Antenna Amplifier for OTA digital receiver

SeanA · 12-30-2004, 12:12 AM

I have a Samsung SIR-T451 digital receiver and Silver Sensor antenna that does a decent job of picking up local OTA digital signals. However, I have been using a Jensen programable antenna with built-in amplifier instead of the Silver Sensor because it generally produces a stronger signal. After some experimentation with both antennas, I believe I may get better results with the Silver Sensor if I can run it with an amplifier/booster. And after a brief search on the Radio Shack website, I managed to find only one antenna amplifier, but it was listed for "outdoor antenna" service.

Will any antenna amplifier work fine with an "indoor" antenna ??? And where else (besides Radio Shack) can I shop for a stand-alone antenna amplifier ???

DougR · 12-30-2004, 09:39 AM

I think that Amplifier would work ?

Here's another place to check:
Starks

SeanA · 12-31-2004, 01:04 AM

After several hours of searching, I think I have narrowed my choice to two amplifiers. It has not been easy finding just the right product for an indoor application because most amplifiers are designed for outdoor use and I believe may be overkill. I am still not sure that more is better when it comes to boosting the signal to an OTA digital receiver. I think the amount of noise added by an amplifier could be just as critical as the amount of signal boost. Anyway, my two choices are as follows:

1) Channel Master CM-3042
http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_disp...OD=CM3042#MORE

2) Channel Plus DA-500A
http://www.channelplus.com/product_d...p?productId=54

The Channel Master CM-3042 is about half the price with a 13 dB gain versus 18 dB for the Channel Plus DA-500A. I was hoping to find an amplifier with an "adjustable" gain, but no such luck with these two amplifiers. Still not sure if 13-18 dB will be enough or maybe even too much signal boost.

I will follow up with more details later, but would still love to hear suggestions and advice from others. Thanks for your suggestion Doug !!! The Starks website helped narrow my search.

Wes · 01-04-2005, 01:40 AM

I was hooking up my friends HD and he has a roof mounted antenna, At first he was not picking up more then 4 channels. He had a Radio Shack amplifier down by his distribution splitter that was not being used. So I tried that and it made not difference in HD reception. We disconnected the amplifier and we finally pointed the antenna at the direction of the broadcasting antennas and then we got all HD channels.

HD is either there or it's not, so if your getting all of your local channels and it's not breaking up while watching the strength is not important.

Wes

SeanA · 01-04-2005, 01:53 PM

Wes,

I do understand. A couple of the stations I get are marginal at times (signal locks, but breaks up) and require that I move the antenna to get a solid signal. I believe a good amplifier could make the difference so that I no longer get marginal signals and don't have to move the antenna. The Jensen antenna I was using had a built-in amplifier, and turning up the amp did improve the signal in most cases.

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