HD OTA Antennae, Signal Strength and Coverage, with Splitter to Tablo?

BonzaiDuck

Lifer
Jun 30, 2004
15,936
1,581
126
Everyone is familiar with the standard Radio Shack or similar coax splitter, with two or three male fittings on one side of a little metal box, and one or two more of them on the opposite side.

Would there be advantage to connecting two separate HD OTA antennae through a splitter to a single coax connection to the Tablo? The Tablo converts a radio/tv broadcast signal to a LAN-distributed stream for access by PC, HDMI TV, tablet, laptop and/or phone -- by Wi-Fi or twisted-pair Ethernet.

I am located SE from LA and NW from San Diego. I would only guess that the transmitters deployed in LA would be located in the San Gabriels, more N from here than downtown. I live on the crest of a bluff that is about 1,000 feet above sea-level, looking out on a plain toward SD and at a nice height to intercept signals from LA or the mountains. I probably only need one antenna to get it all, but there are stations in San Bernardino and other places.

One good antenna should do fine, but you can get an indoor OTA HD antenna for just over $25, which might be a reasonable extra expense if there's an advantage.
 
Last edited:

mindless1

Diamond Member
Aug 11, 2001
8,397
1,572
126
No you don't want two dissimilar antennas for same frequencies and don't want the attenuation of the splitter.
 

BonzaiDuck

Lifer
Jun 30, 2004
15,936
1,581
126
No you don't want two dissimilar antennas for same frequencies and don't want the attenuation of the splitter.
Thanks. I wouldn't have known for sure either way, so no sense in even trying it. There is actually an option for a motorized or robotic outdoor/attic antenna, controlled by a hand-held remote. Instead, I purchased the ClearStream 4V model, rated for a range of 70+ miles. Its range-spec may be more conservatively defined than some others.

The main thing now is to get it all hooked up and working. Anything additional to LA and SD-area stations would likely be duplicates of the same network stations that give a strong signal to begin with.
 

MadScientist

Platinum Member
Jul 15, 2001
2,162
48
91
There's also TVFool and RCA has an app called RCA Signal Finder, input your address, choose your stations, and it turns your cell phone into a compass.