HDTV indoor antenna - need a pre-amp?

[markustg]

I have a One for All 16472 indoor HDTV antenna.

Sometimes I get 20 channels, sometimes I get 4, depends on the weather and time of day.

The Antenna is on the second floor, up against a window, and has a relatively long coax cable run down to the TV on the 1st floor.

Would a Coax amp make a difference? And if so, a pre-amp or a distribution amp?

Which kind of amp would better amplify the siganl that the antenna is getting? ( I realize an amp will not boost the signal the antenna can pull in).


Thanks for any ideas.

 

[Phase 2]

I have the same , it works really good. It came with a db booster. I have mine alone a wall took me awhile to find the best place for it. 18 very clear channels. Sometimes only one channel will drop in and out. Remember No indoor antenna is good for no more than 60 miles max. Than even less with terrain, buildings around, trees will cut the range of the antenna also. Get yourself a db booster from Walmart or Amazon it will help. They go for about 15 bucks. Cable was costing me 150 a month. Don't miss it!!

 

[Swerd]

The One For All web page says the model 16472 is an amplified antenna. These built-in antenna amps require electric power. Is it plugged in?

It's also possible that you need a stronger antenna. Go to AntennaWeb.org , enter your address, and it can give you some guidance on the locations and directions of nearby broadcast towers, and what type of antenna you need. Antennas Direct is an online seller that has a decent selection of different indoor, attic, and outdoor antennas, and antenna amplifiers.

Reception with an antenna depends on location, location, location (as real estate agents like to say). Good reception depends not only on distance from a transmitter tower, but whether your location is within "direct line of sight" distance of the tower. Trees and other buildings can block the direct signal, but their reflections can also provide usable reception. And, the higher you mount your antenna, the better the reception.

Adjusting the antenna's aim might help with that. Your antenna is one of those flat kind that are meant to have wide angle reception. Typically their reception pattern looks like the diagrams below. Imagine you are looking at an antenna from above, a bird's view, while the antenna is mounted on an upright pole. The circular graph shows the lobes of the greatest signal strength. It is possible that mounting your antenna on a window doesn't align it for it's best reception.

This pdf link is a somewhat brief (17 page) paper that describes the common features of antenna performance. Skimming it might be useful. Your antenna is either a omnidirectional dipole, see page 10, figures (b) and (d):

Or a patch antenna, see page 11 figures (a) and (c):

 

[Phase 2]

Swerd, your correct about placing in a window I tried that first didn't do to good. So I played around with it, I have mine mounted about half way up my front wall but than I'm on the 2nd floor of a apartment. 18 very clear channels oh and your absolutely correct it comes with a booster. Now it took me quite some time to find an ideal location but it paid off.

 

[Swerd]

I just edited my post with better illustrations.

 

[markustg]

Great feedback.

Yes I do have it plugged in, and have tried a few different spots for better reception.

So direction over near a window is most important? I will try that for sure. To get the best Channels I think I need to face it a bit a different way, but thats right into a wall.

Ill report back,.

PS also looking for a db amp

 

[TLS Guy]

Great feedback.

Yes I do have it plugged in, and have tried a few different spots for better reception.

So direction over near a window is most important? I will try that for sure. To get the best Channels I think I need to face it a bit a different way, but thats right into a wall.

Ill report back,.

PS also looking for a db amp

Another booster amp will not help you and may be make it worse. The reason is because it boost background as much as the signal.

If the station you want are roughly in the same direction, then a directional antenna like a Yagi-Uda array will make a huge difference. A roof location will make a massive difference.

 

[highfigh]

I have a One for All 16472 indoor HDTV antenna.

Sometimes I get 20 channels, sometimes I get 4, depends on the weather and time of day.

The Antenna is on the second floor, up against a window, and has a relatively long coax cable run down to the TV on the 1st floor.

Would a Coax amp make a difference? And if so, a pre-amp or a distribution amp?

Which kind of amp would better amplify the siganl that the antenna is getting? ( I realize an amp will not boost the signal the antenna can pull in).


Thanks for any ideas.

Use this site to see where the towers are and the position you need. BTW- they assume the antenna height is over rooftop, at about 34'. The building will block most of your signal and close proximity to the tower is worse than being too far away- the last thing that's needed in that case is an amplifier because it's possible to have more reflected signal than direct.

https://tvfool.com/

 

[Swerd]

If your present antenna is already boosted, and your efforts at aiming the antenna don't help enough, I think you need an antenna with greater gain – a larger antenna. Do you have an attic? Even a crawl space attic can work.

In my limited experience, an antenna with greater passive gain will work better than a weaker antenna boosted by a pre-amp. In antennas, the greater the passive gain, the more directional they are. And the more directional the antenna is, the more it may need a rotor. That ultimately depends where the broadcast towers are located. Antennaweb.org can tell you that info.

So direction over near a window is most important? I will try that for sure. To get the best Channels I think I need to face it a bit a different way, but thats right into a wall.

Walls or windows make little difference to TV signals, unless you have walls with aluminum siding or in-wall insulation that's has aluminum foil/paper backing. You'd have the same problem for an attic under a metal roof.

Would a Coax amp make a difference? And if so, a pre-amp or a distribution amp?

Which kind of amp would better amplify the signal that the antenna is getting? ( I realize an amp will not boost the signal the antenna can pull in).

The antenna pre-amps I know are mounted between the antenna itself and the coax cable that leads to a TV. A pre-amp there boosts the antenna's signal with the least noise and interference (RFI, radio frequency interference). There are pre-amps that mount at the other end of the cable, between the TV and the coax cable, but I've always been told to avoid them because the cable itself can pick up RFI. A pre-amp there boosts both the antenna's signal plus any noise picked up by the cable.