Antenna Amplifier Help

[lonegeek]

We had a 15 db amplifier before, was the one cable company hooked up to our cable. Then we cancelled cable, and hooked it up to the antenna. Which boosted our signal from 65 to 95. But the amp. broke, and the antenna shifted a bit.. So now alot of the channels start to cut out occasioanally.

So im looking for a good amplifier, whats the best thing to use? A simple one that just plugs into wall, or one with a pre amp also? I need to at least get an amplifier since i dont think im going to have my pvr hdtv ready by august 21st (when prison break starts) But i want to atleast be able to watch it.

We have a Terk Low Profile Antenna Im looking at a Radio Shack Peramp+amp or would something like this amplifier work just as well?

Zach

[elite]

I would first get the antenna looked at and aligned properly

If you add a booster to a misaligned antenna you will amplify the interferance as well as the signal (as a side note the booster should be added as close to the antenna as possible for the same reasons).

I have always gone with the cheapest boosters available with good results.

[pastro]

An amp as close to the antenna as possible (there are remote amps that power thru the cable) work the best. Get an amp with a low NF (2-4dB) and enough amplification to boost the signal above all losses from the antenna to the receiver including all splitters, cable loss, connector loss etc.

[lonegeek]

Hmm Well the antenna is aligned as good as its ever been..I just checked signal strengths... its around 70 for the channels...Never really peaked past that before

Its about 25 feet from antenna till it gets inside the house... Then another 25 to the tv. Ill be added a splitter eventually... So itll be Antenna 25 feet to spliter to 25 feet and 50 feet..

Im going to need an amp..But where at ..and how powerful

[elite]

Sorry was thrown off by "and the antenna shifted a bit.. "

For positioning I'd go with where the cable will enter the house/be split, you can get a combined splitter/booster (which would also reduce the amount of connections between antenna and PVR/TV - a good thing as it will reduce interferance) - as trying mount a booster at the base of the aerial could be hazadous to health

I'm not really qualified to answer regarding the power you need

[lonegeek]

I bought the 60 dollar radio shack one..signal went up about 20 units on all channels...probably more on a good day..but its cloudy out...... I even have the signal split into my room and the digital signal stays the same rating in the other room !

[pastro]

Glad that worked so well. Normally the amp just has to overcome all losses from the antenna to the receiver + about 10dBs. This includes splitter/diplexer loss, cable loss, receiver loss before the first internal amp etc. In some cases the external amp NF is better than the receiver first amp and the overall performance is improved with an external amp as well. Worst case, cable loss is 10dBs per 100ft in your frequency range. Probably more like 6. Course this depends on your cable. Check out the attenuation by looking up the attenuation of your cable type at the highest frequency your local stations use.
Putting the amp as far up the chain as possible gives the best results in fringe areas. Here the SNR is noise floor limited and further signal degradation can not be recovered by an Amp. Putting the amp at the antenna boosts the signal further above the noise floor allowing more attenuation before the signal becomes noise floor limited again.