Multiple connections for OTA/TV/Radio/Scanner with 1 antenna

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robman50

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Nov 4, 2014
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Location
Niagara, Ontario, Canada
I would like to know since I have a mid-gain preamp and a long coax run and I would like to have 3 devices connected, what should I use? Would a distro amp help me out or would it only add more noise to a weak signal? I should add the amp outside at the base of the tower to add more gain for the long run but that would be difficult since I have no access to the electrical outlet to plug it in. I could add a splitter after the preamp power inserter but then I would make a weak signal weaker. So yeah I am a little bit stuck here.

My current setup:
CM-3679 (VHF)
5 foot mast
CM-9521A rotor
RCA TVPRAMP1R preamp
CM-4228HA (UHF)
35 feet tower
Ground block
75 foot RG-6 run
Preamp power inserter
2 foot RG-6 cable
2 way splitter (Eaglestar pro, Model: 53-3021, Multi signal mixer, Freq. 5-2300MHz, Insertion loss <2.8dB)
3 foot cable for my stereo
3 foot cable for my scanner
3 foot cable for my TV (temporary unplugged)

I was thinking of switching the splitter to a CM-3414 distro amp. Would that help?
 

prcguy

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So Cal - Richardson, TX - Tewksbury, MA
Your preamp is rated 16dB gain on VHF and 22dB gain on UHF. 100ft of RG-6 coax has about 6dB loss @1GHz for 100ft and you have less. You list a 2-way splitter but you mention at least three devices and a 4-way splitter would be more appropriate.

A 4-way splitter has about 7dB average loss, so with a 4-way you would have a little leftover gain on VHF and more gain on UHF. I would not add another amplifier in the system unless there are other factors that would warrant it and then I would consider a slightly higher gain amp near the antenna if the NF and IMD specs were good.
prcguy
 

robman50

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Nov 4, 2014
Messages
185
Location
Niagara, Ontario, Canada
Right now, I am having my face on my palm and am currently thinking 'oh I knew I should have got the CM-7777'. But I was told that would overload the local channels so I took the RCA instead.
 

fredva

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Mar 19, 2007
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Location
Virginia/West Virginia
What is your signal like if you run your coax cable directly to one of your devices, such as a TV? Is there a noticeable improvement in reception between that and using the two-way splitter? The results of that comparison might give you a little indication on whether a splitter amp might be worthwhile.
 
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