Are there any good OTA HD signal active amplifiers/booster for use with my new HR10?

[Mikoyan]

Are there any good OTA HD signal active amplifiers/booster for use with my new HR10? (not really "new" because I bought it via Ebay)

I do get pretty good signal from my nearest HD network station. Unfortunately, the cable run from the rooftop antenna to my HDTV & Tivo is pretty long. I had to use two rolls of 100-ft coax cable. Thank you for you replies!

[fasTLane]

Are there any good OTA HD signal active amplifiers/booster for use with my new HR10? (not really "new" because I bought it via Ebay) I do get pretty good signal from my nearest HD network station. Unfortunately, the cable run from the rooftop antenna to my HDTV & Tivo is pretty long. I had to use two rolls of 100-ft coax cable. Thank you for you replies!I am using a Winegard AP-8700 preamp with very good results.

[bpratt]

I have been using the Electroline amps for years. Works great with the HR10-250. You can probably get one on Ebay for less than $30.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ELECTROLINE-EDA-2400-4-PORT-CABLE-TV-AMPLIFIER_W0QQitemZ290127567265QQihZ019QQcategoryZ39803QQssP ageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

An 8 port amp is also available.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ELECTROLINE-EDA-2800-8-PORT-CABLE-TV-AMPLIFIER_W0QQitemZ290127531196QQihZ019QQcategoryZ39803QQssP ageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[Matt L]

Well it depends on how you want to do it. To do it properly you need a preamp at the antenna, my fav. is the Channel Master 77xx series preamp. It has very low noise, noise will kill HD reception, and is durable. If you are close enough to the signal you may be able to get by with a line amp, but make sure you can return it.

Often the best answer is to get a better antenna. If you don't have a good signal to start with there is little to amplify....

[newsposter]

home depot leviton works for me and i'm 40 miles away from the towers....except in uninsulated attic heat keeps killing the amp but on 125 ft run works great. I plan on getting a preamp because they are meant to be outside and i wont have to worry about them in the exposed attic

[TyroneShoes]

If you have distant stations and a short downlead, a preamp such as the 777x is in order (and the best choice among preamps) but if you have not-so-distant stations and a long downlead or distribution (which sounds like your scenario), what you really need is a line amp or post amp.

The window of operation for a preamp is much different, as it is designed to work with signals typically from 0 to -30 dBmV which is what you find at the ouput of an antenna in a distant-signal scenario. A line/post amp is designed to accept signals from about 0 dBmV to about +15 dBmV, which is what you find at the bottom of the downlead and before distribution (before or possibly after your 200 ft of cable--try each) in a non-distant scenario. That would give you the proper level at the tuner, while a preamp might not, and would probably overload if you are not 40-plus miles away from all of your stations. Try the line amps from RatShack.

But before you do that, place one of their $15 variable attenuators in line (just before the DVR OTA antenna input), tune to the channel the hardest to get in, and watch your on-screen signal quality meter as you adjust from 0 dB to -20 dB. If the SQM goes steadily down, a post amp will work. If instead it goes up AT ALL before going back down, you probably don't need an amp of any kind.

Remember that a better antenna may not only give you less multipath interference, but will also give you more forward gain, which might mean that an amp is then uneccessary.