HD-9032

[WC7P]

October of 2009 I installed this antenna in place of my old Radio Shack VU-110XR (VHF/UHF:5 element Log periodic VHF and 12 element Yagi UHF). It didn't seem to help much so I put the old antenna back in place. A recent re-roofing got things going again. I decided to ground mount the antenna with a 32' mast fastened to side of the building. The VU-110XR has been a marginal performer in the new digital world. Seattle channels 4.1, 5.1, 7.1 and 9.1 are available most of the time, with 7.1 being the weakest. However, all stations can be received in most conditions.
The new setup is a YA-1713 at the top and the HD-9032 four feet lower. They both go to a AP-2870 amp driving 70' of RG-6. The YA-1713 is awesome. Very solid signal with a fairly broad lobe. The HD-9032 is dismal. Ch 4.1 is receivable with signal strength (Sony TV) at 70. Ch 5.1 is very marginal at 52 and 7.1 is not received.
I've tipped the mast back down to check if there are any shorted active elements on the HD-9032, etc. Everything looks fine. By any reasonable measure the 16db gain of the HD-9032 should overshadow the UHF section of the VU-110.
Next step is to take the HD-9032 off the mast and substitute the 12 year old VU-110. Any suggestions?
WC7P

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[winegard]

Good morning WC7P -

Try doing a channel scan after taking the AP-2870 out of line. You might be overpowering your digital tuner.

If this does not correct the issue I would recommend calling our technical services line at 800-788-4417 to discuss your situation in further detail.

[WC7P]

Thanks for the reply. After scratching my head over this for some time I finally discovered that when making the jumpers from the antennas to the amp. I cut the center conductor just a wee bit short. There was enough signal to capacitivly couple through, but not enough for a solid connection. I have since remade all of the connectors leaving a little extra on the center conductor. I suspect it was a tolerance issue. My center conductor was possibly 1/8" short and the socket on the Winegard balun (on the HD-9032) was set a little deep.

In any case, life is good. 9.1 is running at 98 to max, 4.1 at 90, 5.1 at 70 and our weak station 7.1 is running 66/68.

WC7P