I used to have a 30’ tower, a big antenna and a rotor device mounted on the tower.
I had an amp mounted just below the antenna.
I had a control in the house and could aim the antenna while watching TV and bring in the best reception that way.
I had spots marked so I could go ahead and get it aimed in the correct direction for most stations. I lived between 2 major cities - one to the north and the other to the south of us - with some other large stations on the east and west of us. There was no single great direction, south got several good stations, north got some others, then there was Rochester that needed to be tweaked a bit from due north… wish I had that system back again!
I am considering an inexpensive amp as soon as I can afford one.
@ShadowsPapa in your case depending on distance to the transmitters you MIGHT need to gang two antennas.
In my case, for example, we have two loal towers that are almost 180 degrees apart and no matter how I am my 8-bay antenna I get full strength on all local channels. So what I did is aim the “front” of the antenna almost directly between the PBS and Fox transmitters that almost directly south of me. One is 69.2 miles away (PBS) and the other is 91 miles away. So for me a single antenna has met my needs. And if I had not wanted to catch PBS I could have gone with a 4-bay antenna instead of an 8-bay.
But if all transmitters were equally distant, say 70 miles, I would have needed one antenna aimed at one of the transmitters that are NW and SE of me, picking up both at the same time, then another antenna pointed SW to pick up the PBS channels. These two would need to be ganged together to merge the two signals. That way I wouldn’t need to mess with a rotor and tools like Tablo can record without having to remember to re-point the antenna.
All antennas of interest are the same general location, Aleman, north of Des Moines. ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, all from antennas in that area within a small circle. There’s nothing broadcast from our south or west really except low power, low interest stuff ;-)
This is us - ABC or channel 5 is off to the west a bit more and likely why it’s so hard to pull in with the antenna aimed for the others, but 5 has been an issue for decades, even when it was owned by ISU it was a lower powered station.
@ShadowsPapa…hmmmm a single 4-bay externally mounted antenna should get all of that at full strength. You said yours is mast mounted about 30’ up? If so you should be totally golden.
It’s a 10 year old (GUESSING!) Radioshack if I recall correctly, it was their top of the line in its day and came out just as the conversion to digital was taking place so it was labeled for digital as well as old analog. It’s got a couple or 3 of the elements snapped off in the wind - if that’s what you call the aluminum tubes that branch out from the main bars. I’m not an antenna expert, I can rig cable and terminate and such - it’s what I’ve done in a way since I was an electrician/network/phone person for Principal Financial Group and a network person for the state of Iowa for the last 10+ years. TV antenna, no expert, cable, networks, etc. yeah, I’ve got that. I wonder if the age and wind damage are sort of causing. I was WRONG on the miles. I thought 45 but hey, we’re way under that. I guess I used the miles on the odometer, not as the crow or vulture flies. Now keep in mind, the height is ground to antenna and the house is a 1 story ranch with a walk-out basement (fully 100% finished into nice living area) and the ground slops so much that the top of my shop is WAAAAY up there, but not if you look from the house to my shop! We are sort of “down” in a valley area. Iowa is far from flat. We live not far from the Des Moines river and many RAGBRAI riders come to this area to practice and get into shape for their annual ride - that’s how hilly it is here. Semis have trouble keeping up the speed limit on I80 east, the 1976 bicentennial train across America had to be pulled by extra engines through parts of Iowa. Mountains, no, abrupt, steep and many hills, yes.
So if 2 or 3 snapped off elements matter, if age matters, hills matter, with multiple splitters and many feet of cable, I wonder - amp or antenna? Or both?
the 3679 almost nails it exactly. That’s what it is like and might even be made by that company for Radio Shack (when they were in their hey-day) It sure looked like it.
I’ve used that other link before and it shows the stations we care about all in the green range so I wonder… This is our exact address plugged in - the results -
That first antenna is now being used for deep fringe signals only as (if memory serves) they are VERY directional. No off axis reception. The newer styles like the second won’t do anything far distance but have excellent local reception even off axis. I had mine turned 90 degrees to the local tower and still had strong signal.
May be worth seeing if you can get one from. BestBuy or equivalent to test and return if your signal is no better.
