I have two antennas (both amplified) facing basically North and South. I get 56 channels. I would like to set up a bolt system that would let me see stations and record on both antennas from each of two TVs, even at the same time. I have tried a splitter in reverse, and a ChannelMaster JoinTenna, with no useable results. I'm willing to try two Bolts, or a bolt and Mini. Any ideas?
Can I combine two antennas from opposite directions
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Which method?
Can't remove amps. JUST getting enough signal with them. Thats why I'm asking for help. 43 miles South, 56 miles North
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Mix, then amplify.
There shouldn't be any frequency interference since they're in the same 'market', but are the physical frequencies of the 'dropped' channels close at all?
It's possible the amps are causing it, so yeah, try mixing, then amplifying.
There are band-pass antenna mixers that you could obtaine, as well.
-KP
It's possible the amps are causing it, so yeah, try mixing, then amplifying.
There are band-pass antenna mixers that you could obtaine, as well.
-KP
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There may be better antennas for the task than what you're using. Are any channels broadcast on VHF? (Combining works for me because all my VHF channels are in one direction and all my UHF channels in another direction and using VHF-only and UHF-only antennas makes sure I'm not combining signals from the same frequency).
Do any two channels in opposite directions broadcast on the same frequency? You need highly directional antennas, but bad luck that your directions are 180 degrees from each other because some antennas pick up gain from frequencies approaching from directly behind them. If that's the case that both oppositely pointed antennas pick up some of the same channels, then combining their out of phase signals on the same frequency can cause that multi-path cancellation.
I'm not informed on which antennas are good at blocking out gain from signals approaching from behind.
Do any two channels in opposite directions broadcast on the same frequency? You need highly directional antennas, but bad luck that your directions are 180 degrees from each other because some antennas pick up gain from frequencies approaching from directly behind them. If that's the case that both oppositely pointed antennas pick up some of the same channels, then combining their out of phase signals on the same frequency can cause that multi-path cancellation.
I'm not informed on which antennas are good at blocking out gain from signals approaching from behind.
I have tried several antennas, all with the same result. What I thought might work is to feed one Bolt with each antenna, then network them together. Has anybody tried that? Could I watch live broadcasts from one to the other Bolt? My purpose in asking you is to avoid buying a second Bolt, then find out that my theory does not work.
Good thinking - but I have VHF and UHF in Both directions.
That is a good theory, but the amps are preamps at the antennas, and have to be powered directly, before the mix.
Thanks for your help. Sorry to hear about not being able to share live between units. You can tell I've been working at this a while
What if something's on TV, and it's never shown again?
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This is more or less my system -- one antenna pointed at D.C. and one at Baltimore, not quite 180 degrees apart, but close. It was set up professionally, and admittedly, I never tested the antennas separately, so I don't know that I'm not losing any signal vs. what I could theoretically get that way; but it works pretty well. The signals are combined, no pre-amps, and the combined signal goes to a distribution amp/splitter.
Thanks to everyone for your help. Looks like the way I'm hooked up now is the way I have to stay. I have a Bolt on the South feeds, and the North feeds come in directly to TV. I can record South, but not North. South has many more channels, so I guess that's the best I can do. Was hoping to add recording to North, because that has the newscasts we Prefer. DTV commitment will soon be done, and I'm planning to send them packing
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TiVo usually has discounts Thanksgiving week so with a deal on an (refurbed Roamio?) OTA you could also record North.
Make sure the antennas are far enough apart from each other, at least 4 ft ideally. Make sure the cables running from each antenna to the combiner are exactly the same length to help reduce phasing. Phasing would have caused ghosting on old analog reception, but causes dropout on digital as the tuner has problems locking onto the signal. Phasing is likely the issue, and you may not be able to easily overcome it if both antennas are sending strong signals for same channels. You could also try adding an LTE filter to block the neighboring cell phone band.
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