Trying to pull Detroit stations from the Saginaw/Bay City area zip 48706. I'm having no luck with a CM4228, 7775 pre-amp, and rotor. I can't get anything from Lansing either @ 60 miles. Any other suggestions?
What antenna to reach 80 miles?
- Thread starter MI_GTO
- Start date
- Latest activity Latest activity:
- Replies 19
- Views 6K
Those distances are "over the horizon" for UHF reception. You might have some luck going higher and using ganged yagi's, but UHF reception beyond 60 miles is not guaranteed, especially if there are terrain issues (mountains, etc.)
Jim5506 said:
That's what I thought, however, I was able to pick up the Lansing stations with a Zenith Silver Sensor indoor antenna. It even picked up Detroit on a few occasions.
I receive Baltimore MD (90+ miles) stations regularly during the evening hours, April-November, with my CM-4228...the signal bounces off of the troposphere during this time of the year. However, other than erecting a 200ft. antenna, I doubt there is anything I can do to receive Baltimore DTV during the winter months. I reliably receive programming from Richmond VA (51+ miles), Charlottesville (53+ miles) and DC (55+ miles), but as a rule of thumb any UHF more than 60 is a crap shoot.
If the 4228 and CM7775 get nothing whereas the Silver Sensor can, I'd check to be sure the amp is connected correctly.
I might even remove the amp totally just to see what I get.
I might even remove the amp totally just to see what I get.
Jim5506 said:
Already tried that with the same result. Everything is connected properly as I can receive all of my local channels without a problem. Everything but FOX, that is, who is not yet broadcasting a digital signal. That is the only reason I put the antenna up, to get FOX from wherever I could. Detroit or Lansing are my closest options, both of which are ~80 miles away. I was told on another forum that because some of my local towers are so close (5 miles & less) that I am boosting those signals so much with the 7775 and its overloading the tuner in my 622 so that it can't pick up anything else. Anyone heard this before and is it even possible?
AH-AH-AH! The local channels are probably overloading the tuner when they are amplified by the CM7775.
You might try a Winegard HDP-269 preamp, it has lower overall gain (12dB) but also has a very high overload tolerance.
You might try a Winegard HDP-269 preamp, it has lower overall gain (12dB) but also has a very high overload tolerance.
AntennasDirect 91XG with Channelmaster CM7775 solved my problems at 75+ miles from the towers. That antenna is THE SH&T!!
I live in Waelder, TX...60 miles SE of Austin and about 80 miles east of San Antonio. I use a 36 element outdoor antenna from Wal-Mart and a 28db pre-amp also from Wal-mart on a 25 ft. mast. I get all the Austin stations(UHF) anywhere from 80-96%. I even get Univision(VHF) from Killeen at about 65%. Killeen is about 90 miles from me. If I point my antenna toward San Antonio, I get ABC, NBC, Fox, Telemundo, and Univision at about 75-85%. KENS(CBS) is operating at very low power...I only get this on those really weird nights but not very often. I tend to keep my antenna toward Austin unless I want to watch something specific to San Antonio. Hope this helps.
MI_GTO said:
You should be able to receive distant stations from time to time...for example, I've had analog UHF reception here in northern MN from as far as southern MO and Detroit (it's my hobby, TV DXing). Now, are you saying you received Lansing on an indoor antenna on a normal basis, but can't see on it on your 4228? If this is the case, there might be something wrong with your antenna setup. What height it is at? This is crucial, especially for long distance UHF reception. The higher is always the better.
tvdxer said:
Yes, that is EXACLTY what I am saying. The Silver Sensor picked up CBS regularly at about 60-65 miles and FOX on several occasions at over 80 miles! I realize this is unheard of with an indoor antenna, but it worked for some reason. I also picked up Detroit on occasion. I figured an outdoor antenna would grab these signals easily if the Zenith could get them, but it seems that now that I have gone to an outdoor setup, my range has decreased significantly. My antenna is ~8ft above the highest point of my single story roof. Everything is connected correctly with my setup as I have rechecked time and time again. As I said before, I have been told that I am overloading the tuner in my 622 by amplifying the signals from towers within 5 miles of my home. I wasn't sure if that was possible or not.
Wow! How'd you get your Silver Sensor to do that? I have the same antenna and am <15 miles from the NYC locals, picking them up fine, but cannot get WLIW-21 which is only 40 miles from me. Now, I thought I should forget about it since I didn't think the Silver Sensor could reach 40 miles. But now I guess it can! Not to hijack this thread or anything, but does anybody know what I could possibly do to my Silver Sensor to get it to reach 40 miles out? The farthest station that I have right now is NJN out of New Brunswick, NJ, which is 23 miles from my house. And does anybody know if WLIW-21 is even broadcasting in HD? I checked on their website, but couldn't seem to find anything definitive. Because if they are not doing HD (and are only doing digital), then I guess there's really no point. Thanks for any info!
