The Winegard Project: Wetumpka
Welcome to the first installment of the Winegard Project. What is the Winegard Project? I started experimenting with antennas a few years ago in an attempt to get HD channels my cable provider did not offer. Also, Montgomery lost its MyNetwork affiliate and I wanted to get the Birmingham affiliate. A few months ago I contacted Winegard Antennas and asked if they would donate an antenna to test and write a review. Winegard responded by donating three antennas and two pre-amps. We also received a donation of a 19″ LCD from Cohen’s electronics so we could test the antennas without having to run more cable. Initially, we were going to test in attics. That changed when we found out how big these antennas were.
The Winegard project is now about what local and possible out-of-area channels you should expect to receive through an antenna in your location. We are testing two antennas now as one of the antennas provided was too damaged to put together. We will provide a final review on the overall performance, durability and our opinions of the antennas later. First, we will spend the next four months providing results from Wetumpka, Prattville, East Montgomery, Midtown, Redland, Pike Road and Hope Hull. First up, Wetumpka:
Location: Wetumpka, off Highway 14 behind the high school.
Equipment tested: HD8200U Antenna, HD-9032 Antenna, AP-8700 UHF/VHF preamplifier, AP-4700 UHF only preamplifier. All on a tri-pod and 5 foot mast.
Testing environment: Attic mount for the HD8200U and outside for the HD9032. All tests performed during the evening.
The HD8200. The mother of all antennas.
This antenna really is one of the best on the market. We’ll review it specifically in another article. However, in Wetumpka, this antenna performed wonderfully. All Montgomery stations came in at a very strong signal strength when aimed towards the Montgomery stations. We were amazed at the results when we turned the antenna towards Birmingham. We got great signal strengths on WBRC(Fox), WVTM(NBC), WTTO(The CW HD), WIAT(CBS) and WABM(MyNet). This is good news for those of you in Wetumpka who want a MyNetworkTV affiliate for WWE wrestling or The CW HD. Keep in mind that this is an attic mount and that signal strengths will be even better outside and that signal strengths will decrease on these out-of-market stations during the day. Overall, this antenna did its job. We were hoping to get The CW and MyNet out of Birmingham and got them. As an extra bonus, we got strong signals on WAKA, WSFA, WCOV, WBIH, WFRZ, WMCF and WAIQ with the antenna faced away from Montgomery.
The HD9032.
As the 8200 over-performed expectations this antenna underperformed. We set this UHF only antenna up outside. It did not get a hint of any out-of-market stations. It did get good signal strengths on the Montgomery stations except for no WIYC, WBMM or WNCF. Also, WAKA was a little week. However, we were suprised that we picked up WSFA as it is VHF. This antenna does not seem to be a good fit for Wetumpka residents though.
We did not test the HD7698P antenna that was provided because it had some assembly issues. We did test the two pre-amps provided. They added very little gain in signal strength at this location. MTR highly recommends the HD8200U for Wetumpka residents. You can follow the SolidSignal.com link on our home page for great deals on this antenna.
Please keep in mind that signal strengths will vary by location and mounting conditions. MTR cannot guarantee that you will receive any stations. However, we hope these tests will give you an idea of what antenna may work best in your location.
Thanks again to Winegard and Cohen’s Electronics for making this project possible.
Happy viewing!
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Finally! After almost a year and a half since Montgomery locals were turned up on Direct. Picture quality is great. ...
I haven’t kept up with all this Digital Stuff. In many cases, the siganls have caused bad reception even on cable, in remote areas.
But about this article, in the old days, your 2nd example would have been a UHF only Antenna. In problems areas, separate Antennas and leads usually got a better signal.
Thanks for the input. I forgot to mention that the smaller antenna is UHF only. I corrected the article. However, it did get a decent signal on WSFA. We’ll see how it does in the city.