this or that

[kmi8dy]

i have been listening for what seems like more then a lifetime. i have a couple of simple questions for you all, that have also been doing the same.
anybody using or have used or have been experimenting with a signal amplifier, the kind that are used for tv reception and placed between the antenna and tv? they usualy cost 25 dollars or less. if so do they work or not work? and are their any manufactured for radio reciever use in the VHF / UHF or 800 mhz range? and lastly i know that the type and size of coax cable is one of the most important aspects of recieving and transmitting, so with that said what kind of coax should i purchase when the antenna will be outside, 24/365, and would be about 30 to 40 feet long and be used for recieving only? please keep in mind that i have not yet won the lottery, when i do win the lottery the next post that i submit will be ''what brand of 200 foot tower should i purchase" ha-ha

thanks for all your input................

 

[737mech]

TV amp

There's lots of info in these forums using or not using tv amps. I use the eda drop amp 8 port. It amps only enough to make up for the splitting of the single antenna signal. If you are far away from town not near a cell tower or fm radio station then the amp could help you. In town there may be too much rf noise in the area and the amp will make that louder thus killing your scanner's ability to hear. Depending on what scanner you use you may find out the amp is overloading the scanner and you won't hear anything. As far as coax the cheap tv coax cable is used on many setups. If you buy the ST-2 antenna it comes with a run of rg-6 cable. Better coax like LMR-400 is exactly that, better. All the coax loss charts are for 100 foot feed lines, for 50 feet just half the loss on the chart. (-3.5 db = 1/2 signal loss) A nice setup starting off cheap is the st-2 and cheap tv coax. No amp needed. A really nice setup would be a DPD Productions Omni X with a LMR-400 feedline no amp required. Then if you hit the lottery the tower!

 

[Ryangn]

I have tried to use an amp with mixed results, although not a TV amp. I have the GRE Super Amp and it works great except on the 800 band it overloads the scanners and I loose the signal. Of course the results of using a pre-amp will very from set-up to set-up so you will have to experiment. I do have a TV amp hooked up to my television and it works great for the TV (no cable TV for me). Try and if it doesn't work for you return it. For my set-up I have an 800 mhz yagi fed with 50 ft of LMR-400 and a ST-2 fed with 50 ft of RG-6. I have to use the LMR-400 for the yagi because the signal I am trying to get is not close to my location and weak and if I use anything with greater loss (RG-58, RG-8, etc.) I lose the signal but for the ST-2 the RG-6 works just fine and it cost me nothing as it came with the antenna. Like 737mech said both your questions have been discussed a lot here. If you search the forums you will get more info and opinions than you'll know what to do with Good luck!!