Reception from Shawano

I plan to cut down a honey locus tree in my front yard as the antenna aims right through the middle of the tree. Leaves are gone now Nov 09' so maybe I can wait till spring.

From your location I would first try a pre-amp as it will be helpful even if a new antenna is eventually installed.

My #1 recommendation is a Channel Master CM-7777. It has separate inputs for UHF and VHF. You can open the case and find 2 switches. One switch is to control whether the UHF and VHF inputs are used as separates or shut down for use with a single combo antenna. In your case, you want the separate setting. The second switch will be for an FM trap. FM can cause interference on channel 11 if a strong FM signal is present. In this case, you should set the trap to "IN". This pre-amp is probably the best easily available model. It is very quiet and very powerful. I could suggest a few better pre-amps, but they cost much more and need additional special weatherproof enclosures to be mast mounted. The 7777 will do the job (in my opinion).

If your cable is old, or if it is RG-59 (smaller diameter), consider replacing it with a good RG6 quad shield coax. Keep the cable as short as possible from each antenna to the pre-amp and seal all connections with "Coax Seal" to keep out all moisture. Secure the cable every 2-3 feet so that it can not flex and move in the wind, which can weaken the cable and eventually crack the jacket, allowing moisture to penetrate. Ground the antenna mast to the main electrical ground rod, and use a grounding block where the coax enters the house...again grounding the ground block to the same electrical ground rod as the antenna ground. This grounding protects you and your house from lightning strikes by lessening the static potential of your system.. This static potential acts as a magnet, drawing lightning to your house. As an added benefit, grounding the cable will help to divert at least some of a strike into the ground and it will also help to discharge static buildup, helping to produce a cleaner signal for your TV.

Never use different types of cable. Cable mismatch can cause all sorts of problems due to differences in velocity. Pick a single type, guage, and velocity of cable and stick with it. If using a splitter to distribute the signal, be sure to use 75 ohm termination screws at all unused outlets. Not terminating unused outlets can leak signal. Also, if you distribute to, say, 4 outlets, but only have 2 TVs connected, I stongly suggest replacing the existing 4 way spltter with a 2 way splitter. This will provide each of your 2 TVs with twice as much signal as they receive when the signal is split 4 ways.

Be sure that the pre-amp is as close to the antennas as possible so it can have the strongest input possible. The power module is then located in the house prior to any splitters being used.

This should help you. If you still can not get a strong signal, we can then look at larger antennas. If you are a "do-it-yourselfer", you can find good RG6 QS at Menards relatively cheap in 500' rolls. You can then purchase a Paladin Orange coax kit and a jar of connectors to do the project. It will probably cost about $120 for all of the cable, tools, ground block and 6ga solid ground wire, but you will likely pay at least that for a pair of 3' pre-made coax cables, a 25' coax cable and a pair of 6' coax cables alone. This would be what is needed for the leads to the pre-amp, the downlead to the ground block, then into the basement to the pre=amp power input, then out to the splitter. This does not even include distribution to your TVs, which should also be upgraded to RG6 if it is not now this type. (RG6 has MUCH less loss per 100' than RG59).

I hope this helps.

Bill

Bill