OTA locals w/Dish on 1 cable question

[thbjr]

OK, I know with a diplexer(?) it will work, but the potential fly in the ointment is my OTA antenna is the Channel Master Stealthtenna 3010 w/pre amp (yes I need the amplifier). The power block for the pre amp is rated at 18VDC 70mA. How will that work or will/can it work? I don't think the LNB power supply from the reciever is 18V, is it?
Thanks as always for your help.
Tom

 

[TheKrell]

I believe it is 19V.

 

[Jim S.]

Normally, diplexers block DC on the low-frequency side, don't they?

 

[boba]

Normally, diplexers block DC on the low-frequency side, don't they?

Yes diplexers normally block voltage, there are special voltage passing diplexers for amplified antennas. Or you could get a non amplified antenna.

 

[harshness]

It seems like almost all of the Phoenix stations are located in essentially the same location so a conventional yagi might be a better solution.

 

[thbjr]

While all the stations are located on South Mountain, I'm in north Phoenix, about 30 miles from there. Also, one of the channels I want the most is technically a low power station (although it is as powerful as a low power station can be...).
So back to my original question, can I run the pre amp through a diplexer, if it allows DC through both side, and if I can, how would I configure it?
Thanks for your input!
Tom

 

[TheKrell]

Yes. Antennas into the power-passing diplexer out to single RG-6 coax. Usual diplexer or triplexer at the other end with cable in going out to OTA tuners and sat tuners.

 

[topcat5]

The antenna you list isn't a very good one for Phoenix. With the exception of 8 & 12 all the stations in Phoenix including the one LP station are transmitting in the mid-UHF band which means you need an antenna geared for UHF. The Stealthmaster looks to only have one element pair for UHF so it's marginal at best and certainly something you shouldn't choose if you are 30 miles from the stations.

Instead you might want to look at a standard 4 bay UHF antenna by CM or Wineguard. (8 bay is even better) These antennas shouldn't have any trouble also picking up high-VHF (8-12) One other thing. Pre-amps don't improve reception. What they do is to compensate for long runs of coax and splitters between the antenna and the TV sets. If you are not getting a receivable signal, then it won't fix that. In addition, too powerful of an amp will over drive some of your channels and cause them to drop out. Before choosing an amp you should calculate the losses of your setup and then get a pre-amp sized to that.

 

[smitbret]

While all the stations are located on South Mountain, I'm in north Phoenix, about 30 miles from there. Also, one of the channels I want the most is technically a low power station (although it is as powerful as a low power station can be...).
So back to my original question, can I run the pre amp through a diplexer, if it allows DC through both side, and if I can, how would I configure it?
Thanks for your input!
Tom

Depends on what receiver you are using. I used to run my antenna with a Winegard 269 pre-amp, powered from the 722. The 722 is 13v-18v. No power inserter necessary. Just make sure that both of your diplexers are power pass-through. They have to be used in pairs; Antenna lead into the low side and Sat lead into the high side. Make your cable run (RG6 rated at 2300Mhz or better) and then split them back out with the low side going to the Antenna In and the High side going to Satellite In (just reverse of how they came in). If you are doing Dish HD, there will be another diplexer that splits the signal to both the 'satellite in' ports on the back of the receiver, don't let it confuse you. Leave it hooked into the receiver and just make sure the high lead goes into that diplexer.

Your 1st step should be to go to www.tvfool.com and then click "Check your address for free tv". Enter your address and it'll give you an awesome set of charts that will tell you exactly where to point everything and should help get a plan drawn up for you. Ignore the distance and look at the Power (dbm) rating on the stations that you want to get. You'll probably be limited to stations that are -35 or better, if you are pointing right at them. Looks like you need an antenna that does UHF/High-VHF if you want to get the nearest PBS and Fox affiliates. That Channel Master is just short of 5 feet wide, so you might have some decent luck.

If you've already got the equipment, hook it up and see where it gets you, though. If it doesn't, let us know before you start throwing any $$$ at it. Unfortunately, while your particular antenna might work great for most suburban settings, real life range for most antenna is about 60% of what the marketing claims are.

Amps prep signals before their cable runs. If the signals not there in the first place, no amount of amplification is going to make it appear. Your antenna is really going to be the limiting factor, I'm afraid.

 

[smitbret]

Ok, so I played with Google Maps and discovered that Cave Creek is about 30 miles north of South Mountain, as the crow flies, so I used that to get an idea. I really think you are setting yourself up for frustration with the Channel Master. If it doesn't work pretty easily for you, don't waste a lot of time on it. They are all in the same spot, so if you can get a few but not another, there's not a lot of point to spending a lot of effort trying to tweak it. It should be pretty much all or nothing once you get it lined up. If you have problems, it's because your antenna is inadequate.

If it doesn't work, consider something like the Antennacraft HBU33/HBU44 or a Winegard 7694P. They'll run between $45-$60 on Amazon. A 4-bay or 8-bay antenna would be great for UHF, but I don't think they'd be very reliable for picking up the Fox and PBS stations.

If antenna size is going to be an issue, get an RCA ANT751. It's about a third the size of the ones I recommended, but it's about 90% as good from my personal experience. You should be able to find it at Wal-Mart for about $60 or on Amazon for about $45. It's sold here for $60 as the EZ HD antenna but it is the same thing:

EZ-HD TV Antenna.

The photos should give you an idea of how large it is. It reliably picks up signals as low as -50 dBm from my home (unamplified).

Good luck.

 

[old corps]

Question-If I have an amplified antenna I would need to use DUAL power passing diplexers with a 1000.4 system, correct? BOTH ports of the diplexer power passing, right?

Thanks!
Ed

 

[old corps]

Anybody?

Ed

 

[harshness]

All amplified antennas require external power. They key is to use an antenna that isn't amplified.

I use the antenna that Sears sells as the RCA ANT3020X. Radio Shack sold them for decades as the Archer VU-90. Reception-wise, it features the same distances as the Stealthtenna but doesn't require any power. It may also be more resistant to multipath as the beamwidth is quite a bit narrower.