Two antennas put together?

[JasonC]

A friend of mine recommended hooking two antennas up to the "two-way" end of a splitter, and the other end to the TV. That way you can have one antenna positioned for one group of channels, and the other set for another group that maybe the first has trouble receiving.

Does anyone else do this?

Thanks,
Jason

[AndrewP]

Yes I did, and with Channel Master 4228 and some cheap Menards antenna installed i the attic combined with a splitter I get Chicago and Milwaukee.
What you should do is to use the same transformers on both antennas and match polarity (simply that means connect everything and watch for a signal. If you get a good signal that means the polarity is matched. When there is no signal or very weak signal, then polarity is not matched. Switch ends on the transformer on one of the antennas).

[jkane]

The only real problem is ghosting.  One antenna will get a bounce since it's pointing in a different direction.  That bounce will show up as a ghost in the picture.  That's analog anyhow.  I ahve no idea what'll happen with digital!  I would think it would be just fine since stongest signal only get capture.

If you really wanted it right, you have to calculate the length of cable between the two before the splice and make it "tuned" so both signals arrive in sync.

[AndrewP]

It doesn't work good for analog, but it is perfect for digital channels. Also I use the same cables between antennas and splitter.

[picopir8]

Actually it causes problems for Digital. 8-VSB is rather susecptable to multipath interference, by combining two antennas, you are effectively creating a multipath signal and can cause pixelation.  If you want to receive signals from two different locations, you either need a rotor, a tuner wich takes in signals from two sources (I have a MYHD-120 collecting dust which does this), or you can use two antennas with programmable filters on each one to block out unwanted frequencies.

[AndrewP]

In theory, maybe you are right, but in practice I combined CM 4228 aimed at Chicago (70 miles) and Menards antenna aimed at Milwaukee (18 miles), both in the attic and have great results.