# Antenna with long cable run



## Slump Buster (Oct 10, 2006)

I recently upgraded to a Marathon long-range antenna after having decent success with another antenna. My goal in upgrading was to improve upon the reception of stations that were 30-40 miles away (well within the range of both antennas). I had spoken with both manufacturers and they instructed me on the best way to point the antennas. My signals were generally around 70% - I am hoping that if I can get them over 80 then I should no longer have blips while watching them. 

I suspect my main problem is that I have a 100' run of RG59 going up to the antenna. The first antenna I had allowed for a wineguard amp and I had decent luck with that (not surprising because the signal was reinforced). When the amp died I decided to put the money into a new antenna.

I think these are my two options:

1) Run shielded RG6 up there

2) Run electricity up there so that I can hook up a powered amp that was recommended by manufacturer. I really don't want do to his as the shortest length that I have would involve me poking a hole through a venthilation screen on my roof. 

Any other thoughts? Could the RG59 cable be re-used in some way?


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

I used Terk OTA antenna with such amplifier installed inside of the plastic boom, while power supply was inside of my home; so you could find a way to feeding an amp thru coax;
shielded coax wouldn't help, using RG9 or RG11 will reduce the attenuation


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Slump Buster said:


> I suspect my main problem is that I have a 100' run of RG59 going up to the antenna.


100ft of RG-6 should help. 100ft isn't far enough that I would look at RG-11, but that is an option if your pathway is good enough to pull RG-11.


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## scooper (Apr 22, 2002)

RG6 with a 20-30 dB preamp. The preamp is up there on your mast, and the power supply is in the house where there is power. Ideally, put the preamp and its power supply on different ends of the same cable.

You may also want to consider a distribution amp to go to all TVs. This one does NOT need to be as powerful as the preamp - my experiance is that you want just enough dist amp to make up for cable losses - 10-15dB is usually fine. It is also better to be using RG6 on the distribution cable as well.

On these amps - don't get cheap junk - spend the money for the good stuff. www.solidsignal.com is a good source.


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## Slump Buster (Oct 10, 2006)

scooper said:


> RG6 with a 20-30 dB preamp. The preamp is up there on your mast, and the power supply is in the house where there is power. Ideally, put the preamp and its power supply on different ends of the same cable.
> 
> You may also want to consider a distribution amp to go to all TVs. This one does NOT need to be as powerful as the preamp - my experiance is that you want just enough dist amp to make up for cable losses - 10-15dB is usually fine. It is also better to be using RG6 on the distribution cable as well.
> 
> On these amps - don't get cheap junk - spend the money for the good stuff. www.solidsignal.com is a good source.


Thanks so much. In hindsight I probably should have bought a new amp with a warranty and stayed with the cheaper antenna. For the record I was testing signals using a single tuner right where it comes in to the house - I'll connect to a powered splitter later on.

The "problem" with this unit is that it has its own amp that is powered inside of the house so I don't think that i can add another one. I am exceeding the length of their recommended max run (something like 40 feet, if I remember).


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## RBA (Apr 14, 2013)

Slump Buster said:


> Thanks so much. In hindsight I probably should have bought a new amp with a warranty and stayed with the cheaper antenna. For the record I was testing signals using a single tuner right where it comes in to the house - I'll connect to a powered splitter later on.
> 
> The "problem" with this unit is that it has its own amp that is powered inside of the house so I don't think that i can add another one. I am exceeding the length of their recommended max run (something like 40 feet, if I remember).


That sounds like a real quality antenna/amplifier. Maybe the old cheaper antenna was better.


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## Slump Buster (Oct 10, 2006)

RBA said:


> That sounds like a real quality antenna/amplifier. Maybe the old cheaper antenna was better.


I am beginning to suspect the same. I still think if/when I set this up that I will still be better off as the Marathon antenna showed promise before I put it up on the roof.

Anyway, the manufacturer suggested this passive amp. I wrote to the manufacturer of the amp to see if I could run power to it through the RG59 line that I am replacing.


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## RBA (Apr 14, 2013)

Reading the description for the amp you posted made me wonder. "May improve HDTV reception, your experience may VARY based on the quality of cable TV or ANTENNA INPUT SIGNAL". Garbage into the amplifier is still garbage out to TV. Get the best antenna signal you can without amplification then if necessary amplify that signal. Go to Solid Signal and ask for help.


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## jimmie57 (Jun 26, 2010)

Slump Buster said:


> I recently upgraded to a Marathon long-range antenna after having decent success with another antenna. My goal in upgrading was to improve upon the reception of stations that were 30-40 miles away (well within the range of both antennas). I had spoken with both manufacturers and they instructed me on the best way to point the antennas. My signals were generally around 70% - I am hoping that if I can get them over 80 then I should no longer have blips while watching them.
> 
> I suspect my main problem is that I have a 100' run of RG59 going up to the antenna. The first antenna I had allowed for a wineguard amp and I had decent luck with that (not surprising because the signal was reinforced). When the amp died I decided to put the money into a new antenna.
> 
> ...


I personally think you need a much better antenna and all your problems would go away. I had a similar antenna to yours and I am 32 miles from the broadcast towers. I got nothing but break up all the time. I went to this site and got an Outdoor antenna to do the job. I now have every channel in this area ( approx. 50 ) and they come in at 100% signal strength and quality.
TV Antenna Selection Guide
Take a look : I got the Digital 45.


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## Slump Buster (Oct 10, 2006)

jimmie57 said:


> I personally think you need a much better antenna and all your problems would go away. I had a similar antenna to yours and I am 32 miles from the broadcast towers. I got nothing but break up all the time. I went to this site and got an Outdoor antenna to do the job. I now have every channel in this area ( approx. 50 ) and they come in at 100% signal strength and quality.
> TV Antenna Selection Guide
> Take a look : I got the Digital 45.


Ok, so I ran the 100' of quad shielded RG6 and got a number of interesting results.

1) I think my home-made ends are hurting me some. I've been meaning to buy a crimper and just never got around to it (the previous run of RG59 looked like it was well-made). When I first hooked everything up I got almost no signal at all. After cleaning up the end on the ground I was able to get much better results.

2) I had been using both a directv ota tuner and HD Home run box to measure signal strength and quality. The HD tuner had trouble pulling in almost anything until I either split the signal or put a longer cable between it and the antenna's power input (the dtv is 20' from this area).

3) Signal strength and quality are pretty good (100% on signal, varying degrees on strength). I am getting similar results as to when I had a clearstream antenna and a wineguard booster earlier in the year. I suspect I need to re-make both end as well as maybe put in the passive amp that the manufacturer recommends. I also think that I need to play with the antenna pointing a bit - I am getting some stations that are 40-45 miles away in both directions with no problem but struggling to pull in other stations that are 30 miles away.


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## jimmie57 (Jun 26, 2010)

Slump Buster said:


> Ok, so I ran the 100' of quad shielded RG6 and got a number of interesting results.
> 
> 1) I think my home-made ends are hurting me some. I've been meaning to buy a crimper and just never got around to it (the previous run of RG59 looked like it was well-made). When I first hooked everything up I got almost no signal at all. After cleaning up the end on the ground I was able to get much better results.
> 
> ...


Check to see if those hard to get stations are VHF. A lot of antennas do not work well with the VHF stations.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Slump Buster said:


> the passive amp that the manufacturer recommends.


and it make money from thin air ... 
I would imagine it's an attenuator


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