Balm:
I haven't kept up with status of Mt Royal stations....but since you are only 10-miles LOS
away from over a dozen stations, you should use a LOW to MODERATE Gain Preamp to
prevent overload (e.g. desensitization on weak stations due to Intermod Noise products).

The 25 dB Radio Shack Preamp (or CM7777) would be one of the WORST choices.
Try a 12-17 dB Preamp instead. Also, if it has been outside, heat and moisture can
degrade it over time....something that would not be evident from a photo....

What, exactly, do you mean by, "the cable box connection" ??

I just unhooked the cable from rogers and hooked up my fta cable..
Nats, I don't know about your Rogers Cable set up, but my Rogers cable comes in from the outside right into a distribuition panel with builtin amp and spliter. You may want to check the point where your cable comes in a see if it is hooked up to any similar devices. If so, then maybe bypass them. I hope this was helpful.

I think Balm has tried different amps:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=109172

Hi

let me qualify my power on/off pre amp question..

I have local stations ( Herbert corners, camp fortune ottawa) that come in 5 by 5 on a 91xg antenna with no pre amplification , but....

there are some distant stations that I would like to acquire ( WPBS wqtertown) that need a pre amp to even attempt such as goal. The complicating factor is that the distant station is very close in degrees 20 degrees to the more powerful local station (HC) tower from my location. ( hence the 91xg)

I was hoping to be able to select the reception ( stations) based on pre amp on/off capability .. but seemingly not so

Is there another stratgedy ? thanks

Yes, you need to look in this thread, GeoStar:

Splitters, Attenuators, Filters, Diplexers, Other Signal Gear (http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=42428)

and there are several ways to do what you want to do. :)

I have local stations ( Herbert corners, camp fortune ottawa) that come in 5 by 5 on a 91xg antenna with no pre amplification , but....

there are some distant stations that I would like to acquire ( WPBS wqtertown) that need a pre amp to even attempt such as goal.

The problem is over amplification of local stations can kill the distant stations before the local ones. What you need is a low gain pre-amp that won't over amplify the locals but provide sufficient gain to over come the losses in your system for the distant station(s). Alternately you can use a highly directional antenna pointed at the distant station so that the local stations aren't so strong. If neither of these solutions work, you need to notch out the strongest locals so that they won't be over amplified. You will still be able to receive them as the notch filter will provide 20 to 40dB of attenuation, which won't kill a very strong signal.

Would I have less signal loss and noise with a 24" piece of 300 ohm twin lead going from antenna into th AP-8283 amp that has 300 ohm input and 75 ohm output as compared to a balun to 75 ohm input of my PA-8275? What do I stand to gain?

That preamp actually has a balun in it, so the only reason for using one is just for the need to have a 300Ω twin-lead input. People buy the Channel Master 0264 for the same requirement.

Yes rogers had a drop amplifer inside the house..Which I have removed.. I had one spliiter as a connector inside the house to connect to the tv during my tests... when I went direct to the tv with a 100' cable (new) everything was fine ..i even added a couple of short runs of new cable on with a couple of splitters just to see if the splitters were causing the problem but they had no effect on picture quality..when I hooked into the internal cableing the picture was snowy or gone all together..Everything is finished, so it's a huge messy job to try and replace the internal house runs... So i'm just trying to figure out what my options are and if an amplifer will help???

Has anybody heard of a Provo pre-75? I can't find any info on it. I tried buying a Channel Master from Western Equipment in Windsor today and this is what they're carrying now.

I've never heard of it either. And a quick Google search didn't yield any results.

I wouldn't buy it if you're not able to research the performance and reliability of the product.

Has anybody heard of a Provo pre-75?
It's on page 87 (http://www.provowire.com/accessories.asp?action=pagenum&pg=87) of their catalog.
NF of 3.5dB for VHF, but 8.5dB for UHF.

but 8.5dB for UHF.
ouch, are you serious! That's brutal.

Wow, that is pretty bad.
Thanks

I just received the new Kitztech coax powered amp today. Picture here:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/album.php?albumid=211&pictureid=1478

Time to climb the tower again!

Hooray !!! But since I'm in an attic, I'm looking forward to the Low(er) Noise version. Does anybody have an idea about its availability ???

Since it is adjustable, I’m curious at what gain level the Kitztech was measured at to produce a noise figure of 1db…. How bad does it get when it’s not at this optimum gain setting? And what the max input/output signal is before it clips?

Interesting photo peano. Strange that they have put an RCA connector on the end of their power supply and then an RCA to F adapter on the power inserter. Looks like the power inserter is a 3rd party off the shelf part.

It is funny that they are using the same label for the the pre-amp as it still has the power connector labeled. ;)

NF of 3.5dB for VHF, but 8.5dB for UHFProvo must stand for provolone, because that's a pretty cheesy preamp! nyuck nyuck :D

Interesting looking amp. However, I wonder what the insertion loss is for the power inserter? It looks like a standard splitter....