# Need to Boost Signal - Recommendations?



## Skates (Apr 15, 2004)

Hi:

I'm looking for ways to boost my OTA signal. I'm in the San Fernando Valley. My problem is, I can't find a position that gets all channels clearly in bad weather (which we have a lot of right now). Although antennaweb.org says all the stations I want are at 68 degrees and 30 miles away, it makes a huge difference if the antenna is pointed a little to the left or right of that position. Standing as if you were the antenna and looking at the broadcast source, if it's a little to the left, KTTV and KCOP improve. If it's a little to the right, everything else improves. I've tried to find a "sweet spot", but so far, no luck  Right now I'm forced to choose. 

I've confirmed that the antenna isn't the issue (they all get approx. the same signal strength). 

I am currently trying the Radio shack 10db booster. The channels that don't work tend to have 40-50% signal, so I'm thinking I'm very close. Radio Shack also make a 30db booster. Any opinions as to whether I should try it or something else?

Thanks,

Skates


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## Mark Lamutt (Mar 24, 2002)

1. Get your antenna outside if it's not already.

2. Get a bigger antenna. Bigger is almost always better.

3. The RatShack pre-amps insert a lot of noise into the line, that is very detrimental to the signal. If you think that you have no choice about using a pre-amp, get a Channel Master or a Winegard one - much less noise inserted.


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## Skates (Apr 15, 2004)

1. It's outside.

2. It's HUGE...57 element, 7 feet long, etc. Any bigger and it'll probably drop through the ceiling  

3. Thanks for the recommendations - I now have the choice of living with it and experiencing a few dropouts in the heaviest rain, or trying the pre-amp. I think I'm going to at least try a pre-amp.


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## oljim (Aug 6, 2002)

Forget the amp, get a rotor then you can move ant to sweet spot


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## Skates (Apr 15, 2004)

I really don't want to go to a rotor. That isn't going to help me if I have timers set and I'm not home to adjust it.

Remember, the thing works fine in all but the worst weather, so if I can just boost the signal another 10-20% I'm fine. Otherwise, I'm willing to live with it.


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## boylehome (Jul 16, 2004)

Skates said:


> I really don't want to go to a rotor. That isn't going to help me if I have timers set and I'm not home to adjust it.
> 
> Remember, the thing works fine in all but the worst weather, so if I can just boost the signal another 10-20% I'm fine. Otherwise, I'm willing to live with it.


Throw at 20db indoor amp (with a FM trap) on you cable and see the magic.


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## Skates (Apr 15, 2004)

UPDATE:

I installed a stronger 30db amp during a lull in the rainstorms yesterday and that appears to have taken care of the problem. It was interesting - full power was too much, but it works best backed down to 20db. I got what I needed. About 20% more signal, which is enough to stop all the dropouts.

Thanks for all the info!


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## boylehome (Jul 16, 2004)

Skates said:


> UPDATE:
> 
> I installed a stronger 30db amp during a lull in the rainstorms yesterday and that appears to have taken care of the problem. It was interesting - full power was too much, but it works best backed down to 20db. I got what I needed. About 20% more signal, which is enough to stop all the dropouts.
> 
> Thanks for all the info!


Good job. If you want, you can put an attenuator on the receiver input and then try to increase your db to see if this give even a better boost. If you happy, leave it as it is.


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## Skates (Apr 15, 2004)

Oh, man, I've been on the roof so much the past few days, I'm thinking of moving up there :lol: 

I'm going to leave it as is. We just came through the worst two weeks of weather in 80 years, so if I got it working well through that, I should be ok.


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## DanC-P (Jan 20, 2005)

Can a pre-amp be used with a diplexer set-up? My Dish and my antenna are set6-up this way. Can I place a pre-amp between my Dish 811 and the diplexer in my room or will this fry my 811 and ruin my satellite reception?

Thanks,

Dan


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## boylehome (Jul 16, 2004)

DanC-P said:


> Can a pre-amp be used with a diplexer set-up? My Dish and my antenna are set6-up this way. Can I place a pre-amp between my Dish 811 and the diplexer in my room or will this fry my 811 and ruin my satellite reception?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Dan


Good question, I've wondered but don't have a good answer. I think that you could have voltage problems when you use the pre-amp before the diplexer. Hopefully, someone will know for sure. I've been afraid to try it.


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## ibooksrule (Feb 16, 2003)

well if you have a preamp you need to get power to the antenna either with a combiner or a power passing diplexer. most diplexers that you buy do not pass power to the antenna side of the diplexer. explain your setup and i wil help you best i can


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## KKlare (Sep 24, 2004)

Thursday, I was having problems with missing most of my channels on my dish. At first I thought it was the snow that I broomed off. I jiggled some inside connections and it was working OK.

Friday, I checked the aiming on the dishes and azimuth on 148 improved from 75 to 100+ on my 921. One tuner and one of transponder, 11 or 12, was hot at 115+ with the rest lower.

Then I checked 110/119 and they were unimproved at 98 to 105. Checking that 119 was in input #1, I found there was only rust in the connector, no wire. (Why did the Dish installer use iron core instead of copper? Cheap. It says Trunkline style 1354 satellite RG-6U 2.25 GHz.) Stripped the wire end and put on a cheap connector as the found spare failed in crimping. Now it is fine.

I found the 811 must be on a 0-100 scale because it is about 80% of the 0-125 readings on the 921 with none over 100.

Using a VHF/FM amp was not helping the OTA. Wiring direct from the diplexer was 20 point higher than amp and 4-way splitter. The problem seems to be the slide-on 3' cable that ohms as OK. Using a better one with no amp and 4-way split gains back 10 points.


921 DVI #2/2 (#1 7/9/04 lightning nearby) 120B/F051/L211HECD-N
811 Component #1/1 (1/04)
501 RF/S-vid #2/4 machine (#1 few months, #2 flakey, #3 1 day, #2 came back, ran #2 + #4, kept quieter running for 2 years)
Versions: current software
Monitor: Hitachi 46H83
Dish: 500/500 Legacy SW64. Power inserter on 811.
Orbits: 119, 110, 148
Rim antenna replaced by underdeck old 78" or more antenna. Still in line of sight. It is diplexed at SW64 on 811 line, just could not get another cable into the back of the jackfield of 9 F and 9 phone/ethernet connectors.
Same UPS power for all except TV, which just uses surge-protect part.


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## MacFly69 (Oct 22, 2005)

Skates said:


> UPDATE:
> 
> I installed a stronger 30db amp during a lull in the rainstorms yesterday and that appears to have taken care of the problem. It was interesting - full power was too much, but it works best backed down to 20db. I got what I needed. About 20% more signal, which is enough to stop all the dropouts.
> 
> Thanks for all the info!


i'm in the same boat. can you pls tell me what specific amp you used?

also, did it help with your local digital signal? currently, i do not get ch's 2, 7and 11 digitally!

thanks!


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