Can I piggy back 2 OTA Antennas?

[NYBuddy]

I have the Terk 32 UHF antenna (similar to the Winegard 4400, see picture). I am picking up all the channels I want except for ABC which is 15 Degrees further to the south. If I piont it there I get ABC but no others, so I keep it pointed at the other "Big 3". My question is, if I get another similar antenna, mount it on the same pole below the one I have now and point it for the ABC channel, can I run the wire from #2 antenna to #1 antenna and pickup that channel?

[pdicamillo]

If each antenna really gets no signal on the channels the other one gets then it may work. But if both get some level of signal from the same channel, I think there will be interference and it won't work well. To try it, you shouldn't just connect the wires directly together. To keep the impedance correct, you should get a two-way antenna splitter (matching the impedance, 300 or 75 ohms, of your antennas) and use it in reverse.

Other solutions are to run a wire from each antenna into the house, and use a two-way switch to select the one you want to use, or mount the antenna on a rotator.

[Jim5506]

If you only want to add one channel and it is 3 or more channels from the other chnnels you have, you can use a Channel Master Jointenna, tuned to the channel you want to add. The jointenna inserts the wanted channel on input A and blocks a 5 channel range around that channel on input B, so it prevents attenuation caused by normal misphasing of two antennas.

[NYBuddy]

If you only want to add one channel and it is 3 or more channels from the other chnnels you have, you can use a Channel Master Jointenna, tuned to the channel you want to add. The jointenna inserts the wanted channel on input A and blocks a 5 channel range around that channel on input B, so it prevents attenuation caused by normal misphasing of two antennas.

So where would I get one of these and how would I hook it up?

[kenglish]

I have the Terk 32 UHF antenna (similar to the Winegard 4400, see picture). I am picking up all the channels I want except for ABC which is 15 Degrees further to the south. If I piont it there I get ABC but no others, so I keep it pointed at the other "Big 3". My question is, if I get another similar antenna, mount it on the same pole below the one I have now and point it for the ABC channel, can I run the wire from #2 antenna to #1 antenna and pickup that channel?

An antenna like that should have a very broad (cardioid, or heart-shaped) pattern....15 degrees should not make much difference at all. You may have some mutipath, or an interference issue. Adjusting the antenna would not really "peak up" on a stronger signal, but would adjust one of the nulls (very narrow dead spots) to eliminate the problem (multipath reflection or strong, non-TV signal). Have you tried attenuating the antenna signal? Or, adding an FM Trap in the line (both of these before the input to any amplifiers or the tuner itself)?

Adding a second broadband antenna usually will make reception worse, by adding multipath, unless you use something like the JoinTenna (which is a splitter/combiner and appropriate bandpass and bandstop filters). Also, be aware that the usual JoinTenna needs two or three "sacrificial" channels where the inputs overlap. Going any closer together requires much better ($$$) filters, and may need amplification, too.

Better yet, just try something with a bit more gain/narrower angle, like a short yagi. You might just have multipath coming from the side.

[koji68]

So where would I get one of these and how would I hook it up?

http://www.warrenelectronics.com/antennas/Jointennas.htm

To further eliminate problems, I would use a directional antenna for the second one. Take a look at this article

http://hdtvmagazine.com/articles/2006/03/ota_hd_demystif.php

[jkane]

Hmmmmm! Interesting thought. In the analog signal days, this would cause ghosting as the second antenna would get a bounced signal a few milliseconds later.

But ...

With digital, I wonder what would happen? The second "ghost" signal should be rejected. It should lock on the stronger signal and be OK. Then again, it may just scramble both signals if the bounce is strong enough.

Need some real world testing.

[Jim5506]

Jointenna eliminates the signal leak of the same frequencies from two antennas. If you have a channel 25 Jointenna it passes channels 24, 25 and 26 on one input and blocks those same channels on tha other input, thus no ghosting and no interference.

[JM Anthony]

My advice is to go to our sister site, avsforum, and send a PM to Dan Kurtz with your question. Dan does a lot of high end installations in the greater Seattle area and is a great guy to work with.

Good luck.

John

[NYBuddy]

Thank you all for your input, I will take all under advisement and hopefully work it out!

[Carl Spock]

Hmmmmm! Interesting thought. In the analog signal days, this would cause ghosting as the second antenna would get a bounced signal a few milliseconds later.

But ...

With digital, I wonder what would happen? The second "ghost" signal should be rejected. It should lock on the stronger signal and be OK. Then again, it may just scramble both signals if the bounce is strong enough.

Need some real world testing.
I have two outside antennas, one pointing northeast and the other pointing almost due south. I get two stations well off of both of them with seemingly no interference or modulation between them. I also didn't do anything fancy to bring their two outputs together. I just used a basic combiner. Now both antennas are pretty directional but one of my stations, from which I always get superb reception, is probably 50-60 miles away. That's on the north facing antenna. The southern stations are only about 10 miles away but there is a lot of rock between them and me. Until I got my HR20, those two were iffy. Now they are always there. My poor-as-dirt Fox station, also south, only comes in if the weather is good.

In general, my two antenna set up works perfectly.

[internetuser]

Just use a coax splitter; search google for hdtvprimer merging feedlines.