Amplifier for television?

[groundhogy]

Well, im in the Phoenix area, way off to the right.
Im re-living my childhood by watching Lost in Space. I have to wait up late on Saturday night so i can see old B-9 making smack talk to the rotten Dr. Smith (who B-9 says is not a real doctorate, only an honorary degree).

I am barely barely getting the MeTV channel right now.
I have the Winegard antenna with the wingman installed.
It has an LNA built into the roof assy.

So now im thinking I might get some extra dB gain with an amp installed down under the TV console. I would like a unit that can run off 12vdc so if I am off grid I can run it off the cigarrette lighter socket under the console.

Any suggestions? Has anyone tried this?

[CA_Traveler]

Buy a better quality coax (low loss) and run from the antenna through a window to check performance. You may need a second coax from the box to the TV. If this resolves the problem then run a permanent replacement. You do not have to follow the same coax route.

Sounds like you are semi permanent. Antenna height is king. Google flag pole buddy for a easy to raise/lower an antenna, I made one from PVC. I used 2x 8' PVC pipe sections with threaded connectors for easy transport and assembly. Lots of antennas available on Amazon etc.

[MNtundraRet]

I had a Radio Shack adjustable 2 to 10 dB gain. The unit was AC powered so I used an inverter to power it off the batteries. It worked very well with the Winegard system. My range increased to 125 to 150+ miles depending on where I camped.

[wa8yxm]

Since you said LNA I have to ask is this the Winegard OVER THE AIR antenna or the wingard Sat antenna

For the OTA.. Winegard makes a replacement wall plate for inside the RV. The SENSAR PRO... I got one.

This is a 2nd Low Noise Pre amp and a signal strength meter

You first need to know the carrier channel (not always the same as the TV channel) then you can either let teh Sensor Pro choose the strongest and page through the detected carriers or manually set the carrier channel and peak it.

Example of TV channel and carrier Channel
Last I checked I think Channel 7 in Detroit broadcast on 41 (41 is the carrier)
Channel 2 on 7 (7 is the carrier)

And in Flint 12 is really 12 (Not common any more)

[MrWizard]

It's not going to hurt anything to try it, but the best thing is to replace the TV coax cable or at least the bad section on the roof, assuming you have a stub in good enough condition to put a connection on, and can remove the bad area and connect in New coax splice threaded in, then cover with liquid tape or plastic dip,
In fact you might try lquid tape to replace the fix that didn't work,
No doubt you squeezed the coax when you wrapped it, doing this changed the reactive capacitance of the coax,
Remove the tape fix, try to make the coax as round as possible and then cover it with liquid tape, it will seal out moisture without squeezing the coax

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Wayback Machine Time

Fifty years ago my parents were heartbroken when they moved and their favorite TV station came in heavily snowed with terrible audio. They already had a Channelmaster rotator and an antenna amplifier perched forty feet above the ground.

I went to a professional Television cable service supply house and purchased what they called a
Cut channel antenna

It was a monster. Although made of aluminum its twenty six dipoles weighed over thirty pounds and it was just shy of ten feet on length. And to add insult to injury a different masthead amplifier was needed.

Even after all that rabbit ears on a TV in the same city as the station would have given a better picture. They had a Motorla Quasar color TV.

The cost was absurd. But they were happy. It was a gift.

[groundhogy]

Yes, i have mapped out where the station is.
I’m thinking an amp will help because...
- i was getting the channel ok before.
- went up top to change out the AC blower motor, and noticed the coax outer coating was getting a bit iffy. So me the genius goes and buys some of that fuse-together electical type tape and wraps the exposed cable to give it more life. Well, the loss went up (squeezing the low loss air out of the cable? Idk) and i can see MeTV now but its not veiwable.
-so i think if i just add back like 10dB at the TV, it might just get it over the top.

But yes, i keep seeing these disclaimers on the amp descriptions saying not suggested to use with an already amped antenna. But the S/N ratio is set by the initial LNA/antenna combo right? So how can subsequent gain hurt anything? Worst case it will do nothing, right? But my problem is additional cable loss AFTER the initial LNA/antenna.

[LouLawrence]

You can't add an amp to the Winegard antenna which is already amplified (at the head where it does the most good). Sometimes, where you are located vs. where the broadcast is located requires MORE and/or higher antenna. If you are going to be there for an extended period you can look at some of the higher gain antennas that you can mount on a taller pole. If you plan to move on soon you can try adding the Winegard Sensar Pro https://winegard.com/cart.php?suggest=51d2377d-438f-4109-9d1d-d5f6e521feb7 which does have some additional boost but most importantly a signal meter to ensure the antenna is pointed in the right direction.

[wildtoad]

Your Winegard should already have an amp, not sure adding another amp would help much. Winegard sells a replacement wall power/booster box that allows you to fine tune your reception at the channel level. Might be worth looking into. I have one but don’t use it much as the idiots at at Newmar put the power box near the floor beside the passenger seat making it a real PIA to manipulate. But it does help

[WNYBob]

Try downloading an app to help point your antenna in the right direction to get the best reception.

DTV Antennas