Spacing on stacked wineguard high bands

[southofi-10]

What would be the required spacing on 2 wineguard high band antennas pointing at the same direction (stacked)
I understand it's either a full or half wavelength of the lowest channel that the antenna picks up.
I'm good at putting up antennas,but worthless when it comes to calculations.LOL
Thanks

 

[primestar31]

Figure at least 3 feet. That can vary with the location, so you can't really tell for sure until you install them and see. OTA tv reception has always had a voodo component to it, and can vary a lot from site to site.

 

[Tank]

OTA tv reception has always had a voodo component to it, and can vary a lot from site to site.

so true. I always thought put the antenna up the highest you can get it. At least that's what it was in the analog days. In my case I lowered the antenna about 3 feet on the mast and gained a bunch of signal on the only station in my market.

 

[Bob2011]

If you are talking about the YA-1713 here is what Winegard says http://www.winegard.com/kbase/kb_tip_results.php?tip_num=380

There is a formula for Yagi antennas where Stacking Distance in Wavelengths = 51/ Beam Width at Half Power. So using that I get 62 inches for Channel 7 and about 70 inches for Channel 13. If you use the formula Winegard recommends then the distance is 45 inches for Channel 7 and 36 inches for Channel 13.

So somewhere between 3 feet and 6 feet

 

[boba]

1/2 wavelength for CH.13 is 27.7 inches CH.7 is 33.4 inches so 36 inches should be a good starting point.

 

[southofi-10]

Thanks all for your quick responses. I do appreciate it !!!!!
I'm actually going after channel 9,and yes, it's a ya-1713

 

[boba]

My trusty chart shows CH.9 half wavelength is 31.5 inches.

 

[southofi-10]

I went to the link bob2011 supplied and wineguard says they recommend a 2/3 wavelength spacing ,which is 42" for channel 9.
So I guess I'll go with the manufacturers recommendation.After all,they made the antenna,LOL....and the combiner,and the preamp,and the.......

 

[Bob2011]

I went to the link bob2011 supplied and wineguard says they recommend a 2/3 wavelength spacing ,which is 42" for channel 9.
So I guess I'll go with the manufacturers recommendation.After all,they made the antenna,LOL....and the combiner,and the preamp,and the.......

Just note that they went with what a guy wrote in a book from 1975 and not something from one of their engineers. You really would need to model the antenna setup in software to get close to 3 dB gain.

 

[boba]

Just note that they went with what a guy wrote in a book from 1975 and not something from one of their engineers. You really would need to model the antenna setup in software to get close to 3 dB gain.

Keep us informed on the results please. You are doing a lot of work for marginal gain but that could be the difference between a picture and no picture.

 

[southofi-10]

I've just did a little typing so far. I have the antennas stacked already,but I'm still getting drop out from a city 50 miles away.
I also get a very strong signal from another station( same city),but it's on the uhf band.
I think I spaced them at 32" when I installed them.Used a wineguard combiner.
It'll be spring soon ( I hope).Might just shimmy up the tower and make a few adjustments.
I should have kept that single channel 9 antenna I had.It was a commercial grade antenna from an apartment complex.Geez..lol

 

[No Static At All]

Have you considered the Antennacraft Y10-7-13? It is slightly better than the YA-1713.

Also, do you have any FM stations around 95mhz within 10-15 miles?

 

[southofi-10]

I have an antenna craft pointing to lake charles.It picks up channel 7 great.Never a problem them...and lake charles is further than baton rouge.
Maybe I should just swing the antennas around and see what happens.LOL
I've always liked antennacraft.Expectially the MXU series

 

[No Static At All]

Yes, we tried both models at my friends house almost 70 miles from DC & the Antennacraft is noticeably better than the Winegard.

Do you have any FM stations around 95 Mhz near you?

 

[Cham]

The stacking distance is one thing... what lengths and impedance should the leads be between the antennas and the splitter? The lead length can make a difference too. On ham radio bands (small bandwidth maybe 1MHz) these measurements are critical... when using such a wide bandwidth (channel 7 to 13) I suppose the most difficult channel to receive would likely be where you would maximize, and hope for the best for the rest.

Going with a single high gain antenna would be simpler....

Just maybe setting the top antenna and moving the lower antenna up and down to maximize the signal from your most favorite channel would be the simplest way of setting it up... and measure enough cable to allow quite a bit of separation.

 

[southofi-10]

Yes- we have several radio stations in the area.
So you think it might be the folded dipoles that makes the antennacraft a better antenna?

 

[southofi-10]

Ok. I switched out the 2 winegard ya-1713 and installed 2 new antennacraft y10-7-13 spaced 45 inches apart.The coax was right at 70".
I had to go longer on the "suggested" cable length since the feed point on these antennas was pretty far away from the mast.
Anyway,I'm getting channel 9 great now.It's a huge improvement and worth the little investment.
I got the antennas from ebay through radioshack,so I got an excellant price and free shipping.
So,I've done decided that the folded diploes are the way to go with the vhf high band.
Not sure what to do with the old winegards,lol
Thank for all the replays

 

[FaT Air]

Pictures?

 

[southofi-10]

Here is a pic