than 5 miles. I'm confused!

 

[Bob2011]

The highest point east of the Mississippi is in NC. The zip you gave is just outside of State College PA. That's a lot further than 5 miles. I'm confused!

As someone who has been accross Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania at least a dozen times I knew what he meant. There is a sign that I believe is near mile marker 111 that indicates it is the highest point east of the Mississippi on I-80.

 

[Larry1]

Both those antennas have their peak gain in the now unused 52-69 channel area, and drop off on the lower channels. Antennas Direct has a new DB antenna that is said to be re-designed for the new band. I don't know how it compares to the 91XG or the HD-9032, but they do say it is a significant improvement over their older DB line. Their blog quotes them as saying "“We have created an antenna the size of our DB4, with the performance of the DB8,” said Schneider. “Light years ahead of our competition, no other bowtie antenna can match the DB’s combination of power, gain and value.”"

 

[fred7038]

The highest point east of the Mississippi is in NC. The zip you gave is just outside of State College PA. That's a lot further than 5 miles. I'm confused!

As Bob2011 picture shows the highest point on 80 The actual highest point according to the sign is on Route 350 near a small town called Sandy Ridge zip 16677.I did a TV fool search on that zip with a exaggerated antenna height of 500 feet just to see what would come up.Like I said lots of antennas up there.

 

[fred7038]

As Bob2011 picture shows the highest point on 80 The actual highest point according to the sign is on Route 350 near a small town called Sandy Ridge zip 16677.I did a TV fool search on that zip with a exaggerated antenna height of 500 feet just to see what would come up.Like I said lots of antennas up there.

Google does say highest point is in N.C. So I drove by there old green sign is gone replaced by a blue road sign that says Sandy Ridge Summit elevation 2024 feet Allegheny Mountains.

 

[PopcornNMore]

I live in Pittsburgh, PA and also have an Anntennacraft MXU59 antenna. I receive WJAC channel 6.1 and MeTV channel 6.2 (Johnstown/Altoona/State College) with no problems which is located approx 54 miles away.