multiple sets

[Kevin]

I had an extra batwing that I put in my house and powered it with a 12v adapter. I added a wingman and am having fairly good luck with a good picture in zip code 46142. My intent is to discontinue cable service. I have a potential issue with the number of sets connected to the antenna. Right now the number is 4 on the splitter and I may need to add 1 or 2 more. Can I add a multi set amplifier to this amplified antenna or a distribution amplifier without damaging anything? Is there a difference in the two types of amplifiers and what would I need? I am sure I am not the first to try this so I would like some thoughts on this. Thanks. Kevin

[TomV]

I am assuming you have an amplified antenna and it should have somewhere about 15 dB of gain. You are in a strong signal area and normally would need no amp for a single set close to the antenna.

With your situation as described, a 4 port split would knock each signal down by about 7.5 dB. A 100 foot run of RG6 at channel 50 knocks down the signal by about 7 dB.

I would venture an educated guess that your cables are shorter than 100 ft. With that said, I would think that you can probably get away with no additional amp in this setup.

My only concern would be that you have a preamp in the antenna that could be overloaded since you are close to the transmitters. Per a check on TVFool.com for your zip code, do you receive all the channels it predicts you should receive?

[Kevin]

Yes, I do get all the channels. How do I tell if I am overloaded. Signal strength is 87-100%. Thanks. Kevin

[TomV]

The fact that you are receiving all of the expected channels says that you are not overloading the preamp. That is why I asked the question about the TVFool predictions vrs what you actually receive.